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For obvious reasons football has been on the backburner for the last couple of columns.

And I’m delighted to say that after 11 days in isolation, my test result for Covid-19 came back negative.

Thank God. It was a great relief to finally be home.

Sport, including Gaelic football, is on the bottom rung of the ladder in terms of priorities now but that will change in time.

In my opinion, this frightening way of life will – unfortunately – get worse in the short term. We ain’t seen nothing yet.

This deadly virus is going to shape our lives forever more. The way we live will change.

And that’s why I believe the GAA and Gaelic games will also change forever more.

The GAA’s existence is important to our society but it won’t be crucial in the whole scheme of things. When we do get back to some semblance of normality, the association will become very much a part of our lives again.

However, I believe it will no longer be all-consuming.

The time afforded to our games will become shorter and there will be less money spent on both the club and inter-county scenes.

And so this pandemic will have serious ramifications for the future of our clubs and our county boards.

It will represent a watershed moment for the GAA, one which will require a total re-evaluation of what and who it stands for.

Fundraising for clubs over the next few years will be very difficult, nigh-on impossible.

There won’t be any bailout for clubs in the aftermath, no financial assistance.

Who will pay the bills? It’s a major problem that should scare the living daylights out of those running clubs and county boards around the country. So the coming months should be used by the GAA to slash all the fat off the club and inter-county games.

There should be a proper condensing of both and it’s something that should be implemented as a matter of urgency.

Those running the show have a chance now to display some real leadership.

The runaway train that was the inter-county game has come to a standstill.

Now is the time for Croke Park and county boards to regain full ownership on their own terms, not on the pre-existing terms of managers and their entourages.

Gaelic games won’t survive otherwise – and survival is the number one priority for all concerned when we wake up from this nightmare.

We have no comprehension in terms of what’s ahead of us on a monetary scale.

So it’s time for action. The GAA must wipe the slate clean, ripping up all deals with inter-county management and club mercenaries. All bets are off.

When things eventually settle down it will be a real test of everyone.

It will separate the volunteers who truly love the GAA from those who love the money that goes with their involvement.

This will be a once-off opportunity for the policy makers in GAA Headquarters, at county board level and club executives to end the hijacking of our games, to flush out the mercenaries who have infiltrated it and perform a full detox.

Cleansing the association will be for the best and give clubs and counties a reasonable chance to survive.

This vision’s a knockout

(Image: ©INPHO/Billy Stickland)

My view as to what should happen with this year’s League and Championship is to play them on a straight knockout basis.

I appreciate we don’t know how long this virus will last but my guess is that things will resume sometime between July and September.

I would finish the last two games of the League in one week, then a fortnight later go straight into a knockout Championship.

That would involve an open draw for the 32 counties, with all Division 3 and 4 teams enjoying home advantage in the first two rounds.

It would be run over six weeks, including a week’s break between the semi-final and final.

If you include those last two League games it would last two months but be incredibly exciting.

It would invigorate supporters and players alike and l believe its impact would be massively positive.

Time to club together

Just like the inter-county season, l believe all counties must go with a knockout club championship.

Many have already made draws for group formats but they must scrap them and start again.

Run the entire club championship over two months or less – eight or nine weeks for the dual counties, four to six weeks for the others.

It can be played in September/October or October/November, depending on when we get back.

I would also cancel all provincial and All-Ireland Club Championships for 2020 – you can’t have it every way, given the year that’s in it.

A minor adjustment will help out too

The Minor Championship should be run in conjunction with the senior one and also played on a knockout basis.

Play the minor games before each senior game. As for the two U20 semi-finals and final, play them over two consecutive Sundays.

The four teams left in this are four superb outfits and these three games could well be one of the highlights of what’s left of 2020, such is the outrageous talent on view from Kerry, Dublin, Tyrone and Galway.

This competition must finish because all four teams are class outfits.

Funny stories to come

Next Saturday I’ll begin a series of columns where I tell a few yarns and funny stories that occurred during my intercounty career.

I’ll also highlight some of the real unsung heroes of the past so please keep reading!