Ciaran Whelan: The rest of the country licking their lips at Brian Fenton retirement
Capital legend Ciaran Whelan hailed his Rahney club mate Brian Fenton as 'probably the best Dublin player ever,' while outlining the rebuilding job Dessie Farrell faces.
Ciaran Whelan says Dublin fans are concerned about what the coming weeks could hold as he hailed his club mate Brian Fenton as “probably the best Dublin player ever.”
Fenton (31) has followed James McCarthy (34) into retirement with speculation that other Dublin players could follow suit.
Whelan says Dessie Farrell is facing a “rebuilding stage,” as he looks towards 2025 without his first choice midfield pairing.
Read More: Brian Fenton Dublin retirement: This time the damage looks very real
Read More: Dublin GAA: Brian Fenton was one of the greatest players to wear the jersey
“There could be more (retirements) said Raheny man Whelan. “There were rumours going the last couple of weeks but you were hoping they weren’t true.
“It’s hugely disappointing but it’s understandable when you’ve put a 10 year shift in. He’s always been very clear that he wanted to do other stuff with his life.
“I said after the Galway game (All-Ireland quarter-final defeat), I felt there was a sense of something coming to an end.
“Who knows what the next few weeks will bring in terms of other players because there is a good few of Brian's generation. It is going to certainly be a rebuilding phase for Dublin.
“We bandy around sayings like, ‘nobody is irreplaceable,’ but it’s going to be very hard to replace Brian Fenton and there is nobody obvious in the slip stream putting their hand up to take that number eight jersey.
“I think it’s going to be a patient time for Dublin and Dessie is certainly going to have to do a bit of rebuilding.
“We’ll just have to see what the next few weeks hold, but I’m sure the rest of the country are licking their lips and saying, yep…..like last year everybody is saying there is an All-Ireland there.
“It’s going to be very open and that will bring its own excitement as well.”
Whelan says Fenton is right up there in the pantheon of Dublin GAA greats: “I would certainly rate him as probably the best Dublin player ever. James McCarthy is up there with him as well, definitely in my lifetime. I suppose there is recency bias.
“As a young lad you had the likes of Brian Mullins in the team of the 70s. I wouldn’t have the same level of memories. I wouldn’t have seen him in the flesh as much. We have lost two really good ones in the last couple of weeks.”
Whelan doesn’t anticipate a u-turn from his Raheny club mate, who he coached when he was younger.
Fenton has always expressed a desire to go travelling and is due to get married the year after next.
“Knowing Brian and the character he is, he will certainly continue playing with the club,” said Dublin midfield legend Whelan.
“He has that travel bug. I don’t know does he want to get that out of his system. He is due to get married.
"You never say never, given his age, but he is a clinical type of guy who knows what he wants in life. I’d say he’s put a lot of thought into it and is quite comfortable.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a rushed decision. I’d say he’s been thinking about this for a while.
“We know it can be very, very difficult to come back and reach the same standards as well. It’s definitely a sad day from a Dublin football perspective to see him gone.”
Whelan says the loss of McCarthy and Fenton will also leave a void in the Dublin dressing room, as well as on the field.
“There is definitely going to be a leadership gap,” he continued.
“They are an integral part of the dressing room and certainly James, we have all seen he was the quiet man who led by his actions and everybody followed him.
“The other thing from Brian Fenton’s perspective is, he was so consistent.
“When Brian had a six out of 10 game, people were saying ‘Ah, Fenton’s quiet,’ but he was still making a massive contribution with his level of consistency.
“It leaves a big gap in the dressing room. It really depends on who else might decide to go down that path and that’s probably the biggest concern on a lot of Dublin fans’ minds this week.
“We saw in the past with the Kilkenny team and even the Cork (football) team of 2010 when they won the All-Ireland and a couple of years later Conor Counihan went. They had a mass exodus.
“Now, there are plenty of quality players there in Dublin and Dessie has blooded a lot of young lads over the last couple of years.
“They are going to have to step up into that role of consistency and leadership. Listen, only time will tell I suppose.”
When big retirements came in Dublin in previous years, including the likes of Alan Brogan and Paul Flynn, the capital side had already moulded their replacements, but that doesn’t look to be the case this time.
“Over the last 10 years there was guys going but Jim Gavin was blooding lads and bringing in new lads as older lads were dropping off,” explains Whelan.
“That level of performance was maintained and leadership in the dressing room. I am not too sure whether there are obvious replacements there for the calibre of players that are leaving.
“We are also looking at bringing in new rules. It’s going to be a very interesting time for Dublin football and maybe a bit of patience will be needed for Dessie to blood new guys in and get them comfortable in that environment.”
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