‘There’s an enjoyment to this’ – Ulster boss Kieran Donnelly hails ‘fantasy football’ element to interpro revival

Even when the old Railway Cup or inter-provincial series as it came to be known, was on its last breath in the middle of the last decade, it was Ulster that was still most invigorated by the concept. As much as any rules novelty, this, said Donnelly, was most evident.

“A bit like when you play university, you play with players from different counties, so there was a massive buy-in from all the players,” said the current Fermanagh manager.

No player, he reported, declined, unless they were injured, away or club-tied.

“I teach in Omagh CBS and the one thing about school is the boys are so excited about picking a fantasy football team,” said Donnelly.

“They’re picking three for Armagh, two from Tyrone, that has led to a week of doing no school work! That’s all they talk about!” he laughed.

“We’ve had brilliant feedback from the Armagh players which is a credit to them after winning the All-Ireland. They’ve responded positively to it,” he added.

In such a condensed season the prospect of another layer of representative football, whether provincial or international, is diminished. But Donnelly feels there’s room for a rebirth.

“These players come in and you think of their county season as so serious. They go back to their clubs and whether it’s a junior or senior club they’re still expected to lead. There’s an enjoyment to this. They can switch off and yet play with players from different counties. I would think there’s a window for it if it can be fitted in.”

Donnelly’s initial impression of the new look game, having overseen the session on Saturday and watched the Dublin/Armagh challenge in Inniskeen two weeks earlier, is one of shape and speed.

“One thing that would probably be the most interesting, even last weekend, is the GPS data because there was a lot of high-speed running,” he said.

“So the fact the goalkeeper could get the kick-out away quicker, the ‘solo and go’ and then tactically teams can be penned in more without being able to use the goalkeeper, led to a high octane game.

“The players enjoyed that side of it, but no doubt they felt they felt it was faster.

“I’d say most players at county level will be covering 2.4km (high-speed in a game). This has probably added 500 metres to it.

“The aerobic side of things might lessen because the ball will travel more, you get more traction in the shape. (3 v 3 structure). So the ball will be kicked more. But I’d say it’ll nearly become more anaerobic so that will be higher intensity and probably change methods of training as well.

“When there’s a turnover, you’re immediately up the pitch. Everything (in recent times) was being carried. Now you can kick the ball when you want to, you can run it, if you want to run it.

“It will be a faster and more intense game with less opportunity to control the ball in that first phase because teams can press up on you.”

Ultimately, what rule enhancements survive may be down to what referees can absorb.

“The fact that there are so many rules, there is wariness as to whether a referee can cope with all of it. That will be judged on the weekend. The referees will have a massive say in this because it’s on their head. A lot of the rules do complement each other.” Donnelly said.

He has sensed a mood for change among players.

“One of the points one of the players made over the weekend was that making one or two runs meant receiving the ball as a forward, whereas with the way the game had evolved, there could be three or four runs against the packed defence and not receiving the ball.

“So I think players did want the game to open out. At club level every team was replicating it. At county level, maybe sometimes I didn’t feel it as bad because teams transitioned so fast, like Armagh were in such fantastic condition that they could do it really well. But sometimes at club level the product wasn’t great because when teams were back, maybe they just didn’t transition as fast and got turned over.”

The rule enhancements should be a forward’s dream, predicts Donnelly, especially the ‘nippy’ corner-forward who has been feeling somewhat squeezed over the last decade.

“There’s no doubt about that. With the three up and teams maybe holding no more than four back there’s more space. Initially there’s more space if teams transition quickly and get a kick on there is room for the nippy corner-forward to win the ball with pace and proper movement.”

And Donnelly believes goalkeepers can find a balance too, with even a previously sceptical Niall Morgan more drawn to the changes, he said.

“The onus on the goalkeeper becoming the complete footballer is nearly more important. If a team is patient enough and utilises it well enough, the likes of Niall Morgan will flourish in it. I think he enjoyed the game and his long-range point-scoring ability can really benefit.”

_{Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.}