Former Dublin goalkeeper, Paddy Cullen, pictured at the launch of the GAA's new digital archive in the GAA Museum at Croke Park.
By John Harrington
Former Dublin goalkeeper, Paddy Cullen, believes Gaelic Football as a spectacle would be improved if outfield players couldn’t pass the ball back to the goalkeeper.
One of the blights of the modern game is an overabundance of lateral and backwards passing because teams now place such a premium on keeping possession or at least not kicking it away carelessly.
When opposition teams try to counter this by pushing high up the field, the easy opt out for a defender is to pass the ball back to his goalkeeper to ensure the laborious hand-passing chain remains unbroken.
Four-time All-Star and three-time All-Ireland winner, Cullen, believes the game as a spectacle would be improved if that option didn’t exist for defenders.
“I'd do it immediately because it is creating the extra man for this little circle they have at the back and if everyone marks everyone and they can't put it back to the keeper, they have to kick it or get rid of it,” said Cullen yesterday at the launch of the GAA’s new digital archive.”
Cullen believes the biggest problem Gaelic Football has is that so many inter-county managers direct their teams to play a negative, safety-first brand of football.
What frustrates him most about this is that it’s a futile tactic if you want to beat the best because Dublin have proven in recent years that they can quite easily overcome teams that sit deep and pack their defence.
Dublin's Paddy Cullen pictured saving a penalty against Galway in the 1974 All-Ireland SFC Final.
Whereas Kerry showed on Saturday night in Austin Stack Park that you can beat Dublin if you’re brave enough to attack them and take them on at their own game.
"That's the way it should be played,” said Cullen. “If you want to win, that's what you are going to have to do.
“Teams have been beaten at the weekend who were passing backwards. Fermanagh beat Kildare which in any year is extraordinary.
“And I'm not saying anything about Fermanagh other than they beat Kildare. If you look at the statistics of it, just looking at the Kildare scores, four frees, one mark and a score from play, that's six points in 70 minutes.
“There is something radically wrong there. There were other high scoring game but the game is suffering, we all know that and we won't go over it.
“There is a problem and the GAA know we have a problem. How we control it, you have to control the managers. I used to be one of them.”
Cullen fancies Dublin to make it five All-Irelands in a row this year, but believes Kerry’s win on Saturday night means they’re getting closer to the standard required to knock the reigning champions from their pedestal.
“Kerry have been down long enough, they've been nibbling away but they've got a young team now, and they did it before some years back, I remember it well, going back to my own time, when they can just spring a team,” said Cullen.
“Let's hope they sprung it too early! But I think they have the makings of a Championship team. I mean, if you look at what's left in the pot, I'd be looking at Dublin, Kerry, Mayo. And if you step outside of that you're really looking (hard).
“I was disappointed to see Donegal being beaten (by Tipperary last weekend). People say it's the league and it doesn't matter, it does matter. All the teams, psychologically, it does matter to them.
“I've played myself, you don't like being beaten. I don't care who you're playing against and don't let them fool you that the league means nothing. It's important, it gets you ready for the Championship.”
