Back from a few days away in Donegal but the shadow boxing in the championship has all but come to an end and at last we are getting a clearer picture of who will be in the mix come the end of the season.
Watched the Dubs with great interest yesterday and it's clear that they are struggling despite pulling the game out of the fire against Westmeath in the second half.
I think if anything Dublin have gone backwards this season.
Paul Caffrey should have called it a day at the start of the year and on the evidence of everything I have seen so far I still believe he made the wrong decision to give it one more year.
The Dublin defence is there for the taking by any good attack.
Westmeath were almost totally reliant on Dessie Dolan and Denis Glennon to do the damage and if they had have had a little more composure in the team they would have seen Dublin off.
For all the hype about Bryan Cullen's performance yesterday I wasn't over impressed with his defending and he is not the answer at centre half back.
The full back line were almost taken to the cleaners in the first 20 minutes and midfield is still a weakness. Neither Whelan or Shane Ryan have a 70 minute game in them, and Eamon Fennell has promise but not much more.
Up front Alan Brogan was exposed as being very limited by the tight marking of John Keane and while Brogan will always give you 100 per cent it's not enough at the top level, I think he is hugely over rated.
Jayo still shows the odd flash of brilliance but he's not capable of conducting the orchestra from centre three quarters, he couldn't do it when he was younger and fitter and he can't do it now at the top level.
He should at this stage of his career be an impact sub or be playing as close to goal as possible where his intelligence and craft can still unlock a defence.
Mossie Quinn and Colm Keaney are average players and struggle against packed defences and for the life of me I just don't see an All Ireland in this team.
And as for Caffrey himself he seems to lack the tactical nous of the top managers and you get the feeling with Dublin that unless they run all over the top of with you with strength and fitness that there isn't an awful lot more.
They should still win Leinster but Wexford will give them a run for their money.
Showing posts with label Caffrey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Caffrey. Show all posts
Monday, 30 June 2008
Monday, 16 June 2008
Beginning of the end for Caffrey?
I said earlier in the year that I believed Dublin manager Paul Caffrey might have overstayed his welcome.
That view was endorsed by no less a pundit than former Dublin forward Charlie Redmond.
Charlie reckons that Caffrey has been too loyal to some of the players who have been with the squad since he has taken over and he questioned the contribution that some of them are making to the Dublin cause.
It's brave of Charlie to stick the head up above the parapet as no one likes to criticise their own county but I think Caffrey has taken the Dubs as far as they can go and I don't think they are a better side now than they were three to four years ago.
They still depend on Jason Sherlock for a bit of savvy, their midfield looks as vulnerable now as it did at the start of Caffrey's reign with Eamon Fennell the great new hope and the defence remainsl very brittle.
If Caffrey doesn't deliver much more than a Leinster title, at least an All-Ireland final appearance is needed, then we will see a new manager at the reins.
I don't think the Dubs will reach the final unless they get a great draw and Redmond's comments may signal the beginning of the end.
That view was endorsed by no less a pundit than former Dublin forward Charlie Redmond.
Charlie reckons that Caffrey has been too loyal to some of the players who have been with the squad since he has taken over and he questioned the contribution that some of them are making to the Dublin cause.
It's brave of Charlie to stick the head up above the parapet as no one likes to criticise their own county but I think Caffrey has taken the Dubs as far as they can go and I don't think they are a better side now than they were three to four years ago.
They still depend on Jason Sherlock for a bit of savvy, their midfield looks as vulnerable now as it did at the start of Caffrey's reign with Eamon Fennell the great new hope and the defence remainsl very brittle.
If Caffrey doesn't deliver much more than a Leinster title, at least an All-Ireland final appearance is needed, then we will see a new manager at the reins.
I don't think the Dubs will reach the final unless they get a great draw and Redmond's comments may signal the beginning of the end.
Thursday, 24 April 2008
What planet is Caffrey on?
You have to wonder what planet Paul Caffrey is living on when he questions why the media made such a big deal out of the free for all on Sunday in the game against Meath.
In this day and age in front of a television audience and where there is less tolerance than ever for the thuggery displayed on Sunday Caffrey claimed that the players had been made a scapegoat of!
So is Paul Caffrey saying the problem is with the public's reaction or the actions of the players?
So how exactly have the Dublin and Meath players been hung out to dry?
Were they innocent of the offences the GAA have proffered against them, well four of the Dubs have already taken their oil, so they can't believe that they were hung out to dry.
And how can Caffrey claim there was no malice given that players all over the field got involved in the brawl.
However, my favourite comment of the Dublin manager's was that the game was all about "controlled aggression".
Yes indeed.
I didn't think that there was too much controlled about the aggression of the two sides on Sunday but I suppose if I lost eight players to such stupidity I would be feeling a bit miffed too.
Paul Caffrey would do the game a service if he just accepted, like half his players already have, that there is just no place in the game any more for this type of incident.
