‘Finances didn’t win five in a row’

• Published date: 19 December 2020
• Author: Malachy Clerkin
• Date: 19 December 2020

Okay, wait. Just wait. This one is different. For a start, we come in peace. The worst thing about the Dublin funding debate is always the refusal of either side to give an inch. State that the Dublin players are supremely talented and you're accused of ignoring the money. Mention that the five-in-a-row might have been influenced by Dublin's financial might and you're insulting the players. If there ever was a middle ground, it has long been grown over.

Well, this is a dispatch from that middle ground. Or at least an attempt to locate it. Our guide for the journey is someone uniquely placed to give a view. Bernard Brogan comes to the debate wearing two hats. One is that of a player who lived inside the bubble for the best part of 15 years and experienced all the changes along the way. The other is that of someone who was deeply involved at the planning stage when Dublin set about becoming a financial powerhouse.

Actually, he has a third hat. He is a Dubs fan. Outside the tent for a Dublin All-Ireland final for the first time since he was 11 years old. A fortnight ago, after the Cavan game, that new status allowed him break the habit of a lifetime and he got involved in a bit of Twitter to-and-fro on the subject of the day.

"Clinical display from Dublin," he wrote, "my argument is that this Dublin financial debate is masking the conversation about how good these Dublin players are, Once in a generation players in full flow!"

There followed the sort of calm and civil back and forth that has made Twitter such a force for good in the world. One lad told him to go home to bed. Another said they said the same things about Lance Armstrong. Another told him if he wanted his opinion, he'd ask what the specials were down at SuperValu. Which was pretty funny, in fairness.

"Ah look," he says "The middle ground is where I'd like to be on this. That's what I would love to be able to find with people. I got involved in a debate on Twitter because I felt annoyed that the Dublin players were being dismissed and not getting the credit for the work they've put in over the years.

"I know that I come from a position of bias. Obviously I do - I have been in a bubble with those players for a long time. I've seen their development all the way along. So I get annoyed when I see people saying that these players are only able to win because of financial doping. I'm not saying I know everything - I definitely don't. But what I can bring to it is the view from what it means to be a player in the middle of it. Maybe that can help find that middle ground."

So let's get...