Laois footballers the Championship 2018 What went on and the review!

[blueandwhite1]

There were plenty of positives yesterday. Laois looked fit, strong, hungry and well organized. Every man ran themselves into the ground and we tried to play some clever football. I was very proud of how we approached the game and the pride in the team and jersey. I think this current team can improve on certain things such as converting your chances when they come. Donie missed too many frees and Evan had a spate of wides. No doubt there was pressure but you have to take your chances to stay competitive. Dublin never slow the ball down, we need to learn to keep it moving. When we were defending, we seemed surprised by their runners off the shoulders. How much can we improve with the current team? a good bit but time is not on our side.

I thought the young lads did well enough yesterday but we are going to be in serious trouble in a couple of years when we don't have lads like Timmons, Strong, Begley, O'Loughlin, Donie and Donoher. Dublin are mega fit and highly organized but they also have fantastically skillful footballers. Nearly everyone can kick a point. We have only one or two players that can consistently score at this level. If Donie had stayed in retirement we might have struggled to kick 5 points yesterday.

In summary, I would say I am optimistic about the current panel and Sugrue but very worried for the future beyond 2019.

[Giovanni]

It was always going to be a day where everything needed to go right for us and even if it did, the best we could expect was an honourable defeat.

I thought we left Dublin a little bit too much freedom to run at us. I know it's easier said than done but if you give a Dublin player 40 yards of open field, he will build a momentum that's hard to stop - at that stage, it takes only a couple of properly executed passes to create a scoring opportunity. I thought a bit more pressure on the kickouts would have been helpful in particular. I think some of our forwards have to work harder to stop those runs from building pace.

A bit more composure at times might have given us a goal and 3 or 4 points, which might have put a better look on the scoreline. On the other hand, Dublin missed even more.

I do hope they regroup and give the next match one good lash. They deserve a better end to the season.

[on the hop]

Don't agree with you tony, a tiered championship is the only way Forward. The gap between the top three and rest of division 1 is big but the teams after that are at nothing. Top level gaa is professional and we neither have the finances, numbers or organisation to bridge that at present possibly never. People regularly quote monaghan as an example of a small county doing well but they squeezing as much as they can out of a good group and are still coming up short. Kildare if they were organised better probably have a chance due to the numbers of juveniles they have coming through.We did well this year because we got to play teams at our level, if we managed to get to the super 8's that would be massive but don't fool yourself on what we would be facing. A tiered championship would benefit us and let us grow in our own space, I would much prefer it that getting repeatedly mangled by a half interested Dublin team who were more thinking about their recovery session in the sea in dollymount afterwards

[Tony]

If you're ok with never competing at the top level ever again, then make a 2tier system. Do you reckon we're going to get closer to division one standard by playing wicklow and leitrim - similarly, do you think kerry, donegal and Dublin are going to get worse by playing the standard of each other? I don't believe the answer is a 2tier system. It will create a massive divide in quality, much greater than it is now. At least in the current system, teams like Laois and cavan and fermanagh could make a breakthrough. I'd much prefer an open draw system.

[South Laois man]

The easiest option would be 8 groups of 4 with the top 2 in each group going on to play for Sam and the bottom 2 in eachieving group playing in a secondary competion with all semi finals and finals in Croke Park. This system still gives everyone a shot at Sam with it not being tiered from the start.

[SpeculativeEffort]

A tiered league and un-tiered cship only serves to make cship more lopsided year after year. If current system is to remain in place the there should be 4 random groups in the league where all teams can get a taste of playing the best teams and learn from them.

[Laoiseabu]

I would agree with blueandwhite1 looking towards the future I'd be worried enough. It would frighten Ye to think what happens when very soon Strong, Donoher, Munnelly, Conway, Booth, Begley, Timmons, Johnno , Dillon all go as they are all 30 or over.  Kingston and Lillis are late 20s also but a bit younger.

