An expanded top-tier is no real solution

TIPPERARY’s expected slaughter of Offaly today will almost certainly be held up as evidence of the flawed nature of the current league structure.

The fact that Offaly can qualify for an Allianz League quarter-final by beating just Kerry, while Clare with double the points – after taking the scalps of Kilkenny and Dublin are already out of the competition while operating at a higher level – underlines the perceived lack of fairness. But there is nothing unfair about it given that this format has been in play since 2014 for a reason.

It was part of the trade-off in deciding to go with two groups of six a year earlier, ensuring that those in the second tier were afforded wider exposure to top flight teams and ensuring that there would be more games for all.

Now there is talk of a return to an expanded top-tier format after next year, perhaps with an eight-team first division

That hardly provides a solution given that there are nine ‘heavyweight’ teams – Wexford, Galway and Limerick, along with the current six 1A sides So what happens to the one left over?

They can hardly be pushed into a second tier to while away an entire spring without a seriously competitive game. Of course, there is the option of a nine-team top flight – but would that lead to enhanced competition?

One of the bellyaches about the present system is that in a five-round league every game matters. That sounds more like a compliment to the current structure than a complaint.

Of course, the argument is that teams do not have the breathing space to use the league to develop their squads, which is another way of saying that if there is an expanded top flight the pressure will not be there to go hard in every game. Sure, there would be more games but what we would gain in quantity we may well lose in quality.

That seems a huge price to pay to rid the competition of one lop-sided quarterfinal. Sometimes it really is best to leave well enough alone.