McFADDEN PROMISES DONEGAL WILL DO MORE THAN DEFEND
Defensive tag too easily applied, says McFadden
THOSE who like to see a new beginning marked by a well-defined boundary will no doubt reference last Sunday in Killarney as the day Donegal football reclaimed its right to entertain.
Losing a giddy game to Kerry by a single point on a scoreline borrowed from hurling – 2-18 to 3-14 – might qualify for some as Declan Bonner delivering on his promise that they would follow a new way.
Except that there is nothing new about it. On the opening day of the 2017 Allianz League, Rory Gallagher also stayed true to his word that Donegal would pursue a more expansive gameplan to fit the talent at his disposal and they ended up losing a one-score game while conceding 2-17 to visiting Kerry.
Yet by the season’s end, Gallagher was pilloried for his lack of ambition and, despite having been granted a three-year extension with the option of a fourth 12 months earlier, decided to walk away.
But not from the game, mind, instead he made the trek to a dugout that promised to be less of a magnet for hysteria.
The end of Gallagher’s three-year reign came with the rout inflicted by Galway, their opponents today in Letterkenny, but the accusation that he had fallen on his defensive sword is absurd.
The team that was supposed to be too defensive for their own good conceded 5-38 in losing to Tyrone and Galway last summer.
But, then, it’s hard to shake a negative reputation, suggests Killybegs midfielder Hugh McFadden.
‘People like to put labels on teams and they like to be controversial and write headlines about defensive Donegal.
‘There is a bit of alliteration there too, so it looks good to the public who don’t look at it too deeply.
‘I suppose the way last year ended, people want to hit out at you when you are down and want to point out what you are doing wrong, but it is always easy to be negative towards a pragmatist.
‘Unfortunately last year we were not competitive against Tyrone and Galway but I don’t think that had anything to do with the fact that we were too defensive.
‘It was just simply that we were not at the races and we will not hide from that,’ insists McFadden.
The fall-out from those defeats showed that Donegal expectations are no longer tethered to reality – a legacy of the Jim McGuinness era.
While Gallagher insisted his premature departure had not been influenced by social media critics, the assertion was unconvincing.
Seán Dunnion, instrumental in the appointment of Gallagher, revisited the affair in his final speech as outgoing county board chairman before Christmas.
‘The level of abuse at players and Rory Gallagher, and his family was absolutely disgusting.
‘That shouldn’t be tolerated in a modern society. It was absolutely appalling,’ said Dunnion.
‘I just don’t acknowledge those that dispense personal spite on social media. It is a cowardly thing to do and I didn’t go reading it either,’ insists McFadden.
‘He coached me from 2013 up to last year and he had a dramatic effect on the development of my game.
‘I will not lie in that there were days that were not pretty in the last few years but Rory never shied away from the on field criticism and was never shy when facing the music from the media after a defeat and I think that should be recognised.
‘As far I am concerned, he was a shining light in Donegal football for six years and those that he coached know that.’
That said, Bonner’s appointment offers a much-needed new voice, but the notion that there is some ‘right’ way to play the game is the refuge for either romantics or redundant managers.
Advocates of a brave new way should spend a summer in Ulster and see how far they get, suggests McFadden.
‘The reality is that if we are facing Cavan, Tyrone or Monaghan in the Ulster Championship, the game is not going to be that open. That is just the reality of Ulster football and you have to prepare yourself to be very competitive in those games.
‘We will try to play quality football, we will try to score as much as we can but we will also try and find a way to win and whatever way that is, let it be.’ It is all about looking forward now, even if today’s opponents are a reminder that the past is never far behind. ‘It was a dark, dark day for Donegal football,’ says McFadden, reflecting on that chastening 15-point trimming last summer. ‘We were hammered off the park but we can’t dwell on that too much. This season represents a fresh start for us and there is no looking back,’ he remarks.