2016 Footballer of The Year & All Stars.

ProudDUB

So the provincial finals are just around the corner. By this time of year, we'd normally have a few candidates putting their hands up for FOTY. It's a bit quiet this year. So who are the early candidates so far?

For Dublin, Diarmuid Connolly is having a fine year, but he's been a mid summer favourite before & fell away when August and September rolled around. The usual suspects from Mayo are MIA, given their loss to Galway. It's too early to know the Kerry candidates. The Ulster replays may throw up a few candidates. MM is having a quietish year (for him) so far, for Donegal. Conor McManus is a definite maybe. So where are the dark horses going to come from.....Seanie Johnson, Tomas Flynn, Tiernan "Timotei" McCann....?

Is it relevant even talking about it now, as its only decided from the quarter finals onwards?

Have at it troops....

duchalla

Footballer of the year and the All Stars candidates usually only come to the fore from August on, when the championship starts proper, tis only shadow boxing at the moment. Last year, David Moran seemed like a good bet for POTY, but an average semi final and final put paid to him even getting an All Star.

ProudDUB

You never know. Some years, an early candidate puts his hand up and, no one comes along to knock him off his perch. That happened a couple of years ago with James O'Donoghue. It may or may not happen this year. Still, it's fun to speculate.

Paddy Powers top candidates are:

Diarmuid Connolly 4/1
Ciaran Kilkenny 5/1
Conor McManus 20/1
James O'Donoghue 20/1
James McCarthy 20/1
Dean Rock 20/1
Colm Cooper 20/1
Cillian O'Connor 25/1
Aidan O'Shea 25/1
Ronan O'Neill 28/1
Bernard Brogan 28/1
Mattie Donnelly 33/1
Paul Murphy 33/1
Peter Harte 33/1
David Moran 33/1
Michael Murphy 33/1
Colm Cavanagh 33/1
Paddy McBreaty 33/1
Cian O'Sullivan 40/1
Ryan McHugh 40/1

PressRun

Given the winner will come from the all Ireland winning team (rightly or wrongly), I doubt it'll become clear until August/September.

Ted111

Could do worse than throw €50 on McManus at 20/1.


James O'Donoghue has had long absence with injuries and not played much in the last two years. He shouldn't be near the top of the list (talent notwithstanding)

Stoner

Ted111 wrote:

Could do worse than throw €50 on McManus at 20/1.

Or Murphy at 33:1

DoctaDee

ProudDUB wrote: »

You never know. Some years, an early candidate puts his hand up and, no one comes along to knock him off his perch. That happened a couple of years ago with James O'Donoghue. It may or may not happen this year. Still, it's fun to speculate.....,,.

Yeah there was a love in with JOD that year, I remember thinking he was nailed on following the semi v Mayo when he got MOTM ahead of David Moran who gave one of the great midfield displays of recent times in Limerick

corny

The betting is right. Connolly or KK will take it if Dublin win the AI.

flasher0030

Cian O'Sullivan at 40/1 looks a very good bet. There's a good chance that Dublin will win the AI, and POTY normally comes from winning team. And there is huge love for the role that O'Sullivan plays - often referred to a genius. Bit over the top in my opinion.

Fr Tod Umptious

corny wrote: »

The betting is right. Connolly or KK will take it if Dublin win the AI.

Correct.

Its very rarely that the winner does not come from the winning county and Dublare hot favourites this year.

And as others have said it usually August that the contenders emerge, rather than July.

duchalla

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Correct.

Its very rarely that the winner does not come from the winning county and Dublare hot favourites this year.

And as others have said it usually August that the contenders emerge, rather than July.

The last time the POTY didnt come from the AI champions was 2010, when Bernard Brogan won it, the Dubs didnt even get to the final that year...

DoctaDee

duchalla wrote: »

The last time the POTY didnt come from the AI champions was 2010, when Bernard Brogan won it, the Dubs didnt even get to the final that year...

That was a strange year alright .. memorable in that Corks 4 awards they didn't get 1 All Star in the forward line (and a charity case for Walsh in midfield) ..

