Two greats paired together in the pursuit of excellence

Two thirds of the holy trinity of Kerry forwards – Mikey Sheehy and Maurice Fitzgerald – are getting the chance to work together, writes Damian Stack

IT’S one of those great scribbling on the back of a beermat type conversations. Given free rein, which three footballers would you choose for the full-forward line in an all-time Kerry selection?

You could drive yourself around the bend thinking about the what combinations of footballers would gel best. You might even consider whether or not it would be possible to facilitate one or another on the half-forward line – not forgetting that Kerry haven’t exactly been short of great half-forwards over the years either.

At the end of it all, however, you’d have to, just have to, go with the holy trinity – Cooper, Fitzgerald, Sheehy.

Mikey and Gooch are both synonymous with the number thirteen shirt, but both played all over the forward line and, while Maurice didn’t play all that much at full-forward, alongside those two he’d no doubt feel right at home there.

That it will never happen hardly seems to matter. It’s a thought experiment, a way of paying tribute to the greats of our game and our county, but given what’s happened in the last couple of months you do have to wonder whether similar thoughts have passed through Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s mind at one time or another.

And, no, we’re not suggesting the Finuge man was itching to get Maurice back on the field of play – though it should be noted he never did retire – more so that when given the chance to bring him together with Mikey Sheehy in his back-room team he jumped at the chance.

Fitzgerald’s pedigree as a manager is well established now in the wake of a brilliant spell in charge of his native St Marys and that, no doubt, was Fitzmaurice’s primary consideration when bringing him on board as selector.

All the same there’s a certain romance in bringing two thirds of the holy trinity together. It’s even more striking when you see the two together as they so often are these days.

You see that Maurice has picked up where Diarmuid Murphy left off, as both he and Mikey head to the stands, wired up and mic’d up to the sideline, watching the match together and giving the type of insight which only two greats of the game possibly could.

Given their body language on those occasions, it’s a task both men clearly relish.

“I enjoy working with Maurice,” Sheehy says.

“Sure Maurice is an unbelievable individual. He is one of the greatest footballers to have ever played the game and he is very smart in reading what things are going on down below.

“He is very easy to work with and we get on well together the two of us and we gel well. Some days we get things right, but it’s often the case when you win, all the decisions you make are right and when you lose they are wrong and we know nothing about football, but look that is the way football is and it doesn’t bother us.”

By now Sheehy is well-accustomed to the role of eye in the stands.

“I have always been doing it [since 2013]. It’s a different perspective than you get at ground level when you are higher up. I think Davy Fitzgerald referenced its advantages last week up in Wexford.

“I have done it with Padraig Corcoran last year and the previous two years I did it with Diarmuid Murphy. We always do it. Eamonn and Liam Hassett are on the touchline and Padraig Corcoran is a sitting behind them and I and Maurice would be upstairs.

“We are mic’d up with the lads below and we would be in constant contact with the lads below. It’s a totally different vantage point and it gives a totally different perspective on the game.”

To be a fly on that wall as they say. More than what they provide on match day they are a repository of experience and good judgement that has to inspire confidence even in those younger players who wouldn’t remember their playing days.

When people talk about the innate confidence of a Kerry football team it’s because of the input of men like Fitzgerald and Sheehy. They’re part of an unbroken chain stretching back more than a century.

Cork too have a great tradition in football even if, at times this year, it hasn’t always felt that way. Where Kerry are confident the Rebels appear racked by self-doubt. Little wonder the Kingdom are such overwhelming favourites for Sunday, something which hasn’t escaped Sheehy’s attention and raised his antennae.

If anybody knows to be wary of a Cork side seemingly on the uppers, then it’s Mikey Sheehy.

“I think they are much maligned,” he says.

“They have been unlucky and it seems there is a lot of criticism in the county but when we are facing them on Sunday we will take it with a grain of salt. Go back to 2015 in the drawn game Cork should have beaten us comfortably enough they were five points up with about 15 minutes to go and we got a very dubious penalty which brought us back into the game.

“Cork still led by a point in injury time and we got Fionn’s famous kick. Some fellas said he was going for a pass, but he popped it over anyway. Now we improved in the replay, but a lot of those Cork players are still involved and we have a lot involved.

“So we know the quality they have and we haven’t played them since then possibly they were in Division 2, but that makes no difference form goes out the window and Cork have had two tough battles that they came out of.

“That’s another thing I would say all counties no matter what division you are in, when it comes to championship they are prepared very well, they are into their S&C and they are very fit.

“I was watching the Dublin-Carlow game. Dublin were always in control, but in the 58th minute of the game at the time of Diarmuid Connolly’s thing, I saw it on the corner of the screen it was 12-6, six points two kicks of a ball so this thing about Division 1 and 4 goes out the window once championship comes.

“I can remember 2014 well they hammered us in the league and we were complete outsiders going up to Pairc Uí Chaoimh. So as I said earlier on we know the quality Cork have and against Tipp if you look at the guys the brought on.

“You also have Aidan Walsh who is back Alan O’Connor who was suspended so unless we perform on the day we won’t do the business.

“Simple as that.”