Round 4 Football Qualifiers

Hibbeler

Saturday 26 July
SFC Round 4A Qualifiers

Cork v Sligo, O'Connor Park Tullamore, 5pm
Galway v Tipperary, O'Connor Park Tullamore, 7pm

Saturday 2 August
SFC Round 4B Qualifiers

Meath v Armagh, venue & time TBC
Monaghan v Kildare, venue & time TBC


So with all the provincial championships done and dusted we are now down to the business end of the championships, the last 12.

Interesting double header in Tullamore next weekend, I think I will go for Cork to beat Sligo and Tipperary to cause a shock and reach the quarter finals.

For round 4B (I'm assuming these match ups are correct due to teams having previously played each other) I think will be harder to call.

Meath will find it tough to recover from today but as a Meath man I would have to back them. I feel like we need to reach the quarter finals this year.

Monaghan v Kildare will be another difficult match up. Kildare were poor against Meath and by all accounts lucky to get past Clare so I would back Monaghan in that match.

Venue wise for round 4B Cavan/Clones/Newry would be the obvious choices.

Anybody have any thoughts, discussion welcome:)

Dirty Dingus McGee

For me the winners will be,Cork,Tipp,Armagh and Kildare.

Tipp v Galway should be the most entertaining of the 4 matches.

It's a sad state of affairs when the Tipp footballers are considered favourites over us.

The result against Cork was somewhat damaged by the Munster final result though Laois are hardly a walkover.

I think we've better players than Tipp but I've no confidence in Mulholland.
Team seems to have no plan of action of action for winning breaking ball, short kick outs or defensive structure.
The amount of times we're carved open for goal chances is pathetic given how football is played these days.

Frankie Lee

The 4b games will be a double header too I'd imagine in either Breffni Park or Croke Park, I'm not sure which I'd rather.

sean mac

As a cork man and someone who follows this cork team closely don't be a bit surprised if Sligo pull off a shock here. If they play with plenty of men behind the ball and break quickly they will beat this team, additionally the world and his mother knows we have a huge problem with the keeper and his kickouts.

Fr Tod Umptious

sean mac wrote: »

As a cork man and someone who follows this cork team closely don't be a bit surprised if Sligo pull off a shock here. If they play with plenty of men behind the ball and break quickly they will beat this team, additionally the world and his mother knows we have a huge problem with the keeper and his kickouts.

I'd really question what is going on with Cork this season.

As soon as Cutburt(sp) took over you had 6 high profile retirements, a few of which were not old by any means.

Then you had a get out of jail v Tipp.

And then a terrible show at the Munster final.

From the outside looking in you'd wonder if these guys want to play for this manager.

ThunbergsAreGo

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

I'd really question what is going on with Cork this season.

As soon as Cutburt(sp) took over you had 6 high profile retirements, a few of which were not old by any means.

Then you had a get out of jail v Tipp.

And then a terrible show at the Munster final.

From the outside looking in you'd wonder if these guys want to play for this manager.

Cork looked excellent in the league, what has happened there?

shiibata

Who is on Donegal side of draw for the QFs?

Hammer Archer

shiibata wrote: »

Who is on Donegal side of draw for the QFs?

Winner of Meath - Armagh as far as I know.

Fr Tod Umptious

shiibata wrote: »

Who is on Donegal side of draw for the QFs?

If Kildare beat Monaghan they can play them, or they can play any of Meath or Armagh.
But if Meath beat Armagh they have to play them, cos Dublin can't.

Basically Kildare and Armagh wins make it an open draw

shiibata

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Winner of Meath - Armagh as far as I know.

Cheers, might take in the double header in Tullamore next Saturday as the wee lad is running down there next Sat and Sunday...

Fr Tod Umptious

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

If Kildare beat Monaghan they can play them, or they can play any of Meath or Armagh.
But if Meath beat Armagh they have to play them, cos Dublin can't.

Basically Kildare and Armagh wins make it an open draw

The above maybe incorrect

Just saw on the Sunday Game they showed the QFs as

Kerry v Galway/Tipp.
Mayo v Cork/Sligo
Dublin v Monaghan/Kildare
Donegal v Meath/Armagh

So maybe the are restricting the QFs to the above, which is BS if you ask me.

The A and B side is bad enough, why restrict it even further.

