An Evolution, not a Revolution....

Diary of a Dub

An evolution not a revolution…

The dust has settled, the smoke has cleared, over another obstacle we are. Continuing on the road to greatness, in a journey some are struggling to figure out.

As the week unfolded, and as we reflect, some, if not most, are left trying figure out what they have been seeing throughout the championship from our beloved Dubs. To me, it’s starting to get a hell of lot clearer and last Sunday showed me that we are witnessing an EVOLUTION, and not a REVOLUTION with this team. A revolution, happens suddenly, and is a radical change, which is clearly not the case with the Dubs, but more an evolution, which is a gradual development of something. I couldn’t see it until last Sunday, but as I reflected during the week, and not just on Sunday gone, it started to make sense to me.

We last lost a championship game 3 years ago (to Donegal). We have been unbeaten since August 2014. In that time, we have seen the swashbuckling, the swagger, and sometimes the labored. We have been taken to the wire last year twice by Mayo, and yet I feel this team has been in a form of transition. Not of personnel, but more of footballing style. We’ve seen little of the swagger or the swashbuckle this year, nor have we seen the labored, but what we have seen is control, and the ability to mix it up. I’m seeing a Barcelona-esque approach from Dublin, where formations evolve during games, as these players match their style and set-up to stifle their opponents,retain possession, and create scoring opportunities.

Dublin murdered Tyrone in a purely football context. Choice of murder was Choking. Dublin absolutely choked the footballing life out of Tyrone and from the early minutes when O’Callaghan scored the goal, you could see the intent, and the variation in play that followed. Countless times, I saw Dublin with 14 players behind the ball as Tyrone attacked, and turnovers followed. Possession regained and attack position resumed. Andrews, Mannion and all of the front six behind the ball, angles closed off, tacklez made, ball turned over. And forward they went as a unit…

I did feel at the time, a tad disappointed in Mickey Harte for not going to Plan B, but now I realize that was harsh. What Plan B could any team have gone to? Toe-to-toe for Tyrone would have made matters worse, they don’t have the players to match this Dublin team in a shoot-out. Fact is, they knew it. Their only choice was to stick to the plan and try to eek their way back into the game. Dublin though, simply did not let them. This was a case of one football team standing on the neck of another, submission without mercy.

If you listen back to Sean Cavanagh during the week, he was scratching his head, as were the team. They had trained 9 months, for this game, and believed they genuinely had a chance (as did their supporters by the way…I called it several weeks ago in this very blog). He admitted the athleticism of Dublin players, simply was another level. They had no counter to what was in front of them. And that you don’t train for 9 months to go to Croke Park and intentionally lose by 12 points in front of 82,000 people, or leave your best behind you. 

I have huge respect for Sean. I have heard him speak at public events, and been fortunate to see him play many times. Arguably one of Tyrone’s greatest players, and one of the best of our generation. He gave everything to the cause, and god only knows, how many games and titles Tyrone wouldn’t have won without him. He's been a thorn in our side for many a year, lest we not forget. Yes he will be remembered in part of the odd cynical tackle, but he was a proper footballer, a leader, and as we say in our parts, ‘a decent auld skin’.

And of us. Well, I heard Sunday was a quiet affair in the city and county. Hospitals and ambulances were stood down, heart failure rates took a massive drop across the county. It was good not to have to test our nerves and heart rates. Neutrals will argue it wasn’t exciting. I challenge that. It’s a SEMI-FINAL. You get a winner and a loser. It’s a results business, and how you get there is not what is remembered, it’s getting there that is. Great teams adopt the mantra of ‘the opposition cannot score if they don’t have the ball’ and Dublin certainly are bought into it. For the Neutrals, just in case they need reminding. This team is chasing a historic 3 in a row. Not done in over 30 years, and not done by Dublin in almost 100 years. Result first, how you get there second. Got it?

I wanted to save a few words this week for Ciaran Kilkenny. One of those words is Maestro. Another is Majestic. He is, to us, and make no mistake, the conductor of the orchestra. The heartbeat of the team, through him everything goes. His performances are a different level. No fuss, no swagger. Simple & effective, holds possession, looks for an opening, moves with ball, and has temperament and patience to wait for the opening, rather than force the ball and a turnover. All over the field, he too was one of the 14 back defending when required. Puts in a shift, and a graft, and he will never get you a shed load of scores, but he’s at the center of everything good that Dublin do.

Only 2 weekends to get through, 'til we get to the final, not a mention of Groundhog day this time. Last Sunday’s performance has us looking forward with belief and confidence. And yes it is Mayo but not yet. Their time for my word shall come, but not yet. Horses are held.

For now, let’s just enjoy what was one of the most controlled performances we have ever seen from this Dublin team in an All Ireland semi final, and to those who are starting to see what I see…..

It is, it always has been since that defeat to Donegal in 2014. Can you see it coming now? It surely is.....
 
An evolution, not a revolution …