I fear for the future of football, I really do

BEFORE anyone starts getting jumpy about the sendings off at Páirc Uí Rinn and the experimental rules, there are bigger issues to discuss – like the future of Gaelic football itself.

The path the game is veering towards is a bone fide cause for grave concern, and there was plenty of evidence on offer again on Saturday night. Finesse is giving way to fitness, brain to brawn. Soon they’ll put a DVD of a game at Limerick’s Gaelic Grounds next to one from Thomond Park, and no-one will be able to tell the difference.

What have we done to the creativity in the game? Every game plan now appears to begin and end with stopping the opposition. Players seem to have abandoned the 30-40-yard direct pass, the individual skills, for an extra hour in the gym.