Let’s just sit back and enjoy the action

I have a natural inclination towards viewing things in a positive light. So much so that when I embarked on my management journey, I was very wary of being too positive.

Positivity is all grand and good, but too much of anything is a bad thing. I worried that my compliments and positive messages to players wouldn’t carry enough weight if I was being ultra-positive all the time.

With hindsight now, and the benefit of discussions with past players, I needn’t have worried. The perception was that it was very hard to earn a compliment from me.

Yet this wariness of being too positive has resurfaced in me lately as I comment on the current state of Gaelic football. I’m emphatically positive about where the game is at as a whole and the levels we’re at in Roscommon.

I’m hearing lots of commentators picking holes here and there with the new rules but I just can’t get on board. Let’s look at some of the complaints I’ve heard.

Before I get into it though, can we try a new way of describing or naming scores? There’s just too many syllables required at this stage to describe them — was it a one-pointer or a two-pointer? Or a one-point free or a two-point free? Or a one-pointer from a mark?

So I’m stealing this from Willie Hegarty’s commentary, where instead of saying one-pointer or two-pointer he used the terms single and double. Rolls off the tongue a bit better, doesn’t it?

Now, to those complaints…

Frees from outside the arc shouldn’t be worth 2 points.

So here’s the argument that the doubles are coming too easy for expert free-takers. To them, many of those are routine kicks which they’ll nail 90 per cent of the time.

This is true, but the two points for them has to remain. Reversing it to a single for such frees will just mean teams will opt against shooting and take their chances creating a scoring opportunity from play.

Look at the ‘45s for example, they’re still only worth singles and I think we’ll see very few teams actually attempt to shoot from them. The risk/reward value isn’t there anymore.

The 3 v 3 formation will be too hard to police at club level.

So the general consensus appears to be that it’s fine at intercounty level where there are two linesmen to help the referee keep a check on this, but that it’ll be impossible at club level.

Get over it I say.

Sure it has always been the way. Of course, It’s easier to officiate the rules, old or new, when you’ve got linesmen in support. This won’t be as big an issue as some make out.

I’m sure management teams will be quick to get the referee’s attention if the opposition break the 3 v 3 formation.

The 50-metre punishment is too harsh.

It is on the excessive side alright, but if we want to see a change in culture around respect for referees and opponents, then it will only be effective if the punishment is drastic.

My advice for everyone would be to cease commenting on the rules for now until the end of the league. Then, we should look at the big picture. Because that’s what it’s all about — the overall state of the game.

People might not like some individual rules, but if the overall impact is a positive one then I’d be very slow to make any amendments.

For instance, the 50-metre punishment is on the extreme side, but I’d be confident that by the time we hit May it’ll be a rare sight, as players will have adapted.

The real value in two points for the free from outside the arc will also become more apparent as the number of fouls in that area goes down.

In other words, players' behaviour will adapt and we’ll see an even more free-flowing game.

What I’ve enjoyed most over the past couple of weekends watching games has been the increase in one-on-one battles and real, tough contests for possession. We’ve had a plethora of really good games.

If we could ever view the national league on its own merits, we’d realise that it’s a great competition.

Now, cast an eye on how Roscommon teams are faring. We’re in a good place. A quick look at minor and U-20 teams from the last couple of years show that there’s a solid conveyor belt there.

The club scene is in an excellent place and I think our county championships are up there with the best in the country in terms of quality. In fact, at both senior and intermediate level, I reckon our champions will be kicking themselves that they weren’t contesting All-Ireland finals a few weeks ago.

Our flagship team looks really strong at the moment. There’s a strength-in-depth in our senior panel now that I believe is the best it has been in many years. We are deserved of the favourites tag in Division Two of the league and when it comes to summer time, there should be no team we fear.

So let’s sit back and enjoy the journey over the next few months.

Of course, I’ll throw in the caveat here now. While it’s a great time for supporters to be watching Roscommon teams in action, we’ve got to make hay while the sun shines.

Players don’t want to look back over their careers and say they were competitive with all the top teams. They want to say they beat all the top teams and won titles. I’d settle for a national league title now before we reset our goals in the summer.

Regarding the ladies’ footballers, that win at the weekend will be a massive boost. I haven’t got to see them yet but I’ve been very positive about their chances, based mainly on the strength of the panel. That was backed up at the weekend as they won easily against Clare despite being down a number of starters from the previous weekend.

The likes of Ellen Irwin and Lisa O’Rourke are big players in this team and so their loss will have been a sizeable one, but against that you can put the fact that management were able to welcome back players of the calibre of Laura Mannion and Niamh Feeney.

While trying to read a line of form in the league after just two games is veering onto dodgy ground, I’d be confident enough that while Galway and Cork are the obvious top two, there’s very little between the remaining six teams.

The Rossiettes will have been disappointed not to get a result against Monaghan the first day but the scoreline on Sunday against Clare suggests they have since found their scoring boots. They’ll be targeting the games against Westmeath and Tipperary at the end of the league as must-win encounters.

Before that though, they now head into a very tough run of fixtures against strong senior teams in Galway, Donegal and then Cork. They’ll be underdogs in all of them but I wouldn’t rule out an upset, especially with that Donegal game to come at home.

For now, I’m hoping for a competitive outing against Galway in Tuam Stadium on Sunday.