Kerry will make managers think again
The Kingdom don’t do moulds. Sure, there is plenty to draw from them, but no one fundamental attribute. They have become too chameleon-like for that.
So unlike previous years, there will be no stampede for early morning training sessions or double-quilted blanket defences. No rush to play cavalier football nor urgency to fill a team with a platoon of six-foot plussers.
Some may look at Kerry and consider why they were so good. Most will merely shrug their shoulders and put it down to them being Kerry. Either way, thankfully, there is no fad to follow this year nor should there be, when you consider how close they were to being brought to a replay.
So very often, the vanquished are forgotten, no matter how hot their breath was on the necks of their victors. In fact, there is probably more to garner from Donegal this season and how they went into camp before each Championship game. Kerry did reap a lot from their time in Portugal but a host of mini camps may appeal more to managers, as a means to treat each game as a single entity and engendering focus.
Sunday was not, as some might like you to believe, the death knell for Gaelic football. Kerry will dance if you let them, brawl if you confront them. The manner of their win is particularly pleasing to them but, as Tony McEntee wrote in these pages yesterday, they will want to win better.
But to shape-shift as they have brilliantly this year is difficult to the point of futile. Some may consider the possibilities are endless after Eamonn Fitzmaurice cultivated an All-Ireland-winning team drawing largely from an U21 side that lost to Cork by 22 points in 2011.
However, this is Kerry we’re talking about. They weren’t bad footballers. Actually, as James O’Donoghue and Peter Crowley have shown, they were among the best. But they were far from the best conditioned. The introduction of Cian O’Neill in addressing what had become a serious situation was of paramount importance, an iron fist to fill the velvet glove.
If other counties want pointers, they should look at Kerry as the last in a trend. Appoint an All-Ireland-winning player as your manager might be a start. The last five All-Ireland titles have been won by men who climbed the Hogan Stand steps before being applauded from them — Conor Counihan (1989, ‘90), Pat Gilroy (’95), Jim McGuinness (’93), Jim Gavin (’95), Eamonn Fitzmaurice (2000, ‘04, ‘06).
Don’t scrimp on providing players with the best on offer. In his speech on Sunday, Kerry captain Kieran O’Leary heaped praise on chairman Patrick O’Sullivan for facilitating the players.
Dublin in their winning seasons hardly wanted for anything. Donegal’s budget was extended and external finance sourced to give their panel more than a fighting chance of All-Ireland glory.
But some things are unattainable. Like Kerry’s wealth of tradition. For that reason Fitzmaurice might not get the respect he deserves for this latest achievement of Kerry’s. It will hardly upset him. In fact, it may ensure they are well placed to retain their title. That and a fit-again Colm Cooper. And a returning Tommy Walsh. And a host of aspiring All-Ireland winning minors turned U21s. And potentially four games from another All-Ireland final. Kerry taught every other team a valuable lesson this season — adapt or perish. There’s an argument to suggest that next to Tyrone, no other team has won an All-Ireland with such a horses-for-courses approach. But not every team has depth of talent or lack of ego to apply themselves in such a manner.
Kerry can be beaten but they can’t be followed. They have made everyone else think for themselves once more. That’s something to be thankful for.
— Email: john.fogarty@examiner.ie
