Short answer? Surely not. If anybody disagrees, I would gladly hear of their argument. And the reasoning for that is this: If there was a period of higher-quality football delving into archive footage might lead to quite the DVD Christmas stocking filler.

The reality, at present, is the standard, in contrast to even the noughties, is off the charts.

There are now 10 teams from this island remaining in the hunt for the coveted Andy Merrigan Cup which will, as per each year, be handed out next St Patrick’s Day.

The people of Dr Croke’s, The Nire, Corofin, St Brigid’s, Slaughtneil, Kilcoo, St Vincent’s, Rhode, St Columba’s, Mullinalaghta and Seán O’Mahony’s will all harbour ambitions of creating history, even if some of those clubs have far greater chances than others of reaching the AIB All-Ireland Club SFC final.

Additionally, British representatives will tackle either Slaughtneil or Kilcoo in an All-Ireland quarter-final.

However, it is unlikely that whoever the Ulster champions are at that point will be truly troubled by the British side.

Therefore, 10 clubs are in with a honest shout of All-Ireland title success.

People may scoff at the notion that any of the 10 could reach the promised land.

Yet, in times such as these is there anything impossible, particularly in a sporting sense?

Just ask Carbery Rangers who surely had one eye, subconsciously, on a provincial decider against Dr Croke’s – with respect to Loughmore-Castleiney – until The Nire ended their involvement in the southern series on Sunday.

Result after result after result in the current sporting climate reiterates that taking any outfit whatsoever for granted is a fool’s errand.

That’s not to subtly say Rosscarbery took The Nire for granted by any means.

Nevertheless, if you are not at full strength or on the ball psychologically against every opponent now you can kiss your dreams and ambitions goodbye.

You may possess individual qualities the Harlem Globetrotters would doff their caps to. However, failure to complement said qualities with collective intensity and it’s more often a case of ‘Goodnight Irene’ rather than ‘Hello Mr Silverware’.

Currently, St Vincent’s, Corofin, Dr Croke’s and Slaughtneil are expected to become champions of their respective provinces based on the odds-compilers’ quotes in the All-Ireland outright market.

The Dubliners are viewed as the most likely All-Ireland champions.

And appreciating the fact they contested their Leinster quarter-final for 41 minutes plus added-time without the black-carded Diarmuid Connolly at Netwatch Cullen Park on Sunday while still managing to defeat Palatine by eight points, few could argue with the bookmakers.

Furthermore, Vinnies have previous having lifted the national trophy in 2014.

Are the Marino men the best unit remaining in the race for Andy Merrigan, though?

Corofin and the aforementioned Killarney club would absolutely contest that notion.

Were both teams to prevail in their respective provincial finals they will meet in an All-Ireland semi-final in what could be one of the most memorable collisions at this level for many, many years.

Yet, St Brigid’s and The Nire would have plenty to say about that theory themselves, especially the former protagonists.

The Roscommon champions, with Darren Dolan hitting 1-2 and Senan Kilbride 0-4, pulverised Aughawillan by 14 points in Carrick-on-Shannon and will be bursting with confidence against the Galway standard-bearers.

And still, their next assignment represents a considerable jump in class, indicative of how strong Corofin are.

Indicative too of how powerful the game at club level is.

After all, is there anybody either potentially shrewder or more naïve than the rest of us to call the All-Ireland champions at this remove?

The reality is the club teams are better-balanced than ever before.

Larry Kavanagh, an All-Ireland winner with Nemo Rangers in 2003, and present senior team manager, gave a fascinating insight into the evolution of the club player prior to Nemo’s loss to Clonmel Commercials in the Munster final of 2015.

“The players we have now are stronger, faster and more powerful than we were too,” Kavanagh explained. “You’d have idle chat, ‘Would Larry Kavanagh, Colin Corkery or those lads survive in the game now?’.

“Of course we would, though. Players just adapt. We were cutting edge at the time. Now you have all of these recovery methods, more detailed warm-ups even and it’s fascinating to witness first-hand.

“Players now at club level are in rolling for 10 or 15 minutes in the dressing room before they even go out on to the field for the warm-up itself. Commitment-wise too, none of us have ever had to say to them, ‘Don’t go for a pint lads’.

“It’s all self-monitoring and self-moderation now. We were self-monitoring to a point when we were togging out but nowhere near as much as the players are at the moment.

“And it’s the apps they use which make it that way. They have their own WhatsApp group which we, as management, do not go in to.

“But I’d say a fella wouldn’t be long told by the rest of them to shape up if Joe Bloggs had been out and had a beer. The attitude among the players is ‘That’s grand Joe but you’ve Munster championship on Sunday’.

“Before, management teams would have to sit on top of players but now it’s totally different. They essentially manage themselves.”

Kavanagh’s sentiments will strike chords across the land.

The commitment of club players is incredible, especially as they are so often ridden roughshod by the fixture-planners within their counties, or so they would argue.

Is it possible the interest in the All-Ireland Club series will supersede that of the inter-county equivalent in the future if the standard of the club game continues to evolve and rise? Probably not.

All the same, many of the club matches seen between the top teams in the country in the last three to four years have been every bit as enthralling as the more celebrated inter-county scene.

And the players deserve untold recognition for elevating the club game to those heights of today.