Newstalk: Off The Ball

Pussyhands · 24-01-2022 11:27pm

Then they advertise the rugby show - great I think to myself...

Then...on comes Fiona Hayes. I got a pain in my ear listening to her squeak. Another Ursula Jacob. I literally had to turn the volume down it was so bad, then I struggled to hear Joe and Gerry.

Fiona Hayes: "I was textin' Fiona and we were wanderin' " Can they not get someone on who doesn't butcher the english language? The word is WONDERING.

Tell me how · 25-01-2022 12:02am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118528294#Comment_118528294

No one gets into GAA because of their local club

Think that's completely untrue for most GAA players. The GAA is one of the strongest community builders throughout Ireland. Many successful intercounty players (including two OTB commentators, David Brady iirc and definitely Tommy Walsh) speak very passionately about what the club means to them. I know Brian Cody still gets involved with his local club even while being Kilkenny manager. I know in my own county players who could have easily picked up county titles if they transferred to other clubs, stuck with their own local club because of what it meant to them.

Without the club, the GAA would fall apart because there isn't the market for it to be a professional entity in its own right and without the development clubs put in to players, it would fall apart in my opinion. Or at least become a shadow of what it is.

Very few players would play more than ten high tempo intercounty games in a season, suggesting that that is what their year amounts to, not to mind those on the fringes who would play much less if they were to only commit to county would not be something that would appeal to most players I expect.

I'd much rather see central council say that counties can't prevent club players playing outside of a two week window within championship games and that after that it is left to the player to decide.

Tell me how · 25-01-2022 7:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118527565#Comment_118527565

I think they've spread themselves way too thin since OTB AM started.

Was thinking in particular about this earlier, what do you think has changed with respect to spreading themselves too thin? If I'm not mistaken, OTB AM coincided pretty much with Eoin Sheehan coming on Board and since then, him and Ger are primarily focused on that. A lot of their content does overlap with comments from contributors from that show being played for a minute on the evening show,

One area I think they could definitely improve is having more consistent spots on sports outside of the major heavy hitters. Motorsport (particularly F1) and definitely cycling are near year round events with a lot of interest in them which I think are deserving of at least weekly sports. the same could be said about tennis, athletics, boxing/UFC, as well. Boxing in particular pretty much disappeared along with Andy Lee. Always think giving spots like that to junior staff would be a way to upskill them and build experience.

I suppose as I write that and think that Soccer/Rugby/GAA and then Golf/Horseracing dominate all shows then it could be said to be the same content spread across more hours as you suggest. None of the other sports shows/podcasts seem to give any more attention to these lower tier sports on a consistent basis either so maybe the market just isn't there for it.

Tell me how · 25-01-2022 10:42pm

Just listened to interview with Joe Quaid, former Limerick Hurler. Joe Molloy was doing the interviewing, thought it was excellent and nearly an hour long. Some very poignant stuff in it from losing his father, the horrific injury he suffered and then seeing his nephew win the All Irelands. The Quaid family has some hurling legacy.

Couldn't believe it when I saw the time on the video at the end. He was being interviewed because Laochra Gael have done a documentary on him.

Jayesdiem · 26-01-2022 9:10am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118526603#Comment_118526603

He’s the guardian and defender of the show on here. If he was the mod, and thank god he isn’t, he’d be banning people for not sharing his opinions.

Tell me how · 26-01-2022 2:41pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118533798#Comment_118533798

First true thing you've ever said on this platform, would definitely ban people. Not for not sharing my opinions, I'm hear for discussion but for being incessantly and nauseatingly whiny.

If that's all you have to offer, stick to Facebook.

Did you smash it · 26-01-2022 3:02pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118528500#Comment_118528500

“There is no market in Ireland for professional GAA” to paraphrase

seems strange given countries, in Eastern Europe, far poorer than ours has a market for professional ladies basketball, handball and volleyball leagues.

