Annoyed at a referee decision? Think the six-day turnaround is unfair? Pissed off at the weather? It’s alright, just contact your county board.
There are a number of issues – loads of them actually – that spring from Cork’s ill-advised statement which was supposed to act as a parting-shot thank-you to outgoing football manager Brian Cuthbert but instead served as a classless, head-in-hands PR disaster.
For one, that they’ve chosen to blame a penalty awarded against them three games ago – with 20 minutes still remaining in that first Munster final – as the reason for their All-Ireland exit is just shameful. We’re talking about the county board here, not a riled-up manager being dragged aside seconds after a defeat.
Then, they’ve factored in the old classic six-day turnaround.
Then, the weather. The weather was actually used as a reason for their season’s collapse. The disservice being done to Cork people everywhere – their representatives, their voice, their body nationally scorning the rain and wind as an excuse for a below-par performance.
They’ve had a pop at the random league fixture list for four times dragging them up the road to Ulster.
And don’t forget, of course, the fact that Fermanagh were completely discounted. If Kerry weren’t awarded that penalty in Killarney the first day, Cork would’ve won the provincial championship (we’re taking that as read apparently) and sure they seemingly wouldn’t have had any problem with Fermanagh who they would’ve met in the quarters (assuming Kerry beat Kildare in round four).
“It is quite probable that, but for a totally wrong refereeing decision in that [Munster final], Cork would now be in an All-Ireland Semi-Final.”
When a manager says these things, it is undignified. People shake their heads in unison and most involved – including the manager – want to move on quickly and forget about it.
When a county board says these things, it is embarrassing.
Now take all of those issues. Take the pats on their own backs for deploying volunteer coaches as if they were the first county to do so and take the referee arguments, the weather gripes, the away trips the whole way up north and the assumption that they would’ve not only beaten Kerry anyway but made light work of whoever they would’ve met in the quarters. Take those and accept it for a second – if you can – and consider the idea that someone not only thought them, but they spoke those thoughts aloud. Then they wrote them down. Then they made them public.
For people to actually read.
Now, if that wasn’t bad enough. Consider that this wasn’t just anyone throwing the toys from the pram. Nor was it a fuming manager exploding in the tunnel during the heat of a moment. This was a cold, measured, calculated statement from the official governing body of Cork GAA. Personal thoughts that they had eight days to mull over and rationalise and, even if they couldn’t do that, make a decision that it probably wasn’t one of their best ideas to go public with their grievances.
When people have a go at Cork’s under-performance, it is not an attack on Brian Cuthbert and it is nothing personal. For the most part, it’s just a case of trying to figure out what the hell is going wrong with the 2010 All-Ireland champions’ bigger picture and how it can be solved.
But the delayed defence was like a reaction to a criticism that was taken completely the wrong way and it was articulated in the fashion of a pedant losing a fight with pints in the local boozer and getting bogged down with technicalities that serve no purpose to the actual argument.
Where does it end?
Should Derry’s county board be following Brian McIver’s post-match rant about Cork referee Conor Lane’s performance and make an official statement that they would’ve been in the All-Ireland semi final now if it wasn’t for what they saw as bad refereeing? (Sure we can assume they would’ve beaten Sligo and Mayo in the subsequent two games)
Should Davy Fitz get the Clare county board to start issuing statements about all of his complaints just to make it more official?
Heck, should Kerry’s county board be giving out about Seamus Darby pushing Tommy Doyle in the back in 1982? Sure they would’ve won five-in-a-row.
The petulance isn’t even the biggest problem though. Neither are the cringes that it induces.
At a time when the proud people of Cork are looking for answers; at a time when they’re looking for strong leaders to stand up and be accountable; looking for their own to start taking responsibility for their own fate, all they’re getting from the very top is excuses. All they’re getting is more problems.
Because, let me tell you, they’re getting no solutions with statements that are seemingly just launching an assault at everyone but themselves.
If Kildare had scored just 28 more points against Kerry on Sunday, sure they would be in an All-Ireland semi final themselves. Should’ve, could’ve, would’ve.
A statement like Cork’s wouldn’t satisfy Kildare people right now.
And it would serve absolutely no purpose. It wouldn’t even kid anyone for a second into thinking that all isn’t as gloomy as it seems.
Because the only thing this shameless and supposedly blameless retort has achieved is to further drag the good name of Cork football through terrain it shouldn’t even have a view of.
And it has done a complete disservice to its proud Gaels who deserve so much more than just clumsy oblivion.
The biggest problem is that some people seem to think there is no problem.
