Yes that above headline is the general consensus and pearls of wisdom from many pundits, journalists, ex managers and ex players in the various forms of media today and it’s only the Monday of All Ireland Final week, if it’s that simple, by the time Saturday comes around Mayo will only have to turn up and victory will be guaranteed.
Obviously Cluxton can’t kick long and sure the boys in blue with Michael Darragh MacAuley a former player of the year and Brian Fenton the player of the match in last years All Ireland Final are useless midfielders.
But all sarcasm aside, after the Dubs trials and tribulations with kick-outs against Kerry in the semi-final this is seen as a major chink in the Dublin armor and is the blueprint to dethroning the reigning champions.
But based on the fact that Mayo have tried the very same tactics in previous encounters with the Dubs with a small modicum of success, Jim Gavin will be expecting such an approach from the men from the West and will have a plan in place to counteract that game plan.
Cluxton has proven before against Mayo that if they push up he will kick long, take the midfield area out of the equation and pick out his roaming half forwards, expect to see something similar on Sunday.
And if that is the case Mayo will then have the problem with the second part of the simple plan, not conceding goals, as pushing men forward will leave them vulnerable at the back to the pace, power and scoring threat of Dublin’s six forwards and later in the game from the replacements coming in off the bench.
So pushing up on the Dublin kick-outs will bring its own dangers for Mayo and they will have to decide if it’s worth the risk, but hey according to the so called experts this is the simple plan to stopping Jim Gavin’s men and putting the brakes on the Dublin juggernaut, if only they had revealed this master plan earlier in the championship to the Sky Blues opponents and they could have got rid of the pesky Dubs long before September arrived.
Strap yourselves in for the week folks for more insightful meanderings from the media on how to beat what will be acclaimed as one of the greatest teams to ever play the game, it will certainly be at the very least humorous at times.
