Gaa split season,killing Meath football since 2011

As its a split season they can go back training whenever they want and tailor their trainings to peak for the season in August rather than playing games and then having a month or 2 and a half off in between games

If you have designated club windows in May, June and July, you tailor your training for that.

You play league games for two months.

If you’re still in the championship by mid-July, great. If you’re not, oh well, you’ve still played championship in the peak months weather wise.

What is the problem?

Young lads would rather play FIFA on PS5 or play their own match than watch an EPL game. They’ve an encyclopaedic knowledge of players from FIFA.

Would you not think that’s a bit of a nightmare? You’re going back training in January with the hope of playing a county final in November.

Half the teams will be out of the championship by then so it won’t be a very good league.

And how exactly does this work in counties where both hurling and football are played?

October. The same as it will be in any event under the split season.

So? Leagues aren’t very good anyway.

Do players want to play or do they just want to play championship?

The same as it does now.

You have the same amount of time to work with under any system.

Teams don’t have to go back training in January in a split season.

What would your opinion be on playing through the intercounty championships until they get to the last 8 and then playing the league for a few months before going back to the quarter finals?

So we’ll say Wexford for example, you say one round of club games in May, June and July. Would this be hurling in May, football in June and hurling in July before the break? That wouldn’t get either code down to the last 8.

So you say, anyway.

I’m not proposing having the Allianz Leagues cut across the championships but the principle of it wouldn’t particularly bother me.

Other sports manage to have windows for different competitions for different teams quite successfully, which is why there is no real reason the GAA shouldn’t be able to do it.

I wonder would association football ever take a leaf from the GAA’s book and say the entire month of August should be Carabao Cup time, September to February Premier League, the FA Cup in three weeks in March, with European competition being run off from mid-March to mid-May followed by international month.

Why not schedule one round of football and hurling in each of May, June and July? That way you get down to eight teams in each.

Say your club football rounds are May 1, June 5 and July 10, with your hurling rounds on May 8, June 12 and July 17. In the inter-county windows between rounds 1 and 2 and 2 and 3, you could easily run off four inter-county fixtures for both football and hurling teams.

This is the obvious solution with Club championship getting a full run at it from Mid August to Mid February.

The bottom line is clubs don’t want championship games in July/early August with Weddings/Stags/Concerts/J1’s/Galway Races and whatever other galavanting lads get up to.

There’s a lovely window there from mid August onwards where everyone can put the head down and give their club full focus for 8-10 weeks.

The only thing that ‘gets in the way’ in this period is Electric Picnic and anyone that wants to go to that would want to get their head examined.

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I’m involved the last few years as a selector with an intermediate club. We’re looking at 11-12 of the younger fellows in their late teens, early 20’s, the college going demographic heading away this summer. Do or die championship games in July and August will be a disaster with such a depleted panel.

The important club county championship matches from late August onwards suited best as the younger fellows returned from J1’s foreign travels. This wasn’t an issue in 2020 when the county championships were played off over the summer months as nobody could leave the country then and there was nothing else going on.

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I’m calling bullshit on this

You must be living on the moon if you can’t see that young lads head away for the summer.

The more and more I think about it is going to be a disaster for the clubs.

Even if it is true, they’ve been locked up for 2-3 years, of course they’re all gonna fuck off for the summer. Its nothing to do with the split season. And best of luck to them. If they’re that good, they’ll be carrying the club for 20 years, they may as well go now.

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You’re obviously out of touch with the younger generation. It’s going to be more pronounced this summer for sure, but with lockdowns and travel restrictions for last two summers, just about every 18-22 year old is looking to go travelling this summer.

This isnt true.

I’m not sure what the GAA can do about that

Of course it has nothing to do with the split season but why arrange for games for the two main months when people are away or on holidays ?

You’ll end up with simpletons trying to pressure lads into not going away.

Because people wanted the season run off in the same calendar year. We need to do away with the intercounty Club Championships.

Also, we can’t run a Championship purely for a few students who want to go traveling.

Those J1s cost a good few thousand so i think it will be a certain demographic heading anyway. Not everyone can afford it.

11 or 12 lads from one Waterford intermediate club are going off on a J1 :laughing:

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As @peddlerscross has said, late July and the month of August is prime season for holidays/social events like weddings, Galway races etc.

Club players are real amateurs, partaking in a hobby.

Inter-county players may be amateurs but are professional in all but name.

A split season is a good idea but I do foresee big problems when the business end of the club season is cutting right across mid July and August.

Inter-county championship from mid to late June until mid September would be my preference.

The mid July All Ireland finals are here for a few years now, so let’s see how it goes. I do foresee lots of problems for clubs missing key personnel in summer months though.