The Supporter: Championships badly need a shake up

So let me get this straight. We’ve played thirty four games over the course of almost two months, and we’re left with the same eight quarter finalists as last year?

I had to double check that one. Yes, last year we had Celbridge v Sarsfields, Raheens v Athy, Naas v Moorefield and Johnstownbridge v Athy.

This year: Celbridge v Clane, Raheens v Athy, Naas v Johnstownbridge and Moorefield v Sarsfields.

Not only that but the two beaten Preliminary Quarter Finalists were Eadestown and Clogherinkoe last year. And you’ve guessed it, this year as well.

The number of times I debate the structure of the Kildare football championships with other supporters isn’t funny at this stage.

There are differing views of course but almost always we arrive quickly at the conclusion that sixteen is too many senior clubs. And sixteen is probably too many Intermediate clubs.

Wouldn’t something like a ten or maximum twelve team competition serve a greater purpose, with more competitive games throughout?

No disrespect to Confey, Carbury, St Laurence’s, Kilcock, Maynooth and Allenwood (or Ballyteague last year) but wouldn’t it be more beneficial for those teams to be competing with each other and (say) the top six teams from Intermediate in a ‘Senior B’ or ‘Intermediate A’ competition rather than hanging on for survival in the top grade?

With ten teams you could have a highly competitive Senior grade with two groups of five, so four games for all teams before the knock-out stages, same as this year.

The top teams would advance straight to the semi-finals with the second and third in each group into the quarter finals. The bottom two in each group would contest relegation finals with one team dropping down to be replaced by the ‘Senior B’ champions.

That would be a similar set-up to the Leinster and Munster championships in hurling, with highly competitive games and very few dead rubbers. No one likes a dead rubber.

There would be implications of course for Leinster competitions. Would the Senior B champions become our representatives in the provincial Intermediate competition and lower down the food chain would our Intermediate winners compete in Junior at Leinster level.

What then for our Junior winners? Perhaps promotion would have to be sufficient reward?

There will be a review of all Kildare’s championship structures this winter, and I’d hope the number of clubs competing at each level will be considered.

The thing is of course, turkeys generally don’t vote for a Christmas that involves them sliding out of the top grade. Imagine Carbury voting for their first relegation in ninety-three years in their Centenary year?

As for the games this weekend, Raheens might be a dark horse against Athy although they disappointed against Johnstownbridge in their last group game. Without Paddy Woodgate their forward line lost some of the swash from its buckle. Athy should get through, but Raheens have the ability to make it difficult.

Moorefield will fancy themselves against Sarsfields. They always do. But surely Sash will get their act together after a disappointing campaign so far in the same way Clane did last weekend.

Clane and Sarsfields are the two curiosities of the competition so far really, with neither seeming capable of extracting consistent winning performances from the considerable resources at their disposal.

I think Sarsfields will sneak through against Moorefield, who are spirited but a bit one-dimensional. I don’t think Clane have much of a prayer against Celbridge given form to date, notwithstanding that win against Eadestown.

Which leaves Naas and Johnstownbridge. Again. That’s another flaw in the current system. We have two repeats of Preliminary Round ties and the same in the Intermediate championship.

Naas have hardly broken sweat so far. At least that’s how it looks. Or maybe they’re getting a little bored with all these five and six point wins? We’re getting towards the business end now and you’d like to see them cut open a bit and maybe score a few goals. If you’re from Naas that is.

If you’re not you want Daniel Flynn to rediscover 2018 form and cut them to pieces. I can’t see that happening. It looks like Naas v Athy and Celbridge v Sarsfields in the last four.

Getting back to competitions and competition structures, what on earth are the GAA doing in “pausing” the pre-season competitions for 2025? We all know it will be a Railway Cup-style ‘pause’ and we’ll never see another O’Byrne Cup.

Now maybe I’m biased due to Kildare’s position at the top of the roll of honour of the O’BC but surely in this of all seasons with Jim Gavin’s revolutionary new rules, or at least a good fistful of them, coming into competitive use as soon as the League throws in, the pre-season competitions would have been an ideal vehicle to get players, referees and supporters familiar with what could be a very different looking game altogether?

It was a great idea to organise a televised ‘Railway Cup’ competition between the provinces to trial and showcase the new rules and I can’t wait to see what impact they have.

But that will involve a limited number of players. I know counties will be organising challenge games in January (if not before, whisper it) but those will be behind closed doors no doubt with supporters twiddling our fingers and watching televised soccer throughout the month.

I have another idea (and that’s my lot for one column). In the GAA’s centenary year of 1984, they ran a knockout cup competition for the 32 counties on an open draw basis.

Why not, over five weekends (or three or four weekends and a midweek or two) run a similar competition this January, with games televised or Clubbered, the length and breadth of the land to showcase Gavin’s shiny new ball game? The Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh Cup has a good ring to it.

Cill Dara Abú