Wannabes reach for the stars

National Football League:  Promotion is only half the job. Staying up is a more important task. Seán Moran explains.

There is virtual unanimity about the enhanced connection between the Allianz NFL and championship since the season switched to a calendar year basis.

That underlines the importance of being in the top divisions for emerging counties trying to develop a championship challenge. But the odds are stacked against these teams generally without a recent tradition of success achieving long-term improvement through the current structure of two divisions, each divided into two sections.

Counties such as Westmeath, Fermanagh, Limerick and Longford have gone up and down in recent seasons and, whereas the first two had memorable championships in 2004, both are back in Division Two struggling to transform themselves into permanent members of the elite.

The demands on such counties once they are promoted are intense. Whereas the elite panels are free to experiment and try out younger players because their overall strength is such that they are in no real danger of relegation and will always have a chance of reaching the play-offs, the weaker counties have to go for broke.

"Every game in the league is important to the point of being vital," says Pat Roe, who managed Wexford in their first top-flight stint in modern times and took them to last season's NFL final. "You've got to stay in Division One, because the benefits are immeasurable in terms of the quality of the teams you face."

That means a lot of wear and tear, both physical and mental. It's not only important to secure another season at the top, but also to avoid the crushing defeats that can demolish morale and trigger a landslide in self-confidence.

"A couple of bad matches can change the landscape," says Roe. "Players are very delicate, almost like children. I remember from my own playing days. A couple of wins and you're on a high and a couple of defeats and you're feeling very low."

Two years ago Longford spent a single season in Division One. It was the first time in decades and, despite a limited enough pool of players, there was great enthusiasm for playing the best teams in the country. Division One A is generally rated as the better of the two top sections (although, last season, both finalists were from One B). In 2004, the section contained All-Ireland champions Tyrone and the team that would succeed them, Kerry, as well as Mayo, who would contest that year's All-Ireland final. But Longford started well before being eventually relegated.

"It was great to play the top teams," remembers then manager Dennis Connerton. "A lot of smaller counties don't get to play the likes of Kerry and other top counties if they're in a different province, unless they end up in an early qualifier round, which doesn't happen too often.

"We beat Kerry (for the first time in 31 years) and Westmeath in our first games, but then we played Tyrone and got a 14- or 15-point beating. That knocked us back. It takes time to recover from something like that, but unfortunately you don't have that time."

The concentrated format of the league is another aspect that militates against the weaker counties. This season the regulation campaign of seven matches will be run off in 10 weeks. That leaves panels without any great depth vulnerable to injuries and suspensions.

"Teams with a small pick have to put a lot of effort into getting points on the board, so panels are very important," says Connerton. "Look at Tyrone last year. Owen Mulligan was poor nearly all summer for them and yet they managed until he found his form again."

Then there is the stop-start nature of trying to better yourself in the league. Division Two is still competitive and hard to get out of, particularly as life is often complicated by the temporary presence of a heavy hitter. Before the link between spring and summer success was as established as it has become, Armagh and Kerry reached an All-Ireland final in 2002 having spent the spring in Division Two.

For those not quite at the very top level, nothing is guaranteed. Derry struggled for three years to secure promotion, having slipped down the ladder. But competitive as it is, it's nowhere near a universal quality. Every year sees counties such as Waterford or London struggle to put up points during a campaign, and the bloated margins of defeat do little for the teams that win (let alone those on the receiving end).

Dropping into Division Two means going from playing the elite to having to play the very weakest. There have been suggestions that the NFL might benefit from reverting to the old system of a league based on a four-division hierarchy. Running Divisions One to Four would allow teams slowly make their way up the ladder and not penalise them as harshly as at present for failing to hold on to top-flight status.

"I believe that's a better way," says Roe. "If you are relegated from One A or One B the quality immeasurably drops and you'll be playing at least four counties of reasonably inferior quality. I'd like to see the winners of Division Three and Division Four getting a chance to play in the league quarter-finals."

The consequences may be too Darwinian for those counties looking up at the rest from Division Four.

Connerton agrees that the current structure needs to be amended, but would prefer that it not revert back to the old system. "There's a major gap as things stand between the divisions, but it would be possibly better to have three divisions, so that the lowest division wouldn't be so weak."

In the meantime, Longford and Wexford are about this year's business. Longford take on Limerick in the knowledge it could be a deal breaker for promotion and Wexford, having lost their first match, are facing the perennial need to gather early points when they host Derry.

High stakes already.