Div 2 Football League 2024

The good news is TG 4 have come up trumps once again.
They are showing Sundays game live online and deferred on the tv at 5:40.
If John Cashman is covering this game for C103 I'll be listening to him even if he's ahead
of the TV coverage. That's if our own Brian Tyers isn't doing it as the Donegal gaeilge doesn't
float my boat.
I hope Cleary, Cronín and Walsh read Atsnasquare's post here yesterday and tackle the begasus
out of Donegal runners.

Couldn’t have asked for a tougher start to a league, Donegal away in January is some test. Most management in these circumstances would go for a conservative option, I just think we need to be a bit bolder, I would let Buckley and Corbett start at 11 and 14 anyway.
A lot of people were raving about Doyle the last day, I’m not sure at all, we were cleaned at midfield and on kickouts and there didn’t seem to be any short or medium options, Donegal are going for a full press apparently so we need to have options. If we got a result up here it would be some lift

Didn't see the new thread
It might be wise to keep Buckley in reserve to finish v Donegal. It's going to be a tight, dour dogfight where the likes of Ruairi Deane might suit better starting at centre forward.
I'd go with Doyle over Martin solely based on how comfortable he looked in possession. Their kick outs are both average. Donegal press all kick outs so we'll probably see a lot of boomers hoping our fielders can cope.
I'd go pretty conservative up there to start and let Rory Maguire, Flahive, Cronin, Buckley  and Murphy bring it home in the last 20 mins.
I think this starting team could get us to 45-50 min mark on level terms.
Doyle Shanley Mahony Walsh Taylor Meehan Fahy Maguire Callaghan Rourke (not a fan, but horses for courses) Deane Mc Sweeney Jones Corbett Driscoll

I doubt if Deane will be fit for the trip up north. He limped off just before HT v Kerry after an accidental collision in midfield. He wasn't very effective at No 13 up to that anyway but I rate him highly if he's fit.
I'd have Buckley starting regardless. He's a strong 'thaire' and well able to mix it with the best. I'd also start Blake Murphy and Mark Cronin. Chasing a Donegal lead has never been the way forward.
I wouldn't have keeper Doyle either. He took 19 restarts v Kerry, 8 shorties and 11 boomers of which a novice Kerry midfield won 9.
In other words we only won 2 of long ones.
As Astnasquare said here yesterday, we'll win SFA with them kind of restart stats. I'm hoping that his upfield sorties were on trial as instructed but I'm not a fan. He was up as a corner forward swopping handpasses with Chris óg at one stage and well past mid field too often for my liking.
We simply must have better.

https://www.echolive.ie/corksport/arid-41317147.html

Ger McCarthy's stats are pretty close but he neglected to say we only won 2 of what we describe as normal kick outs which is a frightening stat facing into the league.

Cork Senior Football Squad for Allianz League has been announced
#wearecork #OneCork #Born2play @sportsdirectireland

36 players with 3 keepers. Chris Kelly Eire Og with Pa Doyle and Micheál A.
Newcomer Jacob O Driscoll Valley Rovers had a few outings at No 2 with the U20 team in 2022 so must have held his hand up in training recently. No more than Newcestown, them Innishannon lads ain't shy.
I found this stuff on Facebook just now so it's hot off the press. No team announcement though.

Podsy wrote:https://gaacork.ie/2024/01/25/the-cork-senior-football-panel-for-the-national-league-has-been-announced/

Sorry bout the collision Podsy. Great minds, think alike, or so the saying goes

David Buckley – Newcestown
Jack Cahalane – Castlehaven
Darragh Cashman – Millstreet
Thomas Clancy – Clonakilty
Conor Corbett – Clyda Rovers
Mark Cronin – Nemo Rangers
Ruairi Deane – Bantry Blues
Patrick Doyle – Knocknagree
Luke Fahy – Ballincollig
Kevin Flahive – Douglas
Damien Gore – Kilmacabea
Fionn Herlihy – Dohenys
Brian Hurley – Castlehaven
Chris Óg Jones – Uibh Laoire
Christopher Kelly – Éire Óg
Niel Lordan – Ballinora
Ian Maguire – St Finbarr’s
Rory Maguire – Castlehaven
Cathal Magure – Castlehaven
Micheál Aodh Martin – Nemo Rangers
Sean Meehan – Kiskeam
Blake Murphy – St Vincent’s
Eoghan McSweeney – Knocknagree
Colm O’ Callaghan – Éire Óg
Kevin O’ Donovan – Nempo Rangers
Brian O’ Driscoll – Tadhg MacCarthaigh
Jacob O’ Driscoll – Valley Rovers
Killian O’ Hanlon – Kilshannig
Daniel O’ Mahony – Knocknagree
John O’ Rourke – Carbery Rangers
Sean Powter – Douglas
Maurice Shanley – Clonakilty
Steven Sherlock – St Finbarr’s
Matty Taylor – Mallow
Paul Walsh – Kanturk
Tommy Walsh – Kanturk

Sorry no numbers come up yet again.

