Colm O'Rourke has hit out at the standards being produced by Leinster sides in this year’s Allianz Football League – deeming it a "crisis".
Five of the six relegation berths across the divisions are currently being occupied by counties from the eastern province, although Offaly have only played two Division 2 games as their meeting with Galway was postponed on Sunday.
Wexford and Carlow are also in the bottom half of Division 4 with only Westmeath currently in a promotion spot having won their opening two games in the third tier.
Speaking on the RTÉ GAA Podcast, O’Rourke, whose native county Meath have picked up just one point from a possible six so far in Division 2, is concerned with what he is seeing.
"You could see a situation where Dublin and Kildare go down to the second division and you would have no Leinster team in the first division for next year at all, which would be quite a reflection.
"You could have those (Meath and Offaly) contesting the Tailteann Cup rather than the All-Ireland Championship.
"Leinster football is in crisis and it was sort of coated over by Dublin’s dominance for seven or eight years, but there are serious structural defects now in the province.
"The Dublin era is over so my idea of splitting them into three or four maybe won’t gain as much traction."
One possible upside of the standard change, especially if Dublin’s much-debated form does not improve, is that that O’Rourke can envision a competitive championship in Leinster this year.
The Delaney Cup has resided in Dublin almost exclusively since their 2005 triumph over Laois. Since then, they have been crowned provincial champions every season apart from 2010 when the Royals hit them for five goals in the semi-final before defeating Louth in a controversial decider.
"The Leinster Championship, for the first time in living memory, could be actually competitive this year, albeit at a lower level," O’Rourke said.
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