JBM agonises over Murphy call-up

The Cork hurling management will have to make their biggest call of the year tonight when they reveal their starting 15 for next Sunday’s All-Ireland final against Clare, according to the Evening Echo's John Horgan.

Fourteen of the team that started against Dublin in the semi-final will be named and the million dollar question is, will they recall Brian Murphy and if they do, at whose expense will it be?

Murphy hasn’t featured for Cork since the Munster semi-final triumph over Sunday’s opponents after sustaining a shoulder injury with Bride Rovers.

After doing a top class marking job on Clare dangerman Tony Kelly in that game, he missed the Munster final defeat against Limerick and the thrilling win over Kilkenny in the All-Ireland qualifiers.

However, after featuring for in the SHC against Midleton he was named on the bench for the semi-final and there is strong belief now that he could get the nod on Sunday.

If he does, it looks certain that ether Tom Kenny or Chris Joyce will lose out in the half-back line with Murphy being handed the number six jersey.

Kenny was replaced by Stephen White in the semi-final in the 44th minute, but his vast experience of All-Ireland final days will make it very difficult for the management to omit him.

The other alternative would be to bring Murphy back and leave out Christopher Joyce, who has done very little wrong all season.

Of course there is every possibility that Jimmy Barry-Murphy will leave well alone and that the status quo will prevail for the biggest game in his second coming as Cork boss.

That would give the selectors a much stronger hand in the options department if the need arose early on to make changes in the defence with Brian Murphy almost certainly being the first to get the call from the bench.

Cork fans will have to wait until tonight before finding out what the decision is, a decision that has caused great debate this week in the pre-match deliberations.