League semi finals back for 2012 and countdown clock

KevIRL

Definitely a good idea to bring back the semi finals. Far too many dead rubber games toward the end of the league last year. They should make it 1st v 4th and 2nd v 3rd with 1st and 4th getting home advantage.

The clock thing is worth giving a run out at the very least

The GAA have confirmed that semi-finals will be reintroduced in the top tier of Allianz football and hurling leagues.

The change will come about for the 2012 season, assuming the move is backed by Congress next April.

This year saw 'dead rubber' matches on the final day of the Division 1 campaign in both hurling and football, with the finalists in both codes already known in advance.

Bringing back the semi-finals is designed to inject some momentum into the final stages of the competition.

The Association are also considering the idea of introducing coutdown clocks and hooters for the 2012 Leagues series in the top two divisions

Diabhal Beag

Ya its a good idea. Will make the League more interesting instead of knowing the Final Two by the halfway point.

KevIRL

KevIRL wrote: »

Definitely a good idea to bring back the semi finals. Far too many dead rubber games toward the end of the league last year. They should make it 1st v 4th and 2nd v 3rd with 1st and 4th getting home advantage.

The clock thing is worth giving a run out at the very least

I don't agree with 4th place having a chance to win the league to be honest. takes from the integrity. As well as that, counties often arrange challenges between each other of which some are pretty intense so i don't see the real issue with dead rubber games. Maybe just have free admission to see the counties with nothing to play for.

Fr. Jessip

I hooter is worth trying out, but only if the game ends the next time the ball goes out of play. Seems like common sense but most of these new rules tend to avoid sense

Daysha

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't agree with 4th place having a chance to win the league to be honest. takes from the integrity. As well as that, counties often arrange challenges between each other of which some are pretty intense so i don't see the real issue with dead rubber games. Maybe just have free admission to see the counties with nothing to play for.

Agreed. Semi's worked well when division 2 was split into a A and B group. But when you've only big league of 8 counties then all counties have to do is finish in the top half and they've a semi final place.

I'd go as far to say this will create even more 'dead rubber' matches. Teams could win their first 4 games, secure their top 4 finish and won't have a care in the world about their remaining 3 games before the semi's.

flahavaj

Not sure the countdown/hooter is needed in GAa where you rarely have controversy about time added on like you do in soccer.

flahavaj

flahavaj wrote: »

Not sure the countdown/hooter is needed in GAa where you rarely have controversy about time added on like you do in soccer.

I dont think liam kearns will agree

Blackjack

[QUOTE=KevIRL;69180095They should make it 1st v 4th and 2nd v 3rd with 1st and 4th getting home advantage.
[/QUOTE]
Agree with bringing back the Semi Finals, not sure about the hooter but at least it would remove any doubt about the ref playing extra time, or not playing enough etc.

That said, if you have 1st playing 4th, you can only give one of them the home advantage...;)

In my opinion they should leave the league as it is. So what if games are dead rubber. Number 1 it saves teams having to arrange challenges and number 2 it gives younger and second string players a chance to show what they can do such as when Darren Gleeson and Mikey Heffernan lined out for Tipp v Offaly last April which i also might add was a good game to be at. It also gave players coming back from injury a run out

You could argue that the whole league is dead rubber and that teams have one eye on the championship anyway. if they want to make it exciting maybe look at it more from a relegation point of view. 2nd and third from bottom in div 1 play 2nd and third from top in div 2 for promotion/relegation. i don't think there is a huge gulf between antrim or carlow and dublin or offaly

KevIRL

Blackjack wrote: »

Agree with bringing back the Semi Finals, not sure about the hooter but at least it would remove any doubt about the ref playing extra time, or not playing enough etc.

That said, if you have 1st playing 4th, you can only give one of them the home advantage...;)

ooops

1st and 2nd to get home advantage.

Clareman

If I was left in charge of the league, I would have 3 pools of 4 in the top division and have the selections chosen on location of the teams where possible to limit the amount of travel teams have to do and try to encourage people to go to the games. E.g. Galway, Clare, Limerick and Offaly, Wexford, Cork, Waterford and Kilkenny in another. Antrim, Down, Dublin and Tipp in another (stretch I know, but roads are improving).

Each team play each other once with counties with teams still in the club championship given 2 home games where possible and the top team in each group go through to the knock out stages, 3 second place teams with the best third place team.

The second place teams and third place team play off over a weekend, 2 games on a Saturday, final on the Sunday, have a festival in Port Laoise or somewhere like that.

Then 2 weeks later you have another finals weekend, with 2 semi finals on the Saturday and the final on the Sunday.

I think the league is a great opportunity of the GAA to showcase their wares and get newer players in, under the current layout there are too many dead rubbers and walk overs with only a couple of hundred people in attendance. Having a couple of "festival" weekends will drum up interest in the town the games are being played in at least. Also, under the above, it could all be played off over 6 weekends but have 24 games played, so start in March and have it finished by the end of April at the latest, plenty of time to allow for exams and rest before the championship.

blackbelt

Totally agree with the semi finals being brought in.The way the GAA has ran the leagues is somewhat farcical when you have a team placed second not making the final playoff.Either that or have a proper league with no knockout stages and a home and away fixture basis.

As for the countdown clock,they tried this and a lot of teams never got it straight off the bat.Possibly the Leinster Final fiasco may have been avoided if such a system was in place but we'd have to install clocks and hooter systems at provincial grounds too.

IvanW

Great decision at least counties will have something to fight for towards the end of league

mrgaa1

Fr. Jessip wrote: »

I hooter is worth trying out, but only if the game ends the next time the ball goes out of play. Seems like common sense but most of these new rules tend to avoid sense

I would agree somewhat but it has to be that the ball would have to go dead at the opponents end of the field not via the sideline or via your own endline.

However introducing this extra weekend does impact club football if your county is involved as no games would be played that day as it would be too early for Friday/Saturday evening matchs.

I would hope they would play these semi's at the home ground of the team that was highest in the division. Not croke park as it would be too empty. Better to play in front of 10,000 in a packed ground rather than 30,000 in an 82,350 stadium.

The countdown clock works well in the ladies game.
I'd love to see it as the games are short enough at 35 mins a half and about 7/8 mins is wasted with slow kick outs and free takers coming out to take free's regularily. No matter how much time is wasted it's only ever 2/3 mins added on and more time wasting doesn't see it readded.

Don't agree with the ball needing to leave play though, it's not rugby where play breaks down regularily for notification on time to be given to the players. I can remember some instances last year in the league it didn't work well.

Kerry lost the game against Tyrone after a last gasp goal when a defender cleared the ball back out the pitch before it came straight back in and was punched in for the winner.

When we played Dublin and were leading by two with time up, our players (while in possession) continued to play the ball forward which was going to do nothing but give Dublin a chance to win, again i doubt the players were aware time was up.

And in the 3rd game i remember watching involving Derry/Tyrone(?), Whoever was winning by 3+ continued to play on in a some what mocking way and a lot of heavy hits were going in as the other team knew it was over, could see situations where fights develop.

If the time is stopped and displayed the players will be well enough informed on how much time they have left. Id rather see it employed as it is in the womens game. No need to give losing teams more of an advantage to win a game by making the ball have to leave play, it will just turn nasty as well when the games are 3+ if the winners decide to keep playing.