The Football Championship Needs a Revamp - What Though?

I think we all agree to the fact that the current Championship format is on borrowed time, but what would you do to improve it?

I have been a fan of using the National League and the Championship as one, with the league you are in depicting what Championship you are in (Div 1 & 2, SMG-Div 3 & 4-TM), however with the story that was Sligo and the one that is Wicklow, this format would mean that they wouldn't have got their chance of a run in the All Ireland!

I know some people have mooted a Champions League format, which went down like a fart in a lift in Derry with too many meaningless games!

I've been thinking long and hard about this, and have come up with a compromise of sorts to be praised or shot down as you see fit!

I was thinking of how you would make a Champions League style work in a way that it would be meaningful for longer and the answer was pretty simple.

Use the division the counties are in to seed them in a champions league style draw, then draw your groups of 4 teams (Obviously New Yorks position would be as a fourth seed or they would have to enter via a playoff), meaning each group would have a team from each division.

In the groups, each county play each other once with the top 2 going into the Sam Maguire Cup (if you finish top then you can only play a second place team from another group), the third place teams going into the Tommy Murphy and the bottom placed sides going home! (just like the Champions League groups with 3rd going into the UEFA Cup)

This would mean that the League would have a bearing on the Championship, all county teams would have the right to play in the All Ireland series and hopefully give games some meaning by making third place competitive.

What's your views on that idea and what other ideas are out there to re-vamp the Championship?

Yep thats a sound enough idea BE. I think some kind of Champs League format has to be given a try. I don't think there would be total uproar if the provincial c'ships were to be parked for a season or two. The provinces have their O'Byrne, McKenna cups etc anyway - it might bring new life to them.

I dunno about linking League though. It is only to be expected that lads can be rested for League etc (amateurs after all) and it gives a counties a chance to try out fresh blood.

I think 8 groups of 4 is the way to go and seeded too. Would agree with a secondary comp for 3rd places but would also provide a comp for 4th place finishers.

Without being disrespectful, the league very rarey lies even if county teams are resting players, the sides that are in the top division i feel deserve to be there Jayo, their final placing may be questionable (Derry, Kerry & Galway this year for example) but ultimately the side that goes down deserves to.

bald eagle wrote:Without being disrespectful, the league very rarey lies even if county teams are resting players, the sides that are in the top division i feel deserve to be there Jayo, their final placing may be questionable (Derry, Kerry & Galway this year for example) but ultimately the side that goes down deserves to.

Yep quite true BE - but if you put that kind of incentive on the League it could be detrimental for club football as one it could make for a longer 'serious' intercounty season and county managers may not want players playing club football.

this seems a good idea but just as JC has said would have a detrimental effect on club football . there would end up one seasons league and championship not being finished until the start of the next calendar year.

at the minute the balance is ok - this season a change was brought about to get more club football played in the summer with straight to extra time and qualifiers more condensed. also the current format is turning the gaa enough money even in the current climate. we will never go back to straight knock out as loss of income but to go to champions league style formatt means every football team playing 3 group games a last 16 1/4 1/2 and final which totals to 7 games to win AI. where would club football fit in ?

redhandman wrote:this seems a good idea but just as JC has said would have a detrimental effect on club football . there would end up one seasons league and championship not being finished until the start of the next calendar year.

at the minute the balance is ok - this season a change was brought about to get more club football played in the summer with straight to extra time and qualifiers more condensed. also the current format is turning the gaa enough money even in the current climate. we will never go back to straight knock out as loss of income but to go to champions league style formatt means every football team playing 3 group games a last 16 1/4 1/2 and final which totals to 7 games to win AI. where would club football fit in ?

So what would be an alternative then?

As i said it's only an act of progression, and as almost all counties play at least 2 championship matches the added one along with the straight knockout format wouldn'd add that much (if anything) onto the season as it currently stands.

i would be totally against anything that reduces club time as I have previously stated I would love to tatse that March 17th feeling it must be something truely magical.

