Hi Sideliner, thanks for taking the time to post this, and particularly for doing so in the constructive spirit intended. We genuinely appreciate the feedback, especially from someone who has listened to and supported MFT for a long time.
We absolutely take the point about Junior and Intermediate coverage. One of the things we have always tried to do at MFT is provide meaningful coverage of the club game across all grades, and we certainly don’t regard Junior or Intermediate football as an afterthought.
We would, however, add a little context to the coverage so far. During the group stages we made a point of having reports from one featured Intermediate championship game in each round, plus post-match reaction, alongside our Senior coverage. We have also tried to dedicate as much time as reasonably possible on the podcasts to previewing the Intermediate and Junior fixtures, discussing the various groups and looking ahead to the key games.
Could we do more? Absolutely — and ideally we would. But there is a practical reality to what we can produce. Across the year, MFT puts out a very large number of podcasts, covering club and county football across numerous competitions and grades. During the club championship in particular, there are a huge number of games taking place over a relatively short period, and we are working with finite time, personnel and resources.
We therefore have to make choices about which games we attend and feature, and how much time we can devote to each competition within individual podcasts. That isn’t offered as an excuse, but it is the reality of trying to provide the breadth of coverage that we do. We would always prefer to have informed discussion based on games we have watched and people we have spoken to rather than simply filling airtime for the sake of ticking every box.
At the same time, the point about balance is a fair one. If listeners following the Intermediate and Junior championships feel that those competitions are getting squeezed within a podcast, then that is something worth considering. The suggestion of separate Senior, Intermediate and Junior podcasts is also a reasonable one. We have done that type of thing previously, and it is something we can look at again as the championships progress, particularly around the knockout stages. Whether it is possible every week will inevitably come back to the time and resources available.
Club football is hugely important to MFT and always has been. The sheer number of club podcasts, previews, reviews and match reports we produce every season reflects that commitment. We won’t always get the balance exactly right, and given the number of teams and matches involved it would be impossible to cover everything to the depth we would ideally like. But we are always looking at how the coverage can be improved.
Thanks again for the feedback and, importantly, for the continued listening and support. Constructive criticism is useful to us, and we’ll certainly take the points raised on board as the championships develop.
Sideliner says:
September 11, 2026 at 12:07 am
What I say here I say as a means of constructive criticism, from a long time listener and active Patreon subscriber.
The format of the current club championship preview and review podcasts needs to be reviewed. This podcast with Evan Regan focused on Senior, I understand that, but the trend over the past few weeks has been something along the lines of the following:
90% Senior Championship preview
5% Intermediate Championship preview
<5% Junior Championship preview
and the remainder is AOB. Sometimes, the AOB gets more attention than the Junior/Intermediate!
The pods over the past few years have been good because the coverage across all grades was widespread and consistent. I understand that there are only so many games that ye can get to in a weekend but every Intermediate/Junior game gets coverage in the local newspapers with match reports.
At the moment, the little coverage that some junior/intermediate games get seems like a tickbox exercise. Big win for X, talk about main man Y, Venue Z is always a tough away venue to go to. Rinse and repeat, next game up. Are there any new players in these teams that we havent heard of who are playing well, asides from the Mayo/Mayo u20 players?
Previewing/Reviewing everything in 1 podcast might be part of the issue. In the past there were seperate Senior/Intermediate/Junior podcasts with each grade getting a minimum of 40 minutes, if my memory serves me correctly. These were great podcasts and I hope that they might make a return for the knockout stages.
Again, what I said here I said because the podcasts have a lot of potential to be great, like it was in recent years. Maybe I'm alone in what I think but I doubt that this is the case.
Mike Finnerty says:
September 11, 2026 at 4:21 pm
Hi Sideliner, thanks for taking the time to post this, and particularly for doing so in the constructive spirit intended. We genuinely appreciate the feedback, especially from someone who has listened to and supported MFT for a long time.
We absolutely take the point about Junior and Intermediate coverage. One of the things we have always tried to do at MFT is provide meaningful coverage of the club game across all grades, and we certainly don’t regard Junior or Intermediate football as an afterthought.
We would, however, add a little context to the coverage so far. During the group stages we made a point of having reports from one featured Intermediate championship game in each round, plus post-match reaction, alongside our Senior coverage. We have also tried to dedicate as much time as reasonably possible on the podcasts to previewing the Intermediate and Junior fixtures, discussing the various groups and looking ahead to the key games.
Could we do more? Absolutely — and ideally we would. But there is a practical reality to what we can produce. Across the year, MFT puts out a very large number of podcasts, covering club and county football across numerous competitions and grades. During the club championship in particular, there are a huge number of games taking place over a relatively short period, and we are working with finite time, personnel and resources.
We therefore have to make choices about which games we attend and feature, and how much time we can devote to each competition within individual podcasts. That isn’t offered as an excuse, but it is the reality of trying to provide the breadth of coverage that we do. We would always prefer to have informed discussion based on games we have watched and people we have spoken to rather than simply filling airtime for the sake of ticking every box.
At the same time, the point about balance is a fair one. If listeners following the Intermediate and Junior championships feel that those competitions are getting squeezed within a podcast, then that is something worth considering. The suggestion of separate Senior, Intermediate and Junior podcasts is also a reasonable one. We have done that type of thing previously, and it is something we can look at again as the championships progress, particularly around the knockout stages. Whether it is possible every week will inevitably come back to the time and resources available.
Club football is hugely important to MFT and always has been. The sheer number of club podcasts, previews, reviews and match reports we produce every season reflects that commitment. We won’t always get the balance exactly right, and given the number of teams and matches involved it would be impossible to cover everything to the depth we would ideally like. But we are always looking at how the coverage can be improved.
Thanks again for the feedback and, importantly, for the continued listening and support. Constructive criticism is useful to us, and we’ll certainly take the points raised on board as the championships develop.
Glorydays says:
September 13, 2026 at 10:24 am
Thats an excellent considered response from Mike Finnerty in fairness. For €5 plus vat per month I think MFT is unreal value for money
Rober says:
September 14, 2026 at 6:41 pm
Just saw the streaming details for the coming weekend..all five games being streamed are senior games. No intermediate or junior games.. what is this decision based on , equity or equality????
yew_tree says:
September 14, 2026 at 8:25 pm
Rober what games are they showing? I’ve seen nothing online in regards this.
Rober says:
September 14, 2026 at 8:35 pm
Four senior quarter finals and the senior relegation game on Friday night Mayo Gaels v Balla.