WINNING his first ever Ulster Championship hasn’t changed Chrissy McKaigue’s mind. The Derry captain who accepted the Anglo-Celt Cup on behalf of his county amid unforgettable scenes in Clones last Sunday still feels the Championship system is broken and it needs to be fixed.
Derry’s victory over Donegal clinched a first provincial title for Derry since 1998 and thousands of rejoicing fans joined the players on the pitch afterwards. McKaigue says losing the Ulster Championship would be a price worth paying for a “better model with higher quality games”.
“It's difficult to know what I'd replace it (the Ulster Championship) with but I've put my cards on the table with this one,” said McKaigue.
“Our system’s broken and it needs fixed, regardless of how special it was for us Sunday. I still think we can do better with the system and I think we can make it a more attractive proposition and a better model with higher quality games. I know next year, we're moving towards that, but I would welcome that.
“Yes Sunday was unbelievably special, but you look at it for the overall health of the competition. As special as it was, I think the teams in Ulster are at a disadvantage compared to other provinces and how competitive it is.
“Opinions are great but the reality is that Monaghan, Tyrone, Donegal and Armagh were all in Division One this year and Derry and Down, albeit they were relegated, in Division Two so that’s six out of the province in the top two divisions.
“There’s no other province that can boast that same record so it is competitive to say the least and that’s grand to a certain extent but it’s not great if you’re beat in the first round. We’ve drawn Donegal and Tyrone I don’t know how many times in the last decade and that makes things harder.
And Derry did it the hard way this year, beating three of those Division One teams McKaigue mentioned – Tyrone, Monaghan and Donegal in the Ulster final. Meanwhile, Kerry cantered home in Munster by beating Cork by 12 points and Limerick by 23.
“It’s hugely satisfying when you win,” he said.
“But I don’t see how it can be deemed as fair if like us you have been drawn against Tyrone and Donegal, teams that have been dominant, in the top teams in the country, each year. It’s not really a great system is it? When you compare it with teams in other provinces who get it slightly easier at times.”
Having come through the rigours of the Ulster Championship and marked a succession of marquee forwards in Darren McCurry, Jack McCarron and Paddy McBrearty, 32-year-old Slaughtneil clubman insists that Ulster football is in excellent health at present.
“Donegal have a reputation over the last number of years of being fantastic defensively but they don’t get the credit for how well tuned-in tactically they are,” he said.
“Their attacks are premeditated and very well structured and you get the feeling that everything they do, they know exactly who they want to shoot and how they want to orchestrate the shot.
“You look at the number of scores they’ve got in Division One over the last two or three years and they’ve averaged 17-18 points. That’s not talked about much in the media. Look at the stats of how much teams are scoring in inter-county now in comparison to 10 years ago, it’s day and night.
“There’s a level of our game now tactically, physically… Look at the crowds now going to the games, I think the game is in really good health all the boys and girls that I know of want to be playing GAA. I think GAA in Derry and I do believe in Ulster and beyond is in really good health at the minute. I honestly do believe that.”
