First it was Dublin, then it was Kerry. For Gaelic football’s old firm, there will be a lot to ponder this winter.
Kerry’s defeat to Armagh last Saturday exposed several of the issues that have hung over the Kingdom all season – namely a lack of strength in depth and also the restrictions their style of play puts on the team.
Kerry played seven games in this year’s championship, scoring a total of five goals and 135 points. Of that tally, a meagre 0-8 was contributed by the Kerry bench. Combined, the Kerry subs never managed to score more than two points in any championship game.
They didn’t get a single score from their subs in the group stage wins over both Monaghan and Louth – games in which Kerry posted 0-24 and 2-21 respectively. Clearly, that is not good enough, and it illustrates the lack of depth Jack O’Connor was working with this season.
Modern Gaelic football is very much an arm-wrestle for 50 minutes, and then, as the contest enters the last 20-25 minutes, you bring on your finishers – ideally players who are equally as good as the guys who have been playing, if not better.
It is no coincidence that Armagh’s victory came from a second-half rally after their subs made a significant impact. It’s not just all about scoring – but Armagh’s subs combined for 0-4, while Kerry’s bench contributed 0-2.
Kerry’s lack of depth is surprising, given the county won five All-Ireland minor titles in a row between 2014 and 2018.
Those players are in their mid-to-late twenties now, and while Mark O’Connor has gone to play AFL in Australia and the likes of David Clifford, Jason Foley, Tom O’Sullivan, Diarmuid O’Connor and Seán O’Shea have progressed to be key players on the senior team, surely Kerry would have expected a bigger return from that crop by now? They have only claimed one All-Ireland since those players came through to the senior squad.
Forwards like David Clifford, Paudie Clifford and Seán O’Shea would all get way more opportunities if Kerry changed tack and pressed the kickouts
In an ideal situation, Kerry would be bringing a player like Paul Geaney off the bench to finish games, but instead they needed him to start in the latter stages of the championship.
There are Kerry players in various positions around the field who have underperformed in recent seasons, but they remain nailed-on starters because there is nobody on the bench pushing them for a jersey.
And then there’s the issue of how Kerry tactically approach games. A lot has been made of David Clifford’s scoring return this year, but you need to look at how the team sets up to understand why the gameplan doesn’t help the inside forwards.
Kerry concede a lot of opposition kickouts because they don’t really trust their defenders to win their man-to-man matchups. So they look to get as many players behind the ball as possible. There is an onus on the half-forward line to drop back and help out.
In the modern game, every player has to be able to defend and attack but, of the Kerry forwards, perhaps Dara Moynihan is the only natural worker willing to sacrifice his game to defend. Even at that, he doesn’t bring a massive physical presence.
Forwards like David Clifford, Paudie Clifford and Seán O’Shea would all get far more opportunities if Kerry changed tack and pressed the kickouts.
I know how hard it can be for forwards to create scoring chances when you give up the opposition kickout. I experienced it several times with Dublin: you had to track back to defend, and you’d be in your own half for long periods because your marker had dragged you up the pitch.
It’s very hard, then, when you transition up the field to be alive and fresh, so it lends itself to a slower attack and naturally the opposition have got loads of bodies back by that stage as well. So it’s hard to get into the scoring groove.
But it is possible to create and force scoring opportunities where forwards can get free – and that’s by pressing the opposition kickout and forcing a turnover.
Kerry were brilliant on the zonal press in the past and, in particular, I remember them putting a massive press on our kickouts in 2016.
When you get a zonal press, forwards like Clifford aren’t being man-marked in that moment, so it creates chances. And if you can force a turnover and get a score, you keep your foot on their throat and go again at the kickout. It can create real momentum for teams.
It also takes a huge amount of energy for players to be going up and down the field tracking guys. You need to be extremely fit for that type of game, and I would question Kerry’s fitness in terms of sustaining that for long periods. In the closing stages last Saturday, Armagh had the stronger legs and the better subs.
In an ideal situation, Kerry would be bringing a player like Paul Geaney off the bench to finish games. Instead, they need him to start
Finally, was there any real need for Seán O’Shea to be playing against Tipperary in the first round of the McGrath Cup on January 3rd? Or for David Clifford to play in the second round of the league against Monaghan?
I can understand where Kerry were possibly coming from. On the back of losing the All-Ireland final last year they were keen to get back, work hard over the winter and come out in 2024 determined to make amends.
However, that is a time of the year to be developing inexperienced players while resting others. Kerry, more than many teams because of their squad depth, needed their key players to be fresh and buzzing come the business stage of the season.
But that wasn’t how it turned out for them, and they will now have a long winter to contemplate a short summer.
