Is there a total disconnect between GAA Officialdom and the grass roots?

[orangeman]

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/colm-orourke-real-problem-is-close-to-home-and-close-to-the-bone-30319568.html

However, by far the most urgent issue in the GAA is the lack of a properly ordered club fixture programme. The net result of that will be seen at Dublin and Shannon airports in the coming weeks as droves of students and panellists from county teams hightail it to New York and various other cities in North America to sample life and a bit of football. More power to them too. No club or county owns a player and just because young men decide they want to walk on Fifth Avenue or have lunch by the lake in Chicago should not mean accusations of disloyalty or worse.

The exodus is created by the GAA itself. The lack of a regular fixture plan is destroying clubs, it is like a pig eating its own. Instead of worrying about players jumping ship and heading away for the summer, the GAA try to curb moves with transfers, sanctions etc while the reason many go is the lack of games at home. Another example of putting the cart before the horse.

I know this situation very well as a club manager and I'm very happy to be one too. The situation in Meath is probably better than in most counties as every club has had three championship matches, and twice as many league matches so far this year. However, there probably won't be another championship round for some time now. That is not the fault of the county board. Clubs in Meath

have plenty of matches but the fixtures for the Meath team mean that it is very unlikely the county side will be out of the championship until the end of July at the very earliest.

With the holiday period then, it could mean no club championship matches until late August. Not only that, but clubs cannot plan ahead – every club must be able to get on a war footing within a week because the next championship match might signal the end of their campaign. It is impossible to run a team properly with this uncertainty.

That does not mean we are idle at club level. There will be plenty of league games over the next couple of months which will keep everyone going, but clubs with county players will suffer. And is there not something wrong with a system where club teams play the majority of their games without their best players? It is like education for export. There is no other sport in the world where that would be tolerated.

So when there are crisis meetings to deal with supposedly big issues on the county scene, I find myself less and less exercised by it all. The real problems of the GAA are under the noses of those making big decisions. There is the annual ritual of talking about the welfare of clubs but at this time of year, when planes heading to the land of the free are full of players, when county men are reduced to visitors in their own clubs through no fault of their own, when nobody can say when a club might be playing the biggest game of the year, then it is time to stop and smell the roses. The best ones grow on club grounds.

[Zulu]

Utter Rubbish from Colm, as is increasingly becoming the norm with him. Good man Colm, piss and moan about this again but where is your solution? We all know this is a serious issue but far too many GAA people are short sighted, self serving and unwilling to make the tough decisions that could change this situation. Dual players, the provincial championships and multiple representation at IC level are the reasons clubs players have no season but it seems nobody is willing to address this.

[theskull1]

Utter Rubbish from Colm, as is increasingly becoming the norm with him. Good man Colm, piss and moan about this again but where is your solution? We all know this is a serious issue but far too many GAA people are short sighted, self serving and unwilling to make the tough decisions that could change this situation. Dual players, the provincial championships and multiple representation at IC level are the reasons clubs players have no season but it seems nobody is willing to address this.

What he's moaning about isn't utter rubbish is it though? Take your point about the lack of ideas being put forward to solve the very real issues he talks about

[Zulu]

You're right Skull, the topic he is writing about is very real and the most pressing issue in GAA, but we all know this and it has been pointed out a thousand times already so why is his article a couple of hundred words of moaning about something he, and countless others, have moaned about before with not a single suggested solution? It smacks of a man with nothing to say rehashing an easy rant. I couldn't care less if Colm thinks this is a problem but I would be interested in his opinion on a solution.

[Rossfan]

You're right Skull, the topic he is writing about is very real and the most pressing issue in GAA, but we all know this and it has been pointed out a thousand times already so why is his article a couple of hundred words of moaning about something he, and countless others, have moaned about before with not a single suggested solution? It smacks of a man with nothing to say rehashing an easy rant. I couldn't care less if Colm thinks this is a problem but I would be interested in his opinion on a solution.

+1.
We all know what the problem is but nobody is coming up with solutions or even suggestions for a start and as the 2 lads said just want to moan and whinge.
Time for some sensible club people to put together a suggested structure/schedule/calendar and put it to County conventions to get the ball rolling.
All we're getting from HQ is a A and B stream in the Qualifiers where Leitrim are in a *B stream ( the later one)  even though they were one of the first out of the Provincials or the suggestion that the worst teams in ulster and Leinster also get to play in Connacht and Munster.
* pre ordained by the Connacht Council presumably to ensure MayoWR and Galway can't meet till the Final.

[muppet]

O'Rourke & Martin Carney and a few more came up with proposals over a decade ago. I have posted the general idea here a few time and personally I liked their ideas.

Ulster/Connacht conference of 10 teams
Leinster/Munster conference of 10 teams.
Lower conference of the rest with promotion/relegation to the other 2 conferences.

Scrap the league and play a round robin in each conference, guaranteeing 9 championship games. Play them off over, say, 11 weeks.

Top two Ulster teams play an Ulster final, top two Connacht play Connacht final etc.

AI semis and final as normal. All could be run off over 15 weeks and give the clubs the rest of the year. Provincial finals protested.

[orangeman]

Interesting


By Paddy Heaney



The club, we are repeatedly informed by the great and the good of the GAA, is the 'lifeblood of the Association'. By extension, that should mean the club championship is a competition which is truly treasured by the trusted leaders who espouse this rhetoric.

The reality of the situation is somewhat different. The club championship doesn't generate the big bucks. It's the provincial championships and the All-Ireland series which net the mega-million sponsorship deals.

In the GAA, talk is cheap, it takes money to get a decision made. And when it comes to establishing their priorities, the GAA has a tendency to follow the cash. This isn't a lazy, clichéd accusation that's been trotted out to please the gallery. Look at the evidence.

