The 2024 All Ireland Senior Football Championship (Sam Maguire Cup)

Always_Running

Slightly off topic wasn't that great scenes in O'Connor Park tonight as Longford minors beat Dublin in the Leinster final.

Westernview

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122163127#Comment_122163127

Didn't hear that. Fantastic. Delighted for them. Will mean a lot more to them that to Dublin.

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122163010#Comment_122163010

The best system was the 2001 to 2017 back door.

It produced shocks and unexpected runs for some lower profile teams.

And it had jeopardy.

So why not try recreate it.

Have four knock out groups of 8, include London but exclude New York.

The groups can be randomly drawn with two for each league division in each group.

Then randomly drawn a knockout competition for each group.

So each group will have 4 QFs, 2SFs and 1 Final.

Losers of the QF go into Round 1 of the qualifiers.

Losers of the SFs go to round 2 of the qualifiers.

Winners of round 2 playoff in round 3.

Final losers play in round 4.

Winners of round 4 play group winners in All Ireland quarter finals.

So just like the old backdoor without the inequity of the provincial system.

And play the feckin thing from May to September on defined weekends so everyone knows what to expect.

The provincials can replace the pre season, the league can stay as the league.

gormdubhgorm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122163506#Comment_122163506

Then you are back with the problem of club players sitting on their arse for months not knowing when they will play. "The championship" being dragged out forever for very few matches. You will have intercounty teams moaning that that they don't get enough games.

You can't please everyone. The GAA are trying to please everyone and no one as it is.

The reality is the Championship and League will eventually morph into the one. But given the nature of the GAA they have to do it slowly. Give it 20 - 30 years…and we will have a home/away league championship with proper groups etc.

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122164731#Comment_122164731

With the provinces setting calendars it was/is all over the place.

In the 2001 to 2017 setup you had a Munster final the first Sunday of July and a Leinster one the 3rd Sunday.

If I recall Ulster only allowed one championship game per weekend, so it look ages to play out.

In the system I describe you would have a set weekend for group quarter finals, semi-finals and finals, also the date for each qualifier round would be known.

No replays to confuse the matter.

So a county would know what weekends they would be playing if they won and what weekends they would be playing if they lost.

Plus in the old days the quarter finals were the August Bank holiday weekend, so by no later than the 7th of August all but 4 counties were free for club football.

Right now counties don't even start club championships until September as it is.

As for the nature of the GAA being slow to do things as you imply I don't necessarily agree.

Since 2018 they have overhauled the structure of the championship and the calendar of the championship twice.

They changed the age groups for minor and u20/21.

They got rid of replays.

They introduced black cards and then a few years later changed the implementation of them.

There is constantly some sort of review committee convened out there looking at changes.

I think they are more willing to adapt and change than people often give them credit.

I'm off to my local club with my proposal.

gormdubhgorm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122164913#Comment_122164913

The GAA are slow to make REAL change they neither do one thing nor the other most of the time. It took covid for them to have the split season that should have been done years ago. The same with GAAGO more choice, more matches. It would not have changed only for covid.

Your proposal although bringing back some "jeopardy" the reality is the GAA want to get more games where possible, more revenue etc.

It is a nice idea in theory but the genie is now out of the bottle too long.

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122164950#Comment_122164950

Totally agree that they want more games more revenue etc, and as a fan I do hope they get the balance right.

Mackinac

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122158723#Comment_122158723

Can’t see them winning the All Ireland, a semi and I suppose if luck of the draw went their way a final. Derry have been flat the last two games and with 14 men (deservedly so) were never going to win. Armagh will be a tougher test, that should be a great game.

theoneeyedman

Not much point talking about Galway running an all ireland if Comer stays fit..... There is practically zero chance of him being available for 70 minutes of every big game. His style is hard on the body, and with each passing year his powers it recovery are slowly reducing. He's a brilliant talent, but they need him on it every day and he's just not going to be able to sustain that. And that's without having a similar argument about Kelly who's been injured for most of the last 12 - 18 months.

legendary.xix

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122165385#Comment_122165385

Some people have suggested a 12:10:10 three tiered championship. This could work with provincial championships retained. The top 12 each year would have to have 5 places reserved for the Tier 2 winner and current 4 provincial winners. One for the powers that be to iron out but that's the basic template.

Kerry, Mayo and Galway all see eager to win their groups. Mayo will have Dublin and Galway will Armagh to contend with. The opening round last weekend seemed positive on that side of things. The matches themselves though didn't carry the big match vibe that the Super 8s or the Munster hurling round robin has.

Barlett

I think that’s the big issue , there’s a complete lack of jeopardy to the games. Ultimately you still only need to win one game to progress to the next round and that is the problem.

MacDanger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122171424#Comment_122171424

Lack of jeopardy or dead rubbers - it's hard (although not impossible) not to have one or the other

dxhound2005

After just one year, it's a bit soon to condemn the format for having a lack of jeopardy. Last year no county emerged with 6 points from the group stage. The failure of Galway, Mayo, Donegal and Tyrone to win their groups led to two of them exiting in the Preliminary Quarter Finals. Plenty of jeopardy there. The Tailteann Cup in contrast produced three out of the group winners with 6 points.

legendary.xix

Winning the groups is a big carrot for direct route to the quarter-finals but crowds aren't enticed by what is seen as a lack of jeopardy. When 2 qualify from 4 team groups, the worse case scenario is two teams on 2 wins each playing in Round 3, when both have already qualified. The Dublin championship had flexible scheduling so that Round 1 winners are paired in Round 2, avoiding that scenario.

