The Allianz NFL may start for another campaign this weekend but it's all very quiet on the footballing front this week. You'd almost think most counties realise that performances during the league count for little enough come Championship time, and therefore the opening handful of games count for even less.
Either that, or there won't be any 126 birthday celebrations this year.
If 2009 started with a fireworks-fuelled bang... then 2010 is barely raising a whimper. Instead of Tyrone travelling to Croke Park for a heavily publicised extravangza against Dublin, they will make their merry way to Derry City. And the lack of hype is certainly telling as the opening round of the NFL seems to have come upon us quicker than ever.
Expectancy levels in Derry seem to be very low ahead of this year's campaign. Not since the late 80's do I remember such a low-key hype surrounding Derry's footballers. Its borne out of a mixture of a disappointing championship exit last year, poor McKenna Cup form, injuries to key players and the continued dominance of Tyrone in Ulster and Kerry (and now Cork) at All-Ireland level.
And a tough Ulster Championship draw hardly helps.
But there's nothing to lift the spirits like a win over Tyrone and ahead of the game Damian Cassidy has named his 32-man NFL squad. It's a panel with a few holes, most notably the absence of Enda Muldoon (through injury), Kevin McCloy and Sean Lockhart (following retirement). Although McCloy has hinted at rejoining the panel later in the year.
There are seven newcomers to the panel: Declan Mullan, Mark Craig, Charlie Kielt, Ciaran Mullan, Martin Dunne, Andrew McCartney and Michael Bateson, and their inclusion may provide some clues as to where Cassidy's main priorities will lie for this campaign. With men like Muldoon and McCloy playing lesser roles, Derry need to develop some new talent. James Kielt will begin only his second inter-county campaign, while there are also high hopes for Caolan O'Boyle and the returning Raymond Wilkinson. There is a lot here for Derry to work with and this possibly belies the lack of excitement that surrounds the start of the 2010 season.
However, the overall standard of performance from Derry in the McKenna Cup was fairly mediocre, with a facile win against a poor QUB outfit barely a highlight. Out of the new players only Declan Mullan really shone, while Charlie Kielt and Andrew McCartney showed well in patches. This provides some encouragement, but these players will need the challenge of a full NFL campaign to prove their overall worth.
The return and subsequent form of Raymond Wilkinson has been one bright point of the pre-season games. He has slipped back into the fray with minimum fuss and his energy, drive and natural footballing ability has been impressive in a half-forward line that needs a fresh impetus. A starting place come May is surely his for the taking.
Derry's defence was a bit of a trouble-maker throughout 2009, and following a shaky McKenna Cup campaign (in which Derry conceded three goals against Antrim) this is the one area Cassidy will be keenest to sort out during the early stages of the league. The return of Michael McGoldrick and Liam Hinphey adds strength to this sector, but there must be concerns surrounding the full-back position, considering the currently-injured Niall McCusker is the only recognised full-back in the panel. It will be interesting to see who plays here in the opening games against Tyrone and Dublin. New captain Gerard O'Kane might get the nod while Mark Lynch is likely to continue at centre-half back (it's like 2002 all over again!). Hopefully performances in the NFL will provide some concrete answers to these positional questions.
And a tough campaign it promises to be. Donegal and Westmeath have made way for Monaghan and Cork. Once again, the primary objective will be to avoid relegation and any thoughts of reaching a third-consecutive NFL Final have surely been firmly placed on the long finger. Derry will only have three home games this year and a difficult campaign on the road will see them face Dublin, Kerry, Monaghan and Galway. The Oak Leafers will fancy their chances in all seven games, but points must be specifically targeted in the home matches as an initial basis for survival.
It wouldn't be the start of a new footballing year if we didn't have a new set of rules to experiment with. Last year the yellow card was the main talking point, but this year it's all about 'the mark'. It is expected that this rule will suit teams like Derry who - with the likes of Fergal Doherty, Patsy Bradley and Joe Diver - have some excellent exponents of the art of fielding. But it will be interesting to see if the rule actually affords the attacking team sufficient advantage or if it will only result in slowing the game down. As ever, time will tell.
Derry NFL Panel: B Gillis, M Dunne, B Og Mc Alary, M Craig, M Mc Goldrick, D Mc Bride, B Mc Guigan, L Hinphey, G O' Kane, Charlie Kielt, K Mc Guckian, B Mc Goldrick, Ciaran Mullan, S L Mc Goldrick, N Mc Cusker, M Bateson, F Doherty, Patsy Bradley, J Diver, A Mc Cartney, B Mullan, R Wilkinson, James Kielt, M Lynch, E Lynn, Declan Mullan, Eoin Bradley, Seamus Bradley, C O' Boyle, A McLaughlin, E Brown, Paddy Bradley
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