O’Keeffe: Rebuilding panel key to success
Not a bad haul by any stretch.
The question is, just how does this decade compare to those in Kerry’s illustrious history, especially it’s golden age under Mick O’Dwyer in the 1970s and early 1980s?
Few are better qualified to run the rule over the two eras than Ger O’Keeffe who featured in three All-Ireland finals in the earlier era and who has been wing man to Jack O’Connor during the manager’s two spells in charge.
“I always believed, even when I got involved in 2004, that this team hasn’t got the credit that it deserved,” said O’Keeffe.
“In my day you played three or four games. With all due respect to the provinces, there was really only Dublin for the first couple of years and Cork before that. There was no back door and, once you had Cork beaten, you always got to a final. The only time you might be beaten was by Dublin or Cork before Offaly came along.
“The amount of championship matches that needed to be played for the lads to win eight All-Irelands was way below the amount of matches that the present groups of players have had to play.”
Another thread linking both eras is the rivalry with Cork and O’Keeffe still recalls with awe the Rebel full-forward line of Jimmy Barry Murphy, Declan Barron and Ray Cummins from 1975.
A year later, Kerry squeezed by their neighbours on the back of a few dodgy refereeing decisions but, just like now, that was how it was then. One way or another, Kerry seemed to get the job done.
“Cork are not far off the bar at this stage,” said the Austin Stacks man. “They will be hanging around for a long time and we will be put to the pin of our collar next year by them.”
Back to Kerry though.
Impressive and all as the last ten seasons have been, their inability to crack the Tyrone code in championship football will dilute their achievements for many. So too will the modern championship structure which allowed the Kingdom reboot in the qualifiers before launching successful assaults on the Sam Maguire in 2006 and again this year.
Tyrone have benefited from the same structure and the question must be asked whether the benefits of the back door system are weighed too far in the big guns’ favour.
“You do get the second opportunity,” O’Keeffe accepted. “We had coasted through the league, which surprised me. We were into the final before we played the second last match. That said, we had some very tough games. We edged the victory up above in Tyrone and we had a comeback against Dublin in Parnell Park and those kind of games will bring on a team.
“We also learned about the deficiencies that were within the panel and the team and the importance of building the squad. The back door helped us do that even more. David Moran, I think it was, got a great chance the first day in Killarney to kick a ball over the bar but, if we had beaten Cork that day in Killarney, we wouldn’t be sitting in this hotel here today as the All-Ireland champions.
“There was no way we were at the level we needed to be to win an All-Ireland at that stage.”
Sunday’s success is vindication for O’Connor and O’Keeffe who many believed had little to gain after bringing their involvement to a halt after the final defeat of Mayo in 2006.
Defeat to Tyrone last year was painted in many places as the end of an era for this Kerry team and the suggestion was that the new management was at risk of tainting its legacy.
“I suppose the reason why we came back was we still saw great potential within the team but we needed to strengthen up the team.
“Tadhgy made the decision, with a little bit of encouragement, to come home, Mike McCarthy decided to come on board and then having Paul Galvin, who was banned last year…
“We strengthened the panel from last year and we felt that was important. Otherwise we were going to have a difficult year.
“It proved good sense to do what we did because you never win an All-Ireland with the same team.
“You have to keep changing, strengthening the panel as often as you can.”
All that eludes them now is that shot at Tyrone.
Maybe next year.
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