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

Walsh and comer scored 2 points of Galway’s 2 20 today……so much for that analysis….

Two brutal games today

Jason Foley is some man to avoid the second yellow card 😂 🤣 Clutch the hamstring and be carried off and then pose for selfies after the game. Done exactly same against Roscommon in league.

Next two provincials should be good, am looking forward to both. Today's were a forgone conclusion.

Since 2001 Sligo have been in 5 finals. Roscommon have been in 9. There must be more than luck in operation.

TBF, Cork, who were 4th in Division Two, lost to Clare who were 6th in that same tier, so while league seeding would likely have seen semis of Kerry v Clare and Cork v Limerick, the final margin would have been much the same.

When it is not two of those three teams who have to travel to New York and London, how would you organise the draw? There is no point in making up imaginary scenarios, that Connacht have no interest in implementing.

(Wikipedia) Covid-19 caused the following games to be cancelled in 2020: Galway's games against both New York and Sligo, Roscommon's game against London, and in 2021: Mayo playing London and Roscommon playing New York meant that 2021 was a fresh draw.

In 2023, Sligo vs London, Leitrim vs New York. In 2024, Galway vs London, Mayo vs New York. In 2025, Roscommon vs London, Galway vs New York. In 2026, Mayo vs London, Roscommon vs New York. In 2027, Sligo vs New York, while London scheduled to host Leitrim like in 2022.

The Clare manager says he is looking forward to playing in the Ulster Championship. Never played Monaghan before in his time. The group is Clare, Monaghan, Donegal and Armagh or Derry.

Maybe try to rescue Leinster first. There are plenty of teams with some former pedigree who should be able to compete. Dublin have 16 out of the last 17 titles. The Munster and Connacht provinces have been lost causes for many decades, but Leinster is a more recent phenomenon. It does't seem to affect the popularity among the locals that much in any of those provinces, so maybe no need to panic at all.

How is Connacht a lost cause?

Over the last 7 years, Galway have won 3, Mayo 2, Roscommon 3, and add in both Galway and Mayo consistently featuring in the later stages of the AI series, and these 3 teams finishing 123 in League D1 this year, with 2 teams playing in the final (obviously).

Oh that any of the other provinces be as lost as this. Only Ulster comes close in terms of competitiveness, Ulster the best championship over the last 14 or 20 years by far.

The provincial championships have a few flaws to iron out. One is seeding for the draws based on league performance.

Provincial Seedings that could have been applied for 2023:

ULSTER

1. Tyrone

2. Monaghan

3. Derry

4. Armagh

5. Donegal

6. Cavan

7. Fermanagh

8. Down

9. Antrim

Preliminary: Down v Antrim

Quarter-finals: Tyrone, Monaghan, Derry and Armagh seeded to avoid each other.

Semi-finals: Tyrone and Monaghan seeded to avoid each other.

LEINSTER

1. Dublin

2. Louth

3. Kildare

4. Meath

5. Westmeath

6. Offaly

7. Wicklow

8. Longford

9. Laois

10. Wexford

11. Carlow

Preliminary: Offaly, Wicklow and Longford seeded to avoid each other drawn against Laois, Wexford and Carlow.

Quarter-finals: Dublin, Louth, Kildare and Meath seeded to avoid each other.

Semi-finals: Dublin and Louth seeded to avoid each other.

MUNSTER

1. Kerry

2. Cork

3. Clare

4. Limerick

5. Tipperary

6. Waterford

Quarter-finals: Clare and Limerick seeded to avoid each other drawn against Tipperary and Waterford.

Semi-finals: Kerry and Cork seeded to avoid each other.

CONNACHT

1. Mayo

2. Galway

3. Roscommon

4. Sligo

5. Leitrim

6. London

7. New York

Quarter-finals: Keep the rotation of playing London and New York. Mayo given bye to semi-finals. Galway v Roscommon is a resulting default fixture due to the London and New York rotation policy.

Semi-finals: Mayo and Galway seeded to avoid each other.

Note: Provincial draws should take place on the Monday morning after the league finals. The only fixtures that require advanced planning are the trips to London and New York. The remaining fixtures and TV schedules can be sorted out within a few day of the provincial draws.

No this is not like the Super 8s which were brought in on a trial basis for 3 years.

This championship structure won't be going anywhere for the foreseeable future. There might be some very minor tinkering around the edges but even that is not going to be likely to occur for at least a year or two yet. The way the Connacht structure is with the games against New York and London mean that the draw can't have Mayo/Galway/Roscommon on the same side next year so don't expect any moves on the seeding the Connacht championship for a bit yet.

The internal politics of the GAA and the fact that the provincial councils have so many votes at Congress mean that that role of the provincials in the football championship is not going to change significantly for a good while yet. I'd say there will need to be a good bank of results similar to todays and the accompanying dwindling crowds that will follow from it before the powers of the provincial councils is overcome.

Heard Des Cahill on earlier saying that a team could lose three times in this years AI and still win! If so, that's the height of silliness - not one, not two but three backdoors.