K-9

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

The above maybe incorrect

Just saw on the Sunday Game they showed the QFs as

Kerry v Galway/Tipp.
Mayo v Cork/Sligo
Dublin v Monaghan/Kildare
Donegal v Meath/Armagh

So maybe the are restricting the QFs to the above, which is BS if you ask me.

The A and B side is bad enough, why restrict it even further.

I think he's correct and RTE wrong. Because there was no draw for the A side I just assumed there wouldn't be for B. If Kildare and Meath get through, Donegal have to play Kildare.

If Monaghan get through, Dublin have to play them, Donegal have no restrictions barring that.

Kildare and Armagh winning means an open draw, the rest are all predetermined.

Dubliner28

Getting interesting now. Always looked forward to the 1/4 final open draw but it seems mapped out now.

Tipp & Galway should be a cracker of a game. Tipp have all the momentum at the moment and Galway coming in of a poor final performance.
Cork should beat Sligo without any worries.
Monaghan/Kildare - This is a hard game to call. Monaghan should win it but you just never know. Kildare lucky to get past Clare while Monaghan cant be as bad again.
Meath/Armagh - Again Meath will have a extra week to recover while Armaghs momentum in the back door maybe halted with the extra break,

I can see the 1/4 finals like this:

Kerry v Tipp
Mayo v Cork
Dubs v Monaghan
Donegal v Armagh

Gary Neville

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

I'd really question what is going on with Cork this season.

As soon as Cutburt(sp) took over you had 6 high profile retirements, a few of which were not old by any means.

Then you had a get out of jail v Tipp.

And then a terrible show at the Munster final.

From the outside looking in you'd wonder if these guys want to play for this manager.

Many blamed Counihan for not re-building in time. After JBM's successful rebuilding of the hurling side, most supported Cuthbert's efforts in rebuilding and trying a lot of players in the league.

It now looks as if Cuthbert's inexperience and apparent tactical naivety are huge issues.

Both Peter Creedon (a Corkman managing Tipp) and FitzMaurice/O Neill completely out thought Cuthbert in Munster.

We don't even know whether Cuthbert has finally embraced an effective tactical plan, much less whether there has been enough time to work on it.

Cork are now ill-prepared with a serious crisis in confidence and will come seriously un-stuck either v Sligo or Mayo. Cuthbert got a 2 year term but most supporters hope he'll resign after we exit the c/ship. He won't.

Say Your Number

Dubliner28 wrote: »

Cork should beat Sligo without any worries.

Really? the same Cork team who were lucky to get past Tipperary and were beaten out the gate by Kerry, while they have the better players, it's far from a foregone conclusion and going by their current form it wouldn't be that big a shock if Sligo managed to beat them.

Hibbeler

Venues and times confirmed for Round 4B. Double header in Croke Park


All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers Round 4B
Meath v Armagh, Croke Park, 5pm - Live on Sky Sports
Monaghan v Kildare, Croke Park, 7pm - Live on Sky Sports

Lemlin

Meath v Armagh 5pm Saturday 2nd August Croke Par- double header with Kildare v Monaghan at 7pm

Fr Tod Umptious

K-9 wrote: »

I think he's correct and RTE wrong. Because there was no draw for the A side I just assumed there wouldn't be for B. If Kildare and Meath get through, Donegal have to play Kildare.

If Monaghan get through, Dublin have to play them, Donegal have no restrictions barring that.

Kildare and Armagh winning means an open draw, the rest are all predetermined.

All clarified on GAA website

Sunday, August 3
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Quarter-Finals
Kerry v Round 4A Winner, Croke Park, 2pm* - Live on RTÉ
Mayo v Round 4A Winner, Croke Park, 4pm*- Live on RTÉ

* If either/both Galway or Cork win their Rd 4a games, there will not require to be a quarter final draw as Kerry cannot meet Cork again at this stage and Mayo cannot meet Galway. If neither win, there will be a draw to determine which of the Rd 4a winners (Sligo, Tipperary) play which of the Provincial Champions in the All Ireland Quarter Finals.
***
Saturday, August 9
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Quarter-Finals
Donegal v Round 4B Winner, Croke Park, 4pm* - Live on Sky Sports
Dublin v Round 4B Winner, Croke Park, 6pm* - Live on Sky Sports

*If either/both Meath or Monaghan win their Rd 4b games, there will not require to be a quarter final draw as Donegal cannot meet Monaghan again at this stage and Dublin cannot meet Meath. If neither win, there will be a draw to determine which of the Rd 4b winners (Armagh, Kildare) play which of the Provincial Champions in the All Ireland Quarter Finals.
***

Boom__Boom

Say Your Number wrote: »

Really? the same Cork team who were lucky to get past Tipperary and were beaten out the gate by Kerry, while they have the better players, it's far from a foregone conclusion and going by their current form it wouldn't be that big a shock if Sligo managed to beat them.

