People hav been touting the Kilkenny performance in the All Ireland as the greatest hurling display ever seen. cant really argue with that as from 1-15 they were awesome. but something similar happened to the great Clare team of the 90's. in Ger loughnannes book he said Clare produced the best display he'd ever seen (cant remember the year or the game - it was around 98-99) and that after the game he knew it was the end. how do you replicate a game like that he said. every time you play you strive to play the best you can and on that day Clare reached their best performance.

like kilkenny..that was probably kilkennys best performance under cody. every time they play people will compare their performance to the all ireland this year.it might put doubts in the players minds whether thay can do it anymore if they dont reach the level of the all ireland performance.

i know that that clare team were coming towards the end and had their two all irelands and kilkenny are a reletively young team with a conveyor belt of young players coming through but once you reach the peak you cant go any higher.

howshecuttin (Longford) - Posts: 376 - 17/09/2008 11:19:04    101505

they hit 2 wide's in 70mins.they could cut them out.

on the 40 (Longford) - Posts: 156 - 17/09/2008 11:52:29    101561

fair enough point but there are fundamental differences. firstly that Clare time were over-trained. The spent more time running up hills than playing hurling (they needed to do that as they had about 10 mediocre players on their team). They were never going to be able to stay at the top. Kilkenny in contrast have a conveyor belt of talent and are constantly hurling, hurling, hurling. That game on Sunday week might not have been their peak.

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 17/09/2008 12:25:04    101621

Comparing Clare and Kilkenny is chalk and cheese mate
Clare never had the same calibre of players as this current Kilkenny team do nor the strength in depth. They've just won the minor and U-21 so undoubtebly a number of these players will be coming through in the next few years. Clare never had the same feed of players from underage level coming through to senior. Once certain members of the Clare team started to retire - Jamesie, Daly, O'Louhlin, Lohans, McMahons etc they never had the same quality coming through

holymoly (Dublin) - Posts: 757 - 17/09/2008 12:46:08    101647

As Anthony Daly said, there is only one way this team can go....and it isn't up!

tiobraid (Tipperary) - Posts: 4119 - 17/09/2008 12:49:04    101651

Think you're spot on Holymoly. Kilkenny have a conveyor belt of young talent coming through with a queue of players bursting to get on the senior team. Nobody's place is safe in that team, which ensures there'll be no complacency.

Clare never had that. They had a group of very good players but once the key men started to retire (Seanie Mac, Jamesie etc) they didn't have the same calibre of player coming through and who knows when they will again. Waterford are in the same boat now, they'll struggle to replace the likes of Paul Flynn, Ken McGrath and Tony Browne.

In Kilkenny when a Shefflin or an Eddie Brennan retires or nears retirement the next young hotshot is groomed and ready to step in and take his place. That's the difference.

aidangalway (Galway) - Posts: 648 - 17/09/2008 13:29:01    101683

i think the difference is kilkenny have an abundance of players coming through who are hungry. if the lads on the 1st 15 aren't performing they're axed straight away. keeps everyone on their toes

jaffacake (Meath) - Posts: 720 - 17/09/2008 13:32:13    101688

I couldn't disagree more, KK are going to be the team to beat for god know how many years.

Concept82 (Wicklow) - Posts: 440 - 17/09/2008 14:30:44    101736

i wasnt comparing them man for man...even tho its a bit harsh on that clare team to say they had 10 mediocre players... davy fitz, 2 lohans, seanie mac, daly, lynch, baker, jamesie, gilligan.sparrow. all terrific players in their prime.

i have no doubt there are players coming through in kk..but are they of the calibre of whats there already. is there a new tommy walsh, jj delaney, eoin larkin, henry shefflin, dj carey on the way. henry is almost 30, kavanagh is the same..a few of these players mite be axed by cody given his reputation for flushing out the dead wood so to speak.galway shouldnt have lost the minor and tipp were unlucky in the u-21.

i might be clutching at straws here but it'll give other counties a glimmer of hope...maybe

howshecuttin (Longford) - Posts: 376 - 17/09/2008 14:58:02    101767

yeah agree with on the 40


they missed two bad wides. could improve on that.

( heard the waterford boys were complaining to the ref............'can we have a sliotar?'

ref said ' sure theres one on the pitch already'!

waterford boys " yea but kilkenny are using that one" !!!!!!!

voiceofreason (Mayo) - Posts: 588 - 17/09/2008 15:14:15    101781

omparing the current KK team and Clare team of the mid 90s is INDEED like chalk & cheese.

