Return to ‘Corkness’ more about attitude than tactics

Although it irked supporters and observers of Clare football that the commentary surrounding the team’s recent nine-point win over Cork was less about their own brilliance as the feebleness of the away challenge, even amongst Colm Collins’ backroom team, the initial reaction upon meeting this column afterwards was “God, what’s happened to Cork football?”

As one of them would elaborate, what they saw in red out on that field was a group of talented but tentative footballers, devoid of confidence and conviction. And in their view, much of that timidity stemmed from the style of football those players were being asked to play. It was as if the subtle shift that was taking place in football had been lost on Cork.