Clare put men back, which Cork tactically canât deal with. Same reason we struggled past Offaly and Dublin.
Horgan missed a simple free which stopped momentum too.
I think thereâs very small margins but the idea
Clare are this great team and cork need 6 new players is laughable.
Clare have been together for 4 years
Under this management I think and have made the semi finals three years in a row.
It was pat Ryanâs first time as manager getting this far. Iâm sure he can learn plenty and with the same group improve again next year.
Who would you shift to where for Cork? Coleman gets a lot of flak but they have to have him in the team and he probably doesnât fit midfield with Fitz. I think Cork almost have it cracked, realistically thereâs a point or two of improvement at least doing more of the same only better.
Clare went from a side capable of competing but lacking the depth to win an all Ireland and big games at the end of the championship due to depth as they only really had 12 or so lads of the standard up to the end of last year. Cork are in a similar boat, they have 8 or 9 really good players but their next 12 or so lads are a much of a muchness.
Clare took the step this year by getting Leen, Lohan and Cian Galvin into the main 20 along with Aidan Mc coming back from injury meaning that solid hurlers but with glaring weaknesses that teams exploit like Flanagan, Morey and Rory Hayes were removed from the main 20 as the season went on. By finding new starters it also allowed lads like Ian Galvin and Ryan Taylor to flourish as impact players which Clare didnât have off the bench in the previous few years.
Clare were winning championship matches this year shorn of TK, Davy Mc and Ryan Taylor in multiple games, which wouldnât have been the case in previous years
Someone like Coleman and TOM could be similar impact subs if cork could find lads to provide better balance.
No we fucking donât, what a load of shite.
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I think youâre over egging it a little.
The big thing about Clare this year was their best performance was in the final. Similar to limerick in the last few years. They peaked perfectly from the Munster final to the all Ireland final.
I said it the morning of the Limerick v cork game limericks performances v Galway the previous two years wouldnât be good enough.
Itâs very difficult to play your maximum in the semi final and back it up again two weeks later particularly for cork given they are a mainly a young side.
I also think the two downeys at 3 and 6 can allow a lot of players improve around them. Those positions have issues since o sulllivan and Curran. A big plus for cork going into next year.
Clare were bringing on Shane Golden, Cian Nolan and an 18 year old Patrick Crotty in the 2022 Munster final - every sub used in this years A/I final was a couple of levels above the standard of those three.
By having extra depth it means than key players arenât having to be burnt down to the nub every game and the quality of training is also higher. It made a huge difference to Clare this year.
Your favourite Paudi Fitz started an A/I semi final based off performances in training which will tell you the difference in the standard
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And yet if Clare had performed to their best they would have beaten Kilkenny and they were only a wonder save away from it last year.
They had a full and centre back hardly 50% fit and no alternatives to replace them. Kilkennyâs bench won the match for them as all five made an impact, Clare had nobody to bring on for the last 15
Robbie o Flynn and Ethan Twomey had injuries and played badly in the final similarly to nearly all the cork forwards.
A clear run next year and they could be make the small gap.
To suggest Cork are six players short is just silly.
It was tiny margins in the final.
Clare hit poor wides and pucked a lot of ball way BC at crucial stages. If a few went over it was lights out but generally there isnt much between them.
Big Dan is spot on re their corner backs. If SOD was fit I think OâDonoghue was in real trouble as the game wore on.
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I think Clare were the better team on the day over the 90 minutes no doubts but cork played terribly too.
If they brought the performance levels of the semi final theyâd have won imo.
Six players is an awful lot. I think with better coaching cork can improve. Possible one obvious area is fitness.
Cork need at least 4 players. Clare were a 10 point better team in the final .
Cork got a serious amount of good luck to even get out of MunsterâŚ
My own take from it is Kinnerk needs the bullet to be beaten twice by a very average Cork side.
Cork wonât get out of Munster with the same team next year⌠theyâll need one of two more
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Iâd be hanging onto kinnerk myself
They may not need six but there are six places for improvement- like I said OâDonoghue is a grand corner back but realistically how often would you expect him to break even with SOD or Gilllan when left one v one? At best 50% and that is being generous.
But if they can find/develop a back that can and OâDonoghue is tasked with the third man in the full forward line like either of the David Reidyâs and I think he would hold up fine.
They do need either a number of lads the far side of 25 years old to make big steps up or new lads to replace and improve them.
Both Clare and Limerick will have problems to solve too. Iâm not sure on retirements I wouldnât expect many but both have players in that age bracket.
So all teams will be looking for new options in my opinion.
Clare did not win more than 2 games. They drew the big one in March.
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TouchĂŠ
Admins, please redact the previous post
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Cork beat Limerick twice, and were unlucky imho to lose the final, certainly they were within a whisker of it. They donât need that much extra.
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You should rewatch the goals they conceded and if David Fitzgerald had his eye in they would have conceded more. Harnedy must be close to the end also