WHEN I read the recent proposals put forward by the committee tasked with coming up with alternatives for a more structured and better Championship, my emotional state went from confusion to disappointment, before finishing with anger.
“Is that it?” was my immediate reaction.
The proposal to effectively bring the Tommy Murphy Cup back to the table has generally been considered to be the best they’ve come up with.
We are told that some of the best minds in the game have been tasked with looking at this restructuring. Are you kidding me?
Their recommendations look like the results of a project undertaken by a primary school class seeking to win an O’Neills football for the school.
They’ve come up with a ‘B’ Championship for Division Four teams. Really?
Much like the oft-criticised ‘Liverpool transfer committee’, the members of this panel will eventually be named and then we can find out just what so-called ‘expert’ came up with this idea.
The people on this committee obviously did not understand the brief they were given at the outset. Phrases such as ‘radical overhaul’, ‘fundamentally flawed’ and ‘outdated’ have either been misunderstood or, even worse, ignored.
Do they remember the farce that was the Tommy Murphy Cup? Do they understand football?
Do they know what it means for a player to dedicate his life in the hope that one day he could be part of a ‘giant-killing’ in the race for Sam?
The ‘B’ Championship should have been a non-runner from the start. I would prefer no change rather change for change’s sake.
If you are going to relegate some counties into a ‘B’ Championship, when will their best players ever get a chance to show their talents on a big stage?
At an Aussie Rules trial? With a Railway Cup run-out? In that case, why not let a Division Four select team compete for Sam?
Just as clubs in Kerry can re-enter the county championship in an amalgamated form, perhaps this select team would ensure that players from the so-called ‘weaker teams’ would have a chance of performing on the big stages come July and August.
It is totally disrespectful to tell players and teams who put in long hours at training and in games to play in a ‘B’ competition.
The problem for most columnists and pundits up and down the country is that very few of us have been in the position facing Division Four players, so we don’t really know how they feel.
I wonder was there even one Division Four player consulted by the committee? It’s unlikely. The whole process, the findings and proposals, have gone down like a lead balloon.
As far as I’m aware, not one opinion piece has said that the restructure proposals go far enough, or indeed could be considered fair.
Take out the top four or five counties – Dublin, Mayo, Kerry, and possibly Donegal and Tyrone – and Divisions One, Two and Three are pretty close in terms of standard and competitiveness, as Wexford proved last year against Down.
Much has been made of the Kelly/McGuinness plan. Joe Brolly seems to be an advocate of it. Again, however, the flaw is that it proposes that not everyone can compete for Sam. That goes against everything inclusive and historic about participation in the GAA.
Removing counties from the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship is elitist and goes against the very fabric of the Association, letting the minority rule the majority, as is the case in many forms of greater society.
Dublin and Kerry’s players may well be the elite at this present moment in time. However, they are of no more value to the Association than a Carlow player or indeed an Antrim player.
Even if it was to be in an amalgamated form, at least some of the best players from Division Four counties would have a chance to play against the
so-called stronger teams.
Although this sounds a bit contradictory, at least players in the lower divisions have something to aspire to.
If a Division Four county is beaten in the first round of the Championship, players still have the carrot of being selected for an amalgamated team.
Effectively, the Division Four select could enter the Championship in round two of the Qualifiers.
If a team from Division Four were to win their Championship opener, their players would be unable to join up with the divisional team, but they could still be added to the panel for round three should their county lose their second game.
No further additions would be allowed after that. I am sure many will view this idea as too radical, and it might even be seen by some as too great a dilution of county identities.
Maybe I’m clutching at straws, but I’m convinced the establishment of a second-tier competition will destroy the game and leave a sour taste in the mouths of many counties, players and supporters.
Some advocates of a ‘B’ competition will point to county championship structures as an example of how grading can work on a smaller scale.
Senior, intermediate and junior championships may well work like clockwork up and down the country, but that’s because they are practical for rural and urban clubs.
Some areas of the country are more affected by emigration and logistics than others. Look at Mayo as an example.
There are large areas of the county which are rural and are difficult to access at times.
However, they are consistently among the top four or five teams in Ireland. So to use the county championships as a blue-print for success is not an acceptable argument.
There is nothing contained in the recent proposals that is radical, well thought out, or indeed deliverable.
The GAA should do what they do best. They should establish a committee to look at the committee who proved to be such an incredible waste of time and money.
After that, they could even establish a committee to review why they established that committee.
“Never have I seen so many lions led by so many lambs.”
That famous quote seems apt for me.
