Sheedy ready to rally Tipp charges

TIPPERARY manager Liam Sheedy has summoned his players for crisis talks before training this evening.

Sheedy has planned clear-the-air discussions in the wake of Sunday’s comprehensive 10-point defeat against Cork in the Munster SHC quarter-final.

That defeat marked Tipp’s biggest championship reverse since the 2003 All-Ireland semi-final against Kilkenny and came just 38 weeks after pushing the Cats desperately close in last September’s classic All-Ireland final.

The margin of defeat was the biggest win for either Tipp or Cork in a championship game against each other since 1965.

It was also Cork’s biggest win against Tipp in championship hurling since 1942.

The manner of Tipp’s defeat sparked reaction from county board President Tommy Barrett, who has called for “back to basics” hurling from the current team.

Barrett also described modern-day players as “clones” and said: “Paddy Kenny was a great exponent of the game. Nobody could tell him how to hurl. He hurled the way he was used to but all our fellas are cloned and all trained the same way. It’s ‘do this and do that’ according to the book.

“Jimmy Doyle learned his hurling above at the sportsfield and John Doyle was the same in Holycross. But there are too many of our fellas of the one kind.”

Barrett insisted that he saw Sunday’s defeat coming, having watched Tipperary in action in previous weeks.

The former long-serving county board secretary added: “I saw them playing against Clare (challenge) and Offaly in the National League. They were nearly beaten against Offaly and won with a free in the last seconds. Against Clare in Semple Stadium last week, they won by a point and Clare had only a scratch team. The night before we played Clare, they were flying it and I thought that nobody would beat them this year but then they came out and performed like that. I think they’ve done too much training.”

Barrett added: “We need to get back to basics – hit it smart and hit is hard. Don’t be delaying with it. Players are being cloned in development squads.

“I think we’ve been thrown back a few years. Our minors, intermediates and seniors are gone, our senior footballers were beaten by 12 points and our senior hurlers by 10 points.”