Throw in as well the long game from Croke Park to strip provincial councils of their powers and the relentless drive in the media from the likes of Martin Breheny and the Off The Ball crew for a āChampions Leagueā type Championship structure. All packaged up now under the cloak of the split season.
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When Dublin played Mayo in the 2015 draw and replay, Ger Gilroy pleaded, āwhy canāt we have more of this?ā
You canāt have more of it because by creating āmoreā of it you remove the jeopardy and run down the very product youāre trying to improve. Dublin v Mayo in 2015 was intoxicating precisely because it was such an occasion is rare and because jeopardy is total. Itās a prize fight.
Thereās a fundamental misunderstanding of the GAA public here. The hardcore turn out for League matches in the winter and spring to get out of the house, they also know well in advance when these games are on.
In terms of the championship, the GAA public will only turn out in large numbers if thereās an occasion on offer and/or jeopardy. The Munster hurling Premier League at least offers a watered down version of jeopardy for the moment, so people turn out, and non-Waterford games at least become occasions. The Ulster football final offers competition and occasion, so people turn out.
This group stage in the football championship does neither. Thereās no jeopardy, so thereās no turn out. People know there will be a poor turn out, so that drives own dynamic for an even worse turn out. Itās like how opinion polls can often underestimate a trend and miss dynamics going on underneath the surface.
The irony is the new system takes away the chance of the very replay that created the āmoreā Dublin v Mayo in 2015 that Ger Gilroy and everybody else so loved. That game would have gone to extra time and penalties if necessary under the current system and there would have been less, not more. Now weāre stuck with the less because the Ger Gilroys wanted more.
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Put the groups and/or back door WITHIN the provincial championships. Then the four winners play semis
What format would you opt for if you were ard stewerwhore?
Is there a draw for these preliminary quarter-finals or it already fixed that 2nd in Group A plays 3rd in Group B etc? It would be a pity if Kerry played Armagh in the round of 12. Both of those have plenty to add to this championship.
Thatās an amazing statistic. I almost doubted itās validity for a split second but you can never doubt a serious internet operator like @peddlerscross. He has Limerick backers and split season zealots lining up to attempt haymakers on him but they rarely connect.
The 10 non provincial winners would be: Wicklow, Carlow, Wexford, Longford, Louth, Waterford, Antrim, Fermanagh, Kilkenny and Limerick. Wexford, Limerick and Fermanagh all came agonisingly close to winning provincial honours during relative halcyon days in the 2000ās.
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And Louth!!
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Its an amazing statistic alright.
Just two years of this Split Season/Tailteann Cup nonsense has been enough to effectively end Gaelic Football as a pastime in Tipperary, a County who have made 2x All Ireland Football Semi Finals in the past 8 years.
Its like an atomic bomb this Split Season/Tailteann Cup.
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Closest of all. An absolutely iconic game on the same day as the World Cup Final. They had a fine team back then alright. Paddy Keenan and that curly haired livewire Colm Judge.
As Derry progress & improve. Is Ordhan Lynch a live candidate for FOTY if they win Sam?
Has Cluxton or other Gaelic Football keepers won that award before?
Shane McGuigan will walk it if Derry win the AI.
On another note, i see John Fogarty wants to bring in some kind of ābonus pointā system into the Super Sweet 16 to jizz things up a bit 
I dunno, heās the QB who starts the offence, gets involved as the spare man whilst making some fine saves.
Real MVP material
This whole thing has been a crock of shite from top to bottom and to the detriment of, dare I say it, club football - the very basics of the game. Weāre here in lowly Leitrim, out of everything gearing ourselves up for a club championship beginning the August weekend. The prime months of Summer conveniently bypassed to suit āthe scheduleā. Do I need to go onā¦ā¦.
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A goalkeeper cousin of mine won the Texaco Footballer of the Year.
Club players will tell you itās great though. Certainty around when games are and when you are training towards.
No, but youāll hardly let that stop you
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Benefits of format havenāt been seen yet. It will produce 4 rounds of knock out games which should be decent.
It is great.
It doesnt matter. Lads have already made up their minds. Fall in.
Its been an unmitigated disaster. Where once interest in Championship would now be reaching fever pitch today it is at an all time low
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