I think Cork are haunted they ended up with Sligo in the next round. Sligo lost at home to Galway by 5 points in their first championship game. In the qualifiers they scraped past Wicklow by 2 points. They played 7 league games winning 3. All 3 were at home and the teams they beat were Limerick by 2 points, Offaly by 3 and Longford by 1 point. Also worth remembering that they were one of the teams that lost to London last year. Basically it's fair to say that Sligo are really not in good shape and the fact that they are still in action owes a fair bit to a fairly kind draw.

As against that the Cork performance was so bad against Kerry it's untrue - I don't know if folk heard the interview Cuthbert did on Newstalk a few days after - if a Kerry manager had come out with some of the gems he came out with after such a performance, they would have been gone straight away. Really strikes me as out of his depth at this level.

In particular he said that after about 20 minutes they considered moving a sweeper back, but then decided to leave it until half-time. The fact that they recognised there was a problem, and identified a potential solution but felt that waiting that long (as opposed to seeing how things developed over the next few minutes/plays) was a reasonable idea says it all about the Cork's sidelines ability to have a basic clue. :faceplam Game management like that is the sort that gives the Central Bank's light touch regulation a good name. Bad enough that this was the approach taken, but then to come out and say it in an interview a few days late. Making poor decisions is bad enough in itself, but then to go on national radio and not having the cop to stay quiet about making these poor decisions is just taking the cake. :double faceplam

Apparently Cork were equally chronic against Tipp, who were very unlucky not to get the win in PUC.
Looking at their players you'd think Cork will surely have enough to get past Sligo but it's very hard to see them go any further this year.

thelad95

Galway v Tipp could be very interesting. With all the talk of the seeding in Munster and all the associated gobsh*tery, it's great to see Tipperary and Clare both progress so much this year.

Hulk Hands

gilberto_eire wrote: »

It's a sad state of affairs when the Tipp footballers are considered favourites over us.

The result against Cork was somewhat damaged by the Munster final result though Laois are hardly a walkover.

I think we've better players than Tipp but I've no confidence in Mulholland.
Team seems to have no plan of action of action for winning breaking ball, short kick outs or defensive structure.
The amount of times we're carved open for goal chances is pathetic given how football is played these days.

They're not considered favourites.

Tipp need to start being taken seriously. A win against them will be a decent achievement, and Galway will be into a final 8 with a young side that should improve. It's not all depressing

Say Your Number

Boom__Boom wrote: »

Looking at their players you'd think Cork will surely have enough to get past Sligo but it's very hard to see them go any further this year.

I'm not necessarily guaranteeing a Sligo victory either, I just think it's a bit ridiculous to say Cork will win easily against anyone given their current form, remember Sligo nearly beat a under performing Kerry side in 2009, none of those Kerry players would have made it out of Austin Stack Park alive had David Kelly scored that penalty, Sligo were a division 4 team that year and Kerry were division 1 champions so league performance means f*ck all now.

Sligo will give them a good test at the very least, but they'll have to improve their shooting to have a chance of winning.

Can't see the winner of this match beating Mayo though.

Junior D

Any ideas when tickets will be up on Ticketmaster for these games lads?

Beffs

What happens if one of the qualifiers ends in a draw, seeing as the quarter final is the very next week? Will it be replayed in mid week?

Diabhal Beag

Extra time is perfect for a double-header. Don't see how it would be an issue, especially when Sky are showing both. Playing a game midweek would be ridiculous.

Beffs

Yeah, but what if it is still a draw after extra time? Then what?

Fr Tod Umptious

Beffs wrote: »

Yeah, but what if it is still a draw after extra time? Then what?

The replay will be the following week.

The corresponding QF will be postponed to the 10th and played as a double header with the hurling SF.

Tombo2001

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

The above maybe incorrect

Just saw on the Sunday Game they showed the QFs as

Kerry v Galway/Tipp.
Mayo v Cork/Sligo
Dublin v Monaghan/Kildare
Donegal v Meath/Armagh

So maybe the are restricting the QFs to the above, which is BS if you ask me.

The A and B side is bad enough, why restrict it even further.

