Paudie Clifford would like Kerry SFC format revert back to old format
OLD FORMAT: Paudie Clifford would like to revert back to the old club championship format.
The contrast between Divisional sides and Club sides approach to the Kerry Senior Football Championship current format of four Champions League style groups consisting of eight Group/Divisional sides and eight club sides was evidenced by the views of Fossa’s Paudie Clifford who will be playing with East Kerry and Diarmuid O’Connor from club side Na Gaeil. Both Kerry stars were speaking at the Kerry GAA’s launch of their live streaming of club and county championship games with Clubber.
Paudie believes that despite the fact that it tough going as he could well play eight games in row over eight weekends, five with the club and three with East Kerry that the split season is a saviour and here to stay.
“Yeah, it is tough but it would be worse if the split season wasn’t there, because in Kerry we have two championships to play. It is good that we have a few more weeks to play it because the intercounty season finished at the end of July rather than September.
"I know it’s tough but there is no other way of doing it really with the way we have two championships. I am not complaining about it anyway as I like the split season.
"I think it works very well because you can put all your eggs in the intercounty basket and then you can go all out for the club. It’s better than keeping an eye on one or the other at the same time, so it works well that way”.
Paudie says while it might tough on the elite players its better than what came before “Sure we still have to play two Championships and they would be going on from September to December, all year really, so I don’t think it makes too much of a difference in terms of workload for the intercounty player”.
But Paudie believes the old SFC format of a losers round and straight knock out was better “I would go back to that format if they are ever rethinking it. We play three games in the Intermediate Club this year and we are straight in with East Kerry into another three group games in the county championship.
"If it could be changed to having a losers round like it was before, it would be at least one less game anyway. It must be tough for the senior clubs going from one group into another group. I do think they could look at the format with the losers round as it was before, it would be better”.
But his intercounty team-mate Diarmuid O’Connor of the Na Gaeil is in a different frame of mind because Na Gaeil were unlucky not to make the senior club semi-final and because they were caught by a late Templenoe goal, they are now involved in a probable relegation game with Kerins O’Rahillys “It tough to take because we are down a lot of bodies and when you are one of the smaller senior clubs. Two close losses against Templenoe and Kenmare and here we are.
"But as a senior club playing top sides in the county championship is what you look forward to so we will be looking forward to our three group games because it was not so long ago that we were playing junior football and just watching all the big games in the SFC”.
Paudie admitted it was tough going in the weeks following Kerry’s loss to Dublin in the All-Ireland final “ It was a tough few weeks after the All-Ireland loss but we probably felt the best thing was to get back at it and put everything into the club season.
"It probably helped take our minds off the loss and playing back with Fossa worked out well for us in that regard”.
Paudie admitted that the week following the All-Ireland was particularly tough "I felt tired the week after the All-Ireland all right and obviously very down about the result.
"But then the mood music changed and I felt better the week after when I went back in training with the club. It was ok and I don’t think fatigue was an issue and after three group games now, I don’t feel tired now. I am just enjoying being back with the Fossa lads and playing games”.
County Secretary Peter Twiss said that the collaboration with Clubber was big deal for Kerry GAA “While Paudie and Diarmuid are county players and they enjoy huge publicity I think it is great that the club players are now being elevated to a level where they are now being seen by people all over the world.
"We are delighted with it and see huge potential here because I think the club championship and county championship is primarily about club players.
"A club player may never play for his county but now he is involved in something exciting that can be seen by family, friend and former team-mates in all parts of the country and indeed the world”.
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