Best Football XV of My Time

moomoocow

I seen theres a hurling one and dont see a football one anywhere so may as well start one. This would be mine from 97 on

1. Diarmuid Murphy
2. Karl Lacey
3. Darren Fay
4. Anthony Lynch
5. Tomas Ó Sé
6. Kieran McGeeney
7. Seamus Moynihan
8. Darragh Ó Sé
9. John Galvan
10. Paul Galvan
11.Maurice Fitzgerald
12. Michael Donnellan
13. Colm Cooper
14. Steven McDonnell
15. Declan Browne

Others not to make it:

Dermot Earley
Sean Cavanagh
Brian Dooher
Declan O'Sullivan
Stephen O'Néill
Kevin Walsh
Eamonn O'Hara
Dessie Dolan
Mattie Forde
Barry Owens
Tom O'Sullivan
John Doyle
Tommy Freeman
Stephen Cluxton
Mike McCarthy

I could go on and on

Bizzum

When I get time I'll post a team.
The first man on it will be Peter Canavan.
How could he be left off, he walks on water for god sake!

Ian_K

1. Steven Cluxton
2. Anthony Lynch
3. Seamus Moynihan
4. Ryan McMenamin
5. Tomas O Sé
6. Kieran McGeeney
7. Graham Canty
8. Dara O Sé
9. Dermot Earley
10. Johnny Doyle
11. Declan O'Sullivan
12. Leighton Glynn
13. Colm Cooper
14. Sean Cavanagh
15. Peter Canavan


Coincidently did anyone see the "top 100 footballers" list in the indo last weekend?? Would love to see the full list they came up with

moomoocow

Ian_K wrote: »

1. Steven Cluxton
2. Anthony Lynch
3. Seamus Moynihan
4. Ryan McMenamin
5. Tomas O Sé
6. Kieran McGeeney
7. Graham Canty
8. Dara O Sé
9. Dermot Earley
10. Johnny Doyle
11. Declan O'Sullivan
12. Leighton Glynn
13. Colm Cooper
14. Sean Cavanagh
15. Peter Canavan


Coincidently did anyone see the "top 100 footballers" list in the indo last weekend?? Would love to see the full list they came up with

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/100-greatest-football-stars-of-today-2488812.html

moomoocow

Bizzum wrote: »

When I get time I'll post a team.
The first man on it will be Peter Canavan.
How could he be left off, he walks on water for god sake!

Canavan was a great free taker yes but not as great a player as people make him out to be, everyone goes on about the 95 All Ireland but what no one looks at is the fact that he actually only scored one point from play in that game.

roashter

No Maurice Fitzgerald ???

moomoocow

roashter wrote: »

No Maurice Fitzgerald ???

How did i forget him

Bizzum

In my book, Peter Canavan was one of the all time greats!

While I'm here I dunno could I pass Trevor Giles, John Mc Dermott (although was Anthony Tohill still around? for the long free!). Seamus Moynihan Would be on any team I'd pick too.

MfMan

moomoocow wrote: »

How did i forget him

How did you forget Padraig Joyce, Ja Fallon, Sean De Paor, Tomas Mannion? They were quite prominent around the turn of the century there you know....

moomoocow

MfMan wrote: »

How did you forget Padraig Joyce, Ja Fallon, Sean De Paor, Tomas Mannion? They were quite prominent around the turn of the century there you know....

Who would you take out so?

Bizzum

1. Dairmuid Murphy

2. Marc O Se
3. Darren Fay
4. Anthony Lynch

5. Tomas O Se
6. Graham Canty
7. Seamus Moynihan

8. Darragh O Se
9. John McDermott

10. Padraig Joyce
11. Trevor Giles
12. Paul Galvin

13. Colm Cooper
14. Peter Canavan
15. Maurice Fitzgerald

Might pick a few subs when I get a chance!

Starie1975

moomoocow wrote: »

Who would you take out so?

For Padraig Joyce since 1997? Anyone.

homerjay2005

all good selections so far.
the thing is, since 97, we have seen so many wonderful footballers, its hard to pick 15.

Tomas O Se (5) Sean Cavanagh(9) and Colm Cooper are the 3 who should be, without question on any team. Them 3 are the best footballers of the last 15 years.


also refreshing to see that people are not including the fraud from mayo anywhere.

whats the criteria to judge? if based on all irelands, then the team would/could be broken down similar to the number of all irelands each county won. simple thought would be that the reason these counties won all irelands, was that their big/special players, were the difference in winning and loosing. one could argue that other special players, didnt have the players around them to do good, which is where the likes of declan brown comes in......all footballer of the years have to be included or are not far off IMO.

in that period, Kerry have won 6 all irelands, tyrone 3, Galway 2, Meath 1, Armagh 1, Cork 1.

here is what i would go with.

