Former Dublin footballer Diarmuid Connolly has claimed that he wanted to quit football during his career because of the dour tactics that have crept into Gaelic football.
Connolly is regarded as one of Dublin's best-ever footballers and played 54 times between 2007 and 2020. The St. Vincent's man also won seven All-Ireland titles and many other honours during his trophy-laden career.
Dublin, like Kerry, are well-known for their ability to move and play with the ball; however, Gaelic football in modern times has gone through a style transformation, and several teams have installed more conservative tactics to win games.
Blanket defences and keeping the ball are now tactics installed by several teams, most notably in the north of Ireland. Donegal, who won an All-Ireland under Jim McGuinness in 2012, were famed for it. While the likes of Tyrone and Armagh have also employed similar tactics in games in recent times.
The style of play has often been criticised by veterans and traditionalists of the game. The likes of former Kerry great Pat Spillane, who won All-Irelands with Kerry, believe the likes of the blanket defence are "redundant and doomed to fail."
"It is an anti-football system that is not designed to win games because it fails to seriously test the opposition defence," said the Kerry legend in 2018.
Speaking this week on The GAA Roundtable, Connolly opened up about a time he was playing against Derry, who used the tactic of the blanket defence. The Dublin native admitted that it was not enjoyable to play in.
"I remember playing a game against Derry in the League, and it was four-all at halftime, and we came in at halftime thinking, 'I don’t want to play football anymore.’ That’s how bad it was. It was terrible and not enjoyable.
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"If we go around and start promoting that type of crap, it will stick. It has stuck. It stuck for about 10 years after Donegal did what they did. People adopted that because they got a bit of success."
"Now we see the complete opposite change," he added. "Dublin, Kerry, and Meath are trying to kick the ball and they are getting joy out of it."
Connolly was also asked by fellow panellist Sean Cavanagh about why he felt the way he did. Cavanagh described Connolly's views as "refreshing."
The former Dublin player admitted that it was all down to coaching at a young age. He added that if you are taught a certain tactic or playing style from a young age, you are going to adopt whatever that is.
"Again, that's down to coaching. I had Mickey Whelan as a coach, Pat Gilroy as a coach, and Tony Diamond as a coach, said the Dublin legend.
"We [in St. Vincent’s] were always told to kick the ball. It looks like it’s off the cuff, but it’s not; it’s been coached. If you are coaching guys to be defensive, that’s what they are going to do. If you coach guys to be attack-minded, that’s what they are going to do."
