What can we expect from Dublin footballers in 2013 under Jim Gavin?

[GAA_Punter]

The 2013 All Ireland football series will be one of the most keenly contested in recent years. There are five teams who could currently consider themselves real prospects to win the Sam Maguire in September.

Donegal, Mayo, Kerry, Dublin and Cork all have the tools and experience to lift Sam but they are going to have to beat each other along the way.
With Donegal, Mayo and Cork you are going to get the same approach we saw last year. With Kerry we are always guaranteed a free flowing natural style of football. The Dublin 2013 case study is slightly more difficult to analyze.

On October 1st 2012 Jim Gavin was ratified as the new Dublin senior manager. A decorated manager with the county under 21s Gavin was the obvious choice in the list of succession after Pat Gilroy.

Gilroy's success with the senior team was based on a rigid system which relied on hard work, relentless tackling and dogged defence. The modern day role of defensive wing forwards was executed to perfection as Paul Flynn and Bryan Cullen were as valuable around their own 45 as they were further up the pitch.

In the modern game it is the belief that you must employ a system to compete. The systematic approaches of All Ireland winners this side of the Millenium has added weight to this theory. Gone are the days where the team who scores more wins, we are now in the age where the team who concedes less comes out on top.

Kerry and Cork try to employ the 15 on 15 game but often the manner in which the opposition lines out forces their hand. If a team are playing 13men in defence it is impossible to go man for man against them.

Indications from watching Jim Gavin's underage teams in the past suggest that Dublin will try to employ an orthodox 15 on 15 approach this season. Gavin won two under 21 All Ireland's playing free flowing man for man football. This is a system of trust – relying on each individual man to be better then his direct counterpart.

There are certain trends in the game which have proved successful for certain counties. The 'new' midfield is a combination of size and athleticism. One compensates the other. Look at Donegal last year – Neil Gallagher would play the role of orthodox midfielder while Rory Kavanagh would be the runner – moving with the play. This is not to say that the role of the traditional midfielder is redundant. Gallagher's semi final performance against Cork was one of the best exhibitions in fielding and simple football to grace Croke Park in years.
Similar to the Kavanagh situation Kerry used the new conversion policy to convert a star forward into a busy bee midfielder. Bryan Sheehan was the best player on the pitch in the 2011 All Ireland final playing at midfield. Last season he again impressed in a struggling Kerry team. Sheehan had made his name for Kerry as a forward and free taker. As a midfielder he has the mobility to exercise his defensive duties but still contribute further up the pitch. Mayo's Aidan O'Shea is another example of the success of this conversion.
Dublin have yet to adopt this approach. They finished last years Championship with Denis Bastick and Eamon Fennell in midfield. Fennell is a ball winner and Bastick, although athletic, would lean more to the side of traditional midfielder.

Dublin have a shortfall at midfield currently. With Fennell no longer on the panel the depth of options and experience suffers. However they do have the advantage of a very strong conveyor belt of talent in waiting. A minor two years ago Emmett Ó Conghaile could fit the Sheehan/Kavanagh role. With the evolution of strategies it will become impossible to play two orthodox midfielders and therefore the development of Ó Conghaile could be a real asset to Dublin football in the coming season.

Another area where Dublin suffered last season was the consistency of substitutions they were producing in championship games. When we talk ......................................
http://sportsnewsireland.com/gaa/what-can-we-expect-from-dublin-footballers-in-2013-under-jim-gavin-2013-01-07/

[Captain Obvious]

Same as 2012. Leinster title and All Ireland semi final knock out.

[boojangles]

The 2013 All Ireland football series will be one of the most keenly contested in recent years. There are five teams who could currently consider themselves real prospects to win the Sam Maguire in September.

Donegal, Mayo, Kerry, Dublin and Cork all have the tools and experience to lift Sam but they are going to have to beat each other along the way.
With Donegal, Mayo and Cork you are going to get the same approach we saw last year. With Kerry we are always guaranteed a free flowing natural style of football. The Dublin 2013 case study is slightly more difficult to analyze.

