Former Donegal captain Michael Murphy has said that the current All-Ireland championship structure, which has come under intense scrutiny, should be given another year at least.
The current format has received criticism for the way some teams have managed to get to the quarterfinals of the senior football championship despite losing games along the way. Derry, Monaghan, and Roscommon are three examples of this.
Each team won one game but made it out of their provincial formats to the next round. Monaghan has not made it to the quarterfinals, only the preliminary quarterfinals, while Derry and Roscommon will play this weekend in Croke Park.
GAA President Jarlath Burns has indicated that there may be a change to the current structure and also cited the lack of "jeopardy" in the current game recently.
"One of the themes coming through really is the lack of jeopardy. I share this view," he said this month.
"The league is there as a development competition; it’s seven games, and it allows teams to make incremental developments and improvements."
A lot of people support the change, but Murphy, the former Donegal captain, isn't ready to abandon the current format just yet. However, he does believe time off between games is needed for players.
"I would give another opportunity to the current system as it is, but we definitely need more breathing space between games," Murphy told BBC Sport NI.
Sean O'Shea of Kerry takes a free kick during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship quarter-final match between Kerry and Tyrone at Croke Park in Dublin. (Photo By Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images)"It's exhausting for fans; they want time to discuss and delve into the matches for a couple of days. That's very quickly taken over by the week-to-week games.
"I can only imagine for players what it is like to have to get yourself prepared. There is a lot of travel, logistics, and overnight accommodation. Things like that."
Murphy also disagrees that there is a lack of "jeopardy" in games and has cited a number of recent close games in the championship. He reiterated the point that having games further away from each other would have a bigger benefit than a restructure of the current football championship format.
"People have mentioned the word jeopardy, and there's not enough of it in the group stages," Murphy said.
"But if you look at it, Mayo were leading by a point going into injury time against Dublin. There was huge jeopardy in that.
"Dublin went up the other end, and all of a sudden, Mayo didn't get that week off, and they are out.
"Galway let slip a five-point lead against Armagh in their last game too. Armagh draw, get top spot, and now Galway are playing Dublin.
"What may be an issue is the timing. The games being played week after week are exhausting for everybody."
