Ewan MacKenna Blog: Only the League?
17:31, 02 Feb 2012
Ewan MacKenna
It was one of Mick O’Dwyer’s most predictable lines and, more often than not, it was a lazy excuse. After the restructuring of the league back to four divisions in 2008, he found himself starting his second season over Wicklow at the very bottom. And while it was a place he never managed to escape, he never allowed it to bother him. “Sure it is only the league,” was the stock response to journalists after winter losses and ,besides, his remarkable summer successes meant it was an undercard record that was quickly forgotten. But it shouldn’t have been dismissed as an irrelevance so quickly.
While O’Dwyer may have been driven by his breaking of the mould, to an extent it would have been easier and better for his adopted county to fit into the mould and aim for promotion. Seeing it as “only the league” was making life harder on both himself and his players and came from an outdated view of football’s secondary competition. At their height, Wicklow undoubtedly had the quality to play in Division Two at best and Division Three at worst, but they sacrificed long-term growth for short-term success.
Contrast that with a more modern view held by another Kerry native, John Evans. For him, Tipperary’s league status has always been the foundation and as the table below shows, he is correct because numbers don’t lie. It makes sense that the higher the division you are in, the better you are and by extension the more championship victories you rack up. But as Wicklow showed, it’s not just about having talent. Instead, a better quality of opposition improves your own quality and while it may not matter to the same extent as in a faster game like hurling, that doesn’t mean it’s not a factor. Indeed, being unable to play Division One teams is seen as one of the key reasons why Kieran McGeeney and Kildare have been beaten by them so often come the championship.
But here’s the problem with all of this when it comes to actually making the league entertaining. While winning should be the target, when it comes to the top two divisions, where most of summer’s high achievers hibernate, avoiding relegation is seen by many as the prime objective. Not giving is more important than taking and that reeks of negativity, just as the football league reeks of the mundane. Take a look at the first table further down. Since that 2008 league restructuring, three of the four All Ireland winners have played in the league final, and three of the four All Ireland finalists have played in a league final (two of those a Division Two final).
But when it comes to the second tier of counties that succeed in summer, they don’t in the league. Over the past four seasons, there have been 16 provincial winners and 16 beaten provincial finalists. Yet of those 32, 21 never reached a league final in any division that same season. Indeed of the 16 counties that won a provincial title, just a quarter made it into the top two of their division. In short, while the very best succeed in the league, the next level don’t bother and that leads to a lack of intensity and competition. And that’s the major flaw we’ll witness over the next few months, not helped by managers and players alike explaining away defeats as simply a learning curve or a trial game after people have been made to pay hard-found cash to watch.
It’s against that backdrop that Dublin’s ambition exists. They deserve massive credit for their initiative of bringing games to Croke Park, lowering prices and stirring a certain level of interest in their ‘Spring Series’. It’s certainly a massive step that makes other counties look bad but it’s a step that can’t succeed with the league the way it is because when not enough teams care, then eventually not enough supporters will care. It’s a pity too because Dublin have shown what a Saturday night can be, while so many others settle for what a Sunday afternoon always has been.
We’ll see that again this weekend as another raft of low-lying teams miss the importance of playing a better grade of football, and another raft of high-flying teams settle for what they’ve already got. And don’t be surprised if we hear the most successful manager of them all quoted when explaining away bad results. After all, “it is only the league.”
FORM OF LEAGUE’S BEST IN CHAMPIONSHIP
2008
Division One winners: Derry - won one of three games, exited in first round of qualifiers
Division One finalists: Kerry - won four of six games, lost Munster and All Ireland finals
Division Two winners: Westmeath - won three of five games, exited in second round of qualifiers
Division Two finalists: Dublin - won three of four games, won Leinster title, exited in All Ireland quarter-final
Division Three winners: Wexford - won four of six games, lost Leinster final, exited in All Ireland semi-final
Division Three finalists: Fermanagh - won two of four games, lost Ulster final, exited in round three of qualifiers
Division Four winners: Offaly - won naught of two games, exited in first round of qualifiers
Division Four runners-up: Tipperary - won naught of two games, exited in first round of qualifiers
2009
Division One winners: Kerry - won six of seven games, won All Ireland title
Division One finalists: Derry - won two of four games, exited in round three of qualifiers
Division Two winners: Cork - won five of six games, won Munster title, lost All Ireland final
Division Two finalists: Monaghan - won one of three games, exited in round three of qualifiers
Division Three winners: Tipperary - won one of three games, exited in round two of qualifiers
Division Three finalists: Down - won two of four games, exited in round three of qualifiers
