Football

All-Ireland damp squib brings curtain down on poor season

Dublin's Brian Fenton and Paul Flynn close down Kerry's Anthony Maher during the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final at Croke Park last Sunday Picture: Colm O'Reilly
Dublin's Brian Fenton and Paul Flynn close down Kerry's Anthony Maher during the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final at Croke Park last Sunday Picture: Colm O'Reilly Dublin's Brian Fenton and Paul Flynn close down Kerry's Anthony Maher during the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final at Croke Park last Sunday Picture: Colm O'Reilly

THEY say the best nights out come when your expectations of the evening are at their lowest.

On the flip side, last Sunday’s ‘dream final’ at Croke Park was sold to us football fans as a meeting of two heavyweights which had everything, not least the best players and managers in the game.

There’s no doubt the weather ruined any chance of the game being a classic. Playing on the Croke Park surface on a day such as last Sunday can only be compared to playing on your living room carpet with a pair of football studs on. Given that there was very little between the sides in terms of athleticism and skill, this made for a dour encounter, riddled with mistakes.

If you removed the importance of the occasion from the equation and if the game had been played out the back of your house, there is little chance of anyone braving the elements for its entirety. 

Perhaps I’m being unfair as the players have no control over the weather and nobody has played more games in terrible conditions on occasions far less important than me. Is it time Croke Park had a retractable roof? 

I was really surprised at just how poor Kerry’s performance was. And I was even more shocked that Éamonn Fitzmaurice got his tactics and substitutions so badly wrong. Why did Kieran Donaghy not come on at half-time? And when he was eventually introduced, why was it for Paul Geaney and not Colm Cooper? Why was James O’Donoghue taken off?

Granted, neither Geaney nor O’Donoghue were setting the world alight, but they both scored from play when that proved beyond most of their team-mates. Cooper had too much defending to do against Philly McMahon and he simply doesn’t have it in his legs to be chasing an energetic 28-year-old back into his own defence.

Darran O’Sullivan should have started the game. Such was the day that was in it that a player as mobile with such a low centre of gravity had the potential to cause untold damage, as he showed when he came on in the second half.

Fitzmaurice has been rightly lauded for taking Kerry to a new level in terms of preparation and diversity, but he still has some way to go before he can be regarded as a great manager. Good managers win one All-Ireland, but great managers win more.

With the inter-county season now done and dusted, I have picked a few highs and lows from the year that was.

HIGH


Donegal v Galway


Are Donegal a one-man team? On the basis of Michael Murphy’s performance against Galway, you could make the argument that they are.

Donegal struggled for long periods of the game, but Murphy’s performance in the second half was sublime and his catch and point was the score of the year. The flick and goal that followed were also top-drawer.

A one-man team? I would argue as much.

LOW


The black card


Simply put, a disaster. It was brought in as an over-reaction to one tackle, yet body-checking and cynical tackling could be dealt with far more effectively by the correct use of yellow and red cards, or perhaps even a sin-bin.

The pressure put on referees by players, managers and supporters alike would put any right-minded individual off donning the black jersey. For example, my own club played a league game a number of months ago and prior to throw-in, the referee told both captains that there would be no black cards issued. He did not believe in them. The game passed off without incident.

If more referees did the same, they would be doing themselves a huge favour.

HIGH


Pete McGrath & Seán Quigley


Pete McGrath and Seán Quigley make for an unlikely ‘Bromance’. But you could say they helped each other immensely this year.

Quigley can now legitimately argue he is the best footballer in his family, although I suspect Séamie would have something to say about that.

Sean was a breath of fresh air this year, as were the entire Fermanagh team. Is there honour in defeat? Well, there is honour in everything, a fact not lost on McGrath himself.

Pete sends his sides out to play football based on a set of principles that have endured as long as he has. Afraid of nothing, you have to admire his positive approach against any opposition, even Dublin, in an era when managers talk their teams down to the point that it is boring and predictable.

The Erne men will be watched more closely next year, but they will be scared of nobody. Fermanagh provided a number of real highs in 2015.

LOW


The standard


Yes, some of the games this year were excellent, but some were really poor. And the majority of games were fairly average at best, while the last two All-Ireland finals have been instantly forgettable.

The last four teams in this year’s All-Ireland mix were largely predictable, although you could argue Tyrone exceeded expectations. Indeed, apart from Fermanagh you could have picked the last eight at the start of the season, with the also-rans some distance off the pace. 

Tyrone, Donegal and perhaps Monaghan are top eight contenders from Ulster. The rest are all contenders for a Tommy Murphy Cup-style competition.

That is not the fault of the system nor the central authorities, but rather an issue for the counties. They have to help themselves.

HIGH


RTÉ's popularity


I know my credibility may well take a bashing for this one.

When you consider the viewing figures on a head-to-head basis, Sky’s coverage doesn’t even come close to RTÉ’s. Say what you want about RTÉ, but I think their coverage and pundits are engaging, entertaining and still the best around.

Joe Brolly is Joe Brolly. Whether he makes a quip about Marty Morrissey’s looks or continues to shout over Pat Spillane, few would argue it’s not great entertainment. No doubt, things can get personal and the line can be crossed, but I am tired of endless political correctness.

RTÉ have added a few new faces to their punditry panel and I believe their coverage and loyalty to football and hurling is unquestionable. Long may it continue.

LOW


The League and Championship structure


Everyone agrees that the current structure fails to get the best from players, teams and supporters. Increasingly stacked in favour of the top four, the gulf is becoming greater each year.

A number of proposals for change have been presented, but the authorities have been slow to embrace any of them. I am not in favour of a ‘second-tier’ Championship, but I recognise that many of the teams in the Championship have no chance of being involved come August.

Every team should have at least one chance of competing for Sam and, after that, perhaps a secondary competition is necessary. There is also still a place for combining the League and Championship in some way.

This might also breathe life back into club football, a fact that would not be lost on 98 per cent of the playing population.

As history has shown, any change will be slow, so don’t expect it anytime soon.