DEBATES OVER THE amount of time Stephen Cluxton takes to kick a free are a complete non-issue, Jim Gavin said yesterday.
Instead, the Dublin manager wants those worried about time-wasting to focus their attention on goalkeepers who dawdle over kick-outs.
Cluxton, who famously slotted the winning point in the 2011 All-Ireland final, pioneered a trend of teams bringing up their keepers to attempt long-range frees.
Tyrone’s Niall Morgan and Kerry stopper Brendan Kealy also got in on the act this summer.
But Sunday Game analyst Kevin McStay turned the spotlight on Cluxton after the Dubs’ win over Meath in the Leinster final, pointing out that he had taken almost eight minutes to take seven frees.
In contrast Meath free-taker Michael Newman took just over three-and-a-half minutes for five frees, although there were significant delays before Cluxton was allowed to take two of his kicks.
Asked about McStay’s comments yesterday, Gavin said: “They’re jogging up. They’re not walking up to kick the ball.
“That’s an interesting comment that he made, but what I would say is that he’s missing the bigger picture. For me, the frustrating thing is looking at goalkeepers who delay kick-outs.
“If a keeper has 25 or 30 kick-outs and takes an average of 30 seconds, which is way, way too long, that’s a long time out of the game.”
With Gavin looking for his team to play expansive and high-tempo football, those delays can be very disruptive.
I would go back to last year’s All-Ireland semi-final or some games we played recently, goalkeepers have delayed kicking out the ball. You might have a particular tempo that you want to maintain during the game and that tempo is being taken out.
“I would look at the broader picture or whatever: Stephen kicks three or four frees in a game, he’s jogging up to it, it’s well within the rules. There is no particular rule that says he needs to kick the ball in X number of seconds.
“And other keepers that take the frees, they’re jogging up to the ball. They’re doing their best to get up to the ball and kick it as quick as they can.”
