Giant county panels will soon be travelling to games by double decker bus

Is it any wonder lads are dropping off panels to visit the US of A?

This week we have had a couple of indications that it is not just the size of the commitment that is putting intercounty players off, but the size of the panels. It's getting to the point where county squads are going to be travelling to games by double-decker bus. Even with the increase to six substitutions per game in 2014, there are still only going to be 21 playing on any given day (plus the odd temporary replacement, possibly) - so why are managers persisting with stockpiling 40 or 50 players? https://twitter.com/SportsJOE_GAA/status/732863381883998212 Depending on the county and the power wielded by the managers, these squad members cannot play club football until their county are eliminated from the Championship and half of them are only making up the numbers at training. Last week we had Mikey Sheehy admitting Tommy Walsh should have played more games for his club on returning from Australia, rather than sticking around the county panels for a handful of minutes here and there. On Thursday we learned that wing-back Charlie Kielt has returned to a Derry panel that will number FORTY-ONE for Sunday's Ulster SFC quarter-final against Tyrone in Celtic Park. Kielt (below) left Brian McIver's squad last year after growing frustration with a lack of game time but with former club manager Damian Barton now at the reins, his brother James has confirmed the 27 year old's return to the fold. James also revealed his brother's return was necessary after a good number of players - including Eoin McNicholl, Barry McGoldrick, and Benny Heron - decided they had better things to do with their summers.

“We’ve still always had 25 or 30 training most nights so if we wanted to play an in-house match, we could,” Kielt told the Irish Examiner. “It wasn’t ideal because you were training with lads all the way through November and December and you feel as if you’re getting team spirit built up and then some leave. That sort of thing always happens in Derry. When the club season starts, boys leave. “You don’t blame them but it’s not ideal in a county setup to have boys stepping away, but so be it. We’re still confident heading into the game and preparation has gone well.”

What is happening in Derry is seen all over the country and not just at supposed "cannon-fodder" counties. Galway football manager Kevin Walsh can count FIFTY-TWO players who have declined to join his panel, have joined and then left or turned down the opportunity of a trial. There are bigger issues surrounding the ratio of games to training and Championship structures but surely, keeping your squad to a size where members can at least dream of a game would help. Don't worry about getting numbers of 15-a-side matches at training. Sure aren't there plenty of clubs out there dying for games.