2016 Leinster Football Championship

[AZOffaly]

Who would be in the top tier? Down were division 1 weren't they? Roscommon comfortably stayed up. I think people who agitate for a tiered championship really just want a timewarp into the All Ireland quarter finals. Maybe semis.

The harsh fact is if you are going to structure it based on close games you would have 4 or 5 teams in A and would probably need 6 different levels. But then again I get the impression that people wouldn't give a shite what those outside the top 4 or 5 do. Look at how the hurling is treated.

[Zulu]

That's nonsense in fairness AZ, what are you basing that on? What do Offaly footballers get out of the current system? They have two competitions, the Leinster championship, which they've no chance of winning and the All Ireland, which they've less chance of winning.

Link the league to the championship so you give everyone games against their peers but also give everyone a pathway to Sam which addresses Kuwabatake Sanjuro concerns. Get rid of the pointless provincials which hinder getting a proper solution to the championship. I wouldn't be in favour of splitting the counties into different competitions but now that teams prepare properly and analyse their opponents the day of the major upset will be even rarer than it was in the past.

[AZOffaly]

OK, link the league to the Championship. Down are division 1.  They were hockeyed by Monaghan. What would Dublin do to them? Then what happens? Reduce it to 6? 4?

[AZOffaly]

And as for Offaly, cheap shot, but Offaly have no interest in playing in some side water, nobody gives a shite, competition. Offaly can aim to improve in Leinster, by beating Longford, now Westmeath and maybe Kildare. Or what should they do? Know their place, and don't inconvenience the mighty Dublin by daring to play with them? f**k that.

[ardtole]

Its only 7/8 years since kerry hammered dublin, meath hammered kerry in an all ireland semi a while back. Down were missing up to 12/13 players for one reason or another, we had 7 championship debutants, i wouldnt base a new championship structure on one freak result.

[AZOffaly]

Zulu, I may have overreacted to your post. As long as everyone is in the All Ireland, and you come up with some way of seeding it to have more even matches, then I'm happy with that. I think we more or less said the same thing every year for about 5 years now.

The real issue I have is this constant bleating for tiered championships, which seems to be led by Newstalk and Ger f**king Gilroy, and Des Cahill, aka the Sunday Game highlights show. I know in my heart and soul that all they want is Dublin, Kerry, Tyrone, Monaghan, Donegal and Mayo playing each other so they can talk about that ad nauseum, rather than putting up with the inconvenience of all the other counties taking part and having to be televised. My reaction to that sort of agenda is *f**k Off*. The counties and players have repeatedly said they are not interested in some competition that RTE would drop quicker than a hot snot, and if they were lucky they'd get the 30 seconds 'reporting is John Kenny' treatment, with a condescending pat on the head for the final maybe, a lá the Hurling Tiers.

I reject the notion that a tiered championship has to be set up to give us competitive fixtures so that the TV companies, and the armchair fans, are happy to have something to watch in June. Those games come around in July, August and September anyway.

I would be very afraid that we would solve the wrong problem. i.e. Instead of wondering how we can narrow the gap between the chasing pack and the top 4 or 5, we consciously cull the bottom 26 or 27 so the poor TV analysts, and Joe.bollox.ie don't have to talk about them.

I know that wasn't your point really, but I'm getting very tetchy about all this, as someone who is dealing with young lads and sees their ambitions, and their ambitions are *not* the football equivalent of the Rackard Cup.

[heffo]

And as for Offaly, cheap shot, but Offaly have no interest in playing in some side water, nobody gives a shite, competition. Offaly can aim to improve in Leinster, by beating Longford, now Westmeath and maybe Kildare. Or what should they do? Know their place, and don't inconvenience the mighty Dublin by daring to play with them? f**k that.

Leave us out of your hissy fit please

[AZOffaly]

No offence intended to ye Pat Flanagan said if he had his way he'd play Dublin every day.

[From the Bunker]

Rotating Dublin around the Provinces. Having a 'B' Championship. And all the other Malarkey sprouted here. I for one cannot imagine a Connacht Championship without Galway, Ros, Sligo, Leitrim and even NY and London. This is what championship is all about. The back door opens up to playing outside this.

A provincial title is the first Silverware of the Summer. Football is not Hurling! Lets not create an Elite 7 or 8 like Hurling! Where Provinces like Connacht and Ulster are completely ignored and shoved into second, third and fourth grade Competitions played in front of a couple of hundred people.

[INDIANA]

Rotating Dublin around the Provinces. Having a 'B' Championship. And all the other Malarkey sprouted here. I for one cannot imagine a Connacht Championship without Galway, Ros, Sligo, Leitrim and even NY and London. This is what championship is all about. The back door opens up to playing outside this.

A provincial title is the first Silverware of the Summer. Football is not Hurling! Lets not create an Elite 7 or 8 like Hurling! Where Provinces like Connacht and Ulster are completely ignored and shoved into second, third and fourth grade Competitions played in front of a couple of hundred people.

the back-door only serves the strong now. 5 years ago it was fine

[Rossfan]

The hurling elite 8 or 10 wasn't "created".
It occurred naturally.
Football's elite since 2011 has had only 4 teams in it.
How many of the teams entering Round 1 of the Qualifiers have any interest other than fulfilling a fixture?

[AZOffaly]

Rotating Dublin around the Provinces. Having a 'B' Championship. And all the other Malarkey sprouted here. I for one cannot imagine a Connacht Championship without Galway, Ros, Sligo, Leitrim and even NY and London. This is what championship is all about. The back door opens up to playing outside this.

A provincial title is the first Silverware of the Summer. Football is not Hurling! Lets not create an Elite 7 or 8 like Hurling! Where Provinces like Connacht and Ulster are completely ignored and shoved into second, third and fourth grade Competitions played in front of a couple of hundred people.

the back-door only serves the strong now. 5 years ago it was fine

Agreed. And to be honest I think it was always intended to do so. The GAA didn't want Kerry out of the championship in July.

[imtommygunn]

They would be as well doing like they do in the minors. It would be good for the club game too.

[INDIANA]

The hurling elite 8 or 10 wasn't "created".
It occurred naturally.
Football's elite since 2011 has had only 4 teams in it.
How many of the teams entering Round 1 of the Qualifiers have any interest other than fulfilling a fixture?

Hurling elite happened through hard work. Hurling championship has never been in better shape

[Rossfan]

Yet the same team wins 8 out 10 AIs or thereabouts.