Foul Play: Matters Of Life And Death

Dublin may be champions, but Donegal are looking increasingly like they might be the team of 2012...
Eagle-eyed readers may have noted that we have reached high summer without Foul Play, as yet, writing a single word about the unfolding All-Ireland series. I make no apologies for this, having been extremely distracted by events many hundreds of miles away in Poland – and yes, before you ask, of course I would have happily traded in the Sam Maguire in return for a triumphant (or even semi-decent) showing from Ireland at the Euros. If this means I’m deemed to be something less than a true GAA fan, so be it. And if you feel differently, more power to you.

For better or worse, that chapter is now closed, and we must now seek fresh worlds to conquer. Another All-Ireland seems as good a place to start as any. Dublin have captured another Leinster title, their seventh in eight years, and now stand only three more wins away from repeating last September’s heroics (though obviously, there is no way they could ever hope to surpass that occasion in terms of pure drama).
Their displays to date have been reasonably efficient but hardly blood-curdling, with especial alarm bells sounded by the way Meath almost mounted a ridiculously unlikely comeback from a ten-point deficit in the Leinster final, leaving the shaken Dubs hanging on for dear life. Aside from the champions’ brilliant two-goal salvo in the minute immediately preceding half-time, the sides were disturbingly evenly-matched for long spells. Dublin were repeatedly careless and sloppy in possession – the scorching weather only excuses this up to a point, and had it not been for some wayward shooting from the resurgent Royals, Dublin might easily have been staring at a replay or worse. They survived, but can’t afford to be this lethargic in the knockout stages.
Kerry’s ominous showing against Tyrone the previous evening (having been wholly unconvincing up until that point) is beginning to stir up echoes of 2009, when the Kingdom also looked like something of a spent force in the early Championship skirmishes before timing themselves to peak at exactly the right moment. They will feel that they owe Dublin one after the stunning conclusion to last year’s Final, and I can’t say I’d be thrilled to face them in the quarter-finals (assuming they don’t trip up against Clare in the interim, a fairly safe assumption).
I have barely seen Cork play all summer, having been away on Euros duty for their Munster semi with Kerry: I witnessed a few briefinterludes of their subsequent stroll against Clare, but wouldn’t read too much into that. Physically, they will have an edge over almost anyone, and in all likelihood are not unduly flattered by their current status as the bookies’ favourites.
Kildare, flagged up as major contenders back in June by a Hot Press-er of fanatical Lilywhite persuasion, have been a crushing disappointment: they are still alive, and should account for Sligo, but at no point during Kieran McGeeney’s tenure have they shown anything resembling the ruthlessness in front of the posts that will be required to go all the way. I remain hesitant to write them off completely, but I can’t see them lasting too much longer.
Traditional Ulster powerhouses Armagh and Tyrone have made early exits: Red Hand manager Mickey Harte cuts a heart-rending figure these days, the unimaginable horrors which he’s endured (as well as his magnificent track record) rendering him more or less immune to any speculation about his position: yet, after ten years during which his wonderful team were a rich adornment to the All-Ireland, the magic has clearly vanished.
Indisputably, however, there is a new Northern dreadnought in the All-Ireland shake-up to join the established Holy Trinity of Cork, Kerry and Dublin. Donegal, after years of seeing abundant natural talent undermined by what might politely be described as a somewhat feckless approach to looking after themselves away from the pitch, can now surely aspire to go toe-to-toe with any of the heavyweights without fear.
They shipped a copious amount of criticism for their approach to last year’s All-Ireland semi, a suffocating blanket defence prompting more than one pundit to observe that Jim McGuinness ‘should be ashamed of himself for sending out a team to play like that’. But the point is that it very nearly worked, and right now, they are beginning to take on a truly formidable look, having bludgeoned their way through the gruelling Ulster championship without blinking.
They don’t race into early leads: the formula is to keep it tight in the first half and then slowly throttle teams in the second as their superior fitness begins to wear down opponents who’ve run themselves ragged trying to outwit a massed defence against whom every single score seems to require a military operation. Anybody who beats them this summer will need to sweat every last drop to do so.
While the All-Ireland series really hasn’t taken off yet (aside from Galway hurlers’ astounding evisceration of Kilkenny) the latter stages of the football championship should provide some titanic battles to savour, with at least four stunningly good teams still in the shake-up. Brave-to-foolhardy punters might note at this stage that, in a sport where shock results are by no means a rarity, there are some shockingly huge prices still on offer against teams who stand only four wins from the summit (Down are 80/1, Laois 150/1, Sligo 200/1) – but while you might just get an exciting roller-coaster ride out of it, ‘great value’ doesn’t necessarily imply that the bet will ultimately succeed, and I think I’ll leave that trio alone.
Winners? The heart, obviously, says Dublin. The head suggests that a Cork-Donegal final may await, and with a gun to the head you’d have to toss a coin to call that one.
The only guarantee is that, from this point onward, you don’t want to miss it. Sit back and enjoy.