THE MUNSTER COUNCIL have tonight approved a new format for their 2015 senior football championship.
The new system will see this season’s finalists Cork and Kerry receive a bye to the semi-final stage next year while Tipperary, Limerick, Waterford and Clare will enter an open draw for the two quarter-final ties.
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The two winners of those quarter-final games will then enter an open draw for the semi-finals along with Cork and Kerry. The decision was taken tonight at a meeting in Limerick.
The two traditional heavyweights in the province are only seeded at the semi-final stage because they contested this year’s final. If the format was maintained and for example both Tipperary and Clare reached next year’s decider, then they would receive byes to the semi-final stage for 2016.
Last year’s decision to keep Cork and Kerry apart by seeding them in semi-finals provoked huge controversy. Players from Clare, Tipperary, Limerick and Waterford all subsequently boycotted the McGrath Cup while they also refused to make themselves available to represent Munster in the interprovincial football championships.
Great to see seeded draw gone in Munster football champ next year, common sense prevails eventually, gate receipts shouldn't always dictate
The structure this year did see both Tipperary and Clare benefit from respective quarter-final successes against Limerick and Waterford. The pair went on to push Cork and Kerry extremely close in their semi-final ties. Tipperary came desperately close to defeating Cork before losing out 0-16 to 1-11 while Clare were beaten by 1-17 to 1-13 by Kerry.
A farce. Gaa need to redesign the whole football championship. Waiting til semi final stage for the championship to kick off is simply not good enough.
In ulster championship starts in May. Donegal v Tyrone last year. Donegal v Derry this year. Two division 1 sides with a long long route to all Ireland.
Have champs league format and seeding for all then you’d have many interesting match ups as early as mid June.
Take away the provincial championships and you take away 80% of the counties chance of glory. Monaghan won Ulster recently but would never win the All Ireland, same with Sligo, Laois, Westmeath in the recent past. For some counties even weaker than that the chance to line out in a provincial final makes their summer. If you just have an All Ireland series most of these counties will never have a big day out again.
The whole championship should be overhauled. Four months to play 5-7 games is a joke. When you think of the amount of club teams being messed around with nobody able to book holidays or plan anything between the months of may-june to August-septemer. For example with our club we started training in January and only had one championship game in may then we didn’t play another one till August(basically till cork lost) yet we couldn’t plan anything for the summer incase we got a team with no cork player or if they lost sooner than expected.
Why not give div 1 and 2 one all ireland and division 3 and 4 another. Four groups of four top two go through to the knockouts qtr final-semi final-final everybody is guaranteed 3 games and it could be wrapped up in 2 months. With no club activities atall for those months…
And I don’t want to hear any of this “ahh everyone deserves a crack at an all ireland” craic. They would a craic at it… just at one at their own level but that doesn’t devalue it! We play in the intermediate level here in cork so does that mean if we win the county it’s not as valuable to us as a senior championship to the likes of nemo of castlehaven? Course it does!
To be fair, it’s not much good someone from Cork (or any Division 1/2 team) telling a Division 3/4 team that putting them in a non-Sam Maguire competition is fair. Of course it devalues their summer.
“If for example Tipp and Clare reached this years decider then…” – what a joke. Same again then – cork or Kerry will parachute into later stages of qualifiers again. Nicely carved up there lads.
Small counties got everything they wanted, they wanted to play each other in champ before meeting Kerry or cork. They how have championship game time and increase the chance of upset.
Kerry barely beat Clare this year and tipp gave cork a right scare
What fierce Ulstermen? The only team up there really worth talking about (when it comes to dominating the championship) is Donegal, the rest of the current teams haven’t even got to a final yet.
Donegal are in the final, as we know, Monaghan got destroyed by Dublin this year in a QF, Armagh got beaten in the QF, Tyrone got knocked out in round 2, Down in round 2, Antrim in round 2, Cavan in round 2, Fermanagh in round 1 and Derry in round 1. Derry lost to Longford ffs!.
How about 2013? Antrim knocked out in round 1, Down in round 2, Fermanagh in round 2, Armagh in round 3, Derry in round 3, Monaghan in the QFs, Cavan in the QFs, Donegal got annihilated by Mayo, in the QFs, and Tyrone lost a SF.
