Scrutiny comes with territory

Before throw-in in Omagh on Sunday, April 6, Jim Gavin was asked by TG4 presenter Micheál Ó Domhnaill about Bernard Brogan, who had been named to make his first start of the year.

“Yeah, it’s great to have the quality of Bernard Brogan back in the side again,” replied the Dublin manager.

But as Marty Duffy whistled to start the game, Brogan was sitting in the stand as a sub, one of four late unannounced changes to the team Dublin had only named late Friday night, the customary release time under the current management.

Brogan had been part of the pre-match warm-up and didn’t appear to suffer any adverse effects to it. So what happened?

After the game, Gavin defended the raft of last-minute alterations.

“Unfortunately, Darren Daly and Cian O’Sullivan had two soft tissue injuries during the week and that really upset our whole plans. The team we had to submit earlier in the week, we had to review it and look at it hard.

“So that was the main catalyst for the changes in the team. But any 15 we put out any day... we don’t place too much emphasis on the numbers on the jerseys.”

Gavin, who is known to prefer the idea of teams being revealed on the day of games, wasn’t lying. In their Division 1 game against Kildare, Paddy Andrews wore the No 10 jersey when Paul Flynn had been named to don it.

But might there have been more to his explanation of the late changes? Might it have had something to do with the fact the Dublin team which had to be submitted earlier in the week would end up in the hands of Tyrone who, as the home side, were producing the match programme?

Three 11th hour personnel switches were also made for their visit to Celtic Park last month where Derry would have also required the Dublin team earlier in the week to publish the line-ups for spectators.

It wouldn’t be paranoia on their part. Two days prior to their Division 1A opener in Ennis, both the Clare and Kilkenny teams were revealed by a Clare-leaning Twitter account before either team had been announced.

Dublin’s actions might not be enough evidence to prove them guilty of deception and diversion, but they are certainly culpable of being more cautious in their pre-match approach this season.

It’s difficult to accept so many late changes are genuine injury concerns. In their eight league games so far this year they have yet to field a team without at least one alteration to the named side. They are averaging two a game at the moment, whereas last year there were three Division 1 games when they started as announced.

Dublin aren’t football trailblazers in this department. Cork under Conor Counihan were no slouches when it came to dummy teams. But then the All-Ireland champions have also put a number of ‘dummy players’, ie injured ones, in front of the media leading up to games. For the Allianz League launch before the opener against Kerry, groin injury victim Paddy Andrews spoke but saw no action. James McCarthy was at the announcement of Setanta’s league coverage in late January but didn’t start a game until round three against Cork. Eoghan O’Gara, who attended this week’s Division 1 final briefing, is a doubt with a toe problem.

Again, Dublin aren’t on their own here. For today’s hurling final launch in Croke Park, Tipperary have made available for interview Paddy Stapleton, who is sidelined with an injury.

However, neither Tipperary nor anybody else has pulled players out of speaking to the press as Michael Darragh Macauley, Dean Rock and Ciarán Kilkenny were this year for unexplained reasons.

Dublin could make the argument no other team receives as many interview requests as they do, but that goes with the territory. The glare of the spotlight is one they should be familiar — and, yes, comfortable — with.

But it appears they are more put out by it this season. Speaking to radio journalists before the league semi-final against Mayo, Gavin was asked about the cynical charges made against his side. He responded: “When you’re All-Ireland champions there’s a level of focus that mightn’t have been there before and people look at you critically or otherwise. Whether that’s right or wrong, that’s besides the point.”

The analysis of Dublin has intensified since last September for the genuine reason that Gavin points out. But there are other explanations such as his dubious defence of their spate of fouling in the latter stages of the All-Ireland final against Mayo.

Plenty are looking in at Dublin but their gaze is just as strong looking out. In these pages earlier this year, Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice spoke of their “phenomenal” tracking of counties. He referred to their statistical team being at the Cork-Clare Munster semi-final last year. “Now, that was opposition well down the road for them. It shows the level they are at.”

Dublin hunt but as kingpins they also expect to be hunted too.