Derry's shocking fall from grace hard to fathom

The 1993 All-Ireland finalists are heading fast in opposite directions.

I can never remember such a dramatic fall from grace in such a short space of time as we've seen from Derry this season. It's been shocking to witness.

Sunday was their worst performance yet. They were utterly shambolic in defence.

There's almost a humiliation factor to some of it. I did enjoy the tweet - or X post - where one lad said that he'd seen Odhrán Lynch scampering back to his goal-line more than he'd seen his own mother this year.

It's hard to fathom the thought processes that are contributing to these repeated errors. Their set-up on opposition kickouts is kamikazee stuff and has continually cost them and yet they're persisting.

The bald stats are they conceded eight goals in eight championship games last year. This year, nine goals conceded in three games. And none scored. None even created!

Blaming fatigue is a bizarre one. Did Derry not have a six-week break after losing to Donegal? The same layoff was credited in facilitating Mayo's win over Kerry in the group phase last year. But Derry have only gotten worse.

Did the manner of the Donegal loss shatter their belief and confidence in their general approach? And now they're at sea as to how to react. In the league, their attacking defenders were their greatest asset - now they've become their most glaring weak point.

At this stage, one has to question whether there are internal issues in the dressing room. The streaks of ill-discipline we've seen feel like a telltale sign. Ciaran McFaul went above and beyond in his attempt to get sent off in Salthill. He managed to pull it off in his brief spell on the pitch last Sunday. I know Mickey Harte was complaining that he was being provoked.

But from