CASTLEHAVEN AND CORK legend Larry Tompkins is anticipating a much-improved performance from the club in this afternoon’s county senior football final replay against Nemo Rangers.
The teams played out a stalemate at Páirc Uí Rinn last Sunday and the scene is set for what promises to be another tight encounter.
A former county and Munster club medallist as a player with Castlehaven, Tompkins was present for the drawn game and will take his seat again in the stands today.
We caught up with Tompkins during the week to gather his thoughts on the replay, new appointments in Cork and Kildare, and the state of Gaelic Football in general.
“A lot of guys you’d expect to play well didn’t play to their standards,” Tompkins told The42.
“You must learn from what you did wrong the first time and change it around a bit.
“There won’t be much in it again, a goal in that type of game would be a huge score.
“I think whoever learns more from the first game will probably get the job done.
“Castlehaven played well in spasms, didn’t play well in the first 15 minutes, played well then, didn’t play at the start of the second half and finished well.
“They’ll be looking for greater improvement and particularly a fast start.
“Nemo were 4-0 up the last day and trying to get back that lead is not easy.
“When you do get it back, you’re open to the other team coming at you again.
“So Castlehaven will have to start a good deal better. They were up for it alright but it just didn’t happen.”
As a former Kildare and Cork player, Tompkins has also noted the recent appointments of senior football team managers in those counties.
Cian O’Neill has stepped into the breach in Kildare and on Leeside, Peadar Healy is the new man at the helm.
“It’s very hard to say anything unless you know what they’re capable of doing and what they bring to the table,” says Tompkins, who managed Cork from 1996-2003, winning two Munster titles in that time.
Everybody deserves a crack at it if they get the opportunity. A new broom sweeps clean so we’ll see what happens.
“It will be interesting to see what happens in both counties, how they will adapt.
“I suppose any guy needs to start somewhere but it’s a different story when you’re the top guy.
“I’d know Peadar, he’s been involved with a lot of teams over the last number of years and he was a selector when Conor Counihan was in charge.
“He would have that going forward for him as experience.”
Tompkins, who runs a pub in Cork, acknowledges that senior intercounty management is an all-consuming commitment in the modern era.
It’s your whole life, there’s no point in saying otherwise. If you don’t treat it that way, you’re going nowhere.
“I wasn’t married at the time, I hadn’t kids. It just felt right at the time and I had a cut off it.
“It’s harder nowadays, with how the game has evolved and all the different ways you have to go about training.”
But Tompkins insists that football has regressed in quality over recent years.
“I’d be a football traditionalist,” he says.
“I’ve stated this before and it’s been a long time since we’ve seen a really good football championship.
“It’s no longer football, there’s no confrontation around midfield, no good freetaking from the ground. It’s very difficult to watch.
“Some rule changes would make a huge difference. Why couldn’t they say that the goalie has to kick the ball out past the 45. What you need is football being brought back into the game and the greatest skill in football is fielding the ball.
“Kicking from the ground is another art that’s all but gone out of the game now.
“Goalkeepers are coming up the field to take frees, even at club level, and I think that’s crazy.
“The only reason that happens is that there are no outfield players practicing,” says Tompkins, one of the finest kickers of a dead ball throughout his career.
“I was a young fella watching the likes of Tony McTague, people went to see him and he was a remarkable kicker from the ground, Matt Connor the same, Maurice Fitzgerald in Kerry, super freetakers and renowned for it.
“I believe that all scoreable frees from the ground should be kicked by an outfield player.”
A lot of respect for Larry but many of the points he makes here are nonsense. Free taking from the ground? What the hell does that add to the game? Does nothing but slow it down. Fielding is the greatest skill? No it’s not. Kicking a point on the run from 40 yards is a lot more difficult. Football has regressed in quality? Try watching All Ireland Gold. You’d be shocked how poorly former greats compare to modern day players. The problem nowadays is more to do with the systems employed.
Free taking for scores from the hand has become just as slow as it used to be from the ground. Larry makes many good points. Don’t let the reduced fitness of old games obscure you from seeing the actual skills.
