It says a lot that Brian Fenton is suffering from the Cluxtons at the age of just 25.
The Cluxtons was a disease first contracted by Dublin goalkeeper Steven Cluxton in 2014. The causes include a run of exceptional, standout performances for a sustained period of time leading to a string of man-of-the-match awards, individual accolades and plenty of praise.
The symptoms involve this praise, and these awards drying up despite the fact that the player keeps hitting, and even exceeding their own high standards, but all the while they’re not turning as many heads as they used to.
The reason; because the afflicted has made the extraordinary, ordinary. The player has become a victim of their own freakishly high baseline standard and spectators begin to take these players for granted.
Fenton nearly suffering from The Cluxtons already.
His baseline is so high now that it's hard to always appreciate the extraordinary that he's made ordinary. https://t.co/xBmVnijIZe
— Conán Doherty (@ConanDoherty) September 3, 2018
Steven Cluxton hasn’t won an All-Star since 2013 and Brian Fenton is 10/1 to be the Footballer of the Year 2018. That’s what the Cluxtons can do to a man.
Sunday’s final was just another day out for Dublin’s Raheny machine. Mickey Harte was well aware of the dangers, he was scared of the threat and so he drafted Conor Meyler in to specifically curtail the 2016 Player of the Year’s influence on the game.
And Meyler succeeded… to an extent. The flame-haired Tyrone man-marker stuck to Fenton like glue. It’s difficult to remember a time the Omagh club man actually touched the ball in Croke Park but that was never the point. What stood out more in the first half anyway was the sight of the 23-year-old facing Fenton down, impervious to the O’Neill’s size 5.
Fenton never lost the head but he was seen at one stage beckoning the linesman to act on the rough treatment he was receiving early on. The linesman didn’t act, Fenton realised he had to do it all himself.
And that he did, like he always does. The greatest engine in the engine room stretched his long legs, let back his shoulders and strode up the field bringing the Dublin lads along with him when it really mattered.
Just when Tyrone were gathering a head of steam, that man went down the other end of the field to calmly slot a point, to calmly stem the flow of the Red tide.
He took the Tyrone antics on the chin, he composed himself and he took off.
Effortless and graceful, the man who seemingly never gets tired puts distance between himself and finely conditioned opponents like they haven’t trained in two months.
His 51st minute point, a brilliant example of that.
Brian Fenton concludes a long spell of Dublin possession with a well-taken point. Four in a row looks imminent. Highlights on The Sunday Game tonight, 9.30pm @RTE2 #DUBvTYR #GAA pic.twitter.com/Je4hD5IejG via @RTEgaa
— RTÉ (@rte) September 2, 2018
Again imperious when it mattered the most, the whole of Dublin relaxes whenever their long, loping number 8 takes the ball under his wing. He never makes a rushed choice, always has time on the ball and makes this game look easy.
That’s what he’s been doing all year, for three, four years now since his breakthrough back in 2015 and Ciaran Whelan paid a fitting tribute to one of the game’s great midfielders on The Sunday Game.
“Dublin’s madra mór in the middle of the park. 1-11 in the championship from play, brilliant all year.”
Madra mór translates to the big dog and that’s exactly what Fenton is in this Dublin team. He’s the orchestrator, he’s the one who makes them tick, he’s the one who breaks other team’s hearts.
Let’s not forget, this is a four-time All-Ireland winner we’re talking about who has never lost a championship game with Dublin.
And by right, he’d be in with a big shout for Footballer of the Year again.
