Colm 'Gooch' retires from inter-county football

deadybai

Thought it deserved its own thread. A absolute legend and will go down as one if not the greatest to ever play the game. Has to be the greatest ever never to win player of the year.

"Today I wish to announce my retirement from the Kerry Senior Football team," said Cooper.

"It has been an amazing journey and one that I never wanted to end, however, I feel that this is the right time for me step away from inter county football. Representing the Kingdom for the past seventeen years has given me a tremendous amount of pride and satisfaction.
"To my Kerry teammates that I have soldiered with throughout the years, thank you for your guidance, patience and friendship. I feel extremely lucky to have experienced so many wonderful highlights with you all.

"To get the opportunity to play with, and against, some of the greatest players in the history of the GAA has given me memories that I will always treasure.

"During my career I have been very fortunate to work with some outstanding Kerry managers. They gave me the confidence to develop my game which allowed me to perform at the highest level.

"I would like to thank the Kerry County Board, backroom staff and medical teams for their constant help and support throughout my career.
"A huge thank you to the loyal Kerry fans at home and abroad for their continuous support. I now become a supporter and wish the team all the best in their quest for honours in 2017.

"I would like to thank my club Dr. Crokes for nurturing my talents and giving me the belief that there was no limit to what I could achieve, also to get the opportunity to Captain Kerry teams is something I’m extremely privileged to have done.
"I’m looking forward to continuing my Dr. Crokes career.

"Finally to my family, without you none of my successes would have been possible. Through the ups and downs, you were the people that believed in me and kept me going. For this I am forever grateful.

"It is very rare for people to achieve their ultimate dreams in life - I just have."

Taken from the www.independent.ie

Mr. Incognito

He was the top scorer in 2009 and didnt even get an All Star that year.

Consistently the best player on a Great Kerry team.

Also was the top scorer in most All Ireland Finals he played in including 05 and 08 against Tyrone.

It was a joy to watch him play. He was on a different planet in terms of skill and seeing a pass and his play in 2013 from 11 was when he was at his most incredible to watch for me.

he was the Texaco Footballer of the year in 2004

MillField

Fantastic player. Nothing like him before or after in terms of pure class and excitement. Shows that football and a brain always wins over pure athleticism.

Mike Guide 69

MillField wrote: »

Fantastic player. Nothing like him before or after in terms of pure class and excitement. Shows that football and a brain always wins over pure athleticism.

Hmmm, before???, could argue the likes of Canavan, Maurice Fitz or even Matt Connor could be thrown into that equation. But Gooch was the best of his generation and the way he was able to adapt his role later on in years was amazing, fantastic player, thanks for the memories....

Mr. Incognito

Still my favourite goal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac0NKyBOnkU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px4xaVHPCqc

Django99

https://youtu.be/3U6EH81Qr7o

Short documentary about his injury in 2014 and recovery. It would have been easy for him to retire at that stage with all he had won but he was determined to get back.

The best footballer I've ever seen.

PressRun

Hard to compare players from different eras, but certainly I think he was the most talented player I've ever seen play. Such a creative, elegant forward, which is probably a dying breed at this point. The most natural man of all time with the ball in hand but a very hard worker in the background too, by all accounts. End of an era tbh.

Hesh's Umpire

Brilliant, brilliant player. The second best footballer I've ever seen behind only his fellow county man, Maurice Fitzgerald.

wandatowell

Hesh's Umpire wrote: »

Maurice Fitzgerald.

I'm not a GAA fan but was Maurice that good?

Mr. Incognito

wandatowell wrote: »

I'm not a GAA fan but was Maurice that good?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l-jHmN907s

He was an incredible player who had all the skills including ice in his veins from dead balls with either feet.

However, I'd put Gooch above him because Gooch made the players around him better with his vision to see a pass and unlock defences.

Maurice was a scoring machine. Different types of players

Mike Guide 69

wandatowell wrote: »

I'm not a GAA fan but was Maurice that good?

Phenomenal player, one of the most graceful players ever to play the game. At the time when he came on the scene with Kerry the team was in its transition phase and I suppose his 2 All Irelands are witness to that. His point against Dublin in that All Ireland quarter final, was one of the greatest points I've ever seen. I know i eluded to in an earlier post Peter Canavan, who was almost robotic in his approach to the game and the way he played. , techically he was unreal. Matt Connor was up there with Maurice, certainly the great Paidi said he was best he played against. Again different players from different eras, but Gooch was up there with Maurice and Matt thats for sure!!!

CorkFenian

Great player, made it look very easy, and suffered badly through injury at different stages of his career. To bow out of intercounty after winning AI Club is a classy way to do it.


