Subversion of the beautiful game?
It’s quite surprising what folk would have you believe in early March.
Despite the fact Gaelic football, such as it is, has been going all funny for some time now, we’re starting to believe that tomorrow’s match between Kerry and Donegal could be an accurate barometer for what may be about to happen during the summer.
Out of curiosity and a ghoulish sense of anticipation, Kerry people will flock to Fitzgerald Stadium from all corners of the county tomorrow to view what they believe to be the latest subversion of the beautiful game once believed to be held in trust by the Kingdom’s finest.
Páidí Ó Sé caused a stir recently when he urged Kerry players to stop whinging. But Páidí was merely echoing what was being said on the terraces. What was significant about the whole episode was that Páidí, in recognising that Kerry players weren’t even the worst offenders, insisted Kerry players had an obligation to the game of football. It was a timely reminder of the traditions and heritage underpinning everything a Kerry footballer says and does in a green and gold jersey.
That’s one of the reasons why tomorrow’s lark in the park is being viewed as more than just an ordinary league match.
When the criticism of Jim McGuinness and his vision of Gaelic football reached a peak last August, the most sensible and reasoned rebuttal was that Donegal players had no responsibility or obligation to the spirit of the game but rather to themselves and to the effort being put in after years of quixotic failure. Furthermore, it was being suggested the challenge to all self-respecting coaches was to devise a plan to counteract Donegal’s defensive system.
We thought Mickey Harte had devised such a strategy in last year’s Ulster semi-final but with so many of his foot-soldiers close to retirement, he couldn’t quite get his ducks in-a-row.
After Pat Gilroy and his players managed to beat Donegal in the All-Ireland semi-final, Karl Lacey’s injury and Colm McFadden’s early second-half missed goal opportunity were offered in mitigation and Dublin were seen to have won the game by chance rather than by design.
Both were key factors, no doubt, but the most revealing aspect of that landmark game was the influence exerted by the short, sharp runs made by Kevin McManamon after his half-time introduction.
By having McManamon on the field, Dublin were able to facilitate the running game which, for all its ugliness, draws even the most defensive team out of themselves and more often than not, seduces free kicks.
Kerry players of recent vintage are no less guilty than Donegal’s when it comes to short lateral passing and despite all the hollers we’ll hear on the terrace tomorrow to “kick the goddamn thing in”, the reality is that packed defences and uncontested possession in certain parts of the field lends itself to the running game so abhorred by Kerry fans. It takes quite an amount of imagination and conviction to play it any other way against Donegal.
So how do you score against Donegal? Based on the latest evidence, Cork’s first score last Sunday in Ballybofey may be instructive: Paul Kerrigan carries the ball a certain distance, gets held up, then at the last minute passes to Aidan Walsh who enters the line at pace, finds himself in space and kicks a point from 30 yards out.
The lesson here is that for all the labour involved in the approach, you need to have two fresh players coming at pace off the shoulder of the tackled player, and these runs need to be made close enough to goal so that kicking for a score is an option immediately after receiving the ball.
In this brave new world, the turnover and counter attack has replaced the kickout and breaking ball as the fad of the day and much like their predecessors as kingpins of Ulster football, (Tyrone) Donegal don’t mind not dominating the aerial battle at midfield. It’s football folks, but not as we knew it!
Of Cork’s other five scores on Sunday, three came from missed tackles (Leo McLoone twice and a Karl Lacey/Neil Gallagher combo once), a Colm O’Neill snapshot and a further O’Neill free. Whether embarrassed or infuriated by such concessions, Donegal decided not to concede another score for the remaining half hour.
Were it not for some poor shooting at the other end (five kicks into the goalie’s hands and eight wides), Donegal could have beaten Cork by much more.
An intriguing sub-plot ahead of tomorrow’s game is the perception/reality that the tide of criticism of Donegal’s style has its source in Kerry. Like many Kerrymen awaiting an evolution of the Donegal style, I detest absolutely their way of playing.
Within the super-sensitive group dynamic of an inter-county dressing room, that view will be interpreted as an affront to an honest bunch of players striving to change their image but so be it. Insult and offence is not its intention but the prerogatives of players, pundits and supporters are often at variance.
And so it comes to this... In Kevin Cassidy’s contribution to This Is Our Year, he speaks of Jim McGuinness telling the team that they wouldn’t get any ‘respect’ until year two of his plan. He also tells of how there was a sense of having left an All-Ireland medal behind them: “because I know that Kerry would have struggled with us. Definitely. If we brought our system past Dublin we would have learned how to go a bit more offensive while still minding the house.”
These theories will be tested in Killarney tomorrow. Who will win? If Kerry don’t lose the ball as often as they did last week (22 times in the first-half alone!) and if they win enough frees for Bryan Sheehan to test the radar on his practice ground, they should take their first two home league points of 2012.
