Quirke: Kerry midfield criticism is ridiculous

FORMER All-Ireland winning Kerry midfielder Micheál Quirke is angry at the criticism Kerry’s new midfield partnership of Bryan Sheehan and Anthony Maher has received this season.

Quirke, who stepped back from the Kerry senior panel in August, has leapt to their defence and backed them to inspire Jack O’Connor’s side to All-Ireland glory against Dublin on Sunday week.

“A lot of the criticism the two lads have received is a bit ridiculous, really,” Quirke stated.

“What more do they have to do to prove themselves? They beat the much vaunted Cork midfield, and they got over Mayo and the two O’Sheas, who are regarded as formidable opponents. And they did what they had to do against Limerick.

“I think Bryan and Anthony have performed really well, and the most positive aspect is that they seem to be improving with every game.”

In the wake of Darragh Ó Sé’s retirement, a host of midfield combinations have been tried, with mixed results.

And while Quirke concedes that the midfield endured a rocky start against Tipperary in the Munster championship — Anthony Maher missed that game — Quirke believes Sheehan and Maher form a partnership that is good enough to win the All-Ireland.

“I wouldn’t have any question marks over the two lads,” Quirke said.

“It’s fair enough to say that you wouldn’t have foreseen Bryan and Anthony as Kerry’s midfield partnership at the start of the season. But Anthony has been involved in the middle of the field for a couple of years now, Bryan less so but he has always been one of the best midfielders in the county championship every season. He adds an offensive threat from there as well.”

Quirke pinpoints the evolution of the midfield role — one of the main reasons he decided to step back from inter-county football — as one of the reasons why Sheehan and Maher are now blossoming.

“The dynamic of the game has changed, and the days of kicking a 50/50 ball up in the air is almost obsolete at this stage,” the Tralee man said.

“After that Tipperary game when Kerry didn’t win a whole pile of 50/50 balls, a lot of work was done on the kick-out strategy. We are definitely seeing the fruits of that now.”

“Obviously against Dublin, similar to the Mayo game, it’s going to be about strategy and how you crack Cluxton’s kick-outs, as opposed to competing for 50/50 balls. The days when a guy goes out, catches a lot of ball and dominates a game are gone.”

Looking at the final itself, Quirke is adamant that Kerry’s vast All-Ireland final experience will stand to his former team-mates.

“I was talking to a few of the lads recently, and you just can’t buy the experience that they now have. It’s something like nine finals in 11 years, which is incredible.

“For Dublin, it’s pressure to another level that these guys haven’t experienced but they are a really formidable outfit. They have lost some of the mental fragility that maybe they had a few years ago.”

While he admits it will be almost surreal to be watching this year’s All-Ireland final from the sidelines, Quirke doesn’t regret the decision to leave the Kerry panel last month.

“I am happy with the decision I made. It will be strange watching on. The time was just right. Looking at Dublin and looking at Kerry, the game has just changed. In two years the game has changed significantly, in terms of midfield play,” Quirke said.