Éamonn Fitzmaurice: The Dublin dilemma: What's required to turn the ship?
Dublin players huddle before the Allianz Football League Division 1 match against Mayo in Croke Park. Dessie Farrell's side have lost both their games in this season's competition.
As the National Football League hurtles along, patterns are starting to emerge and storylines are beginning to form. While it is still early days the off-Broadway auditions at this time of the year can often inform the big stuff later when it counts.
One of the predominant fashions to emerge in recent seasons has been the evolution of the fly keeper. Any time a team win the All-Ireland, teams up and down the country will ape aspects of the champions' successful gameplan. What can be missed is the quality of the personnel implementing the successful strategies. The best champions, of course, continue to evolve to keep a step ahead of everyone else. Dublin were excellent at this. A thrilling part of the evolution of the goalkeeper is how teams are now reacting to it. The element of surprise is long gone, so it is time to hammer the hammer. Previously the instruction would have been to let the keeper have it. Don’t get drawn towards him so that he can pop it over your head, take you out of the game and create an overlap. Generally, with the crowd bellowing at them to get rid of it the keeper would eventually draw a swipe at the ball and probably cough up possession. This is no longer an option. They are too good on the ball and led by the likes of Rory Beggan and Niall Morgan they are willing to go the length of the field and kick a score from play, if allowed. As goalkeepers up and down the country become more and more emboldened opposition teams are actively attempting to dispossess them.
