I’m afraid the other goalkeeper might hurt us.

Other game administrators around the world understood the harm that would be done if the goalkeeper or his equivalent were central to the play.

You might think that because the Gaelic Athletic Association’s Annual Conference is taking place in Donegal this weekend that there’s nothing more important going on, but you’d be wrong.

While there are very important matters and very urgent issues to be considered among the 40 resolutions that will be passed this weekend in Donegal, there is one issue that is far more urgent to be resolved on the country’s playing fields – the vexed issue of the goalkeeper in this year’s football match.

With only three rounds of the national league played, it is clear that most of the reforms that have been made and are being made to the game are going to its benefit but one, the goalie’s, is our annoyance and our torment. If it is not addressed, I fear that it could lead to another setback for us.

We all tend to imagine the game as we want it to be. The changes had been going so well over the past few weeks and our need for the improvements that the changes would bring was so acute, it was difficult for us to clearly see the flaws inherent in the changes.

However, the shortcomings in the new rules were exposed in round 3 of the national league last weekend. We have two more rounds before the Football Review Committee can properly deal with the amendments and I am concerned that the game will be ruined if the goalkeeper coming out of the box and creating 12 v 11 clashes on the other side of the pitch is not addressed.

It was envisioned to us when the amendments were presented to us on paper at the end of last year that we would have the old game back in that there would be no delay in play on the transfer of possession, that there would be three against three on one side of the field and that the ball would be switched much more than in recent years.

It is clear, however, from some of the games after three rounds of play in Division 1 of the league that play is being slowed down on the transfer of possession, that the quick foot pass is being abandoned and that the approach is much more measured and slower, especially against the wind.

And then, the goalie, who has moved up the field, starts making long, long passes across the field, just like we’ve been seeing for a while. It was noticeable last weekend that teams are putting six or seven deep up front in order to create space around the two-point arc. The defense is just as deep and dense as it is in response to this and you would think that teams would want to go for the two-point with the space that has been created around the arc. However, this is not the case and it is noticeable that, when playing against the wind, the caddie is being held for two or three minutes to kill time.

It has always been said that when the goat goes to the temple, it doesn’t stop until it goes to the altar and Tyrone goalkeeper, Niall Morgan, had the audacity this week to say that the game wouldn’t be as enjoyable if the goalkeeper’s walking and driving licence were taken away and that it is likely that some goalkeepers would retire sooner or later if that were the case.

Ó Mhuireagáin’s talk was a source of inspiration for many, myself included. I am not a big fan of the goalkeeper coming out of the box and I am not a big fan of the traditional goalkeeper mentality either. Stephen Cluxton, more than any other player in our time, changed the model of the goalkeeper. He showed us dimensions and tactics that were not apparent to us before he started playing, he gave us insights into how much development could be made in the role and he hardly left his back line at all.

Niall Morgan was to say this week that restricting the goalkeeper coming up the pitch would be a move against the likes of Tyrone, Armagh and Monaghan. It is unlikely that Morgan is looking at Mayo’s Cholm Reape, Offaly’s Paddy Dunican, Meath’s Billy Hogan, Laois’ Killian Roche, Roscommon’s Conor Carroll and many others who are not them but if he were, he would realise that he, Ethan Rafferty and Rory Beggan are not the only three who are causing the trouble. And give him a hard time. It is not in the best interests of our game.

Other sports administrators around the world have recognized the harm that would be done if the goalkeeper or his equivalent were central to the game. Soccer did so over 30 years ago when the pass back to the goalkeeper was eliminated. Hockey and lacrosse also saw this when certain conditions were put in place that prevented the goalkeeper from participating in certain aspects of the game.

There are good reasons why the goalkeeper is not involved in team play and if that is not clear after three rounds of the national football league, quit.