Henry Shefflin is the latest top manager to vent his frustration at the impact of third level competitions on his panel, describing Thursday evening Fitzgibbon Cup fixtures as ‘ridiculous’.
The Galway boss was unable to call on Declan McLaughlin for Sunday’s Walsh Cup final due to a Fitzgibbon game last night.
McLaughlin had started all three of Galway’s previous Walsh Cup games and returned 4-3 including a stunning hat-trick of goals against Laois.
Yesterday’s third level game for Mary Immaculate College was a rescheduled game and Shefflin was more frustrated with the games going ahead on Thursdays.
The University of Galway played last Thursday night and there are more Fitzgibbon games down for this Thursday despite the National League beginning less than 48 hours later.
Meath football manager Colm O’Rourke was similarly critical last weekend of the impact of the Sigerson Cup which 13 of his players are involved in.
“We’ve colleges playing on a Thursday night and I’ve heard some of the other county managers say it, how they can play colleges matches on a Thursday night now any more is just ridiculous because it’s not fair on the players, absolutely not,” said Shefflin. “They won’t be able to train this week, they’ll miss the whole week.
“And I love that competition, I’m sure a lot of us played in that competition and it’s a great competition but for me, they have to look at the fixture list and they have to play them on a Tuesday or a Wednesday night to give those chaps a chance to tog out for their inter-county team at the weekend.
“That’s a big one for us. We’ve always known this was going to be a difficult juggling point.”
Kilkenny great Shefflin has a rich Fitzgibbon Cup history himself, playing in three successive finals for Waterford IT and winning medals in 1999 and 2000.
“I just think games could be played on a Tuesday or Wednesday night, I don’t understand it,” he said, suggesting that some of the third level games could be played before Christmas.
“Surely they could have played some of the group matches before Christmas where you’re at the quarter-final stage then turning for Christmas and it’s down to the serious matches.
“Look, it’s very difficult (to plan), it’s extremely difficult but for me, the Thursday night matches don’t work because it’s too quick to the weekend.”
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen if the St Thomas’ players will be back for Saturday’s National League opener against Westmeath.
The All-Ireland club winners didn’t feature in the Walsh Cup decider despite Glen’s football stars being used by Derry in their National League opener.
Shefflin confirmed that David Burke, who starred for St Thomas’ after returning from last year’s cruciate knee ligament injury, will be involved again.
“The night in Loughgeorge when the injury happened on a wet Tuesday night in March, a lot of us were having a cup of tea and saying, ‘Jesus, is that the end of him?'” said Shefflin of Galway’s 2017 All-Ireland winning captain.
“And then to see what he did last week is a testament to his character and to his family as well, the hurling family that they are and that community.
“I just thought it was immense and the leadership that he showed. But it was his hurling as well, there were some moments in it where Thomas’ needed someone to do something and he was the one they looked to the whole time.”