IT was great to see football return to our television screens last weekend and we were treated to some very entertaining matches.
Derry had a fantastic win over Longford, while Antrim dug deep to beat Louth, as former comrades Enda McGinley and Mickey Harte went into battle.
Armagh had an important win that sets them up brilliantly for a renewal of a rather hostile rivalry.
Tyrone and Armagh have never been the best of friends and between them they shared some epic encounters throughout the ‘Noughties’.
Their powers have both waned in the last decade, although Tyrone can always point to the fact that, despite both teams having had a golden generation of talent during the 2000s, Tyrone won three All-Irelands and Armagh managed just one.
You need a bit of luck and Armagh were unfortunate not to add another title to their name, but it doesn’t make that particular team any less brilliant.
Tyrone will not be too disappointed by a two-point defeat to Donegal.
Cathal McShane is worth that difference on a bad day and when he does return, I think Tyrone will be real contenders.
Add in Paul Donaghy and Tyrone are beginning to look like a side blessed with some very fine forwards.
I would suggest that Tyrone will want to avoid defeat to Armagh.
After all, there is no shame in being beaten by a side inspired by Michael Murphy and Paddy McBrearty.
And that is key – not all teams have players of that calibre, except Dublin and Kerry.
Donegal remain, to a certain extent, reliant on Murphy.
So you would worry if he got injured or the effect years of training and games will have on his body.
However, Tyrone will need to secure a few wins now and begin to show progress under Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher.
Yet, I would suggest that it is early days with the Red Hands. Going on last weekend’s match, this team will suddenly not become an expansive attacking unit.
The last thing Tyrone will want to do is to go the way of Galway.
Kevin Walsh had his critics and when Paddy Tally was involved with them, they became an even greater threat, putting it up to Dublin in a League final in their time.
Despite that, the natives were restless.
When change did happen, Padraic Joyce’s tenure started well and Galway outscored a few teams. Post-Covid, though, they have taken a number of drubbings.
They appear to have lost that defensive solidity and look totally disorganised.
Tyrone’s transition to a more offensive unit must be taken in small steps too.
The foundations laid by Mickey Harte and his management team should be tweaked and you should not be throwing the baby out with the bathwater, for want of a better term.
If Tyrone can utilise their forward power much better and be more offensive, without a doubt Logan and Dooher will see progress.
For that reason, I think last weekend’s results will be as much about the aesthetics as the result.
Fermanagh will be delighted with their start, edging Cavan out by a single point.
Cavan now have the tag of favourites more often as reigning Ulster champions and expectations have been lifted but perhaps they could be one of these sides who thrive as underdogs.
Progression out of the division had to be Cavan’s priority if they are to make the developmental strides in order to sustain this team’s momentum.
They will be under pressure to secure wins in the remaining games and, given the reduced nature of the fixtures, another loss will certainly result in a team missing out on promotion.
Down will not need to worry about promotion, with consolidation in the second tier the main objective.
Without home advantage (although the lack of fans negates this to a degree) Down need to beat Meath this weekend.
Mayo are five months out from an All-Ireland final defeat to Dublin and any hangover from the defeat certainly didn’t have an effect on their first-half performance.
Down just don’t have the players currently to think about finals and have struggled to secure two athletic and physically imposing midfielders.
Sometimes you have to accept that a team is doing its best with the resources they have at its disposal and in this case, that is precisely what Down are doing.
I have thought about and discussed reasons as to why we aren’t producing more players of the necessary standard.
I once thought that the lack of a Centre of Excellence could be a reason.
Then again, I think over time you realise that the club infrastructure in Down is strong, with numerous playing services, gyms and facilities at its disposal.
Maybe a Centre of Excellence would benefit some players but I think you have to start by trying to win the hearts and minds of the younger generation nowadays.
It may be cliché but success does breed success and you only have to look at Donegal’s progression from losing to winning when Jim McGuinness took over.
The same culture change occurred in Dublin when Pat Gilroy secured the county’s 2011 All-Ireland final win, their first since 1995.
Both Gilroy and McGuinness secured some outside sponsorship and funding to help in this success and this factor shouldn’t be discounted either.
Then you also have Kerry’s culture, where the expectations from a young age are always to play for ‘the Kingdom’.
Rarely, would you hear of their best players turning down the opportunity to represent that famous green and gold jersey and anything less than a handful of All-Ireland medals is deemed a failure for any county footballer worth their salt.
The rural community and parochial pressures of playing Gaelic football remain almost unspoken still in many parts of Kerry.
It’s almost like breathing, where it becomes an involuntary movement for many kids.
All these factors leave Down in a place where we have to be realistic about our aspirations and until there is a major shift in mentality or Cavan-type success in securing an Anglo-Celt Cup, Down will continue to tread water.
