And so it ends for Eamonn Fitzmaurice and Kerry just as it always seems to end for the Kingdom - defeated at the hands of Jim Gavin and Dublin. We heard all week about how Fitzmaurice had been preparing for today's match for 12 months. At times, it seemed like Kerry had an answer, but Dublin had the legs and the scorers when the game dragged during those five torturous minutes of injury time. Again, Kerry did not have the answers.
Pat Spillane says Kerry 'died with their boots on' https://t.co/soq1LUtP0J
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) August 28, 2016
It seems impossible that Eamonn Fitzmaurice can return for another season. It is a shame because Fitzmaurice is a thoughtful man about football and clearly an accomplished motivator but year after year he has tried and failed to find an answer for Jim Gavin's Dublin team. He is not alone in that department but as Kerry manager, the burden of expectation is higher.
Eamonn Fitzmaurice took over as Kerry manager in late August 2012, after Kerry were outclassed, outthought and outfought by Jim McGuinness's Donegal. The ask was huge - unleash the potential of a new generation of Kerry footballers while reinvigorating the warriors of Kerry's famous team from the noughties. And he did exactly that. Unfortunately, a behemoth rose at the exact same time. The 2014 All-Ireland win was sweet (and unexpected) but Fitzmaurice's reign will be marked by defeats to Dublin: the rip-roaring one in 2013, the depressing one in the rain in 2015, gutwrenching one today when Kerry did everything bar win.
Eamonn Fitzmaurice: We had Dublin rattled at half-time https://t.co/QDqdjYNsCk
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) August 28, 2016
Unfortunately, the 2014 All-Ireland may as well have an asterisk beside it because Kerry avoided Dublin that year. One All-Ireland is the minimum requirement for a Kerry manager, but Fitzmaurice's reign coincides with a radical realignment in the Dublin-Kerry rivalry. Pat Gilroy's 'startled earwigs' lost to Kerry a mere seven years ago. Eight players started both that game and the match this afternoon. It may as well have happened in 1909, though. The pecking order of gaelic football is changed utterly.
Kerry can take heart from the performance of their minors today and the prospect of a three-in-a-row but whoever comes to the job next must fashion a new approach. The generation of legends will have shuffled off and the present generation will carry the scars of another agonising defeat to Dublin.
Another difficult rebuilding job for someone, then.
