‘JUDGE US IN the summer’ is a common refrain from intercounty managers, a phrase that comes in handy if they’re negotiating a sticky springtime patch.
Michael Ryan and Kieran Kingston are no different but the respective Tipperary and Cork managers know they need to deliver – and quickly. The breathing space afforded to them throughout the Allianz League campaign has ceased to exist.
Last weekend, 2010 All-Ireland winning manager Liam Sheedy expressed the view that Tipperary have underachieved since then. He’s right and Ryan is the latest man to try and crack the Liam MacCarthy conundrum.
Declan Ryan tried and failed, ditto Eamon O’Shea and now it’s Ryan’s turn.
In Cork, Kieran Kingston stepped into the hotseat vacated last year by Jimmy Barry-Murphy.
After the league, he opted to dispense with the services of a number of big-name stars, including former captains Shane O’Neill and Patrick Cronin.
A brave move and an obvious nod to the future but even that isn’t enough to buy time in the modern game.
It’s a results business and Ryan and Kingston will rise or fall and be defined by how their teams fare in championship 2016.
Michael Ryan and Kieran Kingston were selectors when Tipp beat Cork in the 2014 All-Ireland semi-final. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
In many ways, the pressure is off Cork as they travel to Thurles on Sunday. They’re rank outsiders after losing all five of their Division 1A group outings, including a heavy loss to Tipp, but there were positives to emerge from their gritty relegation play-off victory over Galway.
The chips were down in Salthill and Cork rose to the occasion, ending their campaign on a high as, in contrast, Tipp fell to Clare at Cusack Park in Ennis in the quarter-finals.
From a Tipp perspective, how you’re feeling about Sunday’s game really does depend on whether you’re a glass half-full or half-empty kind of person.
Although Ryan’s men lost to Clare, they had 18 wides in the process and it was a game they really should have won.
Look at how Clare kicked on from there to batter Kilkenny and then defeat Waterford after a replay and if you’re a Tipp supporter, you’d be making a case that your team isn’t too far off the mark.
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Michael Ryan shows the strain of battle against Clare in the League quarter-final defeat at Cusack Park. Lorraine O’Sullivan / INPHO
Lorraine O’Sullivan / INPHO / INPHO
But the worrying trend of losing tight games has spilled over from last year, when Tipp were edged out by a point in a classic All-Ireland semi-final against Galway.
The Kilkenny, Waterford and Clare games followed a similar path, Tipp leading in the closing minutes before being caught and overtaken at the death. It’s a habit that needs eradicating.
For Tipp on Sunday, defeat is simply not an option. There’s an uncertain mood in the county and supporters making the trip to Thurles are not quite sure what to expect.
Seamus Callanan returned to the team for the latter stage of the League but needs time to get up to speed. Even in club matches recently, he’s been off-colour but a summer joust with Cork could be the spark to ignite him again.
And what of Tipp’s approach? Will they go route one or mix it up, which would be the best option.
Seamus Callanan returned from injury when Tipp beat Cork in the League. Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO
Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO / INPHO
78 wides in six League outings represented an average of 13 per game, up from 9 per game in 2015.
There are a couple of obvious reasons for that. With Tipp going more direct, they’re hitting more high-risk efforts from distance, many of them missing the target, with other deliveries to the inside line drifting harmlessly wide.
On their day, Tipp are a potentially lethal outfit and with opponents almost certain to face them up with sweeper systems, they’ll need their long-range shooters finding the range. Tipp’s forwards like space in which to operate in but it will come at a premium, which begs another long-standing question: can they win enough primary possession around the middle third?
Callanan remains the go-to man for Tipp but alongside him, John McGrath emerged as one of the stars of the League.
McGrath is capable of winning dirty ball and scoring freely but the prospect of a senior championship debut against Cork is a new challenge. How he fares will go a long way towards determining the end result.
