New-look Kingdom come to moment of truth

IN Until Victory Always, Jim McGuinness paints a vivid picture of the 2014 All-Ireland semi-final coup involving Dublin, how it was meticulously planned and imagined within the inner recesses of the Donegal’s manager’s brain, and executed with all the precision of a bank robbery.

This is the Glenties man in full ‘I had a dream…’ mode, except rather than a vision of societal harmony, it involved untold hours decodifying Stephen Cluxton’s kick-outs and trying to perfect a flick-down into space to a runner from a long kick-out. The book offers forensic detail of how the shock of the Championship came to pass — still the only Championship defeat of Jim Gavin’s stewardship.

What’s noticeable though, given how the semi-final build-up and game is meticulously documented, is how the final defeat against Kerry is described without dwelling too much on the fine print.

That day ultimately belonged to one manager — Éamonn Fitzmaurice. In mirroring Donegal’s set-up to a large degree, the Kerry manager dispensed with over a century of Kingdom tradition. He made the ballsiest of calls not to bow to any notions about aesthetics or the number of men deemed acceptable to be behind the ball.

Remember Johnny Culloty’s advice to Jack O’Connor before he took charge of Kerry? ‘He knows the romance of Kerry football better than anyone. His word to me always is that we have to win and we have to win with a bit of style, Kerry style.’

Fitzmaurice had the courage of his convictions and decided that Kerry would be best served taking a leaf from the book of Jim McGuinness.

And so Footballer of the Year and inside finisher supreme James O’Donoghue was recast in a roving role, more supplier than scorer, more artisan than artist.

One of the poorest modern finals as a spectacle thus boiled down to a miscued kick-out, Kieran Donaghy taking advantage of Paul Durcan’s mistake to kick the goal that gave Kerry a 2-9 to 0-12 win.

The passing of time has made that Kerry All-Ireland look more of an achievement, not less. During a period in history when Kerry have never suffered as much under Dublin’s thumb, it was one against the head.

The bold nature of the team setup that afternoon made it clear that Fitzmaurice was his own man, prepared to make the big calls.

So it shouldn’t be surprising how he has radically recast Kerry in 2018 after the harrowing All-Ireland semi-final replay defeat by Mayo last year.

Giving seven players their bow in the opening round against Clare. Giving youth its fling again in the Munster final in the shape of raw, rookie talents such as David Clifford and Sean O’Shea. Adding an injection of pace to the team in the turbo-charged form of Gavin White. Leaving captain Fionn Fitzgerald on the bench during the Munster campaign.

Now comes the moment of truth in the Super 8s against Connacht champions Galway. Kevin Walsh’s hard-nosed defensive outfit will pose an entirely different set of questions than Clare and Cork, who were trampled in Munster with barely a whimper. Has Fitzmaurice put too many chips down on the cream of the Kerry four-ina-row minor teams? Will the likes of Clifford and O’Shea, making their senior debuts at Croke Park, become entangled in Galway’s defensive web?

Or will they show, as they did at underage, that they were born to play at headquarters?

In the Munster campaign, Kerry attacked with a dazzling mix of pace, guile, and finishing ability. The 32 points put on Clare is more akin to a hurling scoreline; seven different players found the target against Cork in their biggest Championship winning margin over their old rivals since 1938.

It’s further backwards that the question marks remain. The ease with which Ruairi Deane set up Cork’s two early goals last time out will have been well dissected by Fitzmaurice.

In the corresponding League fixture in Tralee back in February, Galway took the spoils and menaced the Kerry goal. And even though Galway had a blow-out when they met in last year’s All-Ireland quarter-final, they also created a hatful of goal-scoring opportunities.

But Fitzmaurice’s side have come a long way since then.

This a top-of-the-ground team, built for the open expanses of Croke Park. It’s hard not to think they have been remoulded with Dublin in mind.

Up next after Galway is a trip to play Monaghan in Clones before a round-three game against Kildare in Killarney.

Any slip could have long-lasting implications. If Dublin top the other group, then there is the bonus of avoiding the champions until the final if Kerry do the same.

The next couple of weeks will show whether the big call Fitzmaurice made at the start of this season will bring Kerry all the way to September.