Here's a set of power rankings that Dublin won't win. (Although they do come close). As the 2018 seasons cranks into gear, we rank the football teams according to those whose 2018 stories we find the most interesting. There is, of course, one clear winner...
1. Mayo
Will 2018 finally, finally be the year? Or is there yet more, absurd disappointment in the offing?
....and everybody else
2. Kerry
There is a lot of intrigue surrounding Kerry this year. Eamonn Fitzmaurice miscalculated in the All-Ireland semi-final replay against Mayo, which will bring renewed scrutiny on his position in the uniquely demanding surroundings of the Kingdom, with Jack O'Connor lingering with intent in the background. Further to that, 2018 could see David Clifford's first impact at senior level. Can he make the step up immediately? (Spolier: He almost definitely will).
3. Dublin
The Dubs have turned the collection of silverware into a routine, and having long since proven themselves as the best team of their generation, the attention now switches to tackling the legacies of others: can they match Micko's Kerry in winning four-in-a-row?
4. Tyrone
Tyrone have long since shaken off competition in Ulster, but the hammering against Dublin last August laid bare in uncomfortable light the fact they still lag behind the elite. Mickey Harte's carefully-designed system broke down against the rampant Dubs, has he been forced into a rethink over the winter?
5. Monaghan
Monaghan are eternally on the verge of breaching the Big Four, and in Conor McManus have perhaps the most gifted forward in the game. But he needs support: Jack McCarron failed to back up his 2017 league performances in the championship, but if he does so ths time around, then perhaps the Super 8s will be to Monaghan's fancy.
6. Meath
2018 marks Year Two under Andy McEntee, and it's time for Meath to show some genuine signs of progress. The league ended in respectability after a horrid start, and the championship was decidedly mixed. They didn't turn up against Kildare in the Leinster semi-final, but were eventually unfortunate to be nudged out of the qualifiers by Donegal. The target for this year must be a Leinster final and a place in the Super 8s. Fall short of that, and the McEntee reign will face an inquest.
7. Donegal
After Jim McGuinness sent expectations soaring in Donegal, Rory Gallagher was tasked with tempering them with a much weaker and more inexperienced bunch of players. He was ultimately unable to do so, and endured one of the most torrid managerial experiences of 2017. Declan Bonner has got another shot for 2018, with survival in Division One perhaps indicative of success. Whether this will be enough for his supporters, however, is unclear.
8. Kildare
Kildare are an intriguing prospect under Cian O'Neill. His expertise was last year buttressed by the return of Kevin Feely, Daniel Flynn and Paul Cribbin. Such is Dublin's dominance, however, it is difficult to see how they improve on last year's Leinster championship performance. It will be interesting to see if they can take a couple of Division One scalps, however, and if they do so, it will stand them in good stead when the jostling for Super 8 inclusion begins.
9. Cork
A miserable 2017 ended with a flourish in taking Mayo to the wire, which went some way to clawing back a bit of optimism in a year overshadowed by the performances of the hurlers. There has been plenty of change: Ronan McCarthy is in charge now, and Sean Powter's emergence a forward of genuine quality is a boost, but you feel 2018 needs a major moment for Cork football to assert itself over the resurgent hurlers. A Munster victory over Kerry would be just the tonic, as would be the hauling of one of the aristocrats down to the new Páirc in the quarter-finals.
10. Galway
2018 is the year Kevin Walsh needs to find consistency. Last year his side went from beating Mayo to a pitiful showing at home to Roscommon to a hammering of Donegal to a non-performance against Kerry, after a successful league campaign. How they survive in Division One will go a long way to testing their ability to catch Mayo cold for the third year in a row.
11. Armagh
Promotion from Division Three is a must for Kieran McGeeney this year, following last year's fine qualifier run which led them into Tyrone holding the scalps of Kildare and Tipperary. They were embarrassed on that occasion, so can Geezer close the gap at the top of the Ulster championship?
12. Roscommon
Few managerial gambles paid off as richly as Kevin McStay's last year. Having strived in Division One and collapsed in the championship in 2016, he flipped his preparation on its head last year: losing all but one league game before sweet, sweet vindication in the Connacht final. They were as close as anyone to breaching the Big Four last year, so as the McStay era enters its third year, with some of the more irascible local critics held in abeyance, the question is, did they peak last year? Or does this young team have more to give?
13. Clare
Few managers have done as good a job as Colm Collins, and he has decided to stick around for a fifth year in charge of the Banner in 2018. Retaining Division Two again status will be a priority, and it will be interesting to see who they can ambush in the Championship. Three quarter-final games would be a rich reward for Collins' work thus far.
