Do we really know what we want?

Sometimes I wonder, do we really know what we want? And more often than not, the answer is no because if you were following the narrative out there about the new group stages of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and the Tailteann Cup, you could be forgiven if you thought the new format was the greatest own goal in the history of Gaelic games!

Right up to 6pm on Saturday evening when the final round began, the litany of complaints around the new system were there loud and clear, in print and on the airwaves - the games weren't exciting enough, eliminating just four teams after three games conspires against competitive excitement and fairness, no jeopardy or drama and that gaelic football, once again, was lagging well behind their hurling brethren when it comes to sheer off the wall entertainment.

I don't think too many people were repeating those claims by the time Shane Walsh kicked his late free wide at the town end in Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada on Sunday evening as we witnessed high drama with 2021 All-Ireland champions Tyrone a whisker away from being eliminated from the competition at the hands of last year's Tailteann Cup winners Westmeath while Aidan O'Shea's missed free and a glorious Kevin Feely mark over in Tullamore saw both Roscommon and Mayo wave goodbye to home advantage in the preliminary quarter-finals next weekend.

Harnessing the underdog mentality

O'Shea and Feely's kicks - one successful, one not - were costly not just on the playing field. Carrick enjoyed a bumper day on Sunday with thousands of Armagh and Galway fans converging on Pairc Sean for the game so you can imagine that the businesses and hostelries of Roscommon and Castlebar aren't too happy to see what could have been a very profitable day slip from their grasp in added time.

My misfortune, if you could call it that, was to travel to Kingspan Breffni Park to see the Dubs clobber a game but outclassed Sligo but the drama of those games in Portlaoise, Tullamore, Cavan and Carrick were transmitted through the airwaves on the GAA's own version of Super Sunday.

I'll be honest, I'd much prefer is just the top two teams in both the Sam Maguire and Tailteann Cup advance and not top 12. I wonder if it is prolonging the agony and costing county boards quite a few bob keeping the show on the road for another couple of weeks, whatever about  supporters forking out to  travel to games.

But just as the rush to condemn the new format was premature, hailing its success on the back of one admittedly wild weekend of championship action is just as foolish - the GAA gave it a trial period of three years and we should know much better at the end of that what needs to be tweaked or altered but, and again this is very early days, the signs are that the GAA got this right.

If the top two teams only had advanced, Leitrim and Wexford wouldn't have fought like cats and dogs in their final Tailteann Cup clash in Parnell Park. Or what about Laois who hung on for a third place spot in their group against London and are now looking forward to a semi-final appearance next Sunday in Croke Park?

Dead rubbers in the Super 8s had everyone worried about the new format but only one team was eliminated from contention ahead of the Sam Maguire's final round last weekend and you had teams go from third to first in a group (or the other way) so maybe we need to give credit where credit is due and say well done Croke Park!

Ladies Football probably needs to examine their format a little bit - Leitrim did what was needed, albeit with a much tougher test than what was expected from a wasteful Louth last Sunday at Cooley Kickhams but groups of three just don't feel right to be honest - Jonny Garrity's side look safe but a one point Louth win over Kildare next Sunday, however unlikely and surprising it might be, would see Leitrim hurled into a relegation dogfight all while they were sitting at home.

But maybe we just don't know what we want - for years, the cause célèbre was the 'split season' and the plight of the club player. Clubs didn't have access to their county stars and the 98% of the GAA's players were at the beck and call of the county game.

So in comes the 'split season' and still clubs don't have access to their county stars - not because of the demands of the county game but because once the county season is over in the vast majority of counties, players head all over the world for much need R&R - and who can blame them! So much for the theory of  a late start to Club  Leagues and Championships so you'd be at full strength - hard to achieve that if the players you desperately need are off in New York, Chicago or Australia.

Just a little bit of history repeating

THE LAST POINT

Right now, in Leitrim, pitches are ridiculously firm after the good weather, it is what we dream about when we talk about championship weather but we won't start the group stages of the championship till the first weekend of August - would we be better off if we started a few weeks earlier, had players performing in better conditions on dry fields and ensuring supporters aren't wrapped up like Sherpas heading up the Himalayas by the time the concluding stages of the championships come around?

I don't know what the solution is - the new formats have condensed the inter-county season as everyone demanded to save the club game but we're still not happy, complaining that we're giving away prime-time exposure to other sports and what not. Clubs theoretically have more access to their players than ever before but in reality, they are actually  worse off and one weekend of wild, thrilling championship action  doesn't disguise the challenges the GAA world face right now.