What is it that makes a 'League team'?
A 'League team' is not necessarily a team who wins the League most often - for such teams can also perform well in the championship (to illustrate this Kerry top the roll of honour in terms of National League titles).
*IMPORTANT: A 'League team' is a side whose performance in the League is far superior to their efforts in the championship.
The Ultimate League Teams
1. Derry
The ultimate 'League team' in the modern era, Derry were at their most 'League team-esque' in 2014, when they made it all the way to the decider against Dublin.
A couple of months after that Longford dumped them out of the championship in front of paltry crowd on a sun-drenched Saturday evening in Celtic Park. It was the first round of the qualifiers. It was the third time Longford had knocked them out of the championship in a decade.
Since 1990, Derry have been the most successful League team, winning five titles during the period (Kerry, Cork and Dublin all have four). The first arrived in 1992, a year before Derry claimed the ultimate prize. There followed two in a row in 1995 and 1996, with Mr. Brolly proving influential - interesting Joe won all-stars in '96 and '97 and not in '93. Two further titles followed in 2000 and 2008. And they also reached deciders in 2009 and 2014.
In the same period, Derry have won only two provincial titles.
The Kings of April.
2. Cork
They have sat at the top table for a good few years now, but they have enjoyed more success in the League than they have in the championship, winning three successive Leagues between 2010 and 2012.
This is in contrast with their championship win in 2010, a victory which has been curiously ignored by history - partly because of the unmemorable nature of the final and partly because Cork are not the most romantic of football counties.
With their power and playing resources, they are the ultimate League team in the last few years.
After losing the 2009 All-Ireland final to Kerry, they acquired a reputation for choking in big games, a label often attached to League teams.
3. Roscommon
Thanks to their ebullient former manager John Evans, Roscommon find themselves in Division 1 of the National League. That he is their former manager is down to their disappointing championship showings in the last three years.
As late as 2011, the Rossies were mired in winter irrelevance in Division 4 - ironically, this was the year after they won the Connacht title with a smash and grab win over Sligo.
They were promoted that season under Fergal O'Donnell. They proceeded to tread water in Division 3 for a couple of seasons before their recent ascension. Oddly, the championship showings have declined in inverse proportion to their rise through the Leagues.
Even this year, they have made a brisk start to the League, racing into an early lead against Monaghan before succumbing to a late goal and then topping an admittedly gingery looking Kerry in Killarney last weekend.
