Arch-purist Eugene McGee didn't much time for the manner in which Donegal played under Jim McGuinness. While other critics of the Donegal project have softened their attitude since 2011, McGee still doesn't like it. He said it 'confined the game to a handful of undemanding skills' and, worst of all, has infected the club game, an arena in which impressionable managers often copy the inter-county trend setters.
As usual in this situation nearly every manager of a club team decided to copy Donegal and we had an orgy of club championship games with combined scores less than 20 points.
McGuinness imposed draconian powers on the Donegal players, particularly in relation to discipline and training. He could justify all that by winning the All-Ireland, but the wider GAA public wanted nothing to do with his style.
Personally I totally disliked the Donegal approach because it confined the game to a handful of undemanding skills they perfected to the exclusion of many more.
The handpass was crucial to the Donegal style and stopping opponents when they had possession was also a key part of their game.
However, McGee is even more annoyed by the high handed approach inter-county managers have to the club scene. He cited McGuinness as one of the worst offenders.
In Donegal, under the managership of Jim McGuinness, senior club championship games are virtually abandoned so long as Donegal are still in the All-Ireland race, and much the same applies to Dublin.
He did, however, praise McGuinness for challenging conventions within the GAA and for achieving a breakthrough with a traditionally unsuccessful county.
