Yawn

[Rossfan]

Can we please stop with the "kick outs must go beyond...."
We get a lot of wind in this Country! Salthill, any wide open club pitch.....

[RedHand88]

Attendances this year tell you where the game is. More like a game of chess. Ruined by coaches. Says it all that soccer is now more entertaining.

Exactly. People are "finding another sport".
And while I appreciate that it was a throw away remark, it's a poor one and not the attitude the game needs.

The amount of people I know that are more interested in NFL, rugby, basketball, tennis, cycling, darts, etc, as well as the other mainstream sports like football.
Every sport on earth is easily accessible now from your TV and there are alot better ways of entertaining yourself than watching 14 men behind a ball for 70 minutes.

[quit yo jibbajabba]

Can we please stop with the "kick outs must go beyond...."
We get a lot of wind in this Country! Salthill, any wide open club pitch.....

Rule only applies when wind is below a certain level

[Rossfan]

And inland pitches only.....

[weareros]

The shot clock basketball thing would never work under current format as it would just reward and further encourage a good blanket defense that would have everyone back with the sole purpose of preventing higher percentage shots before the timer went off. You'd then be left with a game of pot shots.

[full moon]

The Quarter finals last weekend were horrible stuff particularly Armagh Roscommon and Kerry Derry. Even Galway Dublin first half was boring.

That's what happens when physical contact has been removed, it's like watching basketball on a massive pitch. Fr too easy to keep the ball and with no defined tackle and fouls given for any physical contact the game has turned into this.

Another issue is the absolute contempt the GAA treats it's own supporters with, what with ticket prices, scheduling of games at the last moment, refusing to accept cash from patrons and much more. No wonder people are turning away. It's sad because I do think Irish society needs the GAA as you tell there is a fracture in society these days and one thing GAA has been good for is community cohesion.

[GTP]

All the tinkering with the rules has brought about the current situation of teams playing with a blanket defence. Tackling is discouraged as a free against is likely to result, so you need to cover space to stop shots or passes inside the 'scoring zone'. Not to mention that there is no other way of defending against the forward mark, perhaps football's worst rule.
Players in possession seem to carry the ball at chest height so that any potential legitimate tackle they do receive is perceived to be (or is) high whilst also going to ground at the slightest touch, making proper defending almost impossible.
Define the tackle in a way that makes defending possible is the first stage.
And since people are on kickouts what about a kick out from the edge of the square. Could pin a defending team in rewarding shots even if they go wide and stretches the area of the pitch the defending team have to cover if they want to press the kickout. May also make short kickouts more difficult if they have players and ball must be outside the 21.

[thewobbler]

The Quarter finals last weekend were horrible stuff particularly Armagh Roscommon and Kerry Derry. Even Galway Dublin first half was boring.

That's what happens when physical contact has been removed, it's like watching basketball on a massive pitch. Fr too easy to keep the ball and with no defined tackle and fouls given for any physical contact the game has turned into this.

Another issue is the absolute contempt the GAA treats it's own supporters with, what with ticket prices, scheduling of games at the last moment, refusing to accept cash from patrons and much more. No wonder people are turning away. It's sad because I do think Irish society needs the GAA as you tell there is a fracture in society these days and one thing GAA has been good for is community cohesion.

I'm not sure about the contempt part, well not sure that it is a factor in attendances etc.

EPL fans are treated with absolute contempt by the clubs and the schedulers. Ticket pricing is absurd and games can move at the drop of a hat.

Yet people attend in droves for a competition in which the same team wins (nearly) every year.

Part of that is down to marketing. A larger part of it again is down to the fact that players and managers celebrate every single win, not just the one that wins a trophy. But most of it is down to it being a better, less predictable product.

[johnnycool]

Yeah the expensive days out are coming hard and fast- years ago there was less of them and the championship was obviously more spread out.

Whether its spread out or or in short weeks, if you are successful and following your team then over the season, is it not the same price?

You can spread that cost over more salaries/weeks of pay, that's the point and only point that can be made against a condensed championship.

[Milltown Row2]

Yeah the expensive days out are coming hard and fast- years ago there was less of them and the championship was obviously more spread out.

Whether its spread out or or in short weeks, if you are successful and following your team then over the season, is it not the same price?

You can spread that cost over more salaries/weeks of pay, that's the point and only point that can be made against a condensed championship.

I'm not sure whether the condense season is better or worse for the club player or county player that wants to play for his club also. We have (in football) our final games in the league this week and then we have the play offs to follow, that'll bring in some lively games leading up to championship

If the only benefit is down to cost of living, then its significant enough maybe to revert back?

[johnnycool]

Yeah the expensive days out are coming hard and fast- years ago there was less of them and the championship was obviously more spread out.

Whether its spread out or or in short weeks, if you are successful and following your team then over the season, is it not the same price?

You can spread that cost over more salaries/weeks of pay, that's the point and only point that can be made against a condensed championship.

I'm not sure whether the condense season is better or worse for the club player or county player that wants to play for his club also. We have (in football) our final games in the league this week and then we have the play offs to follow, that'll bring in some lively games leading up to championship

If the only benefit is down to cost of living, then its significant enough maybe to revert back?

I think you've misunderstood me, the only downside to the current condensed IC calendar is that it's slightly more financially difficult for supporters, however the benefits to both IC players and club players far outweigh this and the split season should be kept as is.

[Milltown Row2]

Yeah the expensive days out are coming hard and fast- years ago there was less of them and the championship was obviously more spread out.

Whether its spread out or or in short weeks, if you are successful and following your team then over the season, is it not the same price?

You can spread that cost over more salaries/weeks of pay, that's the point and only point that can be made against a condensed championship.

I'm not sure whether the condense season is better or worse for the club player or county player that wants to play for his club also. We have (in football) our final games in the league this week and then we have the play offs to follow, that'll bring in some lively games leading up to championship

If the only benefit is down to cost of living, then its significant enough maybe to revert back?

I think you've misunderstood me, the only downside to the current condensed IC calendar is that it's slightly more financially difficult for supporters, however the benefits to both IC players and club players far outweigh this and the split season should be kept as is.

Wouldn't be the first time misunderstanding someone 

But yeah, I like it, though plenty of games to cover in a short time which can be difficult for some counties

[sligoman2]

I hear all the arguments about condensed seasons and costs but the reality is that most games are not entertaining and you could hear a pin drop for most of the 4 games this past weekend.  Mickey Harte famously said he was not there to entertain and he (once again) had delivered on that.

I think Jarlath Burns is smart and motivated enough to make some changes before it's too late.  It's a sad day when people like me turn off the TV because they can't stand it anymore. 

Hurling also has become dominated by stats but the main reason hurling is now more entertaining is because you can score from 90 or 100 yards out the field so a packed defense won't work.

[Milltown Row2]

I hear all the arguments about condensed seasons and costs but the reality is that most games are not entertaining and you could hear a pin drop for most of the 4 games this past weekend.  Mickey Harte famously said he was not there to entertain and he (once again) had delivered on that.

I think Jarlath Burns is smart and motivated enough to make some changes before it's too late.  It's a sad day when people like me turn off the TV because they can't stand it anymore. 

Hurling also has become dominated by stats but the main reason hurling is now more entertaining is because you can score from 90 or 100 yards out the field so a packed defense won't work.

Most people will miss from 100 yards out, but rest is fine

[Brendan]

Hurling is so frantic they can't get the ball pucked out quick enough and back into play, even at underage teams getting tanked and they'll be looking for the quick puck out almost as if it's just more enjoyable whereas football they'll move like a slug to set up for the kickout