Louth v Meath will probably be the determining game on who is eliminated from Group 4. Clare are already in a difficult position in Group 3. Clare will prefer Tyrone to beat Donegal. If Donegal beat Tyrone and Cork, and Tyrone beat Clare, Clare will be knocked out after Round 2 again.

There was a good point made on the RTE podcast. Derry lost to Galway. Derry's next game should be of knockout proportion. Instead, if the result against Armagh doesn't to go their way, they will still probably have an opportunity in Round 3 to get through to the knockout stages!

dxhound2005

Mayo and Galway probably thought they had the hard bit done last year, with two wins in the first two games. Especially Mayo who beat Kerry away. But they managed to lose the last game to Cork in Limerick. Galway lost to Armagh in Carrickonshannon.

Probably not many people saw the jeopardy for Mayo in that game in Limerick, but it was there. And is there is every game. After their success in Kerry, Mayo scaped home by a point against Louth in Castlebar. Mayo's prize for beating Galway in the Preliminary was Dublin in the QF.

Kildare had 1 point from a draw with Sligo going into the last game. Which was severe jeopardy, but they managed to beat Roscommon by a point in Tullamore to survive. And bad and all as they are, they only lost by a point to Monaghan also in Tullamore in the Preliminary. And then Monaghan beat Armagh to get to the SF.

It really is too soon to declare this format as somehow predictable and not worth playing. Even the outcomes in Year 1, with no 100% record for any of the 16 out of 3 games, proves that it is foolhardy to make assumptions.

Always_Running

Round 2 games

Saturday 1st of June

Cork v Donegal in Pairc ui rinn at 2:30pm

Roscommon v Mayo in Dr Hyde Park at 5pm on GAAGO

Cavan v Dublin in Breffni Park at 7pm on GAAGO

Sunday 2nd of June

Meath v Kerry - Páirc Tailteann 2pm live on RTE

Monaghan v Louth - Clones 3:30pm

Tyrone v Clare in Healy Park at 1:30pm

Westmeath v Galway Cusack Park 3pm

Derry v Armagh Celtic Park 4pm live on RTE

Charles Babbage

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122172375#Comment_122172375

It does not reflect well on the GAA that they do not cover Cork v Donegal. With a 5 hour trip each way, prohibitive accommodation costs and zero chance of a special train, even real Donegal fans might not be able to attend, the GAA might at least give them the opportunity to pay for a stream. Poor show, in my opinion.

Gael85

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122153474#Comment_122153474

Dublin a lot a weaker this year. David Byrne travelling and Lee Gannon injured will be major losses in defence. A lot of mileage on the older players, McCarthy and Fitzsimons struggling for form. Not many of the younger lads making a name for themselves.

David Clifford won't be as poor against Dublin if meet again this year.

dunnerc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122179575#Comment_122179575

😭😭😭😭

dobman88

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122179575#Comment_122179575

Nice to see the Dubs have a go at a bit of "Yerra" that kerry were always accused of. This isn't a bad start but needs a little refinement. 7/10.

Tomaldo

Can anyone help? I'm trying to buy GAAGO's 24 euro for 3 games package but after filling out all the details, a message comes up "there was a problem processing your account" but it doesn't tell me what.

Trampas

Very quiet around Croke Park. Unless people come in after the soccer it’ll be a tiny crowd

namloc1980

Miniscule crowd in Croker. Couldn't they have played this in Parnell Park?

Neddyusa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122182647#Comment_122182647

They could.

However they didn't because to do so would have been a recognition of how the public are snubbing this Mickey Mouse "round robin" within a championship.

Coillte_Bhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122171990#Comment_122171990

Ya the two winners from Round 1 playing each other in Round 2 would reduce the chances of dead rubbers, as would also getting rid of the H2H rule and have points difference separate teams level on points

theoneeyedman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122183077#Comment_122183077

Dublin don't even play NFL games in Parnell pk any more. Nice deal to be handed a free stadium, while the other 31 counties have to borrow to build stadia.

What was the attendance. Pretty low key game, Roscommon never really laid a glove on them in truth, and they certainly picked their team with a view to the schedule ahead v Mayo, Cavan and potentially the Knock out round rather than go all out today. Dublin's squad strength is frightening though.

Louth beat Meath by 10 points, Fvckin Meath 😁

gormdubhgorm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122180273#Comment_122180273

Maybe it was your card details. Never happened me, I assume there is a help email.

gormdubhgorm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122183229#Comment_122183229

You come across as very childish/vindictive with that first comment. If they played it Parnell no doubt you would spin it as poor Dub support or depriving Rossies of CP trip. Foreign sports big games which I was not previously aware - Rugby soccer affected crowd. But such is life.

Rossies were good very economical with their shots well drilled. Final score not reflective of game overall.

Just listened to bits of Louth v Meath not surprised Louth won. They were impressive v Dubs. Adopted Louth man Ger Brennan doing great job.

Gusser09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122183229#Comment_122183229

Dublin would have to rent croker for league games i think?

robbiezero

Decent game in Ulster. McQuillan making some poor calls on both sides.

Anyone's game