Owen Mulligan: Jonny Cooper is Dublin’s Sergio Ramos

Owen Mulligan also believes Mickey Harte’s next move should be to send out a search party for a scoring forward and another midfielder…

All the talk about Dublin’s success is connected to their financial situation and it’s suggested the county should be split in two. That’s complete nonsense in my opinion.

What it all boils down to is the fact that these are a group of individuals that have the burning desire to make their county an unstoppable force.

It’s not Dublin’s fault that they’ve gone so far ahead of the chasing pack. Their motivation is to strive for greatness. Their rivals are just happy to keep it tight and be beaten by six or seven points.

They’ll go down the road happy and content they weren’t beat out the gate. That’s bullsh*t!

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To end Dublin’s dominance, the chasing pack need to change their mindset. Any team that ended a dominant team’s reign before, died in their boots for 70 minutes plus.

Nobody has yet conjured a game plan to beat them.

We thought Mickey Harte might manage it but his game plan only lasted 15 minutes in the All-Ireland final.

Nobody’s within an asses’ roar of the Capital they have no real rivals, so I’m certain that they’ll do the five-in-a-row.

Jonny ‘Ramos’

The teams I played in on ‘03, ‘05 and ’08, were blessed with nasty b***ards in the back line. The sort of defender that took it to the edge in every single game.

I’m a massive fan of Jonny Cooper, the Sergio Ramos of Dublin. He dives as if he’s been shot by a sniper and he fouls cynically in all the right areas.

He’s a Paddy Power odds on favourite for a yellow card every day he goes out!

He’s an utter match winner. Cooper controls Dublin’s back line and if referees need to be challenged he’s the first man up, like butter wouldn’t melt.

Cute hoorism comes to mind and Tyrone lack such a figure. You can’t teach this, you’re just born with it.

The opposition hate him, but he’s a cult hero on Hill 16. Every team needs a Jonny Ramos!

Mickey’s still the man for the job

To get to an All-Ireland final after being beaten in the first round of the Championship and build a new team, shows that Tyrone are going in the right direction.

Nobody gave them a chance, but the bond and togetherness they’ve showed means they could be dinning at the top table for a long time.

A search party will be on the lookout for a clinical scoring forward and another midfielder to free up Mattie Donnelly and Colm Cavanagh though.

They need to play in a position that benefits the team in an attacking and defensive capacity.

This has to be addressed next season.

Mickey’s built a new team. Cavanagh and Cathal McCarron are the only two who are over 30.

He’s brought confidence back into the set-up, he won two Ulster’s in a row in 2016 and 2017, and made it to the All-Ireland final this year – which will really bring them on.

I genuinely believe he’s the man to bring Tyrone forward.

He’s had a few shots at the likes of myself and other former players, but we’re entitled to our opinion and we have to call it as we see it.

He’s brought a new level of confidence to the county. When you think back to their first-round loss to Monaghan they weren’t given a chance, but made it to the All-Ireland final.

They ran into the best team to have ever played the game and couldn’t match them. But Mickey Harte is still the man for the job.

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What do you think?