If Colm Cooper had have been born in Mayo, they'd have at least two senior AIs in the bag by now, how they could have done with a consistent top class scorer

robbiezero

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

Still my favourite goal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac0NKyBOnkU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px4xaVHPCqc

Some location for a GAA pitch in that second video.

mickmackey1

Genius is an overused word but Gooch was a genius, no doubt about it.

iDave

Two trick pony if I recall correctly!

Exiled1

Cooper, Canavan and Matt Connor were the very best full forward line players over the past sixty years. Didn't matter how the game was played, they simply lit it up almost every day.

seligehgit

Best I've ever seen in the flesh.

Paulzx

The player who had everything. Score points and goals. Tough as nails. Was able to do it on the big and small occasion. His vision for a pass was always something that I loved and tended to be overshadowed sometimes by his scoring ability. Met him once and he was a gent.

I'd watch a player like him all day

The only negative I can pick out was that he was a Kerryman:P

Allah snackbar

Why do the forwards always get the plaudits , he was certainly the best forward of his generation I wouldn't go as far as to say best footballer , but he achieved a lot and still only 33 , he's getting out before he starts to wear out from injuries and malaise , well done on a brilliant career

Lu Tze

Allah snackbar wrote: »

Why do the forwards always get the plaudits , he was certainly the best forward of his generation I wouldn't go as far as to say best footballer , but he achieved a lot and still only 33 , he's getting out before he starts to wear out from injuries and malaise , well done on a brilliant career

Interested to know who you think the best footballer of the last 12-15 odd years is? I would certainly have cooper up there.

Forwards, particularly of this calibre, tend to be lauded, as it is a lot more obvious the impact they make, not just in winning games, but getting teams to finals , and winning them

CorkFenian

For me personally best player in last 20 years would be Seamus Moynihan, you could put him in goals or full forward and he'd do a great job there as well....

Jayop

Allah snackbar wrote: »

Why do the forwards always get the plaudits , he was certainly the best forward of his generation I wouldn't go as far as to say best footballer , but he achieved a lot and still only 33 , he's getting out before he starts to wear out from injuries and malaise , well done on a brilliant career

Because forwards are what win you all-Irelands. Simple as that. You can have as many great defenders or midfielders as you want but unless you have someone who can hop it over the bar with regularity and play a defense splitting pass to put someone in for a goal then you can forget about the big wins. I'd argue that Sean Cavanagh was one of the other greats of this generation, but it's telling that since the last great set of Tyrone forwards left the scene he's won very little.


The Gooch was amazing and I'd have him as the second best player I've ever seen but I'm incredibly bias although I doubt few would argue with the other player who I'm putting up there at that level. Superb footballer and a pleasure to have seen him operate.

BonnieSituation

Jayop wrote: »

Because forwards are what win you all-Irelands. Simple as that. You can have as many great defenders or midfielders as you want but unless you have someone who can hop it over the bar with regularity and play a defense splitting pass to put someone in for a goal then you can forget about the big wins. I'd argue that Sean Cavanagh was one of the other greats of this generation, but it's telling that since the last great set of Tyrone forwards left the scene he's won very little.


The Gooch was amazing and I'd have him as the second best player I've ever seen but I'm incredibly bias although I doubt few would argue with the other player who I'm putting up there at that level. Superb footballer and a pleasure to have seen him operate.

Frank McGuigan? Wee Peter? Seanie? Brian Dooher?

Or my own personal favourite, Stevie O'Neill?

https://fbdownloader.info/videos/1288501391219601

Jayop

BonnieSituation wrote: »

Frank McGuigan? Wee Peter? Seanie? Brian Dooher?

Or my own personal favourite, Stevie O'Neill?

https://fbdownloader.info/videos/1288501391219601

Peter for me, although if I was to pick one of them to join the team today funny I'd be torn between him and Stevie.


Anyway, not to derail the thread, The gooch was up there and more with all of them and ahead of most. Special special player.

PARlance

A class act!

munsterlegend

Saw him plenty of times put Cork to the sword especially in Croke Park. Used to have great battles with Anthony Lynch but impossible to mark as could kick off both feet as well as find space through his movement/dummies.

Thought he'd give it this year but prob got tired of being out the field.

oxocube

Nailing my colours to the mast. I'm a Dub and I've been on the receiving end of the Gooch's mastery a good few times . I can't think of another player that can create a yard out of nothing, score a point with both feet and vision to pick out a pass if he's not in the best position to score.

He's the best player I've seen in Croke Park.

Icaras

iDave wrote: »

Two trick pony if I recall correctly!

Yea, goals and points although his passing was coming along.

doc_17

His performance in the 2013 AI semi was something else. Thought he should have got player of the year that year. But MDM will retire with more player of the year's awards! Travesty that its own.

Noveight

He'll be talked about for generations yet.

Roadtoad

Feb 2007, Moorefield v Dr Crocker in Limerick (all Ireland semi): Take Gooch off, and three Moorefield players, and we will play it again! Well done Gooch, then and now. Up the Moores!

