Dublin breaking the mould to lift Sam
They sacrificed the sweeper long before Jim Gavin took charge and have shown a clinical touch in front of goal that has escaped their All-Ireland final opponents. But it’s the avalanche of scoring chances they are making that has set the Leinster champions apart this season. And yet there is so much more to them that makes them unique although not all of it is positive.
Here are 10 ways Dublin are breaking the mould this year:
Both teams come into Sunday having won five games and while Mayo have scored more and conceded less the quality of the opposition they faced doesn’t compare with what’s been put in front of Dublin. The Dubs have won two games by 16 points, another couple by seven and one by five playing a brand of football that’s so easy on the eye it’s been mentioned as saving the game from overtly negative tactics. That might be pushing it but there’s not much to complain about at least aesthetically.
Earlier in the year, Gavin spoke of his affinity with the Washington Redskins and their former coach Joe Gibbs who lead them to three Superbowls. Gavin revealed he took a lot of his coaching philosophies from Gibbs and he has taken some of the American football vernacular into Gaelic football. He refers to training as “practice”. What we know as A versus B games he prefers to call “internal games”. His words are also peppered with phrases clearly influenced by his military background.
Not since Galway in 1998 has there been such a rich return from a group of U21s so quickly on a senior team. Ciarán Kilkenny had a bit of experience last year but the manner in which Jack McCaffrey, Paul Mannion and, to a lesser extent, Kevin O’Brien have taken to the higher stage has been extraordinary. Up until the Kerry game, it was these precocious talents who had been guiding Dublin to victories.
Gavin frequently mentions how Dublin are sent out to play the right way. He spoke in glowing terms of the game against Kerry: “There was no time wasting by either goalkeeper. Nobody was feigning injuries. No aggressive tackling off the ball. So it was played in the right spirit, the way I think Kerry people like the game to be played and the way Dublin people expect the game to be played.” That semi-final, as good as it was, also had 11 yellow cards. There was also the Jonny Cooper trip and questions over the Colm Cooper incident. Earlier in the year, O’Brien was embroiled in a biting allegation.
It still boggles the mind that Michael Darragh Macauley was played at centre forward against Mayo last year. It wasn’t only when he was played at midfield later in the game that Dublin made in-roads. Despite his hard running, he is not your typical midfielder, preferring to break more aerial ball than claim primary possession. Cian O’Sullivan isn’t an a-type midfielder. Like Tyrone in the Noughties, Dublin have shown advances can be made with smaller midfielders.
Stephen Cluxton’s leadership qualities are incredible. Anthony Tohill saw them when he appointed him as Ireland captain in Australia two years ago. However, he relieved him of having to speak to the media. Instead, vice-skipper Ciaran McKeever faces the microphones. Cluxton, however, has been an ever-present alongside Jim Gavin in each of post-match press conference in this year’s Championship. As someone who is genuinely reluctant to speak to journalists, it’s led to some uncomfortable exchanges with the Parnells man regularly replying with monosyllabic answers.
Dublin have had the best bench for the last three years but under Gavin their advantage in that department has increased. Dean Rock, a forward who didn’t much of a look-in under Pat Gilroy, is the team’s sixth highest scorer with 10 points. Kevin McManamon continues to contribute a direct style of running that defenders hate to see in the final stages of games. Even though the team hasn’t changed much over the summer, Gavin has been quick to change personnel when things haven’t been going right, Philly McMahon for O’Brien against Kerry being the latest example. His switches have worked too.
The word “goalkeeper” hardly does justice to Cluxton. He is so much more than that; he is Dublin’s quarter-back, their defensive coordinator, their field-goal kicker. Captain is a much more appropriate term and it was a wise choice by Gavin to appoint him to the position this year. What’s so impressive about the Parnells man is his determination to add to his game. If it isn’t different strategies in restarting games, it’s in adding long-range free-taking to his repertoire a few years back.
Paul Caffrey was never ashamed of showing just how many were in his backroom team. The 16 of them lined up alongside one another for the national anthem. Gavin’s a little more subtle than that but he actually has at least two more in his group. Former world boxing champions Bernard Dunne this year came onboard as a lifestyle coach while head of analysis Ray Boyne, whose reappointment was announced via a press release, has two working alongside him on statistics.
Dublin’s post-match function on Sunday evening will be in The Gibson Hotel, officially described as the team’s “sleeping partner”. They met up there before games as well as staging press conferences and management meetings. But the hotel is only one of several brands that have paid to be associated with the team. On top of that, there is Skins Compression Clothing, Linwoods Superfoods, ROS Nutrition and Warrior with Aer Lingus and Renault still sharing association. Dublin under Pat Gilroy had a multitude of associate sponsors but none as visible as this year.
