He just couldn't stay away.

Lapin

Paul Galvin has rejoined the Kerry squad.

Linko http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/paul-galvin-returns-to-kerry-panel-664618.html

The 35 year old is training with the lads this evening apparently.

listermint

Lapin wrote: »

Paul Galvin has rejoined the Kerry squad.

No. Really?

Lapin

listermint wrote: »

No. Really?

Yep. According to The Cork Examiner. Link added.

Poor_old_gill

I'm a big fan of Galvins but he wasnt long becoming irrelevant when he left the panel- media career didnt really take off

GAAman

Everyone is going mad about this, like he is the second coming and it was a big surprise

He isn't, it wasn't

iDave

And Gooch to return. Kerry have some serious forwards this year!

The_Honeybadger

Would be very surprised if he gets more than a couple of minutes at the end of games where kerry are cruising to victory. It's hard to see where he fits in to the panel. Doubtful he'd have been first choice last year, never mind 12 months on having barely kicked a ball in the meantime, and with gooch, Walsh and a rejuvenated Donaghy and (hopefully) darren o Sullivan looking for places also.

Dyr

He just could'nt resist that new kerry jersey.

wow sierra

Before all the talk of fashion and the Media frenzy Paul Galvin was one of the best footballers in the country. He is still playing at Club level and I'm sure he is in great shape.

Even if he only plays a little he will be a great asset in the squad at training etc.

Would love to see him getting some decent playing time - but with the squad Kerry have this year it's hard to see it. Mind you he's 50 times the player Donaghy is.

davegrohl48

wow sierra wrote: »

Before all the talk of fashion and the Media frenzy Paul Galvin was one of the best footballers in the country. He is still playing at Club level and I'm sure he is in great shape.

Even if he only plays a little he will be a great asset in the squad at training etc.

Would love to see him getting some decent playing time - but with the squad Kerry have this year it's hard to see it. Mind you he's 50 times the player Donaghy is.

50 times the player Donaghy is? In terms of ability to help get the game won? Right, don't think so.

ProudDUB

He could be some force of nature coming off the bench alright. But haven't most of his sub outings been as a result of injury and he just wasn't fit in time to get his starting jersey back? I'd wonder if he has the temperament to be an impact sub and not a starter? I'm not knocking him btw, I'm just asking the question. Tomas O'Se was asked about that after he retired. He was asked if he would be ok coming off the bench, if it meant that he could extend his career by a few more years. He was very honest when he said that a role like that just wasn't for him. I had to admire his honesty.

rebel girl 15

wow sierra wrote: »

Before all the talk of fashion and the Media frenzy Paul Galvin was one of the best footballers in the country. He is still playing at Club level and I'm sure he is in great shape.

Even if he only plays a little he will be a great asset in the squad at training etc.

Would love to see him getting some decent playing time - but with the squad Kerry have this year it's hard to see it. Mind you he's 50 times the player Donaghy is.

I don't think he has played much club football, nearly more hurling this last year. Plus he is still based in Dublin - fitness I wouldn't doubt, but match sharpness and skill I wouldn't know

Interesting take by one of his former team mates http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/football/sean-osullivanwhat-has-paul-galvin-left-to-prove-315915.html

zetecescort

Yerra we're wrecked by emigration, Yerra there's no jobs down here, yerra we have to call up 35 year olds, yerra Kerry are going nowhere!

duchalla

mickeyk wrote: »

Would be very surprised if he gets more than a couple of minutes at the end of games where kerry are cruising to victory. It's hard to see where he fits in to the panel. Doubtful he'd have been first choice last year, never mind 12 months on having barely kicked a ball in the meantime, and with gooch, Walsh and a rejuvenated Donaghy and (hopefully) darren o Sullivan looking for places also.

You forgot about James O'Donoghue....;)
Galvin does his best work in the middle 3rd of the pitch. Theres about 7 players ahead of him for a half forward spot. Gooch, Sheehan, D. Walsh, Buckley, O'Sullivan, O'Brien and T. Walsh.
Last year before he retired, there was talk of him playing in the halfback line, you'd have Crowley, Murphy, Fitzgerald, Young, Sherwood and Lyne ahead of him at the moment.
Cant really see where he's going to get any game time to be honest. Be a kick in the hole to the fringe players who're there all along if he did. He's 35. He's best days are behind him. Having said that, Galvin isnt coming back to sit on the bench for the year. Interesting times ahead! Tis great being from Kerry!

Ath trasna

Would I be right in saying that Galvin played in defence for UCC on their run to a Munster club final back in the late 90's? He might be on for a defensive comeback with Kerry..

happysunnydays

He's a great player and despite the age has many qualities which he can still bring to Kerry. I don't see what a media career has to do with his football. Every player is entitled to a successful career outside of the football. If they create something off the back of their amateur footballing successes then great. He is one of very few to have the smarts at self promotion and fair play to him for that, I wouldn't bregrudge it one bit! He has shown the way for others.
You can be sure the GAA hierarchy wouldn't be throwing any of the amateurs much in the line of few ccoin.

