The battle for middle earth

MICKEY Harte was quoted as saying: ‘In the modern game, midfield is less about those who play with numbers eight and nine on their back, and more about the eight or nine players who play in the middle of the field’.

His rationale was writ large in the way Tyrone secured three All-Ireland titles without an archetypal ‘fear láidir’ or even a consistent or dominant midfield pairing. The uncertainty surrounding Sunday’s quartet, highlighted by constant rotations over the past two seasons, goes a long way to proving Harte’s logic.

It is fair to say the shadow of Darragh Ó Sé and Ciaran Whelan still linger over Kerry and Dublin’s respective midfielders. Accustomed to their names on the teamsheet for over a decade, their familiarity provided a blanket of comfort and security on the terraces. For the early part of last year’s championship, Whelan was having one of his best seasons ever such was the pining for his return. Similarly, few could foresee a bright future for Kerry in the absence of Darragh’s guiding hand and Kerry’s early exit last year in his absence further elevated his importance.

However, Dublin never reached an All-Ireland with Ciaran Whelan anchoring the centre, and it could also be argued that Kerry are no weaker or stronger in this sector than at any time over the past three seasons. So all this uncertainty? Bryan Sheehan, Anthony Maher, Denis Bastick and Michael Daragh McCauley are excellent performers in their own right, all ably equipped with the required traits of the modern day midfielder. Having played against each of them, I can vouch for the latter. However, Sunday’s ‘battle for middle earth’ will not depend so much on the performances of these four men, more the dozen or so around them.

In the modern game, such is the paucity of high fielding and primary possession, it is invariably the team that dominates the breaking ball wins the midfield battle. However, amongst the top teams, such is the intense Brownian-like motion of those who occupy the middle third, the possession spread is generally quiet even. But the timing of them is key. Brian Mullins, a close friend of my father, once said: “It is not how many you get, it is what you do with them that counts”. And this for me is where Kerry hold the advantage over Dublin.

Mayo hammered a few nails in their own coffin when they surrendered possession from the Kerry kickouts in the first half of the All Ireland semi-final. Kerry are too good a football team to just let them have the ball. Back in 2007 and 2008 against Kerry, midfield/breaking ball was one area Monaghan knew we had to, at the very least, break even if we had any chance of turning them over. On both occasions we very nearly did.

In their quarter-final it was noticeable how Dublin used their power and mobility around the middle to stifle Tyrone and nullify the running threat of their proven ball carriers. Expect more of the same on Sunday. Dublin won’t make the same mistake as Mayo and any ball Kerry get around the middle will be hard-fought.

Such will be the dependence on mobility and dirty-ball aggression this weekend, I can’t see how Jack O’ Connor can afford to leave Paul Galvin on the bench for the opening exchanges. In many ways you could argue Galvin has been Kerry’s best midfielder in the past number of years. In a similar vein, the likes of Paul Flynn, Bryan Cullen and Barry Cahill are crucial to the metropolitans’ core.

Also, Stephen Cluxton’s influence cannot be overstated when it comes to Dublin midfield strategy; not least when you examine their success rate in recent seasons. This won’t have gone unnoticed in Kerry. In 2009 Kerry targeted this area and adopted a full court press strategy on the Dublin kickouts in the opening exchanges.

Attacking their opponent at a point of strength, it unsettled Dublin and immediately put them on the back foot. Expect more of the same this weekend. In saying that Dublin under Pat Gilroy have been working even harder on this strategy and such is the upper body strength and natural ball winning of their middle eight that Kerry will find it a much more difficult dragon to slay this time around.

The middle third won’t be for the feint-hearted and how Joe McQuillan decides to play his cards could have a big bearing on the outcome. Kerry’s ‘cute hoorism’ and big day experience will stand to them in this regard and Dublin will need to be careful not to allow the big match adrenaline to rush to their heads — something that was evident at times in the Donegal semi. If you ever wondered what happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object, you might just find out in Croke Park this Sunday.