An end to the Qualifiers

[bracknaghboy]

The novelty was worn off now (in Offaly we never even had the novelty) and these Qualifiers have ruined both county and club GAA. Lets look closer.

1. So many pointless football games this weekend. Our own example is the Offaly Wexford clash. Every poster here that is honest will admit that this game is all about which if either team can be bothered. By all accounts neither county has much interest in it. Now is that the right spirit to have an All Ireland fixture played in? At least in the old knockout format we were sure of getting full blooded games with teams not giving up. Questioning if teams will be interested or not is amunition enough to scrap the qualifiers.

2. How poor are the inter-county football games were are seeing these days? Teams no longer put up a battle to the end. Once 4 or 5 points down then lads switch off because they are still in the qualifiers (the paradox here is that deep down there is no stomach for the qualifier route either). Offaly, Wexford, Roscommon, Westmeath and Laois all threw in the towl in their respective matches.....yes they are all woefully poor teams but when things went pear shapped they didnt at least stand up and play like it will be there last few mins in a county shirt for the year (arguably Offaly put up the best 2nd half fight of all these teams and thats not saying much). It was different when it was real knockout....I remember in 1994 we played Wicklow in Tullamore and were 7 points down with 5 mins to go lads played like their lives depended on it and we emerged 5 point winners.....this simply does not happen any more.

3. The club player is being treated like crap. Look at Offaly. In the last 8 weeks and nothing but a sprinkling of hurling club games (the senior ones being pointless). Even now there is isnt a clear picture of whats about to happen. Weather wise we have had 4 or 5 very fine weekends in the last 8 and not a ball kicked. What are lads to do? How are teams to prepare. (Offaly is probably a worst case example because places like Kilkenny, Galway are Cork are running through their championsips). Surely county players would be better off playing club championsip football.

4. Who is benefiting from these qualifiers. They were introduced to help weaker teams. Yet when the likes of Kerry get beaten they are back in and are primed to go as far as they would if they went the normal route. There is even talk about teams being better off taking the qualifier route. The mere notion of teams being happier to be beaten in championship 'proper' suggests that they need to be scrapped. Yes there are the odd team that get a decent run going...Wicklow, Longford have had a crack at it but overall it just suits the better counties.

Theres a real non event feeling at these games. In the past every game was played to the death. Now we are left with half arsed championship 'proper' games and then a bunch of pointless qualifiers. I think all this applies to both Hurling and Football....although the hurling qualifiers are a little more tolerable due to the small amount of teams.

What do you think lads? Am I talking nonsence?? Or should we SCRAP THE QUALIFIERS????????

[Colin H]

no your not talkin nonsence but i dont think the qualifiers should be scrapped!

i think this because look at the good teams..tyrone,kerry,cork,derry,dublin,armagh,mayo and other strong teams,if they lost in their respective provinces then they would be knocked out of the championship altogether.

i mean look at tyrone..armagh could have bet them on another day and dat would mean the all-ireland champions would be out of the championship altogether and that would knock the excitment out of the championship!

i agree that most teams dont take them seriously includin offaly and wexford but i think it should be there for the stronger teams.

[corneyback]

The qualifiers are a good and bad idea.Good for the fact that the likes of the weaker counties get a chance to play at least 2 championship matches.Imagine training flat out since Jan and then getting knocked out in the first round.Most of the weaker teams don't seem to be arsed with it but look at what Kildare done last year.Played shite football and ended up in an All Ireland 1/4 final.This year they have moved on a notch.They're not world beaters but they have improved.Maybe it's time we took these seriously and gave it a burst and see where it gets us.We're not going to be within an asses roar of winning an All Ireland but would be nice to see us play a few more games.Maybe the players are in a recession mentality and don't want to burden us with the expense of spending a few bob travelling and paying into the games!!!

