Dublin -v- Kerry: Caffreys views...

GalwayDub2

Dublin manager Paul Caffrey reckons that Sunday's All-Ireland SFC semi-final against Kerry will certainly be a joy to behold with his players in "the best shape of their lives."

There is a cocky confidence about the Dubs this year but Caffrey believes that this confidence is fully justified and that critics of Dublin football should beware as this is a team that is firmly intent on parading the Sam Maguire Cup on O'Connell Street come next month.

"People said our forwards were in trouble at the start of the championship, now there is the perception that our defence is in trouble - neither statement is true," Caffrey said.

"Every day is different and the 26th of August is coming very quickly and there is no script written for it."

It is this unpredictability which has driven Caffrey and his charges to take the last three Leinster titles and they are firmly hoping that more silverware is on the way.

"Nobody knows what is going to happen in that match and nobody knows where the turning point in that game is going to be, but all that I know is that this Dublin team of 07 have prepared very, very well.

"We are in a good place and we expected to be back in the semi-final and we are there. The players and management expect that we will play very well on the 26th."

Dublin have beaten Meath, Laois and Derry already this season but it was the two games against Meath which gave the country an insight into the intensity of Dublin's preparations this season.

Caffrey believes that his team are better prepared now than they were when they faced Mayo at the penultimate stage 12 months ago.

"I think the opposition has a lot to do with it, in terms of that it was hard to retain Leinster this year. When the draw was made, it was Kildare or Meath and we knew that was going to be a hell of a draw especially with them getting a game at Croke Park under their belts before us.

"As it turned out, Meath progressed nicely in Division Two and got their National League semi-final at Croke Park so they were always going to be well prepared, but we were well prepared for our first round match too.

"Any year Dublin and Meath comes on the horizon it's always going to be a massive challenge for either team and I think as a result both teams have improved greatly from it and that's where we find ourselves."

The Leinster championship successes of Laois and Westmeath in 2003 and 2004 robbed Dublin of total dominance in the province this decade, but Caffrey believes that this was not a bad thing for Gaelic football and that defeats in those years spurred his players on to their recent triumphs

However he feels the Cork-Kerry axis in Munster needs to be broken.

"I'm six years involved with Dublin and I didn't see a big decline in Dublin. What was wrong with Westmeath and Laois coming through and taking a scalp and winning a Leinster title each? It was great for football," admitted 'Pillar.'

"It meant that we weren't good enough either year to beat them and maybe that made us look at ourselves a little bit harder.

"A monopoly of Cork and Kerry - is it good for Munster? The answer is no! It's good for Cork and Kerry, they are guaranteed to be in the All-Ireland quarter-finals every year as it stands. Healthy competition I think is better for the game. You have it up in Ulster and you have had it in Leinster for the last few years."

Kerry beat Dublin by 1-15 to 1-8 in the 2004 All-Ireland quarter-final - the counties' last championship meeting - however Caffrey is not keen to dwell on previous encounters.

"The previous matches and the quarter-finals this year won't come into it. I think that it is very important that we in Dublin look forward and not look back.

"Of course you are looking for where you didn't play well in your last performance and where you could do better and where you played well, and there are lots of areas where we are doing very well in and that we are pleased with, but there are also areas that we are unhappy with and we will be working hard on those on the training field.

"We're really looking forward to this semi-final and I am particularly looking forward to this Dublin team playing very well next Sunday."

TomMc

Meath presumed they would play well last sunday and look what happened. Dublin could fall into the same trap of taking a good performance for granted too. I think Kerry could stifle the Dubs in much the same way and not allow them to dictate matters as they would ideally like or make plans for.

At this stage, its always the team who are the most motivated who win as they have the will to make things happen (that extra yard of pace and the majority of the possession) and so the edge. Experience counts for a lot too. Kerry are the only ones who truly know what is required to win an AI. On the other hand, winning an All-Ireland would be a Holy Grail of sorts for this Dublin team, not so for Kerry, so Dublin have the hunger. However, stopping Cork winning an All-Ireland must be a huge incentive for Kerry, although there always is the risk they could lose in the final, which would be the worst scenario of all. It makes for one of the most fascinating contests in years.

On balance I think it will be a bridge too far for the Dubs. It will be their toughest test to date. Given their inability to put away weaker teams than Kerry, I feel when the going gets tough, the Kerrymen's nous and added ability will see them through.

blackbelt

But doesn't it hit home that there might be some complacency in the Kerry camp?As one person pointed out here,"Kerry know they can win".We all know Dublin can win too so it goes without saying.

I think the title of underdog will suit Dublin better this time unlike last year and I believe those players who have never played against Kerry in the championship (B.Brogan,McConnell,Vaughan etc) may find something extra and really threaten Kerry.If Vaughan can convert the frees and Cluxton can stop Kerry scoring a goal,Dublin should win.

Kerry being behind Monaghan for 65 mins suggests that they are there for the taking and can certainly be beat.O Shea is considering putting Donaghy in midfield which I believe is a worse scenario for Dublin than having him in the full forward line.McGarrity was winning out in midfield for much of the early exchanges in the Mayo-Dublin match and is Donaghy can cope with midfield we'll certainly have a big problem on our hands.

GalwayDub2

blackbelt wrote:

But doesn't it hit home that there might be some complacency in the Kerry camp?As one person pointed out here,"Kerry know they can win".We all know Dublin can win too so it goes without saying.