I’m not saying that frees from the hand are better. I’m saying that frees from the ground add nothing to the game. Larry mentions this aspect as a potential improvement which I find strange.
I agree with Larry. The game itself is unwatchable. Certainly shouldn’t be called “football” anymore.
free taking from the ground doesn’t slow the game down any more than from the hand and ensures that the free is taken from the correct spot. currently the free taker starts his run from the correct spot and kicks 5m closer to the goal. anyway its the foul that slows the game down. fielding is one of the key skills of gaelic football and many of the systems implemented are designed to cover a skill deficiency in this area.
Again, I’m not saying frees from the ground are worse than from the hand. The point is that placed frees of any type add very little to the game.
and I disagree with you. I remember Tompkins, Fitzgerald and others kicking from the ground and I thought it was a skill worth saving. it’s sad that no modern outfield players have that ability.
That’s fair enough. I’d prefer to watch open play myself although I do acknowledge the purpose of free kicks in order to discourage tactical fouling.
we all would but there is very little of it on display in most games. all we get is this systematic build up from the back through hand ball until you meet a defensive screen around the 45m. from there you are double teamed until you surrender possession or fouled.
are you seriously saying that the players now are better?their fittter,yes,but better,I’d say no,put it this way,Aidan o Shea is regarded as a great these days.hes never played a decent game outside of the Connacht championship,that’s a fact,go and watch Tompkins when he played,absolute class act
That’s exactly what I’m saying. I firmly believe that the general standard nowadays is higher than it ever was. Most likely as a result of the increased preparation.
the game of football is awful atm. you have coaches of u12 club teams narrowing the pitch and playing 1o plus players in their own half as a result of the crap on display on tv. the game needs saving from itself.
10 plus
I remember when it was watchable.
He’s right about it not being football. It’s handpass-ball with optional kicking. Give me an accurate 35 metre kick pass over 8-10 handpasses to make the same ground every time.
your right
Some crazy comments there. He wants to take the skill out of the game and revert to hoofing the ball up the field. He should take over the Irish soccer team.
skill is gone out of the game any way
What skill are you talking about exactly?
hand passing, timing runs off the shoulder and breaking through tackles is a skill…. if it’s something that you can practice and get better at then it’s a skill.
Yeah, it should be called “handball” now. Pity the don’t practice kicking the ball a bit more.
kickpassing high fielding we’re coaching players to become athletes not footballers
in rugby maybe
All frees should be taken from the ground, it’ll stop the likes of Cooper taking an extra 5 yards from every free for a start
I think you’ll find Peter “The Great” was the king of that particular skill. Not that the gooch is overly shy about it.
Always better back in day. All Ireland gold will leave you in no doubt. Very poor basic skill sets, fitness levels no where near today’s levels. Catch and kick it anywhere. Football today whilst it has some flaws is a much better game than before.
ya but its poorer in some aspects aswell people like you really have a set against tg4 for some reason
The debate or thread has nothing to do with TG4. There coverage of the gaa is a credit to them and to see club matches from all over the country is great and also looking back at the old games. However it does bring it home that there were some pretty damn bad games back in the day and as humans we can be blinded by nostalgia never mind just forget a lot of the bad football that was played. As I said the current game is not perfect but neither was is before
you clearly dont grasp sarcasm
For the lad that doesn’t see fielding as a skill he was obviously not good enough to be in that situation
It’s a fantastic skill of timing and touch to pull a ball down amongst competitors. No easy feat at all
The point of taking frees off the ground I also see as a great traditional skill in the game
Sadly Brian Sheehan is about the only formidable ground free taker in the country and its a joy to see him scoring from distance
I hate seeing keepers coming out
It’s true that lads don’t practise and its a sad thing for a wonderful skill to go by the wayside
I know loads may disagree but I believe the change of rule in Gaelic football has been the biggest reason that we lack great no.10′s in Irish rugby in this day and age
It’s my opinion and I am serious about it