What to look out for as inter-county season returns

While the fallout of a hugely controversial conclusion to the club season will likely spill into next week, the start of the National Football League marks the return of competitive inter-county action following a six-month absence.

This year promises to be a little different, however, with the outcome of the league shaping the championship.

What are we talking about? Let's get into it.

• National Football & Hurling League fixtures
• BBC iPlayer to show eight National League games

It's all change

Firstly, nothing about the league structure has actually changed. Once again there will be four eight-team divisions, played across seven rounds, with promotion and relegation uppermost in the thoughts of most counties.

However, the decision to overhaul the championship at last year's Congress means league performance could be decisive in whether teams play in All-Ireland series or the second-tier Tailteann Cup, thus enhancing the significance of the league.

How? So, the eight provincial finalists will qualify for the All-Ireland, but they will be joined in the race for the Sam Maguire Cup by the next best eight teams as determined by league placings. Last year's Tailteann Cup winners Westmeath are also guaranteed an All-Ireland spot.

Provincial champions will be first seeds, beaten finalists will be second with the teams determined by league placings classed as third and fourth seeds. Teams promoted from Division Two will be ranked higher than teams relegated from Division One.

Who can dethrone Kerry?

Kerry laid the foundations for their All-Ireland triumph by winning the National League last year

Honestly, it's wide open. Staying at the top is tough, and if the McGrath Cup is anything to go by (although reading too much into pre-season results is a perilous venture), Kerry will discover that this year having shipped 5-11 to Cork.

The Kingdom begin their National League title defence away to Donegal on Sunday without a number of key players who started last year's All-Ireland final, including Sean O'Shea, Gavin White and the Clifford brothers Paudie and David, who have some time off after winning an All-Ireland Junior Club title with Fossa.

Kerry boss Jack O'Connor has admitted his panel are "behind the curve" fitness wise after their All-Ireland champions' team holiday, so the door has been left ajar for another county to come in and take the title away from the Munster champions.

With Dublin gone, Galway - last year's Division Two champions and beaten All-Ireland finalists - are the most obvious contenders, while Tyrone are expected to mount a stern challenge after a disappointing 2022, starting with a trip to newly-promoted Roscommon on Sunday.

Armagh, meanwhile, will be determined to build on an encouraging year in which they finished third in the League and pushed Galway all the way to a penalty shootout in the All-Ireland quarter-final, but Monaghan may struggle after narrowly avoiding the drop last time out.

We'll get a good look at both Monaghan and Armagh when they clash in front of the BBC cameras in Castleblayney on Saturday night.

Mayo were All-Ireland finalists 16 months ago but also may struggle without recently-retired talisman Lee Keegan and Oisin Mullin, who has moved to Australia, while Donegal are in the same boat having lost captain Michael Murphy's services.

Top-tier return for Derry?

Rory Gallagher and his players sang from the same hymn sheet last year. Winning the Ulster title was big, but the disappointment of failing to get out of Division Two remained.

In 2022, four straight wins set the Oak Leafers well on their way to promotion until a draw with Roscommon and a heavy defeat by Galway derailed their bid.

Derry began the year in style with success in the Dr McKenna Cup, but promotion will be a big ask with Leinster heavyweights Dublin and Kildare plotting an immediate return to the top table after relegation, and Louth on an upward trajectory under Mickey Harte.

After beating Tyrone in the McKenna Cup final, Gallagher said he expected to have Ethan Doherty and Conor Glass available for Limerick's visit to Owenbeg on Saturday. Whether or not the controversy around the conclusion of Glen's All-Ireland Club final defeat by Kilmacud Crokes changes that remains to be seen.

The Ulster champions will feature twice in the BBC's National Football League streams in 2023: against Kildare in Newbridge on 26 February and Clare's visit to Owenbeg on 19 March.

New managers. Fourteen of them

Head coach Aidan O'Rourke and manager Paddy Carr were chosen to lead Donegal following Declan Bonner's departure

There has been a lot of movement in inter-county management circles since the end of last season. Fourteen counties head into 2023 under new management. They are:

• Division One: Donegal (Paddy Carr), Mayo (Kevin McStay), Monaghan (Vinny Corey) and Roscommon (Davy Burke)
• Division Two: Cork (John Cleary), Limerick (Ray Dempsey), Meath (Colm O'Rourke)
• Division Three: Antrim (Andy McEntee), Down (Conor Laverty), Longford (Paddy Christie), Westmeath (Dessie Dolan), Liam Kearns (Offaly)
• Division Four: Wicklow (Oisin McConville), John Hegarty (Wexford)

There is plenty of interest in McStay taking the Mayo reins after he edged out Dempsey (now with Limerick) in a highly publicised race to succeed James Horan.

Armagh legend McConville, who was set to be a part of Dempsey's Mayo backroom team, begins his inter-county managerial journey in Division Four with Wicklow.

Mayo's Division One rivals Monaghan and Donegal both had protracted searches for new managers before appointing Vinny Corey and Paddy Carr.

Also in Ulster, Down have shown early signs of a rebirth under Conor Laverty's leadership and are expected to challenge for promotion from Division Three, while former Meath boss Andy McEntee is an intriguing prospect at Antrim having been a surprising choice to replace Enda McGinley.

What they say

Donegal manager Paddy Carr: "We'll certainly know where we stand after the first few weeks. By the time we get to the break in February we'll have a whole lot better idea about ourselves. Kerry are rightly the All-Ireland champions. We'll be expecting a big crowd in Ballybofey to get behind the team."

Tyrone joint-manager Brian Dooher: "Every game in Division One is tight as we saw last year. We started off very poorly and were lucky in the end to retain our status. We're by no means the finished article. We're in a better place compared to this time last year but we have a long way to go."

Derry forward Shane McGuigan: "We're putting a big emphasis on the league. We know in Division Two that any team can nip it. We're Ulster champions obviously a lot of teams will see us as a game where they will have to raise their game for, but we look forward to that challenge."

Down coach Mickey Donnelly: "You've Tipperary who won a Munster championship 18 months ago, you've Cavan who won an Ulster not long ago. It's a very tough division. Fermanagh, Antrim, Westmeath, Longford. We'd be delighted to get out of it but we've seven massive games ahead of us."

• Listen to The GAA Social with Donegal great Michael Murphy
• Listen to The GAA Social on the All-Ireland Club Final controversy