As our Off The Ball poll suggests, there is no clear consensus about the current state of Gaelic football as defensive strategies cause controversy.
Another view added to the debate was sports journalist Paddy Heaney who shared his opinions in an Irish Examiner article today.
Tonight, he joined our own Colm 'Wooly' Parkinson and Ger Gilroy to debate the issue and the Derryman feels there is a class issue when it comes to criticism of non-traditional superpower counties.
"I don't have a problem with Dublin or Kerry playing defensive football. I do have a problem with people having a total inability to see that they are playing defensive football," he said.
A pic for all the commentators in Croke Park last week who only saw one team getting men behind the ball. #13 pic.twitter.com/6x3VJmjea4
— Paddy Heaney (@HeaneyPaddy) April 5, 2015
"When Derry played Dublin in Croke Park a fortnight ago, Derry were castigated [for having 14 players behind the ball]. Yet commentators at that match, paid professional journalists, had a total inability to see that Dublin had 14 men behind the ball. Dublin completely mirrored the way that Derry played and yet there's only one team that gets castigated."
I see Derry playing that new 14-1 formation @JoeBrolly1993 pic.twitter.com/Iag8IyAELY
— Colm Parkinson (@Woolberto) March 28, 2015
Heaney also feels that Ulster teams are targeted for criticism, even though he sees defensive football as a "widespread" thing.
But Wooly argued that Dublin were in fact learning the lesson from some of the tactics used against them. He also put it to Heaney that it is "ridiculuous to suggest that Dublin's philosophy of playing Gaelic football is the same as Derry, Tyrone and Monaghan."
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