Time on Cluxton’s side when it comes to long-range frees

I notice quite the commotion lately about Stephen Cluxton, the Dublin goalkeeper, and the time he takes to come up the field from his station to kick long-range frees and 45s.

The spectrum of comment seems to run from ‘there aren’t any hard and fast rules deciding this so he’s entitled to do what he likes’ to the other extreme, in which Cluxton is identified as the master brain behind a dastardly plan to waste time in big football games.

With that in mind I kept an eye on Cluxton on Saturday night in the quarter-final against Cork in Croke Park — and an eye on the clock.