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Meath Forum

Club Championship 2023

(Oldest Posts First) - Go To The Latest Post

Replying To Maestro:  "There is actually 32 teams in the Dublin Senior Championship"
Yes, but it is split into a Senior B (Basically high level Intermediate). There are 16 teams in their main Senior Championship.

BigJoe14 (Meath) - Posts: 1021 - 15/05/2023 10:15:07    2478586

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Replying To Maestro:  "There is actually 32 teams in the Dublin Senior Championship"
That's just wordplay though. Only 16 teams play for their senior championship, so they have a 16 team senior championship.

CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1759 - 15/05/2023 11:51:46    2478649

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The structure in the Meath championship is the biggest issue, the idea that 2 teams advance form a group, and the other 2 go into the relegation is ridiculous. Teams aren't seeded so we're getting very lob sided knockout stages across all the grades. No incentive to finish 3rd and going to lead to a lot of dead rubbers

hyperache (Meath) - Posts: 273 - 15/05/2023 13:46:10    2478683

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Replying To hyperache:  "The structure in the Meath championship is the biggest issue, the idea that 2 teams advance form a group, and the other 2 go into the relegation is ridiculous. Teams aren't seeded so we're getting very lob sided knockout stages across all the grades. No incentive to finish 3rd and going to lead to a lot of dead rubbers"
I like the Fact that bottom two go into relegation , means the days of training just to win one match and you stay Senior is gone . . Id prefer if the groups were set up so in a group of 4 the two winners of the first round of games play each other in the second round of games and then everything is still on the line in the last round of games and definitely no dead rubbers then

summerhillof69 (Meath) - Posts: 228 - 16/05/2023 15:31:35    2479012

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Replying To summerhillof69:  "I like the Fact that bottom two go into relegation , means the days of training just to win one match and you stay Senior is gone . . Id prefer if the groups were set up so in a group of 4 the two winners of the first round of games play each other in the second round of games and then everything is still on the line in the last round of games and definitely no dead rubbers then"
That's been suggested a number of times but the stumbling block is what happens if there is a draw in the first round?

I think either way there is an element of dead rubbers. With two going into relegation it means if you lose the first 2 games then your last means nothing and you are more worried about resting lads with niggles etc so the idea of 'just win one game to stay up' is still there regardless. Personally I think it should be the bottom team only in relegation. Finishing bottom means you've either lost all 3 of your games or else at best have only managed to win one game with the worst score record (basis on one team winning all 3 games and everyone else beating each other). I think this is the fairest way to put a team into relegation.

ratlag (Meath) - Posts: 592 - 17/05/2023 08:28:52    2479142

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Dunboyne and Gaeil colmcille in big trouble with lads missing I have heard you can write them off, Ratoath and Summerhill will be big favorites rightfully so, Tones will be outsiders and Colmcilles underdogs but they are too flakey to go all the way

Head4BlackSpot1990 (Donegal) - Posts: 24 - 17/05/2023 14:36:54    2479263

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The number of dead rubbers gets greatly exaggerated.

In its current format, the Meath SFC has 38 games; 3 rounds of 8 group games gives 24, plus 7 knockout games, and 7 relegation games. Obviously the knockout + relegation games aren't dead rubbers, so that leaves the 24 group games. It's impossible to be either knocked out or qualify before completing the first 2 rounds so none of those are dead rubbers either.

That leaves a maximum of 8 potential dead rubbers. Now in reality it will rarely happen that every group gets sewn up with a round to spare. Last year looked bad since 6 of the 8 final round games didn't have qualification at stake, but in 2021 every group was undecided going into the last round.

So in the last 2 years we've had 76 games, 6 of which were dead rubbers. How can less than 10% of games, occurring at most once a year be what's holding our county back?

CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1759 - 17/05/2023 19:26:31    2479304

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Replying To ratlag:  "That's been suggested a number of times but the stumbling block is what happens if there is a draw in the first round?

