All-Ireland Senior Football Final 2007
What the papers say...
| 18 Sep - Examiner - "They are ahead of the pack, no question about that. They are outstanding footballers. In the Gooch I believe they have the most gifted player to have ever stood on a pitch. His movement and pace, he’s got everything. He’s the most complete footballer I have ever seen and I am not in any way undermining the great players like Mikey Sheehy, Peter Canavan or even going back as far as (Galway’s) Frank Stockwell. “This guy is special but, in fairness to Kerry, they have special players all over the place. They are an exceptionally talented bunch of footballers and arguably as good a team as the 70s. They are right up there." |
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| 18 Sep - Examiner - He revealed that he would seek the advice of former star Maurice Fitzgerald, explaining: “I always find Maurice Fitz a good yardstick. He gives me an honest opinion about the whole thing. “We in Kerry have the strongest panel in Ireland and I’m talking about number 30 to number 1,’’ he said. It was the satisfaction he gained from playing with this bunch of players which allowed him to continue enjoying his football. “The young fellows coming through from 18/19 years keep you young. They keep you fresh, they keep you on your toes." |
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| 18 Sep - Times - "I know myself there was some doubts along the way, some criticism." said Young. "But in a way that forces you to step up another gear. I mean there's no way you want to be going into games too relaxed. I think the bit of pressure on you pushes you on a little bit. Especially at training, to work harder. Gives you something to prove, I suppose." "To be honest, I couldn't Darragh retiring yet. Why leave a three-in-a-row behind you? Especially when so much of this team are so eager to get the three-in-a-row. "I mean the three back-to-back would be great. We can't get too big on it. It was a long time since the two-in-a-row was done, and even longer since the three. We'll enjoy this one" |
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| 18 Sep - Times - Kavanagh was asked to sift through he wreckage some more. Why were Cork unable to maintain the Kerry pace? How come the game was up by the 36th minute? He admitted the root cause of their problems came from his own patch. Darragh Ó Sé territory. "Everything that could go wrong did go wrong really. There were awful mistakes made by everyone. We started off by not winning the breaks around midfield and carried on then. The defence was getting bombarded and it was only a matter of time before they collapsed and that's exactly what happened." |
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| 18 Sep - Times - "I spoke to the Munster Council at the start of year, and we agreed to go for one year, and see how it went. I said to myself at that stage that it might suit all parties at the end of it to move different ways. So we'll have to reflect now, and speak to my family, the county board and obviously the Munster Council, and hopefully we'll make the right decision." Sean Walsh: "The way I see it, Pat O'Shea did an excellent job with the Munster Council during the year, and the same with Kerry. He has done both jobs very well. I wouldn't see any problem with his Munster Council and Kerry role in the future, and we would be looking to reappoint Pat O'Shea, for another term as Kerry manager." |
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| 18 Sep - Independent - I got a bit of stick from a few belligerent Kerrymen during the summer for pointing out some of the delicious cynicism in their game and in their approach, but I stand over what I said and take my hat off to them. Kerry do whatever it takes; we can be as romantic as we like about them, but they certainly know how to stop teams playing. And they do this by targeting the opposition's strong points. Kerry are masters of their own destiny. Cute hoors to the bone, they never want for motivation; back-to-backs, the media, fights in the camp, rows over managers, f**king animals... they do whatever it takes. Just like Kilkenny, champions to the marrow. Hats off boys. |
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| 18 Sep - Independent - "One of the biggest problems you have, with young players in particular, is not whether they have the ability but whether they have the strength of character to perform on big days," he said. "I would have been involved with them when they were minor and they showed a lot of character coming up in their careers. They always showed that they had the capability to play there." |
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| 18 Sep - Independent - "We were lucky to be only three points down after playing so badly and we were confident that there was a load more left in us. You have to hand it to them they are the best team in Ireland. They are the most experienced team in Ireland having played four All-Irelands in-a-row. When they get a lead like that up on you they know what to do. They had fellas going down faking injuries every time we got going. "That's what they were doing and it's impossible to play against. They are masters of it, they were doing it left, right and centre, but that's sport and they're very good at it." |
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| 17 Sep - Times - Being the best at football and being the best more years than anyone else is what it life is all about in Kerry. A beautiful and quiet obsession. There are no fetishes about the trophy and no licence for a bigger hat size comes with having got your hands on it. Football just means more in Kerry than it means anywhere else. And when a sport touches the heart of a place and becomes itself a from of self-expression it makes redundant the need for development squads and five-year plans. Children just grow into men with a football as their best friend. |
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| 17 Sep - Times - Football's leading franchise has re-established itself at the top of the game and Kerry now just compete with their own history when it comes to further motivation. "We just started talking about the chance of three in a row in the dressingroom next door," said Paul Galvin, Kerry's extraordinary wing forward, within minutes of yesterday's game ending. "That's what Kerry football is all about. Maybe it is time for a new dynasty in Kerry football. The greats are the greats but maybe we can create a new dynasty." |
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| 17 Sep - Times - I have to say as well that as a team they are starting now to emulate the Kerry team of the 1970s and 1980s, and for once look like even surpassing that. The message is out there loud and clear, that Kerry are not only the best team this year, but very much the team to beat going into the future. | |
| 17 Sep - Examiner - Are Kerry the greatest football team of the modern era? Statistically yes. But if the mark of greatness is the ability to meet and defeat different challenges while evolving yourself, then Pat O’Shea’s squad can justifiably milk the accolades. They’ve won three of the last four All-Irelands, have been in 11 of the last 12 semi-finals, and could now be sitting on four titles in a row. Don’t worry if you’re not besotted by them – their own brothers and sisters in the Kingdom are only warming to them at this stage. |
