Kevin McStay: Dublin’s aura of invincibility leaves with Jim Gavin

It was no surprise, really, that when Jim Gavin did bow out, he slipped away unobtrusively, in the dead of winter, some two months after the five-in-a-row has been secured and the focus has long left the All-Ireland championship.

Like many people, I had presumed, as the weeks passed, that he had decided to remain in situ for another season. But he made so many good, clean decisions over his time in charge that, when you look at it, he even got this one right.

I am assuming he gave this a lot of thought. I remember saying after their win in the replay against Kerry that it looked like a victory lap; just his body language and the way he spoke afterwards felt like the conclusion of something. It is so difficult to time your leaving in sport. But to be your own decision-maker and to walk away at the top must be a great feeling.

He would probably hate all this talk about himself because he always stressed the worth of the group. He spoke about himself as a facilitator for the group. He was that but much more also. He drove this historic five-in-a-row era through force of personality.

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The numbers Dublin achieved under Gavin are staggering. Six out of seven All-Irelands. Just one defeat in 48 championship matches. He took 18 out of 21 available trophies. Man alive, it is an unreal record. He absolutely led this era. His fingerprints are all over it. But he never wanted to be the front man.

When the game face went on, there was only one boss. He always kept those players on their toes. He had huge self-discipline. I am sure there were times when he wanted to go hard in the media, particularly when the funding issue became hotter. But he maintained the veneer and gave anodyne interviews because he felt that was best for Dublin.

It was just his way of never saying anything that could catapult him into the limelight. He refused to become the story through what he said. I found some of the stuff he said almost cringeworthy at times. But it worked in that nothing he said really stuck. Dublin took care of business and moved on. He had his own style and that interview style was part of it.

And I don’t believe the public managerial persona truly reflected Jim Gavin the private individual; he is quite good company. He can be funny and droll. But as a manager, he was clear in his instruction and unyielding in his expectation of performance. Reputation did not count. I’d say he had a well-tuned bulls**t radar.

Remember the departure of  Alex Ferguson from Old Trafford. You can believe that things will keep on running smoothly. But it doesn't mean they will.

He gave guys plenty of opportunity in the league but if you didn’t perform, your minutes would disappear. He was loyal to his players but that loyalty never superseded what he felt was best for Dublin. They are a big team, a show; media and population wise. And to steer that beast the way he did for so long was remarkable.

I do think the Diarmuid Connolly thing took more out of him than we realise. And I feel the Bernard Brogan selection saga over that last final wasn't an easy moment for him either. There were a lot of guys vying to be part of that group so it wasn't an easy situation to manage. And he always brought in a few new players each year and they had a big say. Look at Eoin Murchan in the most recent final.

Learning ground

Also, Dublin were great to watch in full flow. There was some awful muck played in the early part of the 2000s. The Donegal model had the potential to turn the game upside down because it was widely mimicked.

In fairness to Gavin, he was always true to that Dublin style of attacking flamboyance. That’s not to say they weren’t as cynical as the next team. They absolutely were. But it doesn’t negate their style. They were hugely athletic, developed hugely as footballers and were well set up, particularly after that ambush by Donegal in 2014.

If we accept that he had a huge say in Stephen Cluxton's work, then Jim Gavin has been instrumental in effecting the biggest change in the last 10 years in the game. The goalkeeper's kick-out has dictated the type of midfielder picked, how teams push up, how they set up. We saw how devastating Dublin can be against Mayo when pressing opposition goalkeepers. He has obviously changed the culture and approach of Dublin. Pat Gilroy set those wheels in motion but Jim Gavin has seen that through to the nth degree.

I first came across Jim watching that Dublin team struggle to win, eventually, their 1995 All-Ireland. I always had a sense he was a mature player but he was quite young and he soldiered on for another six or seven fairly unsuccessful years. I feel that that was probably a big learning ground for him and that he picked up a lot of wisdom after that All-Ireland.

Then, I was involved in coaching a Defence Forces team in 1999 and we immediately made Jim our captain. It was representative football and there was a lot of fun involved but when he was on, he was on.

We played a game in New York that April. It was a grim, wet evening up there in the Bronx. Let’s say the light wasn’t great so there was scope for devilment. The physical punishment he took that night stuck with me. The local players went after him big time because he was a big name and our captain. He just led and led and absorbed so much physical hurt with no complaints.

And in 2004 we went to Australia and it was another very rough match against a local team. He was a small, tough, player and he was fearless. He was very brave. To survive at wing forward and drop back into defence; he was a tough little nut as a football player. And that translated into the ultra-calm, imposing figure that oversaw Dublin through so many nerve-wracking All-Ireland final moments.

More optimistic

So if you are Mickey Harte or James Horan or Declan Bonner or Peter Keane, you are probably feeling a bit more optimistic going into December. Remember the departure of Alex Ferguson from Old Trafford. You can believe that things will keep on running smoothly. But it doesn't mean they will. Replacing Jim Gavin will be nearly impossible.

If a few more senior players and voices leave the Dublin dressingroom over the next few seasons, that spell could be broken. So other counties will sense an opening. I do feel Kerry are best placed to take advantage. Sadly, Mayo are at their lowest ebb for a few years. It might be an opportunity for Galway with the optimism that Padraic Joyce has generated.

That aura of invincibility leaves with Jim Gavin. But what a run. The GAA managerial story features a cast of totemic figures who fundamentally altered the fortunes of their county, and by extension, of the game itself. Regardless of whether we see him on the sideline again, Jim Gavin looms large in that company.