The Big Picture: Allianz Football League preview

Dublin have won the football title for the past four years in succession, but how will they fare this year? We preview the main contenders ahead of what promises to be an exciting campaign.

The GAA season begins in earnest this weekend with the first round of matches in the Allianz Football League. Hurling fans will have to wait a bit longer for the sweet thud of ash on leather, however, as that doesn’t get underway until next weekend. But there is plenty of great action to enjoy across all four divisions of the football league, with three live games (Mayo v Monaghan, Down v Fermanagh and Laois v Louth) to be broadcast simultaneously on the eir Sport pack on Saturday evening. It marks a first for Irish television as this has never been done before, with four more triple headers to follow between now and the beginning of the knock-out stages.

There was a time when the Allianz League was little more than a sideshow ahead of the main event – the provincial and All-Ireland championships. But that is no longer the case. Indeed, for many counties it remains the only place they can get a decent run of competitive action.

Division 1

Dublin are undoubtedly the team of the moment. They have won the league for the last four years in succession. They have also won three All-Irelands over the same period. They are currently on a run of 15 games unbeaten in the competition. Indeed, when Jim Gavin assumed the reins in the capital back in October 2012, he earmarked the league as his initial target. It was an indication of just seriously the big counties took the competition and, barely six months later, he duly delivered to end a drought dating back to 1993. Dublin have only lost five games in the competition during his tenure and, more remarkably, only one in the championship and it is hard to see past them making it five-in-a-row this year.

The Dubs will undoubtedly be the favourites, but there are one or two other contenders who may have plenty to say in the final shake-up - Kerry and Mayo not least among them. Dublin will be on the road for four of their seven pool games, so perhaps there is some chink of light there. They begin their campaign with a trip to Breiffni Park to face newly-promoted Cavan on Sunday, but it is trips to Ballybofey at the end of the month and Fitzgerald Stadium on Paddy’s weekend to face Donegal and Kerry respectively that could define their campaign. The same is true of the opposition as the opportunity to put one over on the Dubs in front of your own crowd is all the incentive that Rory Gallagher and Eamonn Fitzmaurice will need to galvanise their troops.

Colm Cooper is set to play on for another year at least which sure to provide a massive boost for the Kingdom squad who will be keen to erase the memory of last season’s final defeat. Cooper is one of the greatest players ever to grace a gaelic football field, so enjoy him while you can folks! The only bad Kerry teams are the ones that don’t compare to the truly great ones of the past which means that, regardless of how you rate the current crop, they will be there or thereabouts come April (and September too for that matter!).

It will be interesting to see how Mayo fare following the heartbreak of their All-Ireland final replay defeat to Dublin in the autumn. It’s sure to have had a massive effect on the squad and it will be interesting to see if manager Stephen Rochford can lift them for the league campaign. It’s a huge test for the panel who will be without the injured Aidan O’Shea for their opener against Monaghan in Castlebar (eir Sport 1 Xtra Sat, Feb 4th 18.55) due to an ankle injury picked up playing basketball, but he should be back for the trip to Killarney next weekend.

Cavan and Tyrone were promoted from Division 2 last season, with Mickey Harte’s side bouncing back at the first attempt. That brings the Ulster contingent in the top flight to a very healthy four along with Donegal and Monaghan. Connacht have two in Mayo and Roscommon, while the two largest provinces have just one each in Dublin and Kerry. It’s a remarkable statistic and is certainly encouraging for Connacht and Ulster football going forward. But will any of them make it to the semi-finals? I’d be surprised if it was more than two.

Division 2

Division 2 will be a tight one this year, with several teams vying for promotion to the top flight. Cork will be hoping for an immediate return to Division 1 following their relegation last year, while Connacht champions Galway will be looking to build on their championship successes of last year, despite narrowly missing out on promotion in the league. The pair meet on Sunday in Salthill in a game that will set the tone for both sides in this campaign.

Among the other favourites for promotion are Meath and Derry who start with games at home to newly-promoted pairing Kildare and Clare respectively. The other fixture sees Down, who lost all their games in last year’s competition as they were relegated from the top tier, entertain provincial rivals Fermanagh. The Erne men looked good in the league last season and could possibly emerge as the surprise package of the division. One thing is certain though, Division 2 is set to be very interesting this year.

More games than ever before! eir Sport will show 23 live games from the Allianz Leagues, including five triple headers. The eir Sport pack is free to eir residential broadband customers.