Has the tree fallen yet? Who knocked it? It must be somebody’s fault. There’s a lot going on in GAA land these days. Yet another drawback of the instant information age, I suppose, although information and opinion are blurring into each other far too often for my liking. Dare I say it, there’s a lot of fake news about the place.

Roscommon football manager Kevin McStay is the latest example of a decent GAA man sticking his head above the parapet and having it shot at. He’s not the first; he won’t be the last. It wasn’t too long ago that Davy Fitzgerald either knew nothing about hurling or was killing the game, depending on where you came from. In Wexford, there is already messiah talk.

Modern-day managers understand that there are worse than sticks and stones that come with the job, almost all eventually feel that pressure – some a lot sooner than they should. What is an uncomfortable modern development is the fact that those who should know better, in particular former players and managers, are often leading the baying mobs.

The only noise that should matter at this time of the year should be coming from the stands this weekend, namely in Semple Stadium, Cusack Park and Walsh Park.

The week’s showpiece happens in Thurles when Kilkenny visit the “home of hurling” for an All-Ireland final rematch in a game that must draw a huge Saturday night attendance. I’ll probably travel from Clare and the car will be full.

Having seen Tipperary up close and personal last Sunday and the Cats the week before, this should be a stroll in the park for Tipp. But a stroll wouldn’t get five Claremen into a car on a Saturday evening. At the very least we are hoping that the Cats, having gotten on the board with a routine win over Cork, will rouse themselves further at the sight and memory of the blue and gold jersey.

Tipperary's management, safe in the knowledge that they are already in the league playoffs, could hold the likes of Callanan, Padraic Maher and a few more in reserve to find out what the new lads make of Kilkenny

They will have to rise to meet this challenge, however, because the All-Ireland champions have looked exceptional this spring. They are beating teams comfortably and doing so with only five, six or seven starters from last September. Along the way they are unveiling new talent that already looks championship-ready: physically imposing hurlers with skill to boot.

Watching them go through the gears on Sunday had me (almost) worrying for Bonnar Maher because he will find it hard to regain his starting place in this team come May and June.

Such a crucial component in the Tipp attack for a number of years, he often made them tick with unselfish work and that knack of winning dirty ball. Dan and Aidan McCormack, Stephen O’Brien and Paul Flynn are just four players that look capable of doing all of that and scoring their share too. Many are already comparing them favourably to the Dublin footballers, such is the depth at their disposal. We can see why.

It will be fascinating to see how many front-liners get thrown into this game at the start. Management, safe in the knowledge that they are already in the league playoffs, could hold the likes of Callanan, Padraic Maher and a few more in reserve to find out what the new lads make of Kilkenny. Or – more importantly – what the Cats make of them.

I’m not sure if Michael Ryan reads the Irish Farmers Journal but he will be choking on his tea if he has read this far because of course this talk will bother him. Comparing Dublin and Tipp is a little misplaced, given the Dubs have four All-Irelands in seven years while all of Tipp’s All-Irelands of the last 50 years (1971, 1989, 1991, 2001, 2010, 2016) were all of the one-in-a-row variety. So far.

Ryan has history within his grasp and momentum this early he surely knows is difficult to maintain. But Brian Cody is next and Tipp simply cannot waste a chance to beat them because that matters to the squad and those wins are rare and very necessary.

The Cats are in their form of transition. There is no doubt about that. Unlike other counties though, they can usually negotiate that seamlessly and often in the space of weeks. Their new guns, however – Blanchfield, Leahy, Cleere and Deegan being four – don’t carry the same ready-to-wear look about them and the supporting cast aren’t exactly firing either.

This game has much to recommend it. A repeat of September 2016, it could well be the same final pairing in six months’ time. Tipp are the bet on the first night anyway.

The two remaining top-flight clashes have home wins written all over them. That means more woes for Dublin and Cork – two counties struggling to find their mojo. It looks likely one of these two are for the drop and losses this weekend will hasten that.

Clare, despite a missing list that includes a number of former and future All-Stars, merely have to match Dublin’s attitude for work to allow their natural advantages to see them over the line. The same is true of Waterford’s handling of the Rebels and Derek McGrath’s side rarely turn up undercooked.

As a county, Cork GAA is in the doldrums and not even the prospect of a brand new Páirc Uí Chaoimh can lift them. Clare have book-ended the spring problems in Cork, their hurlers’ optimism at beating them all but gone, their footballers loss to the Banner the latest of the last straws.

A month into the national leagues and the Rebels are not making any noise, on or off the field. Their footballers look to be where the hurlers are headed in about two years’ time. Long before Twitter, Facebook or the fan websites, Cork had perfected that art of noise. Despite a couple of recent “perceived county board” provocations, they can’t even bring themselves to go on strike these days That says it all really. The Cork tree is falling. Will anyone hear it?