Clare’s decade of abysmal failure

EVER wonder how deep into the quagmire Clare football has lunged? Take a look at the county’s Munster Senior Championship record over the last decade and the stark facts impart an insightful tale. In 11 seasons of Munster championship football, including last Sunday’s game, Clare have only beaten one county. They beat Waterford in 2008, 2005 and 2002. Clare haven’t beaten anyone in Munster since ’08. In their 11 first-round championship games since 2001, Clare have lost eight. They have a 100% losing record against every Munster county except Waterford in that period.
Throw in the fact that the county will be lining out in Division 4 for the fifth successive season in 2012 and it becomes quite clear that football in the county is at an exceptionally low ebb. 
Even when Clare were not competitive in previous generations, they would have been confident of turning over Limerick, Waterford or Tipperary. Not these days. Since 2006, Clare have been knocked out of Munster four times by Waterford and Limerick. They lost to Waterford in 2007 and 2010 and were beaten by Limerick in 2009 and 2006.
Luckily, Clare haven’t drawn Cork or Kerry too often. Before last Sunday’s double humiliation (junior and senior) in Cork, Clare hadn’t played the current All-Ireland champions in Munster championship since 2005. That day, Cork beat Clare 0-18 to 0-6 in Cusack Park.
In their Munster semi-final meeting with Kerry in 2008, Clare were hammered 1-14 to 0-5 in Killarney.
Their All-Ireland qualifier record isn’t much better. Since the qualifiers were introduced in 2001, Clare have never won more than a single game in that format per season. Their last All-Ireland qualifier win was against Antrim in 2006. Their only other qualifier wins were in ’04 and ’05 when they beat Sligo and Westmeath respectively. They were subsequently knocked out in the next round in both years, although Clare ran Cork to four points (0-15 to 0-11) in ’04.
Not allowed to enter the qualifiers in ’07 or ’08 due to their Division 4 status, Clare have lost their first-round qualifier game five times in 10 attempts and have yet to follow up any of their three wins with another win in the same year. Last year, they at least competed manfully with Offaly in Tullamore before losing in extra time, while Donegal narrowly beat Clare in the 2009 first-round qualifier in Ballybofey.
Between Munster championship and All-Ireland qualifier games since 2001 Clare have played 25 championship games, winning six. As already mentioned, three of those wins were against Waterford.
Managerial continuity is also an issue. Clare have had seven management teams since 2001. These include Tommy Curtin, Pat Begley, John Kennedy, the combination of Donie Buckley and Michael Brennan, Paidí O’Sé, Frank Doherty and Micheál McDermott.
Another salient point is that of player turnover. Take the Clare team and substitutes who played against Waterford in 2007. Clare lost 1-6 to 0-7 in May of that year with Paidí O’Sé in charge. Of the 19 players who played that day, just six lined out last Sunday. That’s a mere four years later. The following was the ’07 Munster championship team:
Joe Hayes (Lissycasey); Laurence Healy (Ennistymon), Conor Whelan (Doonbeg, captain), Gordon Kelly (Miltown); John Hayes (Kilrush), David Russell (Kilkee), Greg Lyons (Doora-Barefield); Frank O’Dea (Doonbeg), Gary Brennan (Clondegad); David Connole (Kilfenora), Enda Coughlan (Kilmurry Ibrickane), Oige Murphy (Cratloe); Evan Talty (Kilmurry Ibrickane), Stephen Hickey (Éire Óg), Rory Donnelly (then Summerhill).
Subs: Michael O’Dwyer (Kilmurry Ibrickane) for David Connole, Cathal Lafferty (Miltown) for Óige Murphy, Darragh Kelly (Kilkee) for John Hayes and Shane Daniels (Éire Óg) for Evan Talty.
All of this is not intended to stick the knife into players or some of the management teams, who have done their best over the last decade. It is merely to underline that Clare’s competitive championship record is one of the worst in Ireland. However, this is never acknowledged at county board meetings or questions are never asked or answered as to why this is the case.
This is Clare’s Munster championship and All-Ireland qualifier record since 2001:
2011: Cork 1-23 Clare 0-11
2010: Waterford 1-10 Clare 0-9
2009: Limerick 1-13 Clare 1-9 (Munster semi-final)
2008: Clare 0-9 Waterford 0-7; Kerry 1-14 Clare 0-5 (Munster semi-final)
2007: Waterford 1-6 Clare 0-7
2006: Limerick 2-5 Clare 0-8
2005: Clare 2-14 Waterford 2-10; Cork 0-18 Clare 0-6 (Munster semi-final)
2004: Kerry 2-10 Clare 0-9
2003: Limerick 2-14 Clare 0-12 (Munster semi-final)
2002: Clare 3-10 Waterford 2-9; Tipperary 1-8 Clare 0-8. (Munster semi-final)
2001: Cork 2-11 Clare 0-10 (Munster semi-final).
All-Ireland qualifiers:
2010: Offaly 2-18 Clare 1-18 (AET)
2009: Donegal 0-13 Clare 1-7
2007 and 2008: Division 4 counties barred from All-Ireland qualifiers
2006: Clare 1-13 Antrim 2-9; round two: Fermanagh 0-15 Clare 0-10
2005: Clare 0-12 Westmeath 0-9; round two: Sligo 1-13 Clare 0-11
2004: Clare 1-15 Sligo 1-7; round two: Cork 0-15 Clare 0-11
2003: Offaly 1-12 Clare 1-8
2002: Laois 1-19 Clare 1-6
2001: Laois 0-13 Clare 1-8.