Championship

Dublin have raised the bar to a whole new level

September 27th, 2011
by Weeshie Fogarty

 As expected the inquests on Kerrys defeat by Dublin have been literally raging far and wide around the county and I have no doubt where ever else Kerry supporters get together.  This is of course normal for a county such as ours and back through the years it has been my experience whenever Kerry are defeated in the championship the whole mood of the county changes completely. Everywhere I went since the final the very first topic of conversation began with the comment "they left it after them" or "what happened them". And these are the questions that Jack o Connor and his back room team will have to find reasonable answers for as the long winter nights draw in.

However before we touch on the defeat I must comment on what was for me was a very sad spectacle following the final whistle last Sunday week. Now Croke Park have made a huge issue of the fact that preventing supporters racing on to the field after the final whistle will give the winning team ample time and space to celebrate in safety and acknowledge their followers.  This it appears will be the norm from here on in and there is a lot of sense to this new routine. However there is for me two sides to every story and in this instance everyone seems to have forgotten to explain what great benefit this new procedure is to the defeated side in the final. And for me here lies the biggest drawback in keeping fans off the field for the presentation.

To see the Kerry players standing, sitting or lying prostrate on the field last Sunday week was a very sad sight. It was something I have never before witnessed. It appeared as if they had no place to hide following what was one of the most traumatic defeats by the county since 1982 and the Seamus Darby goal.  They were literally shell shocked and as the TV cameras zoomed in up close and personal it was evident they would prefer to be any where else in the world than out in the middle of Croke Park with the eyes of the world on them.  I could imagine the feeling, even wishing as the saying goes "that the ground would open up and swallow them". Of course it was a wonderful sporting gesture to remain there in the full glare of publicity as surrounded by the Dublin players and mentors who danced, hugged and cried with delight.

An awful lot has been written and spoken of about Dublin's goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton disappearing down the tunnel immediately following the final whistle. However for me the one remaining vision that will forever remain etched in the memory is that of a stunned shell shocked Kerry captain Colm Cooper visibly distraught together his men as described above. At least when the fans were allowed on the field previously it gave the defeated side an opportunity of remaining anonymous among the mass of supporters and even being consoled by friends and family. The press photographers had a field day and we have been inundated with pictures of the stunned Kerry boys in the papers and TV following the final whistle. You may well say it's irreverent and this is the way it will be under the new regulations. But it's not for me irrespective what county are involved.  A simple solution. Let it be know publicity that the losers have the option of returning to their dressing room immediately and not hang around suffering further humiliation. What purpose will does it serve, remaining on the field? None whatsoever in my view.

One thing is certain, this Dublin team will be challenging for trophies for a long time. On the other hand Kerry are a side in decline and Jack o Connor and his selectors will have a lot of experimenting to do when the league comes around. And all their focus will be on the Kerry defence and if he decides to stay with the present men, if we have no retirements, then he will be setting out with a defence which has five players over 32. On the other hand the Dublin defence is over all the youngest to win an All ireland since Kerry in 1975. This is a frightening prospect for all other counties. Eight of the eleven Kerry subs named on the final programme are 23 years or under. We still don't know if all of those will make the grade, only time and league games will tell. We still have forwards as good as any in the country and midfield is no longer the huge deciding factor in the modern game.

There is nevertheless another major problem as regards next year's panel.  I believe we will see some retirements; it would be pure guess work on my part if I began to name names. However for argument sake say all the players decide to stay on and attempt to make amends for that soul destroying defeat then the selectors will face another issue which will require a high wire balancing act. I can't see all this Kerry side making themselves available for the league next year. It has happened in the past and will happen again that players will opt out for the duration of the league. So young players must be played one way or the other.

Now the older warriors might want to return for the championship but as we saw with Paul Galvin who was unavailable for most of the league, he failed to regain that fitness so necessary. In my view in no way can the whole squad be physically prepared for what is going to be a wide open championship? Jack summed it all up after the final when he stated, "Dublin have raised the bar to a whole new level". He was referring to their twice a day training sessions.  Kerry must raise the bar even higher again. Kevin Heffernan did the same to Mick o Dwyer back in the seventies but Kerry came back then and surpassed the Dublin preparations. This is what we are facing here.   This year Dublin were up and at it at the crack of dawn and then later that same day and remember they have not yet reached their peak. Preparations continue to reach new heights. Tactics especially this new craze of mass defence which was the ultimate cause of Dublin's win in the final will unfortunately be with us for the foreseeable future.  All of this is the fascinating and beauty of our games. One way or another Kerry will re-group, we can't say when but already we can look forward to the National League and the Kerry experiments with young players. The bar stool "experts" will have a mighty winter.

Fogra: Well done to my own club Killarney Legion on their under 21 club county championship win last week. This together with Crokes under 21 county championship victory and Kilcummin's minor county championship success last year is a huge vote of confidence for the work being put in by one and all and especially the organizational skills of the East Kerry Board.


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