Pussyhands · 26-01-2022 3:42pm

Annoying hearing the same people speak all the time. Wouldn't mind listening to some basketball discussion but not that Kieran Donaghy.

The man who "gave up his job to focus on training for Kerry"

I think it was more a thing that Donaghy and a few others were aware of plans by Ulster Bank to pull out of Ireland and jumped ship with a nice severance package! He was in another job a couple months later then.

https://www.joe.ie/sport/kerry-captain-kieran-donaghy-gives-up-his-job-to-concentrate-on-gaelic-football-495678

kksaints · 27-01-2022 11:37am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118535424#Comment_118535424

There's no market for it in the Gaa's current setup. You'd need to reduce the number of teams in both codes considerably and You'd need to increase the number of intercounty matches also. This would be unacceptable to a large number of GAA supporters and administrators.

Sunny Disposition · 27-01-2022 12:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118528500#Comment_118528500

The GAA is all about the club though, and this is kind of the issue with some of the Off the Ball GAA coverage I think, the presenters don't really seem to understand it.

Inter county is an enjoyable diversion, and it's great seeing your county winning big games, but club level is just more significant for the vast majority of GAA people. People are way more likely to back their clubs fundraising than their county's for example, because they have greater ties there.

I do feel with the OTB lads, and certain other journalists, they spend so much of their working life focused on intercounty and other elite level sport that they end up with a rather distorted view.

Club level may not be as sexy as intercounty, but it is more homely and people feel closer to it and passionate about it.

In my view the GAA has a whole has put too much focus on intercounty for the last 20 years or so, but with the split season the pendulum does seem to be swinging. The clubs got neglected far too long, fixtures were the biggest issue for the GAA while the media were talking about the use of Croke Park and pay for play, but a bit more commonsense seems to be returning.

Also, intercounty hurling seems to me to be losing its appeal. I still go to games and watch a lot of them on TV, but I do find them far duller now than I once did. The entertainment is often better at club level now, even though the ability levels of the players is obviously not as high.

Jayesdiem · 27-01-2022 12:10pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118539373#Comment_118539373

That’s exactly the issue. Economically, Ireland is a wealthy country and could support it. However, brand new pro teams called “Dublin South”, “Cork”, “Belfast” and “West of Ireland” might well be the order of the day. The Leitrims and Wicklows would be swallowed up in this and the new teams might also have fancy monikers such as “Vikings”, “Raiders”, “Rebels” etc etc. This would be a strange landscape and a hard sell to many GAA people. The demographics of hurling would probably demand entirely different teams based on the geographical spread so you might theoretically have someone being a “Galway” fan in hurling but a “West of Ireland” fan in football simply because of where the economic centre point is in each sport. This would be really difficult to swallow for me at least. Of course you could have the current organic intercounty structure as an amateur feeder to the pro system but then you are readily admitting it is a second rate comp, much like the AIL is in rugby. It’s demographics, not finances , that prevents all of this from happening.

Did you smash it · 27-01-2022 12:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118539373#Comment_118539373

Yes you would. There is little appetite for it. The intercounty game in football has been desperate for years. There’s little joy for the vast majority of teams.

but if people want to be tied to a dead animal because of tradition and county pride that’s on them

Did you smash it · 27-01-2022 12:24pm

My point is that there is a market for professional Gaelic football, we just choose, for now, to keep to an intercounty system that has told us all its ever going to tell us.

Pussyhands · 27-01-2022 12:44pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118539563#Comment_118539563

Obviously people are gonna donate more to their local club, because it's local people in it. The local club is seen as an amenity and facility for the town and it's people.

No one is downplaying the participation or fondness of locals for their local club.

Just like people are more likely to donate to their local soccer club over a Premier League club.

But ask Cillian O'Connor if he'd rather win a club all Ireland or a county all Ireland and I'd know the answer. Same with most players.

I'd say county jerseys outsell all local club jersey sales by multiples.

