Martin Carney's Gaelic football wish list for 2023

Last Monday saw the first outing of the year for the Mayo senior team. Mindspace Mayo, an organisation managed by former county star Peadar Gardiner, were the beneficiaries of the funds raised from the challenge game with Sligo.

With young players getting their opportunities to impress, the game generated much interest. However, rather than dwell on the game I’d like to outline a wish list that I hope to see generally in the code next year and of course specifically with Project Mayo.

The first is greater use of the kick pass. The kick pass, or more specifically its underuse, I suppose is an overreaching complaint of those among us who lament the decline in usage of this skill in the game. Reared at a particular time when the foot pass was nearly the singular way of transferring the ball from man to man, acclimatising to the overuse of what should be a secondary skill has taken time.

That’s not to say in the past that flaws weren’t equally widespread in the game. Too often the ball was passed with only maximum distance in mind and the outcome was at the mercy of ensuing physical tussles. Untidy, disordered and sometimes chaotic games topped the menu.

With the broadening of the hand pass around some 30 years ago, the game has slowly evolved and as recently as 2019 the GAA stopped the maximum three passes in a row as it had done little to breach the blanket defences.

Athletic conditioning is now at a very high standard. Individual dietary requirements and statistics are fine tuned for teams and an appreciation of the singular lifestyle required surpasses anything from other eras. Yet, with modern-day emphasis on retaining possession and not turning the ball over, players are guaranteed a higher chance of achieving these aims by transferring the ball by hand.

Upholding order, structure and conformity to game plan are easier achieved in moving the ball quickly through the hand. Yet, I ask the obvious: have we lost an appreciation of the game’s fundamental and defining skill through underuse? Has the core skill become relegated when the ratio of hand pass to kick pass exceeds three to one?

In the short term I don’t think the GAA has an appetite to meddle with the rule. Incentives to encourage more long kicking by introducing the ‘mark’ have worked to a certain extent but if I had one wish taking priority over all others it would be to see a greater incidence of kicking the ball in the game.

The second wish is for more respect for referees from all involved in the game. It’s a truism that without a referee, games couldn’t proceed in any code. Gaelic football is no different. Recruiting, retaining and respecting them are areas where the GAA needs regular vigilance. With the popularity of the game in towns, villages and countryside, a never-ending supply is needed for all grades of football, apart altogether from showpiece inter-county games.

When you watch games from the sideline, it's remarkable from up close to see the vitriol referees are subjected to. I’m not claiming immunity from bad behaviour as I can be as bad as the next man when the mood hits. What little I know about officiating at soccer and rugby comes from what I see on TV.

The main difference here is that both codes are governed by international organisations and games in Ireland are subject to their definite rules of conduct. Respect, tolerance and an acceptance of a ref’s decisions are inbuilt to the rugby charter and are meticulously, to their credit, followed by participating players from youth to international level.

If the GAA could only borrow some of the cultural norms from rugby this year in the officiating realm, then it would be to the benefit of all.

Next on the wish list is stronger links between the Under 20 team and their senior counterparts. Having in the past been involved with underage county teams ensures that I still take a huge interest in their annual fate. Under 17s (minors to most) did themselves, their clubs and families proud in getting to last year’s All-Ireland final under the direction of Sean Deane and his selectors. On this basis, the prospect of up-and-coming talent is encouraging, while those in the academy under the direction of Tom Reilly are spending vital time with the aspiring set, priming them with the requirements for football at a higher level.

Despite his great work, the end result for Maurice Sheridan’s Under 20 teams in the last two years have fallen short of expectation. Sheridan, last year’s successful NUI Galway Sigerson Cup-winning coach, is more familiar that most with the talent not alone in the county, but in the province for that matter.

Looking at it from afar, I felt there could have been and should be in future a greater link between the Under 20 coach and his senior counterpart. Familiarising himself with the younger group will be on Kevin McStay’s agenda while at the same time imparting his ideas around respective playing styles wouldn’t go astray.

My next wish is for patience and understanding with the senior management as they attempt to rebuild the Mayo brand.

And in referring to the new senior management team, it’s important that we, the public, aren’t over-demanding from them in their first year at the helm. New faces, changes in style and approach will require time so the last thing Kevin McStay needs is a baying public demanding immediate success. If that happens, well and good – and let’s applaud the achievements – but I think the process of introducing and getting the new to blend with the established won’t happen overnight.

This in turn raises an equally big question: what parts will the more established players on the squad have in the new set-up? Their possible new roles, were that to happen, will take time to implement.

Take Aidan O’Shea, for example. Will he end up as a defender or as a target man, or will McStay assign some other role to the big Breaffy lad?

The departures of Clarke, Boyle, Higgins, Barrett and the uncertainty as to Lee Keegan’s intentions leaves the job and importance of building a new defensive system high on the list of priorities.

Finding the right individuals before deciding on the collective system that suits and is understood by all will take game time but like with all the other uncertainties, patience is needed.

The bedding-in process has many turns so we must recognise this.

FOCAL SCOR

A brief mention of a great Mitchels stalwart that went to his eternal reward during the year.

If ever the term gentleman applied to an individual it was to the late Niall O’Shea, SC, who passed away some months ago.

Solid and reliable would best describe his displays on the ’78 county winning team, and a source of wonderful company off the pitch.

To his family sincere condolences and may Niall rest in peace.