Peter Canavan believes the GAA must do something to address the 'possession problem' that is 'spoiling' games.
The Tyrone icon believes it is inevitable that the association will look into ways of curtailing the growing trend of sides holding onto the ball for long periods of time without any attacking intent.
A light was shone on this trend at the weekend as Roscommon held onto the ball for five-and-a-half minutes against Dublin at Croke Park midway through the first-half. The Connacht finalists made 77 passes in the move, most of which were short, with the goalkeeper being involved in the play a staggering 19 times.
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The passage of play was characterised firstly by a lack of Dublin pressure and secondly, by Roscommon's hesitance to take risks and preference to play simple handpasses and kick-passes. After more than five minutes of possession, Ciaran Murtaugh finally brought an end to the stalemate when he sent a shot sailing over the black spot.
Canavan was unimpressed with what he saw on Sunday and spoke about how this type of play is 'spoiling' games.
"It’s not just the Dublin v Roscommon game, this has been a trend in our games these past couple of years," the two-time All-Ireland winner told RTÉ 2fm’s Game On.
"When teams elect to get a lot of bodies behind the ball, rather than go direct for your score, the traditional route, teams are becoming patient. They are trying to draw the opposition out.
"In some cases it used to be you held on to the ball for a minute, maybe two minutes, but I think we reached a record on Sunday when it was nearly six minutes.
"I get it, it’s part and parcel of the game. It’s a tactic that managers are using, but it’s terrible to watch and spoiling our game as a spectacle."
When asked about potential solutions to this problem, Canavan mentioned the possibility of introducing a shot-clock, reducing the game to 13-a-side and making it mandatory that teams had to have three players inside the opposition half at all times as options that could be pursued.
While any of these changes would likely be met with an outcry from the general public, Canavan believes unless something drastic is done, this risk-averse approach and possession heavy style of play will become more prevalent in the sport.
"I’ve no doubt we’ll see more of it," Canavan said. "It’s inevitable that that style of game will continue.
"In so many of the games this year already, it’s been a game of chess for the first 50/60 minutes, and then the last 10 minutes break out into a game of football.
"For those that are paying a lot to see it and those who are watching it, it’s not good enough."
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