Dublin’s Jonny Cooper keeps to norm and gives little away

The greatest trick Dublin football ever played was boring us into submission with bland quotes. It is understatement or no statement at all.

Stephen Cluxton intermittently utters cuplá focal after games or on collection of silverware. Diarmuid Connolly laughs at the mere suggestion of providing some much-needed wisdom on that slip road between changing room and team bus.

What AIG, or the GAA in general, could do with these leaders of men being more vocal ambassadors. But the Dubs way is to lie low.

Instead, yesterday, inside the insurance giant’s offices on North Wall Quay Jonny Cooper politely fielded 12 minutes of questions about the same old same old.

Quickly doused

The spark of controversy, Tomás Ó Sé’s comments, is quickly doused.

“What did he say? We were scu . . . (Cooper stops himself uttering the word). Yeah, whatever he said I’m sure we’d take it with a pinch of salt. His comments, I’m sure he meant something a little bit different to the words he actually used. Look, I think we try to get a job done on a day and whatever way he interprets that, that’s his own business.”

Main threat in Leinster? “I haven’t been looking too much at other teams if I’m honest. I don’t know how the form is with other sides but, traditionally, the counties that are there – the Meaths and Kildares.”

With that answer all recent seasons merge into one. We press on. Is the gap between Dublin and their Leinster rivals wider than ever?

“I don’t know,” Cooper replies. “The pundits, the media and everyone else are probably saying it is, and it’s probably getting bigger. From our point of view, it is what it is. We look after ourselves. It’s up to everyone else to row their own boat and that’s what we do.”

More questions circulate the room: the ridiculous early summer schedule, the outdated provincial championship structure and the warning from 2014 when Dublin careered into August and Donegal’s spoiling masterclass.

Not many teams in the history of sport could lose their MVP, Jack McCaffrey, and a defender of Rory O’Carroll’s calibre yet seemingly improve as a collective.

“I’ve always said it’s quite dynamic and with Rory gone everyone said your traditional fullback – I don’t know what a traditional fullback is or what it was but it’s certainly not there at the moment, it’s not what the game is. From my experience the game has been quite dynamic and you can play in a number of positions and a number of eventualities.

“Is it more pressurised? No, I’ve always felt more pressure in there since I’ve got a start with Jim (Gavin) and it’s been no more no less this year compared to other years.”

The crucial jersey question came up. It’s why we were there. It’s a lighter shade of blue, like in the 1970s.

“I like it. It’s a bit baggy, though, I need to fill out a bit!

“Everyone is telling me it’s traditional, I wasn’t around in the ’70s. Yeah, I like it. Do youse like it?”

The jersey (€65 at oneills.com), that’s where we are at in May 2016. And then Cooper was gone. To be seen again in Kilkenny’s Nowlan Park on June 4th.