Seán Moran Gaelic Games We've been here before. The notion that a new formula has been devised and that it guarantees success in football is not new.

We've been here before. The notion that a new formula has been devised and that it guarantees success in football is not new. Nor is it a first that the concept has been poorly regarded and attributed to Ulster, nor indeed that Kerry are the most high-profile victims.

Consider the following: "There is no point in kicking the ball 50 yards to give the ball away because somebody suggested to play long football. You have got to retain possession, why not give it shorter and keep it?

"I think it's a bit outdated to suggest that everyone should remain in their position, a sort of blanket formation, which is what people mean by the catch and kick game, which is outdated in the modern flexible game. Who in their right mind would stand and let someone catch the ball?"

And this: "The first duty of defenders (that is all players on the team, which has not got the ball; try to get this point across clearly, all players, even corner forwards become defenders when the opponents have the ball) is to minimise the scoring chances of the opposition.

"Regardless of which opponent has the ball, all defenders in the vicinity of the ball should help in recovery."

Both points defend a style of play designed to counter the traditional strengths of orthodox, fixed-position tactics. The first was an interview given by Tyrone manager Mickey Harte on the Newstalk 106 programme Off the Ball. The second is from a book published in the 1960s by Down's Joe Lennon, Fitness for Gaelic football.

We cannot infer from this what Lennon would have made of Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final but the innovation practised by Down when winning All-Irelands in the 1960s seems to have gone down as well in Kerry (beaten en route in all three years of Down's successes, 1960, '61 and '68) as Tyrone's modus operandi at the weekend.

In 1976 Mick O'Dwyer, then himself revolutionising football, remembered with little fondness the Ulster disruption to his playing career: "I think Down did a lot of damage to Gaelic football. They broke the ball a lot and they played it very close and marked tightly. They weren't playing the ball that much but they played the man quite a lot. I suppose it paid dividends for them. They fouled men in the centre of the field - and won All-Irelands with it. But it was not a good thing for the game."

In the history of football there have been few truly didactic coaches, imposing styles of play. Most cut their cloth to measure. Coaches attempt to optimise the way their teams play.

This season has seen the decline of two of the most eminent traditional sides, Galway and Kerry. The fact they lost to teams playing a possession and pressing game doesn't necessarily elevate the latter style to a guarantee of success. In 2000 and 2001 Kerry and Galway narrowly beat Armagh on the way to winning the All-Ireland. Armagh have improved and gained confidence since then but their approach hasn't changed. Yet it wasn't proof two and three years ago against long-range point scoring or a well placed early ball.

Galway lost to Donegal in this year's quarter-final replay largely because they didn't take scoring chances they would have when at their best, rather than that the opposition style of play stymied their more expressive instincts.

Another factor that had been well flagged in advance of the Tyrone-Kerry semi-final had been the theory that the match would be decided "on the day" and by whoever "wanted it most". Frequently that sort of prognosis is merely bland cliché but on this occasion there was a truth to it.

Could Kerry go to the well one more time after recent setbacks or would their already reasonable success rate of two All-Irelands leave them at a disadvantage compared to a Tyrone side ravenous for their first? That question was answered almost immediately.

Harte was defensively dismissive when asked had the furore over style disappointed him in the wake of such a victory. But as the questioner I was disappointed on his behalf. Tyrone had been the far better footballing side and in the first half, particularly, when they attacked frequently it was Kerry who did more of the fouling. Had the match been played with no infringements there's no reason to believe the result - if not the score - wouldn't have been the same.

The real problem is the game's approach to fouling. On three levels - rules, their enforcement and their administration - the GAA isn't doing enough to protect the game from the suspicion that fouling pays.

There is a strong feeling that rules, which prohibit physical contact except in certain narrowly prescribed circumstances, are not catering for the high-speed possession game that all counties play in at least some sectors of the field and its counter-measures, multiple marking and crowding.

Sunday's situation wasn't made any better by referee Gerry Kinneavy's reluctance to brandish the second yellow card.

This reticence would also create problems for the introduction of a team foul provision as in basketball. In theory it would be a good idea and even in practice it should make a difference. But we can imagine the reluctance to make such a judgment in the last minute of a tied match.

Then in committee where misbehaviour is supposed to be formally punished, inconsistency is too often on display. Players escape proper sanction while others experience the full rigour of the rules. The punishment for foul play should be clearly understood both on the field and off.

That's more worthy of consideration than undue hand wringing over styles of play. At some stage teams with different strengths to Tyrone and Armagh will come along and beat them but the notion that foul play confers an advantage on teams has to be confronted quickly.

E-mail: smoran@irish-times.ie