Football

Kicking Out: Derry strategy a vision of things to be

Kerry has a long-standing reputation for producing inter-county players from small junior clubs, none less than David Clifford (pictured). Derry, who are set to poach the Kingdom's idea of district teams in the senior club championship, have not had a starting championship player from a junior club since 1980. Picture by Seamus Loughran
Kerry has a long-standing reputation for producing inter-county players from small junior clubs, none less than David Clifford (pictured). Derry, who are set to poach the Kingdom's idea of district teams in the senior club championship, have not had a sta Kerry has a long-standing reputation for producing inter-county players from small junior clubs, none less than David Clifford (pictured). Derry, who are set to poach the Kingdom's idea of district teams in the senior club championship, have not had a starting championship player from a junior club since 1980. Picture by Seamus Loughran

“Through early morning fog I see


Visions of the things to be…”

THE theme tune to M*A*S*H is as it was intended to be – “the stupidest song ever written”.

When the show’s director Robert Altman sat down to pen it to fit the lead character, he couldn’t compute his brain to dumb it down sufficiently.

He gave the task to his 14-year-old son Michael, who wrote the lyrics in five minutes.

Never over-estimate the Brits. They were so taken that they made it the number one selling single in the UK back in early June, 1980.

Altman later said that he made $70,000 from directing the film, while his teenage son earned over $1m for having co-written the song.

Forty years on, it’s hard to think imagine that anything worse has topped the charts.

But as the cars housing Derry players snaked their way around the foot of Slieve Gallion, that would have been the song they’d have heard topping the charts en-route home from Dean McGlinchey Park.

On June 8, 1980, Derry hosted Cavan in the Ulster Championship.

Derry were between teams, the double-winning side of the mid-70s not yet replaced by the late ‘80s side that would form a bridge to All-Ireland success.

Mickey O’Brien was just turning 23 at the time. He was the star player for The Loup, who had yet to regather their feet and were swimming around in junior football.

O’Brien was only back from a broken arm. The memory stands out so vividly because it would be his last championship game for Derry.

40 years on, Mickey O’Brien’s presence on the teamsheet that day retains a place in Derry footballing history.

By the time next year’s championship comes around, more than 15,000 days will have passed.

To this day, it remains the last time a player from a junior club started a championship game for Derry.

In terms of the GAA, Derry is a tiny county.

Like the other five northern counties, roughly half of the 250,000-odd population is not big on all things Gaelic.

150,000 of the inhabitants are from the city, which is getting there but itself not yet huge on the idea.

There are 40 clubs in Derry, which is too many. Dungiven parish for example has three clubs for a population of less than 3,000.

The strength of club football in the county has two strands. At the top end, it is fierce. Teams that win Derry championships tend to win, or go very close, to winning Ulster championships.

But the county’s provincial record at junior and intermediate level is very poor.

Clubs at those levels may be sore about seldom having players picked to represent the county, but it’s not a big club bias.

The players do not exist outside senior football. Anyone who has had any hope of making the grade has been given a chance.

Only 18 intermediate players in the last decade have cut the mustard to any degree, and in that you’re counting the likes of Enda Lynn and Niall Loughlin, whose club Greenlough have played as much senior football as intermediate.

Derry football is an upside-down pyramid that balances on those at its very peak. The base is incredibly narrow.

Widening the base of the pyramid was the focus that has driven the county’s new strategy for coaching and player development, intended to be fully implemented by 2026 if it receive the backing of clubs.

It is easily the most radical, ambitious plan the county has embarked on in living memory, if not far beyond it.

Acceptance will not be easily come by in some corners.

District teams threatening the status quo of the big clubs? Silent sidelines? One-touch football for U11s?

For anyone against it, consider this.

David Clifford’s club, Fossa, played in the Kerry junior championship this year.

Jack Barry, superb in the two All-Ireland finals last year, won an All-Ireland junior club title back in January with Na Gaeil.

Darran O’Sullivan (Glenbeigh-Glencar), Tadhg Morley, Gavin Crowley, Adrian and Killane Spillane (Templenoe) have won All-Ireland junior club titles since 2016.

They followed in the footsteps of the likes of Seamus Moynihan, who won a Kerry junior title with Glenflesk in 1992. He also won three senior championships with East Kerry.

Kerry is a hugely rural county that struggles massively with depopulation. Small clubs struggling to field is not what you associate with such a powerhouse, but it is the reality.

In that regard, they are no different to Derry. But they continually keep the base of the pyramid wide by creating pathways and opportunities for players, regardless of their club.

The committee tasked with reforming Derry’s fortunes spoke repeatedly to their coaching officer, Terence Houlihan.

The idea to create four new district clubs to add into the current senior championship is unashamedly straight from the Kerry playbook.

Just as the premise of having a Games Promotion Officer (GPO) in every club is stolen from Dublin.

You don’t need to know much about Gaelic football to understand that if there are two counties to steal ideas from, those are the two.

Perhaps the biggest difference, though, could be at underage level. As well as putting district teams into the minor championship, there are significant plans to change how the game is played by children under 13 years of age.

Up to U11, players will be allowed one bounce or solo before they have to part the ball.

At U13, it will be two touches.

The idea is that by the time they are coming to U15, the players will naturally play with their heads up. That they will have better awareness of the game around them, as opposed to the big lad running the field with the ball, then turning 18 and realising all the other lads are as big as him now.

Silent sidelines are intended to further encourage autonomous thinking. Players will be coached during the week and then allowed to learn for themselves during games.

There is also a proposal to extend the Go Games window by eight weeks to allow for alternating hurling and football week about.

It may be a hard sell to some clubs obsessed with the idea of their own silverware.

There may even be smaller clubs against the district teams because of their own sense of identity.

But the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting Derry to win Ulster titles. That’s either at inter-county or intermediate and junior club level.

It has been 22 years since the county won the Anglo Celt.

Craigbane won the last intermediate title in 2011, and they’re now playing junior football.

The nearest Derry has come to an Ulster junior club title is sharing the first half of Derrytresk’s name.

What is happening now is not working.

So clubs can reject the proposals and find that in 20 years’ time, it’s so broken that it’s unfixable.

Or they can accept change, and perhaps visions of things to be.