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| 17 Sep - Times - "I can't emphasise how brave Gooch is," Donaghy will say later on. "He went in for that knowing he was getting a rattle, the goalkeeper was coming out full belt. He went up there with his body on the line and that is why he gets his rewards. He is a powerful man and I am delighted for him. He was absolutely out of this world and anybody who doubted him last year . . . is mad in my eyes. I think he gave all the answers. Every time he got the ball, he was electric. Nobody could mark him. Inside, up in the air, kicking points, giving passes, getting goals, he was unbelievable." | |
| 17 Sep - Independent - The Kerrymen knew Cork like to work the ball out of defence and tackled and tore into them like lions who had the cunning to wait at the spot where the wildebeest like to cross the river. The stadium shuddered when Kerry shouldered and the clock not only stopped in Mrs Murphy's on the Clonliffe Road, but it fell off the mantelpiece as well. |
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| 17 Sep - Independent - There is no beginning or end to the narrative of Kerry excellence. They just come to these days like salmon drawn back to the spawning ground and do their business. Some days obdurate as a black ocean, others glowing like a perfect, gaping sky. Always immense and powerful. That's the essence of them. They can be beautiful one minute, hard and cynical the next. They can enchant with one hand, squeeze murderously with the other. Whatever it takes, Kerry are inclined to find it. |
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| 17 Sep - Examiner - He walks with a light step, but All-Ireland winning Kerry coach Pat O’Shea understands his footballing heritage. “We represent a people,” he said last night. “Every time we go out we are conscious of that. I am always aware that we have to uphold what’s gone before us and that we pass a torch on to the people who will come after.” |
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| 17 Sep - Examiner - The best of times for Kerry footballers, with the first All-Ireland double in 17 years and notably achieved under different managers, giving Declan O’Sullivan the added distinction of being the first captain from the county to lead two consecutive winning teams since Dick Fitzgerald in the early part of the last century. | |
| 16 Sep - HoganStand - Kerry punished some abysmal Cork defending to retain their national crown with a comprehensive 3-13 to 1-9 All-Ireland final victory at Croke Park. The Rebels handed the defending champions three goals in a one-sided all-Munster affair and the Kingdom took full advantage to cruise across the winning line with ten points to spare. With this unexpectedly simple success, Kerry became the first team since the Rebels themselves in 1990 to win back-to-back All-Irelands. |
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| 16 Sep - RTE.ie - Overall, it was a disappointing, foul-ridden match, with 59 frees, but that will matter little to Pat O'Shea and his players who have firmly confirmed themselves as one the game's finest ever teams. |
| 15 Sep - Examiner - “The hunger wasn’t there. Just getting sick of it. But I’m happy I stayed playing this year, even though I haven’t had a great season. What else would I be doing? There isn’t much else to do around Kerry. Go touring the Gap of Dunloe?” He’s making sense. “When you are involved in football, you are missing out on things. But you could probably do them all inside a week. What about the other 51 weeks?” So stay playing as long as you can. “Not as long as you can. Stay as long as you want. You give it up when you know you won’t miss it. I know when I retire, I won’t come along in two years and said ‘Jesus, I shouldn’t have retired.’” |
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| 15 Sep - Independent - At the end of last year he took stock of where he was. "Last year I didn't have a good year and maybe I wanted to prove to myself that I was well able for it still. There was a lot of mileage up on the clock. But I was keen to see could I rediscover something." So far the report sheet has been encouraging. When the quarter-final with Monaghan needed steering Tomas was one of those whose hands were to the wheel providing a shift of direction. Under Pat O'Shea there has been more liberty than there was in '06 and O Se has been prominent pushing forward again. His point against Monaghan, his assist for Darren O'Sullivan's late point after that and against Dublin another drive that yielded one of the game's landmark scores all point to a more settled player. |
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| 15 Sep - Independent - There's no way of knowing how either team will react to the challenge of facing the most important championship game ever between the counties. A Cork win would undo most of the damage inflicted on them by Kerry for over a century; a Kerry defeat would leave the players with a sense that they had betrayed the county's heritage. That's quite a burden but nobody shoulders heavy loads better than Kerry which is why they are confidently tipped to land a 35th All-Ireland title and become the first county since Cork in 1990 to win the two-in-a-row. |
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| 15 Sep - Independent - It has taken Morgan a whole lot longer to assemble All-Ireland contenders than it did in the 1980s when they reached the final in his first season but that's irrelevant now. All that matters is that Cork have finally nudged their way to the top of the queue behind Kerry and now believe that they are perfectly equipped to move into the No. 1 slot. It really would be a remarkable achievement for Morgan if he masterminded a seventh All-Ireland title for Cork, having managed them to their previous two and captained them to the one prior to that. It would, in fact, give him a unique place in GAA history. |
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| 15 Sep - Independent - The tension started as a slow drum roll but the beat is quickening by the day. The libido is as low now as a Holy Well after news of a miracle cure. There's no enjoyment in an All-Ireland. That's for murky Sundays in November in front of the DVD. I'm as nervous now as the man who called the bomb squad when the small boy bust the Tayto bag. How I wish it was teatime Sunday and Sam was our sugar bowl. | |
| 15 Sep - Times - The overwhelming feeling was you'd dare not lose to Cork, and that emotion can only reach a higher level on the All-Ireland stage. I honestly feel it's the fear of losing that will drive both teams, but obviously more so for Kerry. I know no one on that Kerry team could contemplate losing to Cork. Losing a Munster final to Cork is bad enough, but losing an All-Ireland doesn't bear thinking about. How could you live with it? That fear could work in two ways: It could have an inhibiting effect, the inner fear preventing the players from really expressing themselves; or it could have a galvanizing effect, ensuring the players start tomorrow knowing defeat is not an option. |
