Football rankings: how does your county rate?
July 25, 2013
The place everybody wants to be on 22 September 2013
1. DUBLIN (no change)
Meath exposed chinks in Dublin's armour during the Leinster SFC final but they still ran out comfortable seven point winners. The midfield partnership of Michael Darragh Macauley and Cian O'Sullivan is a concern, along with the form of Bernard Brogan, but they remain, on paper at least, the team to beat. The emergence of Jack McCaffrey and Paul Mannion has given Hill 16 plenty to cheer about.
2. MAYO (up 1)
It was a case of mission accomplished as far as James Horan and Mayo were concerned when they claimed a third Connacht SFC title in a row at the expense of London in Castlebar. They overcame the Exiles without having to break sweat and they certainly appear to possess the talent capable of realising the dream of a first Sam Maguire Cup success since 1951. The return of Cillian O'Connor to full fitness is a big plus ahead of the All-Ireland series.
3. KERRY (up 3)
Eamon Fitzmaurice has delivered a 75th Munster SFC title to the Kingdom in his first year at the helm. It was the proverbial game of two halves against Cork in Killarney but if the Kingdom can replicate their first half showing on a more sustained basis then they will have a major say in the destination of the Sam Maguire Cup in September. Their hand will be strengthened by the return of Paul Geaney and Aidan O'Mahony from injury.
4. MONAGHAN (up 5)
The Farney County pulled off the biggest upset of the championship so far this year when dethroning Donegal in the Anglo Celt Cup decider. Malachy O'Rourke's charges bet Donegal at their own game and were full value for their six-point victory. After a first provincial success in 25 years, it remains to be seen if they retain the same level of hunger and whether or not they can push on and leave their mark on the All-Ireland series.
5 DONEGAL (down 3)
Jim McGuinness faces into the biggest challenge of his managerial career with Donegal. The Ulster and All-Ireland champions looked out of sorts against Monaghan and appear to be feeling the effects of two long, albeit successful, years on the road. Injuries to key players such as Karl Lacey, Neil Gallagher and Mark McHugh haven't helped their cause and they don't appear to have the strength in depth in their squad to cope without players of that calibre.
6. TYRONE (down 2)
Mickey Harte and his team have quietly gone about their business following their Ulster SFC defeat to Donegal and now find themselves just 70 minutes away from a place in the last eight of the All-Ireland series. Qualifier wins over Offaly, Roscommon and Kildare have got them back in contention and they will be a force to be reckoned with if they can overcome the challenge of Meath in round four of the qualifiers.
7. CORK (down 2)
Cork supporters were given some cause for optimism following the Rebel County's barn storming second half display against Kerry. They had left themselves with too big a mountain to climb but it will give Conor Counihan and his backroom team something to work on ahead of their Croke Park clash with Galway this weekend. Good news on the injury front is that Eoin Cadogan (ankle) and Patrick Kelly (hip) are expected to be fit to feature against the Tribesmen.
8. MEATH (up 3)
Meath don't do moral victories but there were plenty of positives to be taken from their provincial final defeat at the hands of Dublin. For three quarters of the game they gave as good as the got against their more fancied opponents. Manager Mick O'Dowd has stuck with the traditional values of Royal County football and his players rewarded him with Leinster wins over Wicklow and Wexford. Tyrone is another big challenge for the Kevin Reilly captained outfit.
9. KILDARE (down 2)
Kieran McGeeney's future as manager of the Lilywhites hangs in the balance following the first qualifier defeat of the Armagh man's tenure against Tyrone. Coupled with the 16-point Leinster SFC semi-final embarrassment against Dublin and it amounts to a year to forget for the Lilywhites.
10. CAVAN (up 4)
No disrespect to London but Cavan appear to have one foot already in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final stages. Manager Terry Hyland and his players are to be applauded for the manner in which they have responded to their provincial semi-final exit to Monaghan. The Breffni County's up and coming young players have come of age in their wins over Fermanagh and Derry (after extra-time).
11. DERRY (down 1)
Played second fiddle to Cavan during extra-time of their round three qualifier. Brian McIver will point to the loss of midfielder PJ McCloskey (cruciate ligament) as a mitigating factor. Gaining revenge over Down in the qualifiers and Division 2 success were the highlights of their year.
12. DOWN (down 4)
A combination of injuries and emigration undermined the Mourne County's season and resulted in their relegation from Division 1 and qualifier round two loss to Derry. On the plus side, they opened their Ulster SFC campaign with a win against the Oak Leaf County and produced a spirited display against Donegal in the last four.
13. LAOIS (up 3)
Despite the abdication of a number of their key players, including 2011 All Star nominee Brendan Quigley, Laois have, against all odds, managed to turn their season around. They won't care to be reminded of their 10-point defeat to Louth in the Leinster SFC but they have claimed the scalps of Carlow, Clare and Wexford in the back-door series. Donegal may prove to be one bridge too far this weekend, however.
