Since the show is going on, and on and on and on, there's no point in saying too many fancy words about Micko at this point in time. We all know he's a complete genius and a remarkable 'old man', but in the week that's in it I've got to say that all the flattery and bountiful Thank Yous which have come his way over the last 15 years from Leinster football folk genuinely surprise me.

Micko has raked in a hearty helping of expenses to spend a decade and a half, off and on, in Leinster and in return the number of provincial titles he has helped bring home to Kildare and Laois can be counted on the fingers of one hand, with some to spare. Remember, there were no All Irelands.

In contrast, Micko claimed eight All Ireland titles in an incredible 13 years in the first half of his management career. Had he stayed amongst his own folk and managed Kerry for the last 15 years there's no doubt that he would have another five or six All Ireland titles to his name, at least.

So, what does this tell us? Or, to be more precise, where does it lead us in summing up the magnificent life and times of Mick O'Dwyer . . . when the time comes, of course, to do the sums on the man's achievements.

Don't know about you, but I have come to the conclusion some time ago that Mick O'Dwyer's contribution to Kildare and Laois was only mediocreto-good. When you take his fantastic personality, and his cheerfulness, and his immense joy for life and football away from it, ask yourselves just what has he actually achieved in almost 15 years?

Well, it's been good enough to put a light smile on the faces of the two counties in question, but the second half of Micko's managerial career to date has almost been a waste of time. Almost.

We'll see soon enough where the 'Roadshow' pulls into next, but personally, in his last hurrah perhaps, I hope Micko is heading for one of the mighty big counties (somewhere like Galway) or one of the puny little counties (somewhere, for instance, like my own beloved Carlow).

If Micko could bring Carlow to a Leinster title, or take Galway to a couple of All Ireland wins on the trot, then, honestly, that would be the real thing from the one true living legend in our game. But chasing his tail and chasing provincial titles with middleof-the-road counties is, frankly, only going to become boring.

Next subject, please.

Unfortunately, this is also a story which is in grave danger of becoming very, very boring indeed. The flawed playing surface in our magnificent new high-tech Croke Park.

Nobody seems to be paying any attention to the remarks of either the footballers or hurlers skating around the place and falling onto their backsides, or to the weekly apologies and excuses from Stadium Director Peter McKenna, but all this is going to change, and change completely.

When the really speedy merchants in the Six Nations Championship start tumbling to the ground because the Croker sod does not allow anyone to turn on a sixpence, then, believe me, there's going to be trouble.

And if the IRFU does not kick up and talk about refunds, then you can bet the FAI will. We have no reason to trust that useless lot in the FAI as far as we'd throw them and, I assure you, if World Cup qualifying games go through the floorboards because Richard Dunne or John O'Shea completes a triple Salchow with neither an opponent or a football anywhere near them, the backlash will be fierce You think I'm kidding around here this morning? Not every manager who stands on the sideline in Croke Park is going to be as fine a gentleman or as spectacularly decent in defeat as John Allen. The Cork supremo said a few words late last Sunday afternoon about the grass being too long and being unhelpful to both teams and he left it at that.

Actually, we were told that both teams had prepared for the biggest and best hurling game of the year by practising in long grass the week before hand. Am I the only person in a panic about this? In the lovely plush offices on the fifth floor of Croke Park, anyone thinking, 'Heuston, we've got a. . .'?

Mutt and Jeff in Mayo, and Jack O'Connor in Kerry, they should all be worried. God knows, there's enough tension, oodles of problems, and a rabid fear of the unknown abounding in the agonisingly long wait for an All Ireland final.

On top of everything else, Mickey and John and Jack have to worry about the length of the grass, and wonder should their boys wear multis or blades or great big jagged steel cogs from a bygone age on the surface which Croke Park officials might present to them in just seven days' time.

John Morrison, Mickey Moran's right-hand man, is probably even thinking about bare feet . . . Jesus, in bare feet in every school sports we can remember in the local football field, we were all like bullets over 100 yards.

Bare feet?

What else can Mayo do to win their first All Ireland title in over half a century? You'd be pretty certain that they've got to play with the same passion and belief that they displayed against Dublin in the semi-final, and into the bargain they've got to stop Darragh O Se and Kieran Donaghy from having any major hand, act or part in the 2006 All Ireland final.

Do all of this, and contain Colm Cooper, and they can be absolutely certain of victory. Naturally, it's not going to be as easy as it appears on paper, but neither is it rocket science.

The elder O Se has to be contained.

Whether he wins good ball or not, he must not be allowed to run. Mayo's half-backs have to tackle him, and double up and treble up on him. Darragh has been in the Father role on this Kerry team all year long, and it has already been a long year for them.

And he knows he will have to continue in that role and, therefore, he will carry the ball, overplay the ball a lot, and try to make things happen for others and sometimes force things to happen.

Darragh is Kerry's great strength, but his role on the team this summer can also be turned into their greatest weakness.

If he can be contained every time he gains possession, then that's the team's Father accounted for. But Kerry also have a young Son, of whom they are immensely proud and from whom they expect big things in seven days. This dependency on Donaghy is another strength which must be flipped onto its back and turned into a huge weakness.

Donaghy is a sound, cool young fella, but tonnes and tonnes of newsprint has been devoted to him already and he's facing his first All Ireland final and, hey, he's only a kid.

Donaghy needs to be controlled. Thus, David Heaney needs to play tight behind him . . . not in front and definitely not shoulder-to-shoulder. The Mayo full-back must be able to see his opponent at all times. And then he must get a fist on the ball and, of course, in the process, foul young Kieran quite often. Cynical, but a fact of life . . . accept it.

With referees so bad these days, Heaney could foul Donaghy 10 times (and concede only three or four frees from all these challenges) and still only suffer a yellow card. But, more than anything else, Donaghy must be held goalless.

That might be the Father and the Son taken care of but, y'know, as John Morrison is probably telling the Mayo squad every night before they go to bed, this Kerry team actually contains a Father, Son, and a Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost, obviously, is the Gooch himself, who must be kept to three or four points as a maximum next Sunday. If Mayo do that, if Mayo take care of these three boyos, then they will win the All Ireland title, again, finally.

Yep!

lhayes@tribune. ie