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2024 Football Fixtures

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March 16/17 AFL Round 6 March 23/24 AFL Round 7 March 30/31 AFL Finals April 06/07 Start of Provincial Championships. It's tough going for a league finalist to be playing 4 weekends on the trot. No county should have to play more than 3 weekends in a row. I'd suggest the following: 3 weeks of AFL Rounds 1, 2 and 3. A week off. 3 weeks of AFL Rounds 4, 5 and 6. A week off. 3 weeks of AFL Round 7, AFL Finals and the start of the provincial championships. legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 8282 - 07/12/2023 18:16:24 2515904 Link
Replying To legendzxix: "March 16/17 AFL Round 6 March 23/24 AFL Round 7 March 30/31 AFL Finals April 06/07 Start of Provincial Championships. It's tough going for a league finalist to be playing 4 weekends on the trot. No county should have to play more than 3 weekends in a row. I'd suggest the following: 3 weeks of AFL Rounds 1, 2 and 3. A week off. 3 weeks of AFL Rounds 4, 5 and 6. A week off. 3 weeks of AFL Round 7, AFL Finals and the start of the provincial championships." Personaly I'd let whoever finishes top of league wins the league. Would top teams give up a league final to get an extra weeks rest for start of championship? Saynothing (Tyrone) - Posts: 2150 - 07/12/2023 22:25:00 2515934 Link
Replying To Saynothing: "Personaly I'd let whoever finishes top of league wins the league. Would top teams give up a league final to get an extra weeks rest for start of championship?" Seems most Counties wanted to keep League Finals. Seanfanbocht (Roscommon) - Posts: 1950 - 08/12/2023 09:35:13 2515947 Link
Replying To Saynothing: "Personaly I'd let whoever finishes top of league wins the league. Would top teams give up a league final to get an extra weeks rest for start of championship?" Agree 100%. A League is a league. Whoever finishes top should be declared the winners of it. Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 13861 - 08/12/2023 12:17:40 2515987 Link
Replying To Viking66: "Agree 100%. A League is a league. Whoever finishes top should be declared the winners of it." Not that many years ago Coalisland won 15 from 15 and didn't win the league. Seems wrong. Saynothing (Tyrone) - Posts: 2150 - 08/12/2023 16:31:23 2516040 Link
Replying To Seanfanbocht: "Seems most Counties wanted to keep League Finals." It seems they do. 8 counties get game time in Croke Park. County boards probably enjoy getting to Croke Park also! legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 8282 - 08/12/2023 18:06:05 2516045 Link
Replying To Saynothing: "Not that many years ago Coalisland won 15 from 15 and didn't win the league. Seems wrong." 2012:-( Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 13861 - 08/12/2023 20:08:27 2516062 Link
Is it really necessary to keep the preliminary quarter-finals? When the calendar is congested, it's the one weekend that could be freed up. Some club championships, notably Dublin, with groups of 4 have the 2 Round 1 winners playing in Round 2. It guarantees at the very least that two teams on 1 win each will be battling for top 2 in Round 3. (Depending on draws.) Round 1: Galway (2) beat Tyrone (0) Armagh (2) beat Westmeath (0) Round 2: Armagh (4) beat Galway (2) Tyrone (2) beat Westmeath (0) Round 3: Galway (2) v Westmeath (0) Armagh (4) v Tyrone (2) All to play for in Round 3 if battling for top 2. Round 1: Mayo (2) win away to Kerry (0) Cork (2) beat Louth (0) Round 2: Cork (4) beat Mayo (2) Kerry (2) beat Louth (0) Round 3: Cork (4) v Kerry (2) Mayo (2) v Louth (0) All to play for in Round 3 if battling for top 2. Alternative Round 2 example: Mayo (4) beat Cork (2) Kerry (2) beat Louth (0) Round 3 Cork (2) v Kerry (2) Mayo (4) v Louth (0) While Mayo have qualified as winners and Louth are eliminated from the battle for top 2, Cork v Kerry is a straight shootout for the 2nd spot. With both Round 3 games throwing in at the same time, neutral and national media can focus on the shootout. legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 8282 - 08/12/2023 22:02:40 2516075 Link
Replying To Viking66: "Agree 100%. A League is a league. Whoever finishes top should be declared the winners of it." For the likes of Leitrim it's the only chance to play in Croke park. Playing Derry a few years back in 2019 div was a day I'll never forget even tho we lost. Sad now to see where Derry are gone and Leitrim back in Div 4 as we drew with them in the first div 3 game in 2020 in a game we should have won which was a home game for Derry with Rory Gallagher in charge Champotime18 (Leitrim) - Posts: 442 - 11/12/2023 23:27:46 2516414 Link
League finals or All-Ireland Preliminary Quarter-finals, which are more important to retain? legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 8282 - 12/12/2023 22:14:24 2516556 Link
Replying To legendzxix: "League finals or All-Ireland Preliminary Quarter-finals, which are more important to retain?" AI PQFs for me - I would reduce to a KO 11 (4 x top 2 & 3 wild cards), six in PQFs and five byes. omahant (USA) - Posts: 2887 - 27/12/2023 15:20:23 2517732 Link