1 - Stephen Cluxton (Dublin)

2 - Seamus Moynihan (kerry)*
3 - Darren Fay (Meath)
4 - Marc O Sé (Kerry)*

5 - Tomas O Sé (Kerry)*
6 - Kieran Mcgeeny (Armagh)*
7 - Philip Jordan (Tyrone)

8 - Darragh O Sé (Kerry)
9 - Sean Kavanagh (Tyrone)*

10 - Paul Galvin (Kerry)*
11 - Padraig Joyce (Galway)*
12 - Brian Dooher (Tyrone)

13 - Colm Cooper (Kerry)
14 - Steven Mcdonnell (Armagh)*
15 - Maurice Fitzgerald (Kerry) * (if 97 was not included, id give this to Canavan)

* = Footballer of the year (Official GAA), im sure most of the rest have received GPA/texico awards.

best of the rest -

Tom O Sullivan (4)
Graham Canty (7)
John Galvin (8)
Declan Sullivan (11)
Kieran Donnaghy* (14)
Peter Canavan (15)
Stephen O Neill* (13)
Declan Brown (15)

Clareman

I editted the thread title to bring it closer in line with the hurling one

aidan24326

moomoocow wrote: »

I seen theres a hurling one and dont see a football one anywhere so may as well start one. This would be mine from 97 on

1. Diarmuid Murphy
2. Karl Lacey
3. Darren Fay
4. Anthony Lynch
5. Tomas Ó Sé
6. Kieran McGeeney
7. Seamus Moynihan
8. Darragh Ó Sé
9. John Galvan
10. Paul Galvan
11.Maurice Fitzgerald
12. Michael Donnellan
13. Colm Cooper
14. Steven McDonnell
15. Declan Browne

Others not to make it:

Dermot Earley
Sean Cavanagh
Brian Dooher
Declan O'Sullivan
Stephen O'Néill
Kevin Walsh
Eamonn O'Hara
Dessie Dolan
Mattie Forde
Barry Owens
Tom O'Sullivan
John Doyle
Tommy Freeman
Stephen Cluxton
Mike McCarthy

I could go on and on

No Padraig Joyce even in the subs? You have to be joking if you can pick Des Dolan and Tommy Freeman ahead of Joyce. Your selection is not bad otherwise.

aidan24326

1. Stephen Cluxton

2. Sean Marty Lockhart
3. Darren Fay
4. Seamus Moynihan

5. Tomas O'Se
6. Kieran McGeeney
7. Sean Og De Paor

8. Darragh O'Se
9. Anthony Tohill

10. Trevor Giles
11. Padraig Joyce
12. Maurice Fitzgerald

13. Colm Cooper
14. Peter Canavan
15. Declan Browne

---

The Reserves (probably almost as good as the first team in fairness, but I do think the first team forward line I've picked would be unstoppable)

16. Finabarr McConnell

17. Conor Gormley
18. Michale McCarthy
19. Tomas Mannion

20. Paul Curran
21. Henry Downey
22. Graham Geraghty

23. Kevin Walsh
24. John McDermott

25. Sean Cavanagh
26. Ja Fallon
27 Mattie Forde

28. Mickey Linden
29. Bernard Brogan
30. Steven McDonnell

moomoocow

Starie1975 wrote: »

For Padraig Joyce since 1997? Anyone.

Pick your team so.....

MfMan

aidan24326 wrote: »

1. Stephen Cluxton

2. Sean Marty Lockhart
3. Darren Fay
4. Seamus Moynihan

5. Tomas O'Se
6. Kieran McGeeney
7. Sean Og De Paor

8. Darragh O'Se
9. Anthony Tohill

10. Trevor Giles
11. Padraig Joyce
12. Maurice Fitzgerald

13. Colm Cooper
14. Peter Canavan
15. Declan Browne

---

The Reserves (probably almost as good as the first team in fairness, but I do think the first team forward line I've picked would be unstoppable)

16. Finabarr McConnell

17. Conor Gormley
18. Michale McCarthy
19. Tomas Mannion

20. Paul Curran
21. Henry Downey
22. Graham Geraghty

23. Kevin Walsh
24. John McDermott

25. Sean Cavanagh
26. Ja Fallon
27 Mattie Forde

28. Mickey Linden
29. Bernard Brogan
30. Steven McDonnell

Good effort Aidan, but Ja way ahead of Giles, Moynihan at FB instead of Fay, with Mannion at CB. Linden for Browne; O Se and Kevin Walsh neck and neck; and where do you fit in Donnellan, physically the most complete footballer of this era?

