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The blizzard has started. The Evening Heralds resident chief Dub supporters are in full flight, along with most of the Pale based press. The biggest battle since Brian Boru met the cowardly Bruder slinking past his tent. Bigger than Cuchulain and Ferdia with his sly darts...would have made a great politician by the way.

Anyway we get the mother battle. Dublin v Kerry. Great rivals, mutual shlurping and kissy kissy. Pat Gilroy , realist that he is sees the rivalry only back to the 1970s.
So what do we get, well apart from the daylights being battered out of the Dubs , not much more.

The 1978 final saw a 17 point walloping, the next year a more bearable 11 point shalacking and 2009 saw business as usual at 17. In fact since 1950 Dublin has beaten Kerry...wait for  it...twice, in championship football. Galway and Mayo have similar records.

The real rivals Kerry have is of course Down, unbeaten in 5 championship matches v the Kingdom and Tyrone who goosed them three times out of the last 4 meetings. Armagh would not quake in their boots either. However in the world of spin, spoof and spanners the only real rivals Kerry have are Dublin. And do you know what...Kerry wouldn't have it any other way.

Sean Feeney lashed the county team in todays Independent. Describing them as leaderless and lacking in strenght after the defeat to Meath he warned of changes in the size of the panel and the issue of challenge matches. This is not the same guy whose board recently extended the present managers term in office by a further year? Seems as different folk see things different ways in Mayo. Come to think about it, didnt the fitness coach describe Mayo as the fittest team in the country this year. I know, one thing being fit, another being good enough at the football.

Just as I suspected for some time. I see that the Limerick hurlers are annoyed with Justin McCarthy because he axed a number of them from the coming seasons panel. Apparently a few of their colleagues dropped out on account of that. It seems that certain teams i.e Mayo, Cork hurlers, Clare hurlers, Ofally footballers and many more adapt a buddy system. Those within the panels dont take kindly to being left out or significant new blood being brought in. This is the prelude to a new season when last years crews should be refreshed and replaced. Instead we are seeing a growing trend of player rule and weak county boards will ultimatly capitulate and the manager they picked themselves will step down to preserve unity. What an arrogance of certain players who refuse to stand down when not selected. Every county board should issue a health warning to the players at the end of the season. "You have no claim or right to be selected for the forthcoming season unless chosen by the democratically elected manager". Perhaps then we would be spared the annual crying, whinging and gnashing of teeth when Joe Bloggs and a few of low achieving mates are asked to make way for new blood.