THE FOGARTY FORUM: Teams must evolve or face early exit
That would have been news to anybody who knows that they are one of the most humble squads around but Carr’s point was that they don’t try hard enough, and in fairness it was something similar to what Ray Cummins said about the forward line a couple of months back.
“Why does Conor Counihan get such bad press?” asked Carr. “Because the level of talent they have is not commensurate with the level of success they’ve had and that’s the bottom line.
“We all recognise that individually Cork are an exceptionally talented team. I think it’s their arrogance rather than lack of ability that stops them winning. I think they feel they don’t have to do the same as what other teams do to get success and they caught out along the way then somewhere because of that arrogance.”
Ourselves in the media can be guilty on the odd occasion of creating misperceptions but we have to pull Carr up on this one. He does have a point in the numbers not staking up for Cork given their potential but to suggest they don’t put in as much as other teams is wide of the mark.
Last year, Cork went through the championship without conceding a goal. They “let in” two over the course of the league and championship. To do that requires discipline, skill and, above all else, a system from attack to defence. Not exactly the calling cards of big-headedness.
Talking to Eoin Cadogan yesterday, we didn’t detect the type of superiority spoken of by. In fact, he spoke of the need to adapt and adjust to what is presented by the opposition.
“You see teams that go orthodox, go man for man, will get cleaned out. You saw the space that was created by Cavan [v Armagh].
“So you’re on a path to disaster, especially being left in a full-back line, with that amount of space. You look at Donegal last year, with the amount of men back, it’s very hard to get goals with that many bodies in front of goal.
“Do you want to play like that? That’s Donegal’s style, their play. We’ve a different way ourselves. We’d like to think we’re adaptable in our approach, can play in whatever style Conor requires of us on any given day. And you know you’re coming up against teams that will play in different styles too, on different days, and you have to adopt to that.”
There’s little doubt arrogance has been the downfall of plenty of teams. Down have been painted with that brush because of their refusal to adopt a defensive system. That was until this spring when they implemented one with dubious results.
They are still learning because they have to yet their neighbours Armagh fell into the same trap on Sunday of thinking swashbuckling football could win out. It just doesn’t work that way in top level Gaelic football now and as much as Paul Grimley may have wanted to break the mould, he will have to revise and realise he must build from the back.
In year one, it’s the one true rite of passage for a new manager these days. Jim McGuinness did it in 2011 as did Justin McNulty with Laois, the difference between the pair being McGuinness evolved the tactic last year while McNulty instructed Laois to sit further on their heels.
Laois against Dublin in last year’s All-Ireland quarter-final was the greatest example of a defensive structure gone mad. Happy to merely contain Dublin, all their second-half scores came from frees.
For any dignified Laois supporter, it would have been an insult to see their team satiate themselves on a moral victory. If Carr’s looking for arrogance, he need only point in Laois’s direction on that occasion.
But what Galway committed against Mayo on Sunday was another sin — naivety. Abandoning defensive posts was one thing but allowing Mayo to take eight short kick-outs in the first half flew in the face of everything a modern day inter-county forward line should be doing.
On the other hand, Mayo’s attack hunted in packs and picked off Galway defenders like wildebeest. As Andy Moran said afterwards: “When you get to the likes of Croke Park you can’t defend six on six, so the forwards really have to be working harder than your defence.”
As the games come thick and fast, don’t expect to see teams as immature as Galway or as cavalier as Armagh.
Donegal set an example not just because they are a pioneering force but they have improved and updated proven strategies of football.
It will be heeded because to get anywhere nowadays building from the back is a process that must be followed for any developing county.
Email: john.fogarty@examiner.ie
Twitter: @johnfogartyirl
The mystique surrounding this Donegal team is not only one of its most absorbing traits but also of fundamental importance to the set-up. Why else would Kevin Cassidy have been jettisoned?
Ahead of last year’s All-Ireland semi-final against Cork, we ventured to speak to Clonakilty’s Conor McManus who was part of the panel for the early part of last year.
McManus politely turned down the request and we learned it had to do with a signed confidentiality agreement, the one that Cassidy apparently broke.
Omerta is a word that comes to mind when talking about this Donegal team although. According to their management, all 31 players in the group are set to be available for this Sunday’s Ulster quarter-final at home to Tyrone.
That’s all well and good but we know Donegal, if they have their way, won’t use any more than 22 (they used 19 across their seven championship games last year). But aside from the obvious there is very little else to be gleaned from the camp.
Is Karl Lacey actually fit enough to play 70 minutes? Ditto Paddy McGrath and Mark McHugh? Only Waterford’s hurlers under Justin McCarthy have kept us guessing as much.
What happened to Jamie Clarke in Cavan on Sunday can only be described as a pity.
Maurice Deegan has been roundly criticised for disallowing the Armagh forward’s goal and not providing him with even a fraction of advantage after being fouled. However, he had clearly implemented the existing rule.
Were the advantage rule, which will come in from January 1 next year and give referees five seconds to call back play if there is no gain for the fouled player, in place Deegan wouldn’t have been under as much pressure to blow his whistle.
Surely, a rule as logical and sympathetic to positive football as this could have been fast-tracked to come into operation this summer.
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