That’s 2 teams Ulster have had in a semi final over the past 2 years, to talk of “dominance” they’d at least want two or three each year for a number of subsequent years. Ulster teams haven’t even put back to back All-Irelands together yet in recent times, last time it happened was 2002-2003 and before that 1992-1993. You’re talking crap.
No good fellow, I was referring to the up coming years, I believe that Donegal will win 2014, they could win a couple more and Tyrone could shock people, they will want to win one more whilst Micky Harte is manager.
p.s. Everyone knows Derry had bad luck with injuries before that Longford game, sure they only lost by 3 points to the upcoming 2014 all ireland winners.
This whole “let’s change the format of the competition” ignores the fundamental problems for the weaker teams. A lack of coaches and long term county board plans are the issues here. Not the often mooted, but never really thought through idea of a “GAA Champions League.”
The current system has still allowed the odd surprise team to go far (Fermanagh, Wexford, Kildare). Would group stages, where two teams go through, ever really help the weaker teams to improve? The current back door system was designed to give weaker counties a second chance of defeating stronger teams. Instead, it has allowed the cream to rise to the top, as the top teams aren’t truly punished for off days within the provincial championship.
A team like Longford, who secured an amazing result against a (weakened) Derry team this year gave them one more game in the Championship. Nothing more. If we really wanted to give the weaker counties a proper chance, then the Championship would return to the old, pre-2001 system.
Could they not scrap McGrath cup ect and start the league in jan, play the provincial championships in April as a separate competition to the all Ireland? All teams in a bowel the to be redrawn in 8 groups of 4, 3 games each, 2 advance and knock out from the last 16?
I largely agree, my take would be
Play the provincial championships in February
Scrap the league and bring in the 4 group system.
Open draw every year. Every team would get a minimum of 7 games. Every team should get to play a game in Croker every year. Dublin would have to play away games.
It would really add some spark to things.
Separate the provincial championships and All-Ireland championship completely. Half the sizes or the divisions in the league, finish it in half the time (mid-March) and then start the provincial championships at the start of April, finished by the start of May. All-Ireland starts at the end of May and finished by end of July/early August.
I know all of the above is easier said than done, just throwing some ideas out there.
The whole thing is a farce at this stage, from top to bottom at both club and inter-county level. The structure of the championship has become an absolute joke since the qualifiers were brought in.
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A farce. Gaa need to redesign the whole football championship. Waiting til semi final stage for the championship to kick off is simply not good enough.
Nail on the head!
In ulster championship starts in May. Donegal v Tyrone last year. Donegal v Derry this year. Two division 1 sides with a long long route to all Ireland.
Have champs league format and seeding for all then you’d have many interesting match ups as early as mid June.
Take away the provincial championships and you take away 80% of the counties chance of glory. Monaghan won Ulster recently but would never win the All Ireland, same with Sligo, Laois, Westmeath in the recent past. For some counties even weaker than that the chance to line out in a provincial final makes their summer. If you just have an All Ireland series most of these counties will never have a big day out again.
The whole championship should be overhauled. Four months to play 5-7 games is a joke. When you think of the amount of club teams being messed around with nobody able to book holidays or plan anything between the months of may-june to August-septemer. For example with our club we started training in January and only had one championship game in may then we didn’t play another one till August(basically till cork lost) yet we couldn’t plan anything for the summer incase we got a team with no cork player or if they lost sooner than expected.
Why not give div 1 and 2 one all ireland and division 3 and 4 another. Four groups of four top two go through to the knockouts qtr final-semi final-final everybody is guaranteed 3 games and it could be wrapped up in 2 months. With no club activities atall for those months…
And I don’t want to hear any of this “ahh everyone deserves a crack at an all ireland” craic. They would a craic at it… just at one at their own level but that doesn’t devalue it! We play in the intermediate level here in cork so does that mean if we win the county it’s not as valuable to us as a senior championship to the likes of nemo of castlehaven? Course it does!
To be fair, it’s not much good someone from Cork (or any Division 1/2 team) telling a Division 3/4 team that putting them in a non-Sam Maguire competition is fair. Of course it devalues their summer.
Won’t be overhauled – too many vested interests in status quo.
