“We’ll see how we are come the summer.”
Don’t expect too much to be given away here. Don’t expect anyone to claim anything is going well as eight cagey weeks of some of the Championship’s most promising contenders prepare to do battle in the Allianz Leagues.
It’s going to be intense, there are going to be some cracking and competitive games and Down will take on Dublin too.
Jim Gavin’s men are going for four in a row of league titles. Can anyone stop them?
Cork
Manager: Peader Healy.
Captain: Daniel Goulding.
Who’s new: Peter Kelleher, Seamus Hickey, Killian O’Hanlon, Bart Daly.
Who’s gone: John Hayes.
Fixtures: Mayo (h), Donegal (a), Roscommon (h), Dublin (a), Monaghan (h), Down (h), Kerry (a).
Prospects: Took no end of abuse last year for ultimately flattering to deceive in the championship but they have been one of the most consistent teams in the league in recent seasons and should be second favourites on that merit ahead of Mayo.
Odds on winning the league: 5/1.
Preferred Championship structure: One that means they don’t have to play in bad weather or with biased referees and don’t have to release county board statements condemning the conditions.
Donegal
Manager: Rory Gallagher.
Captain: Michael Murphy.
Who’s new: Rory Kavanagh, Kieran Thompson, Stephen McBrearty, Danny Rodgers.
Who’s gone: Paul Durcan, Michael Boyle.
Fixtures: Down (a), Cork (h), Mayo (h), Kerry (a), Roscommon (h), Dublin (a), Monaghan (a).
Prospects: Hard to tell if they’ll be in the middle of a fifth bout of pre-season training during the league or not. Usually do enough and taper well for championship.
Odds on winning the league: 9/1.
Preferred Championship structure: Behind closed doors away from the scowls and scorns of the RTÉ panel.
Down
Manager: Eamon Burns.
Captain: Kevin McKernan.
Who’s new: Conor Harrison, Garrett Johnson, Benny Coulter.
Who’s gone: Conor Lavery.
Fixtures: Donegal (h), Monaghan (a), Kerry (h), Roscommon (a), Dublin (h), Cork (a), Mayo (a).
Prospects: Bleak enough but have three clinker home games to look forward to in Newry with Donegal, Dublin and Kerry coming to town. Going to be a right battle to stay up though.
Odds on winning the league: 33/1.
Preferred Championship structure: Probably one of the Ulster sides who wouldn’t mind a break from the provincial series and away from the northern minefield. Have the champions Monaghan to deal with and, if they get through that, most likely Donegal. Same sh*t, different year.
Dublin
Manager: Jim Gavin.
Captain: Stephen Cluxton.
Who’s new: Con O’Callaghan.
Who’s gone: Alan Brogan, Rory O’Carroll.
Fixtures: Kerry (h), Mayo (a), Monaghan (h), Cork (h), Down (a), Donegal (h), Roscommon (a).
Prospects: Decent enough, you’d imagine.
Odds on winning the league: Evens.
Preferred Championship structure: One where they could play every game in Croke Park.
Kerry
Manager: Éamonn Fitzmaurice.
Captain: Bryan Sheehan.
Who’s new: Brian Begley, Tom O’Sullivan, Philip O’Connor.
Who’s gone: Paul Galvin.
Fixtures: Dublin (a), Roscommon (h), Down (a), Donegal (h), Mayo (a), Monaghan (a), Cork (h).
Prospects: Almost pride themselves now on not winning the league having clinched the title just once in the last nine seasons. They could win it if they wanted to but they won’t again. This is a build to September.
Odds on winning the league: 15/2.
Preferred Championship structure: One that started in September. Everything else is a waste of their time.
Mayo
Manager: Stephen Rochford.
Captain: TBC.
Who’s new: Conor Loftus, Shane Nally, Keith Rutledge.
Fixtures: Cork (a), Dublin (h), Donegal (a), Monaghan (a), Kerry (h), Roscommon (a), Down (h).
Prospects: Second favourites for the league and you know they’ll be there or thereabouts (at least that’s what all the preview quotes will read anyway). You’d fancy them to be semi final bankers anyway with the new management looking to see what they’re working with.
Odds on winning the league: 9/2.
Preferred Championship structure: When you get a medal for participation.
Monaghan
Manager: Malachy O’Rourke.
Captain: Conor McManus.
Who’s new: Barry Maginn, Conor McCarthy.
Who’s gone: Owen Lennon.
Fixtures: Roscommon (a), Down (h), Dublin (a), Mayo (h), Cork (a), Kerry (h), Donegal (h).
Prospects: Only Owen Lennon is missing this year and that’s through injury. The Monaghan panel know they’re on to something.
Odds on winning the league: 11/1.
Preferred Championship structure: All-Ireland final in July when they generally peak.
Roscommon
Manager: Kevin McStay.
Captain: Niall Daly.
Who’s new: Gary Patterson.
Fixtures: Monaghan (h), Kerry (a), Cork (a), Down (h), Donegal (a), Mayo (h), Dublin (h).
Prospects: Injury-ravaged and mixing it with the big boys. They won’t be taking the Connacht championship lightly come the summer anyway. But McStay and this squad could surprise a few teams in the top division.
Odds on winning the league: 20/1.
Preferred Championship structure: Something that rewarded hype.
Opening fixtures: Down v Donegal; Dublin v Kerry; Cork v Mayo; Roscommon v Monaghan.
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