Dublin manager Jim Gavin.

MOSTLY FOOTBALL: How to create a culture to rival the Dubs in four easy steps

Dublin have had a financial advantage. So what - there are other ways to close the gap, writes Michael Hannon.
 

When Armagh won their All-Ireland in 2002, I can remember people from around the country being invigorated by their achievements. How did they do it? What was the secret? Why not us? 
Tyrone rode that feeling in 2003 for their maiden All-Ireland title. Kerry came next and, well, people are used to the Kingdom winning so that same feeling wasn't so prevalent. 
Kerry and Tyrone would dominate the next five years, before Cork eventually got themselves over the line in 2010 when the over-riding feeling was relief such had been the torture they'd endured at the hands of their neighbours. 
That Cork team wasn't overly loved in the national consciousness but they were admired for their resilience. Dublin in 2011 had a unique feeling too, at long last after years of under-performing and losing semi-finals by a single point, they'd got there. 
Next up was Donegal in 2012, admired but also not overly loved because of their style. They sort of made people sit up and recognise that the game had changed forever in the space of 18 months, because of their defensive system. And then along came Dublin again. 
By 2015 they had won their third title, beating 2014 champions Kerry so comprehensively even if it wasn't reflected on the scoreboard that the feeling was Donegal's semi-final ambush in 2014 had actually stopped a three in a row. Only for that collapse by Jim Gavin's men - they were 0-7 points to 0-2 up in the first half and spurning gilt edge goal chances to finish the game - we'd actually be talking about a Dublin dynasty with them looking to win seven-in-a-row next year. 
That's depressing for the rest of the country, and while it's easy and lazy to say it's all down to the extra funding they were allocated by both the GAA and the government, sitting round complaining about it is not going to close the gap between Dublin and the rest. 
In Leinster you now have a situation where a number of the counties in the commuter belt have received, for the last two years, additional finance to cater for their growing population needs but in terms of seeing an upswing in performance at senior inter-county level, it could be 10 years before that money has any impact. 
So it got me thinking, what are the things that a county can do to close the gap that don't require huge additional finance? Not everything is about money. 
When it comes to high performance money will play an important role, there's no point denying it, but it strikes me as interesting that supporters will bemoan the disparity between Dublin and their own county yet not recognise that there are so many other boxes currently being ignored that they need to tick if they wish to close the gap. 
Money is not going to magically increase their counties population size so that disparity will always exist with Dublin. What can be done instead by a management team?

 

Create a culture of excellence and responsibility. This might seem abstract to some readers but it's important to note that when a panel of players move away from being a group that is solely accountable to a manager or a coach, towards one where each player is fully responsible, then it can create a situation where standards will rise across a whole host of factors related to preparation. 
Being responsible means you do the right thing when no-one’s eyes are on you, be that taking better care of your diet, training, injury rehabilitation, personal video analysis, individual conditioning sessions, skills work or offering critical feedback when required to a team-mate. The list goes on but you get the idea. 
Having someone on the management team with the skillset to facilitate such a scenario might be the difficult part if the manager isn’t actually capable of doing this himself. I'ts quite possible that you might need to get someone who does not have the footballing background but has the track record of achieving the creation of such a culture in their business or professional lives. 
However if they do have a footballing background, and are native to your county, then better again. That scenario will probably save you a few pennies. 
I’ve a strong feeling some of the best managers to have managed in the history of the game were able to engender this feeling among their panel. Maybe not among everyone, because not everyone is capable of being responsible, and some people do better with accountability, but among enough players to keep the rebels in line.

 

Partner up with the players on nutrition. This might sound a little quirky but I think there’s merit in it. Providing meals after training is one of the biggest financial costs involved with a county senior side and preparing food is one of the biggest time consumptions on players involved with a county panel. 
Get the players and the county board to come together to see if they can find a solution so the county board can get more bang for their buck and also free up the players' time. Source a company that will provide three meals a day, one of which will be the designated meal after training. 
Naturally the players will have to contribute to the cost of such an enterprise but I would gladly have made that contribution during my own playing days if the food being provided was nutritionally correct. 
Not everyone would sign up and different players would have different nutritional needs given their size and energy requirements. Crucially it could be done in such a way that it is cost neutral to a county board and benefits everyone. 
If your basic meals were being supplied and all you had to do was supplement it with a daily protein shake and a few eggs then you could very quickly start thinking about doing those extra things that would help you close the gap. Which moves us on to point number three...

 

Organise skill based sessions only. The temptation when you bring guys together for training is to ensure that everyone gets a sweat up. Players will naturally want to impress and often this can mean that panels will go at whatever session or drill has been planned for them at close to 100pc intensity. 
It's been shown that when learning or refining a skill it acquires much greater fluency if practiced at slow speeds first before being executed at greater speeds. It often struck me that at senior inter-county level, the time is rarely given to practice at slow speeds because if you’ve gone to the effort to convene everyone together for a training session, you “better make it worth their while”. 
Everybody’s heart rate is jacked but is anyone actually getting better at ball-striking, tackling, kicking, catching, shooting etc? There has to be a time set aside for that but realistically, if you’re on a panel outside of Dublin, that time and place will need to be your own. 
Hence the less time you spend chained in the kitchen preparing food the more time you have to work on those skills that will need sharpening. Pat Gilroy used to organise such sessions for small pockets of players during his time with Dublin and I often noted how the skill execution of certain players I played college football with had improved during his tenure.

 

Above: Armagh's 2002 success broke new ground.


 

Rest and recover more. Simply put, get more sleep and stretch and mobilise your body on a daily basis to prevent those injuries taking hold. Once again the only thing this costs a player is his time, so doing it better and doing it more often is going to be time dependent. 
Anything that prolongs the careers of a county’s best players is going to be key to them being able to close the gap between Dublin and themselves. You want the best players playing for your county, whether they’re 22 or 32. 
Every county produces really good players sporadically. When you do, you want them surrounded by the best your county has to offer. Longevity is key to ensuring that happens. 
Think about it this way: you might get one really good forward every four years. If you get them all on the field you could have a 21 year old, a 25-year-old, a 29-year-old and 33-year-old all playing at the same time. Too often injury or waning enthusiasm will see retirement take hold early. 
Taking to the field with two marquee forwards instead of four is a very different proposition and much easier shut down. Crucially achieving this shouldn’t break the bank, it just takes a long and consistent approach from the players involved, so once again having that culture of responsibility is key. 

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