Should UCD be allowed in the Dublin football championship

panda100

As some of you may know UCD footballers won the Dublin Senior Football Championship for the second time in five years last night. They go on now to play the Meath Champions next week.

Do you think its fair that UCD is allowed in the competition?

I for one dont. The team is made up of county players from all over the country who are already playing with their clubs back home. Last year for example Johnny Mc Carthy was in the final of the Limerick championship with St.Kierans awhile at the same time playing for UCD in the Dublin championship!
It gives an unfair advantage to the UCD team and makes it impossible for some Dublin teams to do well in the competition.

As a UCDian I dont feel I can get behind the UCD team as much as my club back home as the UCD team is just a melting point of different counties who are making it impossible for real dublin teams to win.

hullaballoo

It's GAA, who cares?

cruiserweight

There is never a problem with it until UCD wins something! Anyway a lot of other teams in the Dublin SFC have huge numbers of players from other counties on their teams e.g. Na Fianna

Jonny Arson

Of course UCD should be allowed to play in the competition, having a pool of players from all over the country isn't the problem, the fact that players can play for 2 different clubs at the same time is pure and utter madness. It's not their fault, if this loophole is there then good for them, it's the GAA's problem.

What would the scenario be if one of UCD's players also plays for the Meath Champions who they're due to play next week? Do they play for both or sit out the match???? It's like the FAI run the GAA

singingstranger

Of course they should be allowed to play. This is actually something that's been on my mind reasonably recently with the whole hurling thing still not calming down, and now the football thing kicking in (which, btw, this is my first news of, so in that case, well done lads, all the best for the Leinsters...).

While it's naturally a little disadvantageous to the other clubs in Dublin that UCD can draw on other inter-county players who play for other clubs, as well as being able to offer scholarships, you really have to take it at face value and realise that the only end result is that the quality in both championships - football AND hurling - can only ever increase as a result. And while yes, it might take yonks for anyone else to ever get parallel to the same standard, lowering the standard required to win the Championship does nothing for the other teams in the longer sense, now that so much of an emphasis is placed on the AIB championships. I'm going to concentrate on the hurling example here, so sorry if it seems a little off-topic, but tbh the same scenario is bound to happen in the football if there's any sustained dominance by a UCD team.

When I heard that the UCD hurlers were being barred from even entering the Dublin championship, not only the Leinster one, my blood really began to boil. Aside from the fact that I'd been following their progress through the Leinster championships and was actually present at their Leinster final against James Stephens of Kilkenny when there was the whole ruckus about the point that never was, etc, it seemed that the main gripe with allowing them in was that it made it frankly impossible for other Dublin clubs to qualify for Leinster. Now this is obviously a big concern - but what was the widely touted solution? To give UCD automatic berth into the Leinster championship and to allow a Dublin championship to go ahead without them, with its winners also joining in. But what help would that have been? Would UCD really be able to maintain Sigerson Cup standard over the months of inactivity between the Sigerson final and the Leinster championships? I doubt it. Giving UCD an automatic place would only end up leaving their standards slipping and essentially having an element of deadwood in the Leinsters.
I would have always thought the obvious solution if people were so concerned about UCD's dominances was to give BOTH Dublin county finalists a place in Leinster. Surely this way UCD would be required to keep up their standards if they wanted a chance at Leinster/All-Ireland success, while the gallant losers who would be overrun by their might would still get a chance to play?
Kicking UCD out of either championship or barring their entry only serves to lower the standard of the sport and let's face it, that's the ultimate crime if it ever happens.

I'm definitely with Zane on his point about players being able to play for two clubs, though - the way things are going with so many other inter-county competitions like the Sigerson Cup, the AIB championships etc, it's just a serious shame that the College are able to effectively put together a dream-team of college-going hurlers.

But best of luck to the UCD team in the AIB championships, granted they now have to play the Meath champions, Wolfe Tones, so I have some divided loyalties in that regard, but may the best team (probably UCD!) win.

Incidentally, I'd be very surprised if this has never been brought up in the GAA forum!

