With 2016 nearly upon us we review our final football rankings and (surprise, surprise!) All-Ireland champions Dublin take over in pole position... 

1. DUBLIN (up 1)

It was far from the classic All-Ireland SFC final that neutrals had hoped for but Jim Gavin and his players won't lose any sleep over that as they celebrate a third Sam Maguire Cup success in five years. The Dubs put the lessons they learnt from their surprise semi-final exit at the hands of Donegal 12 months ago into practice to claim All-Ireland title number 25. They tightened up at the back and, up front, they possess the firepower to dominate the gaelic football landscape for the foreseeable future.

2. KERRY (down 1)

"They outfought us, they out thought us today and the better team won." Eamonn Fitzmaurice and his players didn't do themselves justice in the All-Ireland final. As the manager himself admitted, the holders failed to function and that is the biggest disappointment of all from a Kingdom perspective. Since then, the Finuge clubman has confirmed that he and his backroom team are staying put but it remains to be seen if all their senior men commit to the cause for 2016.

3. MAYO (no change)

Wins over Galway and Sligo saw the new management team of Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes deliver a 46th Connacht SFC title. In the process they emulated the achievement of the Galway team of the late 50s in winning five provincial titles in-a-row but, for the second year running, they exited the All-Ireland race when suffering a semi-final replay defeat to the eventual champions. The Keith Higgins captained outfit had their chances in both games against the men from the capital but they lacked the killer instinct. A player revolt saw the management resign and Stephen Rochford take the reins. There can be no excuses in 2016.

4. TYRONE (up 2)

Mickey Harte has been reappointed as Tyrone senior football manager for a two year term after guiding the Red Hands to the last four of the All-Ireland SFC. They bounced back from their Ulster SFC preliminary round defeat to Donegal to claim the scalps of Limerick, Meath, Tipperary, Sligo and Monaghan before running Kerry close at the penultimate stage. Following on from their All-Ireland U-21 success, there are plenty of reasons for Tyrone supporters to be optimistic about the years ahead.

5. MONAGHAN (down 1)

Malachy O'Rourke and his players proved that their 2013 Anglo Celt Cup success was no flash in the pan when edging a keenly contested Ulster SFC final against Donegal on a scoreline of 0-11 to 0-10. Inspired by captain Conor McManus, the Farney County put down a large deposit on their 16th provincial success in the first-half before withstanding a late Donegal comeback in a dramatic finish. They were brought back down to earth in the last eight, however, when suffering a 0-14 to 0-18 reversal against Tyrone.

6. DONEGAL (down 1)

Rory Gallagher has a massive task on his hands trying to rebuild Donegal following their eight point quarter-final defeat to Mayo. Having exhausted a lot of energy in defeating Tyrone, Armagh and Derry in the Ulster SFC, the Michael Murphy captained outfit ran out of steam against Monaghan in the provincial decider.  They got back on track with a 3-12 to 0-11 round 4B qualifier victory over Galway but were no match for the Connacht champions.

7. GALWAY (no change)

The Tribesmen failed to throw a spanner in the works of Mayo's quest for five-in-a-row but they  redeemed themselves with a string of impressive displays in the back-door series. The Paul Conroy captained outfit successfully negotiated the hurdles of Armagh and Derry but a 10-point defeat to Donegal brought the curtain down on their year.

8. KILDARE (no change)

The qualifier win over Cork proved to be a false dawn for the Lilywhites as they were on the receiving end of a 7-16 to 0-10 annihilation at the hands of Kerry in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final. Coupled with the 19-point hammering at the hands of Dublin in the Leinster SFC semi-final, it has been a year to forget for the Leinster outfit who have Cian O'Neill as their new manager.

9. CORK (no change)

Brian Cuthbert became the highest profile manager casualty of the 2015 gaelic football season following the Rebel County's embarrassing exit to Kildare. It was difficult not to feel some sympathy for Cuthbert who was only seconds away from masterminding a memorable Munster SFC final success over Kerry. His situation, as he said himself, "demonstrates the tight margins that exist between success and failure at inter county level". Peader Healy is the new man at the helm.

10. FERMANAGH (no change)

Under Pete McGrath's shrewd management, the Ernesiders gave as good as they got against Monaghan in the Ulster semi-final before embarking on a qualifier run which saw them overcome Antrim, Roscommon and Westmeath. They won many admirers with their approach in the eight point All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Dublin and it will be interesting to see if they can make further progress in 2016.

11. ROSCOMMON (no change)

After claiming the Division 2 silverware, the Rossies flattered to deceive in the championship. They took their eye off the ball in the Connacht championship and paid the price when suffering a shock semi-final defeat to Sligo. Their restored some of the damage to their reputation with a qualifier win over Cavan but Fermanagh compounded their woes in Round 3A of the qualifiers. Kevin McStay takes over as manager from the departed John Evans.

12. DERRY (no change)

Brian McIver called it quits as Derry senior football boss following their qualifier departure at the hands of Galway. The experienced manager was left fuming at the performance of referee Conor Lane in Salthill but he also admitted that the Oak Leafers were the architects of their own downfall in a lot of ways. An Ulster SFC quarter-final victory over Down was the highlight of their championship year and Damian Barton now takes over the baton from McIver.

