Immediately after last Saturday’s Leinster-Munster United Rugby Championship match in Croke Park, RTÉ broadcast live coverage of the Derry football semi-final between Magherafelt and Newbridge from Owenbeg.
Even allowing for rugby’s own longueurs at the breakdown and scrum, the contrast between the amount of time the ball was in contest in each sport was striking.
The Derry championship match was like a promotional video for the deliberations of the Football Review Committee (FRC), the ball cradled in possession, as it was moved up and down the pitch at a leisurely pace.
The irony of the Derry match was that after an hour of trying to keep possession away from the opposition, the result was decided by a ball being hoisted in hopefully and dropping short for Shane McGrogan to touch to the net
Also available on social media — the FRC would probably consign it to the dark web — was footage of an Ennistymon footballer with enough time on his hands to play keepy-uppy in the middle third so confident – or bored? — was he of the unlikelihood of imminent challenge.
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This was despite his team being scoreless at the time in their Clare semi-final against Éire Óg; they finished the match on a total of 0-2.
The irony of the Derry match was that after an hour of trying to keep possession away from the opposition, the result was decided by a ball being hoisted in hopefully and dropping short for Shane McGrogan to touch to the net.
At the launch event for the weekend’s interprovincial trials of the proposed new football rules, the Owenbeg match was referenced like some kind of memento mori, but along with the realistic observation that in an amateur sport there is no obligation to entertain.
The anecdotal evidence of the management teams, who are preparing the provinces for this weekend’s trials, is that the players have been enthusiastic about the changes and their potential for more open play
That may be true but the FRC’s key focus from day one was to provide “the best possible games experience for players and spectators”.
That mission to enhance enjoyment and attractiveness is not new to football reviews. It was mentioned for instance in both the 1971 McNamee Commission report and the proposals of former Dublin captain and manager Tony Hanahoe’s 1990 work group.
The anecdotal evidence of the management teams, who are preparing the provinces for this weekend’s trials, is that the players have been enthusiastic about the changes and their potential for more open play.
Defensive tactics and withdrawn set-ups are all very well, and especially if they accompany good results, but could that style be said to be “enjoyable” for players? Ditto for spectators?
This weekend’s trial matches are a hugely important stepping stone in the FRC project. For several weeks, the proposed rule reforms have been tested in “sandbox” matches by a mixture of club and county players in low-stakes engagements.
Trends have emerged and data has been collected but the interprovincial tournament is the first trial with any hint of competitiveness. It will also be played by elite footballers on an excellent surface. The action will be less about feasibility and practical issues and more about the upper limits of the game’s potential.
These ideas have received wide coverage since the project was launched last April, but for the football public and other stakeholders, they have remained strictly theoretical. Now, for the first time, a large audience will get to see the effects of the proposals on the actual field.
Among the FRC members, there is some wariness about the fate of the proposals at a special congress in six weeks. There is a strong line that the seven basic changes are interrelated — the subtext being that they are unsuitable for delegates to cherry-pick — and won’t work as well if partially implemented.
Usually, that would be a cue for disaster but there is a strong sense that this will be different. First, there is a consensus view that football needs to be fixed.
There are exceptions — interestingly, Connacht manager Pádraic Joyce has betrayed slightly agnostic inclinations about whether the game needs that much attention, but he acknowledges that the proposals can “bring a spark” to the game and that there are problems.
Then there is the work of the committee and its chairman Jim Gavin, which has been widely praised by those who have come into contact with its dealings; a sense that no stone is being left unturned
“There are too many teams going out playing football not to lose, instead of going out trying to win games,” he conceded at Monday’s launch.
That concern is now widespread, picked up through the FRC’s consultation with the public and qualitative, focus-group research.
Then there is the work of the committee and its chairman Jim Gavin, which has been widely praised by those who have come into contact with its dealings; a sense that no stone is being left unturned.
If we combine the overall unease about football with a high degree of respect for those charged with addressing the problem, it creates an environment conducive to change and radical change at that.
Those who have been impressed by the proposals are at pains to emphasise the speeding up of the game because of the new rules, but they are also keen not to frighten the horses.
One stakeholder humorously asked what would they call the new game if all of the changes were accepted, but as was said at the launch: this isn’t a new game, it’s simply a better game.
For the reformed game to advance to the crucial stages of the national league and championship, it must, however, pass November’s special congress
That is what will be on view. Some of the best footballers will be playing with greater freedom. There will be more one-on-one contests and the consequences to date have included revivals for smaller, dynamic corner forwards, less easily hustled out of the game by packed defences and also specialist corner backs, able to play and defuse a direct opponent without the comfort blanket.
For the reformed game to advance to the crucial stages of the national league and championship, it must, however, pass November’s special congress.
What will be at stake in Croke Park at the weekend is the critical public mood. Congress delegates don’t live in a bubble and if there is public acclaim for the proposals after the televised matches, it will be hard to take issue with them.
Much to play for.