PRman

Theres no way the should be allowed n the championship. They ahve their own competition in the Sigarson Cup. They are not invloved in the Dublin League either for that matter, so I feel sorry for Vincents who were robbed by the culchie All-Stars. However they can hold their head up high as the top CLUB side in Dublin.

singingstranger

But UCD ARE a club. They're not a federation or some sort of Chelsea-style uberwinners. It's not their fault if their recruitment pool means their panel is so much stronger than anyone else's.

Red Alert

The UCD club fulfills the requirements to be a club, and so it is.

It's a GAA matter to decide the exclusivity of players' commitments. It's up to the club to say who's in and who's out!

ferdi

cruiserweight wrote:

There is never a problem with it until UCD wins something!

bingo

panda100

PRman wrote:

Theres no way the should be allowed n the championship. They ahve their own competition in the Sigarson Cup. They are not invloved in the Dublin League either for that matter, so I feel sorry for Vincents who were robbed by the culchie All-Stars. However they can hold their head up high as the top CLUB side in Dublin.

Culchie all stars...I like!I dont think its fair for them not to be invoved with the league and then just come in and steal all the glory in the championship.

Zane from MTV2 wrote:

What would the scenario be if one of UCD's players also plays for the Meath Champions who they're due to play next week? Do they play for both or sit out the match???? It's like the FAI run the GAA

It happened last year or two years ago with Brian Barry when they played James Stephens,which is his club. He had to play for UCD cos of his scholarship commitments etc as far as I know.

Vorsprung

panda100 wrote:

It happened last year or two years ago with Brian Barry when they played James Stephens,which is his club. He had to play for UCD cos of his scholarship commitments etc as far as I know.

And he never played for Kilkenny again

panda100

singingstranger wrote:

I would have always thought the obvious solution if people were so concerned about UCD's dominances was to give BOTH Dublin county finalists a place in Leinster. Surely this way UCD would be required to keep up their standards if they wanted a chance at Leinster/All-Ireland success, while the gallant losers who would be overrun by their might would still get a chance to play?

Wouldnt the obvious solution be for the players to play for their home clubs only. Most do anyway and they can still be involved with UCD in the seigerson cup.

bigjimthefirst wrote:

And he never played for Kilkenny again

Intresting point actually. Playing for UCD really doesnt help your chances much at county level,I dont think Eamonn O'Cuiv isnt a regular fixture on the galway team,neither is Sean Brady with Cavan. It seems that those who play for their club and not UCD are more likely to play for their county.

singingstranger

I think that's purely because they have a better chance of being spotted by the county selectors when they're playing within the county. TBH if they were being restricted to playing with one club or the other they should be made stick with UCD - given that they live/attend Dublin five days a week anyway it would make more sense for the players not to have to commute back down the country for 'home' club training, and besides, if people were made just play for one club, then surely the UCD panel would be comprised entirely of newbies? I would imagine that anybody good enough to make the UCD senior panel would be doing so back at home already anyway... making them stay with their home club would mean that UCD could only claim a stake in anyone who takes up the sport for the first time when at college.

Sangre

How could people possibly play at their 'home club' if they're in Dublin at least 5 days a week? Should these guys not play GAA at all because of their college choice or should they be expeceted to make huge commutes every week?
Surely the reason people still have a 'home club' is so that they can return to playing for them once they leave Dublin and go back home (if they do). I'd imagine people playing for UCD is a temporary stop gap measure so they don't have to miss out on competitive play if they can't commit themselves to going home for training every week.

The fact that they still make the home team without regularly training is obviously because of the high standard of play at UCD.

(note: I have no idea how the bogball setup works)

Vorsprung

panda100 wrote:

Intresting point actually. Playing for UCD really doesnt help your chances much at county level,I dont think Eamonn O'Cuiv isnt a regular fixture on the galway team,neither is Sean Brady with Cavan. It seems that those who play for their club and not UCD are more likely to play for their county.

I heard from a guy in my class (in the knoew btw, he plays intercounty hurling himself) that Kilkenny pick people who play for KK clubs over the rest, a bit unfair but I suppose when there's so much competition for spots on the squad (and if Bryan can't get on, there must be ****loads of competition!) it's one way of trimming the selection. Plus when the season's on there's so much training and other gym work, so they'd need to be based close to home.

Doesn't really matter for him this year anyway, since he's in final year.