Flukey

He broke our hearts many a time, but even as a Dub, I have to say he was a great player. After Dublin's last home match against Kerry, back in 2009, I always remember him making time for fans to give his signature and so on. We won't be sorry to see him go, but he will be missed.

yop

Top player, even better to watch in the flesh. Won a lot and all deserved. Best of luck to the lad in his retirement. Went out on a high.

megadodge

Colm Cooper was a genius.

As it is with all great sportsmen, just watching him play was a pleasure.

TheRiverman

Great player,even in the awful age of massed defences Colm was still able to make space and show his wonderful skills.Delighted to see Matt Connor mentioned in previous posts,another wonderful player who unfortunately only had half the career Colm Cooper had due to a horrible car accident back in 1985.

EireGrif

Smashing player.
Could have carry on playing for Kerry but today GAA game changed. Because corner forward don't exist anymore. They have to running up and down the field.

elefant

doc_17 wrote: »

His performance in the 2013 AI semi was something else. Thought he should have got player of the year that year. But MDM will retire with more player of the year's awards! Travesty that its own.

Absolute travesty.

joeguevara

Can't believe this has only got 37 posts so far. I had the privilege of seeing one of goochs first matches for Croke's coming on as a sub against clonmel commercials in a challenge match. My mate was playing for Croke's and as I lived in clonmel he stayed with me. Gooch was a little whip of a lad with an oversized jersey and shorts falling round his ankles, but even looking a state it was clear to see he was a genius in the making and running rings round the lads, even at 15!

Django99

elefant wrote: »

Absolute travesty.

Jesus that is sad. Nothing against MDM but he is not even close to the footballer Gooch is.

Lu Tze

Saw him first I think at a munster minor final against cork, in the Gaelic grounds I think. Was very good, but think we lost that game, James masters kicked a rake of points that day. The two counties respective up and coming stars at the time. Masters never really made the impact beyond underage that was expected, but he dominated that day

Dirty Dingus McGee

I always wondered whether he liked being referred to as "Gooch" in the media.Player nicknames being used by the GAA media has always pissed me off.They are meaningless as they have no context unless you are a friend of the person.

Noveight

cms88 wrote: »

Will we ever again see his likes?

In an era where fitness and power is valued more than skill he was probably one of the last of a bygone times.

Quoted from the Kerry GAA thread, a very good point indeed by cms88.

mickmackey1

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

I always wondered whether he liked being referred to as "Gooch" in the media.Player nicknames being used by the GAA media has always pissed me off.They are meaningless as they have no context unless you are a friend of the person.

Clearly the nickname was used widely enough among his own acquaintances for it to pass into general usage, like Nudie Hughes or Brick Walsh.

runnerholic

If he was that good how come no player of the year award over a 15 year career?

shockframe

Noveight wrote: »

Quoted from the Kerry GAA thread, a very good point indeed by cms88.

Could be argued that players have a nice mixture of fitness, skill and power nowadays compared to the past.

Noveight

shockframe wrote: »

Could be argued that players have a nice mixture of fitness, skill and power nowadays compared to the past.

Indeed that's also true.

Stoner

runnerholic wrote:

If he was that good how come no player of the year award over a 15 year career?

He won 8 all stars !!!!!

Was never judged to have been the player in one particular year, in the 2013 year he was fantastic in the first half. He didn't play in the final and MDMA played well in the semi and had a great final.

Looking back he never won the award for one particular year but picked up an almost record amount of all stars and over the span of his career he'd be viewed by many as the best.

Jayop

runnerholic wrote: »

If he was that good how come no player of the year award over a 15 year career?

He was probably in the mix for player if the year for 8 of those years Tbf. Consistently doing it year after year is much more impressive than a one of great year.

He's been a better player consistently than every single one of those players who won it in his time.

Bonniedog

Who will Kerry get to mark Philly on Sunday now???

Gooch kept him to two points in 2015 which was good going.

Flukey

runnerholic wrote: »

If he was that good how come no player of the year award over a 15 year career?

Presumably because in each of those individual years, there was a player that was better than him. It is like how Kilkenny complained about James McGarry having won many All-Irelands but not getting the All-Star. The simple reason for that was that there were better goal keepers than him in those years.

shockframe

runnerholic wrote: »

If he was that good how come no player of the year award over a 15 year career?

He never really dominated a full year. There was 1 very good performance every year from him but his form was a bit dicey. I watched him play in championship around 10 times and he never gave an exhibition.

Marc O se and Tomas O se in their pomp were absolute bankers to perform and were well worth their POTY.

Thing with POTY is that since 2000 its every 2nd year a forward on average wins it. Bernard Brogan in 2010 is the only forward winner you could say that was head and shoulders above every other player.