Era feck it sorry man, I didn’t want to offend anyone, I’m just a frustrated club level player blowing some steam and pulling ideas out my ass….
“If for example Tipp and Clare reached this years decider then…” – what a joke. Same again then – cork or Kerry will parachute into later stages of qualifiers again. Nicely carved up there lads.
But now at least cork can play kerry in a Munster semi final, since it’s an open draw for the semi final stage.
Small counties got everything they wanted, they wanted to play each other in champ before meeting Kerry or cork. They how have championship game time and increase the chance of upset.
Kerry barely beat Clare this year and tipp gave cork a right scare
you have to laugh, you are all running scared because you know the fierce Ulstermen are going to dominate the sport over the next 10 years.
26 thumbs down and not one person tried to argue otherwise
Samuel for the hills of O’Donnell country next sunday
I’ve been hearing this for the last 20 years.
What fierce Ulstermen? The only team up there really worth talking about (when it comes to dominating the championship) is Donegal, the rest of the current teams haven’t even got to a final yet.
Donegal are in the final, as we know, Monaghan got destroyed by Dublin this year in a QF, Armagh got beaten in the QF, Tyrone got knocked out in round 2, Down in round 2, Antrim in round 2, Cavan in round 2, Fermanagh in round 1 and Derry in round 1. Derry lost to Longford ffs!.
How about 2013? Antrim knocked out in round 1, Down in round 2, Fermanagh in round 2, Armagh in round 3, Derry in round 3, Monaghan in the QFs, Cavan in the QFs, Donegal got annihilated by Mayo, in the QFs, and Tyrone lost a SF.
That’s 2 teams Ulster have had in a semi final over the past 2 years, to talk of “dominance” they’d at least want two or three each year for a number of subsequent years. Ulster teams haven’t even put back to back All-Irelands together yet in recent times, last time it happened was 2002-2003 and before that 1992-1993. You’re talking crap.
No good fellow, I was referring to the up coming years, I believe that Donegal will win 2014, they could win a couple more and Tyrone could shock people, they will want to win one more whilst Micky Harte is manager.
p.s. Everyone knows Derry had bad luck with injuries before that Longford game, sure they only lost by 3 points to the upcoming 2014 all ireland winners.
You forgot that Down got to the final in 2010 which is only 4 years ago
2010 – Down finalists
2011
2012 – Donegal win
2013
2014 – Donegal
2015-?
Looks good to me
Tyrone could shock people, sure so could Leitrim for God’s sake doesn’t mean they’ll be dominating anytime soon
This whole “let’s change the format of the competition” ignores the fundamental problems for the weaker teams. A lack of coaches and long term county board plans are the issues here. Not the often mooted, but never really thought through idea of a “GAA Champions League.”
The current system has still allowed the odd surprise team to go far (Fermanagh, Wexford, Kildare). Would group stages, where two teams go through, ever really help the weaker teams to improve? The current back door system was designed to give weaker counties a second chance of defeating stronger teams. Instead, it has allowed the cream to rise to the top, as the top teams aren’t truly punished for off days within the provincial championship.
A team like Longford, who secured an amazing result against a (weakened) Derry team this year gave them one more game in the Championship. Nothing more. If we really wanted to give the weaker counties a proper chance, then the Championship would return to the old, pre-2001 system.
Could they not scrap McGrath cup ect and start the league in jan, play the provincial championships in April as a separate competition to the all Ireland? All teams in a bowel the to be redrawn in 8 groups of 4, 3 games each, 2 advance and knock out from the last 16?
I largely agree, my take would be
Play the provincial championships in February
Scrap the league and bring in the 4 group system.
Open draw every year. Every team would get a minimum of 7 games. Every team should get to play a game in Croker every year. Dublin would have to play away games.
It would really add some spark to things.
Separate the provincial championships and All-Ireland championship completely. Half the sizes or the divisions in the league, finish it in half the time (mid-March) and then start the provincial championships at the start of April, finished by the start of May. All-Ireland starts at the end of May and finished by end of July/early August.
I know all of the above is easier said than done, just throwing some ideas out there.
The whole thing is a farce at this stage, from top to bottom at both club and inter-county level. The structure of the championship has become an absolute joke since the qualifiers were brought in.
With this new format Limerick will be odds on favs to win back the Munster title