Offaly chief hits out at ‘bullyboy’ proposals

Offaly County Board chairman Pádraig Boland has branded the proposed changes to the Allianz Hurling Leagues as “bully boy tactics”.

Boland slammed plans aimed at enlarging Division 1A, claiming Cork’s relegation from the top tier last April is the reasoning behind the mooted restructuring.

The proposals, to be put to Central Council on Saturday, would see the All-Ireland finalists and Limerick returned to the top table, with Offaly, Wexford, Laois, Antrim, Carlow and Westmeath in Division 1B.

With assurances given last spring that there would be no change to the league format for 2014, the chairman lambasted Croke Park bosses for reneging on their promise.

“It just isn’t fair,” fumed Boland. “This is bully boy tactics. Taking off the Offaly hat and in terms of hurling at large, I think this system will widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots.

“As well as that, the manner in which the proposals have been slipped in is also unfair.

“We were told last April that there would be no change to the league format and it is disappointing to see that now being rowed back on.

“If you are going to allow changes to the format each time a team has a gripe, or every time a team is relegated and they don’t fancy being relegated, then you are in serious trouble.

“This is the opposite of Go Games. This is where the big lad takes the sliotar and solos up and down the field and the little lad doesn’t get a touch of it.

“This is against everything the GAA purports to be about.”

The GAA’s head of media relations Alan Milton dismissed the suggestion Cork’s relegation had anything to do with the proposed league structure.

“The Offaly Central Council delegate has the vehicle to air Offaly’s view next Saturday. People can draw their own conclusions but it had nothing to do with Cork.

“(GAA director general) Páraic (Duffy) has taken a stance on this, liaised with a lot of people and believes there is merit in revisiting this. There is no guarantee what the outcome may be.

“What’s been put together he believes is worthy of discussion and it’s entirely up to the counties to judge it. Offaly can have their tuppence worth at the meeting.”

Boland pointed to their gate receipts from this year’s league fixtures at home to Wexford and Limerick and said the county stand to suffer a massive financial hit if the proposals are accepted.

“We would have been hoping to have either Cork or Limerick at home and that would have been your big gate.

“We had Wexford at home this year so we will more than likely have to travel to them next year. That leaves us with no massively big fixture for 2014.

“There are very few big days for Offaly hurling at the moment because we normally don’t get any more than two or three games in the championship.

“We would have been playing Cork, Limerick and Wexford in next year’s league, plus the local derby with Laois. That is four big days for Offaly hurling supporters. These proposed changes militate against that.

“Even the format for the proposals to Division 1B are ludicrous. There are six teams in it and four teams qualify for semi-finals. You play five rounds and you might only win one and still wind up in the semi-finals.

“It is absolute madness.”

While hitting the pockets of hurling’s lesser lights, the chairman suggested money played a key role in the proposal to increase the number of teams competing in Division 1A from six to eight. ”

“It is about wealth,” Boland asserted. “You look at Division 1A, the teams get seven games. You could wind up having four at home and they are going to benefit massively from large crowds. It is broadening the gap. It is a double whammy for the eight counties. They are getting a multitude of good games which prepares them for championship and they also pull in decent gates. There were games this year for us in Division 1B where we had a good financial return.

So not alone are we hit once, we are hit twice. More money allows those in Division 1A to pump more resources into the preparations of their teams and preparation of their teams are also helped by good, hard games during the spring. Everything we are trying to do in the GAA with regard to the weaker counties goes out the window here. The six teams left in Division 1B have only five matches and are deprived the chance to benchmark their whereabouts by going up against the likes of Cork and Limerick.

“Given we have had such a good year hurling, that is where we can’t fathom this at all. You had Limerick and Dublin in Division 1B and they both went on to win their respective provincial titles. You had Clare in Division 1B the year before last. These are teams that went on to have excellent summer campaigns on the back of success in the lower division. This proposal, to me, is like trying to put a ring-fence around the top eight.”

Meanwhile, Pádraig Boland revealed the Offaly County Board are close to filling the managerial post vacated by Ollie Baker.

“We hope to have the t’s crossed and i’s dotted. We’ve whittled it down to one and we hope to bring that name before the county board tonight.”