Jim’s demeanour hinted at exit, but will Cluxton follow?
IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN IF
HIS DEPARTURE HAS A DOMINO EFFECT
AS the sun slipped down in Abu Dhabi, it was as if the shockwaves from Jim Gavin’s departure had carried all the way to the Grand Mosque where the prayerful lament over the tannoy seemed to fit with the mood of Dublin football supporters. Particularly when the light dimmed and this remarkable piece of human engineering was bathed in the blue light that marks it out as the city’s main landmark.
It’s easy to draw a line to another vast achievement – in Gaelic football terms – that will stand the test of time. The six All-Irelands that culminated in September’s historic five-in-a-row, unprecedented in either code in the history of Gaelic games. The seven Leinster titles in a row. The 18 trophies won from a possible 21 in terms of league, provincial championship and All-Ireland.
Even as the many tributes rolled in to Gavin’s groundbreaking tenure in charge of Dublin since taking charge for the 2013 season, questions were already being asked about who might follow his lead. The thoughts of his captain and on-field general Stephen Cluxton would be very informative right now. Turns out the mood music around the AllIreland final replay was worth listening to. That’s when Gavin and Cluxton took their time to take a bow on the field after an emotional embrace, a carefully considered meet and greet with the supporters dotted around the front row of the stands that read like one last, long farewell. Jim Gavin’s father turning up at the post-match press conference was another clue as the clinical, business-like environment that was par-for-the-course around match day was abandoned for a warm, personal touch as the manager spoke insightfully of Cluxton and how he developed into the de facto quarter-back in arguably the greatest team that the game has ever witnessed.
And yet that isn’t entirely accurate either because, unlike Mick O’Dwyer’s Kerry, this wasn’t just getting the best out of one blessedly talented bunch of footballers. What Gavin did was keep the team on a relentless winning run – 37 championship matches and counting – even while swopping out such gifted talents as Bernard Brogan or Diarmuid Connolly.
In one of the function rooms of the Gibson Hotel – Dublin’s sleek, high-end base camp – there is a clock that acted as a backdrop to the 8am press conference ritual that Gavin initiated at the dockland venue. One with no hands or blinking digital display. Instead, it was a sophisticated modern timepiece that hinted at precision engineering. A neat metaphor for Dublin under Gavin.
Ironically, if there is one slightly awkward note to his tenure though, it also concerns timing. Coming so late in the year with the sights and sounds of Christmas approaching, it’s left the All-Ireland champions behind the eight-ball a little bit in terms of getting organised for 2020 and the decade ahead.
The new manager, whoever that is – Dessie Farrell’s name was bouncing around in plenty of conversations yesterday – is going to have to play a bit of catch-up in terms of preparations for an Allianz Football League campaign that starts on Saturday, January 25 with a home game at Croke Park against Kerry.
Especially after all the intimations in recent weeks that suggested Gavin was staying on.
Word was that he breezed through a series of interviews for the Irish Aviation Authority on Friday, giving nothing away about the bombshell that was about to drop via a statement from Dublin GAA yesterday, instead, casually batting away any questions about the year ahead and Dublin’s bid to go one further and secure a first six-in-arow.
This reporter was invited to his first informal press briefing as Dublin manager where he gave a sneak peak of the power-point display where he had the style of play and the building blocks of his tenure all mapped out. The culture of excellence and high performance that has informed so much of how his Dublin team went about their business.
With the likes of Bernard Brogan already stepping away, it remains to be seen if Gavin’s departure now has a domino effect.
And that is where the focus turns to Cluxton, who turns 38 in December. Private, media-shy, and uninterested in any of the trappings of success, Cluxton was chosen as captain for good reason.
Given the scenes on the field after the All-Ireland final replay win over Kerry and how much Gavin and Cluxton seemed to be preparing the stage to exit left, the live feed is worth recalling.
‘That was an emotional Stephen Cluxton,’ remarked RTE anchor Joanne Cantwell. ‘You wonder is that because of the weight of history, five in a row, or is it because he feels it may be his last?’
To which analyst Ciaran Whelan added: ‘If you look at his performance this year, you fear that he is going to retire.’
Will Cluxton then follow Gavin’s lead? For all the talk of domination, there are plenty of other contenders around the country who will take encouragement from the end of the Gavin era.
The likelihood is that his legacy will only be burnished by what happens next.