With the provincial championships rapidly approaching conclusion, it's time for a compendium of random observations about the action so far. There have been surprises in football but for all this, it's hard to dispel the notion that the season so far has been a disappointment. The dangerously narrow field in the hurling championship has been well commented on but the football hasn't been great either.

There is some consolation that the championship hasn't turned out as rigidly predictable as it looked six weeks ago. The early fall of Meath always creates a frisson, largely because it doesn't happen much - twice in 18 years. But behind this novel facade, there's a grimmer message.

The quality of the football in Leinster has been poor. Admittedly Meath weren't the game's equivalent of Brazil but they have quality players everywhere on the pitch and can defend as well as execute and finish clever attacking moves.

They were admittedly under-strength against Offaly but the major influence on that result was the tightly orchestrated tactics which squeezed the life out of Meath. In an amateur sport there's no onus on teams to entertain. Technically it's a matter of indifference to them whether there's a big paying audience present or not.

Of course the reality is different and part of what drives teams is the public achievement and consequent acclaim but they don't make their living out of it and shouldn't be blamed for doing whatever they have to do within the rules. The problem is the extent to which the GAA depends on the spectacle of its games generating income.

The Croke Park redevelopment is underpinned by the sale of executive facilities, gate receipts have soared in recent years (in absolute rather than comparative terms) and television rights are becoming an increasingly important part of the annual finances. Of those rights figures, the fastest growing element is those earned abroad.

In other words, the quality of the entertainment has some impact on the GAA's income. It's hard to believe that this isn't the case in the domestic market as well. Although county allegiance remains the main reason for attending matches, given that counties drop out of contention the pool of neutrals expands as the championship progresses.

There was some puzzling talk in the aftermath of the Offaly-Kildare match at the weekend about the quality of it all. It was an exciting match, evenly contested principally because Kildare hadn't the forwards to kill the match in the final quarter but it wasn't high-quality.

Defensively both teams played well and Kildare exceptionally so but in terms of rounded performances, there was a complete dearth of finishing appropriate to this level. Both teams will have reliable scorers back for the replay with Ciaran McManus completing his suspension and Karl O'Dwyer recovering from injury.

Ironically it's only three years since Offaly were greeted as the saviours of football in the wake of their exuberant thrashing of Meath in the Leinster final. With the exception of McManus and Peter Brady, the central characters from that team are still in place so it's hard to explain the transition from a forward-driven unit to spoilers.

The most likely explanation is that the attractive, attacking stuff became too well-known. One of football's besetting ills is that it is so easy to defuse an attack-conscious team by means of organisation and graft. Offaly got their first taste of it in the 1997 All-Ireland semi-final against Mayo and their most sickening dose in the following year's Leinster first round against Meath.

They learned the lesson and applied it well to Meath. It proved less effective against Kildare because their strengths are similarly on the breaks around the middle sector. Whatever about the replay and the provincial final, it is hard in the absence of Meath to see the All-Ireland staying in Leinster because success at that level requires some element of outstanding forward play and that balance is lacking in the remaining teams.

One other peculiar aspect of the weekend has been all the fuss about Niall Buckley in the US. For a start, his input had been in decline since his All Star year in 1997. Second, after choosing to skip the drudgery of championship preparation - and judging by Kildare's standard of fitness, it must have been some drudgery - Buckley found his interest reignited after the unexpected exit of Meath. Yet he doesn't want to re-commit to Kildare permanently, wishing instead to leave the door open for a return to Chicago.

The provisions governing transfers to the US and North America were brought in to stop the uninhibited Atlantic-tripping which had reached epidemic proportions. Weekend visits are now tightly controlled, as are longer-term stays. It was reasoned that if a player really wanted to spend a bit of time abroad he could transfer but there was to be no easy hopping backwards and forwards.

These regulations are a good idea and shouldn't be bent for high-profile exceptions.

Maybe it's unfair to concentrate on Leinster given that there have been positive events in the other three provinces. Antrim and Fermanagh's exploits have given a genuine boost to two of the most chronically deprived counties in the country. The problem as ever is that of follow-through. Derry will be favourites to defeat Antrim in Sunday's replay and that will leave us after all the shouting with the precise Ulster final everyone had expected.

Connacht has seen the emergence of Sligo who - like Antrim and Fermanagh - have worked hard to improve themselves over the winter. They have an excellent chance of capturing a rare provincial title but the opportunity arises at the cost of the province's chance of recapturing the All-Ireland.

Galway look like a team which has lost critical mass with the loss of their best defender, Tomas Mannion, best attacker Jarlath Fallon and a big question mark over their top midfielder Kevin Walsh. No team in the country wouldn't struggle with a casualty list like that.

Which leaves Kerry and Clare in Munster. Kerry are All-Ireland favourites because of their potent forwards but their defence will make a thriller out of virtually any match they play.

We can look forward to the rest of the summer but more in hope than expectation.