On October 1st 2012 Jim Gavin was ratified as the new Dublin senior manager. A decorated manager with the county under 21s Gavin was the obvious choice in the list of succession after Pat Gilroy.

Gilroy's success with the senior team was based on a rigid system which relied on hard work, relentless tackling and dogged defence. The modern day role of defensive wing forwards was executed to perfection as Paul Flynn and Bryan Cullen were as valuable around their own 45 as they were further up the pitch.

In the modern game it is the belief that you must employ a system to compete. The systematic approaches of All Ireland winners this side of the Millenium has added weight to this theory. Gone are the days where the team who scores more wins, we are now in the age where the team who concedes less comes out on top.

Kerry and Cork try to employ the 15 on 15 game but often the manner in which the opposition lines out forces their hand. If a team are playing 13men in defence it is impossible to go man for man against them.

Indications from watching Jim Gavin's underage teams in the past suggest that Dublin will try to employ an orthodox 15 on 15 approach this season. Gavin won two under 21 All Ireland's playing free flowing man for man football. This is a system of trust – relying on each individual man to be better then his direct counterpart.

There are certain trends in the game which have proved successful for certain counties. The 'new' midfield is a combination of size and athleticism. One compensates the other. Look at Donegal last year – Neil Gallagher would play the role of orthodox midfielder while Rory Kavanagh would be the runner – moving with the play. This is not to say that the role of the traditional midfielder is redundant. Gallagher's semi final performance against Cork was one of the best exhibitions in fielding and simple football to grace Croke Park in years.
Similar to the Kavanagh situation Kerry used the new conversion policy to convert a star forward into a busy bee midfielder. Bryan Sheehan was the best player on the pitch in the 2011 All Ireland final playing at midfield. Last season he again impressed in a struggling Kerry team. Sheehan had made his name for Kerry as a forward and free taker. As a midfielder he has the mobility to exercise his defensive duties but still contribute further up the pitch. Mayo's Aidan O'Shea is another example of the success of this conversion.
Dublin have yet to adopt this approach. They finished last years Championship with Denis Bastick and Eamon Fennell in midfield. Fennell is a ball winner and Bastick, although athletic, would lean more to the side of traditional midfielder.

Dublin have a shortfall at midfield currently. With Fennell no longer on the panel the depth of options and experience suffers. However they do have the advantage of a very strong conveyor belt of talent in waiting. A minor two years ago Emmett Ó Conghaile could fit the Sheehan/Kavanagh role. With the evolution of strategies it will become impossible to play two orthodox midfielders and therefore the development of Ó Conghaile could be a real asset to Dublin football in the coming season.

Another area where Dublin suffered last season was the consistency of substitutions they were producing in championship games. When we talk ......................................
http://sportsnewsireland.com/gaa/what-can-we-expect-from-dublin-footballers-in-2013-under-jim-gavin-2013-01-07/

Lazy analysis. Kerry have become as defensive as most other counties. In this day and age you are guaranteed free flowing football by no county. What is free flowing football anyway?

[cadence]

The 2013 All Ireland football series will be one of the most keenly contested in recent years. There are five teams who could currently consider themselves real prospects to win the Sam Maguire in September.

Donegal, Mayo, Kerry, Dublin and Cork all have the tools and experience to lift Sam but they are going to have to beat each other along the way.
With Donegal, Mayo and Cork you are going to get the same approach we saw last year. With Kerry we are always guaranteed a free flowing natural style of football. The Dublin 2013 case study is slightly more difficult to analyze.

On October 1st 2012 Jim Gavin was ratified as the new Dublin senior manager. A decorated manager with the county under 21s Gavin was the obvious choice in the list of succession after Pat Gilroy.

