More than one way to top charts

It’s the question we’ve been asking all week, isn’t it? Whether Dublin are going to continue with the sunshine football or else resort to a more pragmatic game based on modern realities.

A little like the anxious fans of an idiosyncratic indie band on the cusp of a break-through, Dublin’s supporters will be beginning to worry about how their team’s experimental attacking football will fare on a bigger stage.

Will their exciting and counter intuitive approach to the modern game survive the move, or will they be forced to compromise their principles to prove they have real crossover appeal? The mainstream can harden even the purest of hearts, but there is no real evidence to support the common suspicion that Dublin are about to sell their soul to reach number one.