WHAT with Derry City's onward march, another Bohemians blip, Shamrock Rovers' continuing travail and the departure of Brian Kerr from St Patrick's, Christmas offered no respite from domestic football affairs.
However, worsening pitches and the postponement of the Finn Harps Shelbourne campaign heightened the argument in favour of a respite from mid winter while in a season notable for off pitch discussion the FAI Chief Executive suggested, extraordinarily that the National League should enter a composite side in the European Champions' League.
To take the arguments in favour of a change to summer football first, Saturday's postponement of the Ballybofey game was but another little notch in its favour. Undoubtedly, as the weather and the pitches deteriorate further, others will follow.
For this observer at any rate, this is something of a road to Damascus. Heretofore, the arguments against summer football have held sway. We are a nation of traditionalists, and traditionally football is played throughout the winter months.
A further argument against change is the perceived shortfall in clubs' earnings from social activities. This was one of the main stumbling blocks towards the oft-mooted change when an investigative group was set up to look into the feasibility of a change to summer football two years ago. Clubs, traditionally, host their social events during winter and fear a significant loss in earnings should they be obliged to play during summer time.
Yet, as the revolutionary changes in the 1997 hurling calendar demonstrate, we should never be hostages to tradition. Ploughing on through the winter months continues to have many drawbacks. The advent of floodlights has facilitated the switch to evening soccer, and brought with it an overall improvement in attendances - so much for the tradition of Sunday afternoons. But it has also highlighted the need for more comfortable spectator facilities.
Venturing out on a winter's afternoon to stand or sit in an uncovered area is one thing, another altogether on a winter's evening. It's conceivable therefore, that the relative success of floodlit football in terms of attendances has been more or less exhausted.
What it perhaps has done is show the benefits of avoiding a direct clash with live cross channel football on television - now close to saturation point. Thus, while a switch to summer football may mean clashes with major international sporting events, as well as the All Ireland championships, it is arguable that the National League would be avoiding its most damaging counter attraction of all should it switch to summer time.
Regarding the European matter, the FAI Chief Executive, Bernard O'Byrne, has suggested that one means of improving results in Europe would be to enter a representative National League side in the Champions' League. This is an astonishing proposal on a number of fronts, and would be readily dismissed but for the source it comes from.
Quite why he should want to make such a suggestion is puzzling, not least because the National League appointed it's own Administrative Secretary earlier this month. At the very least, it would seem to undermine Sean Walsh's standing.
As an abject admittance of failure, it also comes across as singularly insulting to the benefactors, administrators, managing staff and players of National League clubs who aspire to enter European competition in their own right. If clubs themselves cannot carry their banner into European fare, why the hell should individuals bother to plough their time and money into them in the first place?
In part thanks to the FAI, better prepared National League clubs weren't that far away this season. Look at the progress of SK Brann, conquerors of Shelbourne, to a Cup Winners Cup quarter final tie with Liverpool.