The real tough going for me is the for the winner that comes through the Prem Quarter final. The All Ireland Quarter final will be their 3rd high intensity match in 3 weeks and are up against a rested group winner. Monaghan was the only one of the 4 that came though that in 2023 and just about via a penalty shootout and they had nothing left in the tank for the final 15 minutes of the AI semi final. 2024 is the same for any team that comes through the prem Quarter final. Gaa_lover (USA) - Posts: 3487 - 27/12/2023 17:48:28 2517737 Link
Replying To Gaa_lover: "The real tough going for me is the for the winner that comes through the Prem Quarter final. The All Ireland Quarter final will be their 3rd high intensity match in 3 weeks and are up against a rested group winner. Monaghan was the only one of the 4 that came though that in 2023 and just about via a penalty shootout and they had nothing left in the tank for the final 15 minutes of the AI semi final. 2024 is the same for any team that comes through the prem Quarter final." Agree. That's the incentive to finish top of your group. People said it was watered down with 3 teams going through, but those who came 2nd or 3rd ended up paying for it. WanPintWin (Galway) - Posts: 2187 - 27/12/2023 21:53:04 2517744 Link
Replying To WanPintWin: "Agree. That's the incentive to finish top of your group. People said it was watered down with 3 teams going through, but those who came 2nd or 3rd ended up paying for it." Going through is one thing, but what you go through to is the key. Seanfanbocht (Roscommon) - Posts: 1950 - 28/12/2023 10:13:17 2517751 Link
With club championships, the 4th placed teams in groups of 4 enter relegation playoffs. Without relegation from the All-Ireland group stage, the preliminary quarter-final is to try and avoid dead rubbers. The first edition was interesting enough to be fair. Derry v Clare was the only dead rubber. Monaghan v Donegal in the same group was a playoff for second place and home advantage. Cork though were the only county to make home advantage count. legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 8282 - 28/12/2023 10:45:43 2517753 Link
I still think that there's improvements to be made and what we have at present is a bit of a Frankenstein monster that is aimed at protecting every specific whim and doesn't take into consideration how it impacts the whole system. Even after the split season the length of the intercounty season is impacting the club game. It's 27 weeks plus then you have to have 11 weeks to facilitate Provincial and All Ireland club. There's only 14 weeks left with no breaks to run off club championships , it's not really enough to have good competitions in 2 codes. More work needs to be done than simply just removing league finals because it seems like that would just be used to allow an extra rest week anyway. Whammo86 (Antrim) - Posts: 4329 - 28/12/2023 12:10:35 2517758 Link
County club championships should be completed in 10 weeks, Provincial club championships in 6 weeks and the All-Ireland club championships in 4 weeks. 20 weeks from the start of August until the weekend before Christmas. The likes of David and Paudie Clifford can then relax for Christmas and a few weeks in the New Year before returning for the Allianz League. legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 8282 - 28/12/2023 16:11:15 2517772 Link
Replying To legendzxix: "County club championships should be completed in 10 weeks, Provincial club championships in 6 weeks and the All-Ireland club championships in 4 weeks. 20 weeks from the start of August until the weekend before Christmas. The likes of David and Paudie Clifford can then relax for Christmas and a few weeks in the New Year before returning for the Allianz League." Cork need 16 weeks Seanfanbocht (Roscommon) - Posts: 1950 - 28/12/2023 17:32:05 2517777 Link
Replying To Seanfanbocht: "Cork need 16 weeks" Noone said being a dual player or a dual club is going to be easy. The GAA have invested in the split season. Dual clubs have to be prepared for the occasional double weekend where there might be hurling on the Saturday and football on the Sunday or vice versa. legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 8282 - 28/12/2023 18:45:55 2517785 Link
Replying To legendzxix: "County club championships should be completed in 10 weeks, Provincial club championships in 6 weeks and the All-Ireland club championships in 4 weeks. 20 weeks from the start of August until the weekend before Christmas. The likes of David and Paudie Clifford can then relax for Christmas and a few weeks in the New Year before returning for the Allianz League." 10 weeks for county club championship is too little for a dual county. You need 6 weekends in each code to run a 4 groups of 4 with quarter finals club championship. Even that is a bit of a shoddy deal for club players. You look at Wexford who are having to change their competitions from ones that guaranteed 6 fixtures for teams in each code. Feels like a backwards step and realistically is going to accelerate a trend towards a dominant code in each county. I don't see how that is in keeping with the GAA's mission to be honest. Whammo86 (Antrim) - Posts: 4329 - 28/12/2023 19:06:49 2517787 Link