Very very hard to see any of the teams on the LHS losing a QF.

thelad95

I hope the split in the qualifiers is scrapped after this year. It's made the championship incredibly boring and predictable and deprived us of having the 4 QF's on the August bank holiday like previous years. Bring back the (relatively) open draw.

Fr Tod Umptious

Can anyone explain to me why Cork are 1/33 v Sligo ?

I'd expect Cork to win, but just about, but 1/33 is a crazy price.

They have shown zero form this Championship season, they have a manager that seems to be panicking, how anyone is still expecting something from them I'm not sure

Say Your Number

Yeah it's a bit strange how some people are so certain of a Cork victory given how awful they've been this year, but it's great from a Sligo perspective cos it means there is zero pressure on them if everyone expects Cork just to turn up and steamroller them.

The build up to this game reminds me of the Kerry v Sligo game in 2009, where no one gave an unfancied minnow a chance against a struggling giant and they were so close to pulling off a shock, but I can't see Cork winning the All Ireland if they manage to progress.

Pete_Cavan

Hibbeler wrote: »

All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers Round 4B
Meath v Armagh, Croke Park, 5pm - Live on Sky Sports
Monaghan v Kildare, Croke Park, 7pm - Live on Sky Sports

This is disappointing imo, using Croker for qualifiers is a bit unnecessary. Should either be played as a double header in Clones or if giving one team home advantage is a concern, Meath v Armagh in Breffni and Monaghan v Kildare in Navan. Either the double header in Clones or two standalone matches would give a better atmosphere and might even boost attendance.

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Sunday, August 3
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Quarter-Finals
Kerry v Round 4A Winner, Croke Park, 2pm* - Live on RTÉ
Mayo v Round 4A Winner, Croke Park, 4pm*- Live on RTÉ

Does anyone else think this should be played as a double header in Limerick or is the consensus that all QFs should be played in Croker? I know the GAA have it in Croker but that is for corporate reasons, would fans rather see such games being played in a stadium closer to home.

The games are Kerry v Galway/Tipp and Mayo v Cork/Sligo so only Mayo and Sligo would not have their travel distance greatly reduced. Probably not ideal for Mayo supporters but having the game in Limerick might attract more Kerry and Cork supporters so would hopefully have something approaching a full house.

The Lost Sheep

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

This is disappointing imo, using Croker for qualifiers is a bit unnecessary. Should either be played as a double header in Clones or if giving one team home advantage is a concern, Meath v Armagh in Breffni and Monaghan v Kildare in Navan. Either the double header in Clones or two standalone matches would give a better atmosphere and might even boost attendance.

Does anyone else think this should be played as a double header in Limerick or is the consensus that all QFs should be played in Croker? I know the GAA have it in Croker but that is for corporate reasons, would fans rather see such games being played in a stadium closer to home.

The games are Kerry v Galway/Tipp and Mayo v Cork/Sligo so only Mayo and Sligo would not have their travel distance greatly reduced. Probably not ideal for Mayo supporters but having the game in Limerick might attract more Kerry and Cork supporters so would hopefully have something approaching a full house.

I agree that CP should be used for games in qualifiers only as a last resort. Play them In provincial grounds where ground is nearly full or full rather than a small crowd in Croke Park but think all quarters should be in Croke Park. Yes fans would like games closer to home but quarters should be in premier ground.

Fr Tod Umptious

Say Your Number wrote: »

Yeah it's a bit strange how some people are so certain of a Cork victory given how awful they've been this year, but it's great from a Sligo perspective cos it means there is zero pressure on them if everyone expects Cork just to turn up and steamroller them.

The build up to this game reminds me of the Kerry v Sligo game in 2009, where no one gave an unfancied minnow a chance against a struggling giant and they were so close to pulling off a shock, but I can't see Cork winning the All Ireland if they manage to progress.

Big difference between this and Kerry 2009 is that Kerry had a great squad, with some great players who had a wealth of experience, and some young guys like Walsh who they wish they still had, plus they were at home
Yes they were a bit unsettled at the time and had not been performing as expected, but they were still one of the top teams in the country, if not the top team.

What Cork have right now is a very young, very unsettled, very inexperienced team, that has had a terrible run of form, and a manager that seems to be panicking

It would be interesting to see what price Kerry were that day v Sligo before the game.

