Team Of The Decade Competition

homerjay2005

cant find the old thread.. but this is soemthing different.

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You can register at http://www.gaeliclife.com/teamofthedecade/register2.php
A full list of prizes is available on http://www.gaeliclife.com/teamofthedecade/prizes.html
A list of all players and the scoring can be viewed at http://www.gaeliclife.com/teamofthedecade/scoring.html
The rules are found at http://www.gaeliclife.com/teamofthedecade/rules.html
Team of the decade scoring system
6 points - for correctly selecting a player that is confirmed in the Team of the Decade starting fifteen;
1 point - for selecting a player that is confirmed as a sub in the Team of the Decade.

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paul galvin not nominated is the only flaw i can see so far.....

Mods, are we going to run our own team of the decade?

Frogdog

Galvin is nominated. But the flaw I spot is the positions some players are nominated at. Mike McCarthy at right corner back? Marc O Se and Tom O' Sullivan both at left corner back? Paul Galvin and Declan O' Sullivan both at right half forward? Gooch and Maurice Fitzgerald both at right corner forward?

Trying to knock off a few Kerrymen I'd say!

adrian522

Perhaps it should be renamed to Gaelic FOOTBALL team of the decade?

There's more than one sport to the GAA. If you're going to concentrate on one you'd bve better off picking the best of them

homerjay2005

PICKING the football team of the decade was a lot like the football decade itself. In many ways it was hugely democratic as counties like Westmeath, Fermanagh and Wexford had their greatest era in nearly 100 years. But when it actually came to handing out the prizes and separating the champions from the contenders, our team was dominated just like Sam Maguire itself – by the Big Three. That's one of the most striking aspects of both our team and All Star selection. While these past couple of years there's been so much talk about whether Kerry or Tyrone were the team of the decade, the importance and prominence of Armagh is near the fore here.
In all our team features six Kerry men, with a further six being nominated, while Tyrone and Armagh each have three players on the team and eight in total nominated. Dublin, Cork and Derry complete the team. Six other counties had at least one nomination, but such was the savagery of the competition, the likes of Sligo's Eamonn O'Hara, Laois's Joe Higgins, Monaghan's Tommy Freeman and Donegal's Adrian Sweeney didn't even make our top 45 players.
Galway were unfortunate not to have anyone make the side itself but their failure to reach an All Ireland semi-final this past eight years cost them. Also conspicuous by their absence are Darren Fay and Peter Canavan, but only for the reason they would have made the 1990s team when their contributions were more sustained than their sporadic though sometimes brilliant '00s output.
Kieran Shannon



1. Stephen Cluxton (Dublin)
It would be wrong to say he hasn't put a foot wrong since breaking onto the Dublin team as a teenager in 2002. His tempestuous sending off against Armagh in 2003, the short kickout against Tyrone in '05 and the turnover against Kerry late on in '07 all shaped the outcome of those games. But those few moments of error apart, yeah, he's barely put a foot wrong. Probably the best shotstopper in the game and possesses easily the best kickout in the game, even though by August its favourite targets tend to have been well copped by vigilant quarter-final opponents.

In contention: Paul Hearty (Armagh), Diarmuid Murphy (Kerry)

2. Ryan McMenamin (Tyrone)

The most aggravating corner-back of recent times but also the most consistent and complete, personifying Tyrone's capacity to go from blanket defence to blanket attack in a flash. The snarls and theatrics unfortunately will be remembered outside of Tyrone long after the football ends but he couldn't be denied his three All Irelands and three Ulsters and he can't be denied his spot here.

In contention: Tom O'Sullivan (Kerry), Michael McCarthy (Kerry)

3. Graham Canty (Cork)
Full-back play changed this past decade; going from a position played about halfway between the two corners to somewhere between the old square and the corners. Francie Bellew will probably go down as the last archetypal full-back but Barry Owens with his two All Stars was an even better and more natural number three – and we didn't see enough of Owens through injuries and illness. Canty suffered his own injuries and setbacks, but along with Seamus Moynihan he was the best footballer to play full-back this decade and personified the resilience of a Cork team that has kept coming back to reach five consecutive All Ireland semi-finals.
In contention: Barry Owens (Fermanagh), Francie Bellew (Armagh)

4. Marc Ó Sé (Kerry)
Another McMenamin – without the antics. Kerry have produced some exceptional corner-backs this decade but the youngest Ó Sé has been the most enduring and the most complete. When we think of how Kerry epitomise total football, we think of Marc Ó Sé, sweeping across his line, leaving corner-forwards on their backside with a shimmy and a solo, before dashing up the field to set up or even take a score.

In contention: Anthony Lynch (Cork), Seán Marty Lockhart (Derry)

5. TomáS Ó Sé (Kerry)
His famous uncle was probably the wing-back of the last millennium but a point we made about three All Irelands ago – could Páidí in his prime really have been any better than Tomás in his? Probably the most remarkable thing about Tomás is that his prime has been an entire decade, from when he blotted out Michael Donnellan in 2000 right up to Paul Kerrigan in 2009. Maybe not even the Ó Sé of the decade but in these eyes, the defender of the decade.
In contention: Davy Harte (Tyrone), David Heaney (Mayo)

6. Kieran McGeeney (Armagh)



The centre-back of the decade, no question, but a lot more than just a centre-back; McGeeney was the most influential player of the decade. When Armagh won the 2002 All Ireland, they forced Tyrone and Kerry to step up tactically, mentally, holistically – and for all their talent, Armagh would not have won the All Ireland without McGeeney. The Roy Keane of Gaelic football, even if he was a tad more discreet in his dealings and disagreements with his manager.

