Dublin v Westmeath:Whelan or Fennell?

blackbelt

Over the past 10 days,a lot of people I have talked to have been giving me different opinions on who should start in midfield for Dublin against Westmeath.Does Pillar leave Whelan on the bench and put his faith in Fennell or does he have the courage to drop the on fire Fennell for Whelan?A very tough decision for Pillar to make.

Fennell started out very well in the O Byrne Cup and league and was amazing against Meath in Parnell Park and on 8th June against Louth.It is definite that he'll be the one to fill in for Whelan when he goes but Whelan has been the rudder of the Dublin ship over the last few years in a formidable partnership with Shane Ryan.Fennell did answer the call and showed that he can also flourish in the championship in Croke Park.

However,I think Whelan should start on the 29th.When you take into consideration who we are playing and what Westmeath have to offer.Firstly,Ciaran Whelan is a veteran midfielder who has a lot of experience of playing Westmeath.David Duffy is such a tall midfielder that we'll need a midfielder who will match him in height and agility in the air.I'm sure Fennell would give Duffy a hard time and beat him on a lot of occasions but Whelans knowledge and ability to read the kickouts are crucial.Meanwhile Shane Ryan will need to be at his best to mop up breaking balls and run up the pitch.The Whelan-Ryan partnership is so solid and they both compliment each other so well that not many teams can deal with Dublin in the middle.

However,it is certain that Fennell can not be left out of the mix.If I was Pillar,I'd be making sure that Fennell gets 20 minutes out of this game.I feel that to start Fennell and then sub him for Whelan would be a mistake.I believe that Ciaran Whelan is the sort of player that can't be called upon to come out and rescue a Dublin team in trouble.I think he needs to be there from the start to settle into the game and grab it by the scruff of the neck.However,he is 31/32 and his fitness and durability (while high) may start to fade and this is where we'd need to replace him with another strong player.

There is an alternative however.Speculation is that Whelan could possibly start in the half forwards as was cited a few months ago.Another alternative is that Shane Ryan could find himself in the half backs or half forwards while Whelan-Fennell take up midfield.I believe that Fennell-Whelan would not work.Its not the time of year that they can experiment this and they didn't have much time to team against Meath due to Whelan getting sent off plus Shane Ryan is much better utilized in midfield.

I think Whelan will start but the decision is so hard to make.

What do you posters think?

Flukey

Whelan and Fennell in the middle with Shane Ryan at centre-back.

GAAman

While flukeys choice is not without its charms if i had to pick i would say fennell, i have said he will be a great player he just needs more experience so basically blood the youngfella and keep whelo for the more important games

One Cold Hand

blackbelt wrote: »

I believe that Fennell-Whelan would not work.

Why not?

lorweld

I would stick Fennell in full forward. He could throw Westmeaths defence into turmoil. Dublin's forwards could easily pick up scores off his layoffs. Dublin aren't losing at midfield imho it would be a bonus to have Fennell up front just like Donaghy for Kerry.

Pride Fighter

Fennell,he's been too impressive to drop at this stage and should be strong enough to rule midfield

Whelan. Fennell was impressive but IMO he is not as fit as the rest of the panel, he was out on his feet in the second half. If he could play for the 70 the way he did in the first half against Louth he should start but I dont think he can.

Tazdedub

Got to go with Fennell on this one. He had a good game against Louth and I think that run out might have done him the world of good fitness wise. Plus I think Whelan over the last season or two has only played in bursts, in that he is great for 20 minutes in each half but goes missing for the 10 or 15 minutes in each half as well. I think with Whelan on the bench we have more options, such as playing him in the forwards or midfield with Fennell. I also think that bringing Whelan on during the game could lift the crowd and then that would lift Whelan and the team.

hunter164

Fennell without a doubt.Whelan is past it.
Oh and Collie Moran must be dropped.

pd101

I think Fennel should be given his chance and Whelan isn't a bad sub to come on later in the game. Anyway it's not a bad problem to have to choose two from Fennel, Ryan and Whelan.

Het-Field

Stick with Fennell. However, I would be worried that with Whelan on the bench, Fennell would only play half assed. I have always felt that if a player feels he is to be taken off before the game even starts

Stealdo

Het-Field wrote: »

Stick with Fennell. However, I would be worried that with Whelan on the bench, Fennell would only play half assed. I have always felt that if a player feels he is to be taken off before the game even starts

If I was the coach (which thankfully I am not) and I thought that this was the case I wouldn't have the guy anywhere near the team. You don't get to this level with that kind of attitude and if you do, you don't last too long. Having Whelan on the bench and likely to come on for Fennell should motivate the guy to play even better in order to show that he can carry it for 70 mins. The biggest question remaining about Fennell is his ability to go for 70 mins. With Whelan there I don't think he has to.

I would like to see a situation with these two where a la modern rugby they have a plan that one plays 60 - 70% of the game with the other coming on. It's a game plan rather than any reflection on either player and a luxery for the coach. This would allow Fennell/Whelan to bust themselves for the period they're on which neither can do for 70 mins. Obviously this doesn't account for injuries, but if it works in Rugby where the attrition rate is considerably higher then there's no reason it cannot work in football. I have never understood the GAA obsession with prising the best 15 players you have into the starting team with a crow bar if necessary.

I posted way back when Fennell really emerged in the league that I hoped it wouldn't result in Ryan being moved out of midfield to accommadate him, and this now seems like a possibility. I hope that this Dublin mgt team has finally realised that in spite of Whelan/Fennell being the ones who win the spectacular catches from kickouts, Ryan probably wins just as much (if not more) clean ball, and is in fact the fulcrum that the Dublin team works around. Take a look at the Louth game again and see who it is that is always the first man available when Dublin's backs win the ball in defense, and who has the best success rate with distribution into the forward line. His foot passes into Sherlock and Brogan while totally unspectacular were spot on every time. Moving him out of midfield would be a disaster in my opinion, and the biggest issue with it is that it probably wouldn't become fullly apparent until the later stages when it's too late.

blackbelt

Fennell,he's been too impressive to drop at this stage and should be strong enough to rule midfield

One Cold Hand wrote: »

Why not?

I don't think Fennell and Whelan in the middle would work because they are too similar in the fact that each of them is specialised in winning high balls and driving it up the pitch.We'd need Shane Ryan to pick up the breaking balls so it is should either be a Ryan-Fennell combo or Ryan-Whelan.

I've been thinking more about this thread over the last 2 days and I am now more inclined to start with Fennell now.I can't see how Pillar can now approach Eamon and say that he's not starting after the blinder he played in the last few matches.