Has McGeeney taken Kildare as far as he can?
Number two turned to number one and asked if he thought they could beat a team that were not only sleeping rough in Division 4, but had never won a game in Croke Park. “No,” came the response. He didn’t think his Kildare players had bought into his seven-man defence, his diagonal balls into corner-forwards and, most importantly, his mindset. It was as honest as it was accurate.
But that’s what year one was all about under McGeeney. Laying foundations on a piece of land that had potential for decent development.
It’s why across ’08 he locked the team in a Celtic Park dressing room for two hours; why he repeatedly said out loud the players had to take a hard look at themselves; why Grimley had to apologise when McGeeney stormed off before the warm-down following a scraping at the claws of Mayo; why Willie Anderson was brought in to talk to the panel just as he had been in McGeeney’s Armagh days; why the players bonded in a Naas nightclub because they had to become friends before they could become winners.
Until yesterday afternoon it all made perfect sense. Since that disaster against Wicklow, there had been nothing but ground gained and inches taken towards becoming the best in the country. Say what you will about losing to 14-man Dublin sides, breaking down against Louth, blowing up against Donegal, but each loss had a lesson and each season had a positive.
But what about 2012, after the worst defeat in all of McGeeney’s tenure, including that Wicklow result all those years ago? After all, it’s better to find out the bar is closed after walking for five minutes, rather than walking for five miles.
Under McGeeney, not winning Leinster may have been disappointing but that was hardly an indictment. But there’s only so long you can claim the payday is coming while not putting food on the table.
He’s smart enough to know that and maybe it’s why he looked as white as his team’s jerseys after this game. Unlike Wicklow 2008 where his tactics didn’t fit his players and unlike Dublin 2009 and Louth 2010 where there was a naivety in going toe-to-toe with a side that landed every punch, this time around Kildare had a system that was up there with the best.
Not dissimilar to Donegal, they had a granite full-back line, broke with pace, played with endurance and overwhelmed sides. But while all that can be taught, there are some key attributes even McGeeney cannot coach.
Kildare run up big scores but they aren’t the best shooters. It’s an oddity but it’s a fact based on the sheer number of chances they create. However, while that was again the case against Meath, once more in a clutch situation they didn’t have the footballing brain to overcome their limitations.
Down the stretch, their forwards lacked the vision to find a man in a better position. Mickey Conway chose Tomás O’Connor when John Doyle was open. Pádraig O’Neill chose to shoot when Conway was open. Dermot Earley chose to shoot.
There were other flaws based on brain over brawn too. O’Connor dominated the square yet each time he landed with the ball, facing away from goal, there was a triangle in front of him with no team-mate moving into it. He had to hop, to solo, to stall.
If that hurt so did the lack of leaders. Twice Kildare had Meath pinned to the floor, twice they didn’t keep them there. Just as you can’t teach footballing intelligence you can’t teach ruthlessness.
But if McGeeney should be frustrated with his players lack of evolution in that regard, they would be within their rights to feel the same right back at him. Take a look at the line yesterday. Mick Foley was dragged out of position as a solid full-back line went man-to-man rather than hold their ground.
Doyle was used in midfield and didn’t have the legs left by the time he was moved to a scoring position. O’Neill, Doyle, Daryl Flynn, Alan Smith and Emmet Bolton lined up across the centre but were bypassed yet nothing changed.
Who is to blame? It’s a mix of everyone. Where to now? They may not know that themselves, and while there’s the danger of an overreaction, another quarter-final won’t mean anything like a Leinster title would.
But what’s worse is, after all the work they put in to get this far, Kildare had their gameplan turned on them by a bunch of kids. Indeed as Meath dredged up a battling quality from the forgotten depths of their souls, McGeeney was left to walk across Croke Park, five years on, again unsure of his team.
At least back then in 2008 it was a beginning.
