DOWN play Donegal in April in the Ulster Championship. Down will go in as underdogs – but I wouldn’t rule them out.
Although the McKenna Cup comes with all the usual clichés attached to it such as ‘it is only January’, Down – not Donegal – played and looked like the Division One side when they met last Sunday, quite the opposite of what the facts tell us.
On this showing Donegal management, players and fans will not panic but I would be concerned for them in this post-Michael Murphy era.
There are a number of first team players to come back in – I get that.
Donegal still had class on show in the form of Paddy McBrearty and Jamie Brennan, and the Down defenders had their hands full trying to stop both players.
However, Donegal looked a bit clueless – totally uncharacteristic of the team I have watched over the years, even on their bad days.
Down were every bit the match for Donegal and trying to take the emotion and bias out of what I watched, I would say, even this early, there appears a togetherness in the Down squad.
The body language in the warm-up, at half-time (those that were not playing were being put through their paces in an organised fashion) and when the game finished, there was the post-game circle with the players shoulder to shoulder.
Already I can see Conor Laverty’s influence.
Yes, we must caveat the performance as that of a McKenna Cup tie.
What of the opposition? Well, Donegal took an age to get a new management team in place. It looked to be Rory Kavanagh – then it wasn’t. Possibly the Donegal County Board were expecting things to be more straightforward.
Who knows?
From a tactical perspective, they appeared to play more directly last Sunday – again something the new management may be trialling in these early days.
Unfortunately, though, trying to find McBrearty with every single long ball kicked forward meant that Donegal played into Down’s hands, the Mournemen launching attack after attack thereafter.
Kicking to Down’s cover continually should be a basic no-no at this level and considering that Donegal are supposed to be preparing themselves to take on the
All-Ireland champions Kerry in three weeks, I would fear for them a bit.
Down have been training extremely hard and appear very fit, supporting the man in possession with more than one runner.
I was particularly pleased with Down’s forward line. My own club-mate and friend Pat Havern was Down’s man of the match, kicking five points from play including two off his left side.
Liam Kerr is Down’s future. You could build a team around him.
I love the freedom in how he plays – willing to take defenders on time and again. He got his goal and a few other points.
Down fans will not get carried away and as other teams start to ramp up their own training and with League football starting soon, we will get a better indication of what potential there is in this Down squad and management closer to April.
THE All-Ireland Club semi-finals may have taken a secondary billing behind the start of the inter-county season last weekend, but for Glen, there is no such thing as county football for another few weeks.
The Derry men have a final date with Kilmacud Croke's in 10 days’ time having battled their way deservedly through a close semi-final with Moycullen – a game they never really looked like losing.
It was tighter than it should have been, yes, but it doesn’t matter how you do it, the result is the only thing that matters.
Given the Ulster Club final was played before Christmas and having to wait until January to finish the All-Ireland series, I am not alone in feeling this is far from ideal.
My understanding, in any re-structure of the football calendar, was that the All-Ireland Club finals were to be finished inside the calendar year.
And yet here we are.
I believe this was prevented from happening due to respective county boards requesting more time to finish their own competitions.
Why did Croke Park bend to this?
In a significant amount of counties, they are running back-door rounds, giving teams second chances – perhaps because they need the gate receipts – who knows?
In my opinion, back-door games should be disbanded – straight knock-out games with the losers gone is much more practical.
Additionally, many counties do not start their club championships until September when, alternatively, a couple of rounds could easily be played commencing in August – when the weather is better.
Another consideration. When do players get a rest?
Take the best footballer in the country – David Clifford.
Do we really want to have him play for our entertainment every week of the year, for Fossa, East Kerry, Kerry?
He appears to be mad for football – but we need to protect some players from themselves too.
With Clifford’s club side winning through to the All-Ireland junior final, he will have been non-stop for a few years now and when the club finishes, it’s then straight into the National League to play for Kerry.
This merry-go-round is madness.
Shane Walsh with Kilmacud is in the same boat this year.
Not every county player will have these same commitments to their club at this time, but there is an argument here that the split season is doing nothing to ease the workload of our best county players.
Is there a solution?
Player welfare should not only be a consideration for the players themselves but also for their coaches and managers.
I wonder how many would sit down with Clifford, Walsh et al and have that honest conversation about workload. How many would send them away to the sun for a few weeks in the winter for example.
In terms of influence, I would say that it is the managers who have the greatest responsibility and part to play.
We all want to be entertained – managers and coaches want their pound of flesh.
It has become survival mode at elite level so to a degree I understand why managers are selfish.
The split season may have its advantages but otherwise it has done nothing to those affected the most. The players themselves.
