Mike Quirke: ‘Blitz’ finish to championships an injustice to club players

As the curtain comes down on yet another inter-county season, the next few weeks and months will be filled with talk of club football and, of course, what’s to be done about the scourge of the black card.

The emphasis has quickly shifted from the razzmatazz of Croke Park on All-Ireland final day to those much maligned ordinary-joe club footballers as they emerge from their long hibernation from meaningful games to take centre stage for the next short while in dropping temperatures and softening pitches. But they couldn’t care less, this is their time.

Most teams will have started training back in January in the hope of still playing club championship football in October. All the clubs have their county players back by now, but at this time of year, all men are created equal.