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        The Cork team for Sunday is up on the 'corkgaa' website. It includes M. Shields at fullback,  E.Cadogan at left corner back, G. Canty at centre-back, D. O Connor at full forward, C.Sheehan at left wing forward P.Kerrigan at right corner forward  - the rest is as was expected.  J.Miskella, N. Murphy, C. O Neill   are all not listed on the starting team.

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            Also, to all those people who have been critical of Cork football here and elsewhere, let me just cite one statistic that is sustaining us all in hope down here in Cork  i.e. only one county has defeated Cork in championship football since 2004.

              Now, if only we could maintain that record for just one more game then our mission would be accomplished and everything else would be irrelevant.

valid stat okay. Nor, in same years,  have Cork played a team good enough to have beaten Kerry    until next Sunday

     Fair play, Good point! The answer is no, it hasn't. Sunday will be the first time,as far as I know, which makes it all the more intriguing.
     

      Also, please remember that Cork has played Kerry twice this season and has done reasonably well against them  -  they drew the first game and only lost the replay by a single point to a Kerry team that included Paul Galvin and Tomas O Se.
     Also, I thought Kerry might have been somewhat complacent when playing  Down in this year's quarter final. Kerry went into that game as All-Ireland champions and Munster champions to face a team that had lost in Ulster and hadn't really figured in the latter stages of the championship in recent years and hadn't been overly impressive in the qualifiers. That day Kerry looked far less organised than they usually do when playing their arch rivals Cork and they definitely were affected by the loss of Galvin and O Se.
     

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            Also, to all those people who have been critical of Cork football here and elsewhere, let me just cite one statistic that is sustaining us all in hope down here in Cork  i.e. only one county has defeated Cork in championship football since 2004.

              Now, if only we could maintain that record for just one more game then our mission would be accomplished and everything else would be irrelevant.

valid stat okay. Nor, in same years,  have Cork played a team good enough to have beaten Kerry    until next Sunday

     Fair play, Good point! The answer is no, it hasn't. Sunday will be the first time,as far as I know, which makes it all the more intriguing.
     

[This type of journalism suits Cork very well in the lead up to next Sunday, by the way.]

   This type of journalism suits Cork very well in the lead up to next Sunday, by the way.

I don't think it does, Cork have shown over the years that they are mentally brittle. The media last year (with the ex Kerry players as the ringleaders) repeatedly reported that the Kerry team weren't good enough to win the AI. Tell a Kerryman that he's not good enough and he'll prove you wrong, tell this Cork team and they'll start believing you. I think they will struggle to get up to their semi-final performance (which wasn't that great) and whether it was enough will depend on what Down team turns up. I know a few Cork lads and they are not at all confident, Cork will find it next to impossible to turn it around IMO.

   I think the 'mentally brittle' tag has been overstated. If Cork is so mentally brittle how are they back in their third AI final in four years, contested six consecutive AI semi- finals  and only lost to one team in the championship since '04.

   Cork has been 'mentally brittle' when facing  Kerry only, simply because, in my opinion, Kerry has had better footballers than Cork in recent years - talent always wins out in the end. Also, Kerry always play above themselves when facing Cork.,such is the rivalry between the two counties.

This Cork team has shown a lot of mental strength this year by eking out narrow wins in difficult circumstances. I don't think that this young Down team will  really trouble Cork psychologically before the game. Down are good but they're not unbeatable.

Nor do I think that Cork would be unduly worried by negative media criticism. Infact some of the things that have been said about them will be used to motivate them that's why I think negative media coverage could help Cork this year.

I'm not sure about that.

In the provincial championships: Cork were pipped after a replay and extra time. Down were fairly comprehensively thrown aside in Ulster.

In the qualifiers: Cork hammered Cavan and Wexford but struggled with Limerick. Down hammered Sligo but struggled with Longford and Offaly.

In the quarters: Both pulled away from their opponents fairly easily in the end.

In the semis: Both pipped their opponents afters close games.

Perhaps Down have beaten better quality opposition, but I don't see a great chasm in form. I think Cork's underperfromance has been exaggerated by many this year.

    Very well put together AFS and probably goes to show that there really is little enough to choose between the two teams .

