MASTER AIR OF THE
Imperious midfielder Fenton opens up on his motivation to keep Dublin at the top...
IT’S rare in an interview setting that there is a bed in the room and Brian Fenton breaks into a smile when he walks in and sees what dominates the view where the assembled media are collected.
As part of their five-year Dublin sponsorship deal covering the four codes, Staycity Aparthotels have decided to showcase their city-centre base just off Capel Street for the afternoon and the two-time Footballer of the Year is one of their guests.
The Raheny midfielder is suitably relaxed as he discusses his straight red card near the end of extra time in the recent Allianz Football League final against Derry and why he isn’t worried about a repeat red card that would involve a two-match suspension.
It meant not being part of the matchday squad for last Sunday’s Leinster quarter-final against Meath at Croke Park.
‘I was humming and hawing about whether to go into the match or not but I didn’t. I watched it from home,’ he says, adding that listening to the live commentary on his own teammates offered a different perspective.
‘It’s mad. It’s probably like a window into retirement in many ways. Like, “Jesus, this is what it’s all about, I used to be out there” and that kind of stuff. When I retire, I’ll definitely go to Hill 16 I’d say.
‘But it is weird. You watch it in a very analytical kind of way. It’s like reviewing a match afterwards. I suppose commentators maybe play things down or build things up a lot.
The Stephen Cluxton kick-outs maybe and Dublin malfunctioning... you take all of that with a different view because we knew Stephen was just back and it’s obviously
“I’ll have to get used to the off-the-ball stuff and close attention this year”
an area for us to work on.’
And like so many other sports fans, he spent the day changing channels between the GAA, Premier League and the final round of the Masters in Augusta.
‘Liverpool were playing at the time so I was flicking between that. It’s weird, it’s just a normal Sunday. Sky Sports — I wouldn’t be a massive golf fan but I think everyone watches The Masters just for the occasion and just the aesthetics of it. I just chilled out, got a takeaway, like a normal person.’
As for whether he found any part of that routine appealing? ‘No.’ Not yet, at least. ‘Down the line, definitely. Sit at home and take away the stress and the worry of big games. But I think the big thing coming out of Sunday is how precious it is. I’m one of those players lucky enough to take to the park and be part of that. How special it is.
‘In my 10th season you could fall into the trap of being very used to this, that this is normal life, but if anything, the silver lining on the suspension is that it gives you a real appreciation of what we do and how lucky we are to be a part of it — albeit lower crowds, onesided games or whatever. It’s still an amazing thing to be a part of in life in my opinion.’
It was hardly coincidental that in his absence, Dublin’s problems in securing their own kick-out on the day became a talking point. For a decade now, Fenton has been a gold-plated fixture of a golden era. An imperious, twofooted player with all of the traditional heft and fielding ability that the best in the position who preceded him exhibited.
If the red card felt out of character, he explains why.
‘It was just out of frustration. As a player, I’ll stand my ground but I’ve never been a kind of reactive player. That was probably the most disappointing thing, and it was more so that we were three points down — this was before the last-minute goal — so it was kind of like the game was gone from us a little bit. So, yeah, it was born out of frustration really.
‘I think there were loads of factors to it, I think there was definitely a bit of playacting in many ways but it was my own fault even to get involved in it really. I suppose there are big learnings in it in that way.’
Plenty argued it only merited a yellow and the video evidence convinced him to seek a hearing — to no avail. ‘Afterwards, having watched it back, taking all of that into consideration and maybe the linesman’s positioning and that kind of stuff, we just chose to appeal it. I thought, in retrospect, harsh myself. In my opinion there was definitely no striking action or nothing overly dangerous — we play the game and it’s physical and there’s contact. I have never struck a player and never been in red card territory before, so it was definitely very new.
‘So, yeah, we had a look at it and thought appealing it would be a good exercise but obviously the CCCC and that committee just chose to uphold it, which is fair enough. I was disappointed, but you just have to respect it and move on.’
While he could have appealed it further, he explains: ‘I just kind of said to Dessie, “look, give it one crack maybe”, because I didn’t want it to be a distraction for the team on match week.’
It spoiled what had, up to that point, been an immaculate disciplinary record.
‘No two yellows, nothing,’ he says, with Raheny or otherwise. ‘And that was part of the plea, definitely.’
Elements of the incident clearly rankled with him. ‘I think with Mickey Harte teams I have always been closely marked, with Tyrone down through the years and now with Derry, and it’s something I will have to get used to for the summer is that close attention and off-the-ball stuff.
‘You could see the closed fist coming in — it’s not something I would ever leave in there, and it’s not something I like in the game, to be totally honest with you. So, definitely it peed me off a little bit.
‘Often you can protect yourself because you are probably carrying the ball. You see it in hurling, the kind of clip across the elbow that they don’t like, kind of redcard offences. And it’s something I would be of the opinion that goes missed a lot of the times by referees. You can get away with it, if you know what I mean. And it can be a very hurtful, dangerous, kind of nasty little thing to do. I suppose that was where the frustration came out of.’
Looking to the future though, it’s Offaly in a Leinster semi-final at Croke Park on Sunday week. When the return of Cluxton, Michael Fitzsimons and James McCarthy is mentioned, he ties it in to what remains the underlying motivation for all of them.
‘I definitely don’t think it’s James saying “I want 10 medals”, or Stephen or Fitzy. It’s more like proving yourself consistently and being the best. We talk about the jersey in a better place — keeping Dublin up at that top tier is a big motivator for the lads, yeah, being the best.’