BERNARD FLYNN'S ALL THE WEEKEND VERDICTS: The modern game has lost a crucial skill.. good kicking.

Byline: BERNARD FLYNN 

AFTER watching the Mayo versus Cavan match I stopped to try and think why in the year 2005 is the kicking of the ball by modern county footballer's so poor.

Yes, the first basic skill any of us used, as soon as we were old enough to lift a ball, was kicking it. The first and main basic skill of Gaelic football is the kicking of the ball itself. I am flabbergasted to watch some of the efforts at kicking a ball by top inter-county footballers.

It's just appalling; especially some of their efforts in this years Championship. The excessive use of the hand-pass hides many players inability to kick the ball properly.

At a time where most of the dirt, robustness, toughness is removed from the game, more time is allowed on the ball and more opportunities for player's to either kick the ball to a team-mate, or shoot for a point or goal.

Some of the wides were woeful last Saturday, many only 20-30 yards out from goal. It was hard to believe at times but we have seen it so often this year with Dublin v Meath, Armagh v Fermanagh, Offaly v Laois, Limerick v Kerry to mention but a few.

Somehow it looks to me that during match day in the game itself many of these player's look as if they are not comfortable kicking the ball. It is not like second nature to them - which it should be, just look at the ball striking of hurlers it is obvious they spend much more time on the skill.

I wonder, if it was calculated honestly and properly, what percentage of the time during the 12 months of a player's training with his county team, he is actually ''kicking'' the football.

I would love to know. If the truth be known, I would say less than 5 per cent. I know from experience and talking to many players there are so many other exercises - running, stretching etc.

A lot of it, in my opinion, is bull**** - the main art of kicking, that great skill, has been neglected badly, because many training teams believe they must turn guys into greyhounds.

There are some player's who are naturally gifted, these are a minority - so most players need work.

Last Saturday apart from the wides themselves, the misplaced balls, players kicking the ball over the side-line with nobody near them, had to be seen to be believed.

There is only so much of this poor play we can hide.

If it keeps going the way it's going, somebody will have to take a serious, in-depth, behind the scenes look at what county teams are doing at all those training sessions .

God help anybody who paid hard earned money in to see what Cavan and Mayo offered on the basics of Gaelic football.

Last year the stat's showed that 40 per cent approximately was the success rate of players kicking at goal. I'm sure of it.

CAPTION(S):

MASTER IN THE ART OF KICKING: Kerry legend Eoin 'Bomber' Liston always had his eye on the ball and it usually went over the bar