THIS weekend sees the start of the Carbery U21 football championships, and as I’m typing on a sunny bank holiday Sunday morning, we have our fingers and toes crossed that the weather will stay decent for the upcoming games.
Despite the impact of the recent storms, we certainly haven’t had the same volume of rain as last winter so hopefully the pitches will be in decent shape. As manager of the Carbery Rangers U21 team this year, I am well placed to give my two cents on these competitions, so the sports editor asked for my thoughts in advance of the 2025 editions.
There is little doubt that the U21 competitions, which many have previously considered the best competitions in West Cork, have suffered the most from a couple of the major changes implemented by the GAA in recent times. Firstly, the decision to move inter-county football to U17 and U20, which I still don’t agree with despite the vote to retain them just last year, diminished the value of the U21 club competitions immediately.
Secondly, the split season has left little space in the calendar for the U21 contests. I am on record several times in saying the revised calendar has been a godsend for adult club players, and I spoke with both the U16 and U18 managers in the club recently and they were very happy with how their seasons were structured last year. Nonetheless, I have often said the calendar is still far from perfect, and the players who are out of minor and not yet playing first-team adult football have been the most affected.
The separation of club and county competitions was absolutely necessary at senior level because the inter-county competitions had become so all consuming that the club games were being messed around constantly, based on county team results or the whims of the inter-county managers. I don’t think the same split is entirely necessary for the 18 to 20-year-olds across the country.
If I became GAA President in the morning, I would turn January and February over to the schools and colleges, with only the final rounds of the All-Ireland club championships running in parallel. The senior inter-county season would then run from March to August, with club championships slated for an August bank holiday start unless your county makes the All-Ireland final stages. The remainder of the year then is turned over to club competition only, as per the current structure. I have covered this before, so I won’t go over old ground for too long here.
So, what of the underage competitions? As I am reliably informed that the U18 and U16 competitions in Cork worked so well in tandem with the inter-county season, let’s leave them alone for now. It is the U21 competition we are primarily concerned with today. Having decided that January and February are off limits for either, I see no reason why the inter-county U20 competitions and the club U21 equivalents couldn’t run concurrently in March, April and May, finishing both before the Leaving Cert comes into view.
For this to work, Croke Park would have to mandate each county to run both competitions during this timeframe, to save any manager trying to gain an advantage by deferring games or not releasing players. The seven-day rule for the clubs to have their players for at least two training sessions before their games should also be reinforced, because at the moment we don’t see them at all other than the day of championship.
When I was sitting down to write this column, I spoke with another man with a keen interest in this topic who suggested that, as things stand, and assuming the split season remains at all levels, that the competition should be accommodated in August and September in conjunction with the senior club championships. The logistics of this might take some figuring out, but the merits of playing on better pitches at a better time of year are hard to argue with.
Regardless, I think there is widespread dissatisfaction with the treatment of the famous old competitions as things stand, with just three weekends in February provided for the divisions to work with. Parking the county section of the competitions then until November hardly does much to promote the competitions either. I don’t mind playing games late into the year, but a nine-month gap between rounds is unacceptable.
Focusing on the present, we are hoping now that the weather doesn’t take another turn for the worse, and that clubs with quality pitches will make them available for the games. Given that these games are the first championship games to be played under the new rules, there is still much to look forward to despite the grievances we may hold. We are looking forward to a game against the reigning champions, Bantry Blues – there are some fine players on both sides, let’s hope they get decent conditions to show what they can do. The debate about changes to the season can wait for another day. Bring on the games.
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HUGE disappointment for the Cork footballers in Newry last weekend, as Cork failed to see out a game which they led for long periods, building up a ten-point lead in the first half with some accurate long-range shooting, accumulating five two-point scores from play and from frees.
Chris Óg Jones continued his strong form when finding the net. A seven-point lead at half-time would once have been considered a big lead, however in this new era of increased scoring and with a breeze behind Down, the northerners began to peg Cork back.
Down drew level with 20 minutes remaining, before Cork showed some character and a Sean McDonnell goal helped Cork to once more lead by five. Cork could not stem the Down tide, though, and the lack of depth in the squad was laid bare with a depleted Cork not even using the full complement of substitutes. Brian O’Driscoll missed a late, long-range free to snatch a win for Cork.
A win away from home to put four points on the board would have made for such a positive start for the Rebels, but despite what was reportedly a very decent performance, it wasn’t to be. Cork will likely now need to win at least four of the remaining five fixtures. Westmeath at home on Saturday week are next up, and I look forward to my first glimpse of the 2025 version of the Cork footballers.
Performances over the first two games have shown promise for supporters, and with some additional bodies hopefully returning to the fray over the coming weeks, securing the eight points we would expect to require to achieve promotion and qualify for a final in Croke Park is still achievable. Unfortunately, failure to see out the victory last weekend makes the odds grow longer, but still far from insurmountable in a relatively average Division 2 this year. There is little room for error from here out.
