THE SUNDAY GAME’S Donal Óg Cusack has responded to the response to his response to The Sunday Game’s response to the tactics of Davy Fitzgerald and Derek McGrath. 

Speaking last Sunday, Cusack called the criticism of the pairs’ notionally defensive deployment of sweepers was emblematic of the “last remnants of British culture on these islands.” 

'I actually believe that type of accusation of disrespecting the traditions of the game is part of the last remnants of British culture on these islands.' #rtegaa pic.twitter.com/yKh42z1bM0

— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 28, 2019

Cusack was – somewhat clumsily – drawing an analogy between the hurling traditionalists claiming defensive tactics disrespected the sport’s traditions and the island mentality of English football, who prided outmoded “long ball to John Bull” tactics above adopting the innovations pioneered in Europe and around the world. 

He was derided online, with criticism from fellow Sunday Game panelists Ken McGrath and Joe Brolly the most notable. McGrath tweeted “absolute nonsense egos gone out of control”, while Brolly shared a clip of the comments with a caption claiming that “stupid, confident people are taking over the planet.” 

Speaking today on the RTÉ GAA podcast, Cusack has defended his comments, saying that, of the messages he received, the bulk were positive and the negativity was largely confined to Twitter. 

“In many instances the likes of Twitter has replaced the writing on the back of a toilet door that you saw when you were kid. You need to be very careful with how you react if you use that as a barometer.”

Cusack wasn’t entirely deaf to the criticism, however, and said that much of it stuck to his “British culture” comment. 

“A lot of the focus, from what I hear, has been around the British comment.

“David Fitzgerald having to defend himself after the game in terms of the way he chose to set up, it has been thrown at him the last number of years, and it has been thrown at any changes we see in the game as if it’s in some way disrespecting the game. I have a strong belief that it’s actually respecting the game to innovate and bring that type of change. 

“If you want to go a bit further on that word ‘respect’ – the origin comes from two Latin words, meaning ‘back’ and ‘look at.’

“Post-colonialism is a subject on which numerous books have been written, and we were a colony for a long time, unfortunately. Our attitude towards changes in our games reminds me of the slowness of the English to adapt to change in the sports they founded.

“Soccer is a really good example of that. It was acknowledged the real evolution of soccer came from Central Europe, South America and the USSR. Even the principle of collective play that the Soviets wanted as a principle was seen as a revolutionary thought in Britain; that a player must be good, but that a player must be good for a particular team is more important. 

“It was the 1950s, really, when the English realised they needed to change, and many historians will say it was in the ’53 game with Hungary that they got to that tipping point. 

“That was the hypothesis I was throwing over, and I stand over it. 

“When you say that, is it a thing where people want you to say and show what they want you to say and show? That kind of herd mentality isn’t one I’m interested in at all.

I always got the sense that when I came into RTÉ first there was a bit of an old boys’ club feeling to it and it was a bit like joining a political party in the olden days – you walk into the Dáil bar and you vote with us and talk like us. Once you conform, you’ll be okay. It’s amusing to think that even among the pundits in RTÉ that there’d be that kind of indulgent and egotistical… writing columns about a couple of points made on Sunday’s show that were only a small part of that show.

“If it makes people feel better about themselves, if they get a few more likes on Twitter and fills a few columns, I’m happy for them.”

Elsewhere, Cusack confirmed he would be interested in becoming Cork hurling manager in the future, in light of the exit of John Meyler earlier this week. 

You can listen to the full podcast here.