Whinging seems inevitable. In truth, there’s no need for the uncertainty – it is guaranteed. Cries of frustration will reliably echo both day and night. Our destination is undoubtedly a city of gripes – we were, metaphorically, born to groan.
Granted, that aphorism didn’t quite hit, resulting in an awkward attempt that fell short, even with the best of intentions. Consider it a representation of the potential difficulties in perfectly coordinating the looming transformations.
We mention, naturally, the impending reforms in Gaelic football – an Irish sport with a charming knack for being simultaneously the apple of our eye and the thorn in our side. It is a treasured cornerstone of our national identity, yet, paradoxically, a maligned and abused subject of mockery and vigorous criticism.
Recently, as everyone is aware, the emphasis has worryingly swung towards the latter. Seemingly, no one pulls any punches while discussing football nowadays. “The game in itself is atrocious,” voiced Niall Moyna in the Examiner earlier this week, “It’s likely the most tedious sport in existence to observe.”
This is Niall Moyna, selector for Louth — Louth, the runners-up in this year’s Leinster tournament and All-Ireland quarter-finalists, the county which recently made history by earning four All-Star nominations in a single year for the first time. A heartening success story, Louth exemplify their community’s spirit, though they are far from being deemed the prime showmen.
You could have imagined that a team such as Louth would prefer to maintain the dull status quo for as long as feasible. Yet here we stand — the time of packed defences and cautious play, and tedious bouts of possession is even tiresome to those actively participating. Likely, most draining to them of all.
The Football Review Committee (FRC), led by Jim Gavin, is deep into its investigations, as we rapidly head towards a pivotal point where the ramifications of their discussions will become visible. The new rule-governed interprovincial games, scheduled at Croke Park in the next month, are intriguingly crucial. We all look to Obi-Jim, our solitary saviour.
From the outset, the FRC’s success has been anticipated, as noted by Sligo’s head coach, Tony McEntee, among others. Jarlath Burns promptly used his newfound influence to establish the competent committee. The assembly of astute football minds was beyond reproach. Everything pointed towards one obvious cause: the authorities wanted it done and ensured it got done.
The preliminary survey gave a strong indication that the game is flawed. It asked participants to voice their preferences on certain aspects of the match such as cynical fouling, non-stop handpassing, and excessive defensive play, with no choice to remain indifferent. But, surprisingly, the majority of people accepted it. Even if they had doubts about a seemingly manipulated survey, their longing for transformation surpassed all. They were eager to eschew mere adjustments and experiment with something innovative and significant.
However, the time of complaint is just around the corner. It is clear from past experiences that the biggest challenge for the new playing norms comes from the intercounty managers who rely on the players to adopt them. The curb on handpasses, introducing the black card, the clampdown penalty – all saw managers expressing disapproval from early on. In some instances, this snuffed the trial out at the inception. In others, it led to manifold issues during the initial adaptation phase.
The continuous complaints are always founded in self-interest. The bosses are not strongly opinionated about the advantages or disadvantages of the new polices per se. However, in an ideal world, they would favour implementing these new rules in a vaguer, future timeframe – ideally in about half a decade, when they are relaxing at pundits’ corners. As such, the constant criticisms brewing are easy to brush off.
Nonetheless, considering the growing support for the FRC, this round of complaining could potentially be softer. The main reasons being that not many coaches would stand up and openly criticise Jim Gavin, and a lot of them acknowledge that the attractiveness of the game has declined, necessitating improvement.
However, a serious issue is emerging, cultivated only recently, over the last two weeks or so. The elimination of the preseason tournaments, followed by an official GAA letter delivered to the county boards warning that intercounty training is postponed until December 7th causes a significant disruption for any coach attempting to acclimatise to the new rules.
In effect, what GAA is conveying is that if the FRC suggestions are approved at the Special Congress at November end, the players’ first real encounter with them will be on the inaugural day of the league in January. Given the tie between the league and championship, sidelining the spring competition is no longer an option. The importance of these matches has reached an unprecedented level, occasionally determining the trajectory of the season.
Therefore, for a change, the bosses are justified in harbouring complaints. They are given two weeks of training time in December, followed by three weeks in January and a few friendly matches scattered here and there to acquaint their players with a completely new style of gameplay. The learning curve will be like trying to catch up with Chinese using Duolingo for the first time while en route to Beijing.
Grumbling about this situation is expected and is warranted. If these grievances are strong enough to influence the delegates to veto the ideas at Special Congress, the decision to discard the preseason tournaments at this crucial juncture could prove to be a disastrous blunder.