Consider the havoc caused to the club competitions in Tyrone and Cork after the recent draws in the Ulster SFC and Munster SHC. A few years ago, county board officials passed a motion at Congress which introduced extra-time for first round provincial championship games.

The rationale made perfect sense. Replays deleted another weekend when club games could be played. But replays are money spinners which bring in lots of cash. The new system was quickly overturned. Replays returned. To hell with club games! It's also worth remembering that it's county board officials at Congress who support these changes which shaft club players.

The notion that the GAA is run by an autocratic leadership at Croke Park is so far off the mark it's laughable. Páraic Duffy, the GAA's director-general, was in favour of extra-time being played in first round games. But in the GAA, there can often be a significant gap between perception and reality.

The controversy which surrounded Donegal's decision to suspend their club championship until the county team was knocked out of the All-Ireland series is an excellent example.

It was widely believed that Jim McGuinness held the county board to ransom. Annoyed that so many of his players got injured during the club championship last year, the word was McGuinness said he would quit unless the county board bowed to his demands. The actual truth was less dramatic. McGuinness didn't insist that the club championship should be put on hold. In fact, McGuinness suggested the first round could be played in late April or early May. Donegal's clubs supported a proposal not to play any championship games until the county team was dumped out of the All-Ireland series.

By making a public and collective decision to postpone their championship until the county team's run came to an end, the board was only following the policy that is being practiced by the other counties in Ulster.

Indeed, it was Jim McGuinness who revealed that Donegal was the only county in Ulster that played club championship games during last year's Ulster Championship.

Tyrone's refusal to play any club games, and the county's run to the All-Ireland semi-final, meant their championship was run off in a few weeks. County champions Clonoe only had a week to prepare for their game against Ballinderry.

In a bid to avoid a repeat of that scenario, the Tyrone board pushed ahead with the first round of its club championship last weekend.

However, the dilemma faced by the Tyrone board highlights the complexity of this problem.

Damned when they postponed their championship, they were damned when they played it.

Shoe-horned into the schedule after Tyrone beat Down in a replay match in Newry, clubs had virtually no access to their players in the run up to their games.

Clonoe and Errigal Ciarán have three county players apiece. Due to their commitments to the Tyrone squad, those county players haven't played a league game with their clubs for the past month. How can you prepare for a championship fixture without playing a few games with a full team?

Donegal's clubs refused to play an early round of thechampionship because they have learned from experience that this practice can have a very negative effect on the county league.

Once clubs are knocked out of the championship, the whole spirit and drive is instantly sucked out of the league campaign. Rather than being used as a means to prepare for the championship, the league becomes a chore.

For eight senior clubs in Tyrone (Donaghmore, Strabane, Cookstown, Moortown, Coalisland, Killyclogher, Errigal Ciarán and Eskra) their championship is now over and it will feel like a long time until next year's competition comes around.

Following the introduction of the back door, the All-Ireland series has become a sprawling behemoth. Unable to predict when their team's run will end, county boards have found it difficult to schedule their club championship.

Increasingly, it has made sense for counties to delay their competitions until August and September. While GAA leaders have bemoaned the lack of regular games for club players, the Association has done little to rectify the problem.

The solution is abundantly obvious; the county calendar must be shortened. The league and provincial championships can be completed quicker. The gap between the All-Ireland semi-final and final should also be reduced. If the will existed to truncate the lucrative county competitions, most clubs could enjoy a 10-week window from July to September when there would be no conflict with the county team.

But rather than making any changes to its multi-million pound championship, the GAA wants county boards to back a proposal which will force them to make the hard calls.

A proposal from the Football Review Committee to play the All-Ireland club finals in December will be discussed at the next Central Council meeting. If passed, the changes could take immediate effect.

While it's an excellent idea which should be supported, county boards should seek some concessions.

If the All-Ireland finals are played in December, there will be no wiggle room with county and provincial championships. Fixtures will need to be played sooner.

This means county boards face difficult decisions. Decisions like Tyrone had to make last week.

That shouldn't be necessary. If the GAA was prepared to abandon first round replays and streamline its league and championship, it would be much easier for the county boards to complete their club fixtures.

And until such times as the GAA is prepared to reduce the number of weekends devoted to county competitions, all the talk about clubs being the lifeblood of the Association should be seen for what it is – it's cheap.

© Irish Examiner Ltd. All rights reserved

[blewuporstuffed]

A good article from paddy Heaney, Philip jordan has a similar piece in todays irish news.

The back door system has run its course, and until that is addressed, the club game will continue to die a slow death

[screenexile]

A good article from paddy Heaney, Philip jordan has a similar piece in todays irish news.

The back door system has run its course, and until that is addressed, the club game will continue to die a slow death

I don't think there is anything wrong with the back door... we wait too long in between County Fixtures that's the main problem. As I've stated before we should have all first round games in each province played off over 1 weekend! That would save 3 weeks in the Ulster Championship!

[blewuporstuffed]

A good article from paddy Heaney, Philip jordan has a similar piece in todays irish news.

The back door system has run its course, and until that is addressed, the club game will continue to die a slow death

I don't think there is anything wrong with the back door... we wait too long in between County Fixtures that's the main problem. As I've stated before we should have all first round games in each province played off over 1 weekend! That would save 3 weeks in the Ulster Championship!

i agree with that, or even two weekends, with sat eve & sunday fixtures. bill it as a bumper weekend or super sunday type thing to launch the championships properly.
I would eb glad to see the back of the qualifier system to behonest, but i cant see a major overhual happening anytime soon, so the best we can hope for is some sort of compression of the IC season overall