[ad_1]
Dublin GAA Secretary John Costello has stressed the importance of the county’s season unfolding in the future before the club.
In his annual report, Costello, a member of the GAA’s national party task force, explained his reasons.
“[A]As normalcy gradually returns, it should become increasingly apparent that club before county is a quick-fix scenario likely to create multiple problems. First of all a match scheduling headache, as county finals require a very early completion to run from the provincial and all-Ireland club championships – ahead of the county season!
“Club competitions other than championships would inevitably suffer as well. Then consider the possibility of intercountry players feeling indebted to their club and county management teams. Will county managers across the country be content to sit back and let the club season unfold before bringing their teams together? How fast before the inevitable tug of war occurs?
“There will not be a pandemic every year, we hope! Looking ahead, it makes much more sense to run all county activity first in a condensed window, ending, say, in mid-July, before the focus shifts to our club championships.
“Let’s not forget that club league games can still be held in the spring and early summer, providing regular match exposure for most players. And when it comes to club championships, which still start in the summer, there will be a longer window in more benign conditions.
“The fundamental 2020 lesson must not be lost: splitting the season works and as part of the GAA Fixture Schedule Review Working Group, I will champion this position before Congress in February.
“But we can’t ignore another ‘elephant in the room’: Unless we come up with a schedule that ensures a much healthier ratio of games to training sessions, we might as well have been breaking hairs, not seasons.”
Costello also highlighted this year’s All-Ireland SFC elimination structure as a solution for this year only.
Mentioning the famous weekend for the Cavan and Tipperary footballers last month, he wrote: “In the immediate aftermath of that spectacular double whammy, it is no wonder that many observers were quick to bow before the altar of a back-to-back championship playoffs. This euphoric viewpoint was not limited to Premier supporters or staunch Breffni either. The theory seemed to be that if there had been a back door, this would never have happened.
But instant judgments clouded by emotion are not always the most reliable guides. While you can only salute Tipp and Cavan’s voracious intent, who’s to say they wouldn’t have produced something similar in the Munster / Ulster finals if a qualifying safety net still existed? After all, winning their province, not backdoor progression, was the holy grail that propelled them in the first place. ”
He also sees the need for a black card when pitching. “It has been obvious for some time, long before this congressional rebuttal, that a well-meaning constituency of stakeholders – players, managers, officials, and supporters – strongly opposes the introduction of the black card.
“Maybe they see soccer and hurling as two very different games that should not automatically be viewed through the same prism of the rule book, and they are right. But perhaps some of them also possess a somewhat cloudy view of the ancient game: that our warrior heroes are incapable of cynicism? If that is your belief, you are clearly wrong.
“Cynicism exists in all team sports; He’s also more likely to prevail at the elite level, unless there are sufficient penalties that make him detrimental to his team’s prospects. We have seen what could be called flagrant ‘black card’ infringements at launch on numerous occasions, and several times in this year’s championship as well.
“The rugby tackle pull-down that throws a free yellow card – and relatively useless – is the most recurrent and frustrating, especially when a team is defending an advantage and bent on avoiding a goal concession. Would you see less of this particular type of foul if the punishment was ten minutes in the bin? We suspect so. ”
Costello also suggests that the Ladies Gaelic Football Association and the Camogie Association join the GAA as soon as possible.
“This could integrate the experience and expertise of all sports agencies when it comes to issues that profoundly affect players across counties. These range from the old problems of solving the match schedule and (more particularly in women’s sports) trying to accommodate our elite dual players.
“Perhaps at the end of 2020, after the 20×20 campaign, which set out to create a measurable cultural change in our perception of women’s sport so that it is seen as something strong, valuable and worthy of celebration alike, the moment of this merger, is it soon? ? “
[ad_2]