Harte: Play semis off over one weekend

Mickey Harte has called on the GAA to consider hosting both All-Ireland football semi-finals over the same weekend as one of numerous ways to free up the calendar for club games and a rejuvenated Railway Cup.

Harte, who is the subject of tomorrow’s Irish Examiner Big Interview ahead of tomorrow night’s Game for Michaela in Casement Park to raise funds for the Michaela Foundation in memory of his deceased daughter, believes the Football Review Committee should make minimal changes to football and its current championship structure but does advocate some tweaking to the sport’s schedule.

And one of his most interesting proposals is that not only should the Ulster Council play a couple of championship games over the one weekend, but so should Central Council itself when it comes to the All-Ireland semi-final stages in both football and hurling.

“The provincial championships have to be tidied up quicker. This thing of taking a Sunday for every game in a provincial championship takes too long. There is no reason why a provincial council shouldn’t have one championship game on a Saturday and another on a Sunday. In fact there’d be an extra buzz about the game on a Sunday as a result of all the talk about the game on the Saturday,” said Harte.

“I think it might be a good idea for the All-Ireland semi-finals as well. Have the two of them on the same weekend. That would tighten things up a good bit as well and allow for another weekend to get in club championship games and ring-fence a couple of weekends in October or November for the Railway Cup.”

Harte is a strong supporter of the inter-provincial competition, though he believes it will further struggle in its current slot of February and March, when players already have a relentless schedule with the National Leagues.

But he is more sceptical of a Champions League-style format, or any attempt to artificially tweak the provinces so they are made up of four groups of eight.

“I think a format like that could lead to a lot of damp squibs. Your last game could be a Division 4 team against a Division 1 team that has already qualified. Who’s going to go to that?”

Harte though, is in favour of retaining National League semi-finals in Division 1 and that both games are played in Croke Park.

Central Council came in for considerable criticism this year when it reverted back to the semi-final format and staged both games in Croke Park instead of giving the top two teams home advantage for their last-four tie.

“Again, I think without semi-finals you have a few damp squibs for teams that can’t make the final and can’t be relegated either.

“But if you go into the last round of the league knowing a win ensures a semi-final spot, it makes it a very competitive league. I’m very much looking forward to next year’s Division 1.”

And Harte believes staging the semi-finals in Croke Park is a must as it has helped emerging young teams, such as the Tyrone and Laois teams of 2003 and as recently as Mayo in 2012.

“I read a lot of reports last April saying there was ‘only’ 12,000 people at the league semi-finals. Why not just say that there was 12,000 people at the league semi-finals?

“Anyway, I don’t care how many go to the semi-finals. It’s not about economy of scales, it’s about promoting the game and developing teams and giving an important day in the calendar a proper setting.”

Meanwhile, Harte has expressed his admiration for Jack O’Connor’s Kerry team — but believes they over-celebrated last summer’s ill-tempered qualifier win over his own Tyrone team.

The game was characterised by Kerry’s jubilant celebrations as well as Brian McGuigan’s sending off, which prompted the former All Star to criticise Declan O’Sullivan of gamesmanship and accuse other Kerry players of being socially standoffish, but that hasn’t been Harte’s experience of the Kingdom.

“It was obvious that game meant more to Kerry than it did to us because they were more energised for it than we were but afterwards I would have been concerned if I was from Kerry that there was a degree of over-celebration that day.

“Because they weren’t beating the Tyrone team of old. They were beating a team that was wearing Tyrone jerseys but not of the quality that had played Kerry before in the championship or indeed of Tyrone teams that Kerry had beaten in the league in the past.

“Those league wins didn’t excite them nearly as much.

“But I would only have the height of respect for Kerry football and that Kerry team. I strongly disagreed with Brian’s sending off but I wouldn’t necessarily have agreed with what he said after. I have no issue with any of those Kerry players whatsoever.”

Meanwhile, tickets for The Game for Michaela are reported to be selling extremely well but there are expected to be tickets still available on the gate tomorrow.