D'Agger

1) Diarmuid Murphy

2) Marc O' Sé
3) Cormac McAnallan
4) Seamus Moynihan

5) Tomás O'Sé
6) Kieran McGeeney
7) Phillip Jordan

8) Darragh O' Sé
9) Kevin Hughes

10) Padraig Joyce
11) Declan O' Sullivan
12) Maurice Fitzgerald

13) Colm Cooper
14) Peter Canavan
15) Steven McDonald



A fairly modern team, there's been so many great players it's hard to choose really. I'm really suprised at the amount of people who've left Phillip Jordan out, he's up there with Tomás O'Sé as one of the best wing backs to have played the game in my eyes

EDIT- Also, not being sentimental putting Cormac McAnallen in at full back - in the short time he played the game at full back - he owned the square, I only wish we could've seen more of him

SSK

Jesus it's a tough team to pick, mine is from the mid 90's onwards.

Cluxton

Marc O'Se
Moynihan
Lynch

Curran
McGeeney
Tomas O'Se

Dara O'Se
Tohill

Galvin
Giles
Maurice Fitz

Gooch
Joyce
McDonnell

Cluxton has been the best keeper in the country over the last 10 years and the best shot stopper the game has ever seen.

MOS, quality man marker and great going forward. Moynihan was fantastic anytime he was used at full back and just edges it over Fay for me. Anthony Lynch is a class act. Fay, Lockhart, Mike McCarthy and Ricey unlucky to miss out.

Curran was a fantastic footballer, best I've ever seen in 20 years following the Dubs. McGeeney purely for his influence and TOS has been probably the most consistent footballer in the country this past decade. Philly Jordan, Meehan, DePaor and Canty all have legitimate shouts as well.

Tohill and DOS is easy, both great fielders, massively influential and could take scores. John McDermott, Whelan and McGrane next in line.

Forwards were extremely difficult to do so I've tried to make it as balanced as possible. Hardest decision was picking 3 from four of Joyce, Giles, Stevie Mc and Canavan. Just loved watching Giles play, the most intelligent player of his generation and a pure playmaker. The choice of the other two is purly personal preference and would probably change tomorrow.

Galvin just edges the workhorse role over Dooher and Maurice and Gooch couldn't be left out of any team of this era.

Edit: Forgot Donnellan, probably the most natural talent of the lot, but too inconsistent after 98 to make the team. Loved him as a player though

LuckyGent88

1. S. Cluxton

2. M. O'Shea
3. S. Moynihan
4. A. Lynch

5. T. O'Shea
6. K. McGeeney
7. G. Canty

8. D. O'Shea
9. D. Earley

10. M. Fitzgerald
11. S. Cavanagh
12. M. Donnellan

13. P. Joyce
14. C. Cooper
15. D. Browne

hard to leave out Peter Canavan but Declan Browne was unreal to watch and constantly put up big scores for a weak county in Tipperary.

M. Donnellan is the most naturally gifted footballer i have ever seen and had the greatest skill levels of any footballer of the late 90's early 00's

theoneeyedman

Can't believe Kieran McDonald hasn't even got a mention on this yet, even when some of ye picked 2 teams!!

moomoocow

theoneeyedman wrote: »

Can't believe Kieran McDonald hasn't even got a mention on this yet, even when some of ye picked 2 teams!!

I had him in my team at first but changed it to put Maurice Fitz in

aidan24326

MfMan wrote: »

Good effort Aidan, but Ja way ahead of Giles, Moynihan at FB instead of Fay, with Mannion at CB. Linden for Browne; O Se and Kevin Walsh neck and neck; and where do you fit in Donnellan, physically the most complete footballer of this era?

So hard to choose in the forwards, if you take the likes of Giles and Ja Fallon they were different types of player so how do you compare. Ja was brilliant but I just couldn't squeeze him in. I went with Joyce instead, for me Joyce is the best Galway footballer of my lifetime. Giles was one of the best players of his type to have the played the game.

And there's simply no question that McGeeney was the best CB of his era. Tomas Mannion was a very underrated player though, and I'll never forget him cleaning out Martin Lynch in the 98 final at number 4.

And again, even as a Galwayman I can't put Walsh ahead of Darragh O'Se. For me midfield is a no-brainer, Anthony Tohill and Darragh O'Se are a shoe-in for that position.

and PS you're underestimating Declan Browne, had he played for a top team people would be talking about him as one of the great forwards.

theoneeyedman wrote: »

Can't believe Kieran McDonald hasn't even got a mention on this yet, even when some of ye picked 2 teams!!

McDonald will always divide opinion. If we were picking the team based on pure natural ability alone he'd be in, but alot of the other players being picked were more consistent and achieved more in the game. I always felt Mayo didn't get the best from McDonald when he adopted thiat roving playmaker role, he's alot more dangerous closer to goal.