BKWDR

You feel that eamonn fitzmaurice has made a more personal decision in letting him come back.

I'd say Galvin left with the notion he was going to fall into a media spot on the back of this book but it never happened. (having seen him on tv and listened to him on radio , i actually think he comes across very poor)

I feel his best days are behind him, id feel sorry for the fellas on the fringe who he might pip in coming off the bench. In listening to the likes of Galvin and Tomas o sé , id say they dont know themselves missing the lads and the craic and the training and everything that goes along with it. I would say kerry taking the AI last year really hurt the lads too.

Not taking away from his achievments or what he is capable of either.

keane2097

I'd be surprised if he was to make a match day panel in the summer. Hopefully he can add something to the squad in training etc, but there are a lot of ways for this to go wrong and not many for it to go well.

DDC1990

keane2097 wrote: »

I'd be surprised if he was to make a match day panel in the summer. Hopefully he can add something to the squad in training etc, but there are a lot of ways for this to go wrong and not many for it to go well.

I'd see it the other way Keane.

I can't think of a better impact sub. One who has great experience, great personal drive, a leader on the pitch and a demon around breaks.

We have an abundence of scorers, and big men in the forward line. We have skill and pace and height. We are lacking in one area, and that is around the breaks. Now having Moran, Maher and Buckley around the middle means we win a load of clean ball in the middle third, but teams will wise up to that and punch ball all day to stop Kerry winning it cleanly in the air. No better man to read breaks and get himself in the right position then Galvin.

On top of all of that there won't be a hungrier man in the squad. Galvin didn't see Kerry winning an All Ireland last year, when he retired. Then he watched (sometimes he didn't even watch) as Kerry came back against the odds and won the All Ireland. As delighted as he would have been for Fitzy, he must have been gutted with himself that he walked away from an All Ireland winning panel. Galvin is a maniac, and he loves winning. When a big game is in the balance, and some of our other lads are happy with their All Ireland medal, Galvin will be going through fella's to win the ball.

Look at Aidan O'Mahoney last year. 34 years old, playing deep into Extra Time in a replay against Mayo. His age doesn't worry me. A year out of Intercounty Football wouldn't worry me hugely, considering his most likely role will be as an impact sub, when the pace of a game will be down significantly. In fact a year without subjecting his body to that training and matches at a high level may well stand to him.

Of course it brings a media circus, and he will draw unwanted attention from players on the field, but with Tommy and Gooch returning along with us being All Ireland Champions, we'd be kidding ourselves if we thought we were in for a quiet year.

I'm delighted with it, regardless of whether it yields much gametime or not. A year training against a guy like that will stand to our young backs, and what Geaney could learn from him could help Geaney up to that level that we want to see him at.

davegrohl48

I don't see him being a demon around breaks anymore. He wasn't in 2013 which is now two years ago when it was evident his running speed was down. To win breaks there's still the element of speed needed.
About the only on pitch role I could see him being used for is as a deep lying link man roving back from the forwards. The defence would move the ball to him n he pings it to the wings. But that's a very niche role to accomodate a player in. He doesn't match up well anymore to the typically very mobile players in Division one
middle eights.

keane2097

Galvin was very close to not good enough outright in 2013 IMO, and was miles off it in 2014 when he decided to pack it in. He was bad in 2012 besides the Tyrone game, very, very poor against Donegal.

We're now a year further on, no football played, older.

There's, I suppose, a chance that his body will be in better nick after 13 months off and no training with the panel till March, but it strikes me as much more likely to be worse.

Similarly, there's a chance the break will make him better than a level where he was hanging on in 2013 & 2012, but how many years are we hoping he rolls back here?

That's all on top of the fact that if I was someone like Kieran O'Leary and saw Galvin coming on in front of me I'd pack it in.

DDC1990

keane2097 wrote: »

Galvin was very close to not good enough outright in 2013 IMO, and was miles off it in 2014 when he decided to pack it in. He was bad in 2012 besides the Tyrone game, very, very poor against Donegal.

We're now a year further on, no football played, older.

There's, I suppose, a chance that his body will be in better nick after 13 months off and no training with the panel till March, but it strikes me as much more likely to be worse.

Similarly, there's a chance the break will make him better than a level where he was hanging on in 2013 & 2012, but how many years are we hoping he rolls back here?

That's all on top of the fact that if I was someone like Kieran O'Leary and saw Galvin coming on in front of me I'd pack it in.

Ah Keane, he retired before the first League game of the year in 2014. You could hardly judge him on McGrath Cup games, where most Kerry veterans were resting with their feet up, and he was playing with a bunch of new lads.

In 2012 - He was very good against Westmeath, when we needed leaders to stand up. He had a great game against Tyrone, and he was good in the second half of the Donegal game after Kerry got to grips with the system. He played well in the Clare game up to the point where he lost the head and got himself 2 yellows in the space of about 5 minutes.

In 2013 he was good against Cork and started well against Dublin, but was run into the ground by McCarthy and if we'd had a decent replacement would have been off sooner.

He wasn't set the world on fire good, but he wasn't awful either.