Say Your Number

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Big difference between this and Kerry 2009 is that Kerry had a great squad, with some great players who had a wealth of experience, and some young guys like Walsh who they wish they still had, plus they were at home
Yes they were a bit unsettled at the time and had not been performing as expected, but they were still one of the top teams in the country, if not the top team.

What Cork have right now is a very young, very unsettled, very inexperienced team, that has had a terrible run of form, and a manager that seems to be panicking

It would be interesting to see what price Kerry were that day v Sligo before the game.

There are some similarities though, Kerry were well beaten by Cork in Munster and struggled past Longford in the Qualifiers, but you're right that Kerry team was better than this Cork team and they had an astute manager too, although it's a few years ago I don't recall anyone giving Sligo a hope that day the betting odds probably weren't that much different either.

Giving the current state of the Cork team, I don't understand how some people see this as a foregone conclusion.

Boom__Boom

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Can anyone explain to me why Cork are 1/33 v Sligo ?

I'd expect Cork to win, but just about, but 1/33 is a crazy price.

They have shown zero form this Championship season, they have a manager that seems to be panicking, how anyone is still expecting something from them I'm not sure

I would imagine that the overall amount bet on this game could be very small, so maybe that's affecting it.

As I posted earlier Sligo are also clearly not in that great a place either - they had a very indifferent league and could easily have ended up getting relegated if results had been very slightly different.

Their championship form has been fairly average to say the least - as well as a loss to a Galway side who werent that great by 5 points they only narrowly beat both Wicklow and Limerck. Overall you look at their form this year and it has been very very middling.

Cork while having been poor in both their games have met two teams who are both having a pretty decent championship and that's before you look at the fact that Cork are an established Division 1 side. Their management might be clueless but even still when you look at the panel of players you would have to think that a random selection of 15 Cork players would have enough to get by Sligo.

Edit: Also in 2009 Sligo had won 7 out of 8 games in winning promotion from Division 4 plus the Division 4 final. They lost by 4 points to Galway team who had finished 3rd in Division 1 that year and beat Tipp to end up in the game against Kerry.

RoscommonTom

Tombo2001 wrote: »

Very very hard to see any of the teams on the LHS losing a QF.

Theres always a surprise along the way though

Gary Neville

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Can anyone explain to me why Cork are 1/33 v Sligo ?

I'd expect Cork to win, but just about, but 1/33 is a crazy price.

They have shown zero form this Championship season, they have a manager that seems to be panicking, how anyone is still expecting something from them I'm not sure

Cork GAA is dominated by a Co Sec who has been in place since the '70's - he decides who gets appointed manager. The latest manager had no CV - he led the minor team to an AI final in 2010 after some hari kari defending and used over 30 players. He led his club to the QF of the county. He then picked 4 selectors who have no more experience than himself, at this level.

He hasn't got a clue what he's doing and has laid the blame on the players, dropping 6 from the Munster Final.

Cork may stumble past Sligo - 1/33 is stir crazy - but will get absolutely hosed against Mayo - it'll be the old gag - is that the score or the time ?

In spite of a good league where he didn't face a blanket defence and any intensity - he's been found out big time in the c/shjp so far.

Nidgeweasel

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

This is disappointing imo, using Croker for qualifiers is a bit unnecessary. Should either be played as a double header in Clones or if giving one team home advantage is a concern, Meath v Armagh in Breffni and Monaghan v Kildare in Navan. Either the double header in Clones or two standalone matches would give a better atmosphere and might even boost attendance.

Does anyone else think this should be played as a double header in Limerick or is the consensus that all QFs should be played in Croker? I know the GAA have it in Croker but that is for corporate reasons, would fans rather see such games being played in a stadium closer to home.

The games are Kerry v Galway/Tipp and Mayo v Cork/Sligo so only Mayo and Sligo would not have their travel distance greatly reduced. Probably not ideal for Mayo supporters but having the game in Limerick might attract more Kerry and Cork supporters so would hopefully have something approaching a full house.

I've said this for a while. Croke Park for the round 4 games and the quarter finals is too much.

I'd be more than happy to see Provincial losers get home advantage for a round 4 game and then Provincial winners get home advantage for a quarter final.

Much better having packed houses in county (or if needs be, provincial) grounds than a half empty croker. Leinster nothwithstanding as they'd probably use Croker anyway.

RoscommonTom

Nidgeweasel wrote: »

I've said this for a while. Croke Park for the round 4 games and the quarter finals is too much.

