Hurling League Remains Unchanged.

Xenophile

Great to see that Hurling League format remains unchanged. I must say fair play to Wexford and Liam Griffin for taking such a tough stand.

cul beag

I would imagine Waterford will be favourites to be relegated from 1a before a ball is pucked. Its going to be a really competitive league again and i would imagine gate receipts will be up aswell.

Quixoticelixer

cul beag wrote: »

I would imagine Waterford will be favourites to be relegated from 1a before a ball is pucked. Its going to be a really competitive league again and i would imagine gate receipts will be up aswell.

That will offend some folk around here! Have to disagree with that statement, 1A is wide open again.

Quixoticelixer

Just on the thread title, strictly speaking the league format is not actually remaining unchanged! Quarter finals introduced next year, top 4 from 1A and 1B advancing, makes no sense in my opinion!

Though a relatively small change, this is the third format change since 2009. They tinkered with the 2x6 format 4 times between 1998 and 2008, for a couple of years it was expanded to 2x7. This will be the 8th time the format has been tinkered with in 15 years.

I don't like the present structure, and I think the changes introduced for next year are a step backwards, but at this stage I don't care what the format is, just pick a format and stick with it for a minimum of 6 (or more) years.

randd1

Right decision.

And while the QF's might end up being a bit lopsided in terms of competitiveness, at least they ensure that every side in the top flights has at least one competitive knockout game before the championship.

bigcat13

cul beag wrote: »

I would imagine Waterford will be favourites to be relegated from 1a before a ball is pucked. Its going to be a really competitive league again and i would imagine gate receipts will be up aswell.

Wouldn't be surprised to see Kilkenny struggle, will probably do a lot of experimenting and have doubts about what is coming through, particularily in the forwards.

Grats

Does it really matter how teams do in the 2014 League as there will be a new format for 2015? Teams can experiment all they want.

bigcat13

Grats wrote: »

Does it really matter how teams do in the 2014 League as there will be a new format for 2015? Teams can experiment all they want.

Fair point, more than likely no team will be relegated.

buck65

2 teams in relegation playoff this year in the AI final, beat 2 teams from 1b in the semis. League is aworld away from summer hurling, merely a few good games to get fit. Apart from the Dubs winning 2 years ago, who cares who wins it?

bigcat13

buck65 wrote: »

2 teams in relegation playoff this year in the AI final, beat 2 teams from 1b in the semis. League is aworld away from summer hurling, merely a few good games to get fit. Apart from the Dubs winning 2 years ago, who cares who wins it?

6 out of the last 13 league winners have gone on to win the All-Ireland, so obviously someone does care!

eigrod

bigcat13 wrote: »

6 out of the last 13 league winners have gone on to win the All-Ireland, so obviously someone does care!

5 of which were Kilkenny during a time when they were the best team in the country by a distance and could put out a second team to match most other teams.

The league & championship are two utterly different competitions and in the format it was this year, it presented big challenges to managers of the top teams, especially when beaten in the 1st game.

bigcat13

eigrod wrote: »

5 of which were Kilkenny during a time when they were the best team in the country by a distance and could put out a second team to match most other teams.

The league & championship are two utterly different competitions and in the format it was this year, it presented big challenges to managers of the top teams, especially when beaten in the 1st game.

Not true, the reason Kilkenny won so many leagues under Brian Cody was because they fielded strong teams and took the competition seriously. Can you ever recall the likes of Tommy Walsh or JJ Delaney being rested/rotated/dropped for a league match over the last 10 years. As for Kilkenny's 2nd 15 being in the top 3 or 4 teams in the country, that was complete nonsense and never was the case. They had a very strong 20/22 and then another 8 or 10 making up the numbers for training.

Quixoticelixer

In 2014, 2015 and 2016, there is no automatic promotion/relegation between divisions 1 and 2, likewise between div 2 and 3.

So for the next three seasons, the division 2 champions have to play off against the losers of a play off between the 5th and 6th placed 1B teams.

So in other words, an extra safety net for the top 12 (although realistically, an extra safety net for just Antrim and Laois), and an extra hurdle for the likes of Carlow and Westmeath.

It's as though the GAA want Carlow and Westmeath to just go away.