McGinley: Football just a tweak away from greatest ever era

Football may be in for change in the year 2025, but Enda McGinley feels the GAA needs to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater – in fact, the former Tyrone star feels the game is merely "a tweak or two away from its greatest ever era".

Armagh's narrow one-point win over Galway in Sunday’s All-Ireland final may have had its share of heart-stopping moments but many observers felt the cautious nature of the play mirrored the fare on offer throughout what proved to be a somewhat underwhelming championship summer.

The GAA’s Football Review Committee, headed up by Jim Gavin and Eamonn Fitzmaurice, has been tasked with bringing some intensity and daring back to the game and, to that end, we will see trials, rule tweaks and training games brought in over the coming weeks.

But McGinley reckons the game doesn’t need to be ripped apart and started again from the beginning. In fact, with the physical capabilities of today’s modern elite players, a slight nip and tuck here and there might suffice.

"The skill level, the fitness level, the ability of our modern players, it is stunning," McGinley told the RTÉ GAA podcast. "The game is a tweak or two away from being its greatest ever era, genuinely. Dublin have come back into the pack, Kerry haven’t unearthed their next golden generation, I think it's exceptionally even.

"If we can break the shackles of the blanket defences, the game will take off, but don't expect the managers to do it because the most effective way to get results at the minute is with a blanket, dropping men back and filling the 45-yard line to your goal to close down the shooting areas."

Whether we’re talking football, hurling or just about any team sport, the biggest game of the season can often be