Case for the Defence

[TonyCork80]

Cork senior footballers (9-85) and senior hurlers (9-118 ) have the worst defensive records in all four divisions (or however the fuck many there are in hurling) in the country.

When you think of some of the dross in the leagues that's some going.

In 2012 Cork footballers conceded one goal from play in the entire year.

Towards the end of the last decade we could have fielded defences of Quirke-Carey-Shields-Lynch-O'Laoire-Canty-Miskella in football and Cusack-Sherlock-O'Sullivan-Murphy-Gardner-Curran-O'hAilpin in hurling. Serious operators all with Cadogan, arguably the best defender in the county in both codes now as first sub for either.

What's gone wrong? Is this systemic? Is there a lack of toughness, is it to do with how games are refereed? Would having actual fucking pitches to coach defensive patterns on make a difference? A reluctance of players out the field to contribute defensively? Or just the wheel spinning?

Answers on a postcard.

 

[jimmym]

in fairness both teams were blessed that some top class defenders came along in same era, your point re how games in cork are reffed is valid,
but mismanagement at top table also has a lot to answer,

 

[Stacky]

A dead fish rots from the head down

 

[stevetharlear]

We've become a bit naive tbh, we try and copy other counties defensive patterns without fully committing to them and get stuck in a halfway place in both codes. We need to either go man for man and try and play the way we're comfortable with, or do the above properly.

Oh, and ya... Frank.

 

[shez1987]

We've become a bit naive tbh, we try and copy other counties defensive patterns without fully committing to them and get stuck in a halfway place in both codes. We need to either go man for man and try and play the way we're comfortable with, or do the above properly.

Oh, and ya... Frank.

This is a big factor for me. I don't believe in either code there is a real conviction in how we want to play the game. This lack of belief in a set-up is imo responsible for a lot of inexplicable collapses that have become all too common.

There is no earthly reason why we should be conceding some of the scores we do, 1-21 to Kildare, 4-25 to Roscommon, 4-21 to Dublin (hurling), 2-28 to Tipp, etc. When things start to go badly, the game can get away from us very quickly. I don't believe it is a case of players giving up, but maybe there isn't that same unwavering self-belief in our own game-plan that some of the other top counties have.

A couple of years ago midway through the football Championship, we switched from an attacking set-up with half forwards operating in a half-back line to a defensive one with two sweepers in the space of two games. There is no harm in trying different systems, but two years on and I'm still not sure a lot of the same players know what they are supposed to be doing half of the time. Because if they did, they certainly wouldn't be conceding 4-25 to Roscommon.

Tactically we are caught between a rock and a hard place. We seem to want to play a traditional brand of attacking football and hurling, but we lack the ball-winning personnel around the middle third to sustain a man for man defensive approach at the back. It isn't just that we lack an Anthony Lynch or a Wayne Sherlock, we do. But even specialist man-markers like those two would struggle in the current set-up where we struggle to find a settled midfield in football and a half forward line in hurling that can hold own ion the physical stakes.

Not sure what the solution is. Until we find more Timmy McCarthys and Alan O'Connors of this world and can start hoarding possession again, we may be better served sticking to how we broadly set up at club level and underage.

 

[Pontipine]

Cutbert ripped the bolox out of the panel. It will take a few years to recover from that.

 

[TonyCork80]

9 goals and 105 points conceded in 7 league games.


We deserve to go down.

 

[Krull]

"In 2012 Cork footballers conceded one goal from play in the entire year."

2012 was the peak of that team, we looked unbeatable, but then a team came out of nowhere that was like a force of nature.