Combination Teams

Carcharodon

Just wondering what peoples thoughts are on combination teams like South Kerry, after beating Dr Crokes in the Kerry Championship final, they will not be able to compete in All Ireland Club Championships because they are made up of many teams. So they are able to compete in Kerry Championships but not Munster and All Ireland, so they are saying that you can win this but not this...
I know that there are many reasons for having combination teams, which i am not too familiar with i must admit but it does annoy me that my Club which has Championship status is in a lower division than many of the teams that make up South Kerry. They really do have the pick of some great players, when your able to have Maurice Fitz as sub for some games it says something.
I am not bashing the system, i probably dont fully understand it but it can be unfair on other teams in Kerry and also on the winners South Kerry at the end of the day. Its fair enough to say a combination team is made up of weaker teams but i believe this is untrue in this case.

thirdmantackle

don't have a problem with a few neighbouring junior clubs banding todegther to play senior - makes the senior championship more competitive, improves those junior players

prefer to see proper 'club' teams winning though

Kojak

I personally don't like the site of combination teams for one particular reason: For the panel of say 25 players how many more are left in the stands or at home etc.

I have seen this a few times where teams amalgamate and produce a reasonably strong Senior or Intermediate team (i.e their top team) but from a pick of players where they should be able to fiels 3 junior teams they have to have only 1 junior team. This reduces the number of lads playing hurling/football which cannot be good.

As regards comination teams in the club championships I don't think its a major issue as look at most Dublin club teams - they could be easily called combination teams as they have lads playing for them that represent other counties. Its not just Dublin (its more evident there) but it usually happens in the big urban centres.

cournioni

I am totally against it at senior and junior level. It shouldn't be allowed unless a team does not have a pick of say 20 players. I really don't see the point. It is depriving the lesser players from playing a game just so the strength and quality of teams can be better with a bigger pick of players.

I play for Shercock, a Junior club here in Cavan and I wouldn't even consider togging out for an amalgimation with one of our neighbours, Kingscourt, Knockbride, Bailieborough or god forbid Drumgoon. I just couldn't imagine myself rising my game for a team that means nothing to me.

We have gone out on our own in the u21 championship and we have beaten the favourites and one of the best teams in the county Ballinagh. Before the game there was talk of us joining with Bailieborough or Kingscourt, if we had we wouldn't have had the chance to test ourselves on our own against the likes of Ballinagh. Now we are playing against Lavey (hello Lemlin ), for a place in the u21 final. Something which no other junior club has done AFAIK and we want to be one of the first to do so.

My point is, if you have enough players for a team you should be fielding a team on your own and not joining up with some other club who means nothing to you.

chubba1984

Kerry is one of the feew counties that plays a proper divisional system i.e. clubs have their own championships and every player in the county has a chance to play senior football if they're good enough. The system has benefited them at county-level, the results speak for themselves. Cork also have a similar divisional system but the predominance of clubs like Nemo Rangers doesn't cause the same debate to arise.

In Kerry the bigger club teams and divisions play the county championship. In my opinion a system like that would benefit Clare greatly. There are currently 16 Senior teams, 8 Intermediate and numerous Junior teams. A system where the 8 strongest clubs and 4 divisional teams might be of more benefit.

For example would we ever have heard of Pat Spillane if was playing in Division 5 of the Kerry League with Templenoe, he won 2 county championships with Kenmare. Maurice Fitzgerald would never have a county medal with St. Mary's Caherciveen but now he has three with South Kerry and despite the size of the South Kerry division he had to wait til his mid-thirties to win one, hardly an argument for the imbalance of power in county championships with divisional structures. I'd prefer to see a young fella from Derrynane winning an All-Ireland club medal with South Kerry then to see an All-Star lineup from UCD winning without a Dub in sight, to slightly paraphrase the aforementioned Mr. Spillane.

The Rooster

There is no doubt in my mind that the combination system is a huge benefit to the intercounty team. It allows the best junior club players to play senior championship football - it improves the standard of those players and all the players who play senior championship because the standard is raised - and thus improves the county team.

