We will look at Fermanagh’s season shortly, but first please indulge me in a theory I have about the modern game, and the reason we get a lot of games where there are big margins. First we must go back 15 odd years. 
Think about how the game was played then. 14 out field battles. It was relatively simple. If a team won 12 of those battles they would usually hammer the opposition. 
If they won 10 they would win with a bit to spare. Win eight and it becomes a tight game that can probably go either way depending on how the best players on either team performed. 
The tactics employed then were nowhere near as as subtle as they are now. It was man v man all over the pitch. 
By in large spectators enjoyed that style more. Think about it; there are more scores now than ever yet the game itself, according to many people, is less easy on the eye. The reason for this is that many of the one v one battles are gone from the game.  
The game, as many teams play it now, is more about collective responsibility and a cohesive understanding among players that may look rudimentary but is anything but. Teams might have one or two man markers in the full back line. At times a man marker might be deployed on an opposition player further out the pitch but for a lot of players their defensive set up is zonal. Their responsibility is to get behind the ball when not in possession and to pick up runners as and when they enter a certain point on the pitch. It is not straightforward.
This system when working well can be suffocating for opponents. But there is a small margin of error. Encounter an opposition who can attack at power and pace, who have shooters all over the pitch, who can mix long ball with short ball and who will press high when not in possession and things can go wrong very quickly. In short this is what has happened to Fermanagh over the past two games. 
If we had a time machine and transported the teams back 15 or so years and played the way the game was played then, neither of those matches with Donegal or Kildare would have been effectively over at half time. But that is not going to happen. The game has changed. 
For the Fermanagh players the last two weeks will have been something of a nightmare. There is no more despondent feeling in sport to know that you have been outclassed. Nothing stings quite as much as knowing that you were simply not good enough. But when it comes down to it we are not. This doesn’t mean we can’t be, rather than at present the top eight to ten teams in the country are ahead of us. This is hard to take, especially for an eternal optimist such as myself who refuses to believe we cannot win trophies and compete with the best. 
Now, of course we beat Monaghan, and it was a brilliant and famous result, but I think if the Farney men had it all to do again they would approach that game differently. That is not to take away from the Fermanagh win but as Rory Gallagher has intimated all year, we need more scores, and it is unlikely that 1-08 will win too many championship matches. 
So, what next for Fermanagh. Well to start with we must take deep satisfaction from what has been a very good year. Promotion to Division Two and an Ulster final berth was more than anyone could have hoped. Gallagher has had a brilliant start to his Fermanagh tenure. The buy in that he got from the players was second to none. The fitness levels reached were phenomenal and the principles of the way he wants his team to play have firmly been laid down. 
Moving forward into year two there are areas he has clearly identified where improvements are needed. The most obvious is our scoring return. All year Gallagher has highlighted a poor conversion rate as one of his team’s problems. Tackling this conundrum is easier said than done. 
On Saturday Kildare and Fermanagh both shot 18 times in the first half. Kildare converted 14 times for 1-13 while Fermanagh converted five times. It was said after the game that on many occasions the wrong Fermanagh man was shooting but the reality is that Kildare’s spread of scores was huge. Sure, there was some bad decision making at times on Fermanagh’s part but if we want to be competing for a place in the Super 8s we need at least ten outfield players all able to score. 
We also need a player in the inside line who can stretch defences. And by this I mean not a player who revels on the high ball but rather a player who will make runs and win the ball in front and in so doing engage sweepers and keep defences honest. For me, the best proponent of this in the county is Tomas Corrigan. 
The former Kinawley club man has had his injury problems this season. If Fermanagh are to be at their best they need him in top form, or they need someone else to emerge who can play this role. 
Another area we must improve on is our kick passing. Watching the top teams it is clear that they are not afraid to kick from their full back line or their half back line and they are also adept at the little 30 yard dink pass to the inside line to take out the sweeper. All this means that their transition is always fast and they carry a threat in their full forward line. 
What we need is a little bit of patience. Following our Ulster final defeat in 2008 we suffered back to back relegations and ended up in Division Four. This cannot happen again. Gallagher needs time to evolve our attacking play. But, we must remember, despite the last two defeats we are in a good position to build and improve. We should be excited about 2019.