I think either way there is an element of dead rubbers. With two going into relegation it means if you lose the first 2 games then your last means nothing and you are more worried about resting lads with niggles etc so the idea of 'just win one game to stay up' is still there regardless. Personally I think it should be the bottom team only in relegation. Finishing bottom means you've either lost all 3 of your games or else at best have only managed to win one game with the worst score record (basis on one team winning all 3 games and everyone else beating each other). I think this is the fairest way to put a team into relegation."
Again this is the format of the Dublin championship which has a lot less dead rubbers (at least last year anyway). Previous year semi finalists are seeded. Top 2 go through. Bottom team goes into relegation and 3rd team has early summer holidays. The second round is played by the two winners of the first round, if it's a draw, they do a draw immediately after game to determine 2nd round fixtures.

royal11 (Meath) - Posts: 111 - 17/05/2023 23:03:12    2479334

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Just my opinion and suggestion.

16 teams

2 groups of 8.

Top team straight into semi final.

2nd and 3rd into quarter.

bottom 2 into semi final of relegation.

Positives - each team guaranteed 7 championship matches. Chance of dead rubber games is almost impossible as you could be fighting for top 3 finish or avoid bottom 2 in the last game.

To win a championship you need to play 9 games and that's not extorsion.

To win one at present you need to play 6.

Negatives - Smaller clubs/panels could struggle with the 7 games if they incur numerous injuries. Dual players playing more games however players want to play.

I think it worth a try but just my opinion.

thelutch (Meath) - Posts: 1151 - 19/05/2023 18:50:07    2479694

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I think we need to reduce the number of games to make it more cut throat and competitive. Every game must mean something. Needs to be something to fight and die for.

What about knockout for 16 teams?
You win your 1st round your into Senior A championship.
You lose your 1st round and your into the Senior B championship.
To win either A or B championship you play 4 games. If you lose your 1st round of either A or B championship you enter Relegation series. The loser of both A and B relegation series are both relegated to Intermediate (or else they play in relegation final), but I'd rather 2 drop as it means teams will be frightened so they should in essence be fighting more in their matches and leaving everything on the field.

More emphasis will be placed on the importance of championship. It could be played off in 5/6 weeks.
There's 14 other games to play between Feis Cup and League so plenty of games for players throughout the year.

Tinchy1 (Meath) - Posts: 71 - 22/05/2023 09:37:54    2480313

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Replying To thelutch:  "Just my opinion and suggestion.

16 teams

2 groups of 8.

Top team straight into semi final.

2nd and 3rd into quarter.

bottom 2 into semi final of relegation.

Positives - each team guaranteed 7 championship matches. Chance of dead rubber games is almost impossible as you could be fighting for top 3 finish or avoid bottom 2 in the last game.

To win a championship you need to play 9 games and that's not extorsion.

To win one at present you need to play 6.

Negatives - Smaller clubs/panels could struggle with the 7 games if they incur numerous injuries. Dual players playing more games however players want to play.

I think it worth a try but just my opinion."
Couldn't get on board with this. No team should be able to lose 3 championship games and still win the championship which could happen.

That was one of the reasons they got rid of the 2 groups of 8 the last time they had it.

Blackspot09 (Meath) - Posts: 1095 - 22/05/2023 10:16:01    2480340

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Replying To Blackspot09:  "Couldn't get on board with this. No team should be able to lose 3 championship games and still win the championship which could happen.

That was one of the reasons they got rid of the 2 groups of 8 the last time they had it."
Was just a thought.

Not sure which way to go, I see teams finish with 4 points and go into relegation, I have seen a team with 2 points qualify for the quarters.

The bottom 2 teams does make the relegation more interesting however I am not a fan of a team getting 4 points and going into relegation play offs.

Would definitely like to see bottom teams only go into relegation. Play each other once in a league format and bottom team goes ?

One thing we could agree on is a seeded draw ? Far too many groups of death every year resulting in average teams making quarters and semis.

thelutch (Meath) - Posts: 1151 - 22/05/2023 12:38:25    2480458

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Replying To thelutch:  "Was just a thought.

Not sure which way to go, I see teams finish with 4 points and go into relegation, I have seen a team with 2 points qualify for the quarters.

The bottom 2 teams does make the relegation more interesting however I am not a fan of a team getting 4 points and going into relegation play offs.

Would definitely like to see bottom teams only go into relegation. Play each other once in a league format and bottom team goes ?

One thing we could agree on is a seeded draw ? Far too many groups of death every year resulting in average teams making quarters and semis."
100% seeded draw. Even just the 4 semi finalists from the previous year. if 16 teams 4 groups of 4 is the best format. Not perfect but you lose 1 game you still have a chance You lose and you're gone. The way it should be.

