Is the earlier Championship a success or failure?

[thewobbler]

I don't know why we would need or yearn for sustained year-round media coverage. For example, the NFL season is little more than 4 months of the year, and always has been. Its sister programme of College Football runs in a shorter and almost parallel window. Yet "football" has grown to rule American sport.

Personally I loved the fact that this summer - even with a bloated Euros and a European Olympics taking place - the closing stages of both hurling and football stood out like beacons in the summer's sporting schedule. That the BBC had room enough to pick these events up now is no coincidence.

[Rossfan]

https://www.rte.ie/sport/football/2024/0829/1467346-split-season-means-best-of-gaa-is-happening-at-moment/

[Taylor]

https://www.rte.ie/sport/football/2024/0829/1467346-split-season-means-best-of-gaa-is-happening-at-moment/

Good piece.
Well thought out and shows the columnists/pundits up for the non sensical shite they spout week after week.

85% of players should be good enough for anyone

[Franko]

https://www.rte.ie/sport/football/2024/0829/1467346-split-season-means-best-of-gaa-is-happening-at-moment/

Good piece.
Well thought out and shows the columnists/pundits up for the non sensical shite they spout week after week.

85% of players should be good enough for anyone

Didn't know that figure - but you are correct

He could have ended the article at that point as no further justification is required

[Captain Scarlet]

Also, let's look at the previous years...when we 'owned' the summer...
No preview TV show. No players available for interviews aside from a presser at 6am...

The odd interview with a lad wearing a branded top saying F all.

That article calls out the basic laziness of some journalists..

[onefineday]

https://www.rte.ie/sport/football/2024/0829/1467346-split-season-means-best-of-gaa-is-happening-at-moment/

Good piece.
Well thought out and shows the columnists/pundits up for the non sensical shite they spout week after week.

85% of players should be good enough for anyone

Hardly an unbiased article was it, talk about confirmation bias, "leading advocate for split season calls it a resounding success".

I've said it before, for you in semi-rural areas, split season might be fantastic, in the major urban centre of the country, it just means gah is dead for 9/10 months of the year. There's minimal connection to club senior teams in Dublin clubs, that's easily evidenced by attendances at club championship games.

The other major issue with the split season is the condensed nature, meaning that gaelic sports are vying with each other for airtime and even worse, this year they had the euros and the Olympics, every year they have the culmination of the major soccer competitions, premier league, champions league etc.

But sure ignoring all these negatives, the lad who dreamt it up says it's fantastic, so that's that put to bed!

[Rossfan]

Wonder how many people attended Adult Club Championship games last weekend in the 32 Counties?

Maybe if big Dublin Clubs tried harder to attract spectators rather than poach players......
Maybe if big Dublin Clubs motivated their large memberships to go along abd support their main team......

[thewobbler]

Out of curiosity. Why would you want huge attendances at club matches?

The spectacle is not about neutrals.

[johnnycool]

Out of curiosity. Why would you want huge attendances at club matches?

The spectacle is not about neutrals.

I'm not sure where you are going with this one Wobbler, but surely the players themselves would like to play in front of bigger crowds, not to mention the bigger revenue for the county boards, no?

I believe the split season is a huge success, not just for the county players but also the club players and supporters.

Journalists will just have to work a bit harder

[imtommygunn]

I do wonder on your last point is that nearly the biggest issue... journalists can't get the same headlines out of the club game and who do we read most about the GAA from - journalists?

[Rossfan]

And then you have Spillane with the same bellyaches every week under a different headline.


Meanwhile

https://www.hoganstand.com/Article/Index/333575

[thewobbler]

Out of curiosity. Why would you want huge attendances at club matches?

The spectacle is not about neutrals.

I'm not sure where you are going with this one Wobbler, but surely the players themselves would like to play in front of bigger crowds, not to mention the bigger revenue for the county boards, no?

I believe the split season is a huge success, not just for the county players but also the club players and supporters.

Journalists will just have to work a bit harder

Everything is relative though JC.

If you're used to playing in front of 100, then 500 is relatively speaking a huge crowd.

But expecting it to go from say 100 hardcore supporters, say to 2000, isn't a realistic goal unless the match you're involved in has attained a more regional focus than a localised one. Which will happen in most counties for the actual county final. But most club championship games cannot have that "regional" focus: it's predominantly a case of parish vs parish. Which is okay in my mind. I don't see the issue with it.

[David McKeown]

As a matter of interest was that 85% of all players or 85% of IC players or 85% of GPA members?

I can see the argument both ways but for me the current system is a very poor implementation of an otherwise good idea.  The lack of respect put on provincials finals for example.  We cant possibly have a replay.  Winner on the day etc is not what the GAA I grew up adoring is all about.  The lack of time to build excitement to a big game etc.  That though may be something to do with the format and could be tweaked.

Id also be interested to know how many IC players now play in the USA over the summer versus how many played before the split season

[Blowitupref]

Conor Meyler believes the demands being placed on inter-county players is at breaking point, despite the introduction of the split season and the suspension of pre-season competitions in 2025.

In an interview with Off The Ball at last weekend's Irish Open, the Tyrone star said: "I think the inter-county commitment has just gone absolutely through the roof. And the split season, for me, being totally honest, doesn't really work for a county player because you're going from playing a full county season of 10-12 games, you go back, and then you're expected to play a full club season.

"In Tyrone, there's an even bigger expectation because you go back and play extra league games as well. And then your body is just flogged. You're being beat up.

"Your cream of the crop, your top players, are just being flogged, and then you are straight into pre-season. So there's no downtime, no chance to reset before you get back going.

"So hopefully now with the pre-seasons gone, and the GPA brought forward the motion of 'no contact' November, which I think is a great idea, I'm friendly with some rugby boys and you see how well managed they are in terms of moving from one team to the next, and taking time off, and prioritising all that."

He added: "I just think that in Gaelic Games sometimes, across all three codes, we just flog players to a point when they break down or they have to retire."

[Goals_Will_Come]

Conor Meyler believes the demands being placed on inter-county players is at breaking point, despite the introduction of the split season and the suspension of pre-season competitions in 2025.

In an interview with Off The Ball at last weekend's Irish Open, the Tyrone star said: "I think the inter-county commitment has just gone absolutely through the roof. And the split season, for me, being totally honest, doesn't really work for a county player because you're going from playing a full county season of 10-12 games, you go back, and then you're expected to play a full club season.

"In Tyrone, there's an even bigger expectation because you go back and play extra league games as well. And then your body is just flogged. You're being beat up.

"Your cream of the crop, your top players, are just being flogged, and then you are straight into pre-season. So there's no downtime, no chance to reset before you get back going.

"So hopefully now with the pre-seasons gone, and the GPA brought forward the motion of 'no contact' November, which I think is a great idea, I'm friendly with some rugby boys and you see how well managed they are in terms of moving from one team to the next, and taking time off, and prioritising all that."

He added: "I just think that in Gaelic Games sometimes, across all three codes, we just flog players to a point when they break down or they have to retire."

Meyler likes to hear himself. Glad 87% are in favour of the split season.