It should be a big weekend of GAA action with the League Finals taking place and the club season beginning, and yet it just feels that we are being short-changed on both fronts at the moment.
The split season looks good on paper but I just don’t see who it is really serving at the moment. It’s not working.
We find ourselves in a position this weekend where we are wondering how interested teams will be in the league finals as the Championship begins on the first weekend in April.
The start of our club leagues used to be really competitive but now certain teams could be going out without five or six key players, and that has to have an impact.
The intercounty season is much too congested and intense.
The Donegal players have had two weekends without a match since the start of January.
It’s putting a huge strain on their bodies and unfortunately they have picked up a lot of injuries.
They aren’t the only county either. Galway are in a bad way, and Tyrone have injury concerns, and I don’t know if any team is really anywhere near operating at 100% at the moment.
I always enjoyed the league finals. They were usually good games between the top teams and there was plenty of time to correct things if all wasn’t going to plan, and there was a chance for young lads to stake a claim for a spot in the championship team.
There would then be a five or six week break and county players would head back to their clubs.
They would play the first three or four games to help the club get off to a solid start and then the focus would switch back to the intercounty season.
It was a block where you could get a lot of work done, and boys that were carrying knocks could get themselves right.
Unless someone was out with a very serious injury, they would usually be back in time for the start of the Ulster Championship, and that’s what we want.
You want to see your county’s best against your neighbour’s best instead of both teams missing two or three important players.
It was also better for supporters because it gave them time to build up to the match.
Now they are coming so thick and fast, it’s difficult to keep up.
All the chat is about Donegal v Derry on April 20 but the side that wins that match will just have one week to get ready for Cavan, Monaghan or Tyrone in a semi-final.
There’s no time to bask in a good win and it puts a strain on the fan as well as there is only so much money in the monthly pay packet to take the family out to football matches.
Championship football should be like prize fights – it shouldn’t be run off like a quickfire league.
I hope Jarlath Burns and the GAA hierarchy have a look at things because it’s not working. They should talk to and listen to managers and players and see what is really going on.
Of course, the way it was in years gone by wasn’t perfect, but it’s better than what we have at the moment.
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