Neil Ewing: Down are definites, others eye progress and cohesion
GOING FOR MORE: Sligo captain Niall Murphy lifts the cup after his side's victory in the Allianz Football League Division 4 Final match between Sligo and Wicklow at Croke Park in Dublin. Pic: Tyler Miller, Sportsfile
The Lee dynasty resumes in Limerick, Jimmy takes the bainisteoir bib which had a brief spell on Mayo and Kerry shoulders in 2023. His brother Billy had built this team into a very relevant opponent for all counties outside the small elite. Slippage last year was arrested with a late league draw v Meath before and an assertive Tailteann Cup group stage. Limerick always have athletes; they always have footballers, they just need a leader who understands the intricacies of getting buy-in when other codes offer more limelight. Capable of promotion but more likely that a two-year term of “Lee” will be needed to get them back to Division 2.
The most entertaining team I watched in 2023. They are not the biggest in stature however they are lots of other very good things. Brimming with energy, bursting with enthusiasm and extremely well coached. Football lovers should hope the Kilcoo involvement in a saga over the County Final referee does not fracture the harmony Conor Laverty fostered in 2023. Down were held back for too long by noise around club bickering. Ciaran Meenagh had Derry minutes from dethroning Kerry in last year's All-Ireland semi-final, his understated nous on the sideline and training pitch is sure to add to a team going places. Definites to be promoted from Division 3.
Who knows? Does Dessie Dolan know? 2023 was a continuation on a theme. Winners of the Tailteann Cup in 2022 would have fancied themselves for promotion in 2023 but as is all too familiar they struggled for consistency and lost the must-win games. Their undoubted quality reared its head against more illustrious opponents in the Sam Maguire round-robin. Millimetres from eliminating Tyrone and progressing to the last 12. Not moving on to Division 2 in 2024 would be a big disappointment.
A lot of cons for Clare heading into the 2024 season. Their panel has been decimated by retirements and unavailability. The list is long, and the list contains too many names that are too familiar across the country for the quality of their displays. They are all big losses, Cathal O’Connor’s might be the biggest. He was a notoriously good ball-winner. A team finding a new identity needs those balls desperately. Oh, and Clare have lost one of the game's greatest managers as Colm Collins' 10 seasons ended. All that said, they have had an encouraging sprinkling of talent filling Sigerson Cup jerseys in recent years, their U20s brought Kerry to extra time last year. There are footballers there, but new boss Mark Fitzgerald wouldn’t say no to a solid mid-table finish this year.
Potential ready to be realised. Andy McEntee appears to have got a feel for the unique mindset of the county and its players. A city can bring anonymity that dilutes responsibility. Responsibility to give your talent and time for the county jersey and then the responsibility to turn up for a full 70 minutes, every day. Denied promotion last year by a few sickening injury-time concessions. They have the talent to have these games closed out before the dash to the final whistle. Capable of promotion and capable of collapse. The GAA needs an Antrim bringing its silky footballers interwoven with a healthy dash of Andy McEntee defiance.
Liam Kearns left a big impression during his time in Offaly. Our thoughts are with his family and friends who will undoubtedly have a sorrowful smile as the league throws in thinking how excited he would be at this time. Declan Kelly has guided many of these Offaly lads to Leinster and All-Ireland U20 success. Some of those will be turning 24 this year and will need to take ownership of this team. A county looking to start becoming relevant in Leinster again needs to be looking at the top half of Division 2 as a minimum. Promotion this year will be a target, not a necessity. Promotion will be a necessity in 2025. This league campaign should develop the mix of youth and experience. This combo and the pace available to them will leave them well set to target a Tailteann Cup win on the firmer pitches of summer.
Promotion in 2023 was good. All involved deserve credit for making sure it happened. All involved would have asked themselves a lot of questions if it hadn’t been achieved. The Connacht Championship draw gave them a place in a final by beating London and New York, no barometer of progress. The Sam Maguire round-robin was, grand. Showed steel to stay in the game v Kildare and chipped away at their frailties to claim a draw. Should have been more competitive versus a Roscommon team who are not as physically overpowering as other Division 1 counties. Dublin game was largely glossed over. This campaign will, finally, give an accurate reading of their potential. Two good U20 teams never guaranteed a provincial winning senior team. Emerging players do need exposure to Division 2 standards for Sligo to even begin thinking of Nestor Cups.