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| 15 Sep - Times - The big sky joust between Murphy and Ó Sé will be one chief sub-plot of tomorrow's final. Ó Sé has become a gigantic figure on the football landscape of the Kingdom, an old fashioned hero who plays it straight. And in what may be his final outing as a Kerry footballer, Ó Sé could not have asked for a more perfect opponent. Through thick and thin, Nicholas Murphy has strived to better himself and while he is hardly one of the most recognisable faces or voices in the modern cast of Gaelic football players, he has established himself as one of the best. |
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| 15 Sep - Times - So the first quarter of this year he spent in Ranwick outside Sydney. Working a few days when the pocket demanded it, going on long aimless runs around Sydney, watching games from Croke Park in pubs with punters, training a little with Clanna Gael, loving the sun and the taste of life, the feeling of being able to let life unfold around something else other than a fixture list. A part of him yearned to stay. He had an open-ended ticket and an open mind, but he came home a few days before his sister's wedding and stayed home. Football is duty, but it is love too. The break served its purpose. This spring he was young, gifted and back. Declan O'Sullivan makes the familiar journey today. A fourth All-Ireland final in succession. Small talk with Mary McAleese. The intoxicating lure of the cathedral. Maybe another speech from the steps afterwards and a hoisting of the canister. The class of the field, always moving forward. |
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| 15 Sep - Times - Three teams from the second division of next year's NFL were in last month's All-Ireland semi-finals, whereas Division One sides - apart from Kerry - have had mostly awful championships. Some All-Irelands are there for the underdogs; tomorrow is one of them. | |
| 15 Sep - Kerryman - The Ó Sé brothers, O'Sullivan, Cooper, Bryan Sheehan - and others - made a statement against Dublin that will surely have sent rippled down the Lee. Of course, Cork won't shudder at the enormity of the task ahead. Indeed, one sensed after their last meeting in Killarney back in July that Cork and their manager wouldn't have minded another cut at Kerry. They've got their wish. But can they deliver? Kerry's Croke Park experience, the Indian sign they hold over Cork in Croke Park, their desire to emulate Cork's back-to-back feat from 17 years ago will all go some way to saying Cork won't deliver. Ultimately, though, it has to be said that Kerry have that bit more class, the better players in key positions, the forwards to get the important scores at the important times. That, and the smarts to know how to win in Croke Park. |
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| 15 Sep - Kerryman - Pat O'Shea and John Sugrue have had a dream season so far, but now they are being put on the spot where they must tweak the pyramid of excellence they achieved against Dublin and repeat the same performance or even exceed it. This is a delicate science and not every manager or trainer can do it. Form, especially among amateur players, is a fickle thing. It can fluctuate sharply and even over the space of a few weeks it can go up or down. | |
| 15 Sep - Kerryman - He eats, sleeps and drink football, it's his life. He is very astute, he is continually examining videos of games, and is constantly in touch with coaches around the country. He is always learning and transferring it on to his own teams. At meetings before matches he never spoke for too long, but whatever he said was well worth listening to. He was always cool and oozing with confidence and this to me was the big thing. He always believed he was the best at what he did and he always transferred that on to the team. And he has done the very same with Kerry. |
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| 14 Sep - Examiner - “Everybody’s different. A psychological focus is an individual thing. If it’s banging the table or the dressing room door before you go out - 10 people it helps, 20 others it doesn’t,” he says. “Ultimately, it comes down to what’s within the group; we have a number of players who are very strong-minded. They have a wealth of experience and can bring different things to the table. And when it comes from within, it can be far more relevant and effective.” He’s a sponge, soaking it all up. He loves working with elite individual talent, but it’s the Kerry players’ attitude and sacrifices that he marvels at. |
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| 14 Sep - Examiner - Each game is unique, you can’t be looking at past performances, even for sides who know each other as well as Cork and Kerry do. Who knows, some guy no-one has mentioned beforehand pops up, has a stormer and turns the game for his team. The logic is we should be on top (at midfield), but that’s not the way it goes. I’m not sure if I’ve played on Seamus Scanlon at Under 21, but he had a blinder against Dublin, won an awful lot of ball.” | |
| 14 Sep - Irish Times - Ger Spillane possesses all the attributes required for a centre back. He is solid, safe under the high ball and combative in the scrap for breaking ball. He will, however, need to curtail his tendency to break forward if O'Sullivan is to be tamed. | |
| 14 Sep - Independent - Firstly you have to dominate them possession-wise because, when they have the ball, few have as much talent to use it. Secondly, once Kerry get possession, you have to do everything possible to cut off the supply to their forwards. That may mean doubling up on Donaghy or bringing someone back to play in front of him. One thing you have to watch for too, against Kerry, is to play to the final whistle. You can keep Cooper scoreless for most of a game but he can literally take you apart then in five minutes. |
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| 14 Sep - Irish Times - A year after the injury, Cork and Kerry are back in Croke Park for a fourth All-Ireland meeting in six seasons, but the first in a final and Kerry have yet to be beaten in any of the decade's episodes of relocated rivalry. Once more Canty is expected to be a central influence, this time in his presence. There is speculation over whether he will stay with Donaghy, as he did for most of this year's Munster final defeat by Kerry, or pick up Cooper as last year. |
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| 14 Sep - Irish Times - "No, it hasn't been as good as last year," Donaghy says, "but it was never going to be. I said that at the start of the year. That it couldn't be as good. Personally, I don't really care anyway how well I play, as long as Kerry get over the line. The main thing in my eyes was getting back into the final. Personally, it has been fine. I don't let that get on top of me. Having said that, I will be looking for a big performance in the final because I know that will help us. | |
| 14 Sep - Examiner - “You’re not going to be roaring and shouting telling them what to do, It’s all about working hard in training - and lead from the way you play more than what you say. Particularly out on the field there are a lot of leaders, a lot of fellows willing to put their shoulder to the wheel when the time comes.” | |