Bizzum

aidan24326 wrote: »

Giles was one of the best players of his type to have the played the game.QUOTE]

I'd be inclined to agree with this. His utilisation of possession was second to none, particularly under pressure.

MfMan

Bizzum wrote: »

aidan24326 wrote: »

Giles was one of the best players of his type to have the played the game.QUOTE]

I'd be inclined to agree with this. His utilisation of possession was second to none, particularly under pressure.

And I would disagree, a very lucky player IMO (and in the opinion of a couple of intercounty players I asked); may seem harsh to say it but I thought he very seldom made a difference to his team when it mattered. I repeat, for sheer genius, Ja streets ahead.

Bizzum

Ja Fallon was a terrific footballer, no doubt. For me what swung it, along with what I posted earlier, was Giles scoring power.

Put up a team MfMan yourself.
I will say this, Most of the teams are remarkably similar so far!

rpurfield

im taking the title literrally and going from when i started going to games in 1990

1 John O leary
2 Seamus Moynihan
3 Mick Lyons
4 Marc OShea
5.Tommy Carr
6. Kieran McGeaney
7. Sean og De Paor
8. Anthony Tohill
9. Sean Cavanagh
10. Paul Galvin
11. Trevor Giles
12. Padraig Joyce
13. Colm Cooper
14. Graham Geraghty
15. Oisinn Mc Conville

on the bench in no particular order Peter Canavan Bernard Brogan Francie Bellew Anthony Rainbow Dermott Earley John Mc Dermott Graham Canty Declan Bonner(i think i have that right red headed forward from donegal can someone confirm that)

SSK

MfMan wrote: »

Bizzum wrote: »

And I would disagree, a very lucky player IMO (and in the opinion of a couple of intercounty players I asked); may seem harsh to say it but I thought he very seldom made a difference to his team when it mattered. I repeat, for sheer genius, Ja streets ahead.

Lucky how exactly I mean as a dub I don't give out praise lightly to Meathmen but he was arguably the most important player on a double AI winning team and was imo the best playmaking centre forward in a generation of outstanding talents in this role (Blaney, McGuigan, McDonald, McEntee, O'Sullivan etc.)

Automated Response

rpurfield wrote: »

Declan Bonner(i think i have that right red headed forward from donegal can someone confirm that)

Yeah, that's him. There is no way I would put him ahead of Tony Boyle however. Tony (and possible to a lesser extent, Manus) was streets ahead of Bonner. He (Tony) was one of the top forwards of the early 90's!

Cluxton

Marc O'Se
Moynihan
Lynch

Jordan
McGeeney
Tomas O'Se

Dara O'Se
Tohill

Galvin
McDonald
Maurice Fitz

Gooch
Joyce
Canavan

rpurfield

Automated Response wrote: »

Yeah, that's him. There is no way I would put him ahead of Tony Boyle however. Tony (and possible to a lesser extent, Manus) was streets ahead of Bonner. He (Tony) was one of the top forwards of the early 90's!

he just stood out for me as a decent player,probably the fact that donegal team were around when i was so young i forget some of them!theres so many great players since i started going to games i mean i was half asleep doing that last night and i have to say id have cluxton as sub keeper and howd i forget maurice fitzgerald.kieran mc donald would be another one and id give honourable mention to mattie forde and seanie johnson too i could be here all day!

homerjay2005

theoneeyedman wrote: »

Can't believe Kieran McDonald hasn't even got a mention on this yet, even when some of ye picked 2 teams!!

i could pick 6 teams and not have him in it. hes the most overrated footballer of the past 20 years, nobody comes close to him in that respect.

he was a laughing stock in mayo prior to 2004, nobody rated him, very few even wanted him on the team. one or 2 decent years, does not propel you to best of a generation status which is what we are talking about here.

theres about 50 forwards i could rattle off names as better than him for starters.

moomoocow

You could name about 10 different teams in truth. Hears another

1. Steven Cluxton
2. Tom O'Sullivan
3. Barry Owens
4. Marc O Se
5. Declan Meehan
6. Conor Gormley
7. Gleen Rayn
8. Kevin Walsh
9. Dermot Earley
10. Ja Fallon
11. Declan O'Sullivan
12. John Doyle
13. Mattie Forde
14. Padraig Joyce
15. Stephen McDonnell

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

Stephen Cluxton
Ryan McMenniman ---- Seamus Moynihan ---- Anthony Lynch
Seán Óg De Paor ---- Graham Canty ---- Tomás O' Sé
Kevin Walsh ---- Darragh O' Sé
Paul Galvin ---- Michael O' Donnellan ---- Ja Fallon
Colm Cooper ---- Padraic Joyce ---- Peter Canavan

