With Kilkenny on the way down,Clare,Tipp and Galway not building on their potential I predict Liam is coming home to Cork,Alan Cadogan is the best young forward in the country. With no duals issues Aidan Walsh and Damien Cahalane will be lot fresher. Young lads like Conor Murphy playing great stuff and a fit Paudie & Conor Sullivan back fit. Who can stop us??

HughHunt24 (Cork) - Posts: 841 - 26/02/2015 10:37:31    1697005

Kilkenny,Tippereary,Clare,Limerick,Waterford,Dublin and Galway.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 26/02/2015 10:54:56    1697016

Cork need to win Liam this year or it's bye-bye JBM.

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 26/02/2015 11:34:55    1697041

An absolouely cringe-worthy thread.

Cork have a chance of winning Liam certainly. We are a top hurling county and we are definitely in it to win. I think players like Daniel Kearney, Pat Horgan, Seamus Harnedy, Anthony Nash are as good as there are anyhere. We also have found new young players like Cormac Murphy (Mallow-don't know who Conor Murphy is), Anthony Spillane (Castleyons) who are very decent young hurlers. Definitely moving in the right direction.

Why we will not win this year:

We don't have ball winning half-forwards which is vital

Aidan Walsh: a very strong athlete and whole hearted committed hurler. The margins at the very top are very fine and ultimately Aidan is a footballer who is lacking that little bit of skill and quickness of decision making. He will be fresher, he will definitely make the odd burst and score a great morale boosting point which catches the eye (hoganstand put in in their team of the week from a similar reason this week- how many mistakes were made in the Clare game) but the amount of poor decision making costs us massively. This guy is an outstanding Gaelic football maidfielder and if he had been allowed to simply play in that position instead of being horsed around, he had the potential to be the greatest of his generation. he has made a huge mistake in choosing hurling- not good for Cork or him.

Damien Cahalane: sadly not good enough for either intercounty team. I have nothing against him. he is a very dedicated individual that no doubt tries is best. Cork GAA since the days of the strikes has descended into players deciding themselves whether they will play for Cork. It should be, your picked if your good enough. Maybe there is nobody better? Maybe they should look harder rather than persevere with guys that don't perform on a regular basis...to be fair to the player mentioned, he is not the only one..



JBM is a great manager and coach. he owes Cork nothing. He has steadied the ship massively in the last few years and everybody will pull behind him. There is no question of him being tossed out and rightly so. I doubt he will seek reappointment.

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 26/02/2015 12:18:35    1697056

HughHunt
After the big win over Clare the other night I can see nobody stopping ye. It is a copperfast foregone conclusion.

Oldtourman (Limerick) - Posts: 4318 - 26/02/2015 12:36:25    1697066

A lot will depend on which teams meet who at what times. If that is not too cryptic! What I mean is that there are potentially easier routes depending on how the provinces pan out and which teams meet each other in the earlier qualifiers. That puts a big premium on winning Munster and Leinster and getting to a semi final after most of that sorting out is done. Clare last year proved the perils of going out early, and indeed Wexford proved the potential of an improving team growing through games. Very much open this year I think. Although to be honest, I also predicted that Cats would not win Leinster, never mind AI last year!

hurlingdub (Dublin) - Posts: 6978 - 26/02/2015 12:39:39    1697067

cuederocket

Sound for leaving us out of the contenders list there buddy. ;)

I backed cork last year and was bitterly disappointed that they never showed an ounce of form Other than the limerick game. It's early days but I certainly wouldn't fancy cork at this stage.

Doylerwex (Wexford) - Posts: 2660 - 26/02/2015 12:49:18    1697070

Wexford(:

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 26/02/2015 12:56:49    1697076

cuederocket

You are too kind

Doylerwex (Wexford) - Posts: 2660 - 26/02/2015 13:32:42    1697089

There is just something about this Cork team that underwhelms I think. I can't see them winning Liam this year.

I agree with Benny in terms of Aidan Walsh. He could've been the greatest midfielder/player of his generation if he'd stuck to the football imo. Not sure where his hurling career will go. A bit like Conal Keaney in reverse I suppose.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13707 - 26/02/2015 14:05:51    1697104

Good man BennyBunny, got there before me...

bloodandbandage (Cork) - Posts: 273 - 26/02/2015 16:26:45    1697161

JBM should have them well up for it this year and is best man for the job imo.
I'd imagine Tipp though along with a few others see this as their chance to become AI champs.

