Let us drop an egg or two...

Gaelic football, at inter-county level particularly, has changed dramatically in recent years.

Ball retention is now paramount. Incessant hand-passing and suffocating defensive strategies are now, for many, unwanted norms. But if it does need to change, how will it happen?

Freakonomics is a fascinating book and worldwide bestseller. Using economic theories along with detailed statistical analysis, the authors explore the true reasons behind changes in human nature and societal behaviours. One of their most contentious theories was the reason behind the dramatic fall in crime rates across the United States in the early 1990s. Popular political opinion put it down to improved policing and harsher sentencing. However, the authors found that the more likely reason was due to the legalisation of abortion in 1973. I won’t go into the sensitive explanation behind this, but you probably have a fair idea where they were coming from. In short, their contention is that everything happens for a reason, but that reason may not be what you initially reckon.