Gilroy's success with the senior team was based on a rigid system which relied on hard work, relentless tackling and dogged defence. The modern day role of defensive wing forwards was executed to perfection as Paul Flynn and Bryan Cullen were as valuable around their own 45 as they were further up the pitch.

In the modern game it is the belief that you must employ a system to compete. The systematic approaches of All Ireland winners this side of the Millenium has added weight to this theory. Gone are the days where the team who scores more wins, we are now in the age where the team who concedes less comes out on top.

Kerry and Cork try to employ the 15 on 15 game but often the manner in which the opposition lines out forces their hand. If a team are playing 13men in defence it is impossible to go man for man against them.

Indications from watching Jim Gavin's underage teams in the past suggest that Dublin will try to employ an orthodox 15 on 15 approach this season. Gavin won two under 21 All Ireland's playing free flowing man for man football. This is a system of trust – relying on each individual man to be better then his direct counterpart.

There are certain trends in the game which have proved successful for certain counties. The 'new' midfield is a combination of size and athleticism. One compensates the other. Look at Donegal last year – Neil Gallagher would play the role of orthodox midfielder while Rory Kavanagh would be the runner – moving with the play. This is not to say that the role of the traditional midfielder is redundant. Gallagher's semi final performance against Cork was one of the best exhibitions in fielding and simple football to grace Croke Park in years.
Similar to the Kavanagh situation Kerry used the new conversion policy to convert a star forward into a busy bee midfielder. Bryan Sheehan was the best player on the pitch in the 2011 All Ireland final playing at midfield. Last season he again impressed in a struggling Kerry team. Sheehan had made his name for Kerry as a forward and free taker. As a midfielder he has the mobility to exercise his defensive duties but still contribute further up the pitch. Mayo's Aidan O'Shea is another example of the success of this conversion.
Dublin have yet to adopt this approach. They finished last years Championship with Denis Bastick and Eamon Fennell in midfield. Fennell is a ball winner and Bastick, although athletic, would lean more to the side of traditional midfielder.

Dublin have a shortfall at midfield currently. With Fennell no longer on the panel the depth of options and experience suffers. However they do have the advantage of a very strong conveyor belt of talent in waiting. A minor two years ago Emmett Ó Conghaile could fit the Sheehan/Kavanagh role. With the evolution of strategies it will become impossible to play two orthodox midfielders and therefore the development of Ó Conghaile could be a real asset to Dublin football in the coming season.

Another area where Dublin suffered last season was the consistency of substitutions they were producing in championship games. When we talk ......................................
http://sportsnewsireland.com/gaa/what-can-we-expect-from-dublin-footballers-in-2013-under-jim-gavin-2013-01-07/

Lazy analysis. Kerry have become as defensive as most other counties. In this day and age you are guaranteed free flowing football by no county. What is free flowing football anyway?

funny how words can do the opposite of their intention sometimes.

[cadence]

i don't see gavin's dubs reverting to something like a 1 3 3 2 3 3 (namby pamby) game. will still play with a swarm defence and also commit a lot of players to winning the middle third to control possession if they can. half forwards will be more grafters for the middle third battle than having a scoring focus.

[omagh_gael]

It's amazing that some journalists still fail to acknowledge that Kerry play the same game as everyone else. How anyone can still say that Kerry play 15 v 15 is mind boggling. Do these people actually watch football matches at all?

[RMDrive]

I particularly like the use of the word "natural" and the implied "unnatural". Jaysus.

[catchandkick]

I don't believe Mayo are contenders. For Mayo 2012 , read Down 2010. Difficult to win an All Ireland without a marquee forward

[snoopdog]

I don't believe Mayo are contenders. For Mayo 2012 , read Down 2010. Difficult to win an All Ireland without a marquee forward

So Benny Coulter and Martin Clarke werent marquee forwards???
In Downs case it was difficult to win an All Ireland when your management were inept at making the correct changes to hold on to a lead.