In contention: Conor Gormley (Tyrone), Aidan O'Mahony (Kerry)

7. Seamus Moynihan (Kerry)
Conor Gormley is the one other defender of the noughties that could play anywhere from number two to seven, but Moynihan's game was so well-rounded, he could have played anywhere from two to 15. He was more than that too – he was perpetual motion, a spiritual leader, a virtual life-force for a generation of Kerry players. When Kerry were in crisis this summer, Moynihan was a key figure in steadying the ship with his discreet observations from the bank and the stand. Kerry's next manager in waiting?
In contention: Philip Jordan (Tyrone), Aaron Kernan (Armagh)

8. Darragh Ó Sé (Kerry)
The one player on this team where no surname or nickname is required – his first name will do. We've often heard how high fielding is a dying art; Darragh kept it alive. We've heard how difficult it is to win an All Ireland in the modern era; Darragh has won six, as many as Cork have in 125 years. This decade showcased many marvellous midfielders but at some stage or other Darragh either out-fielded, outplayed, outsmarted, bullied or outlasted them all. He may never have won the Footballer of the Year but he was the Footballer of the Decade.

In contention: Ciarán Whelan (Dublin), Nicholas Murphy (Cork)

9. Seán Cavanagh (Tyrone)
He burst onto the scene in 2002 as a full-forward and won Player of the Year from there as well in 2008 but in the intervening years Cavanagh won three All Stars from midfield as the second coming of Jack O'Shea. The one thing levelled against Darragh in recent years was that his legs weren't the quickest, but with Cavanagh alongside him, he would no longer have to worry about that. That mobility and scoring power is why the Moy man edges out totems like McGrane, Walsh, Whelan and Murphy.

In contention: Paul McGrane (Armagh), Kevin Walsh (Galway)

10. Brian Dooher (Tyrone)
The Darragh Ó Sé of wing-forward play; a lot of fliers have come and gone since Dooher won Ulster Player of the Year for 1996, yet here he still is, shaping the outcome of Ulster and All Ireland titles. As Damian Lawlor puts it in his new book Working on a Dream, with Dooher, it's like he has a twin brother on the field, while his point-taking and distribution still hasn't received its due credit. Paul Galvin has had an exceptional decade for Kerry but it was Dooher who redefined how the position – and football itself – should be played in the 21st century.
In contention: Paul Galvin (Kerry), Michael Donnellan (Galway)

11. Declan O'Sullivan (Kerry)
Brian McGuigan and Ciarán McDonald played some of the most delightful football of the decade but unfortunately injuries and sabbaticals robbed them off too many years, and ultimately, a spot on this team. Declan O'Sullivan is the most cultured footballer of his generation, so cultured, he not only has a cultured left foot but a right one as well. Ever since he broke onto the scene in 2003 as a 19-year-old, only once has there been a season where he hasn't dictated either a Munster or All Ireland final.
In contention: Brian McGuigan (Tyrone), Ciarán McDonald (Mayo)

12. Oisín McConville (Armagh)
The most important and indeed best club footballer of the decade, the best free-taker of the decade, and one of the best clutch players of the decade; how could you not have him on the team of the decade? Between club and county, he has won five All Irelands and an astonishing 14 Ulster medals. Whatever about the former, the latter will never be repeated again.

In contention: Alan Brogan (Dublin), Dessie Dolan (Westmeath)


13. Colm Cooper (Kerry)
Like hurling, football has been blessed with a red-haired genius of a forward to adorn the decade. Through a combination of Kerry and Killarney's rich football tradition and the outrageous talent and imagination of a young Cooper, Gooch has extended the possibilities of how football can be played. He's essentially the first street Gaelic footballer, coming up with moves the game hasn't seen before. True, he's been peripheral enough in two of Kerry's last three All Ireland wins but a measure of his and Kerry's brilliance is that in 2002, 2005 and 2008 when the Kingdom were All Ireland runners-up, Cooper was an All Star and Player of the Year nominee. And lest you forget, he's only 26.


In contention: Matty Forde (Wexford), Declan Browne (Tipperary)

14. Paddy Bradley (Derry)
The most contended position of all, and quite likely the most contentious selection as well. Between the backdoor, a calendar-year national league and the wide expanses of the new Croke Park, it has been a glorious decade for forward play. Bradley may now have gone nine years without even reaching an Ulster final but his accuracy, scoring power and consistency still eclipses more feted and honoured players.


In contention: Ronan Clarke (Armagh), Kieran Donaghy (Kerry)


15. Stevie McDonnell (Armagh)



The best goalscorer of the decade who developed into one of its greatest point-takers as well. He may not have had the fake series of a Gooch or an O'Neill but his capacity to win dirty ball and kick scores week in week out, from wet miserable Sundays in Crossmaglen to sun-basked Croke Park, was extraordinary. Stephen O'Neill had a strong claim for this spot, but McDonnell's contributions were as lethal and more sustained. After he won his first All Ireland, his goal was to win another and become the next Seán O'Neill. He's fallen just short of the first goal but the second has been realised.




In contention: Stephen O'Neill (Tyrone), Pádraic Joyce (Galway)

homerjay2005

so mods, are we going to run one here on boards or not?