Fermanagh manager, Pete McGrath
Despite only one win in four games, Colm Bradley, says that Fermanagh can make improvements in the areas that they need to
A different game:
The league may be only four games old but the new rules regarding black cards seems to have made a radical difference to how players are approaching the game.
A number of county players have spoke about how it has altered the way they play and it is visible during games that players are being much more considered in how they tackle.
It has led to much more adventure. I expect there to be a slight adjustment as the season goes on and for games to settle down a little in terms of scoring. But that does not mean that the game has not significantly changed.
There is a sizeable train of thought within the county that the team should adopt a more defensive game plan. But I’m not so sure it will work. Teams are going to have accept that they are going to have to consistently score more than they have in the past. This means getting more men forward but that throws up the conundrum of how to defend in this brave new world.
Man marking must be learned again:
It was around 2007 when teams started to move towards dropping players back into defence. Fermanagh at various times adopted this approach and were very successful.
As opposing teams were often playing in a similar style it made for wars of attrition and Fermanagh had some brilliant footballers in those circumstances.
However that style of football also led to defenders rarely being exposed to one on one defending.
It became a tactic to hold a player up and guide him into a swarm of fellow ‘defenders’. As a result Fermanagh defenders, and indeed defenders all over the country, have got out of the habit of playing forwards one on one. It is a difficult skill and one that only gets better with practice.
The Fermanagh defenders are learning the hard way as they have come up against some cracking forwards to date. Teams who have the most successful man markers will be the most successful teams.
Attack must make things more difficult:
Much has been made of opposing teams ability to run down the centre of the Fermanagh defence and score goals this season. That has been happening but what has not been picked up on too much is the fact that teams have been building from the back against Fermanagh with considerable ease.
Fermanagh’s attack has been scintillating at times but as Pete McGrath said in his post match interview on Sunday they are not tackling to the required level.
In the past it was a case of stopping the runner. A forward could cynically block off a man and stop him from taking a return pass. The new rules mean you can’t do this any more. So things are more difficult for forwards now and they will have to be more disciplined and tenacious in their tackling.
Break up the play:
Fermanagh at times were well ahead against both Longford and Roscommon yet for periods of both games they allowed the opposition to have spells where they racked up big scores. The same happened against Cavan in the first half.
Games are not won and lost in how you play in your good spells but rather in how you limit your opponents during their good periods. Fermanagh need to find a way to disrupt to stop a team before they get a head of steam up. Whether it is by somebody getting a block, or catching a high ball or winning a kick-able free.
Football is a team game but at certain times of the game individuals need to grab games and make things happen. Fermanagh are playing very well when things are going well but when things go against them they must have more players stand up and be counted.
Believe:
Three losses from four games in the league will no doubt have rocked Fermamagh’s confidence. Especially the way that they lost the last two games with teams being able to hit big scores against them. But as a group they must maintain their belief.
Ignore the criticisms from outside the group (including from newspaper columnists such as myself) and instead come closer together as a team. There have been plenty of positives, even in the last two defeats and the players must take solace in these while at the same time also accepting that there are areas that need serious improvement.