13. ARMAGH (no change)

Armagh fans hoping that their team could mount a serious challenge for a first Ulster SFC success since 2008 following the appointment of Kieran McGeeney were left disappointed. The Orchard County were no match for Donegal when they met in the province and made a tame exit from the qualifiers when losing by 0-12 to 1-12 to Galway.

14. WESTMEATH (no change)

Despite their 0-6 to 2-13 Leinster SFC final education by Dublin and subsequent qualifier defeat to Fermanagh, it will go down as a year to remember for Tom Cribbin and his players. A first ever championship victory over neighbours Meath, not to mention wins over Louth and Wexford, gives them a platform to work on for the future.

15. DOWN (no change)

The Mourne County got off to a good start with promotion to Division 1 but that proved to be as good as it got. The team in red and black lost their Ulster SFC quarter-final to Derry by a point before suffering a surprise defeat to Wexford in the first round of the qualifiers. Jim McCorry quit after one year at the helm with Eamonn Burns now in charge.

16. MEATH (no change)

The Royal County's fortunes nose-dived in the Leinster SFC and they failed to recover in time for the Round 2B trip to Healy Park to take on Tyrone. Mick O'Dowd has been given a chance to redeem the situation and he has brought in Brendan Murphy and Declan McCabe to replace Trevor Giles and Sean Kelly as selectors.

17. TIPPERARY (no change)

Peter Creedon walked away from the Tipperary manager's job following the 12 point qualifier defeat to Tyrone in Semple Stadium. There were high expectations surrounding the Premier County in 2015 but a facile qualifier victory over Louth is all they have to show for their efforts following their 2-8 to 2-14 Munster SFC semi-final loss to Kerry. Liam Kearns brings a wealth of experience with him as the new manager.

18. CAVAN (no change)

Time is running out for Terry Hyland and his management team to deliver tangible reward on the senior stage. The promise of the recent U-21 success is in danger of evaporating if the Breffni County is not careful. The lack of a marquee forward continues to haunt them as they suffered championship defeats to Monaghan and Roscommon.

19. SLIGO (no change)

Niall Carew's Sligo pulled off a major upset when registering a 1-14 to 0-13 Connacht SFC semi-final success over Roscommon but their bubble was well and truly burst by Mayo in the Nestor Cup decider. Tyrone ended their participation in the All-Ireland series in round 4B of the qualifiers.

20. LAOIS (no change)

Tomas O Flatharta stepped down in the wake of the O'Moore County's All-Ireland SFC qualifier defeat to Antrim and Ciaran Lillis is his successor. He must be given time to put his stamp on the team.

21. LONGFORD (no change)

Longford's players can look back on 2015 with a fair degree of satisfaction following their promotion to Division 3 and championship wins over Offaly and Clare. Local Denis Connerton has taken over in the bainisteoir bib from Jack Sheedy.

22. CLARE (no change)

It's back to the drawing board for Colm Collins and his backroom team. Their 1-12 to 2-12 qualifier defeat to Longford on home soil was a big set-back for Banner County football.

23. OFFALY (no change)

The 0-13 to 0-16 Leinster SFC loss to Longford took a lot of the shine off the Division 4 final success but Pat Flanagan and his players will draw encouragement from their brave qualifier display against neighbours Kildare.

24. WEXFORD (no change)

The Model County savoured a championship victory to remember when lowering Down's colours on home soil but they will be operating in Division 4 in 2016.

25. ANTRIM (no change)

Fermanagh proved to be the rock on which the Saffrons' championship aspirations perished not once, but twice this year. However, their 2-15 to 1-16 smash and grab raid against Laois was one of the stand-out results of the summer.

26. LOUTH (no change)

"This was a mismatch" said Wee County boss Colin Kelly following his team's 23 point qualifier hammering at the hands of Tipperary in Semple Stadium.

27. LIMERICK (no change)

Two championship outings against Clare and Tyrone, two defeats for John Brudair's charges.

28. WICKLOW (no change)

Jonny Magee and his players put their disappointing Division 4 campaign behind them to produce two spirited championship performances against Meath and Armagh.

29. LEITRIM (no change)

The Connacht minnows lost both of their championship games, against Galway (Connacht SFC) and Louth (qualifier) by eight points.

30. LONDON (no change)

A lot of teams would struggle against Roscommon and Cavan so there is no shame in that from the Exiles' point of view and London chiefs went for Wexford native Ciaran Deely when appointing Paul Coggins' successor.

31. CARLOW (no change)

The Barrowsiders promising early showing in the league counted for little as they lost out to neighbours Laois by 17 points in the Leinster SFC before suffering a 10 point loss to Longford in the qualifiers.

32. WATERFORD (no change)

22 points separated the Deise and Tipperary when they met in the Munster SFC and things didn't get much better for Tom McGlinchey and his players in the qualifiers against Offaly.

33. NEW YORK (no change)

The Gaelic Park scoreboard read 2-18 to 0-8 in Galway's favour back on Sunday, May 3rd.

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