Players that could very easily have made it:
Darren Fay
Phillip Jordan
Anthony Lynch
Karl Lacey
Kieran McGeeney
Marc O' Sé
Justin MacMahon
Dermot Early
Kevin Hughes
John Galvin
Anthony Tohill
Seán Cavanagh
Declan O' Sullivan
Ciaran McDonald
Brian Doher
Alan Brogan
Bernard Brogan (based just on this year)
Johnny Doyle
Maurice Fitzgerald
Mattie Forde
Michael Meehan
Stevie McDonnell
Stephen O' Neill
Alan Dillon

Such a difficult team to pick, especially in the forwards. Obviously I've seen a lot more of Galway than any other county so they've done more for to be in my best XV.
Can't believe some one actually called Ciaran McDonald over-rated. Arguably the most skillful player of the last 20 years and was so, so good at linking play in the middle of the field. He was also an excellent free taker and some of his passes were out of this world. Only reason he's not in my team is becuase of Galvin, who both play very similar roles.
And lol at the person who said Canavan isn't as great as he's made out to be. Phenomenol player.

WesternZulu

homerjay2005 wrote: »

i could pick 6 teams and not have him in it. hes the most overrated footballer of the past 20 years, nobody comes close to him in that respect.

he was a laughing stock in mayo prior to 2004, nobody rated him, very few even wanted him on the team. one or 2 decent years, does not propel you to best of a generation status which is what we are talking about here.

theres about 50 forwards i could rattle off names as better than him for starters.

How was he a laughing stock in Mayo prior to 2004?

In 1998 he scored 2-4 (another shot going down off the crossbar on the line) against the eventual All-Ireland Champions Galway.

He inspired Crosmolina to an All-Ireland club title in 2001 and in 2003 despite being on the losing team in that years decider got man of the match.

He was brilliant in the 2004 and 2006 campains (he was injured for that final and should not have started) when Mayo got to the All Ireland, and whatever about the rest of the team he went down fighting, never did he not show for the ball unlike many of the forwards when the going got tough. Imagine if he had the quality around him like in Kerry or Tyrone.

What about 2006 on that memorable day when Mayo bet Dublin and the point at an almost impossible angle on the left had side in the last min to win the game.

These days when people bemoan about the lack of accurate kick passing in the modern game, stating that it is a dying skill...well McDonald is the master of that facet of the game. Having seen him up close many times his range and accuracy of kick passing both long and short was unbelievable, really great to watch.

McDonald could do things that other players simply could not even think of.

If you can name 50 better forwards than him in your lifetime then fire ahead but he would be the 1st name on my team

theoneeyedman

shane curran

Paudi O Se
Mick Lyons
James nallen

Sean Og de Paor
McGeeney
Tomas O se

Dermot earley Snr
Willie Joe

Michael donlon
Kieran Mc Donald
declan O sullivan

Tony McManus
Sean Cavanagh
Oisin McConville


Probably not the greatest 15 footallers but prob the 15 who i would have most enjoyed watching in the flesh over my lifetime-also carries a Connacht bias given games i would have seen as a youngster

Curran was a huge talent both as a goalie and outfield player and a great entertainer too. Scored 1-1 in a connacht replay in sligo a few years ago as well as being excellent in goals that evening.

Fullback line....2 tough cookies along with St.Jimmy from Mayo who broke my heart many times over the last 20 years
Half back line Tomas and Geezer prob in top 10 players over the last 10-15 years. De Paor simply a brilliant player

Midfield-dermot snr simply a collossus....a truly great player and man....remember him as a player as a gossun in the early '80's and he really was that good
Willie Jo...another Mayo cnut who broke many Rossie hearts and had a talent for leaping and hanging in the air that i have never seen before or since.
forward line should stand up....Tony Mc might rause a few eyebrows but he was a brilliant forward for many years fr club and county



no laughing now.....go easy on me:o

Pegasusbridge

1) J O'Leary
2) R McMenamin
3) D Fay
4) A Lynch
5) P Curran
6) K McGeeney
7) S Moynihan
8) D ó Sé
9) J McDermott
10) M Donnellan
11) T Giles
12) G Geraghty
13) C Cooper
14) P Canavan
15) M Fitzgerald

Found it very hard to leave out M Forde, P Joyce, T ó Sé, A Tohill and S McDonnell.
I don't know how anyone could leave Trevor Giles out of a team. Best positional sense and passer of a ball that I have ever seen.

KeithReilly

1. Stephen Cluxton
2. Anthony Lynch
3. Seamus Moynihan
4. Anthony Lynch
5. Paul Curran
6. Kieran McGeeney
7. Leighton Glynn
8. Darragh O'Se
9. Sean Cavanagh
10. Paul Galvin
11. Ciaran McDonald
12. Bernard Brogan
13. Stephen McDonnell
14. Niall Sheridan
15. Peter Canvan

Not an all time 15 as much as players I have seen put in massive performances over the years that were worth the entrance fee alone.

