Laim Hayes - 10 Point Plan To Save Football

Just read this article by Mr Hayes - not sure what to make of it yet some of it sounds a bit ridiculous to me - though he is right about the standard of football!!!!!

It's an admission that none of us like all that much, and it's this: Our great game is really second class. Most of the time, it's a bit of a mess. Compare the All Ireland hurling final with the All Ireland football final or, on second thoughts, don't go there! It's just too depressing.

When George Hook opined, once upon a time, that rugby football was the greatest game on grass, he was almost bang on. An outstanding game of rugby is the second greatest game on grass in my opinion. Hurling remains number one, and last month's epic duel between Kilkenny and Tipperary probably had George secretly coming around to the exact same conclusion as ourselves.

He might hold up every single contest in recent years between Leinster and Munster as a worthy rival to Kilkenny and Tipperary and, certainly, having remained on the very edge of my seat in the RDS last Saturday evening, enthralled and inspired by a game which was so ludicrously one-sided, but which still had every single minute packed with scintillating entertainment value, I really wouldn't want to take on George, in person, and certainly not on his radio show, for too long in an argument on this very subject.

Let's stick with Gaelic football here this morning, and let us ask ourselves one very quick question.

What was the last game of football, and I'm talking county here, not club , which you or I could suggest was clear evidence that our great game has aged well and can, sometimes, be absolutely spine-tingling to watch, either from the best seat in the house or the best seat in our sitting-room?

Don't feel at all pressurised!

I'm thinking as hard as you are, and if my memory serves me correctly the 1994 first round Ulster Championship meeting of reigning All Ireland champions Derry and Down was, perhaps, the last truly great game of Gaelic football I can come up with. Since then? Spine-tingling is the marker we have to go by, okay?

I'm still struggling! Dublin, believe it or not, have been in some exceptionally good games during the reign of Tommy Carr, then Tommy Lyons and Paul Caffrey, and even though all of these games have ended up in real heartbreak for the county, it is possible to name half a dozen games in which they have played a giant-sized part in keeping the entire country decently entertained.

Kerry and Cork have given us several fine, manly games in the Munster championship over the last three or four years to recall. Tyrone, for all their tightness and expert efficiency, have always been worth watching and, twice in the decade just ended, Armagh and Tyrone served up thrilling games of football.

But, still, has there been even one game in the last 15 summers to completely rival that 1994 game which was breathtakingly engineered by two extraordinarily talented managers, the late Eamonn Coleman and Pete McGrath? Before 1994, and since, there has been a great tranche of mediocre-to-good football games – some of which I played in myself.

I had the great honour of playing in five All Ireland finals: 1987, '88, '88 again, '90, and '91. The first, against Cork, we won and it was a poor game to watch (I know, because I later watched it, once, and once only!). The second and third finals, also both of them with Cork, we drew (and I'd classify it as a mediocre-to-good game for the neutral Gaelic football supporter) and won (a bloody awful game to watch). The fourth of these finals, still against Cork, was a dreary, all-round dreadful contest, which we lost. And the last of my five finals, in which we lost to Down by two points after trailing by something like 14 points early in the second-half, was very interesting as the clock counted down, but for the most part could only be recalled by Down fans as being in any way memorable.

This summation I believe to be fairly accurate. For Kerry football folk, who believe me to be painfully biased in declaring that four of their five All Ireland victories in this decade were delivered at the end of all-round dreadful games of football, this recollection and verdict upon my own, happiest, playing days might just make them accept that I am not completely evil-minded.

So, what are we to do about our own troubled, lovable game? I've got my ideas. Ten of them, and that's just for starters. The following is a mixed bag of some serious ideas for change, and some shallow, but still useful, ideas about upping the entertainment value of our game. All of the following we can do in Gaelic football, and limit to Gaelic football. Why interfere with hurling when it is already close to the complete sporting package?

If I was GAA president and, some readers of this column may recall that I assumed that position for five working days in the middle of this summer, I'd produce a three-year plan to make Gaelic football a better game. Add to this list, if you like. As you know, I'm an open-minded, all-inclusive sort of president.

1. Three consecutive hand-passes only

And, why not? Who ever decided that our game should only have one hop at a time? It makes no sense. Why not two hops in-a-row? Why not one solo at a time and as many hops as you like?

The single greatest benefit to introducing three consecutive hand-passes only is that it will immediately force our game to resemble a game of football more than a game of handball, and the predictable, repetitive, quite boring patterns which teams use in running the ball out of defence and through the middle third of the field would come to an end.

Playing the ball two-thirds of the length of the field, all by hand, has become the single most dominant characteristic of Gaelic football over the last decade, and it's doing our game no good whatsoever.

