The 2023 All Ireland Senior Football Championship (Sam Maguire Cup)

Having 3 teams qualify has really sucked the fun out of the draw. A big clash like the potential Galway vs Tyrone one isn't as exciting knowing both will probably qualify anyway.

If we come 2nd we most likely face 3rd from Group 2? So maybe Armagh/Derry/Tyrone?

Why would they be your most likely opponents?

Do ties in group stage go to head to head or points difference?

Potential scenario in Group 2 if points difference. Assuming Galway and Derry win of course

Week 1

Tyrone beat Galway

Armagh beat Westmeath

Week 2

Tyrone beat Armagh

Galway beat Westmeath

Week 3

Tyrone through already with 2 wins

Tyrone let Westmeath beat them well to knock out one of the two stronger teams, and in their minds they would hope Galway beat Armagh to knock Armagh out.

Thank you for your constructive input.

Haven read of it being predetermined anywhere, i assume it will an open draw, makes more sense really and adds to the excitement ect

Where are all these pages and tables then? You're trying too hard. It's a fairly simple format once its explained, some people trying to over complicate it

Or - it's new, people don't quite have all the details, but are intrigued enough to ask questions and other posters provide answers.

Like it may turn out to be terrible or brilliant or somewhere in between, but the fact that the permutations are moderately complex isn't an indicator either way.

Like in soccer, we still get the same questions about CL 5th team qualification every year, and then people not knowing whether it's head to head or goal difference, when does the draw become open to play same country teams, people still thinking away goals count etc. Does that make it a useless competition?

The format is the way it is purely to save the relevance of provincial championships.

A proper league based system with Provincials as the pre-season tournament and possibly a means of determining seeding is where we are going in 3-5 years

I called it when they first announced this format.The provincials are finished but it would cause uproar to just scrap them overnight.

Instead we have this new system where slowly the public realises the provincials are now of no real importance. In a few years everybody will accept them as a pre season competition and they'll go the way of the Railway cup.

I don't have strong feelings on this, outside of Ulster and Connacht they haven't been competitive in years.Its just the way things developed.

The jury is out on the new format,it definitely needs tweaking and it was mad announcing the groups before all the games were played.We might not see it this year but when people have a look at things and figure it might be better to lose a provincial final to get a more favourable group then something is not right.

Also having 3 teams go through from every group is a bit silly but as I said the jury is out for now.

In a few words what counties will be happiest after todays draw?

Dublin ?

It would look a good bet that Louth,Westmeath,Sligo & Clare will finish fourth in the 4 groups leaving the other 12 still standing.

3 out of 4 getting out of the group is very unlikely to be an issue once people see the structure of how the games play out.

The way the fixtures work is that the week after the final group game the teams that finish 2nd will play a team that finished 3rd in the group stage in the preliminary quater-final stage.

The four teams that finish 2nd will have home advantage in these games.

The four teams that win these preliminary quarter-finals will then play one of the four sides that topped the group in a neutral venue the next weekend - this means that the 4 teams that win the preliminary quarter-finals will have to play 3 weeks in a row - their last group game, the preliminary quarter-final and the quarter-final.

There's a clear advantage in finishing first in the group.

The teams who finish second do get home advantage but still have the difficulty of having to play an extra-game.

There isn't much in the way of a reward in finishing third - a game the next week away against a side who finished 2nd in a group.

12 teams will get out of the groups but 2 weeks after this the championship will be down to the 4 semi-finalists.

Good summary of the groups & play offs, definetly with 3 coming out and the path ahead of them dictated by finishing position , hard to see any dead rubber match.

I still the bottom places are the easiest to predict and assuming Galway, Kerry & Dublin win provinces...Cork or Louth , Westmeath, Sligo & Kildare are odds on to finish fourth

That's where we stand so far.

Group 2 the most even I think.

I'd prefer if only 2 went through, but I welcome the try at a new format.