Bizzum

Anthony Lynch is GOOD but not that good!:)

aidan24326

MfMan wrote: »

And I would disagree, a very lucky player IMO (and in the opinion of a couple of intercounty players I asked); may seem harsh to say it but I thought he very seldom made a difference to his team when it mattered. I repeat, for sheer genius, Ja streets ahead.

Lucky? What on earth are you talking about?

Always being in the right place is not luck, it's a knack that the very best players invariably have, and Giles was a player of the highest calibre. He was a player any manager would love to have in his team. Cool, composed, great positional sense, excellent passer, rarely wasted posession, good freetaker, well able to take a hit aswell.

Bizzum wrote: »

Anthony Lynch is GOOD but not that good!:)

I agree. Anthony Lynch is, as Dunphy might say, a good player but not a great player. I'm surprised to see his name cropping up in so many teams, while better defenders like SM Lockhart, Tony Scullion and Tomas Mannion hardly get a mention.

Bizzum

[QUOTE=aidan24326;70095941
I agree. Anthony Lynch is, as Dunphy might say, a good player but not a great player. I'm surprised to see his name cropping up in so many teams, while better defenders like SM Lockhart, Tony Scullion and Tomas Mannion hardly get a mention.[/QUOTE]

I only said what I said cos OP named him twice on his team. For me he could easily hold his place, once!
On the Trevor Giles thing: Your dead right. He always (well nearly always) done the right thing, done the simple thing, done it when it should be done and done it even under pressure making it look simple!

Le King

1. Stephen Cluxton

2. Seamus Moynihan
3. Darren Fay
4. Marc O'Se

5. Tomas O'Se
6. Kieran McGeeney
7. Sean Og De Paor

8. Darragh O'Se
9. Dermot Early

10. Paul Galvin
11. Padraig Joyce
12. Brian Dooher

13. Colm Cooper
14. Steven McDonnell
15. Peter Canavan


First name on that team sheet is Peter Canavan. I cannot seriously justify a team selection without him. Criminal omission IMO.

DDC1990

I was going to consider Anthony Tohill for this Team since 1997, but I feel that his disgraceful antics (Sunday Game Comments) have ruled him out for selection. We're looking for the complete player here, and through his actions he's ruled himself out.




:P

keane2097

I skipped over any team that had Seamus Moynihan in the full back line.

He was terrible as a full back and is ridic far ahead of any other centre-back in the last 20 years.

SSK

keane2097 wrote: »

I skipped over any team that had Seamus Moynihan in the full back line.

He was terrible as a full back and is ridic far ahead of any other centre-back in the last 20 years.

That's the same Seamus Moynihan who was footballer of the year while captaining his team to an All Ireland from full back in 2000

Best season of any fullback I've ever seen, carried Kerry to the All Ireland that year. He was fantastic anywhere in defence tbf but to say he was terrible at full back is just incorrect

Hulk Hands

1. Cluxton - Has his critics, but about the best shot stopper iv'e seen in the game. Excellent distribution also.

2. S M Lockhart - A startling omission from a lot of teams. The best CB of his generation. As tight a marker as they come.

3. D Fay - Even 2/3 years ago at 35+ he was about the best around. Says it all really.

4. A Lynch - There has been a dearth of top quality cb's over the years. Lynch is as solid and dependable as they come.

5. T O'Se - How many footballer of the year titles now? 2? Consistently excellent. If he couldn't defend he has enough football to be considered an excellent forward.

6. K McGeeney - I dont think iv'e seen him left out of a team yet. A ferocious leader.

7. S Moynihan - He would make my team anywhere from the full back line to midfield. Superb player. Great man marker, great ball player.

8. D O Se - Like the other O'Se, consistently excellent. Cant be left out. Kerry were planning on bringing him back for the Semi last year. Sadly Down robbed us of the chance to see the great man again!

9. S Cavanagh - For my money, the player of the 00's. Effective at midfield or in the forwards. Impressive scoring record too.

10. J Fallon - The single best player I have ever seen. His 2nd of the 98 final was football perfection. Brilliant in the air, a bamboozling sidestep, and God's left foot.

11. P Joyce - The true thinking mans footballer. Placing him at CF brings out his playmaking abilities as well as his phenomenal score taking.

12. M Fitzgearld - A genius capable of stuff most players can only dream of. Will there ever be a better free-taker? Will there ever be a more 2 footed player?