More intercounty = less club
Less club = poorer quality of players
Poorer player = poorer intercounty championship
Poorer intercounty championship = change the format
change the format = where we are now

Only trying to show the vicous circle that we have or can generate.

BE sorry i stated that at the moment the balnace is ok - i actually think that the current formatt is as good as its gonna get. every format will have weakness ( such as the losing provincial finalists playing less than a week after losing and that usually provincial winners are weaker).

the way it stands this year good amount of club football plus every team was still in championship at start of july !

redhandman wrote:BE sorry i stated that at the moment the balnace is ok - i actually think that the current formatt is as good as its gonna get. every format will have weakness ( such as the losing provincial finalists playing less than a week after losing and that usually provincial winners are weaker).

the way it stands this year good amount of club football plus every team was still in championship at start of july !

Redhand I agree but we are only playing our 2nd round of the champ in Wex this weekend and not all teams playing because of some stupid match in portlaoise

jim

in tyropne last year my team played round one of the championship on a wet windy wednesday night in omagh in october the championship was ran off in the space of 3 weeks ( we played 3 games of championship football in 11 days!) then we had 4 league games to play to try and stay in our divison . we played our last game in the middle of november.

this year with the minor tweakings that have taken place we have played round 1 of the championship ( 8 teams left and 1/4 finals onwards will be played after league is over i presume) with only 4 games left in the league as well - which will be completed before the all ireland final . i think thats pretty impressive and i dont see how it could be improved to better the amount of county football or the regularity of club games

redhandman wrote:jim

in tyropne last year my team played round one of the championship on a wet windy wednesday night in omagh in october the championship was ran off in the space of 3 weeks ( we played 3 games of championship football in 11 days!) then we had 4 league games to play to try and stay in our divison . we played our last game in the middle of november.

this year with the minor tweakings that have taken place we have played round 1 of the championship ( 8 teams left and 1/4 finals onwards will be played after league is over i presume) with only 4 games left in the league as well - which will be completed before the all ireland final . i think thats pretty impressive and i dont see how it could be improved to better the amount of county football or the regularity of club games

Big improvement all right.
Few questions ye still run a knockout championship in Tyrone?
How many league games do you have?

In wexford as it stands we start our league in March (we have agrand total of 5 games) top two i2 in each group go to semis and final usually over in June at the latest.
Our champ is generally as follows (last year was ablimp)
1st round in May (2 weeks football 2 weeks hurling)
End of July/start of august 2nd round,
Then jung ho from there you play you last group game and into a or b champ at 1/4 final stage.
so max you play in 6 champ games (barring draw in semis/final only games that can go to a replay without extra time).
if you get to a league final it is 7 games+ 6 games champ.
so 13 games max a year (dual player can be 26)
Start training in Feb for this, even know of clubs who go back before xmas.
How many games if succesful in tyrone league and champ

the leagues have been changed over the last few years back about ten years ago you got 3 divisons of 16 each team got 15 league games and one championship game and 3 league cup games (minimum) the leagues then went into playoffs for promo relegation. no real set up always started april and championshiup round one early in year and usually all competitions finished in nov / dec!

then changed to 4 divisions of 12 played 22 league games one championship game and no league cup senior championship had 24 teams intermediate had 12 and junior had 12 played up to 11 games in league without county players with playoffs @ year end for promo / relegation again started 1st week of april but ended about nov dec depending on county team

last 2 years back to the old 3 divisons with league cup and championship as stated at the top but mixed in starred games this year so leagues will be finished ( expcet playoffs ) by 13 september. championship started b4 tyrone played in championship as used to happen( last year all championship was delayed until tyrones involvement finished).

as you can see @ the min club players get 15 league 3 league cup and a minimum of 1 championship game ( 19 ) not too bad and well spaced . out last year played 6 games in first 6 weeks then one game every fortnight then 2 months with no football before all championship and 4-6 league games squeezed into 2 months depending on circumstances and playoffs played starting from 1st october!