[blanketattack]

It's amazing that some journalists still fail to acknowledge that Kerry play the same game as everyone else. How anyone can still say that Kerry play 15 v 15 is mind boggling. Do these people actually watch football matches at all?

Every game I've seen Kerry play it started off 15 v 15 
A red card here and there has meant it hasn't always finished 15 v 15 though.
As for tactics, Kerry have always played with 6 forwards and 6 backs, unlike some teams who even line out at the start with 7 backs and 5 forwards. The Ó Sés would be better forwards than a lot of intercounty forwards so it's like Kerry are playing with 8 forwards a lot of the time 

[catchandkick]

I don't believe Mayo are contenders. For Mayo 2012 , read Down 2010. Difficult to win an All Ireland without a marquee forward

So Benny Coulter and Martin Clarke werent marquee forwards???
In Downs case it was difficult to win an All Ireland when your management were inept at making the correct changes to hold on to a lead.

Of course they were. I was just referring to Mayo with that comment.

I'll be surprised if Mayo make All Ireland in 2013, let alone win it.

[muppet]

Back on topic.

Gavin has brought in Bernard Dunne as Lifestyle Coach.

I'd say they are heading away from Stephen Zuss (take a bow HighorLow) and towards Boxing.

I expect Mr. Umbrella to be outraged any Wednesday now.

[Minder]

http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/football/2013/0312/376365-connolly-admits-breaking-mans-eye-socket/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Dublin footballer Diarmuid Connolly has admitted breaking a man's eye socket in an unprovoked attack in a pub.

The 25-year-old, who is on bail, had been charged earlier with assault causing harm to Anthony Kelly at McGowan's public house in in Phibsboro, Dublin in the early hours of 6 August.
The attack happened less than two days after Dublin defeated Laois in a quarter-final of the All Ireland Senior Football Championship.
The Director of Public Prosecutions had decided that the case should be dealt with summarily, in the district court, on a guilty plea only.
Otherwise it would have to be referred to the Circuit Court, which has tougher sentencing powers.
Connolly's solicitor Michael Hanahoe told Judge Patrick Clyne at Dublin District Court, "I am entering a guilty plea".
In an outline of the prosecution's evidence, Judge Clyne was told that the attack happened at 3.40am in McGowan's pub.
"It is alleged that the injured party was socialising with a friend, it would be alleged that the accused assaulted him in an unprovoked attack," the court heard.
Judge Clyne was told that Connolly, who has an address at Collins Park, Beaumont, North Dublin, "punched him in the face".
Mr Kelly, who is in his thirties, was knocked down and Connolly then "continued to punch him on the ground".
Mr Kelly suffered facial injuries including a fractured eye socket during the attack, the district court heard.
In relation to his injuries, "everything has cleared up now," the court was also told.
A medical report and photographs of his injuries were handed in to the judge who decided to accept jurisdiction to deal with the case after hearing that Mr Kelly had recovered.
Mr Hanahoe asked for an adjournment saying "there are avenues to explore" and that he needed to speak to the prosecuting Garda Aidan Noonan.
Judge Clyne retained a copy of the medical report and the photographs of the victim's injuries, sentencing was adjourned and the case will resume next month.
A district court conviction for assault causing harm can carry a possible sentence of up to one year in jail and/or a fine.

[BartSimpson]

This fella is a gr8 baller, but a even gr8er gobshit. Magic with the ball in his hand, but a eegit widout it! If he did what hes accused of, then deserves his punishment. Hope the Gavin man sells him off/

[Syferus]

Diarmuid, there's a job waiting for you in Athlone if Gavin kicks you out 

Even I'm sure that fella said or did something that riled Connolly the lad clearly has aggression issues beyond even most other players who get a bad rap. You'd hope he'd see this as a watershed moment and force himself to do something to help him control his emotions better because if he doesn't a hugely talented player will be lost and that would just make the spectacle on the field poorer for it.