Also, Donaghy's resurgence has shown that a few lean years can show you what a guy is made of. Donaghy was piss poor for a good number of years, due to his injuries etc. A year on the bench, where he felt like packing it in made him mentally stronger. I can only imagine what it feels like for Galvin to have packed it in and watch the lads win the All Ireland. He's a bit of a fitness freak anyway, so his body will be in decent shape. Training through March, the odd game towards the end of the league, an early Championship Game and he'll be ready for action.

I do feel for the likes of O'Leary, Darran, Daithí Casey, Alan Fitz, as you have said, but if it lights a fire under them and they up their performances to prove that they deserve their place ahead of Galvin then that can only be good.

MaxPower89

BKWDR wrote: »

You feel that eamonn fitzmaurice has made a more personal decision in letting him come back.

I'd say Galvin left with the notion he was going to fall into a media spot on the back of this book but it never happened. (having seen him on tv and listened to him on radio , i actually think he comes across very poor)

I don't think Fitzmaurice does sentiment to be honest about it. If he isnt up to it, he won't be picked.

I don't think he was hoping to fall into a media spot either. The book seemed to be received very well and I think the number of copies sold is quite high.

He has a number of projects on the go too, a website design/PR/brand management colabration business between Dublin and New York. A upcoming clothing range for Dunnes Stores along with lots of ad-hoc work.

The represetnation you give is not accurate.

keane2097

DDC1990 wrote: »

Ah Keane, he retired before the first League game of the year in 2014. You could hardly judge him on McGrath Cup games, where most Kerry veterans were resting with their feet up, and he was playing with a bunch of new lads.

In 2012 - He was very good against Westmeath, when we needed leaders to stand up. He had a great game against Tyrone, and he was good in the second half of the Donegal game after Kerry got to grips with the system. He played well in the Clare game up to the point where he lost the head and got himself 2 yellows in the space of about 5 minutes.

In 2013 he was good against Cork and started well against Dublin, but was run into the ground by McCarthy and if we'd had a decent replacement would have been off sooner.

He wasn't set the world on fire good, but he wasn't awful either.

Also, Donaghy's resurgence has shown that a few lean years can show you what a guy is made of. Donaghy was piss poor for a good number of years, due to his injuries etc. A year on the bench, where he felt like packing it in made him mentally stronger. I can only imagine what it feels like for Galvin to have packed it in and watch the lads win the All Ireland. He's a bit of a fitness freak anyway, so his body will be in decent shape. Training through March, the odd game towards the end of the league, an early Championship Game and he'll be ready for action.

I do feel for the likes of O'Leary, Darran, Daithí Casey, Alan Fitz, as you have said, but if it lights a fire under them and they up their performances to prove that they deserve their place ahead of Galvin then that can only be good.

I was going to get into this, but I don't want to. I hope he does great.

The only things I'll say about the above are that he retired because he was decorated in a challenge against Crokes the week before he was due to tog out in the League, and I don't think what's happened with Donaghy is comparable.

EDIT:

I have to say one more thing because I can't leave the bit in bold go. If I was one of the players you mentioned and Fitzmaurice came along and told me I had to up my game to prove I was more worthy of a place than Paul Galvin I'd either laugh at him or go for him.

MaxPower89

keane2097 wrote: »

I have to say one more thing because I can't leave the bit in bold go. If I was one of the players you mentioned and Fitzmaurice came along and told me I had to up my game to prove I was more worthy of a place than Paul Galvin I'd either laugh at him or go for him.

Do that and you would be off the panel for a long time.

DDC1990

keane2097 wrote: »

I was going to get into this, but I don't want to. I hope he does great.

The only things I'll say about the above are that he retired because he was decorated in a challenge against Crokes the week before he was due to tog out in the League, and I don't think what's happened with Donaghy is comparable.

EDIT:

I have to say one more thing because I can't leave the bit in bold go. If I was one of the players you mentioned and Fitzmaurice came along and told me I had to up my game to prove I was more worthy of a place than Paul Galvin I'd either laugh at him or go for him.

Fitzmaurice is more diplomatic then that he's not going to say it, but more competition for panel places can only be a good thing IMO.However, if they cannot beat a 35 year old player coming back from retirement to a place on the panel on merit, then are they good enough to be in the team?

Galvin should not be "given" a spot, it should be earned like every other player. No one, not even Fitzy's own brother in law, who is a legend in Kerry (and has the All Ireland's to prove it), should get preferential treatment.

However, those lads on the fringe of the panel shouldn't get that treatment either. They should earn their place on the panel. Galvin taking a year out of the game shouldn't mean that he is barred from ever playing for Kerry again. If he is good enough to make the team and make a difference, then he deserves his spot as much as the other lads.

I don't care who is playing for us, if we go on and retain the All Ireland, and while I'd feel for the lad who's spot he takes, if he makes the difference that I hope he makes, then it will have been worth it.

If he's in there to be on the back end of the panel, and coast along to try and pick up an All Ireland medal on the back of 5 minutes here and there in games that are won already, then I'd be annoyed, but I trust Fitzmaurice to make the right call. I trust Fitzmaurice to put the team before his own personal relationships.