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Kerry fans bemoan tactics after shock championship exit

Published

4 years ago

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Diarmuid O'Connor of Kerry is surrounded by Tyrone defenders. Pic: Daire Brennan/Sportsfile.

Last Saturday’s disappointing All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Tyrone has left Kerry football supporters questioning the team’s tactics, a survey carried out by the Killarney Advertiser has revealed.

The Kingdom fell to an agonising one-point defeat after extra time, despite being strong favourites to advance to the final following an impressive run throughout the National League and Munster Championship.

This is the second year in a row that Kerry have exited the championship earlier than expected and, for the second year in a row, fans are citing the side’s tactical approach as one of the main reasons for the unexpected loss.

The open-ended question “What went wrong for Kerry against Tyrone?” was put to supporters by the Killarney Advertiser and, of the 280 responses, 28% explicitly mentioned “tactics”, while a further 11% suggested that “management” was the cause of the defeat.

One frequently submitted criticism was that the team “didn’t have a Plan B”.

Meanwhile, 13% of replies cited the players’ on-field “decision-making”. Trying for goals instead of taking easy points accounted for the bulk of these responses.

Attitude, individual errors, defence, team selection, conditioning, preparation, forwards, the referee, and an over-reliance on David Clifford and Seán O’Shea were some of the less common “reasons” offered up for the defeat.

DISSATISFIED

Looking at the campaign as a whole, almost one-in-five supporters are apparently ‘satisfied’ (16%) or ‘very satisfied’ (2%) with Kerry’s season. Of the remainder, 55% said they were ‘dissatisfied’ and 27% said they were ‘very dissatisfied’.

Kerry manager Peter Keane has reached the end of his three-year term and it is not yet known if he will be seeking an extension. When asked if Keane should be given another year (or more) at the helm, 77% of respondents suggested that he should not, with 23% stating their belief that he should be given another shot.

Looking to the future, 43% of those polled think that Kerry will bounce back from this year’s disappointment to win the All-Ireland in 2022. Around three out of ten are predicting that 2023 will be our next All-Ireland-winning year, with a similar number stating that it will be 2024 or after before Sam returns to The Kingdom.

PLAYERS

After a remarkable season which included a string of Man of the Match displays, Paudie Clifford has been singled out by supporters as Kerry’s Player of the Year. The Fossa and East Kerry forward picked up a whopping 49% of the vote with his brother, David, next in line on 19%. Seán O’Shea (17%) and Gavin White (12%) also received a significant number of votes.

Unsurprisingly, our readers have also selected Paudie as the Newcomer of the Year, although Mike Breen of Beaufort was another strong candidate in this category.

End-of-Season Kerry Supporters Survey (conducted online by the Killarney Advertiser)

1. Who deserved to win Saturday's All-Ireland semi-final?

Kerry 11%

Tyrone 89%

2. What went wrong for Kerry against Tyrone? (open-ended question)

Tactics 28%

Decision-making (players) 13%

Management 11%

Attitude 10%

Individual errors 7%

Defence 7%

Team selection 6%

Other 18%

3. How do you feel about Kerry's season as a whole?

Very satisfied 2%

Satisfied 16%

Dissatisfied 55%

Very dissatisfied 27%

4. Should Peter Keane be given another year (or more) at the helm?

Yes 23%

No 77%

5. Who was Kerry’s Player of the Year?

Paudie Clifford 49%

David Clifford 19%

Seán O’Shea 17%

Gavin White 12%

Tom O’Sullivan 2%

Jason Foley 0.5%

David Moran 0.5%

6. Who was Kerry’s best “newcomer” in 2021?

Paudie Clifford 91%

Mike Breen 7.5%

Kieran Fitzgibbon 1%

Paul O’Shea 0.5%

7. Who do you think will win the All-Ireland?

Tyrone 42%

Mayo 58%

8. Who do you hope will win the All-Ireland?

Tyrone 16%

Mayo 84%

9. When will Kerry win their next All-Ireland?

Next year 43%

2023 29%

2024 of after 28%

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Home cup tie for St Paul’s could be epic

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2 weeks ago

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7 November 2025

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Paudie O’Connor National Cup (Round 1)

Utility Trust St Paul’s v GCU Brunell

Saturday 7.30pm

Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre

The St Paul’s women’s team will be hoping to get their National Cup adventure off the ground on Saturday when they welcome 2024 champions Brunell to Killarney. Tip-off in the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre is at 7.30pm.

