I WAS surprised to hear that only 16,716 turned up to Clones to watch Cavan and Armagh. Ulster GAA had anticipated between 18,000 and 20,000 and there were hopes they could hit the high end of that. That’s not surprising given the ingredients were all there. No TV coverage and two well-supported teams aiming to end a long wait for an Ulster final spot – it seemed perfect for a big crowd. Perhaps spooked by the lower than expected turn-out, Ulster GAA have dropped the prices for the replay, which also includes Monaghan and Fermanagh’s Qualifier clash. Perhaps the lesson is that you can have all the ingredients you can think of, but fans will only travel if they feel that they are not being charged too much.
NIALL MCCOY

IT wouldn’t be like me to browse GAA forums when I should be working…ahem…but one thing a little birdie told me is that there’s a few disgruntled Monaghan fans with very short memories. While it hasn’t been a season to remember thus far for the Farney county, they would do better than to remember that they reached last year’s All-Ireland semi-final and that it shouldn’t be automatically a sackable offence if Malachy O’Rourke and co. fail to hit the heights of last season. Either way, one’s thing is for certain – Sunday’s match with Fermanagh is absolutely massive by the standards of a round one qualifier.
NIALL GARTLAND

Here’s the deal. If Offaly lose in Tralee this week they will be playing Christy Ring hurling next year. There are no more safety nets. Offaly, All-Ireland winners in 1994 and ’98, could be playing third-tier hurling against Derry, Down and possibly Donegal, Armagh and Tyrone depending on how results go over the next few weeks. It’s a remarkable fall and a reminder that nothing in sport is guaranteed. On that note, well done to Antrim for winning in Tullamore last weekend. The country are waking up to Neil McManus, which is long overdue, but there are a lot more stars in the side than the Cushendall player.
NIALL MCCOY

THE Antrim hurlers gave an absolutely phenomenal display against Offaly and deserve all the credit and coverage they can muster. It was great to see Michael Duigan label Neil McManus as one of the top hurlers in Ireland, but it’s by no means a given that they defeat a hardy Westmeath team in their crunch clash this weekend. If they win, Antrim will book their place in the Joe McDonagh Cup final, but it’s been an unfortunate trend in recent years that they’ve struggled to piece together back-to-back performances. Lets hope they buck the trend on Saturday!
NIALL GARTLAND

I’VE been back from America for over a week now, but I still can’t help but look to the States for inspiration for Cumann Chat. Last week, I suggested that Gaelic games athletes play as much as baseball or basketball players in America and that should be a concern as those guys are getting paid and our lads aren’t. Took a small bit of stick on Twitter for that. Let’s hope I can keep the (Miami?) heat coming this week. I think the GAA need more ‘plays’ in their games. At one end of the field the lay-men among us can pick up on the blanket system, the sweeper systems, man-marking, zonal. But at the other end of the field we have very little to talk about. The systems of attack that people will say to me begin and end at long ball in. I want some American style, pick-and-roll attacks, or some specialist route-running by forwards.
RONAN SCOTT

AT this week’s recording of Gaelic Life’s ‘Take Your Points’ GAA talk show, Gemma Begley hit me with some realism. If we are continuing with the Ulster Championship because of tradition then that is not good enough. I like the Ulster Championship, and I’m opposed to a tiered system, but I am also of the opinion that in the matter of games, and structures, it really should be down to the players to decide whether a system is continued with. And the more players tell me that a tiered system is needed then the sadder I feel. I’ve watched the Armagh v Down and Cavan v Monaghan matches this week and have marveled at how good they have been. The proponents of a tiered system can say that those games are proof that when teams of a similar level play against each other, we can get exciting matches. The sad outworking of this is that if a tiered system is applied it’s unlikely that Derry will be playing in any of those top-level matches. I wonder would the calls for a tiered system be as loud if a Tyrone or a Dublin or a Donegal found themselves in Division Three?
RONAN SCOTT