O’Sullivan would rather lose than ditch Kerry principles

Darran O’Sullivan has claimed he would rather Kerry lost playing ‘old school’ football than win by the means which are increasingly becoming the norm in the modern game.

The Glenbeigh man knows how that will probably sound given it is still just over a week since the Kingdom lost a gruelling All-Ireland quarter-final to Donegal but he stressed it was not a case of sour grapes.

“I wouldn’t enjoy being told to stay back,” he explained at the launch of Ulster Bank’s GAA Force initiative.

“That’s not what I do. I would rather see a game 22 points to 21 with good scores. The only reason I play football is because I enjoy it. I couldn’t see me playing with another county that plays less free-flowing football.”

In that, O’Sullivan is not alone. Contemporaries such as Colm Cooper, Benny Coulter, Sean Cavanagh and Paddy Bradley have all made similar points in recent times, with the Down man even going so far as to say that he would not pay to watch a game of inter-county football such was his disillusionment with it.

O’Sullivan is only playing senior football since 2005 but even he has seen the wind shift in that short space of time. He accepts victory is the essence of sport but, though he still professes a love for the game, he feels basic principles are being ignored.

“The game has changed. I’ve said it before. The best footballers aren’t the best players anymore. The best players are the guys who can run and run and run. If you look at players nowadays, they are pure athletes.

“If you looked at a game 10 years back to what it is now it’s probably not the most attractive game in the world to watch at the moment. It’s more about running and the basic skills are being left behind a small bit.”

Kerry, perhaps more than anyone else, have been forced to adapt and have done so with a fair degree of success but their defeat to Donegal would suggest they still find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to tactics and style.

It is O’Sullivan’s belief that only Cork have been able to marry the demands of a running and kicking game and for that reason he believes they will overcome Donegal in this Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final.

But what of Kerry? His assertion that the best footballers are no longer necessarily the best players begs the question as to whether they will have to follow suit but the former captain believes that, in this at least, the county will stay true to tradition and hang tough.

“I would always maintain that Kerry would pick their best footballers because that is the way it is.

“The Kerry public are demanding that way. They want football played the right way and I don’t think they would accept it if that changed and that is fair enough. I would agree with that because I am a Kerry fan at the end of the day as well.”

That will, ultimately, be a decision for the man who replaces Jack O’Connor at the helm and the early indications from within the camp would suggest a team of Eamonn Fitzmaurice and Donie Buckley would be welcomed with open arms. Fitzmaurice’s credentials are undeniable after a stint alongside O’Connor as a senior selector and his current guise in charge of the county’s U21s but he has distanced himself from taking on the role.

That familiarity is being held up as a potential negative.

“That could be a fear for himself but if Fitzy came in I’d be delighted,” said O’Sullivan. “I have played with him and worked under him and he’s brilliant. He’s definitely one of the best around.

“If Fitzy came on board, I think the players would be delighted. He is close to the players but having said that he has been making big calls as selector before so he has done that so it’s something for him to worry about.”