Has anyone got the Cork football fixtures actually. I cant wait for this to kick off, ive a funny feeling we might do ok this year

Hope you are right Tipp. As the used to say long ago in west Cork,
" I have a feeling in my pooley" that the tide is turning.
The Division mix for the panel is interesting.
Carbery 12,
Seandun 8
Duhallow 7
Muskery 4
Avondhu 3
Carrigdown 2.

Only 3 defenders in the Carbery 12 while the Duhallow 7 has 5 stoppers.

Saw the panel alright seems to be along expected lines...

As mentioned previously the only other guys id like to see involved are the two hartnetts and nash from douglas, would like to see diarmuid phelan from aghada involved too, admittedly i only ever  saw him for cork minors and u20s so haven't seen him in last few yrs so maybe he hasn't kicked on but he was always a hardy bit of stuff at underage level. Was midfield for UCC this yr in sigerson too so can't be far off.

On the subject of sigerson just wanted to mention what a dispiriting month it has been for cork gaa.
UCC and MTU lost BOTH their sigerson knockout games, and both lost their first round fitzgibbon games!!! 6 games played 6 lost!!!
• Clon and roco well beaten in the corn ui mhuiri quarters, midleton CBS and Christians well beaten in harty quarters. (Well done to Charleville and mallow for qualifying without them the yr would be a complete write off)
• Losing the three all ireland club finals was tough but its the manner in which they were lost was the most dispiriting. Catherines and castlelyons didn't even put up a fight seemed to accept the games were done beforehand cos of kilkennys club ranking system and used it as an excuse to throw in the towel. Don't mind them losing just put up a fight. Intermediate champions from last yr were from limerick and they didn't lie down to KK and yr before Ballygiblin won junior comfortably so it can be done....... Cill na Matra did put up a fight but my God did they absoulutley throw away that game, like our cork senior footballers no attacking plan against the blanket and like what will happen to our senior cork footballers it came home to roost.

Looking deeper into why there is such a culture of losing in cork gaa at the moment and why we’re so easy to beat could be here all day. For me it boils down to two main factors and both are linked to each other.

First and most importantly is the standard and quality of our management teams is just not up to scratch and the 2nd is the psychology of our players.
On the first point I’ve been thinking for yrs the standard of coaching in the county is no way near up to scratch in both codes. It’s what is killing our club senior hurling championship and it’s whats holding back our intercounty football team in particular. Was thinking when was the last time we produced an innovative driven coach in either code that is AHEAD of the rest of the country. We also seem to be playing catch up with our tactics to the rest of the country.
I honestly think its o grady in the hurling and morgan in the football. Over 20 and 30yrs ago!!!! I’m still not sold on Ben o Connor don’t think he has it tactically, playing a three man full forward line with midleton to win county was stone age stuff and they duly got found out in munster, everyone plays with 2 inside these days. I like Pat Ryan he loves hard work and drives the team but also think he comes up short tactically, his teams play too much direct ball we need to mix it with the running game, direct ball can just fall into the ‘lumping it long’ category when ur under pressure, that won’t work in the modern game, u need to be ultra efficient with possession. I like the two lads in with the cork u20 footballers this yr from eire óg and Ballincollig hopefully they can add something. As I’ve mentionned on a previous post coach I think the senior football management team has improved us tactically but we are still very deficient in certain areas and they aren’t being addressed. I like Noel furlong and Pat mulcahy in the hurling scene. Both very organised and tough task masters but they were driven out of the senior cork hurling set up by the players when they were in there which brings me to my 2nd point about why there is such a losing culture in cork gaa which is the psychology and attitude of the players.

