AIN’T IT FUNNY, ALL the same. How nobody has used the word ‘transition’ for the Dublin footballers?
This week five years ago, the Covid lockdown was in full effect. Working as a Doctor in St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny, Jack McCaffrey appealed to the public to take certain steps to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.
We cannot guess at his intentions. You would imagine that being so close to the effects of the pandemic coloured his thinking, but in the height of that summer, aged just 26, he made a decision to pause his Dublin career.
The empty houses of the Covid All Ireland series of 2020 was a fundamentally unsatisfactory affair.
In October of that year, Diarmuid Connolly announced he was done with representing Dublin.
After the All Ireland final win over Mayo, Paddy Andrews, Michael Darragh Macauley left. Natural wastage, given the service both players gave, but eyebrows were raised at Paul Mannion stepping away.
After the 2021 season, more big beasts left the fray in Kevin McManamon, Cian O’Sullivan and Philly McMahon.
For years after, Dessie Farrell made a great fist of it, staunching the flow of retirements.
Others became the leaders, while players such as Eoin Murchan, the Small brothers Paddy and John, Brian Howard, Niall Scully all supplemented the class of Con O’Callaghan, Ciaran Kilkenny and Brian Fenton.
In filling around the irreplaceables, Farrell was fishing in deep waters. The average young county player now needs a few years of physical maturation and getting up to speed. There’s not too many teenagers going straight into county teams now.
Especially not in Dublin.
Cian Murphy was 23 before he got his debut in the 2020 league against Meath.
Tom Lahiff was a year older when he made his bow against Galway in the same league.
Sean McMahon, who started against Kerry, took until he was 23 before he started his first game for Dublin.
Lee Gannon made his debut for the county hurlers as a teenager but it took a few years after that before he was in with the county football team.
While Peader Ó Cofaigh Byrne made his debut at 20 against Tyrone in a meaningless Super 8s game, he has been raced very lightly up until this season. Ross McGarry had to wait until he was 22 for his first appearance.
The same for Daire Newcombe, while Killian O’Gara is an impressively late developer, first appearing for the Dubs at 28.
There are outliers such as Sean Bugler and Greg McEneaney, but essentially when Dublin transition, they didn’t bring through a bunch of kids. They do it with seasoned adult footballers.
This league season has been fairly radical for Farrell. Across six games they beat Mayo, Galway, Derry and Kerry, the sides you would have wanted to beat.
They have some ratification for the two defeats. Playing Donegal in Ballybofey is notoriously tough and Jim McGuinness’ unbeaten record in that venue is a marvel, notwithstanding Donegal also bringing league games to Ballyshannon and Letterkenny every year.
After the defeat to Armagh, when it was the third game in as many weeks, Dessie Farrell hinted that they might have been engaged in a heavy block of training at that period.
Most teams will have at least one stinker of a performance in the league. In taking 20 minutes to register their first score in this game, that was unquestionably Dublin’s.
Losing to both Donegal and Armagh, though, does throw up a pattern suggesting that Dublin are struggling with Ulster sides.
Applying cold logic, grouping together ‘Ulster teams’ makes no sense whatsoever. If only it were that simple.
Heading to Omagh to face Tyrone this Sunday in the concluding round of the league gives Dublin a chance to make a final ahead of their Leinster championship opener on 13 April against the winners of Wicklow and Longford. And, also, potentially relegate Tyrone.
So, let’s do the numbers thing.
Across six games, Dublin have used 32 players. Stephen Cluxton became number 31 and Ross McGarry the 32nd against Galway.
They handed full league debuts to goalkeeper Gavin Sheridan, the returning Brisbane Lion from the AFL, James Madden. Then Kevin Lahiff, the converted hurlers in Eoghan O’Donnell and Davy Keogh, Conor Tyrrell, Alex Gavin and Niall O’Callaghan, brother of Con.
On the bench as unused substitutes have been some notable players too such as Calum Aherne, Nathan Doran, while the DCU student Eoghan O’Connor Flanagan has been named as wing-back on the Sigerson Team of the Year this very week.
Such revolution sounds healthy. And yet there are legitimate concerns.
Last year, the greatest midfield of all time in James McCarthy and Brian Fenton both left at the same time. Mick Fitzsimons and John Small also called it a day. Jack McCaffrey and Paul Mannion also left again, only this time it has a feeling of permanence about it.
Eoin Murchan hasn’t featured prominently. Paddy Small is still waiting to get his first significant action.
In years gone by, the gap between league and championship was enough to give comfort that all would be well in time for the summer. The season being the way it is, you have to be bang on it from the word go.
Even before you are legally permitted to go back, in a few cases.
The spine of the Dublin team now has a vulnerable look. As much as he changed everything for goalkeepers, Stephen Cluxton might not be the answer between the sticks this year, robbed of the variety of his kickouts because of the restrictions of the new rules.
Theo Clancy at full back. Sean McMahon at centre back doesn’t quite feel like the enforcers of old.
A potential midfield pairing of Tom Lahiff and Brian Howard have a bit of work to do in order to replace the previous pairing.
The forward line is still in check, with Ciaran Kilkenny, Con O’Callaghan and Cormac Costello augmented well.
It’s not the same Dubs team. It’s not even Dessie’s underage crew. This is now his sixth season in charge and, arguably, his third team.
If you don’t read the papers how do you know that you need to state that you don’t read them ?
Unless you read them, seen the criticism and want to pretend that you haven’t …..
Cunning plan there Roberto!