Live

Repeat: Off The Ball

02:00 AM-05:00 AM

Repeat: Off The Ball
Advertisement
Football

"I'm completely against Proposal B" | Derry manager Rory Gallagher with Paddy and Andy

Derry manager Rory Gallagher was on The Football Pod with Paddy and Andy this week to discuss the...



Football

"I'm completely against Proposal B" | Derry manager Rory Gallagher with Paddy and Andy

Derry manager Rory Gallagher was on The Football Pod with Paddy and Andy this week to discuss the GAA Congress.

Leinster secretary Michael Reynolds poured gasoline on a fire that was already burning bright to start this week.

Reynolds joined Ger Gilroy and Eoin Sheehan on OTB AM to dismiss the players' support for Proposal B. GPA CEO Tom Parsons called his comments "unacceptable." Enda McGinley previously told Off The Ball that this discrepancy was there.

Paddy Andrews and Andy Moran are of the opinion that Proposal B isn't perfect but it's the right choice. Derry manager Rory Gallagher disagrees with Andrews and Moran.

"I very much agree with Brian McAvoy," Gallagher said.

Brian McAvoy is the Ulster GAA Chief Executive. He compared Proposal B to Brexit and said that it would be much worse than the status quo.

"Brian McAvoy hit home. He's a very good, passionate GAA man. I'm completely against Proposal B.

"There's two things you can win as a young GAA player: A provincial championship and an All-Ireland. Some of the arguments are teams have no realistic chance of winning an All-Ireland. That's not going to change no matter what."

Gallagher compared the GAA to the Premier League by suggesting that it can only be won by two or three teams. He said nobody is going to come in and take over Waterford or Fermanagh the way Saudi Arabia have Newcastle.

But of course the natural argument against that is Leicester City, who did manage to win the Premier League despite being complete outsiders.

Gallagher's argument is that smaller teams can still dream of winning the provincial championship even if they can't win the All-Ireland championship.

"Still in Fermanagh, you can dream of winning a provincial championship. And to take that away would be wrong. They'd be glorified challenge games [under Proposal B]."

The GPA report an overwhelming majority of GAA players support Proposal B, but Gallagher questions the validity of that.

"There was no big dialogue in any of the counties I've spoken to.

"I believe it's flawed. I was down at two Connacht finals in the last four or five years that Roscommon won. The elation on that pitch was unbelievable. Cavan winning it last year, Tipperary...in 2015 Sligo were in a final. In 2013, London were.

"Every Ulster county has been in a final and it's massive what it means to Fermanagh and to Cavan, Down, even though they haven't won them. Munster has always been the same, it's Kerry and Cork. It's not easy for Waterford, Tipperary, Clare or Limerick who are very strong dual counties. That has to be taken into account."

Dublin is the GAA's elephant in the room for Gallagher. Their dominance and population is killing Leinster GAA, but that doesn't mean the other provinces are a problem. He's not completely against change in this regard.

"I wouldn't be against four conferences like the American sports. Something like that but I don't see why you should reward teams finishing number 23 or 24 and penalize teams ranked sixth and seventh. We already have the national league, why don't we make three divisions?

"A 10, an 11 and an 11. Give teams at least nine games against teams at their own level. Then go into a top 16, two groups of eight or four fours. Something like that."

The GAA Special Congress will take place on Saturday and the vote will take place then.

Listen to The Football Pod with Paddy and Andy first each week on the OTB Sports app. You can subscribe to the podcast where all podcasts are available or follow Off The Ball on youtube to watch the show each week.

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.