John Cleary demands action on ‘worrying’ decline of Cork football

John Cleary has called for immediate action to arrest the “worrying” decline of Cork football over the past four years. The two-time All- Ireland medal winner believes the Cork team has regressed year-on-year since 2012 and says a plan must be formulated to return the county to football’s top table.

He welcomed Kevin O’Donovan’s document and is hopeful it will kick-start the process of bringing about change. “Results don’t lie. We are in a difficult predicament at the moment,” said Cleary.

“There has been a slide every year since 2012. On the given days, players haven’t performed. For the size of Cork and the players we have, you’d expect them to be doing a small bit better.

“Five or six years ago, it would have been unheard of that you’d be in Division 2 and that Tipperary, one of the so-called weaker counties in Munster, would be beating you in the championship, a result that hadn’t materialised for a very long number of years.”

Cork haven’t contested an All-Ireland semi-final since 2012 and the former Cork footballer is fearful this is a trend that will continue if a head-in-the-sand approach is adopted.

“There are a lot of wide-ranging proposals in Kevin’s document. Something is needed, definitely a discussion on the whole set-up. It is obvious at inter-county level things aren’t going as they should be. The last thing people can do is nothing.

“Maybe it is just a case of throwing things around. That is what all counties do when they have a period of decline. It makes them stronger and that is what should be done in Cork at the moment. Getting together with ideas… Kilkenny did it a good number of years ago, Dublin started a plan in football and that is now bearing fruit. Cork need to do the same. It is a matter of sitting down, coming up with a plan and everyone putting their best foot forward. Nothing bad can come of it and definitely some good will come of it.”

Two of O’Donovan’s proposals centred on the appointment of a Director of football and a player development programme from minor upwards, the latter focusing on ensuring emerging talents continue onto senior level.

“There has been various U21 wins and for various reasons you lost the spine of a team in Aidan Walsh, Damien Cahalane and Ciarán Sheehan. These are fellas you would be building a team around at this stage. The older guys from the 2010 win all seemed to go together so there is a vacuum there that Cork are struggling to get out of at the moment.”

On the Director of football, he added: “Maybe, that is part of the overall solution. Cork is such a big county and there are so many players there. Organisation and a bit of drive all around would help the thing. A part of that would be a Director of each code.”

Part of the solution too could be the redevelopment of Páirc Uí Chaoimh and the centre of excellence which is currently under construction. Cleary could not fathom the difficulties encountered by the senior team in securing a training pitch earlier in the year. Bottom line, that shouldn’t be happening.

“Any team that wants to compete with Kerry and Dublin should have the best of facilities and the best training facilities. If they don’t, they are at a disadvantage. If you are settling for second-rate preparation, you are going to get second-rate performances and second-rate results.

“There is a stadium there and hopefully a centre of excellence too. We will have to wait and see how that pans out when it is finished as to whether the facilities are there to allow the teams prepare properly. Only time will tell.”