The previous decade very clearly belonged to the Dublin footballers and Jim Gavin, but if you saw the way the previous one ended, you’d have gotten good odds on Dublin winning one All-Ireland, never mind securing a historic five and then six in a row.
Dublin left 2009 as startled earwigs proceeded to take over Gaelic football, and one of their biggest fans in that era was Joe Brolly, but times have changed.
Brolly, of course, has never been shy about sharing his opinion. And in his latest column for the Irish Independent, he has delivered one of his harshest takes yet on the modern Dublin footballer.
His verdict is brutal.
Joe Brolly argues that Dublin, once the great entertainers of the game, have become “the game’s most boring franchise”.
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For a team that once symbolised “adventure, character and glory”, he sees a dramatic shift. In place of risk and instinct, he describes a side that is unable to take risks and is wedded to whatever strategy they have been sent out to play with.
Joe Brolly Identifies The One Thing Ger Brennan Must Do To Save Dublin
The latest evidence, in his eyes, came in MacHale Park against Mayo.
On a bright afternoon, with a solid travelling support and a sense that new manager Ger Brennan might inject fresh energy under the revised rules, Brolly expected something different. Instead, he saw Mayo sail through largely untroubled as a Dublin attack minus Con O’Callaghan struggled for fluency.
His conclusion is rather stark.
If it persists, Brennan will have to emulate Pat Gilroy — scrap this squad of happy-to-wear-the-Dublin-jersey types and start a fresh manhunt for … men.
For all the talk there was about splitting Dublin in two and as some argued, four. We have now reached a point where the men from the capital are just one of the pack again. The cycle of dominance ended but in Brolly’s eyes if Ger Brennan is to bring the good times back for the Hill 16 faithful, he should repeat the approach which saw him become such a key figure under Pat Gilroy.
An approach which eventually led to the most dominant team in Gaelic football history emerging.
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