Paul’s have displayed some fine early season form, although their unbeaten start in the Super League came to an abrupt end last weekend when they lost to the Trinity Meteors in Dublin. James Fleming’s side weren’t at their best on the day but they were well in contention heading into the final quarter with the scores at 47-45 in favour of the hosts. The Meteors pushed on in the fourth, however, eventually running out 63-53 winners.

St Paul’s scorers on the night were Maisie Burnham (13), Tara Cousins (12), Lorraine Scanlon (12), Lovisa Hevinder (9), Denise Dunlea (5) and Leah McMahon (2).

The Killarney club are now joint second in the table alongside the Meteors with both teams holding a 4-1 record. Killester are top having won each of their first five games.

Paul’s opponents on Saturday, Brunell, have won three out of five league matches so far.

LAKERS

The Utility Trust St Paul’s Lakers have now won three of their last four games in Division 1 of the Men’s National League following an impressive home victory over Moycullen in Killarney.

Eoin Carroll and Jack O’Sullivan made significant contributions of the Boys in Black; Carroll hit 17 points and collected 13 rebounds while O’Sullivan had 14 points, 12 rebounds and some spectacular blocks.

Steve Kelly posted 30 points and the durable Sam Grant played every second, adding 21 points along the way.

The Lakers started well before the visitors found their footing and the sides went in level at the half-time break after scores by home captain Carroll. There was still nothing to separate the teams entering the fourth quarter (68-65) but buckets by Carroll, Pablo Murcia and Grant opened up a nine-point lead. Moycullen fought back admirably, however, cutting the deficit to just four, but Luke O’Hea’s charges held firm to prevail by eight (88-80).

Next up is a cup tie against the Tipperary Talons, a side they defeated by 30 points just a couple of weeks ago. The cup can be very different to the league, though, and they will need another solid performance to advance to the next round. Tip-off in in Killenaule is at 6.30pm on Saturday.

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Chances of Kerry v Cork Munster final in 2026 decrease as Munster GAA delay seeding plan

Published

2 weeks ago

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7 November 2025

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After facing a backlash from Limerick, Clare, Waterford and Tipperary players, Munster GAA have postponed their plan to keep Cork and Kerry separate in the 2026 Munster Football Championship.

The new seeding system – which gives the two highest ranked Munster teams in the National League byes to separate semi-finals – will now come into play in 2027, twelve months later than initially planned.

This will give Clare and Limerick a chance to earn promotion to Division 2 of the league, potentially overtaking Cork if the Rebels were to get relegated to Division 3.

Despite traditionally being the two main contenders for Munster football honours, Kerry and Cork haven’t met in a provincial decider since 2021. The Kingdom have won each of the finals since then (one versus Limerick and three versus Clare) by an average margin of 15.75 points.

More high-profile Kerry v Cork finals might be desirable for fans of those teams, businesses in Killarney and Cork, and neutrals alike but Munster GAA’s plans to effectively keep the great rivals on opposite sides of the draw understandably drew criticism from the other participating counties. A statement by the GPA confirmed that players from Limerick, Clare, Waterford and Tipp had met via Zoom to discuss the matter. They were said to be “deeply disappointed and concerned” by the decision.

The 12-month delay will at least give two of those disaffected teams an opportunity to benefit from the new seeding process.

The draw for the 2026 Munster Football Championship will take place on November 27 under the old rules. As 2025 finalists, Kerry and Clare will get byes to the last four (but they will not necessarily be kept apart).

Nine members of Kerry’s squad are up for All-Stars at tonight’s awards ceremony in Dublin with Joe O’Connor and David Clifford also in contention for the prestigious Footballer of the Year award.

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