Take 5: The big questions answered ahead of the start of the football championship

Seán Moran

Most looking forward to?
The twists and turns provided by the qualifier system and all roads leading to All-Ireland quarter-finals on the last weekend in June. The past two years of Covid surely knocked on the head the notion that we'd be better off reverting to old-school, pure knock-out. For the most part, the best teams will make their way to the quarter-finals and it will all take off, especially with no team indisputably ahead of the pack.

Least looking forward to?
Legal circles refer to 'the dismal jurisprudence of the breathalyser' but the opportunistic exploitation of GAA's disciplinary system is an equally frequent source of dismay. All games have regulations to vindicate fair play and punish transgressors. They're supposed to be rules everyone agrees to observe as the basis for participation. Too often they are regarded as a challenge set to legal ingenuity and starting points for evading the consequences of misbehaviour.

Tailteann Cup: new opportunity or same old dead-end?
There was always the danger that it would be undermined before it properly got going next year. A high bar has been set for the GAA to prove its intentions to the new competition are honourable because the final won't be on a double bill with the All-Ireland and media coverage will at best be modest.

Player to watch?
When David Clifford isn't on the ball, his team-mate at the other end Jason Foley has stepped up this season, adding defensive nous and improved tackle technique to the promising base of an underage athlete. Ran the length of the pitch in injury-time to score a goal in the league final.

Kerry GAA agrees to play Cork semi-final at Páirc Uí Rinn

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Kilkenny prove too strong for Offaly as they secure Leinster semi-final spot

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Seán Moran: League meant exactly what Limerick chose it to mean

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Provincial champions and other four All-Ireland quarter-finalists (qualifier draw permitting)?
Ulster: Tyrone; Leinster: Dublin; Connacht: Mayo; Munster: Kerry. Other quarter-finalists: Armagh, Galway, Kildare, Roscommon.

Jim McGuinness

Most looking forward to?
There's almost a perfect storm of contenders. Counties like Mayo, Donegal, Kerry and Tyrone have been regulars on the championship ladder. For the past couple of years, Dublin have been coming down while the likes of Armagh and Kildare are coming up. It's going to fascinating to watch as teams position themselves for the climb and to see who makes it to the top.

Least looking forward to?
More of the overplayed possession game that is very lateral in nature, lacking penetration, aggressive transitions and a kicking game. When we turned the ball over on our 'D' in my period in charge of Donegal, we trained to kick a point within 10 seconds. These days I'd say it's nearer a minute because the instinct seems to be to go back towards your own goal when in possession.

Tailteann Cup: new opportunity or same old dead-end?
Responsibility for success or otherwise will be on the shoulders of the GAA, not the players because no one can tell me that they wouldn't be interested in playing on a double bill the day of the All-Ireland.

Player to watch?
David Clifford. Carrying the burden of winning an All-Ireland when he hasn't done so yet is a big weight for a young fella. I love watching him. He's a big lad, who moves and gets shots away quickly, off both sides. I'm fascinated by how quickly he bounces the ball and uses the force of the bounce to propel himself. I'm sure that's the influence of Gooch. A slow bounce takes half or three-quarters of a second. He's taking milliseconds and he's gone in a different direction.

Provincial champions and other four All-Ireland quarter-finalists?
Ulster: Tyrone; Leinster: Dublin; Connacht: Galway; Munster: Kerry. Other quarter-finalists: Armagh, Donegal, Kildare and Mayo.

Malachy Clerkin

Most looking forward to?
Finding out if this All-Ireland is as open as we all think it is. You probably have to go back to 2010 to find the last time it looked this winnable at this stage. It might all be a mirage, of course and Kerry might just be a mile ahead of everyone. But it's going to be fun finding out.

Least looking forward to?
August, when not only will there be no intercounty championships to get jazzed about, most counties won't have started their club championships either. Just a long, lazy month of an Irish summer with no Gaelic football or hurling pulsing through the land. Seems a bit mad, really.

Tailteann Cup: new opportunity or same old dead-end?
Depends on how it's treated. If counties want to win it, if the GAA make a fuss of it, if the teams engage with the media, if the media make it their business to cover it, if the ticket prices are nominal,if the crowds get into it all, then it's a fantastic new opportunity. If not, it's the same old dead-end.

Player to watch?
Look, it's clearly David Clifford because why would you watch anyone else if you could watch David Clifford? But for a less-bleedin-obvious answer, if his Kerry team-mate Gavin White can stay injury-free, he can have the sort of harum-scarum impact on a big game that made Jack McCaffrey such a wild card for Dublin.

Provincial champions and other four All-Ireland quarter-finalists?
Ulster: Armagh; Leinster: Dublin; Connacht: Mayo; Munster: Kerry. Other quarter-finalists: Kildare, Monaghan, Roscommon, Tyrone.

Darragh Ó Sé

Most looking forward to?
Competitive games in the provincial championships, especially in Ulster and Connacht. With no handy games in the qualifiers and everything being over so quickly, the front door is definitely the way to go. Mayo v Galway, Donegal v Armagh this weekend, Tyrone v Derry next weekend – these are high-stakes games from the start.

Least looking forward to?
Cork v Kerry in Páirc Uí Rinn. I don't think Kerry should have blinked on this one. Páirc Uí Rinn is a league ground, it's a club championship ground. It's not a Munster Championship ground. The Munster Championship has already been downgraded over the years by how poor Cork have been and now this. I think it makes a mockery of the whole thing.

Tailteann Cup: new opportunity or same old dead-end?
We will know fairly quickly I'd say. If the teams that are knocked out this weekend and next weekend say they're buying into it, then it has a chance. But if there's a drip-drip of fellas saying they're heading off travelling, that's going to hurt it. We can all see the crowds in Dublin Airport – there's a massive appetite in young people to get away after Covid. I think it could be a shaky start for the Tailteann.

Player to watch?
The one player we haven't seen in the league who could have a big sway on the championship is Con O'Callaghan. If he is back fit and if he still has all his old power and pace and nose for goal, Dublin will have a big say in what happens. He will make the likes of Brian Fenton and Ciarán Kilkenny better by giving them something to aim at.

Provincial champions and other four All-Ireland quarter-finalists?
Ulster: Armagh; Leinster: Dublin; Connacht: Mayo; Munster: Kerry; Other quarter-finalists: Tyrone, Galway, Kildare, Donegal