13. C Cooper - Quick, elusive, goal poacher, at times unmarkable, everything you would want in a corner forward.

14. P Canavan - Just can't be left out. A truly brilliant score taker and a leader to boot. Unreal to think what he could have become, as I dont think he was ever the same after that hit he took in 96.

15. S McDonnell - McDonnell sneaks in ahead of some stiff competition as on his day, he too is unmarkable. Been excellent for a long time, with no sign of letting up.

Subs

P Galvin - Obviously a dream team negates the need for a player like Galvin, who is so good at his job that he covers mistakes and holes everywhere from the half back line up.

K Walsh - A ridiculously underrated midfielder whose career was stunted by injury. Destroyed D O'Se and J McDermott in successive All Ireland finals.

T Giles - Another exceptionally brainy footballer. Playmaker, scoring power and a free taker.

G Canty - Comparable to Moynihan in that he is excellent anywhere across the backline.

D Browne - Hard not to have a soft spot for Browne, who surely would have been a superstar had he played for a stronger county.

C McDonald - At times, a petulant baby who went missing. On his day however, as close to a genius as you can get. Effective on the inside line in his early days, he became an excellent playmaker further out the field later on.

M Donnellan - As fast as an olympic sprinter, as fit as a marathon runner, and an excellent footballer to boot. As complete a player as you will see. Great testament that he could hold his own at midfield against lads of much greater size.

B Brogan - Based on the past year, he can go on to become as good as any of those mentioned above.

keane2097

SSK wrote: »

That's the same Seamus Moynihan who was footballer of the year while captaining his team to an All Ireland from full back in 2000

Best season of any fullback I've ever seen, carried Kerry to the All Ireland that year. He was fantastic anywhere in defence tbf but to say he was terrible at full back is just incorrect

Him being captain is fairly irrelevant due to the system in Kerry.

Moynihan was not a good enough man marker for the full back line and was routinely scored heavily against.

He still contributed massively in an attacking sense making driving runs from deep, but as a defender he was poor in the full back line.

Incredible centre back though. Kieran McGeeny wouldn't lace his boots, neither would anyone else in that position.

It's a standard mistake people make in these sort of selections though, using the best players versatility as an excuse to jimmy lesser players into their teams, instead of picking your best players in their correct positions and filling in the rest around them.

SSK

keane2097 wrote: »

Him being captain is fairly irrelevant due to the system in Kerry.

Moynihan was not a good enough man marker for the full back line and was routinely scored heavily against.

He still contributed massively in an attacking sense making driving runs from deep, but as a defender he was poor in the full back line.

Incredible centre back though. Kieran McGeeny wouldn't lace his boots, neither would anyone else in that position.

It's a standard mistake people make in these sort of selections though, using the best players versatility as an excuse to jimmy lesser players into their teams, instead of picking your best players in their correct positions and filling in the rest around them.

IIRC, he got man of the match in three of Kerry's last 4 games in that particular championship (semi + replay, final + replay). I don't recall him being scored heavily against at all, perhaps against Joyce in one of the final games but I don't think he would have won FOTY if he was being taken for 4-5 points per game.

In picking my team I wanted to fit in as many of the best players as possible without compromising their natural positions. To my mind, that 2000 season was Moynihan's best and most influential season in a decade of great performances by him, so I don't think it could be considered as me trying to jimmy in a lesser player into the full back position. I could have picked Fay, but it would have meant me leaving out either SM or one of the half back line I picked which I didn't want to do.

I only mentioned the captaincy because it seemed to inspire him to even greater performances than usual rather than drag his game down as sometimes happens. It was largely irrelevant in the grand scheme of my argument though.

Starie1975

Hulk Hands wrote: »

1. Cluxton - Has his critics, but about the best shot stopper iv'e seen in the game. Excellent distribution also.

2. S M Lockhart - A startling omission from a lot of teams. The best CB of his generation. As tight a marker as they come.

3. D Fay - Even 2/3 years ago at 35+ he was about the best around. Says it all really.

4. A Lynch - There has been a dearth of top quality cb's over the years. Lynch is as solid and dependable as they come.

5. T O'Se - How many footballer of the year titles now? 2? Consistently excellent. If he couldn't defend he has enough football to be considered an excellent forward.

6. K McGeeney - I dont think iv'e seen him left out of a team yet. A ferocious leader.

7. S Moynihan - He would make my team anywhere from the full back line to midfield. Superb player. Great man marker, great ball player.

8. D O Se - Like the other O'Se, consistently excellent. Cant be left out. Kerry were planning on bringing him back for the Semi last year. Sadly Down robbed us of the chance to see the great man again!

9. S Cavanagh - For my money, the player of the 00's. Effective at midfield or in the forwards. Impressive scoring record too.

10. J Fallon - The single best player I have ever seen. His 2nd of the 98 final was football perfection. Brilliant in the air, a bamboozling sidestep, and God's left foot.

