Weaker counties stymied by the system

MUNSTER SFC SEMI-FINAL:

Tipperary voted against the reintroduction of the seeded draw last September and Twomey accused top-brass of showing more concern towards provincial coffers than the development of the game in the four lesser counties.

It has been 22-years since a county outside of Cork or Kerry annexed the Munster title and while Twomey accepts change was called for, he rejects a structure aimed at guaranteeing a traditional derby final each July.

Tipperary have contested three of the last four Munster minor finals, winning two, while also featuring in the last two U21 deciders. Strides forward have been made, but Twomey expressed grave concern their progress will stagnate as a result of championship seeding.

“Something needs to be done to bring fairness to this draw,” he pleaded.

“If the Munster Council want to develop the four weaker counties let us play the first round against each other and have an open draw for the semi-final. They want to keep Cork and Kerry at the top and while we can understand about finances, that doesn’t do Tipperary football any good, that doesn’t do the development of Tipperary football any good.

“We are moving in the right direction. Proper underage structures have been put in place and it would be a shame if Croke Park allowed the small-mindedness of certain people to keep Cork and Kerry at the top and put down the rest in the process. If they want us to develop then introduce a fair draw and give us an opportunity. Ourselves and Clare would have to beat Cork and Kerry to win a Munster title this year. Would Dublin even achieve that feat?”

He continued: “The four-so called lesser teams are developing and you will have three of them in Division 3 of the league next year. We are fed up being pulled along the bottom and being discounted. We know our job is to try and beat Cork or Kerry at some stage to really get our development on the road. That can happen in any game. Hopefully that will be Saturday.”

For all its detractions, the one plus arising from the return of Munster seeding from a Tipperary viewpoint was it ensured a first round draw against a fellow minnow. The Premier county had been pitted against Kerry four summers on the hop, contributing to their 11-year run without a provincial championship win.

Victory against Limerick last time out ended said rot.

“Our goalkeeper Paul Fitzgerald is 35-years old and had not won a Munster championship match since joining the panel in 2004. It was soul destroying. I have seen players wilt under that record and not come back the following year. It doesn’t do anybody any good to get those kinds of hammerings. It definitely took the pressure off us that we weren’t going to be meeting Cork or Kerry in the first round. To get over the line against Limerick was a very good boost. It represented the turning of a corner.”

Boasting a plethora of capable forwards in Michel Quinlivan, Conor Sweeney and Barry Grogan, Twomey vows the only buses being parked tomorrow evening will be outside the ground.

“We have a real challenge coming our way, but we are looking forward to it. It will be a measure of where we are. Win or lose I think the players will learn from it.

“Most teams in our situation will go out and park the bus and see how that works early on. If we give the ball to Cork they will hurt us with their pace and movement. I don’t think we are the kind of team suited to parking the bus. Our system that got us out of Division 4 was attacking football.

“We were the highest scorers in the division. That was built on real endeavour to score. I don’t think we can change the players mind-set for this game. That might sound a small bit naive, but we have a job to do on the scoreboard. We will have to keep our defence tight, but there is no way we can stifle our players. They are young and they will want to have a go. They want to play.”