Tomas Ó'Sé has scoffed at Donal Og Cusack's idea of reducing gaelic football to twelve-a-side.

The former Cork hurling goalkeeper has suggested that removing three players from each team would get rid of the blanket defence but Kerry legend Ó'Sé sees this idea as laughable:

"I like Donal Og by the way, I happen to agree with a hell of a lot he said," Ó'Sé writes in The Irish Independent. "But I have an awful feeling he's a bit too impressed by this Super Elevens hurling they brought to America last year, maybe believing it might point to a better future for us amadans who prefer the bigger ball.

"Well, it's one thing trying to sell some kind of hurling hybrid to American children, it's another trying to turn Gaelic football into something it was never meant to be.

"Twelve-a-side is a total non-runner. What exactly would it solve? If a team wants to be defensive, they will be. You can't stop it. Possibly introduce some kind of incentive system (maybe two points for a score kicked from, say, more than 40 yards out) to encourage more attacking play. But cutting numbers? Lord God I think the public would laugh us out of town.

"Do I have the answer for how to cut out blanket defence? No. Do I like watching it? Well it's probably not as riveting as when Kerry and Dublin were going at it hammer and tongs in the '70s, but I can still admire it. I can still get a kick from watching it brought to the level that Donegal brought it to in 2011.

"Let's get something straight here. Defensive football isn't some kind of crime against art." Tweet

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