Opinion: Is Jim Gavin the Frank Underwood of Dublin’s House of Cards?

After listening to Dublin boss Jim Gavin’s media outburst last weekend and the news frenzy that followed it, Kevin Spacey’s character in the popular Netflix series “House of Cards” was what came to mind.

For those who are familiar with the infamous character Frank Underwood, you will know we are talking a calculated, success-hungry Machiavellian who advocates a “shake with your right hand, but hold a rock in the left” approach to getting to the top.

In it’s unique style, the series allows Spacey to talk directly to the audience, in theatrical terms “breaking the fourth wall.”

Since taking charge of the Dubs in 2013, Jim Gavin has always been coy, calculated and often cold in his approach to both the game and the media but Sunday’s outburst marked something new – a break of the fourth wall if you will, in true Frank Underwood style.

Gavin’s decision to disallow any member of the Dublin team from talking to RTE after his side’s win over Westmeath in defence of the suspended Diarmuid Connolly caused hysteria in the media with critics slating him for attempting to create the fashionable “siege mentality.”

Had any other manager said it, the reaction would have been significantly less severe but for the first time in his Dublin management career, the Round Towers man broke his ultra-professional, prepared-script approach to conducting himself.

In spite of a flood of opinions by managers, ex-players and GAA followers on social media, it would be naive to think that the action wasn’t calculated and deliberate – it is Jim Gavin we are talking about after all.

Whatever your opinion might be about the Dublin boss, he has put the Dubs exactly where he wants them, in the spotlight, as they chase a first three-in-a-row since 1931

Draws with Tyrone, Donegal, and Kerry in a stuttering league campaign that culminated in relinquishing their league crown to their rivals from the Kingdom was far from the Dublin we have become to know under Jim Gavin.

This, coupled with a lackluster display against Carlow in opening round of the Leinster championship that led to the loss of talisman Connolly for 12 weeks caused rumblings that perhaps the players who had often bored the nation with efficiency in recent years could actually be mere mortals.

Perhaps the suggestion that the Dubs could be beatable was not welcomed by Gavin himself who in through Machiavellian style acted to nip it in the bud.

A 31-point demolition and a media ban later, the Dubs are yet again where they have thrived so often, in the news, in the public eye as they prepare for what would normally be a routine Leinster final appearance.

The nature of the Westmeath slaughter suggests that the Dublin boss is eliminating the threat of complacency before it raises it’s head at a bigger stage.

Similar to Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United at it’s peak, the house of cards that Gavin has built has been upheld by ruthlessness and the installment of fear in the opponent, many of whom are beaten before the ball is thrown in.

The manager who won the All-Ireland as a player in 1995 is facing a unique challenge this year, the challenge of motivating a squad laden with success, many of whom are already household names.

Gavin recognises the role of the media in the modern GAA scene and if there was a hint that the power of the all-conquering Dublin machine was falling to the back pages, last week’s attack on the media has certainly put that to bed.

As the wannabe immortal Frank Underwood once said about the American public and his plans to dominate them, “Lucky for them they have me. They have you. Underwood 2016, 2020, 2024, 2028, 2032, 2036. One nation, Underwood.”

Over to you Jim….. Dublin 2013, Dublin 2015, Dublin 2016. Dublin…..

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