8 Provinces finalists lose out?

[Hound]

Not to mention the inequity of the Provincial winners having no luxury of a loss like the rest of the teams.

This is the bullshít that really makes me worry about how thick people are.

When you are finished playing in the provincial championship, everyone only gets one chance in the All Ireland series.

NOBODY has the luxury of a loss in the All Ireland series.

The qualifier system really worked out well for Galway, Armagh and Mayo - teams who all would have been rated higher than Kildare and Down at the beginning of the championship.

Its a complete freak that all 4 provincial winners were beaten. Its certainly got the "lateral thinkers" out in force.

[Jinxy]

This is just stuff for journalists to fill a few column inches with.
The system works fine.
Maybe tweak it a small bit but in general it has been a huge success.
Far more teams are competitive, and far more teams have a realistic shot at provincial silverware.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Not to mention the inequity of the Provincial winners having no luxury of a loss like the rest of the teams.

This is the bullshít that really makes me worry about how thick people are.

When you are finished playing in the provincial championship, everyone only gets one chance in the All Ireland series.

NOBODY has the luxury of a loss in the All Ireland series.

The qualifier system really worked out well for Galway, Armagh and Mayo - teams who all would have been rated higher than Kildare and Down at the beginning of the championship.

Its a complete freak that all 4 provincial winners were beaten. Its certainly got the "lateral thinkers" out in force.

Jeez H, and you call me thick!

The Provincial Championship is an intrinsic part of the All-Ireland - it always has been, or have you forgotten that? Amazing what a few years can do to obliterate a few brain cells. "Nobody has the luxury of a loss"  So Dublin are a figment then!

Here's the inevitable, unless the omnipotent oligarchs in Croke actually waken up, Kerry and/or Tyrone, and a few others, will field their bench in the opening Championship game 2011, and most likely get beaten, and thereby enter the open-draw Championship, aka 'The Qualifiers'. Problem is then, that because the high and mighty have been oblivious to the inevitable, there's no seeding, so one or two big names will depart rather earlier than they might otherwise have hoped.

So, the Provincials fade to distraction, and Fermanagh (or whoever) get their long-coveted Provincial Championship. Trouble is, it's not worth jackshit, because those for whom it is no longer an aspiration have long since abandoned the Provincial as a goal, and instead have diverted their exertions to the real deal.

Mickey Harte's idea is spot on: those who keep winning do not play one game more than they would do today under the current system (where the quarter-final against a qualifier is replaced with a qualifier against another Provincial winner); those who lose play one game more than they do now. Big deal! You lose, you take your chances (with the added bonus of the (losing) Provincial winners getting a second chance like all the rest of the losers who've preceded them).

I applaud Pat Gilroy for having the guts to make the hard decisions this year, it took bottle for the brickbats that would inescapably follow an early Leinster exit in 2010.

You keep your head well buried in the sand, and watch as the open-draw materialises de facto around your King Canute stupor.


And the only "knee-jerk" reactions in this whole sorry mess have been from the like of Duffy against what Harte (and O'Connor) have been saying for years; such a pity his head was stuck so far up his own arse to notice.

[Rossfan]

And the only "knee-jerk" reactions in this whole sorry mess have been from the like of Duffy against what Harte (and O'Connor) have been saying for years; such a pity his head was stuck so far up his own arse to notice.

Only heard the whinge from Harte in 2009 and O'Connor ( and Harte) this year 

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

And the only "knee-jerk" reactions in this whole sorry mess have been from the like of Duffy against what Harte (and O'Connor) have been saying for years; such a pity his head was stuck so far up his own arse to notice.

Only heard the whinge from Harte in 2009 and O'Connor ( and Harte) this year 

Take your head out of your arse then 

[IolarCoisCuain]

Your original point was that we are suddenly complaining about the qualifiers now that we were knocked out in the quarters which is bull.

I think you should concentrate on analyzing what is wrong with Mayo football rather than taking potshots at Kerry folk on the basis of imagined uproar in the Kingdom about the qualifiers system.

No, Mike. My original point was that it gave me a great, big laugh to see Kerrymen and Tyronemen, after all the petty bitching over the years on this Board, finding coming ground.

I think the most frightening result of the weekend is the detente that has broken out between Tyrone and Kerry about the "unfairness" of the qualifiers. It's like a movie where Superman finds common ground with Lex Luthor because the Joker has come over from Gotham City to take over Metropolis. Really lads - what are you like?

As for your suggestion that I concentrate on analyzing what's wrong with Mayo football, Jack O'Connor has shown the way here again. Remember when he said in 2006 that Kerry's one year of hurt was worth more than Mayo's fifty? Well, that still holds. I'm having infinitely more crack here with you than I ever got out of any Mayo post-mortem. Best to think of me as being like the rain Mike - I'm here 'til the spring. 

[Mike Sheehy]

No, Mike. My original point was that it gave me a great, big laugh to see Kerrymen and Tyronemen, after all the petty bitching over the years on this Board, finding coming ground

I am glad that in your fantasy world that Kerrymen and Tyronemen agree but it will never happen in the real world because, despite the fact that it costs us AI's,  we actually love the game of Gaelic football the way it should be played.

[Maiden1]

On paper it may look unusual that the 8 provincial finalists got beat. But when you look at the teams playing in the provincial finals a lot of traditionally bigger teams had already been knocked out. in conaught Sligo were playing Roscommon, in Leinster Meath were playing Louth. In Munster Limerick were playing a Kerry team significant weaker from last year. Tyrone just got a banana skin getting Dublin in the quarter final and down caught Kerry at the right time 2 key suspensions and 4 big players retired, nothing to do with back door.

[Dinny Breen]

Perhaps JOC and MH should take a leaf out of Brian Cody's book, nothing wrong with Kilkenny today, if your good enough you will win...

[Zulu]

Not a fair comparison as Cork had only one more game than Kilkenny and this Kilkenny team are far ahead of Cork presently. I fancy will see the current Munster champions getting knocked out by a qualifier team next week.

[Dinny Breen]

Cork played 5 games to Kilkennys 2 at this stage, do honestly think if they played the last 4 Sundays in a row they would have beaten that Kilkenny side?

[Zulu]

No as evidenced by my statement above - "this Kilkenny team are far ahead of Cork presently" - which makes my point. Saying Kilkenny do fine when they win their provincial final is ignoring the fact that they are far ahead of their competitors, unlike the football equivalent. Anyway, the fact that one team can get to an AI final by winning 3 games further highlights the ridiculousness of the current system.

[Dinny Breen]

Maybe i thought there was an implicit when there was none, my point was regardless how good this Kilkenny team are they played less games and still played at a level way above Cork, JOC has implied that the break for Kerry meant they were off the pace, Kilkenny don't suffer from this affliction.

The system is flawed but Wobbler's thread probably best addresses that....

[Zulu]

The system is flawed but Wobbler's thread probably best addresses that....

It does so I won't repeat those points here. However, you seem to be saying that there is no disadvantage going through they traditional route pointing to  Kilkenny's continued success to prove this. I would say there is a disadvantage going through the traditional route but it can be overcome if you are significantly better than your opponent, as Kilkenny are. If you are not, as is sometimes the case in football, then you are disadvantaged and both Harte and O'Connor are right, even if the timing of their views detracts from their point.

[Rossfan]

As repeated ad nauseum Harte and O'Connor are whinging because their teams lost.
Unlike Kilkenny their teams had too many of yesterday's men,were on the downwards slope and were beaten by younger fresher teams.
Maybe they should ask themselves did they pick the right players, had they prepared them properly and all the other questions managers should be asking themselves after a defeat.