ProudDUB

flasher0030 wrote: »

Cian O'Sullivan at 40/1 looks a very good bet. There's a good chance that Dublin will win the AI, and POTY normally comes from winning team. And there is huge love for the role that O'Sullivan plays - often referred to a genius. Bit over the top in my opinion.

I'd agree it's smashing value, at that price. Diarmuid Connolly's individual brilliance gets highlighted in the meeja and, rightly so. But when the nuts & bolts of Dublins games get broken down, Cian O'Sullivan's importance and, the overall role that he plays, is highlighted much, much more. Or put it this way, I think Dublin can win an All Ireland without Diarmuid Connolly having a great semi final or final. (It happened last year.) Not a hope in hell we'll win one without Cian O'Sullivan having a good day at the office.

Stoner

flasher0030 wrote:

Cian O'Sullivan at 40/1 looks a very good bet. There's a good chance that Dublin will win the AI, and POTY normally comes from winning team. And there is huge love for the role that O'Sullivan plays - often referred to a genius. Bit over the top in my opinion.

Same with Colm Kavanagh, Galvin had that type of stuff written about him too, you'd think they had PhD's in football the way Brolly bangs on about them.

Could see CK getting it if Tyrone go all the way

PressRun

James McCarthy might be in with a good shout if Dublin win the All-Ireland. He could at least win an all star anyway, especially if Mayo don't find any form, which would rule Lee Keegan out of contention.

ProudDUB

Is it just me, or is there still no obvious front runner for FOTY?

Paddy Power's top 10 are:

1. Ciaran Kilkenny 10/3
2. Diarmuid Connolly 4/1
3. Cillian O'Connor 8/1
4. Aidan O'Shea 9/1
5. Brian Fenton 9/1
6. Lee Keegan 9/1
7. Michael Quinlivan 14/1
8. Paul Murphy 18/1
9. Diarmuid O'Connor 20/1
10. Paul Geaney 22/1

Stoner

ProudDUB wrote:

Is it just me, or is there still no obvious front runner for FOTY?

Kilkenny has risen now and Lee Keegan but Lee was poor the last day.

keeponhurling

ProudDUB wrote: »

Is it just me, or is there still no obvious front runner for FOTY?

Paddy Power's top 10 are:

1. Ciaran Kilkenny 10/3
2. Diarmuid Connolly 4/1
3. Cillian O'Connor 8/1
4. Aidan O'Shea 9/1
5. Brian Fenton 9/1
6. Lee Keegan 9/1
7. Michael Quinlivan 14/1
8. Paul Murphy 18/1
9. Diarmuid O'Connor 20/1
10. Paul Geaney 22/1

All depends on the final.

Given there is no clear candidate at this point, nobody will win it without a good final

seligehgit

Stoner wrote: »

Kilkenny has risen now and Lee Keegan but Lee was poor the last day.

Not sure if that was a mistype Stoner about Lee having a poor game on Saturday?:)

STB.

keeponhurling wrote: »

All depends on the final.

Given there is no clear candidate at this point, nobody will win it without a good final

I'd stick to the hurling. Tackling probability isn't your strong point.

Stoner

seligehgit wrote:

Not sure if that was a mistype Stoner about Lee having a poor game on Saturday?

I meant that he was poor the previous day but his performance at the weekend has him in the picture.

kupus

Ok let's get the gambling head on. Lee had a great day the last day. He scored the two important points with left and right.
Now the next day out, tipp and mayo if all goes to plan will be end to end football. The sort we all love seeing that's unfortunately all too rare nowadays. (All depending on Mayo ditching the sweeper in favour of attack play)
Both teams love playing football and this type of play is good for lee, he gets to go maurading into the opposition half and maybe score one or two. What I'm saying about that is that's the kind of play that is noticed.

Now I'm not belittling tipp one bit but I fully expect Mayo to beat them. And if they don't I'll be the first one to offer congrats to a tipp football man.

So that leads to a final with either Kerry or Dublin, he doesn't have a bad day against either team so keegan I think is an excellent punt.