   A lot has been made of form and past performances here but I don't think that ultimately they matter an awful lot . To use the well worn cliche 'it all  comes down to what happens on the day'

Cork has been criticised a lot for the quality of its perfomances this year but peole forget that it competed in many deceptively difficult games and came through them all pretty well.. The two games v Kerry and the games v Wexford in Wexford (in the rain), v Lmerick in Limerick and v Dublin in Dublin were all diffficult, dogged fixtures partially because more and more teams are now using the 'blanket defence' strategy which in my opinion is in danger of ruining football as a spectacle.

  Sport is all about winning - the quality of the performance and the winning margin matter less to the competing teams.
I know that Cork will be happy with a poor performance and a one point margin on Sunday as long as it gets over the line at the end and that's how it's been all season.

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If anyone thinks Graham Canty isn't in line for an allstar they are deluding themselves

    Maybe, but his injury might affect his chances. The fact that he had to be taken off v Dublin won't help him for one thing.

     Also, the word down here at the moment is that Canty won't play at all on Sunday - apparently he was miles off the pace at the team's final 'hard' training session at the weekend and the thinking is that Counihan won't risk playing an unfit player again.

   If this is the case, then  I wouldn't have much hope for his chances of winning an All-Star.

If Cork win, will they get any All-Stars? 
Because right now, I'm struggling to think of a single Cork player that deserves one.

   If Cork wins on Sunday, it will get many All- Stars  - the winning team always does.
   
   If Cork loses, it will get very few as Cork's  performances to date have not impressed many neutral viewers.

   Michael Clifford in today's Daily Mail picked his All Star team for this year based on performances to date and didn't include a sinlge Cork player on his team. His team compised four Down players, three from both Dublin and Kildare, two from Tyrone and one from each of  Kerry, Louth and Sligo. This type of journalism suits Cork very well in the lead up to next Sunday, by the way.

  I agree with a previous poster that Kelly, Kerrigan and Shields a are the most likely Cork players to win awards but next Sunday will determine a lot. Another possibility is Paudie Kissane as he has won two 'man of the match' awards so far this year.

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      Jaysus, sure maybe I will so - even though flags don't win All Irelands, as we know too well from experience.

Of Down's current starting XV and bench there is plenty of All Ireland Final experience.

Garvey, McKernan, Fitzpatrick, McComiskey and Clarke played in the 2005 Minor All Ireland Final. Colgan, Gerard McCartan and Duffin also started on that team.

John Clarke and Benny Coulter played in the 1999 All Ireland Minor Final. Rony Murtagh and Rony Sexton were also starters on that side.

Poland played in the 2005 All Ireland U-21 Final. As did Ambrose Rogers, Conor Laverty, Aidan Carr, Colgan, Marty Clarke and Jason Brown.

Fitzpatrick, Paul Devlin, Conor Maginn and McComiskey played in the 2009 All Ireland U-21 Final.

    Fair enough! - not every senior team has had the same under-age experience behind them when facing into an AI senior final as this present Down team has had and this experience will benefit the Down players greatly, no doubt.

  With respect, though, under-age and senior are very different propositions. For instance, last year's under- 21 final was played in Portlaoise in front of a few thousand people, not in front of 80,000 in Croke Park. Incidentally, some of the Cork senior players also played in that Under 21 final  which Cork won so they should benefit from the experience also.

   This year's Cork senior football team is likely to have only three players playing in their first senior AI final next Sunday, namely, Ray Carey, Ciaran Sheehan and Aidan Walsh. The other players will all have previously played some part in at least one football final - not to mention the six semi-finals that Cork has played in over the past six years. So, if Cork loses the final again this year we can't blame it on the lack of big day experience.

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   I do think Down will beat Cork though, I think the fear of losing yet again will ultimatly be Cork's downfall,

   The fear of losing again will either be Cork's downfall or else it will motivate the Cork players  to play like never before.

   Yes, most of the psychological pressure is on Cork this time but this Cork team has shown this year that it is now better able to handle such pressure than it was previously. The Cork  players' backs were to the wall  at some stage in almost all of their games this year - yet they managed to stand tall each time and grind out narrow wins in most of their games.

  Now, if only they could do the same just one more time!

  Finally, remember that Cork is not facing Kerry this time so the pressure may not be as great as it was last year or in '07.  As I already said, Kerrry is the only county to have defeated Cork in the past six years' football championships so Cork doesn't fear any other county as much as it fears Kerry. It's a 'tradition' thing!- the sight of the green and gold jersey in Croke Park just frightens us!
In fairness though, last year in the AI final Cork faced a forward division that included Paul Galvin, Declan O Sullivan, Tadhg Kennelly, Tommy Walsh, Gooch Cooper and one other who I can't name right now (either Kieran Donaghy or Darren O Sullivan, maybe?) and that was just the forwards! Now, I know that the Down forwards are excellent as well but I don't think that they will quite instill the same fear in Cork minds as these Kerry players did somehow.
Also, many of the Cork players are older and more experienced than their Down counterparts so this should help the Cork team's confidence and composure as well.

