Don’t hate the player, hate the game

‘County players now, it's about doing a job. The template of a county footballer now is something that I think any average player could get on a county team now if they got themselves into really good shape and did what they were told to do.
Years ago you were on a county team because you had talent, you were the best player in your club. I'm not saying county players are bad footballers but you can become a county player without having that much real talent and ability’ – Seán Quigley, Fermanagh

FERMANAGH’S Seán Quigley is interview gold.
A larger than life character with a real talent for football, one who famously ate a full pizza the night before a championship match before going out and kicking 2-8.
He’s a bit of an enigma, but one thing you’re guaranteed with Quigley is some controversial content in his interviews.
He’s a really popular character for ‘saying it as it is’ and all that.
Speaking on the BBC’s ‘GAA Social’ podcast last week, Quigley went viral once again for his above opinion on the modern game and the state of the current inter-county footballer.
It went down like a house on fire, with people lauding Quigley for his honest assessment of his inter-county compatriots. Social media blew up with universal agreement. It’s not often an inter-county footballers speaks his mind and when he does, he simply must be right!
But, in reality, this columnist feels his remarks are way wide of the mark and contained very little substance of actual reasoning or fact.
It ticked the box for a populist and lazy opinion on the modern day game. Just because it proved to be popular doesn’t mean it’s true and when it comes down to brass tacks and facts, it struggles to stand up.
It sounded like a lesson from the Colm O’Rourke, Pat Spillane and Joe Brolly school of when ‘men were men and football was about kicking the ball aimlessly into the full forward line’.
Quigley is a brilliant footballer. One of those laid-back fellas that can look effortless in producing class. But this opinion is deflection for his own lack of effort and achievements in his career.
The reality is that the majority of modern footballers are as skilled as they have ever been and the level of coaching is the best it has been at.
If you compare the 15 footballers of Dublin’s six-in-a-row against the next best team, say Kerry’s four-in-a-row in the ‘80s, to see who are more complete, the Dubs would win every time.
Or take Mayo’s National League winning team of 2001 and compare it to the 2023 team?
The answer is still the same.
And from a really simple angle, it’s just human evolution.
More players are two-sided and more versatile now, comfortable in any line of the field and the execution of the basic skills is a higher standard.
Sure, there are a few outliers here and there that are chosen because of an elite level of athleticism. James Horan always spoke of a certain ‘profile’ of player he was after and it was evident to see they were fast, hard-running players.
But why is that a stick to beat someone with?
If a player can run faster, longer and harder than another, while still being able to execute the basic skills, that makes him a much better player than one who can’t, but maybe looks more ‘silky’.
Dublin’s Michael Dara McAuley is a good example of that. He got a lot of stick for his perceived lack of skill, yet he was a ‘Footballer of the Year’ and part of the best team that ever played the game.
But he doesn’t look anywhere near as stylish as Quigley. So is the Fermanagh man a better footballer? We don’t even need to answer that.
Or maybe take a look at modern-day goalkeepers.
Quigley added that he felt there is a short supply of players ‘playing off the cuff’ in the modern day game because they are crippled with the fear of making a mistake.
Maybe the deep root of Quigley’s frustrations really just like with the game and not the player, because that has evolved too.
Gone are wide open spaces, 50/50 kickpasses and players marshalling their position on the field and nothing else. Now the focus is on possession retention, pressing the ball in certain areas of the field and getting double ups and closing off space.
It’s the smarter game and is a trend followed in a lot of field sports across the world, not just Gaelic football. It’s not always as exciting as the ‘good old days’ but people tend to forget how terrible some of the football was around then too.
Furthermore, what does ‘playing off the cuff’ actually mean too? It’s an empty and meaningless statement. Why would you want a defender ‘playing off the cuff’? Or a midfielder shooting from 45 yards out on sight and launching high, hopeless balls inside? Does playing ‘off the cuff’ suggest you you’ll just do your own thing and forget about everyone around you?
Maybe it’s to do with the ‘flair player’. The one or two guys on each team with exceptional talent – your David Cliffords, Sean O’Sheas, Brian Fentons, Lee Keegans and Shane Walsh’s of this world?
Their moments of genius, or ability to play ‘off the cuff’ is because of talent and, funnily enough, aided by ridiculous athletic ability.
Very few in the country, never mind their team, can replicate what they do, so why would we want or encourage them to do so?
Imagine the player Quigley could have been if he applied himself to his preparation as much as the aforementioned household names.