14. Tipperary
Tipp were the success story of 2016, but it failed to provide the impetus for the following year. He lost a myriad of players: Colin O'Riordan, Steven O'Brien, Seamus Kennedy, Paddy Codd, and Barry Grogan among them. In spite of such depletion, they did very well to head the right direction out of Division Three, but they struggled to maintain this thrust in the championship. Exacerbated by injury to Michael Quinlivan, Tipp lost to Cork and Armagh, leaving Kerins casting doubt on his future. He has stuck around, however, but whether he can return to working miracles in the league in less than a month is unclear.
15. Fermanagh
Rory Gallagher hasn't taken much of a break from management: he is now ensconced in his native county, aiming to burnish his reputation after a bruising era with Donegal. If he wants to get over his erstwhile charges, however, both sides will have to make it to Clones on the final weekend in June.
16. Derry
In recent years, Derry have become an egregious example of Cork: a study in the extension of damage. After a grisly year which saw them fall to Division Three and a hammering against Tyrone, they restored some pride by taking Mayo to extra-time before giving in to gravity. They've surely found rock bottom now, so will 2018 be the year Derry football starts climbing again?
17. Down
Following a Derry-esque league campaign, Down's odyssey to Clones proved that there Down's All-Ireland muscle memory persists. Like Roscommon, they are one of the few counties who could look back on 2017 with satisfaction, can they repeat the trick in 2018? Or, again like Roscommon, have they met their ceiling?
18. Cavan
Deeply exasperating for their fans, few crave Ulster glory like the Breffni county: they have not seen an Ulster final since 2001, a seventeen-year period in which all of their Ulster rivals had at least one day out in Clones (or Croke Park). They slipped out of Division One last year, with their top-division investment failing to yield any championship capital. Monaghan plucked them out of Ulster and Tipperary took them out of the summer. Can they finally navigate a path back to Clones?
19. Carlow
2017 was the year of Carlow Rising. Will 2018 provide a further vault, or a regression? Promotion from Division Four should be regarded as a must.
20. Wexford
A case study in being obscured, if not outright obscurity. The Wexford footballers found themselves on the wrong side of hurling success in the county last summer, with Seamus McEnaney's reign lasting just a single year. Mattie Forde has been vocal regarding the county board's preference for the hurlers, so can new manager Paul McLoughlin garner more interest in his footballers? Or will Davy continue to demand all attention?
21. Louth
The great, indefatigable Pete McGrath is about to test himself outside of Ulster for the first time. Can he give a desperate Louth public something to believe in?
22. Westmeath
Last year they at last bucked the trend of finding themselves in front of the Dublin firing squad on Leinster final day. (Instead, they were battered by the Dubs at the semi-final stage, in what was Jim Gavin's biggest championship win in charge). They may wish to redress that anomaly this time around: they are on course to meet Kildare in the battle to win back the questionable crown bestowed on The Second-Best Team In Leinster.
23. Longford
Longford may end up going for their own version of La Decima this year, having won all nine of their previous first-round qualifiers. That record, however, betrays their appalling record in Leinster. Manager Denis Connerton - now in his second spell - has yet to win a game in the Leinster championship. Few counties will target a single game quite as intensely as Longford will the visit of Meath to Fortress Pearse Park in May.
24. Laois
Floundering in nothingness over the last few years, Laois need to get out of Division Four. For their own self-esteem, if nothing else.
25. Offaly
Floundering in nothingness over the last few years, Offaly need to avoid dropping back into Division Four. For their own self-esteem, if nothing else.
26. London
The visit of a potentially very inexperienced Sligo team this year offers a real chance of a championship scalp.
27. Sligo
Cathal Corey is the new man in charge, and his outlook is likely to be more long-term than many of his rivals: integrating a promising batch of under-21s - they took Galway to extra-time in the Connacht final last year - is likely to be his main ambition this year, while tiptoeing about the trapdoor to Division Four.
28. Leitrim
If they survive the trip to New York, a crack at Roscommon offers them a glimmer of having a summer to remember for the first time in years.
29. Wicklow
Wicklow football may have been jolted by Rathnew's shock victory over Vincent's, but is unlikely to carry them through 2018. The usual battle in the outer reaches of the league and championship awaits.
30. Limerick
Limerick football is at a low ebb. Languishing in the basement division, can they escape? Among the sides who may define their 2018 more by league than championship.
31. Waterford
Agonisingly close to a famous Munster win over Cork last year, they will train their crosshairs on Tipperary in this year's championship.
32. Antrim
The GAA's failure to truly take root in Antrim and Belfast is an interesting story, but alas, it breeds apathy to the current Antrim squad.
33. New York
They've had some close calls in the last couple of years - a single point off Roscommon in 2016 - Leitrim come visiting in 2018. there's always a chance...