I usually look forward to the finals. This year it doesn't bother me one bit. Cork are only there because Dublin's indiscipline, and Down are only there because of a square-ball goal...

                   ... and Mayo, where are they?

      It took a lot more than Dublin's indiscipline for Cork to reach another All-Ireland final. These Cork players have ben bursting their guts since last January in their effort to make it to this final so please don't disparage them with such glib comments.

Had Mayo not lost to Longford, it could have been totally different for Down.

        If my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle!

I usually look forward to the finals. This year it doesn't bother me one bit. Cork are only there because Dublin's indiscipline, and Down are only there because of a square-ball goal...

                   ... and Mayo, where are they?

      It took a lot more than Dublin's indiscipline for Cork to reach another All-Ireland final. These Cork players have ben bursting their guts since last January in their effort to make it to this final so please don't disparage them with such glib comments.

Murphy won't be starting anyway . He will  come in the 2nd half  and float between full forward and midfield. Walsh and O Connor will probably start. You probably will remember Walsh , he was the guy that ran up the field to create the goal that won the under 21 match  for Cork last year.

Correct Marym, Nicholas  Murphy probably will not  start on Sunday week but is expected to come on in the course of the game and yes, O Connor and Walsh are expected to start in mid-field.

               Before anybody else comments on Nicholas, could they please remember that he is and has been carrying a serious back injury for some time now - I think that it's a 'slipped disc' sort of injury which probably will require surgery once the season is over.

              In my opinion Nicholas (along with Canty)  has been the outstanding member of this Cork team over the past decade. As the team's best natural fielder of the ball, he has often carried this team on his own especially in the earlier years when Cork's  forward division wasn't as strong as it is now - so he owes nothing to Cork supporters. Yes, there have been days when he hasn't performed as well as others but that happens to many players. Also please remember that in big games (especially  v Kerry) he has often been the team's 'marked (or double marked) man' and has suffered a lot of abuse as a result.

            Also, to all those people who have been critical of Cork football here and elsewhere, let me just cite one statistic that is sustaining us all in hope down here in Cork  i.e. only one county has defeated Cork in championship football since 2004.

              Now, if only we could maintain that record for just one more game then our mission would be accomplished and everything else would be irrelevant.

Was driving around the South West all last week and you wouldn't have a clue Cork were in an AI final in two weeks such was the lack of colour around the place. There were more Cork flags displayed in the Kingdom than there was in Cork ffs, so may I be the first to say Up Down.

    As a native of the South-West, let me explain! Cork is now in its third football final in four years - if we combine senior football and hurling I think Cork has  featured in six or seven finals over the last eight years. Therefore, being in an All -Ireland final is no longer a novelty for Cork GAA supporters  - hence the lack of hype this year.
   Also, Cork people have become very wary of merely reaching a final as we have lost a lot of finals in recent years. In fact, our only two senior victories in the past decade were achieved by the hurlers as far back as '04 and '05. As a result, there has been a  reasonably low-key build up  to this year's final which I, for one, am glad of.
      Furthermore, there's a lot of anxiety around Cork regarding injuries to key footballers. Four or five of the senior players are presently struggling with injury/fitness issues, namely, G. Canty, J. Miskella, N. Murphy,  F. Goold and A. Lynch. Hence, we don't know what kind of a Cork team is going to play on Sunday week
      Finally, there's considerable psychological pressure on Cork  this year as the thought of losing a third final in four years is unbearable. Also, Down are something of an 'unknown quantity' to us as we rarely play them. However, we are well aware of Down's potential - we saw two great displays from Down this year in beating Kerry and Kildare and we know that absolutely anything can happen on the day.
     All of this is making for a very anxious build-up to the final for Cork and so we have little appetite for revelry and fanfare at the moment. Then again, this may all change in the next week as supporters begin to show their support for this great Cork team that, despite many setbacks, refuses to give up in their search for that elusive All -Ireland win.
     
     
   
     
   
   

 
   Well, Tipp are in the Burlington tonight and Kilkenny are at Citywest. So much for the 'winners' hotel' theory.