14. GALWAY (up 3)
Alan Mulholland and his team have restored some pride to the maroon and white jersey following their Connacht SFC annihilation at the hands of arch-rivals Mayo. Qualifier wins over Tipperary and Waterford set up a round three tie against Armagh at Pearse Stadium and the Tribesmen sent the Orchard County packing on a 1-11 to 0-9 scoreline. Cork will be a different proposition altogether however.
15. WESTMEATH (down 3)
After securing promotion to Division 1 in Spring, Pat Flanagan's charges flopped in the championship. Opened with a victory over Carlow but a heavy defeat against Dublin was followed by a tame qualifier exit against Fermanagh.
16. WEXFORD (down 3)
Life without Jason Ryan got off to an inauspicious start when the Model County were relegated to Division 3. A championship win over Louth implied better days ahead but defeats against Meath and Laois followed.
17. LOUTH (down 2)
After the high of inflicting a 10-point Leinster SFC defeat on Laois, Aidan O'Rourke's charges were brought back down to earth with a bang when losing to Wexford on home soil. Antrim were disposed of in the first round of the qualifiers but Kildare proved to be one bridge too far in round two.
18. ARMAGH (up 1)
Orchard County followers won't recall 2013 with any great fondness. They clocked up high scores against the likes of Wicklow and Leitrim but were found wanting against better opposition. Paul Grimley's attacked-minded gameplan has its flaws.
19. LIMERICK (down 1)
Despite leading the Shannonsiders to Division 4 league success, Maurice Horan stepped down as manager after three years at the helm. Limerick were beaten by Longford in the qualifiers having lost heavily to Cork in the Munster SFC.
20. FERMANAGH (no change)
The Ernesiders narrowly missed out on back-to-back promotions and next door neighbours Cavan proved to be a thorn in their side in both the Ulster and All-Ireland championship. A qualifier win away to Westmeath proved they are a team to be reckoned with.
21. ROSCOMMON (up 6)
John Evans has received the thumbs up to continue for a second term as manager of the Rossies and the Kerry native will be looking for a substantial improvement. A heavy defeat to Mayo in the Connacht SFC was followed by a spirited showing against Tyrone in the qualifiers.
22. LONDON (up 4)
The surprise packets of 2013. Paul Coggins' outfit occupied the wooden spoon position in Division 4 at the end of the league but saved their best form for the championship and claimed the scalps of Sligo and Leitrim to qualify for a first ever Connacht SFC final appearance.
23. LONGFORD (down 2)
The end, you would imagine, is nigh for Glenn Ryan's time as boss of the Midlanders. Relegated to Division 3 and beaten by Wicklow in the Leinster SFC, they won just one game all year and that was against Limerick in the qualifiers.
24. OFFALY (no change)
Emmet McDonnell was successful in securing promotion from Division 4 in this first year but the championship draws didn't do him and his side any favours and they suffered defeats at the hands of Kildare and Tyrone.
25. ANTRIM (down 3)
The clubs will decide Frank Dawson's fate in the coming weeks and he would appear to be standing on shaky ground following relegation to Division 4 and championship defeats against Antrim and Louth.
26. TIPPERARY (up 3)
Comprehensively outplayed by Kerry in the Munster SFC before finishing four points off the pace against Galway in the qualifiers. The Peter Creedon managed side missed out on promotion to Division 3.
27. WICKLOW (down 2)
Harry Murphy's men put the disappointed of dropping down to Division 4 behind them when registering an opening championship win over Longford and put up a good fight against Meath but the year ended on a major downer when suffered a freak 0-2 to 2-21 defeat to Armagh.
28. WATERFORD (up 3)
Almost pulled off a memorable qualifier victory over Galway at Pearse Stadium but just came up short by a point - 0-14 to 1-12. Niall Carew was 'gutted' afterwards but it is something to build on in 2014.
29. CLARE (down 1)
The Mick O'Dwyer experiment lasted just one year. The Waterville maestro failed to wave his magic wand and the Banner County fell to a 0-10 to 3-17 qualifier defeat to Laois.
30. LEITRIM (down 7)
A season that promised so much delivered so little in the end for the Barney Breen/George Dugdale side. The failure to qualify for the provincial decider has taken a good deal of polish off the FBD silverware.
31. SLIGO (down 1)
Knocked out of the Connacht SFC by London. No need to elaborate any further. The Yeats County are on the look-out for a new manager following Kevin Walsh's departure.
32. CARLOW (no change)
Dr Cullen Park hosted the first ever gaelic football championship game to be staged on a Friday night but Anthony Rainbow's side crashed to a 0-12 to 3-13 loss. Westmeath dumped them out of the provincial championship.
33. New York (no change from last year's championship)
There is commendable work going on overseas promoting Gaelic Games and while New York are slipping in competitive terms, we need to look at the bigger picture when we review their involvement in the championship. Tweet
