League opener could have impact on Offaly"s season

The words 'GAA' and 'marketing' have so rarely met. KEVIN EGAN writes that it"s probably not surprising that it never occurred to anyone to put a bit of effort into selling this Sunday"s NFL Division 3 encounter in Dr. Hyde Park. On a national level this game is unlikely to cause anything more than a cursory glance at the score out of curiosity, but to Roscommon and Offaly this is a very important game. While the recent history (some would say antics) of the two counties appears to offer endless opportunities for promotional activity. KOne possible gimmick could be a 'Two men enter: One man leaves!' strapline, based on the premise that whichever manager fails to garner a win for his county in their first competitive match will no doubt have calls for his head ringing around the county within a week. After all, it would be hard to pick two counties where unrealistic expectations and limited managerial life expectancy enjoy such eminence. Another could be 'Is there a forward in the house?' Despite both counties having a reputation for open, direct football and both having had a steady flow of prodigious young corner-forwards entering their ranks in recent years, both teams have struggled to provide scoring support for their leading men - two leading men who will be absent from this Sunday"s encounter. Both Fergal O"Donnell and Richie Connor will be crying out for some of their forwards to step up and provide the scoring leadership that their teams have lacked in the absence of either Frankie Dolan or Niall McNamee and this game appears to offer an ideal opportunity for a few potential marksmen to stake their claim for permanent inclusion. Above all and with all gimmickry aside, the game could be billed as a crucial game in the battle to avoid relegation, since that"s exactly what it appears to be before a single ball is kicked. There will be some Offaly supporters and countless of the Roscommon variety, widely acknowledged as the most ridiculously optimistic breed in the land, who will dissent the view that promotion is not on the agenda for either of these counties. But with proven teams like Down, Limerick and Louth in this group, all of whom have management teams building on and consolidating their work from previous seasons, it"s unlikely that the O"Donnell and Connor regimes will be able to keep pace, at least in the early rounds. Tommy Carr in Cavan and Glenn Ryan in Longford face similar situations and they too will be hoping for promotion but keeping one eye on the trap-door at all times, while Tipperary should be hard pressed to keep pace, though the fixture list has treated them very kindly with four home games on their dance card as well as one very short hop across to the Gaelic Grounds. All of these new managers will be keenly aware of the need to stamp their authority on matters from an early stage as a few bad results can very quickly bring any honeymoon period to an abrupt end. From an Offaly perspective, a bad start would be doubly hurtful as the fixture list is very much loaded towards the latter part of the campaign. With as many as six points possibly needed to avoid the drop, carrying any fewer than four into the latter part of March when games against Cavan, Down and Limerick round off the schedule could have severe consequences. Balanced with this need for results is the need to address the various problem positions that have plagued Offaly football in recent seasons. The experiment of playing Ciarán McManus at full-back hasn"t really worked out so far in that he has struggled to keep pace with sharp inside forwards, while his drive and leadership has been missed out the field, but it"s probably reasonable to expect that the policy will be given one more outing. Senan Kilbride will pose a very tricky threat, however, and one wonders whether the policy of playing a big powerful full-back, more accustomed to the hustle and bustle of midfield, is really suited to the modern game. The impact that Kieran Donaghy had on Gaelic football when he burst onto the scene by overpowering Francie Bellew in the 2006 All Ireland quarter final could not be understated, however it is perhaps wishful thinking to be preparing for a clash with Kerry with the track record Offaly have in recent seasons. Donaghy is still somewhat of an anomaly in the game and most of the No 14s who will line out against Offaly this season will be sharp, quick and evasive younger players. Shane Sullivan"s return to the panel may alter the goalposts when that happens, but either way the No 3 jersey, like so many others, is very much up for grabs, with no clear picture even as to the profile of the player likely to wear it in the Leinster championship against Kildare. While the half-back line is equally unresolved, the plethora of good footballing defenders available for selection allows Connor a lot of leeway to concentrate on getting three out and out defenders for the full-back line. Kieran Flannery, Joe Quinn and Matt Mitchell have added their names to the hat for inclusion here also with some positive aspects to their earlier displays, so expect some experimentation, but the real focus should lie elsewhere. Equally, there are countless options for hard-working half-forwards, but genuine scoring threats on the inside line are all too rare, particularly as Niall McNamee"s ability to score heavily with even bad ball has meant that other forwards haven"t had to step up and take responsibility. Richie Connor"s decision to play three under-21 players - including two teenagers making their debut - in his full-forward line against Carlow goes a long way towards illustrating how few options are available in this regard. It is still expected that McNamee will be back on board by the end of the league campaign, however this is one of those situations where a crisis must be turned into an opportunity - if Niall returns and the likely alternative players have neither stepped up to the plate nor stepped away entirely in favour of others, voluntarily or otherwise, then Connor will have failed to address one of the most pressing issues on his agenda. The continued exclusion from the panel of several players who scored heavily against good opposition in the club championship last year - Alan Lynam, Nigel Dunne and Aidan Keenaghan all come to mind - is somewhat surprising in this regard, but a poor scoring harvest on Sunday could see some fresh faces being brought on board as the situation will have reached crisis point. While it goes without saying that pre-season form is to be taken with a large spoonful of salt at the best of times, Sunday"s game nonetheless looks like an uphill struggle for Offaly and one which could set a very negative tone for the year ahead. Sligo entered 2008 as Connacht champions and second favourites to win division three - a couple of narrow early defeats and they were on the road to division four and a very short summer. Right now Offaly look precariously close to following a similar route - and that isn"t just marketing talk to drum up a big support on Sunday, but a real concern. Two counties will enter Dr. Hyde Park, and one will leave with a very bleak future on the horizon.