Weekend winners won’t be gaining any momentum

THE FOCUS switches from club football to hurling this coming weekend and, regardless of the fare on offer, it’s safe to say that none of the winners will be building any momentum in the immediate weeks to come.

That’s because the domestic programme will be put on hold on Sunday evening, certainly for any games with the potential to involve members of our inter-county Senior squads.

There’s plenty of loose ends to be tied up, and I’m sure every effort will be made to play as many of the 13 postponed football matches as possible over the coming weeks.

If a Wexford player isn’t part of the equation, then there’s absolutely no reason why those games can’t be staged.

It won’t be as simple regarding the new Under-20 grade which has seen the majority of the round two football games completed, but the entire first round hurling programme was wiped out.

Exam time is looming large, although the masters fixtures plan does indicate that hurling action will go ahead on April 28, with an allowance made for back fixtures on the following Friday night.

Of course, that same document had pencilled in four rounds of adult championship action for this month, but that figure has now been reduced to three.

It means that a full extra week of games will have to be fitted in somewhere further down the line, but it’s impossible to estimate when that will be as it’s largely reliant on the progress, or otherwise, of the Wexford Senior squads.

And therein lies the crux of the problem affecting club players that refuses to go away: the uncertainty regarding dates for fixtures that leaves their preparations up in the air.

Anyone intending to take holidays ought to do so in the month of June, that much is clear. However, for those staying at home and turning up in the local field for training week after week, it’s going to be extremely difficult to maintain a healthy interest.

The ratio of meaningful games to practice sessions in both codes is turning once-eager players away from the games in their droves, but there doesn’t seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel.

I firmly believe that the CPA needs to mobilise on a local level, establishing strong sub-committees in all 32 counties and then raising concerns directly with the relevant C.C.C.C.

After all, they haven’t made any significant impact as far as I can ascertain in their dealings with the national hierarchy.

And, it must be remembered that the issues affecting Wexford are not necessarily the same as those in other counties.

For example, a lot was made of the fact that we are just one of twelve counties utilising April for championship fixtures, but that ignored one very important consideration.

The vast majority of the Ulster counties run knockout championships and therefore never had any intention of playing anything other than league games this month.

It simply wasn’t necessary as they will run off their championships in four to five weeks, starting in late August or early September.

Here in Wexford we don’t have that luxury because, taking both codes into account, we need ten weekends for group games, followed by a minimum of three apiece for the knockout stages.

That’s a lot of dates to come up with, and it’s the reason why playing championship in April has always been essential in this county whereas it wouldn’t even be contemplated in others.

It will be interesting to see how the rest of this year pans out for domestic fixtures, and if the various deadlines to have clubs ready for the provincial championships will be met.

And if the same issues arise that have caused difficulties in the past, then perhaps it’s time to have a serious conversation about the merits or otherwise of returning to straight knockout championships.

That system was in operation in 1996, and without it the domestic programme would never have been completed with such speed after our All-Ireland win. Even at that, first-time Senior football champions Glynn-Barntown were still denied the chance to represent Wexford in Leinster due to a November finish.

Enjoy the club hurling this weekend, as it’s the last you’ll be seeing for a number of months.