Cork sit bottom of the National Football League's division two with just a single point after three games. That they lost to Clare on Sunday was not a major surprise. The nature of it perhaps was: a nine-point defeat which saw two goals conceded after just four minutes.
In an attempt to arrest the slide of Cork football, the Cork county board last month unveiled '#2024 - A Five-Year Plan for Cork Football'. Its aim: to have the county competing for All-Ireland titles at all grades within that time period.
"I read with interest this strategic report and I've never seen such mumbo jumbo," said Joe Brolly on League Sunday before figuratively tearing it to shreds.
Is it any wonder Cork football is in the state it’s in? The black hole in the finances...
Here are some of the lines from the strategic report: ‘We’ve lost our Corkness and we need to rediscover that Corkness that makes us Cork. 'Brand Cork needs urgent work.’ 'There’s been a disengagement of stakeholders.'
Well, there was a disengagement of the Cork full-back line today for two goals inside four minutes for Clare.
It’s very disappointing because the Rebels were always a model of coming along every now and again to puncture teams and win an All-Ireland football and hurling. It’s desperately sad to see them in the position they’re in. When you hear that sort of waxy nonsense...
Joanne Cantwell put it to Brolly that the report did recommend the appointment of a high performance director and administrators for games development - it wasn't all empty talk.
"Derry has a high performance director - he's overseen us from division one to division four," was Brolly's response.
"They’ve said, ‘We need a synergy going forward.’ The only thing they didn’t do was quote Nelson Mandela. All this nonsense when they have a real job of work that needs to be done. It’s just sugary PR - I’ve read the report - it's just sugary PR. It’s all gobbledegook and there are no shortcuts."
