Is it time for a "development" league system?

[Lone Shark]

Please note that I initially posted this up on uibhfhaili.com, so apologies for the somewhat local slant in places - however the point is the same all across the country...

Following on from the cancellation of all the O'Byrne cup matches this weekend, a thought occurred to me, which has either missed out some criminally obvious aspect or else might be worth further exploration.

We play O'Byrne and Walsh Cup matches in January, with little or no remarks being passed to the result. Teams like UCD and Antrim have recorded Walsh Cup wins in recent years, while Kilkenny's steady run of success means little to them either. Some counties use experimental teams, while others go nearly full pelt, only to disregard anything that happens since the conditions are so adverse.

Ultimately, there is little point to playing games at this time of year- results are ignored, players who do well get little credit for it, and it shortens the whole off season, which makes no sense. (If we think about it logically, the idea that counties wouldn't train for the winter but would suddenly be able to line out as a team on the first or second weekend in January is a nonsense.)

So how about this - the leagues don't start until much later, and are cut down to 5/6 teams per division, plus a final and a relegation final in each division. That way each team is guaranteed five meaningful games. Counties can play their first string sides pretty much the whole way through, or near enough, which should heighten supporter interest. By knocking out February, there is a good chance of getting some of the worst of the weather behind everyone, and we still should have no more weeks when hurling and football are on together than we do now.

However here's the kicker, which sells it to managers - the O'Byrne/Walsh/McKenna/FBD/Waterford Crystal cups and all their likes are all repackaged and turned into development leagues, which take place alongside the leagues - much like the "A" internationals take place during the six nations in rugby. Colleges would probably have less interest in taking part since the Sigerson and Fitzgibbon cups would be underway or completed, however the counties could use them as they see fit in order to give slightly more meaningful games to the guys on the panel who don't get risked in the bigger league games. The ties could be kept pretty regional so as to minimise costs and give more flexibility in terms of scheduling.

Essentially, based on last year's league results, Offaly would be in division two of the hurling league and division four of the football, but we would also play development hurling league, probably with Westmeath, Laois, Galway, (Dublin, Wexford, Antrim, Kilkenny and Carlow making up the other group) and development football, perhaps with Longford, Westmeath and Laois - other groups would be WX/KK/CW/WW and D/MH/LH/KE. The system would require a little tweaking in the hurling, and some counties might not like to take part, but the whole thing could be shunted around to make it work. From what I can tell, the advantages would that:

(1) More games taking place in better conditions, less games in the dead of winter.
(2) Less demands on the guys at the head of the squad, more opportunities for those trying to break through.
(3) People would get to see players that they don't know much about, plus a fringe player might make a better case for inclusion scoring 1-4 against Laois "A" in April than he would do in an O'Byrne/Walsh cup game in January that gets forgotten about.
(4) Local rivalry should lead to decent attendances at these games.
(5) Easier to enforce closed season.
(6) More interest in headline league, since each game would be of heightened importance and would be of more relevance to championship.
(7) An excellent stepping stone for players who perhaps didn't play county minor or under 21, but have shown some form in club championships and manager wary of giving them the step up.
( Players who need football after coming back from injury or gaining weight could play both.

The negatives that I can see are:

(1) County managers would want to take charge of both teams, meaning that they would argue that demands are increased. I don't see why this would be the case though - surely a selector for the seniors would take charge of the "A"'s, while the matches could even be as part of a double header in many cases.
(2) Co-existence with the under 21 championship. This aspect would be difficult to work out - I'm not sure what the answer is myself, but I don't see why it couldn't be run alongside it with a little bit of tweaking.
(3) Slightly bigger squads needed to cover for this - I'm not sure I agree with this - managers mostly work with panels of thirty anyway, and with a few extra under 21's I'm sure very few extra bodies would be needed. If times were really tight, managers could offer players an "A" panel position - whereby they get the opportunity to train and play for the "A"'s, but no mileage or expenses paid. I'm sure there would be some local-based players who would happily take it up, while others might even go for it on the grounds of taking an opportunity to get into the full squad for the summer.
(4) Sponsors such as FBD and Waterford Crystal might not be as keen - but I'm guessing other more locally based sponsors might come on board.

So overall, what am I missing here? Is this actually a good idea, or is it impractical for reasons that I haven't thought of? I'm aware that this is just seat of the pants stuff, so there are probably plenty of holes in the logic!

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Interesting suggestion there Lone Shark, though I wouldn't necessarily be in full agreement with this observation:

...results are ignored, players who do well get little credit for it

For example, I don't think Mickey Harte will be taking performances from the potentials as anything other than worthy of 100% of proper and fair evaluation.

[Lone Shark]

Interesting suggestion there Lone Shark, though I wouldn't necessarily be in full agreement with this observation:

...results are ignored, players who do well get little credit for it

For example, I don't think Mickey Harte will be taking performances from the potentials as anything other than worthy of 100% of proper and fair evaluation.

Obviously we each know our own counties best, however my gut feeling would be that if that's the case, then Harte is the exception rather than the rule. Nonetheless I stand by my view that a good performance in an "A" type fixture in April would be of more merit than a performance against better opposition but who may or may not be trying very hard in January.