John McGrath is crucial to Tipperary's hopes. Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO
Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO / INPHO
Keep an eye out for Tipp’s ‘bunch and break’ approach inside, with Callanan and McGrath positioning themselves close together before breaking towards the wings in an attempt to get onto ball coming in from the half-back line and midfield.
This is where Tipp need to be clever – cut down on the aimless ball and send it into space not just for the sake of it, but into areas they know Callanan and McGrath will occupy.
That kind of movement will drag the Cork sweeper to the tramlines and Tipp’s runners will look to run straight lines at the Rebels and work off the inside men.
On all known form, it should be Tipp but Cork are dangerous opponents.
We only have to go back as far as 2010 to recall how Cork thumped Tipp in the first round at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, and that was a Tipp team that contested an epic All-Ireland final against Kilkenny the previous year, and would finish the 2010 season as champions.
Cork generally have a big game in them, as evidenced by their trimming of Waterford two years ago and a qualifier victory over Clare last year.
Patrick Horgan was brilliant when Cork beat Tipp in 2010. Cathal Noonan
Cathal Noonan
Christopher Joyce’s return to fitness bolsters their defence and Mark Ellis has been given the all-clear but Stephen McDonnell is out.
Much will depend for Cork on how Seamus Harnedy, Patrick Horgan and Conor Lehane fare in attack.
If all three fire, Cork are in with a genuine chance as Tipp’s defence has been somewhat unsettled this year.
As always, trying to predict what will happen on the field of play is nigh on impossible.
How many times have we seen the pre-match script torn up in the Munster championship, particularly when these two counties go at it?
Seamus Harnedy is a key figure for Cork. Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
But if the result is determined by which team’s need is greater, then it has to be Tipp.
Ryan has clearly piled his eggs into the championship basket and was prepared to run the wrath of clubs by training his players hard in the lead up to recent local fixtures.
An ill-timed tweet from the Borris-Ileigh club, which was later removed, wouldn’t have gone down well but Ryan will claim, with some justification if Tipp prevail, that the end justified the means.
Now, it’s all on the line for Tipp while in Cork’s case, a positive performance can give them something concrete to build on ahead of the qualifiers. Victory? It wouldn’t come as too much of a surprise but Tipp get the nod to book a semi-final place.
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It's a defining championship Sunday for Tipp and Cork in Semple Stadium cauldron
‘JUDGE US IN the summer’ is a common refrain from intercounty managers, a phrase that comes in handy if they’re negotiating a sticky springtime patch.
Michael Ryan and Kieran Kingston are no different but the respective Tipperary and Cork managers know they need to deliver – and quickly. The breathing space afforded to them throughout the Allianz League campaign has ceased to exist.
Last weekend, 2010 All-Ireland winning manager Liam Sheedy expressed the view that Tipperary have underachieved since then. He’s right and Ryan is the latest man to try and crack the Liam MacCarthy conundrum.
Declan Ryan tried and failed, ditto Eamon O’Shea and now it’s Ryan’s turn.
In Cork, Kieran Kingston stepped into the hotseat vacated last year by Jimmy Barry-Murphy.
After the league, he opted to dispense with the services of a number of big-name stars, including former captains Shane O’Neill and Patrick Cronin.
A brave move and an obvious nod to the future but even that isn’t enough to buy time in the modern game.
It’s a results business and Ryan and Kingston will rise or fall and be defined by how their teams fare in championship 2016.
In many ways, the pressure is off Cork as they travel to Thurles on Sunday. They’re rank outsiders after losing all five of their Division 1A group outings, including a heavy loss to Tipp, but there were positives to emerge from their gritty relegation play-off victory over Galway.
The chips were down in Salthill and Cork rose to the occasion, ending their campaign on a high as, in contrast, Tipp fell to Clare at Cusack Park in Ennis in the quarter-finals.
From a Tipp perspective, how you’re feeling about Sunday’s game really does depend on whether you’re a glass half-full or half-empty kind of person.