Stick a tenner on. As I said on another thread I'm still raging about a bet I didn't do that had very long odds but was a conceivable bet.

cavan4sam

I wouldn't bet against Aidan o Shea put in a good shift last weekend and probably will against tipp and I've a funny feeling mayo could win this on the most unlikely year

ProudDUB

Lee Keegan is an excellent bet. Big man for the big occasion. Unlike Hair Oil, who is the big man for the little occasion.

seligehgit

ProudDUB wrote: »

Lee Keegan is an excellent bet. Big man for the big occasion. Unlike Hair Oil, who is the big man for the little occasion.

Aidan might prove you wrong this year and I'm sure you will be first to acknowledge it.;)

At this stage a Dublin player..a Ciaran Kilkenny or dare I say it a Philly McMahon are the most likely POTY.Crazy early to making predictions but tis fun nonetheless.

ProudDUB

When Aidan O'Shea steps up and is counted in All Ireland semi finals & finals, to the degree that Lee Keegan is consistently, I will be the first to applaud him. Until then, I'll continue to roll my eyes at him even being in the conversation for FOTY.

kupus

seligehgit wrote: »

At this stage a Dublin player..a Ciaran Kilkenny or dare I say it a Philly McMahon are the most likely POTY.

Ah here, you're sounding like one of them Kerry medija now.

PressRun

ProudDUB wrote: »

When Aidan O'Shea steps up and is counted in All Ireland semi finals & finals, to the degree that Lee Keegan is consistently, I will be the first to applaud him. Until then, I'll continue to roll my eyes at him even being in the conversation for FOTY.

To be fair, he stood up and was counted against Tyrone at the weekend and that was arguably one of the biggest tests this team has faced in a long time for a variety of reasons that go beyond simply making an All-Ireland semi-final. That match was coming off the back of a lot of criticism that had been thrown at Mayo in recent weeks, a lot of it directed at Aidan O'Shea personally and a lot of it well over the line in terms of how personal it got. Yet this weekend he came out and put in a big performance when Mayo really needed their key players to find something extra, when questions were being asked about the team as a collective and when his own character was being torn asunder not only by people outside the county, but people within it too (some of the stuff being said about him within in the county lately was just plain nasty and very, very personal). I don't know that he's FOTY material, but I think it's a bit harsh to be so dismissive of him. He'd be the first to admit he has struggled for form this year, but he showed plenty of leadership the last day after what have been probably the most difficult and turbulent times this particular Mayo team has faced both as a group and as individuals.

ProudDUB

That is all well and good PR. But as I said in my post, when he is a massive influence in the biggest games, (namely All Ireland semi finals and finals,) on a consistent basis, I shall review my opinion of him. Until then, he is not fit to wash Lee Keegans jock strap imo.

PressRun

And my point was simply that last weekend's match was one of their biggest games in a long time, for a variety of reasons, and he was there leading the way, alongside Lee Keegan. I'm not arguing about him being FOTY, btw (I honestly don't really care a whole lot about these awards), just making the point that he has shown leadership at big moments and the weekend was a perfect example.

Nidgeweasel

Strange year. Semi finals and no clear candidate. Nobody has really lit the place up which I suppose is sort of reflective of the championship so far. Dublin are motoring away consistently ahead of the rest so nobody is really standing out for POTY for them imo. Nobody's heard from Kerry and Mayo have been spluttering along.

Tbh I'd be inclined to give it to Peter Harte on the year so far.

ProudDUB

PressRun wrote: »

And my point was simply that last weekend's match was one of their biggest games in a long time, for a variety of reasons, and he was there leading the way, alongside Lee Keegan. I'm not arguing about him being FOTY, btw (I honestly don't really care a whole lot about these awards), just making the point that he has shown leadership at big moments and the weekend was a perfect example.

He has been anonymous in far too many big games, when it really, really mattered, against top class opposition. Where was he in the Connacht final? Where was he in the two qualifier games? Where was he in the 2 Dublin semis last year?

Setting the world on fire in Connacht is one thing. Setting the world on fire, in quarter finals against tired and disinterested Donegal teams (sorry Nidge,) who were worn out from their AI final exploits the year before, is one thing. Setting the world on fire, against a Tyrone side that didn't justify all the hype around them, is one thing.

