Championship

From the cradle to Croker, Kerry supporters crave All-Ireland glory

August 15th, 2006
by Weeshie Fogarty

The old adage a rising tide carries all boats can, in its own way, be applied to the feeling of joy around the county since the final whistle was blown in Croke Park last Saturday week. The rising tide of Kerry football literally swept Armagh high and dry with that torrent of scores in an amazing second half. However it has been the die-hard Kerry supporters who have been swept along on the tide more than anything else. Not since that young Kerry team's great win over Dublin in 1975 have I experienced such emotion, pride and joy among the vast legion of Kerry supporters.

Everywhere I went last week, people were walking on air, so to speak. Men and women, old and young, wanted to talk about the victory. What did you think of Saturday? What a display? The best ever? Well, we beat a northern team? And so it was. People who rarely discuss football wanted to talk about it. It was great stuff. Whatever about the display itself - and we wrote about that here last week - the reaction of the Kerry supporters has been something special.

A certain legendary Kerry manager/footballer from the west made a never-to-be-forgotten comment a few years ago about how difficult it was to please the Kerry supporters. It did not go down too well in some quarters and he got dog's abuse from people who took exception to his remark. Nevertheless it must be said that the Kerry supporters - and I include myself - are a difficult bunch to please. And why is this you may well ask? Let's take a brief look at why the Kerry fans could be described as a strange breed. We are reared on a diet of huge success, brilliant displays, legendary footballers, memorable victories and great scores. And there have been great comebacks, at times when it might have seemed that all is lost. I believe it's when you stand back and realise exactly what this county has achieved and the men that have worn the green and gold only then will you get an insight why the Kerry supporter is the most demanding of all. And let me add quickly that it is not just the senior success that has spoiled our way of thinking and ingrained into our minds that failure is unacceptable. It goes, I believe, far, far deeper than this.

In minor football we lead the winners' list with 11 titles, one ahead of Dublin. At junior level we jumped ahead of Cork this year to claim our 14th All Ireland and our under 21s have won the All-Ireland nine times, the same as Cork. And then the big one - the senior All Ireland title - has come to the Kingdom 33 times. Put all these together and we can draw a very simply conclusion. There is a vast amount of people in this county who know their football better than anyone in the 32 counties. Kerry people are reared on success. From the cradle they are listening to stories of victories in every grade - it's ingrained in the follower that Kerry are winners and, every time a Kerry team takes the field a win is expected and indeed demanded. The Kerry supporter has frighteningly high standards and no matter what a trainer/manager or his players do, they are judged on victories - or the lack of them. Nevertheless, whatever happens for the remainder of this year, the recent success against Armagh has elevated the present Kerry squad to new heights in the county.

The Kerry footballers have been the victims of a fair amount of stick - much of it completely unjustified in my opinion - since the championship began. And stuttering displays against Tipperary, Water-ford and Cork twice ensured the hurlers on the ditch had a field day. But that is now well in the past and all eyes will be on the Cork game next Saturday, and what another mouth-watering clash lies in prospect. Kerry will be the bookies favourites and, while the Kerry management will understandably claim that Cork have the upper-hand at the moment, the big money will be on Jack O'Conner's men following the Armagh win. The sides have met five times this year and Cork have deprived us of two trophies - the McGrath Cup and the no-name Munster Cup, while a draw and a win was also Cork's in the championship. Kerry came out on top in the league. So what should we read into all of this? Well for me, it tells a clear message, Billy Morgan has instilled a never-say-die attitude into his squad and this was very evident in the two championship meetings of the counties.

This is an emerging Cork team. They may be lacking experience but their dis-play especially in the closing 20 minutes of the replay in Cork was outstanding. They showed great fitness, ball control, nerves of steel and great composure as they toyed around with Kerry to claim back the Munster title. So, what of Cork? How good are they? Have they the stuff to go to the final and claim a historic victory over the old enemy? In the game against Donegal, the two Cork half backs, Ger Spillane in the centre and the outstanding Anthony Lynch on the wing had both been in possession of the ball 16 times each. This is a huge amount of ball being played by these two, more than any other Cork defender. Both of them gave away possession on just two occasions. So we can surmise that they are the men who drive Cork forward. Up front the men who had most possession against Donegal were, Kevin McMahon 18 times, James Masters 15 times and, surprisingly for me, Cork's full forward Donncha O'Connor was on the ball more than any other Cork player. He was in possession a massive 21 times.

So what does all this tell us? Well it means that the Cork play is to get the ball in as fast as possible to these players and the springboard is the Cork half back line. However the big clash will undoubtedly occur in the middle of the field. How often have we said that a game will be won or lost at mid field? The meeting of our own Darragh O'Sé and Cork's Nicholas Murphy is something all lovers of the game will await with bathed breath. Both of these two players gave memorable displays last day out. Their fielding was as good as anything that was ever seen in Croke Park. A very sweeping statement you may well say considering all the greats we have seen in this position down the years. Both were majestic in their high fielding. But back to the statistics. Darragh handled the ball an unbelievable 25 times and, to prove his greatness and team play he misplaced just one ball. This is near perfection. Nicholas Murphy was in possession 18 times and lost just one ball. So prepare for one of the great midfield battles.

How will Billy Morgan handle the 6" 5' Kieran Donaghy? I simply don't know. Some one mentioned to me during the week that if there was a circus in town you could borrow a pair of stilts to raise your defender to a height above Star. We could go on and on about the pros and cons of this semi-final. I give a confident vote to Kerry however there is a worry. It's amazing that all the marking focus has gone from Colm Cooper and it's all about Donaghy. This is ideal.

In conversation with Mick O'Dwyer one time he told me that the very first thing he would do on All Ireland final morning is jump out of bed in his Dublin hotel and throw back the curtains and check the weather. He always prayed for a calm dry day because as he remarked: "you have control of the ball whereas the wind can play havoc with a game, and passes can go all over the place."

Now Kerry's game is well known to one and all - get the ball in high and fast to Donaghy. This happened against Longford in the first half and, remember Longford had won the toss and wrongly played against the wind. In the second half it was very difficult to get the right ball in to our forwards and things changed greatly. So if we did strike a bad weather day it certainly would even the odds a little bit. Make no mistake about it, Cork will push Kerry to the limit. They are a superbly fit side and, in all their games in the championship have hung in there, their heads never dropped and with the silver fox on the line they have great experience. Billy Morgan is one of the great GAA men of all time and he will leave no stone unturned to defeat the old enemy. On the other hand, the Kerry line boasts even greater experience - Jack O'Connor, Ger O'Keeffe and Johnny Culloty have nothing to learn.

Barring bad weather, unexpected injuries or a complete loss of form by our star players, I expect Kerry to march proudly to contest their 52 All-Ireland senior football final. What a record.



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