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Tomás Ó Sé: It would be a 'huge mistake' to ditch Allianz Football League finals

Updated / Thursday, 28 Mar 2024 19:52
Tomás Ó Sé feels the league is 'brilliant'
Tomás Ó Sé feels the league is 'brilliant'

Tomás Ó Sé believes it would be a "huge mistake" if the Allianz Football League finals were to be dispensed with.

It's an topic that has arisen in recent weeks, particularly with the condensed calendar meaning getting to a league final could serve as a potential inconvenience to certain teams working towards their provincial openers.

Peter Canavan was among those to suggest that with some counties fielding weakened teams at times, ditching league finals and awarding titles to the sides that finished top of the table could benefit the integrity of the competition.

But speaking on Thursday's edition of the RTÉ GAA Podcast, five-time All-Ireland winning former Kerry half-back Ó Sé opined that the Allianz League and its divisional deciders still hold ample value.

"The finals, I'm looking forward to them. I think they're going to be four crackers, as close as you'll get to championship," he said ahead of a weekend which will see Derry and Dublin clash in the top tier, Armagh and Donegal in an all-Ulster meeting in Division 2, Down and Westmeath meet in the third division and Laois and Leitrim contesting Division 4's showpiece.

"The league is brilliant, the league is a great competition. But you've the league and then you have a championship and then it all dips.

"It all actually dips for a while and it's the structure of the championship, it's different provinces starting at different times and I see it happening that the voices are coming out now and there's more of a voice now to start those provincial championships earlier and put the league running straight into the championship.

"And the only reason they're saying that is to have the top teams, teams playing like with like, and that's what they want.

"I think we're going to have a brilliant weekend of football and I just read this morning with Andy Moran and how excited he is for Leitrim.

"I think it's going to be brilliant for them and I think it would be a huge mistake to do away with the finals.

"Rejig it in such a way that senior teams have something to play for, for a little bit of time and space between the championship starting. But I think it's going to be a great weekend of action."

The Kerry Under-20 manager added that the league finals are particularly crucial for teams in Division 3 and 4 in terms of giving them a chance to fight for "meaningful" silverware that would normally prove elusive.

Also speaking on the podcast, three-time former Tyrone All-Ireland winner Enda McGinley said this year's league had more games that gave an impression of "shadow boxing" than last year's curtain-raiser under the current condensed calendar.

"With the season in its current permutation, I think managers know - Mayo last year your classic point - you can't go hammer and tongs for the league, hope to continue that through your provincial championship and carry it into the All-Ireland," he said.

"Something has to give and you have to pick your battles in the league. We saw that this year.

"I fully agree, the league is a brilliant competition. How much do we allow it to be diluted to make sure that the provincials stay where they're sitting? That's for people with much bigger pay cheques than us to figure out."

Lee Keegan added that Derry deserve credit for the way in which they have put emphasis on the league despite facing into the traditionally ultra-competitive gauntlet of the Ulster Championship.

"They see the opportunity of winning gold so why do they have that mentality and others see it as a shadow-boxing kind of thing?"

Follow live updates on the Allianz Football League Division 1,2,3 and 4 finals and watch highlights on Allianz League Sunday, 9.30pm, RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player

Listen to the RTÉ GAA Podcast on the RTÉ Radio Player, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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