Gilroy blends old and new
The St Vincent’s clubman has made four changes to the side which started so haplessly against Wexford two weeks ago and the recalls for Bryan Cullen and Tomas Quinn are particularly significant.
Cullen and Quinn were big players under Paul Caffrey and have the Leinster medals to prove it, but they have been afforded only bit-part roles under Gilroy who has taken a wrecking ball to the squad he inherited.
There are varying reasons for the changes but the presence of Cullen and Quinn in the line-up would suggest that change will come at a slower pace than Gilroy had once hoped.
Cullen owes his return to the absence of the injured Cian O’Sullivan, who had been earmarked for the crucial centre-back role this season, as well as to his own impressive cameo against Wexford two weeks ago.
Tomas Quinn was another of the old guard to grab his chance when introduced in the quarter-final. Four points, three of them from play, were enough to squeeze out Kevin McManamon in the full-forward line.
Out with the new and in with the old, then? Not quite.
Alan Brogan is another of those parachuted in but his spot comes at the expense of captain David Henry. Ger Brennan is the fourth addition with his promotion coming on the back of Denis Bastick’s suspension.
“You can get overly hung up on this thing about experienced guys,” said Gilroy.
“Probably our three least experienced people were our best people in the last game. It is what somebody is doing in 2010 is relevant, not what they did in the past. We picked the team with what we are seeing in the training games. We are not picking it on how many years a guy has been around here. Fellas know that. That’s the way it has to be.”
Gilroy’s selection policy has been constricted by a handful of minor injuries and viruses but Eamonn Fennell, Ross McConnell, Hugh Gill, Paul Conlon, and Niall Corkery are all expected to be fit tomorrow.
In all, seven of the team that lines out against Meath in Croke Park were key players under the former regime but it remains to be seen whether they will be changes for the better.
Cullen’s defensive abilities have long been called into question, Brennan’s indiscipline was once again to the fore against Wexford, while Quinn’s input from open play has been limited all too often.
Whatever transpires, it is likely to be much better than the opening 50 minutes of their game against Wexford when Dublin produced what was generally accepted to be the county’s worst championship performance in decades.
Gilroy seemed somewhat peeved when asked about the decision to stay in a hotel the night prior to the game but admitted that the reaction from the players was mixed and that they will be sleeping in their own beds tonight.
The problem with Dublin the last day wasn’t their pillows but their passing according to Gilroy who revealed that they conceded a “ridiculous” 19 turnovers in the first-half alone.
“As a result of us giving the ball away, it looked like we were miles off our men. It was turnovers the whole time. That is something we’ve put a lot of work into over the past two weeks and it shouldn’t happen again.”
Indiscipline was another factor. Both Bastick and Brennan were sent off in normal time, and the litany of frees conceded close to their own posts were invariably punished by Matty Forde.
Wexford’s problem was that Forde was nowhere near match fit and they didn’t possess anything like the necessary firepower to hurt Dublin in open play but Meath are anything but toothless.
Joe Sheridan is in the form of his life and it will be interesting to see if Cullen can cope. Add in Shane O’Rourke, Stephen Bray, Cian Ward and Graham Reilly and the measure of Dublin’s job is crystal clear.
“Meath look like they have improved,” said Gilroy whose first championship match in charge last year brought a two-point win over their neighbours. “How much they have improved I don’t know.”
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