Tipp for me this year.

Dubh_linn (Dublin) - Posts: 2312 - 26/02/2015 17:10:54    1697180

Hmm...I wouldnt rule ye out but is Cadogan better than Bubbles? No evidence yet!
Cahalane for me is probably only a good club hurler

tiobraid (Tipperary) - Posts: 4119 - 26/02/2015 18:19:30    1697203

cork are short a few players.. They are also short that forward that scares the shite out of the other teams. we have no marquee forward.. we have no full back we are an above average team who could cause an upset but we do not have a team who can consistantly contend for all ireland honours... we just dont have the players the structures and the underage success to bring forward to make cork hurling a success..

I think what JBM has done with limited personal has been brilliant but look at the league so far.. Next week we go to dublin hoping for a result !!! Cork of old would be expecting a result against any opposition.. Hurling in the city clubs in cork is at a shockingly low level.. No disrespect to Kanturk but they have 3 starting on the cork hurling team ..

But in february there is always hope

ritchie (Cork) - Posts: 346 - 27/02/2015 11:29:43    1697342

No marquee forward?!?! Patrick Horgan would be on any team in the country!

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 27/02/2015 11:56:41    1697351

keeper7
County: Longford
Posts: 2250

1697351
No marquee forward?!?! Patrick Horgan would be on any team in the country!

Do you think Horgan would strike fear into any other team. In 2014 he put up big scores from frees.. But his contribution from play was good but not great.. Lehane plays well for portions of the game. Harnedy lacks consistancy ... Farrell just back .. we dont have a locked down center forward.. Im from cork id wish i was typing a different post.. But we have to deal with reality and the reality is we dont have the Reids.. hogans.. cooneys.. etc etc that galways kilkenny limerick tipp or clare have..

I agree Horgan would start with any other team but he wouldnt be their marquee forward either ,, To coin a phrase from Paul O Connell.. we don NOT strike the fear of god into the other teams.. Kilkenny do and its worth a 2/3/4 point advantage before the ball is thrown in at all

ritchie (Cork) - Posts: 346 - 27/02/2015 12:08:24    1697358

That's fair enough, I suppose, Richie. Harnedy & Bill Cooper seemed to have spiced up that forward line a bit. Lehane is still a great prospect but Cian McCarthy, Cronin, O'Farrell & Coughlan haven't done the business despite getting numerous chances. Paudie O'Sullivan is definitely dangerous if he can recapture the old magic.

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 27/02/2015 12:30:18    1697367

Whats disappointed me about Cork over the last few years is the lack of a killer instinct when a goal chance presents itself.So many times a forward through on goal opted for the easy point where Tipp or Kilkenny would go for the jugular.A mixture of poor awareness,decision making and selfishness have all contributed to this glaring weakness.However,Horgan and Lehane are quality hurlers.Lehane,if he could add a tad more consistency,could become a Cork great.I think he has the potential to be one of the best forwards in the game.The likes of Harnedy,Cian McCarty,Paudie Sullivan,A Cadogan still have a lot to do to impress me.They certainly wouldnt strike fear into a Kilkenny back line.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 27/02/2015 12:35:52    1697369

And flying in an early contender for most outrageous post of the year , How did KK do in their first league game this year ??? cant remember , maybe a wind up thread I don't know .
Nobody saying Cork cant win it , but reasons given by original poster laughable .Dublin will WIN Liam " Crap " its contagious .

Damothedub (Dublin) - Posts: 5193 - 27/02/2015 13:26:14    1697385

I do think that Harnedy is a top player. He is a top centre forward. If he was with Kilkenny and Tipperary, he would look a lot better as he would have better players around him.

Lehane has a great burst of pace and an abundance of skill. If he gets a lose ball, he will cause damage as he is either fouled or will score. The thing is how many balls will he get to do damage? He certainly is worth a start.

Horgan is still a brilliant free taker and in my opinion, there is nobody more skillful (maybe people are AS skillful but not MORE) in the country (his point v Clare in the 71st minute in 2013 was a textbook 10/10 point given the time and the fact the Domhnail O Donova could not have done more to stop it). 2014 was disappointing for him. It does not concern me though.

Cadogan is very good as well and had a good start last year.

Luke O Farrell will hopefully emerge as a top forward.

I think we have 5 that are decent but with questions over some of their consistency. It is very rare that all forwards will perform. I do not know what backup we have though.

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 27/02/2015 14:02:19    1697406