After all he has lost at least five players, including Alan Brogan from the week previous, with four more appealing the rap for what was simply a loss of discipline and nerve.
In this day and age in front of a television audience and where there is less tolerance than ever for the thuggery displayed on Sunday Caffrey claimed that the players had been made a scapegoat of!
So is Paul Caffrey saying the problem is with the public's reaction or the actions of the players?
So how exactly have the Dublin and Meath players been hung out to dry?
Were they innocent of the offences the GAA have proffered against them, well four of the Dubs have already taken their oil, so they can't believe that they were hung out to dry.
And how can Caffrey claim there was no malice given that players all over the field got involved in the brawl.
However, my favourite comment of the Dublin manager's was that the game was all about "controlled aggression".
Yes indeed.
I didn't think that there was too much controlled about the aggression of the two sides on Sunday but I suppose if I lost eight players to such stupidity I would be feeling a bit miffed too.
Paul Caffrey would do the game a service if he just accepted, like half his players already have, that there is just no place in the game any more for this type of incident.
After all he has lost at least five players, including Alan Brogan from the week previous, with four more appealing the rap for what was simply a loss of discipline and nerve.
Friday, 18 April 2008
Caffrey must be worried man
I think the Dubs' season is now in a bit of trouble.
Paul Caffrey has totally changed his half forward line for the game with Meath after last week's bad beating up in Armagh.
He has no Alan Brogan for this game after getting a straight red against the Orchard men but he has made a number of changes to the line-up including bringing Mossy Quinn out to half forward.
Ciaran Whelan is back in from the start but this is a sign that the Dubs still don't really know the shape of their championship midfield.
This time out Whelan will partner Eamonn Fennell, but Caffrey must be worried when an ageing midfielder who has always come up just short is still his best throw of the dice.
Paul Caffrey has totally changed his half forward line for the game with Meath after last week's bad beating up in Armagh.
He has no Alan Brogan for this game after getting a straight red against the Orchard men but he has made a number of changes to the line-up including bringing Mossy Quinn out to half forward.
Ciaran Whelan is back in from the start but this is a sign that the Dubs still don't really know the shape of their championship midfield.
This time out Whelan will partner Eamonn Fennell, but Caffrey must be worried when an ageing midfielder who has always come up just short is still his best throw of the dice.
Sunday, 13 April 2008
Dubs' defeat cause for concern
Dublin manager Paul Caffrey will be a worried man tonight after his team’s nine-point defeat to Armagh in Crossmaglen today.
The Dubs are sitting pretty in Division 2 and certain to qualify for the play off against either Monaghan or Westmeath and Paul Caffrey did give a few players a run out today but most of what will be his championship line-up did eventually play some role in the game.
Dublin are a good side and on their day are capable of putting one over any side in the country.
Their problem I believe still is that they are not capable of beating the top sides consistently and they are still struggling to find a forward or forwards who can turn a game with one moment of class.
They are workmanlike, energetic and on occasion the Brogans are capable of a flash of brilliance but they too often flatter to deceive and are as likely in the next moment to do something reminiscent of a novice.
Midfield is also becoming another problem area for the Dubs.
Ciaran Whelan is past his sell by date, no longer capable of 70 minutes of championship action, while Shane Ryan has never been capable of 70 minutes football at the top level, which isn’t surprising given the effort he regularly puts in for 55 to 60 minutes football.
Despite making some headway so far this season Paul Caffrey will be concerned that his team were undone by what his side has lacked so much, goals from forwards of the calibre of Stephen McDonnell and Ronan Clarke.
The confidence built up from a good run in Division 2 in the league can easily evaporate after a defeat like today's and Caffrey will have a job on his hands rebuilding his side’s self belief.
The Dubs are sitting pretty in Division 2 and certain to qualify for the play off against either Monaghan or Westmeath and Paul Caffrey did give a few players a run out today but most of what will be his championship line-up did eventually play some role in the game.
Dublin are a good side and on their day are capable of putting one over any side in the country.
Their problem I believe still is that they are not capable of beating the top sides consistently and they are still struggling to find a forward or forwards who can turn a game with one moment of class.
They are workmanlike, energetic and on occasion the Brogans are capable of a flash of brilliance but they too often flatter to deceive and are as likely in the next moment to do something reminiscent of a novice.
Midfield is also becoming another problem area for the Dubs.
Ciaran Whelan is past his sell by date, no longer capable of 70 minutes of championship action, while Shane Ryan has never been capable of 70 minutes football at the top level, which isn’t surprising given the effort he regularly puts in for 55 to 60 minutes football.
Despite making some headway so far this season Paul Caffrey will be concerned that his team were undone by what his side has lacked so much, goals from forwards of the calibre of Stephen McDonnell and Ronan Clarke.
The confidence built up from a good run in Division 2 in the league can easily evaporate after a defeat like today's and Caffrey will have a job on his hands rebuilding his side’s self belief.
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