KEVIN CASSIDY: Striking a balance

BEFORE I get stuck into the club championship scene which gets underway in Donegal this weekend, I just want to revert back to last week’s column.

I have been in this game long enough to understand how it works. Once you put pen to paper, anyone can pull quotes from here there and everywhere and post a story like they want it to be seen.

Last weekend, when dissecting the All-Ireland final, I gave my honest thoughts on how I thought the game should have gone.

Now, bear in mind that I had written these exact thoughts a week earlier before the game had even taken place, so it wasn’t the case of speaking wisely after the event.

I understand how this works in terms of other outlets seeking headlines and I have absolutely no problem with that.

My answer to anything that was said this week was, do yourself a favour and read the whole Gaelic Life article.

The articles in question made it look as if I was having a dig at Donegal manager Jim McGuinness but, in fact, when you read the full article, it was quite balanced in what I was saying.

Now, my issue here is not about any comments that were taken out of context, it’s more to do with the fact that people seem to think that you shouldn’t question anyone.

For those of you that may not have seen the article, I basically pointed out tactical switches or approaches that I thought Donegal should have taken but for some reason they weren’t.

Again, for me, that’s football. People see things differently and some days you try stuff and it works and other days it doesn’t. Again, no problem with that.

My gripe is the whole “agh jeez you can’t say that” attitude that is out there at the minute. Let me assure you that if Donegal had won the game, I would have heaped tons on praise on anyone who I felt deserved it. But, for me, in life, no one is above being questioned when there is legitimate reasons to do so.

For me, sometimes in life, people are too quick to follow the herd. They perhaps want to say something or ask a question but they feel that if it’s not the common feeling, then best to keep the head down.

I think more people should take the opposite approach and perhaps we would achieve more as a society. Kevin Cassidy, Jim McGuinness, Michael D Higgins, the Principal of your child’s primary school, none of us are above being questioned and I think that this week taught me a valuable lesson to never lose sight of that.

Moving on to football matters and the club championship gets under way in Donegal this weekend.

This is a very exciting time for all the club players who have been training and preparing for this weekend, but spare a thought for the county lads who have just come off the back of a gruelling season and are now being asked to head straight back in there with their clubs.

I always used to dread the first week back after the county season was over because it’s hard to adjust your mind to keep up those sacrifices that you have made all year.

We play a sort of league format here in Donegal, so at least the players will have a few weeks to ease himself back into things before the cut and thrust of knockout football begins.

In Gaoth Dobhair, we begin our season this weekend with a home tie against Glenfin and when you have a home tie in Magheragallan, it’s always a very special occasion.

When you start to look at potential winners of the Donegal title, the likes of Glenties and St Eunan’s are always up there.

No doubt this year, especially with their recent underage success, Four Masters, from Donegal Town, should and will have a lot of aspirations to go deep into the competition this year.

We will go week on week here in Donegal, which will test some panels’ strength in depth because much like the All-Ireland at county level. If you pick up an injury at this stage of the year, then your year could very well be over.

Given Donegals success and their long run, I don’t think anyone would have minded if the club championship was pushed back a week, however the county board have stuck to the original fixtures and all games will get on their way this weekend. Let the craic begin.