McShea's Say: The new rules could shape the 2025 football landscape and who wins Sam

As we are only 25 days away from the shortest day of the year, it means that the resumption of league football is only around the corner.  

Looking at Donegal’s prospects for 2025, those who are never too far wrong - the Bookies - have installed Donegal as second-favourites to win Ulster.   

Armagh are favourites to take Donegal’s title at 7/2, while Donegal can be backed at 4/1. Tyrone is next at 9/2, while Derry, with new manager Paddy Tally on board, are quoted at odds of 5/1. 

A look at who may win next year’s All-Ireland title is interesting. Kerry are favourites at 9/4, Dublin, who were 3/1 just over a week ago, are now available at 4/1 - the obvious reason for that change is the decision of their brilliant midfielder Brian Fenton to retire.  

Galway are third favourites at 5/1, and Donegal are fourth favourites to become All Ireland winners at 13/2, ahead of Armagh who are next at odds of 8/1. 

It is interesting to see Armagh tipped to win Ulster while Donegal are favoured to have a more sustained run at getting their hands on Sam Maguire ahead of the reigning All-Ireland champions.  

The other Ulster team who has the potential to ruffle a few feathers in the new year are Tyrone. With Malachy O Rourke at the helm, his modernist approach will appeal to his players, and his perception on the sideline will make his team a dangerous opposition, no matter who they meet.  

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No doubt the key to summer success is putting the miles in the legs during the winter, and many county sides are now heading to the sun to enhance their training in warm weather. Armagh are just back from their trip to Miami, and I believe Donegal also have a warm-weather camp lined up.  

Watching Dublin enjoy outstanding success over the last number of years, they had a simple trend in their game plan. Dublin’s style was shaped around gaining possession within a triangle that had its apex 30 yards from the goal and stopping the opposition from gaining possession in the same area in front of their own posts.  

Jim Gavin was ahead of his time, a tactical genius with a game plan that had simplicity at its core, while he also was fortunate that he had a squad that had the ability to implement their manager’s strategy with stunning effectiveness.  

This weekend the powers that be in Croke Park will decide on Gavin’s Rules Committee deliberations and their suggestions in relation to the proposed new rules. Much time has been spent discussing the new proposals and I would be in favour of implementing every one of the proposals.  

The negative football that we have watched in recent years was extremely disappointing, and with 13 and 14 men behind the ball, to say that the football was boring would be a gross understatement.  

The All-Ireland final this year featuring Armagh and Galway was a very poor game of football and while we were delighted to see the Ulster team prevail, the game did not live long in the memory.  

While football is now a 20-man game, the teams with the best and biggest squads have an obvious competitive edge. For that reason, I believe that Armagh will have much difficulty in holding on to Sam in 2025, and with an atmosphere of ferocious competition as the Ulster championship is, keeping his team sharp and constantly hungry may be a very difficult ask for manager Kieran McGeeney. 

This year on their road to glory, Armagh had the desire to hunt and scavenge with extreme intensity. Corner-forwards took it upon themselves to track back, purely out of a desire to win, to do what everyone else was doing.  

In modern football, the attitude is that if the ball is at the other end of the field, what can you do to help out my teammates?  

This has, I believe made the role of the full-back in modern football almost obsolete because, with two midfielders, three half-forwards and three half-backs in the defence helping to mind the house, the one-to-one battle between a full-forward and the full-back is non-existent.  

I believe that the new rules will make full-backs responsible for man-to-man marking, with little help from his friends out the park. It will make for much better entertainment and will also enhance the rate of goal-scoring.  

I am confident that if the right decision is made in Croke Park on Saturday the entertainment value of football will be seriously enhanced, and that is what every follower wants to see. 

Sympathy  

It was with much regret that I learned of the death of Seamus Rodgers from Annagry last week. In his capacity as Donegal GAA County Chairman in the late 1970s, I got to know Seamus and he was a gentleman, with a very warm personality.  

His kindness and interest in others were obvious any time that we spoke, and to his wife Teresa and daughter Rosemary, I extend my sincere sympathy.