Éamonn Fitzmaurice would like to see the provincial football championships moved to the start of the year in the wake of a campaign in which Ulster proved to be the only truly competitive competition once again.
The Leinster, Connacht and Munster finals were one-sided affairs, with Sunday's Ulster showpiece the sole outlier to go to the as Derry versus Armagh was decided on penalties.
What to do with increasingly uncompetitive provincial stages has been an age old debate and speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, former Kerry manager Fitzmaurice felt there was an element of Groundhog day to the debate.
"We've had the conversation and keep having the conversation. It keeps coming back to the same place. They are sacred cows and they're protected and they're not touched," he said.
"Last season we did have a competitive Connacht final and the Ulster final again last season was competitive. It is the annual conversation. It comes up this weekend nearly every year and then the championship just moves on and it's kind of left off again.
"But I think the other thing with this season is it's clear that the big guns are timing their runs and they're really starting to come to the fore. Galway, Kerry and Dublin, certainly have gone up a level as they move towards the All-Ireland series and that was clear in the way they performed in those provincial finals.
"But I think the provincial championships should move to the start of the season to lead into the league and then into the All-Ireland series. But that has been debated ad infinitum and we don't seem to have got to the solution just yet."
While Derry and Armagh played out a gripping contest in Clones, the jersey colour clash between the red and orange kits was not ideal for TV viewers, a point Fitzmaurice sympathised with.
"It was a strange one and I think the people who were at the game didn't seem to think it was as much of an issue," he said.
"But certainly for those of us who were watching it on the television, the clash was very clear, especially for such a big game and such a big television event.
"You would have preferred if it was a bit easier to idenfity the teams. It didn't bother me that much but at the same time, it was far from ideal."
Also far from ideal, particularly for traditionalists, was ending the match with a penalty shootout although the fixture calendar leaves few other solutions according to Fitzmaurice.
"It's a horrible way to lose and your heart will go out to the Armagh players and the Armagh management team, the fact that it's the second time in a short period of time that they've lost a huge game on penalties," he said.
"But the nature of the condensced season and the fact that there's just no room for replays, it means that it has to go to penalties. Teams know that beforehand and I'm sure all the teams are practicising it regularly in training and everything else and it's far from an ideal way to lose a game.
"But it's a great way to win a game and for spectators or for neutrals, the tension and the drama around it is incredible."
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Listen to the RTÉ GAA Podcast on the RTÉ Radio Player, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts
