Inter-County football is getting harder every year
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Is this a problem? It seems like the top players are having to push themselves harder every year. Is the ask too much considering they are supposed to be amateurs?
Some interesting comments from Dublin midfielder Denis Bastick: link
I believe there will be a time in the near future were the whole amateur and professional arguments will come to a major collision. Several inter county managers are now preparing professional schedules for amateur players. County boards are backing this because they see it as the manager taking his job seriously and trying to get the best out of the squad. As long as a county has ambitions they will continue to look for a way to stay ahead of the pack and put in as many hours as possible.
This may suit players that are students or certain professions with flexible working hours but there have been instances were some of the counties best talents can't sign on for their county because of work or family commitments. It's tough for a manager to then say to those players 'train when you can make it' because the rest of the squad will feel aggrieved at having to do more. The Antrim football manager kept an open door/casual policy this year and it was a mess. I'm not sure he knew who would be available to him week to week and the preparation for the championship was anarchy as usual.
So a soft approach will mean you wont win anything but you at least keep the amateur ethos of not excluding certain players. The tough approach means you may be a contender but you will automatically exclude some who would love to be involved. Even at club level I have witnessed team mates being excluded because they missed two sessions in a month because of work commitments and that to me is not the community spirit the GAA used to be renowned for.