IT seems the majority of the inter-county playing fraternity is sporting coloured boots - in some cases, a different colour on each foot.
I always thought you were bringing a bit of attention to yourself by employing this form of showmanship. And if you are going to do it, you better ensure you deliver a man-of-the-match performance.
Donegal’s Odhran Mac Niallais certainly justified his boot selection against Fermanagh last Sunday. He seems to be getting better every year. For his team-mates, it makes it a wee bit easier to play the game when players such as him perform as he did in Ballybofey.
It helps, though, that there are a number of Donegal men who all need a bit of special treatment from opponents. When I was playing with Down, Marty Clarke’s return in 2010 allowed players such as Benny Coulter, Mark Poland, Paul McComiskey and myself more opportunities to play well, as every one of us needed to be marked tightly.
Michael Murphy, Patrick McBrearty, Ryan McHugh and Mac Niallais are all match-winners on their day and the team will benefit in the long-term if their reliance on Murphy lessens.
The game was entertaining enough at times, without Donegal really looking under pressure. In the last 15 minutes of the first-half, Fermanagh looked to be in the ascendancy and, if the penalty had been scored, it may have been a different game in the second-half. What transpired was Donegal leading at half-time and having the opportunity to regroup and organise themselves for the second-half which, to their credit, they did.
Fermanagh will be disappointed, but I think they played into Donegal's hands a bit by not going directly to Sean Quigley on a number of occasions, a tactic which caused a bit of confusion in the Donegal defence when Fermanagh used it accurately.
At times though, the match was extremely hard to watch. It would remind you of touch rugby or rugby itself, where one team wins possession and charges en masse across a staggered line to the opposite end of the field.
Even since my playing days, things have moved on. Who would be a corner-forward? Wing half-back or wing half-forward are the places to play now. From what I can see, no-one marks anyone.
So if you are comfortable on the ball or consider yourself of a higher level of skill than most, I wouldn’t be attempting to ply a trade anywhere else.
DOWN in Connacht, Sligo’s semi-final against Roscommon was the perfect antidote to the, at times, pretty dull fare in Ballybofey.
It was a fantastic match at Dr Hyde Park. It maybe did not have the technical and tactical quality of, say, a Dublin match, but it was entertaining and full value, with no quarter asked or given by both sets of players.
While Roscommon, early in the year, had been tipped for great things in the Championship, they appear to struggle at times. Eight points down against a Division Three team just wouldn’t be accepted in Kerry, Mayo, Dublin or Tyrone.
For this reason, it is difficult to see them beating Mayo in a provincial final or, indeed, any of the other big guns in August or September.
A FAIR bit of soul-searching and post-mortems have already begun in counties knocked out of the provincial Championships.
Five years ago, Cork and Down were two of the best teams in the country, certainly in the top-six anyway, and had met in the 2010 All-Ireland final. Now, both have been beaten deservedly in their respective provinces by teams who had little pedigree of winning such duels in the past.
Whatever about Down, Cork are in a serious mess. The hurlers and footballers have been well beaten and there seems to be a lot of dissension on Leeside. Maybe that is doing a disservice to Tipperary. Even in my later years, they were beginning to get their act together and I suffered defeat at their hands in the 2009 NFL Division Three final.
How they manage their dual status, being such a strong hurling county, is likely to be a factor in how well the football team can progress in the years to come. Like Kilkenny, after a few years, they may well come to the conclusion that concentrating on one code is better than sharing success between two.
However, they are a blueprint for so-called weaker counties. Well, they could certainly teach Cork a thing or two.
ASK any Ulster inter-county footballer if playing outside the province is a refreshing, enjoyable experience and I’d wager the vast majority would say yes.
I found playing Ulster Championship to be a dour experience, at times. Perhaps this was a contributing factor to me not winning an Ulster title. The pulling and dragging and, at times, toxic atmosphere of Ulster Championship games was enough to put you off altogether.
The possibility of playing games outside of Ulster would provide some sort of solace as these were always much more open and less negative affairs. This is why we need a revamp of the Championship - an open draw where Cork could play Down or Dublin could play Donegal. Maybe, a secondary shield competition could run alongside it for the losers and lower-ranked teams.
It seems, however, that while every commentator acknowledges the need for reform, no-one is willing to pick up the baton.