[Archangel]

The qualifiers are a good and bad idea.Good for the fact that the likes of the weaker counties get a chance to play at least 2 championship matches.Imagine training flat out since Jan and then getting knocked out in the first round.Most of the weaker teams don't seem to be arsed with it but look at what Kildare done last year.Played shite football and ended up in an All Ireland 1/4 final.This year they have moved on a notch.They're not world beaters but they have improved.Maybe it's time we took these seriously and gave it a burst and see where it gets us.We're not going to be within an asses roar of winning an All Ireland but would be nice to see us play a few more games.Maybe the players are in a recession mentality and don't want to burden us with the expense of spending a few bob travelling and paying into the games!!!

Spot on!

[Lone Shark]

I think the biggest problem with the qualifiers, and indeed the season in general, is the huge gap between when you are eliminated and when you're out in the qualifiers. Offaly will have been inactive for six weeks or so and that's a long time to keep going without any football. There is no reason why it should take this long and if there was no longer than three weeks AT A MAXIMUM between provincial elimination and the qualifiers, then it would be easier to keep teams interested. As was pointed out, there has been six weeks gone by without any county or club football, and that makes no sense whatsoever.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Off the top of me head - some teams who benefitted from the qualifiers:-

Sligo - beat Kildare in Croke Park - lost out to the Dubs
Westmeath the first year - remember a thrilling extra time win over Mayo on TV one Saturday evening
Sligo again who went on a run - lost to Armagh in a replay.
Limerick - beat Cavan in a replay, then beat Offaly before losing out to Mayo
Roscommon - the year Frankie Dolan went mad against Offaly and Kildare
Fermanagh - reached the all Ireland semi final
Tipperary - got to paly in Croke Park.
Laois - the year they beat Tyrone

There are several more.

[the bare biffo]

I dont think the proble is with the qualifiers themaelves but more with a disconnect in mentality between GAA authorities and players in counties like Offaly. I think Offaly and many other counties are still very much in an amateur frame of mind. They play football for enjoyment, the the intercounty championship a good rattle and then want to go back to doing what they enjoy. GAA authorities however are ruled by finances. They have created an organistaion that is fully professional in everything but name and in every area except where it matters most, the playrers. The GAA simply couldn't contemplate any more, the prospect of Dublin being caught on the hop in the Leinster Championship by the likes of Offaly, Wexford or Louth and not having a way back in. Meanwhile lipservice is paid to the plight of the club player in all this. In reality those in Croke Park couldnt give a toss about club players (mis guidedly).
That said, disaster for club players has not been brought about by the qualifiers exclusively. I remember many moons ago playing a first round championship game in April and the second round in October because the couty were involved right up to the All Ireland final.

If the GAA want to pursue a pro / semi pro structure, so be it, but the notion of players playing with both club and county in the current structure just doesnt work. Something has to give. As an average club player I would rather see my more talented mates playing serious intercounty football and allow me to have a full schedule of games that I canlook forward to and plan my life around, than to be sitting around on my arse waiting to see what happens with the county team.

[Lone Shark]

I think that the above post is not too far off the mark, but I would suggest one difference - I don't actually think that extra money was the motivation for the extra games, however I would say that it's "the squeaky wheel that gets the grease" to some extent.

The county players that are most often in the media eye are the ones from the bigger counties and the ones who are professional themselves in nature and who have a county board that can afford and supports this. These are the guys whose whole life revolves around intercounty GAA and as you say, the idea of being knocked out of the championship after one game simply doesn't sit well with them.

The other type of intercounty player, the guy who trains quietly, hopes for the one good day to make it all worthwhile but then goes back to his club, these kind of workaday guys don't make the national papers. Any lad with the perspective to see intercounty football or hurling for what it is - an enjoyable pastime but not as important as work or family, doesn't make the same headlines as the McManus type - trains four hours a day and commutes from Japan to play club league.

There's room in the GAA for both of these guys and several other variants as well, but the system right now is built to suit the "professional" type player, and my concern is that this will come back to bite us on the behind some day soon.