Masters’ decision to walk away a sign of the times

AND then there were two. Survivors from the Cork forward line that started the 2007 All-Ireland football final are becoming thin on the ground after James Masters’ withdrawal from the squad yesterday meant he became the latest attacker from that day no longer involved in Cork football plans going forward.

The only two from that sextet still standing are Pearse O’Neill and Donncha O’Connor, with Conor McCarthy, Kevin McMahon, Masters, Michael Cussen and Kevin O’Sullivan, introduced as a substitute up front in that game, all having departed the scene. The theme of change since then is also notable when other areas of the pitch are examined – of those who wore numbers one to nine in that game, only Michael Shields, Noel O’Leary, Ger Spillane and Nicholas Murphy have seen action during this year’s NFL campaign.

There are plenty of reasons for that high turnover, and the absence of some 2007 stars can be explained through injury, but Masters’ departure underlines the view that the current Cork set-up is the property of manager Conor Counihan. The team he inherited from Billy Morgan after that 2007 All-Ireland decider bears little resemblance to the current outfit. This is now Counihan’s team, completely shaped and drafted to his liking.