When I was a kid I got a county branded football, not local club branded one etc. It was watching the best players of those days that I enjoyed watching. It wasn't the best players of the local club that I really enjoyed and got into.

The intercounty is the premium quality, that's what people are really interested in. And that's what the GAA should be maximising and prioritising. Just like non league football is the backbone of English football, the clubs are the same to the inter county. But you won't see non league being put above Premier League in terms of priority.

Having Sam Maguire and Liam McCarthy decided by the middle of July? That's ridiculous.

So what if the clubs can't play the inter county players? Has the club game collapsed?

The reality is that players just can't play for everyone. Club, County and College.

Billy Ocean · 27-01-2022 4:42pm

Lovely piece this morning for Keith Wood's 50th birthday but I'm sure the cesspiters here will find something to complain about.

Sunny Disposition · 27-01-2022 5:04pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118539778#Comment_118539778

The GAA has had a fixtures crisis for at least 20 years, county boards prioritising county teams above their own championships has been the by some distance the biggest issue of the century to date for the GAA. The mad thing is some people wouldn't even know there was a problem.

Failing to address it has done huge damage, there has been a situation when the best months of the year for hurling were seeing almost no club games played.

Moving back the All Irelands is the most positive move to a resolution yet. It's not perfect of course, but the GAA have been realistic and know that it's going to be very difficult to get a situation where club and county championships are played at the same time of year. That is the ideal solution and it is possible, Cork were quite good in this regard at one stage, but it'd only work if every county was on board and experience shows that doesn't happen.

Pussyhands · 27-01-2022 5:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118541314#Comment_118541314

Or....the clubs just play without the intercounty players. That's the best solution. Realistically, how many games can an intercounty player in college play a year? They deserve a break too.

Sunny Disposition · 27-01-2022 5:10pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118541200#Comment_118541200

Thought it was very good, and I'd be one with little knowledge of rugby.

hold my beer · 27-01-2022 5:29pm

Don't listen to OTB am. Hopefully they repeat it on the evening show

Sunny Disposition · 27-01-2022 5:46pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118541332#Comment_118541332

Can't imagine any but a tiny, tiny minority of players would be okay with sitting out championship with their club. I doubt any clubs would want it either. It could suit the interests of intercounty managers, but the vast majority of them would oppose it as well.

You could bring the proposal to your club and ask them to bring it to your county's convention though.

This year is a huge step forward, the GAA had never dealt with the implications of moving away from straight knock out intercounty championships, but finally it is tackling the fixtures issue. It's not perfect, but it's the best that can realistically be done.

Billy Ocean · 27-01-2022 8:32pm

You'll find the Keith Wood piece on YouTube

Faugheen · 27-01-2022 11:00pm

Also a really good interview with Jim Goodwin this evening. Very honest assessment of himself as a player and someone who you would really want to get behind as a manager.

He spoke about wanting to manage Ireland someday. He mentioned the one cap he got but how it would be a dream for him to be in with a chance of managing the team one day. If he keeps going at this rate there are few other Irish managers I’d have ahead of him to be honest.

gluppers · 27-01-2022 11:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118541200#Comment_118541200

He's only 50???

Lost Ormond · 27-01-2022 11:22pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118541511#Comment_118541511

Well something has to happen. Clubs need to play more games through the year and some(all) inter county players should be involved in them.

Lost Ormond · 27-01-2022 11:24pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118543002#Comment_118543002

Retired 31. body broken up. but yeah seems kind of mad...

Tell me how · 28-01-2022 3:39am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118543002#Comment_118543002

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118543061#Comment_118543061

I couldn't believe Joe Quaid was only 49 when I saw the video of him being interviewed earlier in the week.

With respect to Keith Wood, I've thought over the last couple of years that he actually looks very well for a former rugby player and particularly one who played in the front row.

He must have continued to stay training since he retired because he still looks pretty trim.