Blackspot09 (Meath) - Posts: 1095 - 22/05/2023 13:59:22    2480511

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Watching the conclusion of the Premier Championships from Division 3 to 9 over the last week or two has confirmed to me what an absolute shambles the current set up is.

Reading match reports and team information it's ridiculous how many clubs absolutely stacked their 2nd teams with nailed on starting first team players . Some of the names I saw playing for their clubs 2nd team was absolutely laughable and hammer's home how much of a shambles the format is.

Blackspot09 (Meath) - Posts: 1095 - 03/07/2023 20:45:08    2491983

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Replying To Blackspot09:  "Watching the conclusion of the Premier Championships from Division 3 to 9 over the last week or two has confirmed to me what an absolute shambles the current set up is.

Reading match reports and team information it's ridiculous how many clubs absolutely stacked their 2nd teams with nailed on starting first team players . Some of the names I saw playing for their clubs 2nd team was absolutely laughable and hammer's home how much of a shambles the format is."
The fact the Premier championships need to be played off in a rush before the first team championships begin tells you everything you need to know about them. They're "second team" in name only.

Does any other county in Ireland run competitions this way?

CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1759 - 04/07/2023 11:48:18    2492100

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Replying To CastleBravo:  "The fact the Premier championships need to be played off in a rush before the first team championships begin tells you everything you need to know about them. They're "second team" in name only.

Does any other county in Ireland run competitions this way?"
Not sure on what other counties do but you are right they it's been played in such a rush is ridiculous.

There were names popping in division 6 7 8 9 games that were starting in the regional championship games at the end of last year. Shambolic from the CB and pathetic stuff from the clubs involved who are at this carry on.

Blackspot09 (Meath) - Posts: 1095 - 04/07/2023 12:09:22    2492106

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County board and club delegates got what they asked for. By removing all the second teams from championship proper it has descended into a farcical competition. From Div 1-9 they are just a token run of games now with realistically no club really giving much thought to it. Meath must be the only county with this type of structure.
Revert to the old format with teams settling at the level they are good enough for. This archaic mindset of a team wanting to be Intermediate or Junior A rather than Junior B is bonkers. Also tighten up the numbers in each grade and add in few more lower level junior grades. Everyone wants a proper cut and thrust to championship, not this shadow boxing we get in group stages.

off_the_wall (Roscommon) - Posts: 80 - 04/07/2023 16:00:16    2492211

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Replying To Blackspot09:  "Not sure on what other counties do but you are right they it's been played in such a rush is ridiculous.

There were names popping in division 6 7 8 9 games that were starting in the regional championship games at the end of last year. Shambolic from the CB and pathetic stuff from the clubs involved who are at this carry on."
Spoken like a true north Meath man that voted to keep all second teams out of the championship proper so as to build you own team up
Word come to mind like
"Be careful what you wish for
You just might get it "

Awaywin (Meath) - Posts: 117 - 04/07/2023 17:17:53    2492234

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Replying To Awaywin:  "Spoken like a true north Meath man that voted to keep all second teams out of the championship proper so as to build you own team up
Word come to mind like
"Be careful what you wish for
You just might get it ""
No 2nd team should be in the club championship, its absolutely ridiculous to think otherwise, do dublin have a 2nd team in the all ireland, do man city have a 2nd team in the Premier league, no cause its ridiculous, if you aren't good enough for your 1st team,tough,Meath certainly wont benefit,(your hardly county standard if you can't make your club team)play all the championships off at the same time,so clubs cant cheat,give everyone a fair shot,seen some hoganstand game reviews praising lads that played both,comical from MCC

Utdroyal (Meath) - Posts: 67 - 04/07/2023 19:47:45    2492274

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Replying To Awaywin:  "Spoken like a true north Meath man that voted to keep all second teams out of the championship proper so as to build you own team up
Word come to mind like
"Be careful what you wish for
You just might get it ""
You couldn't be any more wrong.

I'm a South meath man ( not that it matters) and was 100% against the restructuring from day 1 and have been on here plenty of times over the last few years voicing my displeasure at the fact they removed the 2nd teams from the intermediate and junior championships Just to ensure they got the votes of the junior clubs to get the restructuring over the line.

Blackspot09 (Meath) - Posts: 1095 - 04/07/2023 21:56:27    2492299

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