THE LENGTH OF the GAA club season has been branded as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘nonsense’ by Limerick senior hurler David Breen.
The 28 year-old was yesterday honoured with the Munster club hurler of the year award for 2013 for his exploits with the Na Piarsaigh team who won the provincial title last November before losing to Portumna in their recent All-Ireland semi-final.
After enduring a nine-week wait for the game, Breen believes it is time to finish the club championships in a calendar year rather than sticking with the traditional St Patrick’s Day slot.
“I just think the length of the season is ridiculous, especially when you take county lads who are coming back in November 2012 and then you keep going playing with your county and then your club and you are finishing up in February 2014. It is nonsense.
“It is one thing to say that it is about tradition and Paddy’s Day. It is something fantastic that players dream about but at the end of the day it is constant loading, constant training, constant driving for guys who are away.
“The fact that there is nine weeks between matches does not mean that players take a break for those nine weeks. Managers just keep going and you keep training away.
“I know it is great running out on Paddy’s Day but it is a bloody long wait until then. And the feedback from players is that everyone would like to have it done and dusted in the calendar year.”
Expert View
Breen works as a physio in the Sports Surgery Clinic in Santry in Dublin. He is set to go under the knife soon to correct a knee problem and believes there is a wider problem of GAA players being flogged which impacts on the longevity of their careers.
“A lot of GAA players will suck it up and get on with it. But by the time things come to a head and guys are going in for knee replacements and hip replacements they have hung up the boots a long time ago and no one is listening to them at that stage.
The whole issue is brushed under the carpet. It needs to be regulated. Guys careers are being cut short because guys are flogging themselves, not taking adequate down time.”
The man talks a lot of sense. People started playing GAA to play the sport not to train for 11 months and play only a handful of games. GAA needs to full address the fixture issue and to bring in a closed season.
There is a closed season Johnny, except it’s for inter-county teams.
The GAA needs to tighten up the inter-county championship season. How does it take almost 5 months to play a hurling championship in which there are realistically (and I use the term loosely) 8 potential winners? Start it in May and have it finished in August at the absolute latest (I think it could easily be played out in 3 months but let’s not get too drastic here).
League: Feb – Apr.
Champ: May – Aug.
Club: Aug – Nov when All-Ireland club champs take place.
3rd level: played through the winter as usual
Yes. Clubs should play during the championship.Must be frustrating for non county players to sit on their hands when the weather is good and conducive for good games.
No need for the long breaks between matches, finish the club championships before Christmas
Every year people talk about what a shame it is to have the provincial club championships on in November/ December in terrible playing conditions, pitches, weather etc. Barring a radical change in the county season however, there is no alternative time to play them. Thus, moving the all- ireland series to December would result in the best club teams in the country having to play in the worst possible conditions, reducing the quality of the games and the standards of the competition.
could be finished sooner. championship in cork county can be held up for weeks an weeks if a team you are due to play has an intercounty player, even if they are a panel member an not likely to even play. season is far too long, you need time for family, work, partner, kids etc.