Liam Seedy
Davy + Cork = Box Office
So it does
Eddie Brennan.
Too insular and clannish to accept an outsider.
Meyler was just about palatable.
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Davy isnât involved with Cork camogie for the sake of his health and pocket alone anyway.
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Heard he wasnât interested in playing in goals.
Spot on.
Not gonna happen I reckon
Eoin Cadogan: Cork are playing handbrake hurling, with a fear of making mistakes. Time to take the shackles off
Fear cripples most of us in some shape or form in our day-to-day lives and when it happens we freeze and tighten up. At this stage what more can go against this Cork group?
âFear is not real. The only place fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. That is near insanity. Do not misunderstand me, danger is very real, but fear is a choice.â
- Will Smith
AT 4pm on Sunday, Cork found themselves on the canvas floor, after being rocked early doors in Thurles before dragging themselves back into the fight before ultimately getting KOd at the final whistle by an ever-hungry Clare.
From the get-go Clare could smell blood. They knew coming into Semple Stadium that this was their chance to go after a Cork team lacking confidence and unsure exactly what their identity was. In my limited encounters with Clare, there would be no love lost between the groups but Clare were full value for Sundayâs win. Have no doubt, Clare management and players would have discussed last yearâs qualifier loss to Cork and looked at the fine margins that ultimately finished their season. A last-minute save from Patrick Collins saved our blushes.
Or did it merely paper over the cracks?
Clareâs performance on Sunday reflected all the traits of their manager, Brian Lohan. It was a hard-nosed, hard-working and aggressive team performance. I donât know Brian Lohan but he comes across as a no-bullshit type of guy who wears his heart on his sleeve and demands nothing less from his players.
The problem for Cork was Clare hit them hard from the start. You could see doubts and scars from the Limerick and Waterford games resurface. Doubts in your collective ability, your system, your game plan and in each other were apparent and they just couldnât come to grips with the issues in the first 25 minutes. Supporters, including myself, called for personnel changes and we got them with Rob Downey manning the full back position, young CiarĂĄn Joyce at six, Coleman at midfield and Jack OâConnor being brought into the starting line up. It is easy now to again give the management a lashing but what more can they do in this scenario?
They have an excellent strength & conditioning coach in Stephen Casey, Gary Keegan is the best in the business at what he does and a pair of new coaches have been introduced 1- one being an All-Ireland minor winning manager. At some point as players, the responsibility falls at your door step when it comes to aggression, work ethic, cohesion and desire.
A few cases in point. In the 25th minute after a Cork effort went wide, Shane OâDonnell stood like a man in his back garden waiting on a puck out with not a red jersey in sight. No communication. No covering each other. This simply cannot happen. Itâs inexcusable. Everyone can be excused for a lapse in concentration from time to time but the is happening repeatedly. Total switch off. In the closing minutes Conor Cahalane got bundled over the side line by three Clare players who celebrated with each other like it was the final whistle. At no stage have we seen that fire from Cork. Itâs like itâs been extinguished from their persona.
This Cork performance was different to the Limerick game, which was a complete system malfunction. On Sunday at least we saw some fight in some instances. Iâm not saying that losing is acceptable - far from it - but there were glimpses of drive by some of the Cork charges in the shape of Downey, OâDonoghue, Coleman, OâFlynn, Horgan and Connolly when introduced.
But where to from here? The unfortunate thing now for Cork is they no longer have total control of their destiny. They must go to Walsh Park and Thurles and win both - even mustering those four hard-earned Munster Championship points may not be sufficient to save their summer.
Systematically, there were adjustments made by management. Some worked and others didnât. The full back line coped admirably with the amount of ball raining in on top of them so Iâd expect the same again for Waterford.
Joyce is Corkâs centre-back but with Ger Millerick possibly out with a hamstring injury, Mark Coleman may have to be reinstated in the half back line with the hope that Darragh Fitzgibbon can regain the form we know heâs capable of at midfield. Time is running out though.
With Jack OâConnor and Shane Barrett being replaced early, and Mark Keane seeing red, options are narrowing up top for a unit that just canât hit form. In a game where space will be at premium in Walsh Park, would the experience of Luke Meade be something to link the play around the middle third? Alan Cadogan, if injury free, is surely is itching for a shot with Alan Connolly, who has bumped himself up the ladder as a starter after Sundayâs performance.
During Conor Counihanâs tenure as the Cork senior football manager, he used to constantly reference "taking the shackles offâ and go play. Any player that dons a Cork jersey is picked on the basis of being the best player in that given position with his or her club. The current Cork players are excellent hurlers but the handbrake is up from what Iâve seen in 2022. Thereâs a fear of making mistakes and expressing themselves as they do with their clubs. Fear cripples most of us in some shape or form in our day-to-day lives and when it happens we freeze and tighten up. At this stage what more can go against this Cork group?
Against Waterford, they must express themselves. Drive the man on alongside like he was your brother, like it means everything to you both. You might be down on points difference and not going to win the fight but youâve got to keep on swinging. Cork can still talk process and game plans but the fundamentals of going out, taking responsibility for your role, and having a cut can be the most liberating feeling as a player.
Whatever happens now, they must be able to walk into a changing room, down a street or into a room with their head up. Look anyone in the eye knowing theyâve done all they can.
Nobody is expecting miracles at this stage but a cohesive performance and a sense of collective pride at Walsh Park is a must.
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Cork are back.
The Corkness is off the charts.
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While Derek McGrath has his cod psychology gurus to quote, Cads gives us Will Smith movie quotes 
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âIt is great until you get a slap in the mouthâ
Chris Rock
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Wasnât that the main gripe most cork supporters had with Counihan, especially on here.
That he was holding them back playing a fairly reductive style of football and despite the all Ireland win they were capable of more and a more expansive game.
âGet my husbands finger out you mouthâ
Paul Galvinâs wife
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I think sometimes things can get very complicated. Itâs always best to keep it simple.
I remember Brian o Driscoll was discussing games against New Zealander with some ex all black. O Driscoll was telling him about all the ideas and plans over the years they tried to come up with to beat them but failed.
The New Zealand guy was laughing and said weâd no plan and just kept practicing the basic skills in training over and over as we knew if we put enough pressure on Ireland they would make mistakes.
If you watch Limerick v cork the other day itâs very familiar. Limerick put immense pressure on and cork made mistakes and Limerick capitalised on them. No real magic plan.
It was the same in the 2018 final. The 3 goals came from Limerick pressuring Galway into mistakes.
Iâm not apart of any inter county set up but Iâd be fairly confident thereâs a lot of time wasted on fairly pointless things in certain set ups.
Cork are clearly massively lacking here. They just canât deal with that pressure Limerick apply. I dunno how youâd replicate in training maybe play 16 v 15 or something but until they can deal with that pressure it doesnât really matter who they put on the pitch.
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But most of the Cork forwards donât tackle. When Limerick played out short, they were able to get to halfway without really being challenged.
How are their backs supposed to improve as hurlers and get better under pressure if the Cork forwards donât apply that pressure in training? Or maybe they do in training and they just donât bother in matches, but that seems unlikely.
If you donât replicate situations that will arise in matches in training, youâre probably putting yourself at a disadvantage.
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How do you get a reaction from something you should be insulated from?
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âThis Alan Cadogan fella who I have seen a bit of coming up through the ranks has a bit about himâ