John O'Keeffe: Kerry need to win midfield battle to foil Dubs

In his time on the edge of the square, before the ball had even been thrown in, the sight of the sky-blue jerseyed full-forward jogging towards him was enough.

“How are things Jimmy?” he’d say. “Howya Johnno?” And with the formalities over, off they’d go at it. O’Keeffe and Keaveney.

And, more often than not, back in those days, Kerry were the ones who had the edge. Not just on Dublin, on everyone.

Times have changed, the balance has tilted in recent years. From his seat in the stands, John O’Keeffe – recently inducted into the GAA’s “Hall of Fame” to honour an inter-county career that spanned from 1969 to 1984 – has watched, observed and digested the shift in power.

But, as the Kingdom get set to once again go into combat with Dublin in the semi-final at Croke Park this Sunday, the seven-time All-Ireland winner isn’t inclined to believe that a win over the current champions is a lost cause. Far from it, in fact!

“It wouldn’t surprise me if Kerry beat Dublin,” said O’Keeffe, a point of opinion at odds with many but derived from knowing how the Kerry psyche works and an awareness that plans are afoot to derail the champions.

“I think Kerry realise that in the last two important games (last year’s All-Ireland final and this year’s League final) they played against Dublin they were well beaten in the middle of the field.

“We [in Kerry] have four outstanding midfielders, but they are mainly suited to a game where you have long kick-outs because they are all fabulous fielders.

“The Dubs have sort of eliminated that from the game with the kick-outs. I think Kerry at the moment behind closed doors are going to have something different. They are going to improve on the pace in that area. You wouldn’t know who they are going to put in there, but they are looking for pace.”

Indeed, O’Keeffe is of a way of thinking which believes Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s mind has been on Dublin from a long way back.

“I’d say they were in the plans all along. When I saw Kerry so defensive against Tipperary [in the Munster final], I was saying ‘what’s this all about?’ We should have pushed up on Tipperary but we let them have the kick-out. To me, that smelt of preparation for Dublin . . . . . I was at the Clare game and Tipperary game and felt that Kerry dealt with them so easily and that augurs wells for Kerry, really. That’s why I think you just can’t write Kerry off.”

The plan has been devised behind closed doors with all sorts of stories emanating of who will play where and in what way.

Who knows what the real truth holds. Will Kerry target the Dublin full-back line? Is it a potential Achilles heel?

“That has been said all year but they haven’t been found out yet. Maybe they need to be asked a few different questions particularly the likes of a Kieran Donaghy inside. If he gets the right ball, I think he could ask the questions that need to be asked.

“The Dublin full-back line are so quick, the traditional low, quick ball into the corners, they’re dealing with that quite well. They’re very fortunate to have Cian O’Sullivan as a minder in front of the full-back line. He’s a key player in that set-up.”

O’Keeffe looks at modern day football and knows it has changed a lot from his own playing days.

“The game is so fluid. For example, a corner back nowadays needs to be very skilful. He has opportunities to attack, to move up the field, to play the ball way more so than in my time. In my time your instruction was more or less to mark your man very closely, to make sure your man doesn’t get possession. It was quite negative in that way, but now it is so fluid that I think there are a lot of positives for players.

Maybe it isn’t a great spectacle for spectators but, from a player’s point of view, you need to develop your skills far greater now, far more so than previously. It makes for a game that is evolving really.

“I think the Dubs in particular are a great example, the benchmark at the moment. If you look at a Jonny Cooper or a Philly McMahon, up scoring the end side of the field. That would have been unheard of in my day, so I think that’s good for the game.”

It’s not just the Dubs, though. O’Keeffe looks at the man filling the Kerry No.3 jersey.

“It is okay if a full-back like Marc [Griffin] careers up the pitch providing that he does something very sensible with the ball. It seems to be his first instinct.

“Maybe Marc might be more suited to a half-back position or in the middle of the field because he is a very explosive athlete. I’d say he even feels a bit caged in almost in the full-back position. Maybe at times he just wants to let go, to go on a run. He is allowed to do that because you have so much cover in and around him nowadays.”

The game has evolved – for better or worse – but O’Keeffe believes there are a number of areas that can be further improved. “I think there are three things in the game at the moment that can be improved upon. The kicking game, accuracy with kicking out of defence and also kicking scores. If you can improve on that accuracy.

“Number two, if your tackling is far cleaner without fouling. I feel our tackling isn’t coached well enough.

“The third thing is you have to have unbelievable levels of fitness now. If you want to beat the Dubs, I think, you need pace throughout the field, but particularly in the middle third. Pace; and you need relentless pace that it is speed endurance, that you can keep it going for 75 minutes or so.”

O’Keeffe knows Kerry. He knows Dublin too. He knows both will keep going right to the end. It was his way too on the days he bestrode Croke Park like a colossus.

It’s the reason he remains a legendary figure in the history of Kerry football – one of their greatest ambassadors.