Qualifiers have lost edge, says Dempsey

THE All-Ireland football qualifiers have lost the unpredictable edge that made the system such a success when introduced five years ago, Longford manager Luke Dempsey believes.

Dempsey was in charge of Westmeath when they stormed through the back door in 2001 and, since then, Sligo and Fermanagh have added to the collection of fairytale stories from the same route.

Last year failed to throw up any such heartwarming tales though, as Cork, Tyrone, Mayo and Laois emerging to claim places in the last eight.

Now Dempsey is hoping that some team — preferably his own Longford — can embark on a run that catches the public’s imagination.

“The qualifiers have lost a lot of the novelty of 2001, when the likes of Westmeath and Sligo were winning games,” said Dempsey. “I just think they have got a bit predictable. We’ve gone back to the stage where the Tyrones and Kildares are going to be coming out of them and that needs to change.”

When first introduced, qualifiers attracted bumper attendances to previously unheard of pairings between sides with little or no mutual histories, but the novelty has long worn off.

Despite it’s detractors, the back door system is embraced by most but some still see the second chance saloon as more of a chore than anything else.

Dempsey is just hoping that his players can build on their gutsy display against Dublin rather than rest on their laurels.

“The worst thing that could happen for Longford now is to not give another performance like that (against Dublin). We have to show that it wasn’t a one-off.

“My stay here depends on what happens now in the qualifiers and the Tommy Murphy Cup.”

History is against Longford.

Despite Westmeath’s earlier heroics, Leinster teams have been the least successful in the qualifiers, whereas Ulster sides seem to prosper.

Monaghan’s was probably the most encouraging story from last year.

Understandably, their manager Seamus McEneaney supports the system, but doesn’t pretend it isn’t without some flaws.

“Maybe it is a little bit more predictable now, but no-one predicted that we would go all the way to the last 12 last year. The big problem is, as Martin McHugh said the other night, there’s five Ulster teams in the qualifiers,” said McEneaney, whose side was drawn against Wicklow.

“There’s only two from Munster and two from Connacht and one of those is London. At times, it seems like a mini-Ulster Championship.”

At some point, the GAA may adopt a Champions League type format giving every team an equal amount of group games.

Until then, McEneaney says qualifiers remain an integral part of the framework.

“The very fact that more of the bigger teams are emerging into the last eight is a sign that they are taking it very seriously.

“The whole game is levelling off and that’s because of the qualifiers. The more Championship games you prepare for, the more professional you get and better you will be.”