11. P Joyce - The true thinking mans footballer. Placing him at CF brings out his playmaking abilities as well as his phenomenal score taking.

12. M Fitzgearld - A genius capable of stuff most players can only dream of. Will there ever be a better free-taker? Will there ever be a more 2 footed player?

13. C Cooper - Quick, elusive, goal poacher, at times unmarkable, everything you would want in a corner forward.

14. P Canavan - Just can't be left out. A truly brilliant score taker and a leader to boot. Unreal to think what he could have become, as I dont think he was ever the same after that hit he took in 96.

15. S McDonnell - McDonnell sneaks in ahead of some stiff competition as on his day, he too is unmarkable. Been excellent for a long time, with no sign of letting up.

Subs

P Galvin - Obviously a dream team negates the need for a player like Galvin, who is so good at his job that he covers mistakes and holes everywhere from the half back line up.

K Walsh - A ridiculously underrated midfielder whose career was stunted by injury. Destroyed D O'Se and J McDermott in successive All Ireland finals.

T Giles - Another exceptionally brainy footballer. Playmaker, scoring power and a free taker.

G Canty - Comparable to Moynihan in that he is excellent anywhere across the backline.

D Browne - Hard not to have a soft spot for Browne, who surely would have been a superstar had he played for a stronger county.

C McDonald - At times, a petulant baby who went missing. On his day however, as close to a genius as you can get. Effective on the inside line in his early days, he became an excellent playmaker further out the field later on.

M Donnellan - As fast as an olympic sprinter, as fit as a marathon runner, and an excellent footballer to boot. As complete a player as you will see. Great testament that he could hold his own at midfield against lads of much greater size.

B Brogan - Based on the past year, he can go on to become as good as any of those mentioned above.

Good selection, I would change the corner backs with Ryan McMenniman and Tomas Mainnion, and of course being a Conamara man I'd have Sean og on the panel, Other than that it's a good pick I'd agree with your team.

megadodge

When drawing up my team the following were absolute stone-cold certainties – Maurice Fitzgerald, Peter Canavan, Padraic Joyce, Seamus Moynihan, Tomas O Se, Dara O Se, Gooch, Martin O’Connell.

1. Steven Cluxton
2. Anthony Lynch
3. Mick Lyons
4. Tomas Mannion
5. Tomas O Se
6. Seamus Moynihan
7. Martin O’Connell
8. Dara O Se
9. John Galvin
10. Michael Donnellan
11. Colm O’Rourke
12. Maurice Fitzgerald
13. Gooch
14. Paraic Joyce
15. Peter Canavan

Wouldn’t have a problem with using any of the following - Ciaran McDonald, Darren Fay, Stevie McDonnell, Kieran McGeeney, Martin McHugh, Tony McManus, Sean Cavanagh, Declan O’Sullivan, Mattie Forde, Declan Browne, Philip Jordan, Ricie McMenaman, Paul Galvin, Brian Dooher, Stephen O’Neill, Tom O’Sullivan, Tommy Freeman, Graham Canty, Graham Geraghty, Mickey Linden, James McCartan, Robbie O'Malley…

As always with these things I have no doubt I’ll be adding to the unlucky list as the days go by as it’s so hard to remember absolutely everyone, but I’m fairly happy with my first team.

There are also a number of players showing huge potential who haven’t been around long enough to give a fair assessment of their career, most obviously Bernard Brogan, David Kelly (Sligo), Michael Murphy (Donegal), Niall McNamee (Offaly) and Marty Clarke.

P.S. Can’t believe the amount of votes De Paor got. I’ve seen him very regularly over the years (I was in St. Jarlath’s with him) and there is no doubt he was excellent at attacking and link play, but boy when it came to defending I can safely say he was way below average. There was a 2-3 year period in his championship career at the turn of the century when almost every opponent he ‘marked’ was either Man of the Match or seriously in contention for it. A nice point or two and some nice 1-2s don’t make up for your man scoring 3-4 points and being heavily involved in most of the opposition’s attacking moves. Terrible defender, which, after all was his primary duty as a no.7.

megadodge

homerjay2005 wrote: »

i could pick 6 teams and not have him in it. hes the most overrated footballer of the past 20 years, nobody comes close to him in that respect.

he was a laughing stock in mayo prior to 2004, nobody rated him, very few even wanted him on the team. one or 2 decent years, does not propel you to best of a generation status which is what we are talking about here.

theres about 50 forwards i could rattle off names as better than him for starters.

There's not much point trying to argue with someone who's views are so entrenched, but I will ask you to go and actually name those 50 forwards you think are better than Ciaran McDonald.

Maybe we'll have a poll then to see how many people agree with you.