| 14 Sep - Examiner - Beyond the boundaries of the south-south west, that’s probably how people view the Cork-Kerry relationship. A presumption that while there’s enmity to some extent, but with a leavening of humour, a certain amount of warmth because of the proximity and presence, in either county, of people from just over the county bounds. Kerry people will always needle their neighbours about the lack of football All-Irelands; Cork people will stab back by asking the Kingdom to become members of the GAA, not the Gaelic Football Association. This weekend the sweet enmity becomes national, not provincial. |
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| 14 Sep - Examiner - The GAA anoraks love to see Billy Morgan and Pat O’Shea coming. They’re like our favourite uncles - they always bring something a little different for Christmas. Most of the tactical options are geared towards limiting the opposition, not blowing the game wide open. All things considered, it’s a safe bet it won’t be a free-flowing and open final. At least neither side will plan for it to be. |
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| 13 Sep - Examiner - Given the loss this year of Seamus Moynihan and especially Mike McCarthy, Kerry’s full back line has had a somewhat fragile look to it. Those who wear green and gold glasses breathed a sigh of relief when Pádraig Reidy came through his semi-final joust with Mark Vaughan unscathed, but the latter is no Donncha O’Connor. Or Masters for that matter.. | |
| 13 Sep - HoganStand - There is one enforced change with Conor McCarthy coming in to replace the injured wing back Anthony Lynch, who sustained a hand in jury in training last weekend. The other alteration to the side sees James Masters start at corner forward in place of Daniel Goulding. | |
| 13 Sep - Irish Times - "Ideally I would like to be scoring more, and that has been a problem for me at the moment. But I suppose I've been able to contribute in a different way, something I haven't been able to do in the past. "I know ideally if you're playing corner forward for Kerry you'd want to be knocking up a big score, but then I suppose the best place to do it is in the final." Six years on the Kerry senior panel, looking younger than ever and enjoying his football more than ever - Cooper has never been better primed for that challenge. |
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| 13 Sep - Independent - Although Bryan Sheehan is the man in possession of the jersey marked 15 right now, O’Shea has nothing but respect for Russell’s creativity and will be all too aware of his ability to put an opposing goalkeeper on his backside with a shrug of a shoulder or a jerk of a hip, craving that one chance to strike, quietly but ruthlessly going about his business like a silent assassin waiting for the target to raise its head. | |
| 13 Sep - The Kingdom -“When you are working with a seasoned bunch of campaigners, like the Kerry football team, it’s important to keep things fresh and to avoid burn-out,” the South Kerry man stressed. “Every game drains players, physically and mentally. “The fact that we had six weeks off allowed us to concentrate on conditioning. We might have been off-key against Monaghan but I think we are seeing the benefits of that break now. “All the lads are looking fresh and hungry, and that can only be a good thing for Sunday,” Sugrue added. |
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| 13 Sep - The Kingdom - Paul Galvin summed up it all up when he said that Sunday’s All-Ireland final is the making or breaking of this Kerry team. "If we don’t beat Cork, we are nothing. Everything that we won before will be forgotten," said the Finuge man. He is right, to an extent. There is no escaping the magnitude of this clash. It’s huge. Victory would be the ultimate success and it could be the one single game that this team might be remembered for. A dynasty depends on this game. |
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| 13 Sep - The Kingdom - This Kerry team seems to have a secret of taking the right options at the right times. They possess the mental and physical toughness that is required for championship success. To date, they have demonstrated the discipline that is required that goes hand-in-hand with physical toughness, and I believe that it will take a great team to beat them. |
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| 13 Sep - HoganStand - "Who in their right mind wouldn’t be hungry to win an All-Ireland medal?" "If a Kerry player didn’t show the necessary hunger, he wouldn’t be long on the field and wouldn’t be deserving of his place anyway. "We’ll be just as keen to win the game as Cork; who knows whether Darragh O Se will be around next year and that’s enough to inspire us all to excel ourselves on the day." |
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| 13 Sep - HoganStand - “It has been very heartening to see the improvement in the team in that time. Yes, there have been setbacks along the way, but to have suffered is the best medicine any team could get. “We’ve left no stone unturned and we certainly believe we can win this All-Ireland. The players are in peak condition, are full of confidence and I honestly don’t think we’ll get a better chance to bring Sam back to Cork.” |
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| 13 Sep - HoganStand - "The older you get, the hungrier for success you get. It is no secret that I am coming towards the end of my career and I mightn’t get many more chances to play in an All-Ireland final so I will be hoping to make the most of it and with a bit of luck we will be able to come out on top,” Ó Sé said. | |
| 13 Sep - HoganStand - There are many intriguing match-ups, but this is arguably the pick of the bunch. O Se and Murphy are two of the best midfielders in the modern game (they’re both current All-Stars) and how they perform on All-Ireland final day will go a long way towards deciding the outcome. Both men are vital to their team’s cause and won’t be easily replaced when they eventually decide to hang up their boots. | |
| 13 Sep - RTE - Now, ask yourself this: if you are a member of the present Kerry team do you want to go into the record books as having been on the losing side in the first Kerry/Cork All-Ireland final? Yes, I know the Cork players don't want that stigma any more than the Kerry lads do. But when Kerry put their minds to it they can produce that special bit of magic. And surely there's going to be nothing better than the sight of red jerseys on Sunday to concentrate the mind! |
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| 13 Sep - RTE - With all the talk of match-ups and duels between marquee names, perhaps the outcome of the battles between the lesser lights will swing it either way again. Cork people take comfort from the fact that the gap between the two teams on the scoreboard is narrowing all the time. Thirteen points two years ago, six points last year and two points this year. The Kerry bubble has to burst some time but there is little persuasive evidence to suggest that it may happen this weekend. | |
| 13 Sep - Examiner - “Billy is Mr Cork Football, he lives and dies for it. He’d do anything for any of us. We owe him and the selectors a lot. We’ve won one Munster title and they deserve more — an All-Ireland would be a fitting reward.” | |
