St Vincent’s man Ger Brennan favours ‘real’ break for clubs

It wouldn’t matter to Ger Brennan if the All-Ireland club finals were played on Christmas Day, not St Patrick’s Day. Or indeed the All-Ireland finals themselves. All that matters is the title, not the date.

Brennan was reacting to the Central Council Work Group’s proposal to complete the club championship within the same calendar year, a move which would also involve bringing forward the All-Ireland finals by a week – the hurling final taking place on the last Sunday in August and the football final two weeks later.

“I’d be very much in favour of getting it (the club championship) done in the one year and having a proper break,” said Brennan, before outlining the advantages to both his county (Dublin) and his club (St Vincent’s).

“Right now you have a break of, whatever, two months. But you don’t really, mentally, have a break. Because you’re always thinking of what’s going on in the opposition camp, and then trying to mind yourself as well.

“So I think human beings need a sense of start, middle and finish; switch off and then go again.”

Brennan was speaking in Croke Park after receiving the AIB “Toughest Player” accolade for the 2014 Leinster club football championship: the Dublin defender is currently preparing for the All-Ireland semi-final with St Vincent’s (who play Galway champions Corofin on February 14th, St Valentine’s Day), the prize there being the chance to defend their All-Ireland club title on March 17th, St Patrick’s Day.

Should they get that far it will be over three months after St Vincent’s defended their Leinster title. As if the long break wasn’t bad enough, Brennan also feels it inhibits the chances of other St Vincent’s players breaking onto the Dublin team.

“You would hope there’d be four to five (St Vincent’s) guys, who haven’t played for Dublin yet, who would be looking to have played in these O’Byrne Cup games and early training sessions to try and prove themselves.

Bigger challenge

“They are obviously going to miss out, and it just creates an even bigger challenge for them to get a game in the national league campaign because there’s obviously more things at stake.

“How do you put a younger guy in when you haven’t seen him against any other county team yet? So those types of players are at a certain disadvantage. Depending on how far on you are in your career will, I guess, chart how much of a disadvantage you’re at.”

The Central Council Work Group’s proposal calls for the club football and hurling finals to be played in December, thus doing away with the traditional St Patrick’s Day.

Brennan suggests traditional dates don’t mean much, including the third Sunday in September – traditionally set aside for the All-Ireland football final.

“I’d play in an All-Ireland final on Christmas Day,” said Brennan. “I’d play any day. Tradition is good up to a point, but there’s a point where society moves, and different things move around you. You can either stay stuck in the past, or you can acknowledge that ‘well, this was good for a time”, but now move on.

“And given the current situation in terms of the high quality of the club scene at present, and the intensity of club games at present, there needs to be an acknowledgement of the commitment of those players.”

The proposals are now with the counties for consideration, yet Brennan sees no reason why they shouldn’t be implemented on the two-year trial basis, as suggested.

“They want to draw back the All-Irelands by a week, but I think they could even go back further maybe.

Too many chiefs

“But anything’s possible once you don’t have too many chiefs, which obviously is the current issue. Everyone’s trying to look after their own little baby.

“If someone else is telling you what to do, you’re going to feel ‘well, what about me? Am I going to be important anymore?’ But if common sense prevails, then I think it would be a great success.”

Behind it all are the various player welfare issues, not just burn-out, but injury, and Brennan admits the long, drawn-out club campaign with St Vincent’s over the last two seasons has hurt him physically.

“My injuries in 2013 were a direct consequence of over-training and, I guess, chronic fatigue.

“I pulled a stomach muscle after we played Donegal in Ballybofey, the last league game (in 2013). And I guess I was minding that most of the summer. I had to get surgery on that then over Christmas. When I was getting back from that the Achilles thing flared up.

“So you’re trying to mind yourself the whole time, but certainly they were in direct relation to that (over-training).”