Championship burnout 'a myth'

All-Ireland-winning Dublin footballer James McCarthy has poured scorn on the GAA myth that an increase in the number of championship games would heighten the risk of player burnout.

Under GPA proposals for a radical overhaul of the football calendar, counties would play seven league games in the space of eight weeks and enjoy no more than a fortnight’s reprieve before lining out for up to three consecutive weekends of provincial action. Dublin played seven games en-route to lifting Sam Maguire this year, but were they to achieve Leinster and All-Ireland glory under the GPA’s system, they would face a minimum of 10 games.

“You don’t get burnt out playing more games. It is the gap between games that burns you more than anything,” said McCarthy. “Mentally, the gap is more draining. You play a game and have to wait five weeks for your next game, it is crazy. Playing every two weeks leaves plenty of time for rest and recovery. You are not training as hard between games. It makes more sense. The two problems are the length of the season and the gaps between championship games. This proposal does a pretty good job in tackling both.”

Monaghan forward Dermot Malone said: “We could play our first-round match in Ulster and then have to wait four weeks for our next one. People think that time is rest and recovery. It is the exact opposite. You have three or four days off and then two-and-a-half weeks of getting up your fitness levels, which is not what players want.”

Former Kildare footballer Ronan Sweeney believes the GPA blueprint for reform tackles the training-to-game ratio, which he believes is spiralling out of control.

“The players want a fairer system where everyone is starting at the same time. Training-to-games ratio is a massive thing. It is crazy the way the system is at the minute. From Sligo’s last league match this year to their championship opener, their training-to-game ratio was 40 to one. That is just not workable. In that space of time Galway had played three games. No one wants this. This proposal gives more scope for club action and we are losing club players under the current system.”

Tipperary’s Michael Quinlivan welcomes the clear separation of club and inter-county weekends. “It is impossible to try and make club sessions when you are training with the county. That is me being completely honest. I made two club sessions and two games between January and June this year. There is no dodging that bullet.”