While Dublin might not be the same team that they have been over the last 10 years, Billy Joe Padden and Johnny Doyle believe that tales of their demise are exaggerated.
Dublin have lost a large number of their All-Ireland winning players to retirement since their last final, and are still unsure about whether Stephen Cluxton will return as well.
In spite of this, they still looked comfortable in their Leinster Championship victory over Kildare at the weekend to book their place in the All-Ireland semi-final against Mayo.
While Brian Fenton and Con O’Callaghan were quiet on the day, the All-Ireland champs were still able to secure a 10-point victory over Kildare after a fairly sub-par Leinster season by the Dubs’ standards.
Speaking on Tuesday’s Off The Ball, former Mayo and Armagh footballer Padden suggested that while this might not be the same Dublin team that has played over the last decade, they are far from losing their unbeatable aura.
“They haven’t been as dominant as they have been [in the Leinster Championship] for the last 10 years in every game, and the points differential there tells that story,” Padden said.
“When you look at it, many people are pointing to the players that they are missing.
“I don’t want to say that they are getting stale or it is hard to keep to a high level, but there is no doubt that missing a [Stephen] Cluxton this year at short notice impacts on the culture and mentality of the group.
“[Evan] Comerford looks a very fine ‘keeper, there is no doubt about that, but at the same time we really don’t know what their training plan has been.
“Maybe they used the Leinster Championship as a really heavy training load; I have no evidence to back this up, but maybe they are only planning to peak for the month of August.
“If you look at the second half… I think you have to be very cautious if you are hanging onto to something like ‘Dublin have fallen way back’.
“Of course, losing some of the players that they have lost will impact the strength of your squad, but they are still a very serious outfit. Their demise may be exaggerated.”
For former Kildare footballer Doyle, who joined Padden on Off The Ball, in losing their manager Jim Gavin, Dublin have lost the culture that they had during their decade of dominance.
In spite of this change in culture, though, Doyle does not believe that Dublin are any easier to play against.
“We are judging Dublin like we have never judged another team,” Doyle said. “They have such high standards; at times over the last 10 years, they were like a machine.
“They never went off script at all, and that probably came down to Jim Gavin too and the way he dealt with players.
“I don’t think Jim Gavin would come out after a Leinster final and say ‘I don’t know what the story is with one of my players’.
“That would have alarm bells ringing. Now maybe Dessie [Farrell] knows exactly where Cluxton is, I don’t know.
“But from the outside looking in, you see Dean Rock going off, rightly or wrongly, he didn’t look happy and eh expressed that in his body language.
“Would that happen under Jim Gavin? I get the impression that it wouldn’t. I just get the impression that the culture is not as it was.
“You just feel that there is something just not quite right.”
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