CONTROVERSY seems to be following the GAA this season. After having referee decisions and players suspensions under scrutiny, it now seems as if the entire football championship is in need of review.
That is of course, if you listen to the provincial winners. All of whom are now out of the championship, a mere four weeks after they all collected silverware from their province.
There are several schools of thought on format of the championship and whether or not this season’s results merit a change in structure, sooner rather than later.
I know some Limerick football fans feel that Kerry, in particular, got their just desserts. This opinion is formed from those people who saw Kerry players leaving the field on Munster final day, even before the cup was presented to their captain. The fact that the provincial winners are all now out of the championship does mean that something may need fixing. After all, the GAA pride themselves on tradition, so the provincial system has to remain. There are calls for same to be scrapped, but all GAA fans know that the GAA is slow to move.
The problem appears to be the gap inbetween winning in your province and the All Ireland quarter finals. Once you win in your province, you have up to four weeks off. Some counties release their players back to their clubs, others play challenge games. The crux of the problem seems to be that the qualifier sides are benefitting from momentum, having played for a few weeks in a row prior to the quarter finals.
There are number of ways of rectifying this. The provincial champions could be guaranteed a home venue for the quarter finals. There could be one less week of the qualifiers. The provincial championships could be played off earlier. All of these changes of course are there, if change is needed. Whether the provincial champions like it or not, the best teams always win in the end. Yes, there may be a disadvantage to winning the provincial championships, but tell that to those who do not win it on a regular basis. The Kerrys and Tyrones of this World may want to see change, but the Down, Kildare, Cork and Dublin supporters, in the majority, will want to see the current format continued. After all, if you are good enough, you should win no matter what.
At the end of this season, a relatively new champions name will be engraved on the famous Sam Maguire Cup. Isn’t that what we all want? Some up and coming champions as opposed to the same old four or five winning every year?
The qualifiers are not perfect and maybe some tweaking is necessary, but with new teams winning, comes new belief for all. Limerick for instance now know that all is not lost. Cork and Kerry appear to be levelling out. Limerick should have a little luck next season and could benefit from this format. Afterall, Kerry, the biggest bemoaners of the qualifiers have won an All Ireland through the back door. At the end of the day, a win is a win, no matter what way you get it.