Being an influential game changer in games where the opposition are (a) just as good as Mayo are and (b)are fighting just as hard as Mayo are, is another thing entirely. That is when his head drops and, he becomes anonymous, relative to other players on the pitch.

If last Sundays game is the start of a new dawn for him, when it comes to leadership and balls and intensity, then good for him. I'll believe it when I see it.

aidan24326

ProudDUB wrote: »

Is it just me, or is there still no obvious front runner for FOTY?

Paddy Power's top 10 are:

1. Ciaran Kilkenny 10/3
2. Diarmuid Connolly 4/1
3. Cillian O'Connor 8/1
4. Aidan O'Shea 9/1
5. Brian Fenton 9/1
6. Lee Keegan 9/1
7. Michael Quinlivan 14/1
8. Paul Murphy 18/1
9. Diarmuid O'Connor 20/1
10. Paul Geaney 22/1

How on earth is Peter Harte not being mentioned? He has been superb. Ok he probably won't win POTY due to Tyrone not reaching the semi finals but he has been outstanding and is surely a shoe-in for an all-star award. Had Tyrone won on Saturday he'd be the leading contender imo.

Of the teams that are left there's no standout contender right now and it will depend on what happens from here on.

jimjamcos

The value definitely lies with Brian Fenton at 10/1 Boyles with reasons below:

Dublin are odds-on to win, loosely meaning it's odds-on to be a Dublin player

Kilkenny is a deserving favourite but he'll have a target on his back now, particularly when McCarthy returns to half back and he's likely pushed forward meaning he could be bottled up. Donegal sitting back with most of their men behind ball played perfectly to Kilkenny's strengths allowing him time and space to carry out his preferred 'quarterback' role. While he's still good enough to create his own space I don't think any of teams left will hand him it like Donegal did again.

Fenton has been good, if unspectacular, all year but he's a cert to play every minute, raised his game noticeably on Sunday and his MOTM performance in last year's All Ireland showed he has the ability to give a standout performance on biggest day. He's the number one Dublin midfielder and given the way Cluxton directs kickouts he should have the freedom to show his athleticism against the likes of Donaghy and Moran who aren't as mobile.

Crucially, like Kilkenny, and unlike Connolly, he's got a nice, clean media profile which regardless of what anyone says plays a part in POTY (Brogan, Lacey, MDMc, JOD, JMc - all media friendly - bad boys like Philly Mc simply don't get it).

In my opinion opinion, at the prices, Fenton fits what GAA/GPA are looking for in a POTY.

Stoner

jimjamcos wrote:

In my opinion opinion, at the prices, Fenton fits what GAA/GPA are looking for in a POTY.

Kilkenny speaks Irish too, it helps I think

Poor_old_gill

I'd give it to Cluxton if the Dubs win- like he is probably the most pivotal player to the most successful team of the last few years!
I really cant understand how he isnt a front runner for POTY- it seems to be a complete blindspot in GAA punditry- essentially if some lad kicks a few point sin the semi final and has an above average final then he will win it.

While a player who is top class and essenatial week in, week out gets ignored

ProudDUB

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

I'd give it to Cluxton if the Dubs win- like he is probably the most pivotal player to the most successful team of the last few years!
I really cant understand how he isnt a front runner for POTY- it seems to be a complete blindspot in GAA punditry- essentially if some lad kicks a few point sin the semi final and has an above average final then he will win it.

While a player who is top class and essenatial week in, week out gets ignored

The players vote on it, not the pundits. As the vast majority of them are outfield players, they are going to vote for one of their own & not a goal keeper. He was nominated for FOTY back in 2011. He probably wouldn't even have been nominated, if he hadn't performed a very dramatic outfield action to win the final for us. That is what really got peoples attention. Very unfair, but there you go.

keane2097

It's picked by journalists alright.

GBXI

aidan24326 wrote: »

How on earth is Peter Harte not being mentioned? He has been superb. Ok he probably won't win POTY due to Tyrone not reaching the semi finals but he has been outstanding and is surely a shoe-in for an all-star award. Had Tyrone won on Saturday he'd be the leading contender imo.

