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....I want someone to explain why an open draw championship similiar to the one outlined below would not work:

This is a hypothetical situation...

Munster and Leinster championships played during May & June.

Cork win Munster and Kilkenny win Leinster

As a reward for winning their respective competitions both teams are granted a seeding for the open draw championship to start in July.

Group 1
Kilkenny
Galway
Tipperary
Clare
Dublin
Antrim


Group 2
Cork
Waterford
Limerick
Wexford
Offaly
Laois



Lets say the groups end up the way they are above...

The semi-final line ups would read:
Kilkenny v Waterford
Cork v Galway


The relegation semi finals would read:
Dublin v Laois
Offaly v Antrim

The loser of the relegation final(Laois?) would play the winner of the Christy Ring Cup(Westmeath?) for the right to compete in the following years Liam McCarthy series.


Are people afraid of it because it's so easy, is fair and equal, and gaurantees every team 5 games?

We're on the way back down to Kilkenny again.

Galway v Wexford @ 2pm followed by Tipp v Waterford

A number of questions after yesterday....

Is Loughnane any closer to having a settled team since he started his great adventure?

When are the management going to wake up and smell the starbucks regarding David Fordes inability to hurl?

Should Fergal Healy just be re-named The Fall Guy?

Has Damien Joyce disappeared into the Twilight Zone?


Yesterday the Galway hurlers were akin to the shambles of a team that got hockeyed in Thurles in 2004 by Kilkenny. Clueless, misdirected, devoid of imagination, wrong players in the wrong positions, poor decision making from the sideline but most of all poorly managed. Richie Power missed 6 scoreable frees. The defeat should have been by 10 points not 4. We were lucky in the extreme to get away so lightly.

This is the only conclusion we could come to in the post match analysis in the Newpark Hotel yesterday. This team are being poorly managed. Loughnane & Co. have managed to take a wrecking ball to a defence where pre Ollie Cannings retirement the only problem position we had was centre back. John Lee has rightfully been allowed to claim his pace at No.6 however all of the other 5 postions have been tinkered around with so much that no one knows what they are at. Our half back line should be Hardiman, Lee and Collins. However Ger is trying to turn the Mullagh man into a full back and Collins into a midfielder. It won't work Ger. Play them together where they should be played and let them grow. Shane Kavanagh put down a stamp for full back yesterday with his aggressive no nonsense defending. Fergal Moore had a fabulous game in the corner. So what about a full back line of Joyce, Kavanagh and Moore?

Eugene Cloonan yesterday took a step back to Thurles 2004 when he was overpowered by Noel Hickey. Brian Hogan got the contract to carry out the demolition job yesterday and one must wonder if Eugenes back problems and state of fitness are able for this intensity anymore. It's only going to get faster and harder from her on in and therefore I feel a lesson was learned yesterday. Cloonan is no longer capable of hurling at this level of intensity. He should not be around for the summer. Missed frees and holding up the progression of the attack were his only real contributions yesterday.

The Galway forwards in general lacked direction yesterday. Due mostly to their inability to deal with the intensity of Tennyson, Hogan Tyrrell and JJ and the class of Tommy Walsh(who was worth the admission fee alone yesterday). I actually could not make head nor tail of Loughnannes team at all yesterday or else he just chose to ignore the warning signs Tipp gave last week. If he heeded Tipps warnings Hardiman wouldn't have started at full back, David Forde would have been left in Clarenbridge, Tony Og wouldn't have started at midfield(baffling decision), Mark Kerins would have started at No. 11 again to see if he's capable of hurling against the likes of Tennyson and Fergal Healy would have started(not brought on as a sub and taken off again?).

Three disillusioned heads made their way back over the bridge in Portumna yesterday evening and the only conclusion we could come up with is that Loughane knows his team already and he's just sending out smokescreen teams in the league to try and fool us all. It's working Ger...keep up the good work....you have us all and even yourself fooled at this stage i'd say!!!