'The keeper just comes up to play keep ball' - Eoin Cleary keen on change but calls for tweaks

After a year away, the Clare forward is loving being back in the swing of football but would like to see some new imperfections removed 

FRESH START: Eoin Cleary of Clare. Photo: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

Although full of praise for how the new rules have transformed Gaelic football for the better, Clare forward Eoin Cleary’s recommended alterations include prohibiting the goalkeeper from entering the opposition half, allowing short restarts, and scrapping the two-point free for breaches of the three-up rule.

The 31-year-old, who took a year out from the inter-county scene last year, during which time he strongly contemplated retirement, said part of his motivation for returning was the forward-friendly game cooked up by the FRC.

“To be honest, the game was getting so boring,” said the Clare forward. “You'd go out against a certain team who you knew were brilliant defensively and you were saying to yourself, I might have to position myself towards one sideline and hopefully the ball comes across to that side.

“Whereas now, ball-winning is a skill that has come back into this new game. You can look for the ball out in front, win it, and either pop it off or score, so it is a lot more enjoyable.” 

The increased value for successful kicks beyond the 40-metre arc - both from play and dead-ball - and three-up stipulation are rule changes Cleary is most complimentary of, but added that the suite of enhancements are not without their imperfections.

The 2021 and '22 All-Star nominee holds the view that the 12v11 overlap created by the advancing goalkeeper encourages zonal defending and discourages defenders to step out and tackle aggressively.

To ensure give-and-take on the goalkeeping front, he is in favour of removing the requirement for all kick-outs to travel beyond the 40m arc. He’s similarly in favour of removing the option to bring a free back outside the arc for two points when teams are penalised for dissent and breaches of the three-up rule.

“I don't agree with the goalkeeper coming up,” Cleary continued. “I know some goalkeepers are adding to the attack, but I've seen in games, especially when a team is against the wind, the keeper just comes up to play keep ball.

“I know the argument that it is adding to the scoring because of the overlap, but I would disagree. I feel teams are camping in and around the 45-metre line because they are saying, the opposition has a goalkeeper that can score, they've got an extra man up, so we are just going to defend zonally.

“Whereas if it was 11v11, you'd see a lot more tackling and aggressive defending, a lot more turnovers, and, as a result, a lot more kick-passing to the 3v3 up top. Getting rid of the 12v11 would add a lot more to the game both defensively and offensively.

“I'd also bring back the short kick-out because it seems that if you don't have two big midfielders at the moment, you are at nothing. The short kick-out is a skill that has been perfected by keepers. Teams, too, had got really good at the opposition press. Neither is happening because everything is being lumped out long.

“If we are taking from goalkeepers entry into the opposition half, we should bring a skill back that they have perfected, especially when we’ve brought back other skills such as long-range shooting and one-on-one defending.” 

When Cleary gave notice of his 2024 sabbatical, it was always his intention to return for this season. But that view changed as he began to enjoy life outside the inter-county bubble.

“I was asking myself, do I want to go back because it is a 24/7 thing in terms of preparation. You have to base everything around it to be able to perform. During the year, I was definitely thinking about retiring and strongly heading towards that side until I played the intro-pros last October, and it brought back out that competitiveness in me. I am delighted I went back in.” 

Not involved in their opening day defeat away to Antrim, Cleary has contributed 1–11 (including two-pointers from play and dead-ball) in the three wins since. Victory away to Sligo in Sunday’s rescheduled Round 3 fixture would move Clare level on points at the head of Division 3 with Kildare and Offaly.

“Of course we would love to be in the promotion hunt come Round 7, but we have another really tough task this weekend. It is nice to be going in off the back of three wins because after the first day we didn't know how the season was going to go.”