Secondly I feel our players just don’t take these competitions seriously enough cos not being demanded or driven enough to do so by their management teams. Players just seem to take club seriously and that’s it. As regards these school and college competitions we’re definitely not putting in the work and training other counties are. Players sense this and use it as an excuse to throw their hat at the game and not take it seriously, its like they have a ready made excuse to fall back on. There’s no way that UCC hurling team should be being beaten by Mary I!! its practically corks senior B team, I think Tom Kingston is a joke in there for the last few yrs and the players know it and aren’t taking it seriously. Don’t ask me what Keith Ricken is doing as GAA officer at MTU cos they’ve been poor with yrs. The hurling team is weak this year there fair enough but theyre football is very decent on paper and should be doing much better, again id ask how seriously its being treated by players and management. I know for a fact Clonakilty Community College do very little training for the Corn Ui Mhuire and it shows. Compare that to the Kerry system whereby theyre using the schools as mini centres of excellence and then feed from that into the county team. Eamon Fitzmaurice has been open about how important the schools are yet we wouldn’t piss on it in cork, very frustrating!!!!

Long post I know but interested to see what peoples thoughts are. I just get depressed some weekends knowing full well we’re going to beaten cos the games just aren’t do or die for us like they should be and are in other counties and then when shit hits the fan at intercounty level come championship players haven’t the experience of dealing with it cos have been losing all the way up and taking the easy option out of games.

Jesus, atnasquare, I’m easily infected and now I’m depressed, too.

This is a football thread and I don’t know too much about the football players, those days, so can’t comment. As regards the hurling, just because all other teams are doing something now days, isn’t exactly a reason for us to follow suit. I’m hoping Pat Ryan is analysing the game as he’s going along and trying to work out the best way for Cork to play to win. The same with Ben O’Connor. Certainly both of them are an improvement on what’s gone before over the last few years. The way I remember it years ago, it wasn’t a hatred of losing which made Cork win so many titles; it was a belief that they were better than everyone else.

Now back to the football.

I still think the two Whites, when they were given a run there in 2019, were the best keeper and centre forward/playmaker Cork have had over the last number of years. God knows why they were both jettisoned but here we are in any case. Doyle is clearly a better outfield player than Martin but its a tough baptism. Haven't seen enough Knocknagree games tk say whether his kickouts are up to it but worth pointing out in this discussion that Patton is suspended for Donegal so they'll have a novice in nets as well. That could be a major bonus.

They've two huge men in Langan and McGee (although he hasn't kicked on to be the player expected of him when he first broke through) at midfield so you'd expect them to kick long but McGuiness' thinking might be a bit different. I didn't see any of their game last week so unsure if that might give any hints.

The losses of Hurley, Sherlock and O'Mahony make this game substantially more difficult. All tactics aside, those three are the ones its usually left to to stick the thing over the bar. Corbett showed against Derry last year he's capable of leading the line but he's going to need to trouble the scoreboard more. I believe he has some Donegal roots so maybe that's some extra motivation for him this weekend. Similarly, a good chance for Chris Óg to stake his claim after a promising first year at inter county last year but one where he left plenty of scores behind him.

Mattie Taylor will pick up Ryan McHugh presumably which should be a good battle. He caused wreck in the qualifier in croke park in 2016. McBrearty did likewise but he's struggled in the last couple of years as well.

I think Cork might just scrape this but wouldn't be overly confident about it. Its normally a gale wind blowing up that part of the country as well which could be a leveller. Cork under Cleary are "further down the road" than this Donegal team though so shouldn't be heading up in fear.

If I could answer Astnasquare's quandary over Cork's seconditis problems I'd sleep easy, but he really answered his own question by mentioning O Grady and Morgan.
I don't like or follow this modern game they call hurling as I don't think it even looks like the game I once loved. I only mention it because when I used to travel miles to see Cork hurlers they always had several players with a bit of 'divil' in them. They weren't all backs either.
Same story today with the footballers, particularly the seniors. To put it simply, we have too many 'nice' players. A winning team needs at least six or seven Nollaig O Laoires or Niall Cahalanes. Nice footballers will never be handed a Kerry jersey in the championship unless they are truly exceptional. The Cliffords are in that bracket, but are they 'nice' footballers. As the Duke used to say " like hell they are".
Astnasquare also highlights the sideline. Since Billy went to head butt yer man from Ballyduff we haven't had anybody spitting fire on the sideline. Maby Tompkins briefly, but he wanted every player to be like himself. Not possible.
With the exception of Ruari Deane the present team are too nice also. Hurley goes overboard with aggression and only annoys referees. The nasty lads never get caught.
I think Buckley won't take any sh1te and is able to mix it. We need a few more lads with a bit of 'divil' and then we'll be 'ar muin na muice".
I'm giving us a 50/50 chance tomorrow without having seen the team.