I think the title of underdog will suit Dublin better this time unlike last year and I believe those players who have never played against Kerry in the championship (B.Brogan,McConnell,Vaughan etc) may find something extra and really threaten Kerry.If Vaughan can convert the frees and Cluxton can stop Kerry scoring a goal,Dublin should win.

Kerry being behind Monaghan for 65 mins suggests that they are there for the taking and can certainly be beat.O Shea is considering putting Donaghy in midfield which I believe is a worse scenario for Dublin than having him in the full forward line.McGarrity was winning out in midfield for much of the early exchanges in the Mayo-Dublin match and is Donaghy can cope with midfield we'll certainly have a big problem on our hands.

I certainly wouldnt say Kerry are there for the taking. They will have learnt from their mistakes and will be well up for it. But hopefully we'll do it on the day

blackbelt

Monaghan could have won that game against Kerry comfortably had they not conceded so many free kicks straight in front of goal.Thats real sickening.Monaghan in a sense beat themselves the last day and Kerry got out of jail.If Dublin are cute enough they'll do what Monaghan did and get players behind which in turn will drag the Kerry players out of position and upset their game plan.

I hate to say it but the swarm tactic is our realistic chance of beating Kerry.

GalwayDub2

blackbelt wrote:

Monaghan could have won that game against Kerry comfortably had they not conceded so many free kicks straight in front of goal.Thats real sickening.Monaghan in a sense beat themselves the last day and Kerry got out of jail.If Dublin are cute enough they'll do what Monaghan did and get players behind which in turn will drag the Kerry players out of position and upset their game plan.

I hate to say it but the swarm tactic is our realistic chance of beating Kerry.

Oh hopefully we'll do it , I think what cost Monaghan the game was their constant pulling of jerseys, giving away simple frees to kerry all the time.

TheDeficit

blackbelt wrote:

I think the title of underdog will suit Dublin

Are they really underdogs though? From the articles I've read and most people I've spoken to over the week, the feeling is that Dublin are slight favorites. The bookies might say otherwise but I feel there's alot of pressure on Dublin to win this one.

Zzippy

TheDeficit wrote:

Are they really underdogs though? From the articles I've read and most people I've spoken to over the week, the feeling is that Dublin are slight favorites. The bookies might say otherwise but I feel there's alot of pressure on Dublin to win this one.

Pundits and fans may have their say, but money talks and money says Kerry are odds-on favourites to win. Of course there's pressure on Dublin to win, its the same for every team at this stage!

blackbelt

I find it strange that the media hype isn't as big this year than it was this time last year as far as Dublin is concerned.However we still have the rest of today,Friday and Saturday to get through so who knows.I'm hoping that Pillar will have enough cop on to realise that exposure to the national tv station is potentially harmful to the team in their preparation for the game.

I'm hoping there won't be any interviews on tv and the players will just knuckle down and don't get side-tracked.

Kerry are in a sense naturally favourites but that won't do them any good.In fact I believe it may hinder them.They are playing a Dublin team that has changed a lot since 2004.There's no Darren Homan,Declan Lally,Senan Connell etc but we do have Vaughan,Bernard Brogan,McConnell,Collie Moran and David Henry who I believe can contribute and offer the team a lot more.Sometimes a team can be buoyed by one player and if Vaughan is on form,I see no reason why he can't tear holes into Kerry.

The tactic of putting Donaghy in midfield would suggest to me that O Shea has no confidence in the current midfield setup or possibly the full forward line.Four things spring to mind why he'd put Sheehan in the FF line instead and switch Donaghy to midfield.

1.Donaghy is not playing like he was last year so he might want to test him in other positions.

2.O Shea looked at the semi-final last year and realised putting a big,tall man like McGarrity who has basketball skills is the way to upset the Dublin midfield.So naturally he'd put a big,tall man with basketball experience there in the hope he can play like McGarrity did last year as he won a lot of kickouts etc.

3.O Shea might have looked at the pairing of McConnell and Bradley and came to a conclusion that a smaller man might be more advantageous against McConnell than a big man.Bradley did catch McConnell on the back foot a few times on the last day,so putting a smaller man might be O Shea answer.

4.O Shea might take a leaf out of Corks book.Cussen was hanging a lot around midfield and didn't go forward too much.He may think Donaghy can play a similar role so will switch him back.

It will be interesting to see if Donaghy is switched but I think O Shea has made somewhat of an error by revealing this potential game plan during the week.Dublin will be weary of it now and may try to counter-attack it.Ryan will really need to be aware of breaking balls if Donaghy is put there.I'd imagine Whelan would put enough pressure on Donaghy to fumble it at times and thats where Ryan has to come in.If we swarm the Kerry midfield and attack and try not to give away too many free kicks we can certainly win this.Monaghan were so close that they've done Dublin a favour in my opinion.They showed how a team can beat Kerry and if Dublin employ the same game plan,expose it more and stop the easy free kicks,Kerry will be in danger.

Here's hoping Dublin can do it and win.

blackbelt

I feel strange writing about Donaghy in midfield.:eek:

flogen

The worry I have is that while Kerry were behind Monahan for 65 minutes, that's exactly the point at which Dublin tend to sit back and relax in a match they're leading.

They did it in the quarters and it turned into a nail-biter when it shouldn't have.

I think Dublin stand a pretty good chance, but they've got to put the pressure on for the whole match - I see them having bad patches all too often, and 5-10 minutes in a game of football can be what decides it all.