Joe Brolly has harsh assessment of Donegal’s ‘ordinary’ footballers

Donegal boss Jim McGuinness came in for huge criticism after his side’s ten-point loss to Kerry in the All-Ireland SFC final yesterday.

Fans and pundits had been speculating all week over what tactics the famed manager would employ to stop the Kingdom’s ferocious attack.

But in the end, Donegal’s zonal defence was ripped asunder, with the game finishing 1-26 to 0-19.

Writing in his column for the Irish Independent, the outspoken Joe Brolly gave the manager what can only be seen as both praise and an insult.

He described the Donegal side as being made up of “ordinary” footballers, which would make McGuinness’s achievements with the team impressive.

Since returning for a second stint in 2023, McGuinness has led Donegal to two Ulster SFC titles, and scored impressive wins against Louth, Monaghan, and Meath in their run to this year’s final.

But they ultimately fell short when it mattered most, with Kerry boss Jack O’Connor the man who came out on top in the tactical battle.

On the game, Brolly wrote: “Arriving into Croke Park for the game, the talk was all about the pitch being mowed in a bewildering array of diamonds and crosses. “Jimmy’s been here. It’s the Donegal game plan,” said the glamorous brunette. After 15 minutes of the first half, I said to her, “Donegal have a game plan?”

“Jimmy’s audacious experiment to turn a squad of ordinary enough footballers into All-Ireland champions has failed.

“His masterplan depended on a system that no other team had been able to compete with, a system that disguised the individual shortcomings of his players. Kerry hacked it, planting a virus in it.”