Cork look to Cleary once again to stem the Kingdom onslaught...
CORK can take comfort in the knowledge that John Cleary has been here before. As Kerry chased down a historic ninth Munster title in a row in 1983, interest in Cork’s waning football fortunes was reflected in such a modest attendance that it could almost have been accommodated in Páirc Uí Rinn
The 17,000 that defied the rain that day witnessed one of Cork football’s most iconic moments when Tadhg Murphy fired to the net — with the second last kick of the game — to deliver a famous 3-10 to 3-9 victory.
They also bore witness to the emergence of a crafty corner-forward who went on to become a two-time All-Ireland winner.
While Murphy grabbed the headlines, it was Cork’s rookie Castlehaven forward Cleary who caused Kerry their biggest headache, top-scoring with 1-6 — 1-2 coming from play.
Almost 40 years on and not a whole pile has changed.
Kerry come to Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday in the midst of a stretch of dominance they have not enjoyed since Mick O’Dwyer’s Golden Years, which Cleary and Cork briefly interrupted.
The Kingdom are setting out this summer in search of a ninth title in 10 years. Cork, meanwhile, were last Munster champions in 2012.
No more than in 1983, Cork are given little hope. It has led to a suggestion that their level of support will be more than accommodated in Páirc Uí Rinn’s 11,000capacity stadium. The venue being a source of contention that has dominated the build-up.
And Cleary is back in the role of rookie, the tie representing his first Championship match as a senior inter-county manager.
That it has taken this long is perhaps the biggest surprise, given that he was touted for the role on more than one occasion.
Indeed, when Conor Counihan stepped down in 2013, he was seen as an automatic replacement but Brian Cuthbert got the nod.
And two years later when Cuthbert departed, he was the clear frontrunner but a prolonged process ended in Peadar Healy’s appointment.
Cleary wasn’t snubbed; he was interviewed on both occasions but it is believed he didn’t get the assurances he had sought to commit to the job.
In the end, he has finally made Decorated: Cleary is a double All-Ireland winner it by accident with Keith Ricken, who signed up Cleary as a coach, forced to step aside after the Allianz League campaign and paved the way for him to step into the top role. He will hardly be fazed because there was good reason why he was seen as such a favoured candidate in the past. In his six years as Cork Under 21 manager (200813), he won four Munster Championships and an All-Ireland in 2009. Prior to that as a selector and coach, he was part of Tony Leahy’s management when Cork won four Munster titles in a row in the same grade from 2004-07. In short, he was the central figure in a period of unprecedented Cork dominance over Kerry at underage level for the bones of a decade.
It reached its zenith in 2011, when Cork hammered the Kingdom 2-24 to 0-8 — the heaviest championship defeat suffered by any Kerry team in any grade of football.
With that CV, and with a county that always sources their manager internally, he was destined to be at the top of the Leesiders’ wish-list, but his late arrival to the post invites some doubts.
Thirteen years have passed since that U21 All-Ireland victory over Down, while it is nine years sine he finished up as U21 boss.
Indeed, only three of the Cork panel — Brian Hurley, John O’Rourke and Ian Maguire — are still involved that would have played under him at U21 level.
Time and tactics move quickly, particularly in football.
He has kept his hand in, managing Cork’s minor ladies to four All-Ireland titles, while he has also remained involved on the club scene with Castlehaven, helping in their emergence as a competitive force once more.
It could also be argued that while his underage record is good, the conversion of four Munster titles into just one All-Ireland is less than spectacular, although he had the misfortune of running into exceptional Dublin (2012) and Galway (2013) teams.
However, Cork’s football issues have never been sourced at underage level — it’s what happens after that needs addressing.
Take that 22-point mauling that Cleary’s team dished out to Kerry in 2011 — within three years, nine of that Kerry team pocketed AllIreland senior medals.
It is how talent is developed to make the leap to the senior grade that is the ultimate challenge and one that Cork, it can be argued, have repeatedly failed to meet in recent times.
But, right now, Cleary is facing his biggest ever challenge, putting the shackles on a Kerry team powered by, perhaps the most potent attack in the game and headlined by the twin talents of David Clifford and Seán O’Shea.
To do that, he will have to show something new. It is hard to gauge his impact as coach, but the core of Cork’s troubles this spring is easily identified.
They endured the worst defensive record across the entire National League, failing to keep their goal intact in any game while conceding just under 20 points a game.
Not that they were ever going to engage in a shoot-out with Kerry, but it means that the focus will almost certainly zone in on how he can provide his team with the defensive protection to stay in Saturday’s game.
Still, as he showed 39 years ago, he has the shoulders to take such a weight.