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Monaghan initiative to address club fixture congestion

  • 19-04-2018 11:15am
    #1
    Ceist_Beag
    Registered Users Posts: 2,791 ✭✭✭


    What do people think of the new initiative taken on by Monaghan GAA to try and address the club fixtures issue? See Nine with nine without Monaghans club revolution on the rte site.
    It's great to see a proactive attempt at something rather than the constant hand wringing so it will be interesting to see how this goes. The points difference does seem quite large - for example winning 1 match with your county players is worth more than winning 2 matches without, but I can see the logic in it in that there has to be reward for clubs producing more county players.


Comments

  • #2
    munchkin_utd
    Registered Users Posts: 7,813 ✭✭✭munchkin_utd


    the link didnt work, so heres one that does!
    https://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2018/0418/955566-nine-with-nine-without-monaghans-club-revolution/

    just for folks with lazy fingers which cannot click links.....
    Monaghan are taking a novel approach to handle the 'club first' agenda, with a little help from the GAA's former director general Paraic Duffy.
    Two-time All Star forward Conor McManus says there is widespread support in Monaghan for an inventive new league structure.

    Clubs are now playing nine games with their county players and nine without.
    "Matches played with county players are worth five points and games without county players are worth two," says McManus.
    "We're the first county to try this.
    <snip>
    "It's a new one, but the point is the club players will get games throughout the summer while we are away with Monaghan."

    Theres an irrational focus on having "championship" matches now in many counties, with "championship" being what many think should be happening now, but really meaningful league games with your county players are still going to be very worthwhile, and skewing the points awarded to favour when you have your full team incl county players is a fairly clever way of working a league that has a mix of games with and without the county players.


  • #3
    The Lost Sheep
    Registered Users Posts: 14,967 ✭✭✭✭The Lost Sheep


    munchkin_utd wrote: »
    the link didnt work, so heres one that does!
    https://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2018/0418/955566-nine-with-nine-without-monaghans-club-revolution/

    just for folks with lazy fingers which cannot click links.....

    Theres an irrational focus on having "championship" matches now in many counties, with "championship" being what many think should be happening now, but really meaningful league games with your county players are still going to be very worthwhile, and skewing the points awarded to favour when you have your full team incl county players is a fairly clever way of working a league that has a mix of games with and without the county players.
    I dont see having championship games now as being irrational. It could certainly be a mix of league games with county players as well as championship games being played now

    On the Monaghan proposal does it not affect some of the bigger clubs unfairly and is that fair?


  • #4
    bruschi
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 4,138 Mod ✭✭✭✭bruschi


    What I dont get is the need for April to be cleared out for club only games, so you get to play 3 or 4 (dual county) games in April and then sit around waiting until August for the next raft of games. Inter county has already been brought forward a month, why not another month? Start championship in April, then you can have all club championships starting in July or August at the latest.


  • #5
    jr86
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,930 ✭✭✭jr86


    bruschi wrote: »
    What I dont get is the need for April to be cleared out for club only games, so you get to play 3 or 4 (dual county) games in April and then sit around waiting until August for the next raft of games. Inter county has already been brought forward a month, why not another month? Start championship in April, then you can have all club championships starting in July or August at the latest.

    Some counties are getting criticised for playing no matches in April

    But I mean you take the Mayo championship for example. One round of group games and nothing again until September most likely.

    Seriously what on earth is the point in playing 1 round now and the remaining 5 Championship rounds (incl latter stages) later in the year?

    Teams will look completely different in 5 months time


  • #6
    munchkin_utd
    Registered Users Posts: 7,813 ✭✭✭munchkin_utd


    bruschi wrote: »
    What I dont get is the need for April to be cleared out for club only games, so you get to play 3 or 4 (dual county) games in April and then sit around waiting until August for the next raft of games. Inter county has already been brought forward a month, why not another month? Start championship in April, then you can have all club championships starting in July or August at the latest.
    but you dont have a break in games with club players left completely idle .
    The leagues can go on, as is shown in Monaghan and club players should be having a game every other week.

    If you look at Armagh too (maybe checkout Crossmaglen facebook if the county board hasnt it in a readable format) and they have a schedule of games from U8 right up to senior all through the sping/ summer.
    Even Aaron McKernan whose job it is to give out about how useless county boards are as a rep of the CPA, admitted that Armagh does offer regular games in a schedule set out in a masterplan given to players at the start of the year.

    Some counties seem to be absolutely stone useless at doing their basic job of setting out a fixture plan for the year / sticking to it, but at the bare minimum there should be some sort of meaningful leagues tipping away during the inter county season regardless of whether 5% of the playing population is involved with a county team or not.

    EDIT: as mentioned above, heres Crossmaglen Rangers full schedule of fixtures for kids and adults from now till October, with break in August for holidays.
    I really am not seeing the fixture chaos or lack of games for club players, not in Armagh anyhow.


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  • #7
    Bonniedog
    Registered Users Posts: 6,665 ✭✭✭Bonniedog


    Agree with the above. Obviously clubs will want county players for championship so makes sense for the gap until teams are knocked out. Should then start with two weeks at most of that.

    CPA demand that county be squeezed into two months is ludicrous. Whether they like it or not vast majority of people, including club players rather than paid officials, want to see top county teams over Summer. No reason why that ought to interfere with clubs playing most games at same time.

    Leagues ought to be played regardless of whether county players are available or not. Too many clubs want to have cake and eat it: demanding more club time but then asking for postponements because they are missing a player or two for a league game.


  • #8
    Boom__Boom
    Registered Users Posts: 3,100 ✭✭✭Boom__Boom


    munchkin_utd wrote: »

    Some counties seem to be absolutely stone useless at doing their basic job of setting out a fixture plan for the year / sticking to it, but at the bare minimum there should be some sort of meaningful leagues tipping away during the inter county season regardless of whether 5% of the playing population is involved with a county team or not.

    Yeah there seems to be a vast disparity between counties on this.

    It seems to get very little coverage in the media about which county boards are useless and which are good. As such the county boards who are useless continue to get away with it.


  • #9
    Boom__Boom
    Registered Users Posts: 3,100 ✭✭✭Boom__Boom


    A huge issue with the championship is how long and drawn-out the provincial championships are.

    This year

    Ulster Championship 8 Games
    First Game 13th May
    Last Game 24th June

    Leinster Championship 10 Games
    First Game 12th May
    Last Game 24th June

    Munster Championship 5 Games
    First Game 19th May
    Last Game 24th June

    Connacht Championship 6 Games
    First Game 6th May
    Last Game 17th June

    From 6th May to 24th of June covers 9 weekends, and 29 games will be played. It used be even worse under the old fixtures calendar.

    The elephant in the room is the fact that the provincial councils are in charge of scheduling these fixtures and they don't give two hoots about club players so they drag these out as long as possible.


  • #10
    Happyilylost
    Registered Users Posts: 1,781 ✭✭✭Happyilylost


    Galway are also doing this. Three for a win with county players. Two without. It's a good idea. But league in Galway is treated with much love. Great to keep teams ticking over but not much after that.


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