Philly McMahon wants to see teams to try something new and innovative

Eight time All Ireland winning Dublin defender Philly McMahon wants to see teams try something different as he feels they are all doing the same thing at present

Tue, 23 May, 2023 - 07:00

Paul Keane

Philly McMahon reckons Kerry should be concerned about getting 'cut open' by Mayo last weekend and about what he termed the Kingdom's return to 'the old defensive Kerry'.

The eight-time All-Ireland winning Dublin defender was surprised by the Sam Maguire Cup holders' comprehensive five-point loss and believes they're no longer the clear All-Ireland favourites.

McMahon places Kerry in a group of three alongside Mayo and Galway, with Leinster champions Dublin 'just underneath them with a couple of other counties'.

The Ballymun icon maintained that Kerry have both time and enough quality within their squad to put things right but said it will still be a 'worry' for supporters to see them beaten so clearly on their home patch.

"I would worry about Kerry," said McMahon at a promotion for EirGrid, the 2023 Championship's official timing sponsor.

"I would have been one of those people that was like, 'Ah look, the league was a bit of a blip based on them coming back late from last year'. But that's a big scalp Mayo took playing them down there in Kerry, and they convincingly beat them.

"It was one of those games where the brilliance of Clifford and a couple of other players kept it a bit tighter than it should have been but I was impressed by Mayo. I thought they were very good and they showed a bit of steel going to Kerry and taking that first scalp. It was probably on Kevin McStay's agenda to get that first game and that will kick start their whole group stage.

"I just didn't see the fight in Kerry that you would normally see. They just got cut open again, it was the old defensive Kerry you would have seen - gaps everywhere, didn't really deal with O'Shea to an extent in terms of him moving players around because they were gravitating towards him. I just didn't see that fight in Kerry. That's your home ground, you want to as the saying goes 'die with your boots on'."

All of which, according to McMahon, has hauled Kerry back to the chasing pack in terms of his All-Ireland rankings.

"I'd probably have Kerry, Mayo and Galway on a level playing field now and Dublin just underneath them with a couple of other counties," he said.

McMahon's native Dublin will begin their All-Ireland series campaign on Sunday against Roscommon at Croke Park.

They are fresh off a 5-21 mauling of Louth in the Leinster final and appear to be gathering momentum at the right time.

"Kildare probably poked the bear a little bit," suggested McMahon, referencing Dublin's narrow Leinster semi-final win over the Lilywhites. "Was it the best I've ever seen them play, that Leinster final? There were parts of it I watched and I was buzzing from it."

McMahon, working as a Championship pundit for BBC TV, admitted the lack of innovation generally in the game this season has been a let down.

"When you look at the teams in the country and you look at the way they're setting up tactically, there's very few doing anything different, there really isn't," he said. "The one team that I've seen doing things differently are probably Derry, who have done a couple of things offensively different. Because certain coaches are popping up around the counties a little bit, it's kind of the same stuff you're seeing.

"Are Mayo doing anything different? Maybe playing O'Shea in a little bit more has had an impact. Kerry? I don't see anything different. I don't see Dublin doing anything different.

"Take the jerseys off most of the teams, and let them play a match, and you probably wouldn't know which team they were because they all play very similarly.

"I want to see something new, something innovative. I just don't see it."