Of the teams that are left there's no standout contender right now and it will depend on what happens from here on.

Peter Harte won't win an All Star, cert to be nominated though. How often does a beaten quarter finalist get an All Star? Very rarely these days.

GBXI

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

I'd give it to Cluxton if the Dubs win- like he is probably the most pivotal player to the most successful team of the last few years!
I really cant understand how he isnt a front runner for POTY- it seems to be a complete blindspot in GAA punditry- essentially if some lad kicks a few point sin the semi final and has an above average final then he will win it.

While a player who is top class and essenatial week in, week out gets ignored

I think Cluxton should definitely have won it in 2013. MDMA had a great year but Cluxton was the difference for Dublin, especially in the final where he ran the O'Sheas all over the pitch.

ProudDUB

GBXI wrote: »

I think Cluxton should definitely have won it in 2013. MDMA had a great year but Cluxton was the difference for Dublin, especially in the final where he ran the O'Sheas all over the pitch.

No argument from me there.

timmyntc

ProudDUB wrote: »

He has been anonymous in far too many big games, when it really, really mattered, against top class opposition. Where was he in the Connacht final? Where was he in the two qualifier games? Where was he in the 2 Dublin semis last year?

Probably at home tbh

Nidgeweasel

GBXI wrote: »

Peter Harte won't win an All Star, cert to be nominated though. How often does a beaten quarter finalist get an All Star? Very rarely these days.

He is nailed on to get an all star.

danganabu

If Peter Harte doesn't get an All star it would be the biggest travesty since Brian Whelehan, obviously different code but same award system.

Re. Cluxton, yes should have gotten it in 2013 but not a chance he deserves it on what we have seen this year, hasn't even been the best GK up to this point and when the opposition have pushed up on his kickouts and he's forced to go long they have been erratic to say the least.

Stoner

That was last year. Going long has been working out well since Fenton started. Since the final last year.
He was very good in the league final. Haven't really met a great midfield yet in the championship.
He's playing well this year no need for awards or getting carried away with his performance Clark for Mayo has been very good and is looking good for it, but Cluxton is playing well, better than last year imo. His kick outs have not been erratic he's looked good imo, but won't win an awards based on the current state of play

aidan24326

GBXI wrote: »

Peter Harte won't win an All Star, cert to be nominated though. How often does a beaten quarter finalist get an All Star? Very rarely these days.

You might be right but that only shows how biased these awards are towards players/teams that make at least the semi final stage. In some ways that's understandable but personally I think Peter Harte has been outstanding and he has to be an all-star contender. He was brilliant on Saturday and his point near the end of the Ulster Final was as good as you'll ever see.

ProudDUB

timmyntc wrote: »

Probably at home tbh

LOL...you got me there in fairness !

doc_17

From my own county I'd like to see Paddy McGrath get one as well as Ryan McHugh for their efforts this year. But as someone said, beaten quarter finalists rarely get the nod

keeponhurling

doc_17 wrote: »

From my own county I'd like to see Paddy McGrath get one as well as Ryan McHugh for their efforts this year. But as someone said, beaten quarter finalists rarely get the nod

I have the same sentiments around Gary Brennan, but competition will be tough in midfield. The quarter final itself was probably one of his least effective games though.

Fenton probably has one spot already nailed down in midfield

doc_17

keeponhurling wrote: »

I have the same sentiments around Gary Brennan, but competition will be tough in midfield. The quarter final itself was probably one of his least effective games though.

Fenton probably has one spot already nailed down in midfield

I haven't seen any of his matches this year bar the Sunday Game highlights. It would be nice to see recognition given if he did have 4/5 really good championship performances.

80s Child

I'm thinking Lee Keegan, after last week's performance, is elected. I'd have him with Peter Harte personally.

For the final half back spot, it'll be tight! Mc Carthy had a great year but the injury is curtailing his inclusion.

Would Ryan Mc Hugh be give no.5? He's had a serious year, but what position would he be given it for?

And in saying that, what are the back 6 looking like apart from the above names?