Division Four winners: Sligo - won one of three games, exited in round three of qualifiers
Division Four runners-up: Antrim - won two of four games, lost Ulster final, exited in round four of qualifiers
2010
Division One winners: Cork - won six of seven games, won All Ireland title
Division One finalists: Mayo - won naught of two games
Division Two winners: Armagh - won three of five games, exited in round three of qualifiers
Division Two finalists: Down - won six of eight games, lost All Ireland final
Division Three winners: Sligo - won two of four games, lost Connacht final, exited in fourth round of qualifiers
Division Three finalists: Antrim - won naught of two games, exited in first round of qualifiers
Division Four winners: Limerick - won one of three games, lost Munster final, exited in fourth round of qualifiers
Division Four runners-up: Waterford - won one of three games, exited in round two of qualifiers
2011
Division One winners: Cork - won three of five games, lost Munster final, exited in All Ireland quarter-final
Division One finalists: Dublin - won six of six games, won Leinster title, won All Ireland title
Division Two winners: Donegal - won five of six games, won Ulster title, exited in All Ireland semi-final
Division Two finalists: Laois - won two of four games, exited in round two of qualifiers
Division Three winners: Louth - won naught of two games, exited in round one of qualifiers
Division Three finalists: Westmeath - won naught of two games, exited in round one of qualifiers
Division Four winners: Roscommon - won two of four games, lost Connacht final, exited in round four of qualifiers
Division Four runners-up: Longford - won one of three games, exited in round two of qualifiers
Total 2008-2011
Division One winners: Went on to win 72.7% of championship games, including two All Irelands and one provincial final appearance
Division One finalists: Went on to win 60% of championship games, including two All Irelands, one provincial title and one provincial final appearance
Division Two winners: Went on to win 71.4% of championship games, including two provincial final titles and one All Ireland final appearance
Division Two finalists: Went on to win 63.1 per cent of championship games including one All Ireland final appearance
Division Three winners: Went on to win 46.7 per cent of championship games including two provincial final appearances
Division Three finalists: Went on to win 33.3 per cent of championship matches including one provincial final appearance
Division Four winners: Went on to win 33.3 per cent of championship matches including two provincial final appearances
Division Four finalists: Went on to win 33.3 per cent of championship matches including two provincial final appearances
CHAMPIONSHIP BREAKDOWN FORM SINCE LEAGUE RESTRUCTURE
2008
Provincial winners: 1 Division One, 3 Division Two
All Ireland quarter-finalists: 4 Division One, 3 Division Two, 1 Division Three
All Ireland semi-finalists: 2 Division One, 1 Division Two, 1 Division Three
All Ireland finalists: 2 Division One
All Ireland champions: Division One
Division One team championship wins: 21/35 = 60%
Division Two team championship wins: 16/29 = 55.1%
Division Three team championship wins: 11/23 = 47.8% (Leitrim and Sligo were in Murphy Cup)
Division Four team championship wins: 0/4 = 0% (Only Offaly and Leitrim reached qualifiers)
2009
Provincial winners: 3 Division One, 2 Division Two
All Ireland quarter-finalists: 5 Division One, 3 Division Two
All Ireland semi-finalists: 2 Division One, 2 Division Two
All Ireland finalists: 1 Division One, 1 Division Two
All Ireland champions: Division One
Division One team championship wins: 25/37 = 67.6%
Division Two team championship wins: 16/31 = 51.6%
Division Three team championship wins: 9/26 = 34.6%
Division Four team championship wins: 7/23 = 30.4%
2010
Provincial winners: 2 Division One, 1 Division Two, 1 Division Three
All Ireland quarter-finalists: 4 Division One, 3 Division Two, 1 Division Three
All Ireland semi-finalists: 1 Division One, 1 Division Two
All Ireland finalists: 1 Division One, 1 Division Two
All Ireland champions: Division One
Division One team championship wins: 22/35 = 62.9%
Division Two team championship wins: 20/35 = 57.1%
Division Three team championship wins: 14/29 = 48.3%
Division Four team championship wins: 4/20 = 20%
2011
Provincial winners: 3 Division One, 1 Division Two
All Ireland quarter-finalists: 4 Division One, 3 Division Two, 1 Division Three
All Ireland semi-finalists: 3 Division One, 1 Division Two
All Ireland finalists: 2 Division One
All Ireland champions: Division 1
Division One team championship wins: 23/33 = 69.7%
Division Two team championship wins: 22/37 = 59.5%
Division Three team championship wins: 8/24 = 33.3%
Division Four team championship wins: 7/23 = 30.4%
Total 2008-2011
Provincial winners: 9 Division One, 6 Division 2, 1 Division Three
All Ireland quarter-finalists: 17 Division One, 12 Division Two, 3 Division Three
All Ireland semi-finalists: 8 Division One, 5 Division Two, 1 Division Three
All Ireland finalists: 6 Division One, 2 Division Two
All Ireland champions: 4 Division One
Division One team championship wins: 70.8%
Division Two team championship wins: 56.1%
Division Three team championship wins: 43.1%
Division Four team championship wins: 25.8%
Ewan MacKenna was a sports writer for the defunct Sunday Tribune and now contributes to the Irish Examiner. A former sports journalist of the year runner-up, he was ghost writer of ‘The Gambler: Oisín McConville’s Story,’ ‘Darragh: My Story’ and has recently launched ‘Kenny Egan: My Story’.
If you have any opinions, feel free to contact Ewan at Twitter.com/EwanMacKenna or ewanmackenna@hotmail.com