Change is needed Rarely does the Ulster championship pass without throwing up a major surprise along the way. So far 2006 has continued the trend with the defeat of the All-Ireland champions in the first round. But was this result such a shock? Under Paddy Crozier we saw a reformed Derry team. Their victories over Galway and Armagh in the league signalled a new beginning for this team. Before the Tyrone game, Crozier called on the services of Eamon Coleman. The Oak Leaf men played like a Coleman inspired team of yesteryear - full of passion and tenacity. However, Derry's cynical approach was not easy on the eye. The tactic of preventing Tyrone defenders attacking, legally or otherwise, worked for them. The persistent fouling went unpunished by the officials and served to agitate the Tyrone men. As in Tyrone's' opening National league game V Dublin too many players got caught up with their opponent and their focus was broken. The Tyrone men will not forget this defeat in a hurry and there are lessons to be learned. Any team that loses players of the calibre of Brian McGuigan and Stephen O'Neill is not expected to deal with such absences easily. The manner of the defeat will hurt Mickey Harte but he knows the back door system can bring his squad to the same destination. Despite all the uproar and the derogatory comments made about the quality of the game, I will still look forward to a rematch further down the line - an All-Ireland semi-final in Croke Park would do nicely. There is not a year goes past without an upset in Ulster but now it appears that not a week goes by without a major blunder taking place in the Championship. Between the football and the hurling we had teams lining out without any logos on their jerseys and in some cases wearing jerseys from another county. Counties were forced to play hurling on flooded pitches. The all too common occurrence of umpires getting crucial calls wrong. On top of that we had the dispute over illegal substitutions. The dispute over the 'extra sub' tarnished what was an exciting game of football between Offaly and Kildare. Offaly maintained that they checked with the match officials to see if it was okay to make the final change. This must be extremely frustrating for the Kildare players. To think that the past seven months of sweat and toil could be undone by an administrative mishap of a match official. This is not the first dispute that has arisen regarding blood subs. The rules regarding substitutions need further clarification. When Nickey Brennan and his cohorts are sitting down restructuring the rules on suspensions, they would do well to pay this one some attention also. Sean Kelly's tenure as head of our association coincided with major changes in policy and ground-breaking developments. I believe that if the GAA is to move forward in the right direction then Nickey Brennan's term in office will need to be as progressive. Leaving aside the topical issue of player welfare, there are other areas that need urgent redress. As mentioned previously, the GAA rule book is outdated and needs major surgery. Under Sean Kelly's leadership attempts have been made to rectify certain areas but it has only been a case of 'papering over cracks'. A complete overhaul is needed. Another issue that is simmering below the surface is the club v county scenario. Throughout the country there appears to be growing dissatisfaction with the scant regard shown to clubs by their country boards. It appears that when a county team embarks on a run in the championship, club football is put on the back burner. In some cases players will see no action at all in what is the best time of the year for playing the game. In recent years I've had to listen to my own club colleagues complain about (1) the postponement of games due to the county senior team (2) not having their county players available for league games. Personally not being involved with the county at present, gives me a view from the club perspective. Like so many other players in Tyrone I was eagerly looking forward to the club championship. Tyrone's defeat to Derry resulted in the cancellation of the first round games, despite the fact that three was a three week gap before the first round of qualifiers. It is ironic that in so many debates regarding player welfare we are reminded by Croke Park officials of the importance of the club player - "the club comes first". This sounds good but in reality it doesn't happen. A logical consequence is that more and more club players will become disillusioned and head abroad during the summer months, either on holiday or to play football/hurling. In Tyrone I know a number of young players (3-4 with county minor and U-21 experience) ready to head off to the sunshine. Their argument in some cases is that they will only miss a few league games and will be back for the championship at the end of the summer. There is no easy answer to the club V county dilemma. Some county boards try to play as many club championship games as they can in late spring, early summer. Others like Derry wait until August before commencing. It would be a huge benefit to clubs if the B.O.I Championship could be condensed into a shorter period. There is no reason why the championship has to be run from early May to late September. In particular, towards the end of the campaign, there is no need for the long gaps between games. It is very possible that when the club V county scenario is examined by Croke Park, other alternatives to the current format will be considered. There are those who believe that the Provincial Championships have run their course. Let's face it, this system is not the fairest way to determine the All Ireland Champions. Why should 5-6 strong teams battle it out in one province whilst elsewhere competition is virtually non-existent? A champion's league format would provide a minimum number of games for every team. It would also ensure that the best and most consistent teams will qualify for the knock out stages. The provincial championships could be used as a secondary competition which could replace the NFL. Teams would still have something to play for and could be seeded on how well they do. Sweeping changes have taken place in recent years in world of the GAA. When it came to the crunch Sean Kelly was not afraid to take the bull by the horns. That bull is now staring at Nickey Brennan. Tweet

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