REBELS WITH A CAUSE AT LAST

CORK to contend for the Sam Maguire inside three years is the headline target of an ambitious development plan published yesterday. The five-year plan also promises a detailed root and branch overhaul of Gaelic football in the county, and is to be resourced by the full-time employment of six staff as well as an intern media liaison offer. The document is the work of a high profile sub-committee consisting of All-Ireland winning manager Conor Counihan, his 2010 captain Graham Canty and his successor as Cork boss Brian Cuthbert, along with county board chairperson Tracy Kennedy. The committee was established in response to a disastrous 2018 campaign, which saw the county team fail to reach the last eight in the Championship for the fourth successive season, after suffering back-to-back hammerings from Kerry and Tyrone. While the goal is to get Cork, fourth in football’s roll of honour with seven All-Irelands, back as front-line contenders, the plan calls for a radical change of its club structures and player development pathways, while also claiming that the budget is in place for the planned appointments. The latter, though, could be a challenge given the board is currently saddled with a crippling debt as a result of overspend on the redevelopment of Páirc Uí Chaoimh. There is also a promise that the county teams will be properly resourced financially, although this may well depend on the cash-strapped board returning to profitability inside 12 months. The new full-time posts will be headed by a project coordinator, who will have a key role in the appointment of future county managers. There is a second senior appointment of a High Performance Director, who will oversee and develop the sports science area of team preparations as well as a talent development manager to work with academies and two new GDAs. One of the criticisms of the overspend on Páirc Uí Chaoimh, which is now expected to come in with a final price tag of ¤110 million, is that the resources would have been better spent in providing Cork GAA with a number of regional centre of excellences around the county. This plan does not refer to the development of such facilities but promises that, inside two years, a training hub will be established for all teams.