This doesn't change my mind but I'm surprised to see Daniel O Mahony in the subs.  

(1) Patrick Doyle (Knocknagree)
(2) Maurice Shanley (Clonakilty)
(3) Tommy Walsh (Kanturk)
(4) Sean Meehan (Kiskeam)
(5) Luke Fahy (Ballincollig)
(6) Rory Maguire (Castlehaven)
(7) Matty Taylor (Mallow)
( Ian Maguire (St Finbarrs)
(9) Colm O’Callaghan (Eire Og)
(10) Eoghan Mc Sweeney (Knocknagree)
(11) David Buckley (Newcestown)
(12) Brian O’Driscoll (Tadhg MacCarthaigh)
(13) Ruairi Deane (Bantry Blues)
(14) Conor Corbett (Clyda Rovers)
(15) Chris Og Jones (Iveleary)
(16) Christopher Kelly (Eire Og)
(17) Daniel O’Mahony (Knocknagree)
(18) Darragh Cashman (Millstreet)
(19) Kevin Flahive (Douglas)
(20) John O’Rourke (Carbery Rangers)
(21) Fionn Herlihy (Dohenys)
(22) Mark Cronin (Nemo Rangers)
(23) Cathal Maguire (Castlehaven)
(24) Blake Murphy (St Vincents)
(25) Steven Sherlock (St Finbarrs)
(26) Brian Hurley (Castlehaven)

Ranty,

Brian Hurley is at 26. He's a bit off-centre there on the website for some reason.
That's a strong 26. Not sure we'll start 1-15 like that, and there might be a couple of late changes to the 26 even, as there are a few boys there coming back from knocks.

Either way, I'm looking forward to this one.

https://gaacork.ie/2024/01/26/the-cork-senior-football-team-to-play-donegal-has-been-announced/

A nice feeling to log on here and have a few posts from great heads to catch up with. Looking forward to doing that now.

Mea Culpa Podsy. I thought we were going with 25 again like the team published for the McGrath Cup. Yes, Jack Cahalane was added later but there was just the 25 when first published.
I can't see Tommy Walsh starting as No 3 and I doubt if Deane has recovered either. He was fairly 'bacac' going off last Saturday.
Thanks for the heads up.

Getting giddy with excitement now ahead of tomorrow. Here’s to a successful year

This is all we have to bate, for anybody who might be worried, lol

https://www.donegaldaily.com/2024/01/27/donegal-lineup-to-face-cork-in-league-opener-announced-1/

I’m looking forward to this game tomorrow and to the campaigns ahead. We have made progress in the last year but clearly need to add a few more scoring forwards, tighten up the full back line and have more options in midfield when we lose players through injury. The team named doesn’t exactly tick all those boxes (although clearly it is impacted by injuries too) but we have to remember that the team named didn’t start any of the league matches last year. That full back line would struggle under high ball and Jimmy won’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

It’s a tough place to go at any time, but particularly for the first game of the campaign. But you have to play the fixtures as they turn up and I’m hoping that tomorrow can be the first step to driving on from last year and climbing back towards the top of the mountain.

Some great posts above by the way. I completely agree with Ranty about Cork teams being too nice in recent years. Maybe it’s the academy system or maybe this generation are just different but I can’t think of a great Cork team that didn’t have at least two lads who could dish it out with the best of them (usually without getting caught) and who were the type opposition players didn’t mess with without checking their health insurance.

Welcome back along 2hands, your countribtions are always thoughtful and most welcome.
I always think this place comes alive around now, none more so than myself who wear my heart on my sleeve (too many years on sidelines getting wrapped up in the game), but im sure we've all been there

We couldnt have asked for a worst start. Will we be able to scale the Donald Trump style wall in Ballybofey?

BUT - Michael Murphy, one of my favourite players in any position is now gone.
Ive a sneaking suspicion here

Thanks Tipp-Ex. I’m like one of the veterans back in the time of the Canon. I skip winter training but when the games start coming thick and fast I’m back as soon as there’s a half a sniff of a young fella getting my jersey! Some great contributors here without some of the nastiness you find in other places.

I meant to say too that based on what I saw in the county championship, Jack Cahalane (if he bulks up a bit) might be someone who could add something to the forward line this year.

I agree with 'Dhá Lámh' on Jack Cahalane. He's exactly what a Cork forward line needs in that he's unpredictable and quick.
I'm glad he's with the footballers and he will bulk up soon enough.