Richie Donnelly’s retirement from Tyrone is borderline disastrous for the county

Three Tyrone players have now retired from last season.

Trillick midfielder Richie Donnelly has made the decision to opt out of the Tyrone squad, and this decision is borderline disastrous for the county. Some people reading this will be scratching their heads at such a claim considering that Donnelly did not start a single game for Tyrone last year, made only seven appearances as a substitute, and did not see any game time in their quarter final defeat to Kerry. However, a lot of that was down to injuries, bad luck, and in my opinion, wrong decisions by the management team of Brian Dooher and Feargal Logan. Tyrone did not enjoy a fruitful 2023, with only glimpses of joy sprinkled throughout the year, like their league victory over Kerry or their win against Donegal in the championship, but otherwise it was a disappointing campaign. With a midfield pairing of Brian Kennedy and Conn Kilpatrick, it was always going to be heard to break into that position, but one of Donnelly's greatest attributes was his versatility. All season long, the Red Hand county lacked scores from those playing outside of the full forward line, with a huge over-dependence placed on Darren McCurry and Darragh Canavan to rack up the points, and the half forward line in particular didn't contribute enough to help win games. The Trillick star has a lethal boot on him, and is well capable of chipping in with scores, particularly from long range, as was evident from his hugely impressive club season this year. How he wasn't deployed as a centre half forward or in the wing half position, with license to roam into midfield, is a strange one, considering he ticked a lot of the boxes on the list of things that Tyrone badly needed. His performances in the club championship this year were monumental, with former All-Stars like Donegal's Eamonn McGee describing him as the 'the best player in Ulster' on current form. https://twitter.com/sitelee/status/1747570627358195872 The diverse ball winner has represented his county 71 times - 29 in the championship - but never really seemed to get a fair shake at it, while others were given the luxury of time and perseverance. Couple his retirement with the fact that fellow All-Ireland winners Ronan McNamee and Niall Sludden have also hung up their boots on the inter-county stage, then you're looking at a Tyrone team that has lost a huge amount of experience, and professionalism, seemingly overnight. Any GAA fan will tell you that after enduring a disappointing county season, they all become self-proclaimed scouts when watching the club campaign, trying to unearth new talent that can give them hope and excitement for the following year. Well, every fan in this position would have been watching the heroic performances of Donnelly as he spearheaded his club to championship glory, and would have waved the flag to give him the opportunity he deserves in the white and red of Tyrone. So with just one week before the National League begins, the news that he has decided to opt out of the panel, is a massive blow for fans and indeed for the senior squad. https://twitter.com/GAA__JOE/status/1747636677042974740 Related links:

• Conor Glass on the Glen boys he would "love to have playing for Derry"
• The three players Mickey Harte should immediately call up for Derry
• The inevitable has begun as players opt out of Dessie Farrell's Dublin team