| 13 Sep - Examiner - “Cork are going to have their spells the next day, Kerry are going to have their spells, hopefully. I mean it’s just a case of who can do the most damage when that happens, who can get the most scores.” He’s expecting a physical contest - pointing out that Cork ‘are a very big side.’ And, he knows too the type of challenge he can expect from a highly motivated Nicholas Murphy, commenting: “I know exactly how good Nicholas is! There’s going to be a lot of breaking ball, there are going to be a few balls caught ... It’s going to be tough out there (around midfield), it’s going to be very tough. “And it’s going to be tough all over the field!” |
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| 13 Sep - Independent - Donaghy went over on his ankle in training on Tuesday night, but according to O'Shea, there was little damage done. "You'll hear all sorts of rumours before a final, but Kieran will be fine. Every knock gets exaggerated at a time like this, but we have no concerns whatsoever on this one," he said. |
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| 13 Sep - Independent - In the fraught circumstances, Canty's presence around the square, which has released team captain Derek Kavanagh to return to midfield duty, has greatly improved Cork's all-round solidity as proven by the manner in which they squeezed the resistance out of Meath in the semi-final. Their 10-point win was by far the most emphatic during the business end of the championship so far. | |
| 12 Sep - Independent - Kieran Donaghy was at the centre of an all-Ireland final injury scare last night after limping out of Kerry's training session. Donaghy was taken to Tralee General Hospital for an X-Ray after injuring a foot and, while Kerry County Board chairman Sean Walsh expressed confidence that the ace forward would be fit for Sunday's showdown, there is bound to be anxiety in the Kingdom camp. |
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| 12 Sep - Examiner - It will be the first starting All-Ireland senior football final for Pádraig Reidy, Killian Young, Seamus Scanlon and Brian Sheehan. They replace Michael McCarthy, Seamus Moynihan, Tommy Griffin and Michael Frank Russell from the side that started against Mayo in last season’s successful final. | |
| 12 Sep - Irish Times (Jack O'Connor) - The final will be won in the head as much as on the grass. It's about pressure. Pressure is the difference between walking across a plank of wood when it's lying on the ground and walking across the same plank when it's 250 feet in the air. Billy Morgan has played a good game in keeping that plank as close to the ground as possible by keeping expectations low. Of all current managers, Billy is the best at playing the underdog. His sense of "us against the world" is a key part of the way Cork play football. What height the plank is at when they set foot on it shouldn't affect Kerry teams too much. Wearing the green and gold jersey makes you favourites to win just about any match you line out for. Kerry players grow up with that expectation. |
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| 12 Sep - Irish Times - "On a personal level, the worst of them would have been when I was captain against Meath in 2001. That was a wipe-out. Personally, that was very devastating. And I suppose Armagh in 2002 was as bad. I felt we were good enough to win, we had been playing some champagne football coming to Croke Park that year. "But all that has possibly hardened me as a player. I've talked with Séamus Moynihan about this a few times since and he endured something similar, coming on to the Kerry team in 1992, and getting a lot of knocks and a lot of bad days early on, before he finally had his glory day in 1997. I suppose once you get the first one off the back it's certainly worth it." |
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| 12 Sep - Irish Times - There's no doubt over the 70 minutes Murphy is capable of inflicting real damage on the Kerry midfield, but overall I think they will break even. That's why their partners on Sunday, Seamus Scanlon for Ó Sé and Derek Kavanagh for Murphy, are also so important. They'll need to match their partners work-rate, and also pick up the breaking ball. "So it's the whole midfield package that will decide it, who will settle first, and who can perform at their optimum on the All-Ireland stage. We know Ó Sé can do that." |
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| 12 Sep - Irish Times - This is the footballers' first final appearance in eight years. Kavanagh says the disparity in public recognition is something his team have become accustomed to. "I don't think it bothers us any more. We're just a close-knit bunch and we're well used to walking out into a half-empty stadium. It doesn't bother us; we're playing for ourselves. "It might sound selfish, but we're not trying to play for the supporters. We're playing for ourselves and we want to win for ourselves. Simple as that." |
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| 12 Sep - Irish Times - On the field they're hard as steel and ruthlessly competitive, whereas off it they're all gentlemanly and innocent-like, as if a lump of Kerrygold wouldn't melt in their mouth. Aidan O'Mahony certainly fits this paradox: Since breaking into the Kerry team four years ago he's become one of the most hard-hitting, hard-tackling, and hard-boiled players in the country, yet in person, he's all soft-hearted and unfailingly soft-spoken. Essentially he's a raging football machine in an otherwise human body. "Football is everything to me," he says. "I was going to these Kerry games growing up, and when you get your chance you have to grab it with both hands, and don't let go. The most important thing for me is that I want to live out my dreams playing Kerry football. I want to do everything I can, and be happy then when I retire." |
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| 12 Sep - Irish Times -Lynch is to see a specialist in Cork today to investigate the possibility of protecting the injury sufficiently to allow him to play. As a result the Cork team is not expected to be finalised until Thursday after training. "In fairness to Anthony," we want to give him every chance to see if he can play," said manager Billy Morgan. |
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| 12 Sep - Irish Times -There are three All Stars on the current Cork team. Anthony Lynch and Nicholas Murphy have been around since Cork's last All-Ireland final appearance in 1999 but the third is Ger Spillane, who accomplished the feat in his debut season last year. Spillane combines the traditionally steely virtues of a holding centre back - strength and aerial ability - with a fondness for adventure. |
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| 12 Sep - Independent - IF familiarity breeds contempt then Kerry and Cork will be at each others' throats from the first whistle in Sunday's All-Ireland football final.No teams have met more in championship football in the 2000s and Sunday will provide the 13th clash of the decade. Tyrone and Armagh have only met five times in the 2000s. Kerry's record in the 2000s is eight wins, two draws and two defeats. Incidentally both of Cork's championship wins over Kerry this decade have been in replays, 2002 and 2006. |
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Kerry likely to discover in final that Cork give misers a bad name |
