“United in the treble, they had four strikers…”
Kerry legend Marc O Sé compared Kerry’s midfield who won last year’s All-Ireland, to the Man United strikers who won the treble back in 1999.
At first it was a strange comparison to make, but given that today’s game between Kerry and Cork coincides with the FA Cup final between United and Man City, with Pep Guardiola’s team seeking the treble themselves, it was quite an apt point to make.
Two weeks ago Mayo ran rampant through The Kingdom’s midfield, and when Jack O’Connor looked to the bench, he didn’t have the same options that he did last year.
Stefan Okunbor is out injured, David moran retired, while Joe O’Connor has been ruled out for the season as well.
O Sé made the point that all of the best teams have a plethora of options to choose from, just as Alex Ferguson did back in ’99, and Kerry don’t seem to have that anymore.
“There’s a big game across the pond today, the FA Cup final, Man City are trying to emulate Man United by doing the treble,” O Sé said on GAAGO.
“United in the treble, they had four strikers – Yorke, Cole, Sheringham, and Solskjaer – last year Kerry had five midfielders.
“They had Stefan Okunbor on the bench, they had Joe O’Connor who would come on for 20 minutes and he would just go straight through the middle, they obviously had David Moran, and then Jack Barry and Diarmuid O’Connor.
“Last week they didn’t bring on Barry Dan O’Sullivan, which was unusual because Kerry were being so well beaten against Mayo. Now you look at Cork, you look at Colm O’Callaghan, you look at Ian Maguire – they kicked two points each last weekend against Louth.
“They had players who totally overran Louth, so that’s a real needy area for Kerry. I’m looking at the bench, you’re looking at Barry O’Sullivan, after that, you have no midfielder to bring on.
“So from a Kerry point of view, Mike Quirke was talking there about areas that they need to work on, it’s the runners, it’s the players who are going to hurt you running from deep.”
Related links:
- Pat Spillane: Sunday Game viewers’don’t give a s***” about deep-dive analysis
- Tyrone manager Brian Dooher sheds light on Cathal McShane situation
- Tyrone address “half forward problem” as they name team to play Armagh
