Pundits in denial about threat of tactical fouling

PAT SPILLANE makes no apologies for being a GAA romantic. Unfortunately for the viewers of RTÉ, Pat suffers from a strain of footballing romance which is of the Mills and Boon variety – it is largely fictional and entirely predictable.

Pat dreams of the day when footballers will be able to run gaily through the field without any fear of getting clogged up in the congestion of a screen defence. When Pat criticised referee Martin Sludden for showing six yellow cards in the first half of Sunday’s game in Casement Park, he displayed an ignorance and naivety about the cynicism of the modern footballer and the modern game.

Bemoaning Sludden’s style of refereeing, Pat said: “A yellow card should be a serious deterrent for a serious foul. Yellow cards are being thrown out like confetti at a wedding. You are often wondering if there was a foul there or not. A yellow card should be for dangerous play.”

If Pat had been in charge of Sunday’s fixture, he would have shown no yellow cards, and the game as a consequence would have quickly deteriorated into a stop-start farce.

When the modern forward realises that a tactical foul will only draw a free-kick, then he fouls all day.

But there is a good reason why Armagh and Monaghan didn’t generate the 82 frees which occurred when they met in last year’s qualifiers.

In stark contrast to last season’s eyesore, Sunday’s game was a cracking contest that contained many spell-binding passages of play and a very modest 38 free-kicks.

In the 19th minute, the reliable Martin Carney praised the teams for their “positive application which was making a very enjoyable match”.

Make no mistake, there is no doubt that Martin Sludden contributed to the wonderful display of attacking football which was witnessed in Casement Park. He achieved this by a judicious and appropriate use of the yellow card.

Sludden sent out a clear message in the third minute when he booked Stephen Gollogly after the Monaghan player grabbed Paul Duffy by the waist.

These fouls look innocuous but they are cynical. Because teams are coached how to fall into defensive formations if they lose kick-outs, the majority of scores now come from counter-attacks.

The easiest and most effective way to prevent scores from counter-attacks is to nip the danger in the bud by conceding a foul in the other team’s defence.

Another proven method of reducing scores is to bully and harass the opposition’s star forward. John Paul Mone received the game’s second yellow after an off-the-ball exchange with Steven McDonnell.

By that stage, McDonnell had taken Dessie Mone for three points. JP had just moved onto McDonnell and was making his presence felt.

By booking Mone, the referee showed forwards were going to be protected from any of the game’s darker arts.

Tommy Freeman was another name in the book when he committed another tactical foul on Duffy. It was Freeman’s second offence as he had previously fouled Gareth Swift in the 11th minute.

It was another superb call by Sludden. Far too many referees are cowed by high-profile forwards and allow the star names to foul repeatedly throughout the game.

It must be acknowledged that Sludden’s obsession with illegal pick-ups did blot his copybook. He blew three technical infringements in the first half but his calls on Brendan Donaghy and Conor McManus were wrong.

The decision to red card Brian Mallon was also controversial. However, Sludden can’t ship all the blame as he also acted on the advice of his linesman David Coldrick.

None of the incidents in Sunday’s game would have warranted a yellow card when Pat Spillane was playing.

But the game has moved on since then. When Pat was in his pomp, forwards either didn’t or couldn’t tackle.

That is no longer the case. All forwards are now coached how to tackle legally. But all forwards are also coached how and when to tackle illegally. The blanket defence only works if the defending team gets time to put numbers behind the ball. This time is gained with an innocent-looking tactical foul.

Sadly, there is nothing innocent about the current brand of Gaelic football.

More distressingly again, we have become conditioned to routine and systematic fouling. But we really should harbour grander ambitions for our game.

On Sunday, we saw how two teams often ridiculed for their negativity will respond whenever tactical fouls and off-the-ball bullying draw yellow cards. Players stood off and there were fewer free-kicks.

Spillane represents the views of many as he pines for the old days when he (mistakenly) believes the ball moved seamlessly from one half of the field to the other.

However, Pat and his followers must realise that the old way of refereeing will never achieve that style of game. If the match in Casement contained one great lesson then it was this: when the yellow cards flowed, so did the football.

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