12 Sep - Independent - Depositing big scores often creates the impression of a flamboyant lifestyle but very often it masks the reality that teams are living on credit after drifting into debt caused by reckless spending. Not Cork whose high-alert security systems are so finely tuned that would-be intruders are detected even before they cross the 45-metre line. The positive knock-on effect has left their opposition with very few goal chances this year. |
| 12 Sep - Independent - "Someone asked me around April how would I rate the Cork side and I said that they were among the top three teams in the country along with ourselves and Tyrone. The person I said it to was a bit surprised and asked me about Dublin and Donegal who were flying at the time. It wasn't hindsight. They are a genuine quality side who will be around for a few years." The lure of back-to-back titles is just a sideshow to the real event. "I don't think it really matters until a team actually goes and does it. I remember rooming with Marc O Se before a big Croke Park match back in 2004 and we talked about whether the elusive All-Ireland medal would ever come. Now we're preparing for a fourth consecutive final." |
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| 12 Sep - Examiner - “Kerry have a huge strength in depth in their squad. They have 20 to 25 players who are capable of producing it on All-Ireland final day. “I would see their forward line as the main advantage over Cork. They have six high-quality forwards so it is not a case that Cork can simply nullify one or two of their players. “I can see Cork sticking with them for 50 or 60 minutes and then Kerry pulling away.” |
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| 12 Sep - Examiner - The Canty conundrum? I take the Cork selectors to put their faith in Kieran O’Connor to stifle Gooch, and permit their talisman to take to the skies alongside Donaghy. That way, they also get their Shields-Sheehan match-up. In 2005, Cork had to replace Niall Geary after a 20 scorching from Cooper. They’ll want to avoid a similar scenario this time out, which suggests to me that O’Connor is the key player in the piece. |
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Ready, willing and able: Griffin intent on making big impression |
12 Sep - Examiner - Having started at midfield and finished at wing-back in last year’s final victory over Mayo, Griffin must have anticipated a prolonged working relationship with Ó Sé this term. He should have known better. “Spondylolisthesis is the medical term,” he smiles, declining the offer to spell it. “It’s basically a movement of a vertebrae out of normal alignment, impinging on the spinal chord.” And what of the hamstrings, which left Griffin operating “at half throttle, with the handbrake up” this year? After the prolonged ankle problems and bone graft required for the bone in his hand (“it’s a long story”), it was the last thing the Kerry man needed for his football, and his sanity. "It was pulling at the hamstrings the whole time, and you’re always conscious of it flaring up, so you’re never really running free.” |
| 12 Sep - Examiner - Though small forests are being sacrificed to catalogue the historic meeting of the GAA’s great rivals, Quirke makes an interesting assertion. “The ultimate game for any Cork footballer, for any footballer, period, is the All-Ireland final. We are trying to treat it as a match rather than another Cork/Kerry match.” |
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| 12 Sep - Examiner - Despite the exertions of a prolonged campaign with Dr Crokes in the club championship - effectively keeping him tied up in training and games for almost a year and a half without a break - Cooper admits to being almost surprised to be in top condition right now. “I cannot speak about Eoin, or any of the other Crokes lads on the panel, but I feel as fresh now and as hungry as I have in a long time. I don’t feel fatigued, I feel great. I don’t know why, I’m just mad for road. I’m enjoying my football. “I’ve had to realise that I’m not going to go out to ‘shoot the lights out’ in every game. That’s why I try to contribute in different ways in games. I have probably learned over the last 12 months to deal with that a little bit more.’’ |
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| 11 Sep - Independent -There are times I wonder what Kerry have to do to get the credit they deserve. Let me spell it out: This is the outstanding squad of the modern era and – given today's fitness levels and heightened competition – you could argue that they are even better than that. I don't believe Kerry have anything left to prove. Yet by highlighting that very aspect we might just be stumbling on one of the secrets of their success – Kerry are always out to prove themselves. But I think that it might just be beyond them this time. For once, Cork go into the Croke Park version of their provincial rivalry with some of the cards stacked in their favour. In the final analysis, I think hunger will be the arbiter and there are none hungrier than Morgan and Cork. |
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| 11 Sep - HoganStand - "We have to play well for longer. We only played in patches in the matches so far and that won’t be good enough to beat Cork in the final." "I think it’s going to be more of a war of attrition than pure championship football. "But at the end of the day, nobody really cares how a final goes as long as you come out on top. Hopefully it’ll be us who are smiling at the final whistle. It’s in our own hands and we won’t have anyone to blame if we don’t do the business. "I know there’s been a good margin between the counties but that’ll count for nothing when the final comes around. They’re the real deal, as I say, and we’ll have to be at our best." |
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| 11 Sep - HoganStand - Consider their places at the top table and wonder why the following might happen: despite Kerry’s storied brilliance in Munster (near total dominance of the province for over a century and generally by beating Cork) and their number one position on the grid for All-Ireland wins, what if their greatest rivals, Cork and Billy Morgan, toppled them on this day of days? For any self-respecting Kerry man it would be a very dark place indeed, one likely to be occupied for a very long time. Kerry has a pretty good defence (Cork have as slightly better one), a more than decent midfield (again, Cork have a better one, except this time slightly does not apply); but up front the Green and Gold skate home. They can call on Gooch, Declan O’Sullivan, Kieran Donaghy (we will see him out the field for sure) and throw in Brosnan, Sheehan and Galvin. Sorry folks, just too much artillery - in fact, three of them could have an off day and they would still win. |
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| 11 Sep - HoganStand - Since the Meath game there has been a spring in everyone’s step and I think in some way there was a great relief that we did manage to perform that day,” he said. Cork have been recognised as one of the top four of five sides in the country over the last couple of years but Masters sees the forthcoming All-Ireland final as the perfect opportunity for Morgan’s troops to prove they have what it takes to make a successful leap onto the main stage. “We have fully concentrated on the final ever since and what’s really driving us is the fact that you are nobody’s until you win an All-Ireland and we want to prove what a good team we are and we cant do that unless we bring home the Sam Maguire,” Masters concluded. |
