Dublin footballer Ger Brennan has aimed a swipe at the style of football employed by Donegal in this year’s senior football championship.
A number of weeks before their gripping All-Ireland final win over Kerry, the Dubs had to negotiate their way past Donegal in a less than gripping semi-final. In the end they saw off Jim McGuinness’ side by 0-8 to 0-6, but Brennan says the ultra-defensive manner in which the Ulster champions approached the game left a sour taste.
The defender says it was not an enjoyable match to play in and hopes – for the sake of Donegal GAA – that McGuinness adapts a more attacking gameplan in 2012, now that he surely has the defensive side of things sorted.
"For me, it's a game I want to forget as a footballer because it was awful to play against. It wasn't Gaelic football to me," Brennan said in an interview on the new Dublin DVD 'Six Steps to Sam'.
"I didn't enjoy it. It wasn't Gaelic football the way it is supposed to be played. I know we are defensive ourselves, but that was something we had never faced before.
“It was a different sport to be honest. You would hope that this isn't the future. It would ruin the game.
"It's certainly effective, but it's ugly. When you look at Michael Murphy scoring 1-6 for his club a couple of weeks later in a county final, yet he was only within 30 metres of our goals twice in the game, it beggars belief.
"It's the style they have. It's something they are trying to implement and maybe he (McGuinness) is trying to get defence right first. Maybe they'll introduce more attacking football."