[BallyroanAbu]

Would a 3 Tier Competition look something like this  ( i am missing somebody)
there is some fairly competitive games at all levels

Tier 1               Tier 2 let it be 12              Tier 3
Dublin              Laois                                Offaly
Mayo               Cork                                 Louth
Tyrone             Tipperary                          Wicklow
Kerry               Kildare                             Westmeath
Donegal           Clare                                Leitrim
Galway            Armagh                            Longford
Monaghan        Fermanagh                       Antrim
Roscommon     Down                               Limerick
                      Meath                              Waterford
                      Cavan                              Wexford
                      Sligo                                New York
                      Carlow                             London

1 up 1 down makes it very tough at all levels.  Since 1940 78 years we have won 1 Leinster is the current system working for us ?   It makes the promotion of the game very hard.

[Butch Cassidy]

8 groups of 4 based off the league. Top 2 go on to play in yhd 'A' championship and bottom 2 the 'B' championship. B final played in Croke Park with all stars and holidays for the  winners.

[on the hop]

8 groups of 4 based off the league. Top 2 go on to play in yhd 'A' championship and bottom 2 the 'B' championship. B final played in Croke Park with all stars and holidays for the  winners.

Definitely better than the current system

[Tony]

The easiest option would be 8 groups of 4 with the top 2 in each group going on to play for Sam and the bottom 2 in eachieving group playing in a secondary competion with all semi finals and finals in Croke Park. This system still gives everyone a shot at Sam with it not being tiered from the start.

I like this option above by south laois man. Seems fair. 3 games per team per group, world cup style with top 2 from each group getting to last 16. Bottom 2 still can claim a decent title while still aiming for Sam at start of competition. Not bad at all.

1 team from each league picked at random in each group. EG

Group 1
Kerry
Meath
Armagh
Carlow

Group 2
Monaghan
Tipperary
Derry
Laois

etc.


I really like the sound of that - it's a very fair system is it not - and exiting. Good for the top teams and good for weaker teams. Also will give more bite to the league because your seeding is based on your league status so promotion will be even more sought after.

[Butch Cassidy]

Would you like to see the provincials go? 

[Tony]

Not really Butch but it's the only fair way. Look at the 4 finals and the provincials in general this year - poor fare all round. Kerry beat Cork by 17, Dublin beat Laois by 18, Donegal beat Fermanagh by 12 and Galway easily beat Rosscommon. In addition, Rosscommon only had to beat Leitrim to get to the Connaught final - we had to beat 3 teams better than Leitrim to get to the Leinster final. Fair - nah. If Laois was in Connaught, we'd be getting to provincial finals every 2nd year and therefore at worst making the 4th round of the qualifiers nearly every year by default. How would that be fair? It wouldn't. Something needs to change, that is for sure.

[Chrimtain]

I like the idea of eight groups of four. Although the Provincial Councils would fight their demise, the provincial championships have had their day. With five counties in Connacht and twelve (eleven without Kilkenny) in Leinster, It is a totally unbalanced and unfair system.

Some people say that there would be little interest in the second tier competition. But I disagree, if it was promoted right, and its final played on the same day (or weekend) as the All Ireland Final in Croke Park, it would have a strong appeal. Just look to the degree of excitement generated in the county when Laois picked up a trophy for winning the Div 4 final in April. 

If the GAA don't act soon, the game will die.

[Don Draper]

I like the idea of eight groups of four. Although the Provincial Councils would fight their demise, the provincial championships have had their day. With five counties in Connacht and twelve (eleven without Kilkenny) in Leinster, It is a totally unbalanced and unfair system.

Some people say that there would be little interest in the second tier competition. But I disagree, if it was promoted right, and its final played on the same day (or weekend) as the All Ireland Final in Croke Park, it would have a strong appeal. Just look to the degree of excitement generated in the county when Laois picked up a trophy for winning the Div 4 final in April. 

If the GAA don't act soon, the game will die.

Realistically, only Kerry and Dublin can win an All Ireland anymore. The game is dead.