Uibh Fhaili v Ath Cliath

[tayto]

Big three??? ha ha ha ... methinks spillane is playing to the crowd rather then talking sense!

[Declan]

Time for circus to stop the clowning - Keith Barr


  June 26 2007


FIRST things first. Dublin did what they had to do on Sunday; they defeated a vastly inferior Offaly team and are 70 minutes from a third Leinster title in a row.


If all that counts was reaching that point and getting the semi-final out of the way on the back of two hard games against M**th, then it was job done for Dublin.

But try telling that to the 65,000 Dublin fans leaving the ground. There was an uneasy sense that aspects of this performance would come back to haunt them as the summer progressed.

I still believe there is something of a circus act at play with Dublin; a comic tragedy where, whatever the central characters do, it will all end in tears.

I don't buy into the excuses about tired bodies and minds. Dublin should have destroyed Offaly, regardless of the proximity of the game, and I was disturbed by aspects of the performance.

So why didn't they hammer Offaly? After opening so well, Dublin went 25 minutes without a score against a Division 4 side. At various stages of the first half we witnessed Conal Keaney, Bernard Brogan and Tomás Quinn playing in their own half. Dublin completely lost their shape. What followed was depressing; poor passing, poor shot selection, poor link play and dreadful shooting. We had a bunch of individuals all trying to do it on their own.

It is during spells like this that I would like to see action from the Dublin management. Whether it's an insistence on recovering their shape or making switches, Dublin still struggle to react to adversity.

It was obvious from the throw-in that the Dublin defence could cope with the Offaly threat up front. Ross McConnell and David Henry were outstanding in the full-back line.

Bad habits

Dublin did not need to get bodies behind midfield at any juncture and the fear is the bad habits that develop during these lapses will resurface when the heat is raised by a top team.

I would love to know what is discussed on the sideline during these periods. What does the mentor up in the stand say to the bench? What do the selectors say to the manager? Maybe they're too busy going through the Sunday papers to see who is criticising them.

Like any other person in the enormous Dublin support, I want this team to win an All-Ireland. I believe the team has 12 top-class players; they have the material to do it. And I maintain that the management team are not dealing successfully with problems as they arise.

Why did Pillar Caffrey take off Bernard Brogan on Sunday? It's all too obvious and pre-ordained for my liking and I don't believe the sideline rate Bernard. Dublin finished with a full-forward line of Alan Brogan, Jason Sherlock and Ray Cosgrove, which is how it looked five years ago.

Bernard Brogan should have been given the full run. While he missed a few chances, he showed promise and had a hand in a number of scores. Sherlock is an important cog in Dublin's machine but facilitating Cosgrove does not make sense. If the management rate the Crokes player ahead of the potential of Bernard Brogan or Diarmuid Connolly, I think they are making a big mistake. In the three games in which he has been introduced, what has Cosgrove contributed?

It was interesting to hear the Offaly manager afterwards expressing that he didn't believe Dublin had progressed in the two years since he sent his Wexford team out against them. While I don't necessarily agree, I think the management hasn't improved and this is the most critical aspect.

Mark Vaughan's progress is the most positive aspect to this year's campaign so far but for a sideline with a reputation for forensic attention to detail, it's shocking how the wheels continue to come off. They are not fronting up to Dublin's weaknesses and, in not doing so, are allowing problems to fester.

On this evidence Wexford or Laois will relish a chance at denying Dublin a three in a row.

Despite their recent difficulties in challenges, I think Laois will progress and Leinster's biggest recent rivalry will be renewed.

Dublin missed a chance against Offaly to put good back-to-back performances together and silence the doubters.

Regardless of the provincial ambitions, it's time to put an end to the Dublin circus act and realise there is an All-Ireland up for grabs this year.

My advice for the ringmasters is simple - collapse the big top and stop clowning around.