Jim Gavin disappointed by GAA decision to drop official clock idea
Last Updated: 10/03/15 11:35am
Jim Gavin has expressed disappointment at the manner in which the official clock or hooter idea was disposed of at the GAA’s recent annual congress.
The concept was twice voted through by congress but after review by Croke Park, a motion to remove it (albeit unimplemented) from the Official Guide received the necessary two-thirds support.
“Yeah, that really caught me off guard I have to say,” said Gavin. “To see where the genesis of that proposal came from, a club in Wexford, and you know we pride ourselves on that; it’s a very democratic association.
“I understand the concerns that people have with it but for a committee to have problems rather than solutions, I find that a bit bizarre.
Referees are doing a very good job, but something like the timekeeping should be taken away from the referee.
Jim Gavin
“I think it would have only benefited our games. Referees are doing a very good job, but something like the timekeeping should be taken away from the referee.
“I think there will be games that will go down to the last second over the coming months that both the crowds and the players would benefit from it.”
Of more immediate concern has been Dublin’s fitful form in the league, a competition they’ve won for the past two years. Defeats to Cork and Kerry and a draw with Tyrone mean they have won just once – against Donegal.
On Saturday night the holders were very lucky to get a draw against a Tyrone side which again implemented an ultra-defensive game plan but also managed to create enough scoring chances to win.
Stumped
Given that Dublin’s reign as All-Ireland champions came to a spectacular end at the hands of a Donegal team that defended deep and hit them on the break, the players still looked stumped at times trying to break down their opponents’ defensive wall.
“The most disappointing thing is we didn’t get the ball into our forwards,” said Gavin.
“We don’t need to have our half-backs taking shots from difficult angles. We just needed a little bit of patience to work the balls into the areas and that sometimes takes one, two, possibly 10 more passes for that to happen.
“There were other occasions, where we did show that. We created some very good scores in the game as well but at times, they let us down. To see the ball turned over like that was disappointing from a performance perspective.”
At present Dublin are in the relegation zone, second from bottom in Division One, but it’s a tight division and they’re only a point off the semi-final positions at the same time.
Without stating as much, Gavin appears to have prioritised trialling players as opposed to going all out for a third successive title.
“We are not looking for a settled team. Most teams that we are playing are settled. We are trying new things; tactically we are trying new things. Some are working, some don’t. That is part of the process.
“And we want to give players a chance to stake a claim not only in the starting 15 or squad of 26 but on the panel itself.
“To do that, there is a process you have to go through and you have to give every player a fair chance. It can be a rough sea, but we are going to hold our course and we are very much in control of where we want to go. And I think once we come out the far side of that process, we will be in a much stronger place come championship.”
