KEVIN CASSIDY: I fear for the future of football if the rules stay the same

T’S club championship time up and down the country this weekend as all focus now turns back for the club scene.

Here in Donegal we have a league format where you play four games and then based on where you finish after that will determine how and where you enter the championship.

It’s a bit like the current All-Ireland series where it’s really hard to get knocked out and one win would nearly see you through.

I get the theory behind it but we will have to play a number of games before we get anywhere near the feel of a championship game.

Contrast that with the structure in Tyrone where it’s straight knockout and the difference is night and day. It all really depends on what you want more games or more action?

As most of you may already know, our championship in Donegal has been dominated by a few teams over the past 10 to 15 years.

The big four in the county remain as Naomh Conaill, St Eunan’s, Kilcar and Gaoth Dobhair. A few teams have threatened to break into that group over the past few years but none of them have actually managed to do it.

Obviously, I hope our lads can go on to win it this year but if they don’t, then I wouldn’t mind seeing a new team make the breakthrough as I think it would do wonders for the game here in Donegal.

It all kicks off this weekend but, like I said, it will be six or seven weeks down the line before we actually see how things are shaping up for 2024 here in Donegal.

Now that the intercounty season is over, I’d like to touch upon the new rules that are being spoken about and trialled over the next few weeks.

Going by reports, a number of intercounty players who are knocked out of the club championship will take part in a number of trial games over the coming weeks and months.

During these trial games the Football Review Committee will get a chance to see how some of their ideas actually look on the pitch.

For me, this is a fantastic idea instead of just introducing something at Congress. With these games, we will actually see how these proposed rule changes look in the flesh before making a decision on anything.

I think we will all agree that our games certainly need tweaking because the games being played now at the highest level just lack that bit of intensity and bite that was so evident before we began to play too safe.

Teams are now playing within the rules to make sure that they are not exposed and that they have a chance going into the last 10 minutes or so.

Now that is fine for the team and the players but it doesn’t make for interesting viewing for the viewing public..

We need to do everything in our power to promote our games and to make it as attractive as possible so watching the ball go over and back the pitch at walking pace just isn’t the ideal situation for us to be in.

Now there has been a lot of talk about a number of different rules, some of which I’m not even sure they are trialling.

The one that makes most sense to me is the one where you need to keep three players inside your own 65 at all times.

This opens up the pitch. It creates more space and it encourages the kick pass and it brings back that one on one type situation that we are craving so much.

It may be the easiest of all to implement so it will be interesting to see how it goes over the next few weeks during these trial games.

You will have some people reading this who think that there’s nothing wrong with our games and these games are intriguing. I urge people to look at the bigger picture.

If we have ended up here in a short space of time, what on earth will our games look like in 10 years’ time if we continue down this path?

The key skills are already been coached out of the game so this must be halted straight away and let’s get back to doing what we do best playing football.

Since I’ve stopped playing, I have more opportunities to go and watch a lot of underage football and I have to say that it’s refreshing to see these young lads play.

They are at a stage now where they are playing the game as they see it and they are yet to be poisoned with negative tactics.

I do go and watch some senior club games as much as possible, but I have to admit that I enjoy the underage games way more because both teams go out to play and win the game. Senior club football, here in Donegal and every other county at the minute, is a defence first approach. That can be difficult to watch at times.

There are good men in charge of the Football Review Committee, so let’s hope they come back to the table with something concrete to improve on what we have at the minute and that this time next year we are praising their changes.