Necessary if unloved: Why the league is a headline performer in its own right

"My own personal view is that I’ve never heard a manager refer to ‘only the league’ if he won"

Feargal McGill, GAA director of club player and games development

The national leagues are back.

There was a time, of course, when this might have been greeted by heavy sighs and dutiful acknowledgment, because the league was a little like the flaxseed in your porridge: necessary if unloved.