Miskella: Wrong for clubs to be idle

CORK footballer John Miskella believes club fixture calendars need urgent attention as players are being left idle during the summer months as inter-county championships continue to grow.

Miskella expressed sympathy for the plight of club players leftfrustrated by not knowing when they will play but admitted it is “a thankless job” for those in charge of fixing games, particularly in a dual county like Cork.

“It’s wrong and I’ve always said that,” he said. “You could play no game for four months and then have three games in two weeks. There should be a fixed fixture list and the games should be played regardless of who is or isn’t there.

“Something has to be done anyway because the inter-county scene is getting more and more serious. I’ve big sympathy for club players at the moment. In my own club Ballincollig, I’ve played hurling and football for years, and this is my first year now not playing hurling. I’ve seen in the summer lads are booking and cancelling holidays, and they don’t know what they’re doing.

“At least if you’d a fixed fixture list at the start of the year, you’d be able to work around it. But it’s not my decision and, to be honest, I’d hate to be in the position of fixing these games because it’s a thankless job.”

Miskella also insisted young GAA players who go to America on J1 visas cannot be blamed because, in several cases, their club is relatively quiet during the summer anyway.

He cites an example from his own club.

“Last year about four or five lads went away on the J1 and they came back in time to play for us in the fourth round against Castlehaven.

“They missed the second round Carbery Rangers game but since we won that, they didn’t miss much. The championship season goes so slow in both codes now and with the back door system, you don’t miss much.

“Nothing has really progressed. You could go away at the start of the summer and you’d miss very little. You can’t blame young fellas for making that decision then, particularly as they’re struggling to get summer work these days.”