Although Ryan’s men lost to Clare, they had 18 wides in the process and it was a game they really should have won.
Look at how Clare kicked on from there to batter Kilkenny and then defeat Waterford after a replay and if you’re a Tipp supporter, you’d be making a case that your team isn’t too far off the mark.
But the worrying trend of losing tight games has spilled over from last year, when Tipp were edged out by a point in a classic All-Ireland semi-final against Galway.
The Kilkenny, Waterford and Clare games followed a similar path, Tipp leading in the closing minutes before being caught and overtaken at the death. It’s a habit that needs eradicating.
For Tipp on Sunday, defeat is simply not an option. There’s an uncertain mood in the county and supporters making the trip to Thurles are not quite sure what to expect.
Seamus Callanan returned to the team for the latter stage of the League but needs time to get up to speed. Even in club matches recently, he’s been off-colour but a summer joust with Cork could be the spark to ignite him again.
And what of Tipp’s approach? Will they go route one or mix it up, which would be the best option.
Following the conclusion of the League campaign, local Tipperary journalist Shane Brophy had a look at how Tipp misfired since the start of the year.
78 wides in six League outings represented an average of 13 per game, up from 9 per game in 2015.
There are a couple of obvious reasons for that. With Tipp going more direct, they’re hitting more high-risk efforts from distance, many of them missing the target, with other deliveries to the inside line drifting harmlessly wide.
Callanan remains the go-to man for Tipp but alongside him, John McGrath emerged as one of the stars of the League.
McGrath is capable of winning dirty ball and scoring freely but the prospect of a senior championship debut against Cork is a new challenge. How he fares will go a long way towards determining the end result.
Keep an eye out for Tipp’s ‘bunch and break’ approach inside, with Callanan and McGrath positioning themselves close together before breaking towards the wings in an attempt to get onto ball coming in from the half-back line and midfield.
This is where Tipp need to be clever – cut down on the aimless ball and send it into space not just for the sake of it, but into areas they know Callanan and McGrath will occupy.
That kind of movement will drag the Cork sweeper to the tramlines and Tipp’s runners will look to run straight lines at the Rebels and work off the inside men.
We only have to go back as far as 2010 to recall how Cork thumped Tipp in the first round at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, and that was a Tipp team that contested an epic All-Ireland final against Kilkenny the previous year, and would finish the 2010 season as champions.
Cork generally have a big game in them, as evidenced by their trimming of Waterford two years ago and a qualifier victory over Clare last year.
Christopher Joyce’s return to fitness bolsters their defence and Mark Ellis has been given the all-clear but Stephen McDonnell is out.
Much will depend for Cork on how Seamus Harnedy, Patrick Horgan and Conor Lehane fare in attack.
If all three fire, Cork are in with a genuine chance as Tipp’s defence has been somewhat unsettled this year.
As always, trying to predict what will happen on the field of play is nigh on impossible.
How many times have we seen the pre-match script torn up in the Munster championship, particularly when these two counties go at it?
But if the result is determined by which team’s need is greater, then it has to be Tipp.
Ryan has clearly piled his eggs into the championship basket and was prepared to run the wrath of clubs by training his players hard in the lead up to recent local fixtures.
An ill-timed tweet from the Borris-Ileigh club, which was later removed, wouldn’t have gone down well but Ryan will claim, with some justification if Tipp prevail, that the end justified the means.
Ryan was accused of showing ‘disregard for the players and utter disrespect for clubs in Tipp’ by the trigger-happy tweeter from county captain Brendan Maher’s club but we suggested in January that the Premier boss wouldn’t be afraid to ruffle a few feathers in the quest for success.
Now, it’s all on the line for Tipp while in Cork’s case, a positive performance can give them something concrete to build on ahead of the qualifiers. Victory? It wouldn’t come as too much of a surprise but Tipp get the nod to book a semi-final place.
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