The GAA have just published details of the fixtures for the 2010 National Football League. Our Division 1 schedule for next spring is as follows:
6th February: v Galway (home), under lights at McHale Park, throw-in 7.30 pm
14th February: v Tyrone (away), 2.30 pm
7th March: v Dublin (home), 2.30 pm
13th March: v Derry (away), 7.30 pm under lights
21st March: v Kerry (away), 2.30 pm
28th March: v Monaghan (home), 2.30 pm
11th April: v Cork (away), 2.30 pm
A few issues leap out from that list. i.e.
1. Despite the fact that we’ve spend loadsamoney on installing floodlights at McHale Park, it would appear that we’re only going to use them just the once, for our opening fixture against Galway. That seems a bit daft to me.
2. Once again – for the third time in four years and the sixth time in ten years – we’ve only been given three home ties with four on the road. What’s more, for the second year in a row we have to play Kerry down at their place, which – as John O’Donoghue has shown – is a trip only to be tackled by air, while the poor old Dubs (and poor old me) will have to traipse down West for the second successive year. Damn it – I was looking forward to strolling up to Parnell Park for that one.
3. There are, by the looks of it, a number of poxy trips in the above list. Tyrone (presumably Omagh) is not a fun trip from here, the trek to Derry is even less so, Kerry (Tralee or Killarney) is – unless you’re the soon-to-be ex-Ceann Comhairle – a monumental pain in the hole to reach and Cork isn’t a whole load better. As well as that, the two away matches that would have been a cinch to reach from here in the Metropolis (Dublin and Monaghan) are both home fixtures (and, hence, involve a round-trip of 320 miles from here in D9). At this rate, I think I could be covering much of this campaign via Midwest on the couch.
4. The spacing of matches appears a bit odd: it starts off with two weekends in a row, then there’s a three-week break and then it’s four weekends on the trot before a two-week break ahead of the final round. Whatever happened to having league matches every second Sunday?
Oh, by the way, RTE have now decided to screen the 2010 Championship draw live after all. It’s now on next week, on Thursday evening (22nd), but there’s still no mention of a throw-in time for that one.
I wonder if we could borrow the government jet for the away games wj? some serious millage to be put up!
Given some of the stuff the government jet has been used for in recent times, I don’t think that would be an unreasonable request!
I see Uncle Eugene has administered a belt of his crozier in the Indo about the televising of the games and the powers that be have meekly complied with his wishes. Hurrah! And for my money, there is no better evening out than taking in a floodlit game followed by a few pints. It means we can directly compete with the rugby crowd who have really stolen a march on us in this regard. Which makes it all the more puzzling why there are not more games flood lit on Friday or Saturday nights…
I see that the GPA has announced its nominations. It has listed Gardiner, McGarrity, and Aiden O Shea from Mayo. No nomination for Andy Moran and Trvor Mortimor who got All Star nominations. Not quibling with any of the nominations but its strange that the two groups find a total different group of Mayo players to nominate.
I stuck up an update on Twitter about the GPA nominations but I missed Peadar off the list. It’s funny alright that between the GPA and the All-Star shortlists, we get five different players nominated (one-third of a full team) but I don’t expect to see any of this quintet featuring in the shakeup on either list.
If it is true that for 6 of the last 10 years we have had four away games it just shows how weak our County Board are at arguing the cause at the top tables within the GAA – just like they will keep quiet about the appointments of referees like Joe McQuillan, and no doubt will have no quibble when he is appointed to a game like last years Connacht Final.
A bit disappointed that only have the 3 league games at home but looks like a cracker to start with. I say we have a real go this year in the national league.
Winning becomes a habit and all that……
Bring it on…. Big Joe and his homies in Castlebar in Febuary. Its gona be some night……. and who knows…… maby the start of of something wonderful in 2010.
A bit harsh on the trip to Omagh from Dublin Willie – it’s not that far away really, and you get a cracking welcome from them. I was up there myself two years ago, and I was well impressed: http://spailpin.blogspot.com/2007/04/mayos-easter-parade.html
Interestingly, that’s Michael Conroy in the picture. Whatever happened to him?
Fair point, Spailpin – just checked the AA’s route planner and they say it’s only 113 miles one-way from here so that’d make it a far shorter trip for me than our ‘home’ games. If they play The Boys of the County Mayo again like they did in 2007, it’d make the trip well worth it!
Michael Conroy appears to have disappeared completely off the radar. After that Tyrone game in 2007, he started in the league final against Donegal but was subbed early in the second half. Shortly after that NFL final, he was culled from the championship panel and that’s the last that was seen of him at inter-county level. I’ve no idea where he is or what he’s up to now.