The Clux of the matter is that this may well be one Dub departure too many

WHEN it was confirmed last weekend that Stephen Cluxton is not currently part of the Dublin panel, several thoughts ran through my head.

I reflected on what a brilliant career he’s had but, primarily, I wondered if he’s finished for good. You would have to think so.

And, probably of far greater importance, I considered whether the competition is beginning to even out.

Does this open the door that little bit more for pretenders to Dublin’s crown?

Because, while Dublin have had their share of retirements during the last few years, none of those players commanded as much of the opposition’s pre-game analysis as Cluxton has.

Twenty years ago, when he started out, that would have been a ridiculous concept but that’s how good he’s been.

He has almost singlehandedly made the goalkeeper the most important position on a Gaelic football team.

From shot-stopping through to his organisational skills – and, of course, his restarts – he’s been virtually flawless.

That’s why this void will be more difficult for them to fill. Players like

Cian O’sullivan, Michael Darragh Macaculey, Paddy Andrews, Diarmuid Connolly, Paul Flynn, Ger Brennan, Rory O’carroll, Eoghan O’gara, Darren Daly, Alan and Bernard Brogan have all been phased out of the team in recent years, though Paul Mannion and Jack Mccaffrey’s departures have been a little more troubling.

Yet, they’ve still coped without all of them and kept moving forward.

But you wonder now if they’ve reached a tipping point with those departures when placing Cluxton on top of them all.

Are all of the players that have replaced all of those retirees better than them? You would have to say that, no, they aren’t. Mccaffrey and Mannion both stepped away while in their prime.

Cluxton didn’t concede a goal in last year’s Championship. Dublin have always been about the sum of their parts but now some of their parts just aren’t as reliable and they may now have lost one key component too many.

Jim Gavin particularly had the foresight to recognise when key players were winding down and was very adept at seamlessly replacing them.

But there comes a time when so many players are

moving on that there has to be a dip in standard.

Perhaps that has already come to pass – I suspect that it has – and other teams haven’t been good enough to take advantage.

That might change this year, however.

Evan

He has made goalkeeper the most important position in team

Comerford (inset) has had his opportunities but we still don’t know how he’ll cope under an aggressive press from quality opposition in the latter stages of the Championship.

And neither does Blues manager Dessie Farrell.

Similarly, Robbie Mcdaid did well at wing-back last year but he had an easy ride for the most part.

Does anyone seriously expect him to light it up like Mccaffrey did against Kerry in 2019?

Will Tom Lahiff or Peadar Byrne be a line-breaker, a ball-winner like Macauley?

Dublin still have enough top quality players in the shape of Jonny Cooper, James Mccarthy, Niall Scully, Ciaran Kilkenny, Con O’callaghan and Brian Fenton to ensure that they will be near the top when the big prize is handed out but maybe too much cream has now been skimmed off.

And the likely retirement of the most dominant and influential Gaelic footballer ever might just be a bridge too far.

We’ll find out soon enough.