Pat Spillane aims cheeky dig at Joe Brolly over ‘name dropping’

He couldn't resist...

The fellow Irish Independent writers, and All-Ireland winners, both penned columns which were full of praise for the fresh excitement in the sport which has been initiated by the new laws, including the 2-point arc and the 3v3 rule.

There have been some cracking games so far, including Kerry vs Cork, Monaghan vs Donegal, and Armagh vs Tyrone.

Brolly, long a critic of 'negative' football tactics, wrote: "Football is coming alive. Training is fun again. Boys are undergoing a cultural transformation, from dullness and routine to excitement and self-expression.

"A corner-forward can play like a corner-forward again. A midfielder can play like a midfielder. A full-back is a full-back. Athletes are making way to footballers. The era of the robot is over."

Spillane espoused similar views, but at the top of his column, he could not resist a cheeky dig at his colleague for what he perceives as a tendency to 'name drop'.

He said: "A friend texted me during the Cork-Kerry match the weekend before last saying the game was exciting but the football was poor.

"Now, I would love to take from the Joe Brolly playbook, name drop and say that the text came from a notable Irish sports personality, or indeed a top politician.

"But the truth is the text came from a neighbour whose judgement, if I’m honest, I wouldn’t really value. When it comes to sport, I’d listen to his sons and wife first."