After their surprise relegation from Division One last year, many people expected Dublin to breeze through the second tier with relative ease in 2023. It was assumed that they would have far too much quality for that division and would use the opportunity to blood new players ahead of another All-Ireland title later this summer.
The reality has been rather different.
While the Dubs have won all four of their games up to this point, they haven't exactly impressed while doing so. They have scraped wins over Cork, Clare, and Kildare, none of whom have set the world alight up to this point in the campaign. Their only convincing victory came against Limerick, who have been the whipping boys of the division.
They were considered to be very lucky to get the win against Clare on Saturday evening, launching a late comeback and benefitting from what many considered to be some rather favourable refereeing decisions.
In all, it has been a rather underwhelming start to the year.
Sean Cavanagh gives damning assessment of Dublin
Despite the production line within the county, it is noticeable how Dublin have continued to depend on familiar players during this campaign. It is something that should be of concern, with many other counties blooding a number of promising young players over the last couple of years.
Speaking on Allianz League Sunday, Sean Cavanagh admitted that he has not been impressed with Dessie Farrell's side and suggested that they have failed to move with the times in the manner other teams have done.
Sean Cavanagh sees "no massive improvement" in Dublin this year, adding that "no new names" are coming through #AllianzLeagues #allianzleaguesunday #RTEGAA pic.twitter.com/XFNYqxwynF
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) February 26, 2023
I don't see a massive improvement from the Dublin of last year. They are struggling in most games.
You look at their scores this year. They scraped by Kildare by a point, you look at Kildare at the moment and they are not going great. They beat Limerick by nine, Limerick are losing games by an average of 12 points. They were lucky to beat Cork by two, very lucky, Cork could have won that easily. Last night they scraped by Clare by a point.
You compare that to the likes of Derry who are annihilating everyone in sight.
If you're asking me to call that right now, I think Dublin will really struggle going to Celtic Park next weekend. That's where I think they're at, it's not discrediting them.
I think they are looking in the rear-view mirror too much. They are reliant on Dean Rock, he has been a great servant, but there are no new names coming through like we are talking about with all the other teams.
It's the same names - Craig Dias was on the bench last night. It almost feels as if they are looking back at the 2017 and 2018 [team]. They are brilliant players don't get me wrong, but time moves on and I'm not sure Dublin are.
Their game against Derry will perhaps be telling, with Rory Gallagher's side having been very impressive in their first four games this year.
A defeat in that one could set alarm bells ringing in Dublin, who look well short of competing with the best teams in the country as things stand.
SEE ALSO: Huge Controversy As Limerick's Kyle Hayes Avoids Red Card After Unsavoury Incident
