6 days ago
FRC housekeeping can help preserve classic championship
The adage "perfect is the enemy of good" was surely somewhere in Jim Gavin's Football Review Commitee philosophy.
When they set about this task, getting everything perfect the first time was always going to be impossible.
Attempting to do so would have been a huge barrier to the breakneck speed with which they executed their mission.
For someone as detail orientated as Jim Gavin appears to be, this allowance for imperfection and adapting as things develop could not have rested particularly easy.
To minimise issues, the group were exhaustive in their attempt to reason out every change and the myriad of knock-on consequences.
While the continuous tweaks during the Allianz League frustrated many, their overall success was remarkable and allowed them to put their rule amending pens away ahead of the championship.
Since then we have all got to sit back and enjoy the results of the group's labours. Drawing a direct cause and effect between the enhancements and the great championship we are experiencing to date is open to accusations of bias.
The fact that the championship is more open, that there were great games under the previous rules, and that teams are simply too inexperienced with the new rules to wrestle the game back under their control means that a definitive conclusion on the direct impact of the rules cannot be drawn.
Even the greatest contrarian would have to admit though that the coincidence of the rule changes and the quality of games we are seeing is notable. The exciting thing is that we are only reaching the stage where, over the past 10 to 20 years, the good football usually starts.
And this is the thing. We are also reaching the stage where the line in the history books are completed, a player's entire career finds their defining moment and supporters see their dreams come through.
My biggest dread over the next seven weeks is that a quirk in the rules becomes the decisive event.
Now, for me, is the perfect moment, between group stage and knockout games, for the FRC to do a bit of housekeeping.
There is much that can and will be debated as the game evolves under the new rules over the coming years, but there are things that have become evident and need to be tidied up as the outworkings which we have seen are presumably going against what the FRC envisaged.
My biggest dread over the next seven weeks is that a quirk in the rules becomes the decisive event
Most importantly for me is the rule that allows a touch by an opposition player to decrease a two-point effort's value to one.
Why is this very minor and infrequent rule the most important? The likelihood for it being game-deciding is perhaps greater than any other rule.
As we know, big games have a habit of coming down to the wire. In these scenarios, and with the hooter game in particular, teams know exactly what they or their opponent need.
If a player, at a critical moment, goes for that two-pointer and scores it, why should it be halved in value because an opposition player touches the ball?
I believe this rule came in to prevent the scenario that if a ball was dropping close to the crossbar and players jumped to assist/prevent it travelling over, it may be difficult to ascertain if it was touched and by whom or, more critically, if the touch was necessary for the ball to make it over the bar.
This type of thing is evidence of the extent to which the FRC went into the minutiae to try to avoid potential problems with its various enhancements.
The problem here is that in ensuring their rule didn't fall foul of the extremely rare scenario described, they ended up making it feel unnaturally complicated. If a touch is required to make a shot travel over the bar, then it should not be counted as a two-pointer. If an opposition player attempts to stop a shot but it still travels over, then it should count.
Moving onto the solo and go, that almost universally liked enhancement - albeit, ironically one which reduces kick passing and increasing control of possession - is almost too advantageous in some scenarios.
When a player can throw it out of the immediate location of the free kick to a team-mate taking it at full speed it is a huge advantage. We wouldn't allow a free-kick to be taken so loosely in relation to the position of the foul.
Similarly, the kick-out mark is having overly advantageous impact.
A theme to both of these is the massive impact of a 50m penalty - and the two-pointer option that carries - with any infringement against them. In combination, that gives them a game-defining ability.
Like it or not and trust me, this isn't just the Tyrone in me coming out, that means every team will be looking at playing 'smart' in such moments and drawing those 50m penalties. The thought of an All-Ireland final being decided on such would be a terrible end to a great championship.
The FRC has held its counsel for several weeks now, but I believe it's time to see Jim and his crew break out their pens for a bit of light editing.
This championship to date has been the best in 20 years. The rules have been central to that in my opinion. But, while they have defined it, it would be a real pity if they end up deciding it.