I'd be more than happy to see Provincial losers get home advantage for a round 4 game and then Provincial winners get home advantage for a quarter final.

Much better having packed houses in county (or if needs be, provincial) grounds than a half empty croker. Leinster nothwithstanding as they'd probably use Croker anyway.

Good thing your not running the gas so,

Nidgeweasel

RoscommonTom wrote: »

Good thing your not running the gas so,

You'd rather see a half empty croker would you?

Redsoxfan

Anyone know the attendance figure for Tullamore this evening?

K-9

Redsoxfan wrote: »

Anyone know the attendance figure for Tullamore this evening?

Looked disappointing to me. Probably more to do with the counties involved than anything to do with the location. I doubt holding them individually in neutral venues would have made much of a difference.

Boom__Boom

I think I saw it was something around 6,800 in Tullamore

Cant remember where i saw the figure now.

Prop Joe

Redsoxfan wrote: »

Anyone know the attendance figure for Tullamore this evening?

9,000 i think was the official attendance in Tullamore.

I would like for the provincial winners to get home advantage in the 1/4
i think it would add a nice dimension to the championship.

I would love in Kerry had a championship game in Galway or Clones.

I would ask each county board to nominate an alternative venue if there was capacity issues with a home venue.

Look at this years 1/4

Kerry v Galway
Mayo v Cork
Dublin v Monaghan/Kildare
Donegal v Armagh/Meath

All 1/4's would fit perfectly in each teams home venue

If you look back over the last 10 years the only possible games that a county would use an alternative ground is Westmeath v Derry in 04 & Meath v Kildare in 2010

ProudDUB

Prop Joe wrote: »

Kerry v Galway
Mayo v Cork
Dublin v Monaghan/Kildare
Donegal v Armagh/Meath

All 1/4's would fit perfectly in each teams home venue

No they wouldn't. Demand for tickets would exceed capacity, with the obvious exception of Croker.

K-9

Prop Joe wrote: »

9,000 i think was the official attendance in Tullamore.

I would like for the provincial winners to get home advantage in the 1/4
i think it would add a nice dimension to the championship.

I would love in Kerry had a championship game in Galway or Clones.

I would ask each county board to nominate an alternative venue if there was capacity issues with a home venue.

Look at this years 1/4

Kerry v Galway
Mayo v Cork
Dublin v Monaghan/Kildare
Donegal v Armagh/Meath

All 1/4's would fit perfectly in each teams home venue

If you look back over the last 10 years the only possible games that a county would use an alternative ground is Westmeath v Derry in 04 & Meath v Kildare in 2010

Ballybofey holds about 18,000 for H&S reasons I think. The others would be fine but Ulster counties would mostly struggle, Clones and the new Casement aside. You'd need a capacity of 25k minimum I'd guess.

Nidgeweasel

ProudDUB wrote: »

No they wouldn't. Demand for tickets would exceed capacity, with the obvious exception of Croker.

Killarney and McHale park would be more than adequate.

Ballybofey would be a scramble for tickets but you'd take it for home advantage. Just because people mightn't get tickets isn't that much of an issue for me and the crying would be done with after the first season. People who should get them, will get one. That's how these things work in the country.

The Dubs would need Croke Park, obviously. No point suggesting anything else.

iDave

K-9 wrote: »

Ballybofey holds about 18,000 for H&S reasons I think. The others would be fine but Ulster counties would mostly struggle, Clones and the new Casement aside. You'd need a capacity of 25k minimum I'd guess.

Non-Monaghan Ulster counties would have no problem nominating Clones as their home for a QF. Although when Casement is done there would be pressure on them to use that to justify its existence.

ciarriaithuaidh

Quarter finals at provincial venues is something that definitely should be looked at.
As said above, Kerry v Galway in Killarney (or Salthill) would have a great buzz and the capacity wouldn't be an issue. It also could reward the Provincial winners with a home quarter final. There is arguably no advantage from winning your province these days as the layoff can in some cases actually be detrimental rather than beneficial.

Mayo v Cork in Castlebar. (40k+)
Monaghan v Kildare/Dublin in Clones/Croker
Donegal v Meath/Armagh in Breffni Park/Clones (Both 32k+ capacity)

There are plenty venues capable of holding such games, the problem is the GAA have 10 year ticket holders and corporate sponsors who want all these games at Croker, however it would be great if you could have 2 1/4 finals at Croker and maybe 2 outside it each year...the overall attendance would actually increase I'd be fairly sure.