Wrap it for Christmas
Conflict is brewing between club and county this winter but Murphy reckons both could be accommodated
DONEGAL captain Michael Murphy wants a knockout Championship wrapped up by Christmas.
Among the options the GAA is considering is to restart the 2020 county season with the remaining League games in October followed by the Championship with a qualifier format built-in – but that would almost certainly lead to a spillover into next year.
However, Murphy said: “My own preference is a straight knock-out to try to finish it in the calendar year. We play the rest of the National League prior to the 2021 League.”
MICHAEL MURPHY would rather be reflecting on the All-ireland series as he eats his Christmas dinner than anticipating it.
If a knockout Championship is the only way to finish the competition by December, then so be it reckons the Donegal skipper.
The GAA is currently in the process of shaping the remainder of the inter-county season once it resumes on October 17, with various options on the table.
One is to restart with outstanding League games before staging a Championship with a qualifier system – but there simply won’t be enough weekends to wrap that all up before the turn of the year.
Murphy said: “I would like a straight knockout to try to finish it in the calendar year, yes.
“If we get into next year then and we play the remaining part of the National League prior to the 2021 National League, then we do so.
“Dragging it on past Christmas because of the qualifiers may give teams more of a chance but I do feel that that’s a compromise we need to make in order to play club championship and to play inter-county championship in the 2020 calendar year.
“I envied anyone who has got to a club championship All-ireland final, I envied them massively – but I never envied that navigation of Christmas week and New Year’s Week.
“Listen, if you told me now that we were going to be in an All-ireland final in the first week of January, I’d take your arm off but if it could be played prior to Christmas, which I think it can be, I would be willing to do that.”
Although the prospect of a Championship being staged at all this year looked rather bleak until recently, Murphy always retained optimism that there could be some action.
The fact that a season is now in the offing at all is “the thing I’m really grateful for”, he says.
But there is conflict brewing with the club and county overlap, with some counties allowing their championships to run into October while others are looking to complete them in a matter of weeks once action resumes at the end of next month.
“Is it going to be tricky and is it going to be difficult?
It is, you would imagine it’s going to be messy,” admitted Murphy, whose ‘Toughest
Trade’ appearance will be repeated on Virgin Media next Monday.
“However, I still think it is achievable and I still think within the guided timeframe we can manage a club championship and manage a county championship, but there is going to have to be give and take on both sides.
“Has there been a history of that, or have we shown there has been a history of that? Probably not, but is there an opportunity now for that to be shown? Yes, there is.”
Murphy sees plenty of wriggle-room – in his own county at least.
“I can see no reason why we can’t run our normal championship in the allotted time.
“In the senior championship we play four groups, three games and the winners go through to the quarter-finals and semi-finals, final – so that’s six games potentially for the winners.
“So I see no reason why we can’t – as county players, club players and everything – come together, play with our club over that six, seven, eight-week period and then get our period of lead-in to intercounty championship and potentially a club league can remain there and players can get even more games then.”
He added: “Maybe a straight knock-out is the way to go this year in order for us to just compromise and get football, but at the same time get enough time to prepare.”