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Cussen one of the finds of season, says Cork selector Corcoran |
11 Sep - Examiner - “Kerry are the only team to score a goal against us this season in the Championship; they play with a high intensity and they are the yardstick by which we will be measured. They are All-Ireland champions but a final against them removes the element of surprise. “It’s not that we’re in any way afraid, but you have to respect their tradition and their success. “They are in their fourth All-Ireland final in a row which, with the backdoor system, is a fine achievement. So while we’re not afraid, we have to respect them and realise they are a different team when they get to Croke Park.” |
| 11 Sep - Independent - He can’t contemplate losing an All-Ireland final to Cork. “I couldn’t picture losing. It just wouldn’t enter my head until the whistle goes and we’re down by a point. “We have to match Cork for hunger, I think that’s a huge part of it. Cork were just so hungry against Meath in the middle third of the field that every ball that broke there, they swept up. That’s what we have to prepare for.” |
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Final unlikely to be over physical, insist All-Ireland skippers |
11 Sep - Examiner - The two captains agreed that the level of intensity in training in recent times had been stepped up, with players battling for selection. “The week before the team is announced fellows are trying to stake their claim. A kind of an ‘A v B’ game is going to be fairly intense,’’ said Kavanagh. O’Sullivan agreed: “I think you’re going to have to train as you mean to play. You have to welcome this intensity. If you can perform in these sorts of situations, you should have no fears going into a game. It’s great for team spirit and keeping fellows on their toes.’’ |
| 10 Sep - GAA.ie - "Pat is known very well in the football scene in Kerry. I think most of the players would have known him or played against him. He'd have great respect amongst the players. "The fact that he came in and the new management team swept the boards clean and every fella had to prove himself again. From that point of view I think it has been very beneficial," he added. "There is no talk of a two-n-a-row in our camp because the new management and new players in this particular group haven't won the All-Ireland last year. That was a different group of players and a different management. So from that point of view we are going for our first All-Ireland," he said. |
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| 10 Sep - HoganStand - The fact that Kerry are competing in another All-Ireland final is not such a big thing in the Kingdom. The fact that they could lose and hand over the Sam Maguire to Cork is! No matter when Cork play Kerry there is always something at stake – Cork and Kerry don’t to ’friendlies’. | |
| 10 Sep - HoganStand - It’s a rivalry that extends back to 1889 when Cork and Kerry met for the first time in the championship in Mallow and 118 years later they’re set for their biggest clash in history when they meet in the Bank of Ireland football championship final in Croke Park. It will be the 13th championship meeting between the counties this decade and the 5th since the start of last year’s campaign. | |
| 10 Sep - HoganStand - Galvin is to Kerry what Brian Dooher is to Tyrone. His incredible engine allows him to cover every blade of grass and he is equally adept at mopping up possession in his own full back line as slotting over points at the opposite end. After Kerry’s traumatic defeat to Tyrone in 2003, he was one of the first men Jack O’Connor turned to in his attempt to ’toughen up’ the Kingdom. His battle with O’Leary is akin to Patrick Vieira versus Roy Keane and could determine where the Sam Maguire will be spending the next 12 months. | |
| 10 Sep - IOL - "In 2005 we were very raw going up to Croke Park and were a bit naïve about certain things as well. We made certain progress last season but we were still a good five or six points behind them at the end of the day," he admitted. "Last year they probably learned their lessons from the Munster final and changed their team around as well. I don't know how you could put your finger on it really but I suppose they are used to the big match occasions a bit more than we are. "But at this stage we have plenty of Croke Park experience behind us so we will be hoping it won't be a factor the day of the final." |
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| 10 Sep - Independent - Modern players may not buy too much into heritage and past records, but if Kerry claim a 35th All-Ireland title next Sunday it will make this the joint third most successful decade for a county so steeped in success. With three All-Ireland titles already from the first decade of the millennium a fourth in six days time would, incredibly, bring Kerry level with the county's haul from one of its most celebrated periods -- the heady days of the 1970s. Even more pointed is the current side's amazing run of consistency since the turn of the decade. In a more competitive era with a far greater breath of potential All-Ireland winners Kerry in the 2000s may yet register as one of their most successful ever periods. |
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| 10 Sep - Independent - Kerry have far more serious things to worry about regarding a two-in-a-row because a much bigger picture for every Kerry person now is the possibility that they could lose an All-Ireland final to Cork. I would venture to say as far as most Kerry people are concerned, such a nightmare scenario would represent the worst All-Ireland final defeat, since losing the five-in-a-row match against Offaly in 1982. Billy Morgan, as a player and manager, has the best record of any opponents against Kerry in championships for over 30 years, and this is possibly at the heart of the nervousness that strikes so many Kerry GAA fans before a championship clash with Cork. |
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| 10 Sep - Independent - Billy Morgan must have woke up yesterday morning wondering if he had offended a black cat while walking under a ladder after breaking a mirror. His luck chain snapped on Saturday when a routine training match in Pairc Ui Chaoimh yielded a serious casualty in the form of defender Anthony Lynch, who broke a bone in his left hand. Lynch misses next Sunday's All-Ireland final, a setback which Cork's finally balanced set-up can ill-afford. |
| 09 Sep - Tribune (Liam Hayes) - Billy Morgan is now 21 years, off and on, as Cork football supremo and there is hardly anyone in the country who knows more about the ins and outs of the game of Gaelic football, and there is hardly anyone in the country, from All Ireland senior football titles down, who has won as much so often at every single level of the game, as this demented genius. He's the Rebels' own version of Alex Ferguson. He, and his performances, and his fine football teams over the last three decades, are not to be challenged lightly. |
