GERARD O’KANE: The need to strike a balance in the club leagues

In hurling, when Tipperary are going well, you can hear the chant reverberating around Croke Park: “Tipp! Tipp! Tipp! Tipp!” It’s simple, it’s catchy and it captures the passion of a county behind its team.

Right now, though, 28 of Ireland’s 32 counties should be chanting something different: “Club! Club! Club! Club!”

With only four teams left in the All-Ireland football championship, the focus should now firmly be on the club game. Every county has the prerogative to organise its own competitions as it sees fit, and no two systems are exactly alike.

In Derry, we’ve just completed Round 12 of a 15-game league. Given Derry exited before the quarter-final stage, county players have been available for the past couple of weeks and should feature for at least a third of the league campaign. Whether they actually line out is another matter entirely.

Next door in Tyrone, the league started later than most because of the county’s run to the All-Ireland U20 final. The benefit of that is county players should be available for a greater proportion of league matches. The downside, however, is obvious. With a two-week break built in around mid-July for holidays and the championship needing to start on time, Tyrone clubs opened with four games in just 13 days.

That is a huge ask for club players.

Tyrone rightly pride themselves on the competitiveness of their league, particularly with its links to championship. What I would question, though, is whether squeezing so many games into such a short period really aligns with player welfare. And if the league is held in such high regard, why do so many players head Stateside once the county team is knocked out?

I’m certainly not criticising anyone going to America for the summer. Fair play to them. It’s more a question of whether the league is as cherished as people suggest. If it was, would players be leaving in such numbers? Perhaps players see the league for what it really is: preparation and development for championship football.

Personally, I’ve really enjoyed the Derry league this year.

Even without county players, there has been a good balance between teams wanting to win while not going overboard at a stage of the season when nobody wants to peak too early. It has also provided opportunities for younger players to develop.

Like most leagues played over several months, the cream usually rises to the top. As things stand, Glen, Magherafelt, Sleacht Néill and Newbridge occupy the top four positions. They have generally been regarded as Derry’s strongest teams for some time now, and barring Eoghan Rua’s memorable championship success in 2018, no team outside that quartet has lifted the John McLaughlin Cup in the past 12 years.

Across the border in Cavan, the league finished two or three weeks ago after the introduction of a new format consisting of four divisions of 10 teams. While the structure has its merits, nine league games simply isn’t enough for me.

Part of a county board’s responsibility is to provide meaningful games for clubs, and a senior season consisting of just nine league fixtures feels far too short. With the leagues finishing in early to mid-June and the senior championship not beginning until early August, there is a huge gap to fill.

It almost feels like two separate seasons.

I have real sympathy for management teams trying to keep players motivated during that period. We’ve had several weeks of excellent weather where players have simply trained, trained and trained. It’s one of the biggest flaws in Gaelic games generally, the training-to-games ratio.

Having been involved in management, it’s something I’ve always been conscious of. I’ve long believed in the philosophy that less can often be more.

Turning to the county scene, this weekend brings two fascinating All-Ireland semi-finals, each with its own storyline.

Sunday sees the game’s traditional heavyweights, Dublin and Kerry, renew one of Gaelic football’s greatest rivalries. Saturday, meanwhile, offers something completely different.

Louth are appearing in their first All-Ireland semi-final since 1957, while Mayo continue their pursuit of a first Sam Maguire since 1951: a wait that now stretches to 75 years.

For that reason alone, Saturday perhaps carries the greater intrigue.

Genuinely, you could make a convincing case for either team. Someone could talk me into a Mayo victory and, five minutes later, another person could present a strong enough argument for Louth and I’d be equally persuaded. That’s what makes it such an attractive contest.

Whatever happens, by around 7pm on Saturday evening one county will find itself preparing for an All-Ireland final, a position very few people would have predicted at the start of the year.

Sunday’s game is intriguing for different reasons.

This Dublin side has quietly fought its way into an All-Ireland semi-final after relegation to Division Two and what many viewed as a disappointing Leinster campaign. Yet victories over Donegal and Galway have reminded everyone that writing Dublin off is always a dangerous game.

Talk of a changing of the guard may be justified, but there is no questioning Dublin’s pedigree. There also seems to be something about the sight of a Kerry jersey that brings the very best out of this Dublin team. And their supporters too, considering only 16,000 attended their quarter-final against Louth.

For me, however, Kerry remain the team to beat.

Dublin will need to produce a performance beyond anything they’ve shown so far this season if they’re to reach another All-Ireland final. They are certainly capable of making life uncomfortable for Kerry, but if pushed for a prediction, I think Jack O’Connor’s side will have enough to book their place in the decider.