I don't like soccerisms creeping into GAA but this is one that could improve the excitement of the All-Ireland football championship big time. Apparently it even got Jack O' Connor's seal of approval!!
At the moment, I feel sorry for weak teams Ulster and Leinster, Ulster particularly, who probably have the most competitive provincial championship and also for weak teams in Connaght and Munster.
Its very difficult for a team like say, Monaghan or Down to come out of Ulster clean and straight into a quarter final. Its not easy to come out of such a competitive province and then go far. Also the weaker teams in Munster and Connaght must see provincial finals as almost impossible. Like how do Tipperary ever expect to beat Kerry or Cork but if they were in Leinster maybe they'd stand a better chance. Then what if Kerry were put in Ulster, would they cruise to the AI quarter final as easily. It seems Cork or Kerry are almost guarenteed a quarter final spot as one of them will win Munster. Same goes to Mayo and Galway. It just seems like some teams have a much greater and tougher distance to travel.
Imagine 8 groups of 4 (32 counties - ok I know theres New York and London but lets imagine theres 32 teams) and each team plays each other twice, home and away or alternatively just once in a neutral ground. The top 2 qualify into the All-Ireland last 16 whereas the teams in 3rd and 4th place could go into a Tommy Murphy like cup. Could you imagine Kerry playing say Kildare in their first game or Galway playing say Cavan in their first. Wouldn't it be more interesting and wouldn't every team get a fair crack at it and also get to play more games? It would also give a good indication of the the most consistent teams and some of the weaker counties might get a better chance of getting far and would at least go into the 2nd division (Tommy Murphy) tournament. They could seed the groups on how each county performed in the previous year.
I wouldn't like to loose the provincial championships as they are a big part of the tradition but they could be played seperately on another time of the year or even replace the National League. Playing them seperately might even restore their significance as I find the backdoor system has slightly taken away from the interest of the provincial comps.
Whatye think?
At the moment, I feel sorry for weak teams Ulster and Leinster, Ulster particularly, who probably have the most competitive provincial championship and also for weak teams in Connaght and Munster.
Its very difficult for a team like say, Monaghan or Down to come out of Ulster clean and straight into a quarter final. Its not easy to come out of such a competitive province and then go far. Also the weaker teams in Munster and Connaght must see provincial finals as almost impossible. Like how do Tipperary ever expect to beat Kerry or Cork but if they were in Leinster maybe they'd stand a better chance. Then what if Kerry were put in Ulster, would they cruise to the AI quarter final as easily. It seems Cork or Kerry are almost guarenteed a quarter final spot as one of them will win Munster. Same goes to Mayo and Galway. It just seems like some teams have a much greater and tougher distance to travel.
Imagine 8 groups of 4 (32 counties - ok I know theres New York and London but lets imagine theres 32 teams) and each team plays each other twice, home and away or alternatively just once in a neutral ground. The top 2 qualify into the All-Ireland last 16 whereas the teams in 3rd and 4th place could go into a Tommy Murphy like cup. Could you imagine Kerry playing say Kildare in their first game or Galway playing say Cavan in their first. Wouldn't it be more interesting and wouldn't every team get a fair crack at it and also get to play more games? It would also give a good indication of the the most consistent teams and some of the weaker counties might get a better chance of getting far and would at least go into the 2nd division (Tommy Murphy) tournament. They could seed the groups on how each county performed in the previous year.
I wouldn't like to loose the provincial championships as they are a big part of the tradition but they could be played seperately on another time of the year or even replace the National League. Playing them seperately might even restore their significance as I find the backdoor system has slightly taken away from the interest of the provincial comps.
Whatye think?