Not many people were surprised that Croke Park was announced as the venue for the Leinster football semi-finals.
But I feel it is the wrong decision, based purely on generating revenue rather than ensuring the competitiveness and quality of the fare on offer.
The home venue should be selected based on the first team pulled from the draw, regardless of the venue capacity.
Kildare and Meath were the first teams out of the draw. It would have promised a close to full or even sold-out St Conleth’s Park and a guaranteed 12-13,000 full house at Pairc Tailteann.
It would have ensured a cut and thrust atmosphere at these games - which is what players and supporters enjoy in Championship.
Realistically, what kind of attendance will go to the double header in Croke Park? My guess is approximately 30-35,000, and there won't even be that amount in the stadium for a significant period.
Croke Park should be seen as a reward venue for getting to big games such as the Leinster provincial final, as well as for the latter stages of the All-Ireland series and Tailteann Cup.
Playing in Croke Park is one of the best things a GAA player can do, and I have been lucky enough to do so more than I could have ever imagined. But playing in Croke Park with a poor crowd and atmosphere can be an underwhelming experience.
In 2016, we played Westmeath in Croke Park in a qualifier game. The stadium was at least three quarters empty - it was completely dead and had an eerie feeling about it.
When our game against Kildare in 2018 was fixed for Croke Park, I remember watching Cian O'Neill that evening on the news saying that they were refusing to travel there and thus came the famous mantra “Newbridge or nowhere”.
I remember thinking at the time that they were dead right to dig their heels in.
Whilst that game didn’t go our way, it was one of the best atmospheres I have ever played in. It felt like the crowd was in on top of you.
It certainly would not have felt like that if the game had gone ahead in Croke Park.
And then we have the famous All-Ireland semi-final replay in 2014 against Kerry in the Gaelic Grounds. I remember walking around during the pre-match parade with 45,000 screaming fans packed into the place thinking to myself, 'this is unbelievable'.
The recent controversies over the venues for the Antrim versus Cavan and Kerry versus Cork game doesn't do anything to dispel the theory that provincial councils and GAA officials in general are more concerned with generating revenue as opposed to doing what is right for our game.
The notion that Antrim should have been taken out of Corrigan Park because it would not meet the demand of the amount of people that would attend was crazy. The fact that there was even a vote amongst the Ulster counties on it was even more bizarre.
A clear guidance on home and away games should be brought in for provincial games, then they can use the bigger venue for the finals - Croke Park and Clones, for example.
The bigger the venue isn’t always the right option.
Derry were worthy winners
I was wrong last week when I suggested Tyrone would fly out of the blocks and against Derry and win comfortably.
It was the complete reverse. Derry brought an energy and tempo to the game that Tyrone didn’t want to know about. Their game plan also frustrated Tyrone, with Derry often getting 15 bodies behind the ball and cutting off any space for Cathal McShane and Darren McCurry in particular.
Derry set the tone right at the start, continually turning Tyrone over and showing real quality and pace in attack. Conor Doherty and Garth McKinless were superb in the first half in particular, when the game was still a contest.
Tyrone have issues to fix and at the minute they look a far cry from the team that won the All-Ireland last July. Their body language and discipline was extremely poor.
Brian Kennedy’s sending off was borne out of frustration with how well Derry started. While watching the game with Colm Cooper last Sunday, we both commented in the second half that we felt there was a second red card coming for Tyrone.
Conor McKenna’s second yellow card was a real indicator that he had enough of Derry and wanted out of there.
Tyrone deservingly won the 2021 All-Ireland title but, at this stage, to go back-to-back looks like a mammoth ask.
These weeks will make or break you
For Mayo, Tyrone and Armagh in particular these few weeks are going to be very testing.
I found myself too many times in the qualifiers and it’s a tough place to be in. You will probably get four or five days off for a mental break, then the dreaded video analysis session will come, dissecting where it went wrong.
This can be a tough but necessary process as such analysis and hard conversation must be completed to progress forward.
The first couple of pitch sessions can be flat, lacking the spark and energy present in the lead up to the previous game.
There is generally a frustration built up following the previous week's defeat. When training resumes, lads can be narky - the odd physical exchange might even occur.
Once that early frustration starts to wane then you can find yourself getting back on track. One win for all these teams can change everything.
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