McGuinness has a point as regards the psychological implications of Cork’s defeat, but it’s not something we didn’t know already.
Cork were the 18th team to play a qualifier the week after a provincial final defeat. They were the 15th of those 18 teams to lose.
Dublin in 2001, Down in 2012 and Donegal in 2013 are the only ones to win. Those three wins were all against minnow teams and all were beaten in the subsequent All-Ireland quarter-finals. Down and Donegal played their quarter-finals the next week again and both were annihilated.
No I said Ulster teams have it tougher because they have to be peaking for May, there is no safe passage through to the end of July or August for them like the big teams from the other Provinces have. Why do I keep have to repeat that point with you. Why doesn’t it register?
The “6 day turnaround” is about mentality. If you don’t have the right mental resolve to react positively to setback then you don’t deserve to progress, simple as that. Teams in the qualifiers regularly have to play week after week.
I’d imagine most of the time these 6 day turnaround victims were just beaten by better teams.
And both were deservedly annihilated, the signs with Donegal were there against Monaghan. They put in 3 abject display, lost one convincingly, had a laboured win over a mediocre side and were hammered by a team who pummelled all they had faced that year.
Donegal had shot their load early on in 2013 and the hunger and desire wasn’t there after the success and effort exerted the previous year.
That’s some serious nonsense. I have no doubt if we went thru it we would find many instances where the beaten team all things being equal would be expected to reasonably comfortably beat their opponents.
Cork and Kerry have to peak for each other, that has often till they brough back seeding been in May/June as well.
Everyone agrees its mostly a mental thing. That is not the point though, the point is you are better off losing in May than in July. That is, like most gaa things in this regard, a bit stupid.
The delay of the Munster replay was surprising alright, can’t remember the reasoning though, and would like to know why the Munster Council put their own team in a perilous position.
Its gas to think now that Kerry barely knew that losing the Munster Final could have this outcome.
15 other teams couldn’t even manage one win. The statistics don’t lie.
In Cork’s case they were coming off a particularly hard defeat psychologically because they had invested huge amounts of both physical but more importantly mental energy in beating Kerry in Killarney for the first time in 20 years. To win that would have been a real landmark victory for them and one that would probably have seen them reach an All-Ireland final but one kick of the ball can change everything. That’s the kind of margin you’re dealing with sometimes.
Look at the 08, 09 and 10 winners. Tyrone were on the verge of being knocked out by Westmeath in the qualifiers only for them to implode and have two players sent off with 20 mins left. Sligo missed a late penalty in 2009 to send Kerry packing and Limerick were’re within a ball hair of knocking Cork out in 2010. They were all teams that won the AI but it just emphasises the absolute midfield the qualifiers are and the small margins and fortune you need there.
Any county would much rather a guaranteed spot in the last 12 than having to navigate their way through the qualifiers as you are in last chance saloon with every match and you don’t know how the draw will favour you.
Oh and it’s psychological, my point exactly is why the goalposts should be moved to cater for mentally weak counties and teams. Get over it and move on, as Canavan said on Saturday it is all about how the players react to and approach the game when they are knocked out of the provincial championships. I have no sympathy for teams whose morale is damaged.
10 back door teams have reached All-Ireland football finals. Only three of them had reached provincial finals. Tyrone in 2005, Cork in 2007 and Kerry in 2008. Cork had three weeks rest in 2007 after losing to Kerry, and even then they only beat Louth by two points, Kerry had five weeks in 2008 after losing to Monaghan.
Tyrone in 2005 are the only ones that have properly bucked the trend, really.
Players aren’t robots, mate. The system is what it is. All the sports psychology in the world will struggle to lift players after a provincial final defeat.
The Munster hurling final was also on on the Sunday. So in order to have the replay the next week you would either have had the Cork hurlers and footballers play major games at different venues on the same day or have two provincial finals in the same province at different venues on the same day.
I haven’t ignored it, they were deservedly beaten. If they couldn’t get their heads right then that is their problem. They continued on in the same manner they showed in the second half against Kerry. They are a mentally weak outfit with overhyped players.
It’s not an excuse, their attitude was shocking and players with that mindset will go nowhere.
