THE SIX-DAY turnaround for provincial runners-up is unfair and has proved a stain on this year’s football championship. Just look at Sligo, in particular, and Monaghan. Two weeks ago they were the form teams and being seen as, again, especially Sligo, valid challengers to the established order.

They suffered a surprise defeat to Roscommon that rocked them to their core. They needed time to regather themselves. A full week to heal up both physically and mentally before another week of preparation.

Surely the Central Competitions Control Committee could see this problem coming down the tracks and should have laid out the fixtures to accommodate such a setback?

It is a shame Sligo and Monaghan were forced back out in the qualifiers in so short a space of time. They are victims of the obvious flaws in the championship structure and the games this weekend, as a spectacle, suffered as a result. Louth were understandably flat on Saturday. It was the conclusion of an awfully disappointing few weeks. They couldn’t rise to the pace and intensity Dublin brought to the contest. The ghosts of Meath and Joe Sheridan’s late goal clearly lingered in their heads. Now they are gone, they will only look back on the 2010 championship with sadness.

Again, football was the loser.

The team coming through the qualifiers is clearly more battle hardened and able to maintain a higher tempo. Dublin proved this.

It was a very frustrating day for Louth overall. They have got a decent grip in midfield throughout their campaign but Dublin dominated this area with Ross McConnell finally adding some hard-nosed substance to obvious footballing talent.

Dublin are beginning to gel as a team but it might not be enough. Niall Corkery, Kevin Nolan and, in particular, the rejuvenated Bryan Cullen are the unsung heroes. Cullen has finally settled at wing forward ironically enough, where he was first used when he came into the team several years ago. He is not a man marker, nor is he a centre back. In fact, he is not a defender or a midfielder or a natural forward even. But he is a fine Gaelic footballer and a leader.

Pat Gilroy will be pleased with how things are progressing since the mauling by Meath. The philosophy of pace, power and work rate are now apparent with Eoghan O’Gara taking on the scoring mantle when Bernard Brogan had a rare off day. That said, they are still struggling in the final third of the field. They need to be smarter and more clinical at working the ball into better scoring positions like Tyrone and Kerry always do.

McConnell, amongst others, was guilty of wild, speculative shooting from too far out. Alan Brogan should be setting a better example yet he still solos up blind alleys and is forced to kick for the posts under pressure whereas a quick pass would guarantee a clean shooting opportunity for a team-mate.

Generally Dublin are improving but these flaws will probably come back to haunt them the next day. They are inherent problems so I’m not sure they can be addressed in time for what is coming next.

The qualifiers have suited this young side and certainly improved the depth of their panel. Paul Flynn is an excellent substitute for the half-forward line while they can replace both midfielders with Eamon Fennell and Darren Magee bringing renewed power and tempo in the last quarter of a match. This will prove essential, providing they hold the pace for that long against Tyrone. The rookie full-back line is also growing into a serious unit but they will be stretched by Owen Mulligan and company.

However, their close marking frustrated Louth who couldn’t find their inside forwards. With Shane Lennon to the fore, that has been a formidable attack throughout the season but they were enveloped and starved of ball by Rory O’Carroll and his corner backs.

It was obvious Monaghan put everything into the first 20 minutes in the hope Kildare would self-destruct. They didn’t and Monaghan’s energy reserves eventually betrayed them. Kildare are an extremely fit outfit and they kept coming, eventually overwhelming the Ulster men.

A little like the Bernard Brogan situation, Johnny Doyle was completely out of sorts. Others needed to take on the mantle and in James Kavanagh they found the answer. He typifies a lot of what is good about Kildare, and can kick scores from distance. When Monaghan began to struggle early in the second half, Kildare suddenly had lots of space to aim at the posts. Ronan Sweeney, Alan Smith and Eamonn Callaghan showed well.

Kildare mix the excellent with the mediocre. It is crucial they have a fit Dermot Earley for the next day. Monaghan didn’t give up but physically and mentally they were spent and there were no impact players to breathe life into their challenge.

Now is as good a time as any to ponder where Cork are at. They will be happy to have beaten Limerick but they were very disappointing. Limerick set out their stall to stop them from playing and it proved highly effective. The philosophy is to sacrifice a high-scoring return for themselves in order to make life very difficult for their opponents. It worked because Cork have a serious mental weakness in their forwards. They are badly lacking a killer instinct.

I know this won’t go down too well, but their forwards are all quite similar; nice, tidy footballers but they struggle to break a tackle. Only Pearse O’Neill can burst through and create open space for others. They could also do with moving Ciarán Sheehan closer to goal for greater impact.

The mental deficiency is evident elsewhere with Cork as well. It was inexcusable the way they let Limerick back into the game. They must regroup and take a long, hard look at themselves but Roscommon, with respect, are the best they could have hoped for.

I still don’t know if the Wexford and Limerick matches have improved them. We will know more next weekend. Kerry ironed out their problems in last year’s qualifiers before exploding to life in the All-Ireland quarter-final. Their strength in depth remains crucial. Just see Nicholas Murphy being dropped into midfield.

Finally to Sligo and their heavy defeat to Down. Again, the defeat to Roscommon must have been devastating. The body was just about willing but not the mind. Kevin Walsh has worked wonders so they will be bitterly disappointed that it ended so badly.

But like Monaghan and Louth it didn’t end this weekend.

They can build and return but the CCCC must look at ensuring the fixture flaw is fixed for 2011.