Screen defence providing shortest route to the top

WHEN Donegal unveiled their new defensive system on May 15, the wails and howls of protest weren’t the sole preserve of RTÉ’s match analysts.

Many Donegal natives also shared the concerns that were so forcibly aired by Pat Spillane on the night of the game.

Fourteen weeks later and all has changed. A last-minute victory over Tyrone, the Anglo-Celt Cup and a last-second victory over Kildare have proved to be extremely persuasive. The people of Donegal now believe in Jim and his 12-man defence.

Truth be told, the system is everywhere. On Sunday, the Tipperary minors qualified for this year’s All-Ireland final. In the second half Tipp’s teenagers looked like a carbon copy of Donegal. They packed men behind the ball, absorbed pressure and counter-attacked.

Pat Spillane insists that Kerry’s naturally talented footballers will always triumph over methodical systems. Yet, where are the Kerry minors? And last year, Tipp also won the Munster U21 football title. John Evans, the shrewd Kerry man who is overseeing the project in Tipperary, clearly doesn’t believe in Spillane’s theory of Kerry Uber Alles.

Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final between Donegal and Dublin will provide another ringing endorsement for the effectiveness of the screen defence.

When Dublin attack, they will find their forwards surrounded by a 12-man barricade. It must also be noted that Donegal’s forwards will also be wrapped in a blanket of blue as Dublin employ a similar system.

Intelligent football people have drawn their own conclusions. Last year, Donegal were dumped out of the qualifiers by Armagh. A year later and Donegal are unchanged in terms of playing personnel. So what has changed?

Two years ago, Kerry met Dublin in the All-Ireland quarter-final. Kerry thrashed the Dubs by 17 points. Since then, the Dubs have learned how to tackle, how to defend and, when necessary, how to foul. It’s impossible to see any side dishing out that type of beating to this Dublin team.

Such is the success and effectiveness of the 12-man defence there is now a strong possibility that it will be considered the only way to play Gaelic football.

This is a dangerous situation as it can lead to a stagnation of fresh ideas and a fear of embracing anything that is different.

Soccer stood on a similar precipice last year after Jose Mourinho guided Inter Milan to their first European Cup in 45 years. Mourinho employs the same defensive principles that have become so ubiquitous in Gaelic football. Essentially, his teams defend with nine players and score on the counter-attack.

Had Mourinho enjoyed the same success at Real Madrid, it’s highly conceivable that virtually every major soccer team in the world would now be aping his ultra-cautious tactics.

However, it is soccer’s good fortune to have Barcelona and Lionel Messi, a team and a footballer that represent the antithesis of Mourinho’s philosophy.

Mourinho’s teams absorb pressure. Barcelona impose pressure.

By repeatedly beating Real — and by winning two out of the last three European Cups — Barcelona have proved beyond doubt that there are other ways to play soccer. And in Messi, they have a genius who provides proof that class can conquer all.

It’s good for soccer to have Barcelona and Messi. Similarly, it’s good for Gaelic football to have Kerry and Colm Cooper.

There are a few striking similarities between the teams. The Gooch and Messi is the most obvious. But there are further parallels. Barcelona’s defenders are excellent in possession but vulnerable under attack.

The same can be said of Aidan O’Mahony, Eoin Brosnan and Marc Ó Sé. Crucially, they are all superb footballers. Give them the ball, and they know what to do with it.

Indeed, this is a trait which runs through the entire Kerry team. Their composure on the ball, superb athleticism and exemplary skills are the key reasons they are the most blanket-proof team in the country.

Unlike other sides whose scoring threat tends to come from one exceptional forward, Kerry have a selection of match-winners. Depending on the day, it can be Declan O’Sullivan, or Darran O’Sullivan or Kieran Donaghy. The team that successfully contains that trio must also find an antidote for the Gooch.

It’s easy to admire Kerry. But, the big question, the challenge facing everyone is how do you play like them? Spillane clearly believes it’s possible as each week he exhorts various counties to mimic the expansive style of his native county men. But how do you produce a Tomás Ó Sé or a Colm Cooper? Underage development teams? I don’t think so.

Such players are born. And as a county manager, which is easier to copy: Colm Cooper or a well-drilled defensive system?

When Pat Spillane spends a few years watching a Kerry team that doesn’t include the Ó Sé brothers and the Gooch, he too might cotton on to what the rest of us learned some time ago.

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