Rico's Attitude to Derry - As kenny said - is he on medication?
Taken from today's Examiner:
Speaking early yesterday, Richardson told reporters: “I think if we can play to our potential we’re a better team than Derry, though they will think differently. It will be a game of contrasts. Derry are quite a defensive team anyway, they tend to sit back and play on the break. They’re a very well organised and honest group of players, and impressive in that respect. But perhaps they don’t play as much football as you would like to see from potential champions.”
The Cork City boss then made bold to predict his counterpart’s team selection.
“I’ll tell you what’ll happen tomorrow. I’ve no doubt that (Pat) McCourt won’t play. Killian Brennan will play on the left and Gary Beckett will play up front. And I know the way Beckett operates, he’ll spend a lot of time in the middle of the park, trying to flood the midfield. They will try and come back and defend, in the way they normally do, and then play on the break. It’s what Derry do, and it’s what they do very well.”
Asked if a Cork victory would be better for the league, Richardson replied: “I think it probably would be, in that the message it would send out would be that it’s possible to be successful playing pure football. And that’s not denigrating Derry City because they are a terrific side; in the semi-final here they were superb. For one period in the second half especially, I thought they were immense.
“But I think, from the Irish professional football point of view, we need more leadership from the powers that be in Merrion Square and from club directors, managers and coaches to say to the players to go out and play football in the proper way. We have to be able now to portray an image based on a product that’s vibrant, not a product based on huff and puff and physicality. Because the talent is there.”
Is Rico for real. First of all, Derry have scored more goals than Cork. Second, Derry play lovely football - their game is not based on huff and puff. They have excellent players and play a nice brand of football. I have not seen as much of them as I have of Cork but I can't see much difference between them in terms of the desire to play 'football'. Third, why slag off your opposition going into such a key game. Another reason to beat them. Is the Kevin Keegan of Irish football losing it again? :ball:
