Tipp have earned right to be confident

In the fall-out from Tipperary’s travails in the Munster championship and the question of what to do next, some have become very aware of the trees but not so conscious of the wood.

The first thing that might be acknowledged is that – whisper it – Tipperary did not really do so badly at all. While responsibility for their own downfall can hardly be pinned on anyone else, it is at least worth saying that despite failing to win four games, a game deficit of just eight points shows how competitive the team was for much of the time.

The question might be how competitive they might reasonably be expected to be?

An interesting reaction came from Martin Breheny in the Irish Independent when he raised this fundamental question as to what would have been reasonable expectation for Tipperary in the Munster championship. According to Breheny “it would have taken an extraordinary level of arrogance among Tipperary supporters to assume that a top-three finish was a certainty when previous results against their four Munster rivals suggested otherwise. Presumably, those cold, hard facts, rather than misguided assumptions, will dictate where Tipperary should go from here.”

 

For more, pick up a copy of this weeks Nenagh Guardian or subscribe to our e-paper