2023 over achievement may bite them in 2024. They steadily improved in last year's league, but they were not one of the two best teams in the division. Their promotion is a huge complement to the group. Plenty of other counties could learn from their relentless doggedness. Doggedness is one of the hardest traits to imbue a squad with when it is lacking. A young team with plenty of talent need to keep the focus on developing even if a few games get away from them.
Solid 2023. Five points in Division 4. Second place in a tough Tailteann Cup group. Unfortunately solidity at those levels doesn’t get much kudos. They wont fear any of the teams in this year’s division given their showing last year. Anything less than being in the promotion conversation will be a step backwards. A set of fixtures that will surely see them tot up the lowest mileage of any team in this year’s league will help avoid the poor starts that can be a feature for many teams in league action. An away win v Tipp in round 1 would shape their season.
An FBD win versus a mixed strength Mayo may seem meaningless to most. It is not meaningless to London. A sexy early season win is huge for a team who do not have a playing pool born into dreaming of wearing the green and white county jersey. A win like that boosts enthusiasm for countless journeys on buses, undergrounds and planes across the city and Irish sea. Nine lads newly eligible will add to a nicely competitive pre-league training bite. But, cohesion. Cohesion will always be difficult for the Londoners. Will they get cohesion to pick up a few early wins to cement it or will a few early losses instil doubt that will make cohesiveness impossible?
Inability to hold onto leads cost them promotion last year. Complacency is probably a kind description for the mindset which allowed that to happen. While they have playing personnel that any manager in Division 4 would wish to start the season with, that playing personnel need to accept they are required to do the boring things well for 70 mins of every game. Justin McNulty is back for a second stint, he and the squad will have no excuse to be caught off-guard at what can happen in the second half of spring games in Division 4.
After their O’Byrne Cup defeat to Dublin, John Hegarty gave one of the best interviews I heard any inter county manager give in a long time. Wexford are targeting promotion, simple as that. They were pretty average when I watched them in last year's league. John Hegarty obviously had an impact as his first season progressed. Impressive Tailteann Cup before meeting an over qualified Meath opponent in the quarter final. If Hegarty has continued that impact they should be capable of being in the mix heading into round 7 and 8 games v Carlow and Tipp where head to head outcomes could decide promotion.
Most importantly, Waterford people need to love the Waterford footballers. From outside there are too many signs of hurling exceptionalism chipping away at the relevance of the football scene. Young players need to see they will get respect, patience and blind support from their county. This will only help them give more to the jersey. All-Ireland winning Meath man Paul Shankey is now resident in Waterford and takes on the manager’s job. In a recent chat with Newstalk’s Tommy Rooney he conveyed infectious enthusiasm. Meath turned hurling man Sean Boylan into a football man, can Paul Shankey repeat a similar trick with some Waterford men. Progress will be relative, no problems there. Progress will include those inside the group and should include those supporting the group.
A sliding doors moment in Carrick shapes the Leitrim outlook. With five minutes left in last year's league, Leitrim were promoted and opponents Sligo were consigned to another year in Division 4 and wearily looking ahead to a Championship trip to London 14 days later. That game turned against the locals, 14 days later they were defeated in New York and promoted Sligo went on to a Connacht final appearance. Mickey Graham joins the management team and his underdog excellence will be appreciated in a county desperate for progress. Year three for Andy Moran and the passionate but demanding locals will be very restless if they are not facing into the summer after a league final in Croke Park.
Tipperary were promoted from Division 4 in 2022. Tipperary’s new manager, Paul Kelly, was promoted from Division 4 in 2023, as part of the Wicklow backroom team. A turnover of players from the 2020 Munster Championship winning team was inevitable but a county where football is in the shadows of hurling needed a much more protracted transition. 2023 produced only one win. Division 4 offers a foundation from which to build. Promotion won’t be season-defining this year but ensuring solid foundations are in place will. There to four wins complemented with a much more competitive Tailteann Cup showing are needed to halt the slide and make the football squad attractive to young lads with possible places on the fringes of the hurling panel.
Back to back Leinster winners. O’Byrne Cup winners that is. Paddy Christie is a highly regarded coach. Maybe the truly impactful coaches need some time to allow their methods spur sustainable growth in their players? Struggled in the early part of the 2023 league but gradually grew to a more competitive presence. Tailteann Cup win over Wicklow in will have shown players they have the tools for promotion but the belief needs early reassurance. Toughest game first is v Laois and if they don’t take the points they will still fancy 3 wins from their next 3 v Tipp, Waterford and London. That would make the early March derby v Leitrim a huge game for both.
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