AT THE END of an interesting debate on ‘Championship Matters’ on RTÉ on Thursday evening, journalist Kieran Shannon made a typically astute and important point that could easily have been lost amidst all the talk of Seánie Johnston and Dublin’s chances of retaining their All Ireland.
In recent times he said he had watched the demise of the traditional midfield and noted that primary possession had almost become about ball won in the tackle leading to quick breaks, as opposed to high-fielding and an attack based on physical momentum.
Sadly, the show ran out of time and he didn’t get a chance to expand.
His theory is fascinating but it isn’t solely based on tactics. Right now there is a dearth of quality ball-winning midfielders and it’s little wonder given the names we’ve lost over the last decade. Kevin Walsh, Fergal O’Donnell, Ciarán Whelan, Paul McGrane and Darragh Ó Sé have all left the stage while the lengthy careers of Dermot Earley, John Galvin, Eamonn O’Hara and Seán Cavanagh have been slowed and stopped by injuries.
Such a trend is purely cyclical and in time we expect to see the likes of John Heslin, Aidan Walsh and Brendan Murphy thrill us in the air again. However, when they come back down with the ball in the future, they’ll be faced by a different proposition to any that went before them. At that point they may have traditional primary possession, but others will be looking to turn it into the modern-form of primary possession.
Then, eras will inevitably collide.
Tomorrow, we’ll get a sneak preview of what to expect and watching Paddy Keenan in particular against Dublin will be made even more fascinating because there’s little else to get excited about.
There’s no doubt the Louth midfielder is one of the best in the game right now and off his own kickout, he may not have the physicality of either Michael Darragh Macauley or Eamon Fennell but he certainly has the mobility to get to well-placed passes. What he does then is crucial because there’s no point in galloping into traffic so the onus will be on Darren Clarke in particular to make space closer to goal.
But to be honest, that’s where our interest ends. The last time these sides met in 2010, it was an horrific blowout. Back then Louth had the excuse of that Leinster final heartbreak and while they’ll be in a better frame of mind this time around, they may not be in a better position as they have regressed and Dublin have progressed in terms of tactics, ability and confidence. Indeed outside of that Keenan midfield battle, the match-ups are horrific for the underdogs. On top of that they won’t be able to compete with the style of play or the intensity of the home side.
Firepower
No team scored more goals in Division One than Dublin this league and that was without the Brogans. No team conceded more goals than Louth in Division One or Two this league so you can imagine where this is going to go. The ability of Peter Fitzpatrick’s side to stay close early will decide how much entertainment we get, but it won’t decide the result and we believe we won’t even get to learn about the key issues facing Dublin down the line.
If the champions are to get back to where they were last year, how Diarmuid Connolly and Kevin McManoman, who blossomed in the league, react and if they’ll defer now the Brogans are back will be big. How Ger Brennan and Connolly deal with pressure mentally in terms of lashing out and how MacCauley and Fennell deal with pressure in terms of the basic tackle will be huge. And how Dublin replicate last year’s intensity with a medal already at home will be colossal.
But none of that is relevant here because they won’t be under the pressure they’ll feel later in the year. As for those sitting in the stands, we suggest you keep your eyes on Paddy Keenan and away from the scoreboard. It’ll be better than way.
Leinster SFC Quarter-final
Dublin v Louth
Sunday, Croke Park, 4.30
Live, TV3, 3.30
DUBLIN S Cluxton; P McMahon, R O’Carroll, M Fitzsimons; J McCarthy, G Brennan, K Nolan; E Fennell, MD Macauley; B Cullen, A Brogan, P Flynn; D Connolly, K McManamon, B Brogan.
LOUTH N Gallagher; P Rath, D Finnegan, G Hoey; R Finnegan, J Carr, D Byrne; P Keenan, R Carroll; D Crilly, M Brennan, A Reid; D Maguire, J McEneaney, D Clarke.
Well done. Great Cause
Could have come first if he didn’t stop to take the bloody selfie….Great man. Great cause. Lovely story.
Selfie mehole. Soon as the picture was taken, he hopped on a sleigh with 12 huskies pulling him along, and cracked open a bottle of powers
The only reason he didn’t win was because he spent the first 3 days going in the wrong direction.
Wow! There really are some fantastic human beings around! And he is one!!
What a lazy fecker.
SECOND?
Fair play to him, great cause and a great performance to match
I know, whats with the article he didn’t even win like?
Hadn’t have slept those 6 hours he might have won lazy fecker. Congratulations though that’s some achievement.
And the race is from where to where?
Exactly! Any chance of including what’s actually involved in the race?
As his medal says “finisher” coz most people can’t finish the toughest course in the world (probably) And that little boy will smile ear to ear after he recovers Fair fox ta ya man fair fox ta ya.
Respect …. Wow ….. Well done
Cmon the tribesmen
North to Alaska/Johhny Horton
Sam crossed the majestic mountains (mush)
To the valleys far below (mush)
He talked to his team of huskies (mush)
As he mushed on through the snow (mush)
With the northern lights a-runnin’ wild (mush)
In the land of the midnight sun (mush)
Yes, Sam McCord was a mighty man (mush)
In the year of nineteen-one (mush)
………And so is Gavan Hannigan a Mighty Man too.Well done Gavan!
There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.
(Robert Service poem).
@Pat Gorman…….
The Spell of the Yukon
I wanted the gold, and I sought it, I scrabbled and mucked like a slave.
Was it famine or scurvy — I fought it; I hurled my youth into a grave.
I wanted the gold, and I got it — Came out with a fortune last fall, —
Yet somehow life’s not what I thought it, And somehow the gold isn’t all.
No! There’s the land. (Have you seen it?) It’s the cussedest land that I know,
From the big, dizzy mountains that screen it To the deep, deathlike valleys below.
Some say God was tired when He made it; Some say it’s a fine land to shun;
Maybe; but there’s some as would trade it For no land on earth — and I’m one.
-
-A Great Week-end to You Pat Gorman.
Who came third?
Great cause but to come second should be ashamed of himself
Phenomenal performance!! Tough race to finish let alone finish 2nd, well done
Superb Gavin , I suppose they’ll expect you to win the all Ireland for Galway now.
Fair dues man :)
If your not first your last!! Great achievement.while fitness is important its the will and desire to keep going that is most impressive,well done.
Well done. Inspirational.
Amazing stuff.. but yes we need more info please !
Some achievement. . Well done. .
Where in galway is he from?
He came second out of 2
people were still finishing 3 days after he finished!, more detail about this gruelling event is needed in the article.
The Yukon!
The land of the Sourdough.
One of the toughest places on earth.
Recommended Good Read:
Micí Mac Gabhann’s “Rotha Mór an tSaoil”.
That procedure not available here in Nirvana, no?