Carcharodon

chubba1984 wrote:

Kerry is one of the feew counties that plays a proper divisional system i.e. clubs have their own championships and every player in the county has a chance to play senior football if they're good enough. The system has benefited them at county-level, the results speak for themselves. Cork also have a similar divisional system but the predominance of clubs like Nemo Rangers doesn't cause the same debate to arise.

In Kerry the bigger club teams and divisions play the county championship. In my opinion a system like that would benefit Clare greatly. There are currently 16 Senior teams, 8 Intermediate and numerous Junior teams. A system where the 8 strongest clubs and 4 divisional teams might be of more benefit.

For example would we ever have heard of Pat Spillane if was playing in Division 5 of the Kerry League with Templenoe, he won 2 county championships with Kenmare. Maurice Fitzgerald would never have a county medal with St. Mary's Caherciveen but now he has three with South Kerry and despite the size of the South Kerry division he had to wait til his mid-thirties to win one, hardly an argument for the imbalance of power in county championships with divisional structures. I'd prefer to see a young fella from Derrynane winning an All-Ireland club medal with South Kerry then to see an All-Star lineup from UCD winning without a Dub in sight, to slightly paraphrase the aforementioned Mr. Spillane.

I am not going to say your wrong because you probably have a greater knowledge of the system then i do but we would surely of heard of Pat Spillane as in the cream always rises to the top.
Whats to say Maurice Fitz would not of won a county medal with St Marys, they are a decent team with some great players.
You say Maurice Fitz had to wait till his mid thirties to win one but can also say now that Colm Cooper has been denied two in two years.
South Kerry have won three in a row, the last team to do this was East Kerry not so long ago. South Kerry are made up of strong teams, of which some would hold their own against other championship teams.

A player from South Kerry cannot win an All Ireland Club medal because they are not allowed represent Kerry, Crokes do.....do you feel this is right....i personaly dont

chubba1984

Carcharodon wrote:

I am not going to say your wrong because you probably have a greater knowledge of the system then i do but we would surely of heard of Pat Spillane as in the cream always rises to the top.
Whats to say Maurice Fitz would not of won a county medal with St Marys, they are a decent team with some great players.
You say Maurice Fitz had to wait till his mid thirties to win one but can also say now that Colm Cooper has been denied two in two years.
South Kerry have won three in a row, the last team to do this was East Kerry not so long ago. South Kerry are made up of strong teams, of which some would hold their own against other championship teams.

A player from South Kerry cannot win an All Ireland Club medal because they are not allowed represent Kerry, Crokes do.....do you feel this is right....i personaly dont

I feel that the Kerry county championship (it is not called the club championship, thay is a separate competition) is the best run and most productive championship for producing county teams. Every player has the opportunity to play in it, if they are good enough.

I play for an Intermediate club in Clare. 10 years ago our first team played Junior B. We formed an amalgamation with 2 neighbouring Junior clubs to play Senior championship in de mid-to-late 90s. Despite the amalgamation not performing exceptionally well, it exposed the players to Senior football and therefore a higher standard. Of the three clubs involved 2 are intermediate and one senior. Standards improved because of the exposure to senior football. Kerry allows every player to play at this standard, therfore improving the county set-up and giving every player the chance to win a senior county medal. That, in my personal opinion, can only be a good thing.

On the issue of Dr. Crokes being in the All-Ireland championship and South Kerry not, i believe it is correct. The All-Ireland "Club" championship is exactly that, a club competition. Ballyroan Gaels won de laois championship and can't compete depite having 12 players from one club and 3 from another in the same parish. The club competition is exclusively for clubs, not divisions/amalgamations. And to answer another point, a player from South Kerry can win a club all-ireland but his club must win de kerry club (not county) championship first, similar to how Milltown-Castlemaine repesented Kerry 2 years ago and An Ghaeltacht did last year.