Brian Lohan, Anthony Daly, Liam Doyle, Frank lohan , Colin Lynch , Jamesie O'Connor, Fergie Tuohy and Sparrow O'Loughlin are some of the greatest players to ever grace the game. The current KK teams are very good but have not yet reached that stage of greatness as they only have to play 2 serious games ayear to win the all-ireland.

Clare in the mid 90s were just a level above KK in terms of skill, passion, tactics, everything. So you can't possibly compare them I'm afraid.

banner_boy (Clare) - Posts: 1285 - 17/09/2008 15:18:34    101788

It'll never bloody end!!!

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 17/09/2008 15:22:23    101793

don't worry the have class comming threw kilkenny will be around for a long time to come. They a ready made replacement for henery in T.J. reid he's going to be a star in the years to come also forwards like mulhall richie hogan (althought maybe not a consistant scorer prown to a few wides) and ruth. Hogan center back for the looks like he'll make it too.

It's still up to other counties to catch the kats i can see them litting it slip for a while yet.

Hag_and_Cheese (Tipperary) - Posts: 6103 - 17/09/2008 15:24:03    101799

re: Banner_boy come on are you being serious they've won 3 all-ireland in a row and have absolutely hammered one of the the top teams in the country in the last 10 with all the passion and skill you talk of in waterford.

Simple question for everyone here if that team of the 90's played the current kilkenny team who would win. True Clare had great players and have earned my respect over time but i still think kilkenny would come out on top.

Hag_and_Cheese (Tipperary) - Posts: 6103 - 17/09/2008 15:29:44    101808

you've got me going now banner_boy the tipp team of 1991 with unbelieveable forward line of M. Cleary, D. Ryan, J. Leahy, P. Fox, Cormac Bonnar, N. English in my view better than the clare team you speak of, maybe could have been a match to that kilkenny team.

Hag_and_Cheese (Tipperary) - Posts: 6103 - 17/09/2008 15:37:41    101819

The Tipp team of the early 80s/late 90s was indeed very good and in many ways would have won more if it had not been for an exceptional Galway team and resurgent Cork and Kilkenny teams. The hill-runners (Clare) came along after those teams declined and gave us a bit of controversy for a while (theleft the hurling to Offaly and Wexford). As soon as other counties got their house in order, they went back to their traditional music and welly-tossing

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 17/09/2008 16:29:11    101906

Lads can ye answer me a question?

On what basis are ye saying Brian Cody is ruthless. Same team for 3 years now (granted they are winning). Since he has come in who has he been ruthless with?
And comparing him to other counties ye obviously think he is more ruthless than any other manager. What other counties haven't been ruthless?

Annoys me when so many listen to lads on the sunday game and come up with ridiculous theories like this. Cody is no more ruthless than any manager i've ever seen, anyone that has disappeared were because they were too old too carry on. Tipp or Galway for example don't do 30 year old players, have they ruthless managers?

tiobraid (Tipperary) - Posts: 4119 - 17/09/2008 16:40:42    101924

re: Tiobraid

Didn't he show charlie Carter the road other than that not really that ruthless

Hag_and_Cheese (Tipperary) - Posts: 6103 - 17/09/2008 17:27:34    101993

If Kilkenny dont win at least 5 all-irelands in the next ten years i'll eat my hat. Where are the competitors coming from?

Pinkie (Wexford) - Posts: 4100 - 17/09/2008 21:09:28    102076

I can't believe some people r saying this is the end of Kilkenny's run? After 2 sunday's ago, it looks only like the beginning of a possible 6-8 in a row and i am not joking!!!!! Comparing this team to Clare's team of the 90's is ridiculous Clare as do not and will not have the talent that kilkenny continually 'produce'!!! Also who r the real main challengers to Kilkenny bar Tipp and possibly Galway??? Dublin really need to have a look at themselves and stop bein so selfish!! Allowing Galway and Antrim enter into Leinster wud benefit everyone!!! The way they c it is that they might hinder their chances of reaching their 1st leinster final in 19 years!! stop bein so selfish, hurling needs changes like these!!!!

kmccallum (Antrim) - Posts: 29 - 17/09/2008 22:30:19    102110