Hurling League Restructuring

[Kevin]

Here's an article talking about the restructuring of the league:

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic- ... 54121.html

On one hand I hope this 'break' does not allow the powers that be to rest easy regarding the Offaly Hurling situation, but on the positive side - Limerick, Wexford, Clare, Antrim and Laois (if they get back into it) are the types of teams we should be playing.

Hopefully our management selection committee asks all candidates what their plan will be to gain promotion, etc, etc...

[first_touch]

I think the new league structure is daft. It's literally promoting a two-tiered structure in hurling. Teams like Offaly need to be playing the top teams. It is also very hard on Limerick and Wexford who are effectively being demoted. I accept that the GAA wants to minimise one-sided games but in the long run would it not be better for them to have more counties competing for titles than, as is currently the case, the elite few? All 12 teams should have been seeded and then alloted to two groups in Division 1.

[Fido]

I think the new league structure is daft. It's literally promoting a two-tiered structure in hurling. Teams like Offaly need to be playing the top teams. It is also very hard on Limerick and Wexford who are effectively being demoted. I accept that the GAA wants to minimise one-sided games but in the long run would it not be better for them to have more counties competing for titles than, as is currently the case, the elite few? All 12 teams should have been seeded and then alloted to two groups in Division 1.

Better this than the situation we were in, where we wouldn't at all be guaranteed beating Clare to promotion next year. There's always going to be a two tier system. Of course there's a lot more tiers than that, but as regards teams competing in the All Ireland championship - you can't have them all in the one group for the league. At least this way the "second tier" is still playing at a reasonable level of competitiveness. Remember, we were playing the top teams this year and it didn't solve any problems. In a way because Offaly thought a win against Wexford would be enough to survive, the value of playing the likes of Tipperary and Kilkenny in the league was less than playing the likes of Limerick, Clare, Wexford or Antrim will be, where we should be going in knowing these are going to be close games which we can win. The benefit of getting some wins here, even without promotion, is greater I think than had we managed to scrape survival in Division 1 with no real prospect of beating any of the top teams again next year.