Comment: Glenn Ryan says he doesn’t know where Kildare went wrong… and I believe him

Glenn Ryan was asked for the reasons why Kildare suffered their shock defeat to Cork and the Round Towers man had little more to say than “No…we’re working on it.”

I think I believe him about his initial answer. 

Glenn’s post-match or media duties have always come with a generous pinch of salt. But maybe he doesn’t know what’s wrong. 

The Kildare players have plenty of blame to take their share of but I feel they faced  a side with a game plan that has been coached into them and Kildare were devoid of one. Cork were always going to play the same way and Kildare’s attempts to break them down were nothing short of aimless and benign. 

As if nothing had been done or rehearsed in preparation for a game plan that everyone knew was coming. The recycling of possession without any patterns of play that were working towards something. There was no plan going forward.

There was even less going backwards and this is where the men on the pitch will take more of the heat. That’s one to 15, not just the backline. Regardless of the plan to sit off as Cork hold possession, there will come a trigger point or area of the pitch where Cork will get the ball when you need to put pressure on to prevent a score or incisive pass. Kildare perhaps hadn’t picked a spot as they waited and waited before eventually a Cork player would breeze past his man and score.

Kildare lost to old rivals and powerhouses Dublin on the opening day by a solitary point. But how could this be? How do you go from the narrowest of margins against Dublin in Croke Park to get pumped by Cork at home next week.

It comes down to styles making matchups and it is simple. It is easier to set-up a team to defend than to attack. Against Dublin or any ‘superior’ opposition you know it’s backs against the walls for a lot of it, you can get bodies in defensive positions and get amongst it to keep them at bay. Their attacking focus will in turn afford you space down the other end. It is risky but if you feel you have less or different qualities in your squad it is the route you will take.

On Saturday, Kildare were in the dominant ‘Dublin’ role in proceedings and they floundered. They had no ability to break down Cork’s defensive unit and it appeared they had been given no guidance on how to do so. 

If you are reading this and are saying they should ‘just have a go’ or 'just beat man’, those things are still present in football but unfortunately the game has moved on from being that simple. Tactical astuteness, a team ethic and clear plan has taken a stronghold on football and aside from David Clifford there aren’t many who can exist outside of it.

The example I will use from another sport is Ole Gunnar Solskjær at Manchester United. The manager from Norway got incredible wins on numerous occasions against Klopp’s Liverpool and Guardiola’s Manchester City by defending deep and grinding out results. But when the shoe was on the other foot and his team had the ball, they were clueless. They lost many games against strong defensive units and it was clear that he relied on moments of brilliance from his attacking players to mask this. If it was easier to coach an attacking set-up, everyone would do it. 

Kildare were widely lambasted for their loss to Dublin in the Leinster final in 2022, rightly so. However, I think this performance was far worse. The stakes were much lower but the performance was nothing short of embarrassing throughout. 

You can be caught on the hop and three quick goals will decimate all the best laid plans. But this wasn’t quick, this 2-14 to 0-7 loss was slow and happened gradually over the course of the game. There was no ‘caught out’ by them or ‘sudden burst’ from Cork, the better prepared team accumulated far more scores across 70 minutes than the other one did.

The second half is where things became even more concerning for me. They are 15 human beings at the end of the day and 35 minutes of a flat performance can happen to anyone. However, there was no doubt after that level of display, I and all inside St Conleth’s Park were expecting a serious change of tact. 

The opening half of sitting off Cork when out of possession and not getting a glove on them was surely going to be replaced by energy and a desire for the ball as Kildare trailed by nine points at the break. 1-8 to 0-2.

Referee Jerome Henry restarted the game and Cork won the first ball of the second half and a free. Instantly, Kildare fell into their deep defensive shape as a Cork midfielder played the ball and the receiver looked for a pass with not so much as a white shirt looking at him funny. Surely someone should tell them they are nine points down? And that white leather thing in the middle is what they should be trying to get hold of.

I’m being sarcastic but they looked miles off it and they were either unable or unwilling to get themselves going. I don’t doubt the commitment of any man on that pitch because I know outside of those 70 minutes they have given countless hours of their free time and effort to this cause with not much thanks. But there was something fundamentally wrong with that game.

There are more questions surrounding Kilare moving forward than ever before. And with an away trip to Clare that usually provides little joy for Kildare, things are looking tougher by the week.

Kildare will face Clare, Derry, Louth, Limerick and Meath on the final day in Division two. In a campaign that was supposed to be a promotion push, Kildare must now also ensure they finish high enough to qualify for the Sam Maguire.