All four (five) of those games were close, which made them memorable. And there was an expectation beforehand they would be close.
I accept that having both semi-finals on one weekend is a sacrifice that may be necessary, but I donât think it helps the overall attention on the games themselves.
I think the two years in which the football semi-finals were held on the same weekend were very underwhelming.
Dublin v Galway 2018 was a non-event a bit reminiscent of some of Dublinâs Leinster matches against Kildare and Meath.
In 2019, Dublin v Mayo completely overshadowed Kerry v Tyrone, which youâd barely have known was on such was the lack of attention on it, and the latter drew just 31k.
Galway v Clare 2018 did have a replay as it still finished level after extra-time - which looked like a brilliant occasion - but Cork v Limerick ended with a pretty one sided period of extra time. Thatâs a huge amount of media attention and money for the GAA passed over because of the new extra-time rule.
My only changes to it would be make the Fitzgibbon Cup and Sigeraon Cup straight knockout. Ridiculous carry on of senior intercounty players being flogged with five/six/seven matches on bog pitches and then straight into the start of the league. Ludicrous.
Push the championship back a few week. Start the hurling championship the May Bank Holiday weekend. Final the August Bank Holiday weekend. Three months to run it off. Both counties who reach the AI final can start their club championships two weeks later, in the middle of August. Still loads of time to run everything off.
Canât wait for the club championship. Donât know anyone involved with a club team this year, be it player or coach, who doesnât favour this new system. Itâs not without its flaws but itâs a damn sight better than what went before it.
Much better this than starting back again in September after two matches back in March or April.
Said it before and Iâll say it again - the intercounty scene is not the GAA. Thereâll be clubs whoâll win junior and intermediate county titles this year and itâll mean as much to them as any senior intercounty All-Ireland.
That would be every club Iâd imagine. And rightly so. Itâs a sporting organisation not an advertising agency. Itâs priority should be running competitions for players and local supporters not giving gobshites who go to two games a year something convenient
The idea that is good for the club is nonsensical. Itâll lead to the end of many clubs. Youâve just handed the first 7 months of the year to inter county teams While the club championships will be played while the majority of the country goes on holidays.
The clubs have been sold a pup. The inter county season needed to be shortened. A split season was not required.
Sorry but this is absolute rĂĄimĂŠis. Club attendances are already well down on what they were 30 or 40 years ago and clubs are still thriving and developing modern facilities. If you are going to make an assertion like this, at least back it up with facts and evidence.
The evidence will be in the next few years as it becomes impossible for clubs to raise funds and walk overs become common place in senior championships.
Itâs only a few posts ago you were telling us intercounty players were planning their rehab for during the club season. Surely if lads are asked to play club games the week before an All-Ireland semifinal they wonât get out of the bed at all?
The whole point is uncertainty on dates of games. If thatâs set in stone people can plan holidays around them if they want. The system of playing two games in April or may and sitting on edge for months waiting for a county team who you have no players on to be knocked out of a championship is ridiculous. You then have at best two weeks notice that you are going to start back up. What happens holiday plans then?
Remember the guys in croke park sold the tv rights to sky sports. Do lads actually think they care about the clubs?
This has given them a clear run at seven months of the year. Creating championships where itâs impossible to get knocked out off while the clubs will play their main games in front of ten supporters in July and august.
The the inter county game needed to be cut back. Whatâs happening here is itâll only become a bigger beast.
The GAA has survived 4 different eras of emigration, the decline of the Church with which it was so entwined, the popularity and exposure of soccer and rugby along with other sports, the emrgence of television, the INTERNET, video games, immigration into Ireland and numerous other cultural change and phenomena and is still thriving after nearly 140 years; do you really believe the splitting of the season is going to kill it?
Its way too early to tell what kind of affect it will have. The covid has probably skewed the numbers a bit , particularly at intercounty level.
Itll take at least another year. I suspect they may tweak it a bit next year