A LEADING CLUB manager in Donegal says he fears that club football in the county is ‘getting very dark’.
John McNulty, the Kilcar Under-21 manager, has expressed his disappointment following last night’s round of Under-21 Championship games.
Kilcar, who were the holders of the under-21 title, were beaten 2-14 to 2-11 by Buncrana at The Scarvey, but the Towney side traveled without county minor panel members Daniel Lyons, Brian O’Donnell and Gary Molloy.
No players from the county minors – who won Sunday’s Ulster final against Derry and will meet Cork on Saturday-week in an All-Ireland quarter-final – played for their clubs last night.
[adrotate group=”46″]“The loss of the boys was massive for us,” McNulty told Donegal Sport Hub.
“We tried to get some sense to the thing. We sent an email and I spoke to a member of the CCC myself, but there was no changing. It’s annoying to lose in the Championship this way.
“It would make you so annoyed the way club football is going. The ordinary GAA person is going to be lost very soon if it stays like this.
[adrotate group=”37″]“My burning thing is that this is the death of club football and the relevant people are ignoring the issue rather than attempting to address it.”
While McNulty was hit with the loss of three players for a game in Buncrana, he is not alone in feeling frustration.
St Eunan’s had to go to St Michael’s a couple of weeks ago without their minor contingent and just scraped past in extra-time, while Four Masters got past Glenfin having also been vexed at being forced to play without Aaron McCrea.
McNulty said: “You’re basically raising players now to not play for you.
[adrotate group=”38″]“You’re punished for having and for developing a good player who is county standard.
“It’s not only that, but there are players here in Donegal who have hardly played a game of football in a couple of months.
“This isn’t sitting well with club people. If you look now and managing a club team, why would you bother? Club football is getting very dark in Donegal.
“There is a question of fairness here for every club. This isn’t about Kilcar or about us losing; it’s about fairness, about what’s right and about the state of club football in Donegal.”
[adrotate group=”70″]Ardara lost 2-9 to 0-10 in Dungloe last night minus Tony Harkin and Senan Boyle, two members of the minor squad, but who were not in the 26-man squad for the Ulster final.
McNulty added: “If we can’t run a full and proper minor championship, what’s the point in running it at all?
“This is about running an under-21 tournament the right way and the wrong way. This is about the circumstances around the whole thing
“Maybe it’s time that the clubs got together and held their own forum for this.”
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