2. Get the time right with a clock that stops when play stops

Let's buy a big, giant-like clock for Croke Park. Two clocks – one at either end. And let's play Gaelic football for 70 minutes, exactly, rather than having games condensed into contests half that length of time.

3. Get rid of the restriction on substitutes

If we want 70 minutes of football, then we're going to have to allow teams to introduce as many substitutes as they damn well like. Otherwise, players will collapse all over the field. What's so wrong with teams using the 10 or 15 substitutes, who have been training as part of the county panel all season?

4. Introduce the 'sin bin' again and make sure it stays

If we have oodles and oodles of substitutes, then there's no reason why we can't revert to the experimental 'sin bin' which was tried a couple of seasons back and was tossed aside for no good reason. A sin bin will quickly help to rid Gaelic football of its crude and ugly ways.

5. Take two players away and make the game 13-a-side

We've got faster games, longer games over 70 minutes, and all the substitutes any manager would ever need, so let's also open up the game more and aim for more and more scores, and more and more goals.

6. Let the linesmen loose and allow them on the field

Certainly the greatest waste of any human resources within the GAA is the linesman who, may be fit and healthy, have a brilliant understanding of the game, but who is told to stay on his own side of the line – and not move across that line unless invited to do so by the referee. Who decided that the linesman has to raise his flag in order to be 'heard' by the referee or 'heard' by any of the players on the field?

Let our linesmen loose. Give them multiple tasks – the first of which is looking after the line.

7. It's time to introduce the great big referee in the sky

This works! We've seen it across the world, and we've seen it become a central requirement in rugby. If introduced in Gaelic football we'd get fairer, more just decisions in our big games, and we'd also have a bit of extra drama waiting, guessing and deciphering, the most crucial moments in each game.

8. Times have changed, so time to get rid of the ridiculous Square ball

The man who came up with the idea of the 'square ball' is probably well dead by now, so here's one ridiculous, irrelevant, completely nonsensical rule which can be buried with him immediately. There was a time when goalkeepers in Gaelic football had to stand up for themselves when a high ball descended down right on top of them. Around this same time, full-backs protected their goalkeepers like the fiercest of 'enforcers'. Goalkeepers and full-backs were, together back in that time, the stuff of legend. What could go so badly wrong in looking to rediscover those legendary days?

9. Bring on the night and get more games under the bright lights

Every second tin-pot county ground has now become illuminated. We've spent millions and millions of euro on the most brilliant of lights and, in Croker, those lights have given the few games we have seen played 'in light' a whole new glow. We need more games under lights, through the spring and also in the autumn. Imagine the intrigue and splendour of a first All Ireland football final, with a 7.30 pm throw-in time, under lights!

10. Introduce music, lots and lots of music

The only time we get to hear some music in Croke Park is when the players have left the field. Let's have more music. Let's get every county team to enter the field to their own thundering anthem or piece of rock music. Let's juice up the entire occasion.

I think it is the 10 pint plan - cos he obviously dreamed it up after 10 pints!

[quote="bocerty"]problems as seen by redhandman.

1. Three consecutive hand-passes only

silly we will have players kicking to touch like his precious rugby

2. Get the time right with a clock that stops when play stops

maybe but cant see how this will work in junior clubs or even in omagh?! did he buy shares in timex?!

3. Get rid of the restriction on substitutes

american football 15 defenders 15 forwards and micheal o will lose the run of himself when some manager makes 12 changes at the one time

4. Introduce the 'sin bin' again and make sure it stays

your either on or off cant be both.

5. Take two players away and make the game 13-a-side

just means a team of more atheletes as the 12 outfield have to cover more ground will ruin what ability is left.

6. Let the linesmen loose and allow them on the field

sure lets try two refs , ya know for the craic

7. It's time to introduce the great big referee in the sky

see answer to point two pluse he musta bought shares in samsung panasonic as well when the prices were low!

8. Times have changed, so time to get rid of the ridiculous Square ball

as a keeper no. forwards love to get a chance to give you a rattle enough times without lettin all hell break loose in the small parallellogram again the game would be like rugger with three big fellas trying to stop 3 bigger fellas pushing the ball over the line

9. Bring on the night and get more games under the bright lights

great excitement but not fair on people travelling, sunday is gaa day let it be. people work saturdays and mondays try travelling home on sunday darn near midnight or skippin work on saturday just to play under lights!

10. Introduce music, lots and lots of music

thats why we let u2 robbie williams and fupin celine dion onto croker for the music enough is enough!quote]

slan
RHM

what i don't get is this is an attempt by him to make football 'better' very few of these 10 points if they were implemented would improve the standard of football. How in under god would playing music or starting matches later improve football - for a man who was a good footballer he is making a complete ass of himself in his journalism career!!!!!!