5 things to change in the GAA
AS IT stands the inter-county season is too long, running from early January to the third Sunday in September.
For counties involved late in the championship this means that a player’s season is considerably prolonged as a backlog of club championship commitments are fulfilled. The close season of November and December misses the point, as it’s club commitments that keep already jaded players going late into the winter. I feel the league should start in March and run in its current format. This would also allow time for a pre-season. When it finished in May, I would move immediately onto the Championship and have teams playing on a weekly or fortnightly basis. Players prefer playing games rather than training sometimes for up to five weeks without a game.
The season could finish in mid August allowing players return to their clubs to complete championships and actually avail of a close season and avoid burn out caused by playing year round. Also the club player could be catered for by playing leagues without their county men concurrently with the inter-county season. They could plan holidays and also prepare properly for championship rather than being in a situation where their whole season is dictated by the success or otherwise of the county team.
THERE will be problems with controversial scores again this summer. For every Joe Sheridan moment, there is at least one occasion in most games when someone is disputing the validity of an umpire’s call. The introduction of Hawk Eye for judging whether a ball has crossed the line or whether it has gone between the uprights is the very least we should expect.
There is a worry that this could slow down our games. I disagree. Players feigning injury to kill the opposition’s momentum is a much bigger time-wasting issue. There could be a tactical element to the call. Each manager has one call per half. If he wants to object to the validity of a score he can tell the sideline official who would then communicate with the referee. The Hawk Eye technology decides in seconds. If the manager is correct he retains his call whereas if he is wrong his call for that half is gone.
THE captain’s All-Ireland victory speech is unique in world sport to our games. Yes, there have been some godawful speeches where adrenaline and excitement turns the victorious captain into Spud in the famous scene in ‘Trainspotting’ where he is applying for a job from hell. The winning minor captain no longer is given the opportunity to speak. This means that the presentation of the Tom Markham Cup is a bit of an anti-climax. Maybe the powers that be should not underestimate the oratorical ability of these young men. A case in point was this year’s Galway U21 winning captain Colin Forde who impressed with a relevant and composed speech. It’s important the minors once again get their say even if it does mean having to listen to Archbishop Clifford wax lyrical on the third Sunday in September.
THE Sunday Game is a GAA institution. But the time is right to really shake up the programme. Some of the pundits have snappy and accurate analysis and are very good at their jobs. However, same-voice syndrome is a bad thing and often the same voices are saying the same things. Also it would be great to accentuate the positives more often. A ‘Goal of the Month’ or ‘Score of the month’ competition would be interesting. A showboat section, a la ‘Soccer AM’, which would highlight individual moments of brilliance — such as a Gooch dummy — could work. I would also love to see a new wave of analysts on board and freshen the whole thing up. There are a lot of players just out of the game who would be more in touch with the intricacies of the modern game. I would love to hear the opinions of people such as Michael Donnellan, Enda McNulty, Darragh O Sé and Trevor Giles. They know what it takes to win and could give us a new perspective. I won’t hold my breath on this one, though.
THE disciplinary system needs to be changed and fast. The current system of suspensions, appeals and hearings is unwieldy and very drawn out. It is slow, time-consuming and expensive — not to mention frustrating. A panel of former referees should be convened for Championship days. They would have a much better feel for the game and could revisit any major incidents on a Sunday evening. If a player was to be cited for an incident, this panel could notify him that same evening. The player has until 12 noon on Monday to decide if he wants a hearing to appeal. If a hearing is necessary, that should take place on Monday evening. This could be done via video conferencing to facilitate all parties and to cut down costs. A decision is made and the player knows no later than Tuesday morning. If a final decision could be reached so speedily, it would eliminate unnecessary controversy and the need for meetings about meetings.