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| 09 Sep - Independent - Anthony Lynch is likely to miss Sunday's final with Kerry after sustaining a suspected broken left hand yesterday. It's expected that John Miskella will now come into the side at wing-back, with James Masters reclaiming his place in attack. Masters played a full part in yesterday's trial after breaking his jaw against Sligo some weeks ago. | |
| 06 Sep - RTE.ie (David Sheehan) - So what odds now on Billy Morgan bringing down the curtain on a special year for Cork men in Croke Park by landing the Sam Maguire, and in the process creating a little history of his own by becoming the first manager to win the Sam Maguire in three different decades? With successes in 1989 and 1990 to his name as well as defeats in '87, '88 and '93, Morgan will not be wanting for experience when it comes to patrolling the line on Sunday week. Should Cork end the 17 year All-Ireland drought against Kerry on 16 September, it would round off a remarkable year for a county whose sons have had a major say in some extraordinary occasions at Croke Park, some of which we thought would never be seen. |
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Cahalane feels the balance from last year's semi-final has tipped back to Cork |
05 Sep - Independent - "Kerry won the Munster title but if you go back to the All-Ireland semi-final in 2006 Graham Canty wasn't playing and Seamus Moynihan and Mike McCarthy were. Young and Reidy are playing well but they still have a bit to travel and I feel the gap has closed. It may bring a bit of pressure on Kerry, as they will want to win back to back All-Ireland finals." |
Declan O’Sullivan: Rebels are a bigger threat than ever before |
05 Sep - Examiner - "We have a lot of things to work on. The main aspect of our game so far this year is that we haven’t played for 70 or 75 minutes. After seeing Cork play Meath in the semi-final, they put in a very impressive performance for the whole game, they are obviously very strong and very fit. That is a big concern for us and something we are trying to work on." |
| 02 Sep - Tribune (Kieran Shannon) - Too often we resort to lumping and comparing the Kerry footballers of the last 10 years with the All-Ireland winning sides of yesteryear, and spiel on about the tradition of Kerry, ignoring the state of Kerry football these players inherited and the tradition they've carved out on their own. The time has come to say it. If Kerry win this year's All Ireland, it will confirm the Kerry side of the '00s as definitively the most consistent and probably the best team football has seen or spawned since Mick O'Dwyer's incomparable Team of All Talents. |
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| 02 Sep - Tribune (Liam Hayes) - Kerry are facing into an All Ireland final which could be a death-trap for them, it could be the greatest moment in Kerry football in 20 years, or it could become something else entirely. If Kerry do lose, maybe then the people of the county will look back over their shoulders at two decades, and feel dramatically short-changed by everything they have experienced and everything they have achieved. Then they will certainly share my perspective of the last two Sundays - at least in the privacy of their own homes and their own quiet conversations. If Kerry win this All Ireland, they will have a team worthy of sharing the same status as the outstanding teams of the last 20 years. A lot rests on the next 70 minutes. Nearly everything, in my opinion. |
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| 30 Aug - Independent - "Our medical advice is that it will be a four to six weeks recovery period for James, and it will be exactly six weeks between the Sligo game and the All-Ireland final. So that makes things very tight and obviously James would have to do plenty of training before the match against Kerry, because a player couldn't go in an All-Ireland final without proper preparation." | |
| 29 Aug - Irish Times (Jack O'Connor) - Even after winning last year's All-Ireland Kerry may have benefited from a change of management as they attempt to win the elusive two a row. If a manager stays too long players get too familiar. Managers tend to remember what players did for them in the past rather than see what they are doing in the present. The change of management has worked out for Kerry. Players have had to prove themselves again. That might just drive them over the line for the two in a row. |
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| 29 Aug - The Kerryman - This was a superb win for Kerry. To contest four All Ireland finals in-a-row in present day football is an amazing achievement. The great Kerry team of the seventies/eighties contested five in-a-row, (Seamus Darby and all of that). However, and no one can deny that this was the greatest side of all time, Mick O'Dwyer's men did not have to contest quarter finals and now even when using the so called back door the present championship involves even more games. So for this bunch of players to still be at the top literally dedicating their lives to the cause should never be over looked. | |
| 30 Aug - RTE - It is very seldom a team manages to have at least 12 performers out of 15 playing near the best of their ability at the same time, but that is exactly what happened in Kerry's case against the Dubs. The Kerry management team, who always face the most exacting of examinations, also performed close to optimum levels against Dublin and the challenge facing them over the coming weeks is one they will have relished since taking over the reins at the end of last year. Lady Luck has rode shotgun with this Kerry team all year. For all experienced teams, she is an essential travelling companion! |
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| 29 Aug - Examiner (Tony Leen) - They began Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final as liabilities in some eyes; to others they were raw and unproven. Outside the county, they were virtually unknown. But Kerry's Pádraig Reidy, Killian Young and midfielder Seamus Scanlon arrived in some style as footballers against Dublin - answered their critics and vindicating their selection in a Croke Park cauldron. |
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| 28 Aug - HoganStand -"I thought they had too much class for Dublin when it mattered," said the Cork manager. "Dublin came back towards the end, but Kerry never panicked and used all their experience when it mattered. That performance and the fact that they are contesting their fourth final in a row entitles them to be favourites for the final, but Kerry are always favourites in big games." | |
| 27 Aug - Independent - The critical components of Kerry football yesterday, as they have been all down the years, were their determination particularly when opposed by traditional rivals like Dublin, their ability to score points from far out while running at the goals, and the facility they have to produce heroes at the drop of a hat when they seem to be in great danger of losing. The other vital component of Kerry football is that they are rarely knocked out of their stride by unexpected events in a game and yesterday was a brilliant example of this. |
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