Johnnyb
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Post by Johnnyb on Sept 24, 2009 9:50:52 GMT
He certainly see’s the game from an odd angle. The only article of his I read was his fawning piece on how Tyrone invented the tackle. Apparently they tackle hard in training and further are still friends when training finishes. Mind bending. He delighted in how MH rarely raised his voice which we all now know is the sign of a true infallible genius for sure. Of course, post publication, Tyrone flopped
Now post All Ireland, he comes along with this. Armagh, NFL winners in 2005…? I’m sure we’ll find him equating man of the match stats against the virtue of all stars, when surely Kerry players will be crowned with the majority (though I think amount of All Stars Tipp got is a sure sign for a few surprises in the football nominations).
The overall sentiment emanating from the article though is one of defeat. Poor Paddy.
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Post by patinkerry on Sept 24, 2009 21:13:16 GMT
Looks like Liam got it wrong again!!!!!!!!!!!
September 20, 2009 The Sunday Tribune
Football Analyst, Liam Hayes -
Cork set to claim a status long coming
There is very little doubt that this Cork team is poised and ready to dominate Kerry for three or four years. Every quarter of a century or so, this has been the case. Cork footballers get to reap some reward for their massive levels of patience and tolerance. Kerry quietly say very little, but very quickly rebuild. We are once again at this point in the accepted relationship between two of Gaelic football's greatest counties. This Cork have the ability and the opportunity to win two, possibly three, All Ireland titles.
Quite possibly. All that remains to be noted by football historians is the exact date and place in which Cork's period of domination commenced. Was it June 2009? This afternoon we will find out whether that date must be officially noted, or discarded.
There is no great reason to doubt that Cork can continue on from their two all-conquering performances against Kerry at the beginning of this championship, and finish off this year by recording an unbelievable, unimaginable, victory over Kerry in an All-Ireland football final. Everything tells us that Cork can win, should win, will win.
But, hold our horses here one second, and let's skip back a sentence or two, okay? Did anyone notice that the word unbelievable and the word unimaginable were used back-to-back in the last paragraph?
To feel absolutely certain of victory, the great football and hurling teams, and the greatest individuals we have known in every sporting discipline, from Ali to Tiger to Usain, have been able to close their eyes and view their impending victory.
It's true, seeing is believing. And what exactly will the Cork footballers see if, two or three minutes before being called from their dressing-room, they are asked by Conor Counihan to sit back and relax, and take in some deep nourishing breaths of air, and close their eyes?
Truth is, no Cork footballer may wish to close his eyes. No Cork footballer, for the next few hours at least, feels he is in a position to as much as blink! And that's because nobody knows for sure what exactly is going to emerge from the opposite dressing-room – not me, not you, not Counihan, in fact not one Cork player.
Kerry might come out of that room and look the fairly sorry football team they have looked in six out of seven games this summer. Or they might go about their business as though the last three months have comprised no more than a hop, skip and jump towards a normal and most natural of championship endings.
With each passing day over the last week, more and more people deliberating over this All Ireland final have being arriving at the conclusion that Cork will never, ever, ever beat Kerry in an All Ireland final. The form of both teams over the last few months is being completely ignored. Anthony Lynch's regular-as-clockwork overpowering of Colm Cooper is being ignored. Graham Canty's powerful presence throughout the Cork defence is being ignored. The likelihood that Nicholas Murphy, Alan O'Connor and Pearse O'Neill, between them, can outplay and finally retire Darragh Ó Sé is being ignored.
The majority of people contemplating this game are coming to the conclusion that an All Ireland final is an All Ireland final, and the team with the greater confidence on the day, the team with nerves of steel, will win, simple as that. And, that team, on days like this, is never Cork.
On this occasion however, it is not as simple as that. Cork are stronger throughout the field. In almost all the big individual contests they are starting out with a natural advantage. They are also the form team. They are more confident than any Cork football team I have viewed in over 20 years. They are, in fact, a joy to watch. They play fast, attractive, aggressive and exciting football the length of the field. They have the best defence in the country. They have the best eight players in the middle third of the field, with an outstanding mix of strength and speed. They have three outstanding team leaders in Lynch, Canty and Murphy. And, lastly, they have the coolest, smartest, most sensible manager Cork have possibly ever had.
In my view we are going to have to see one incredible performance from Kerry if they are to win the 2009 All Ireland football title. I'm not ruling that out! Kerry can win. Kerry can defeat Cork and, at the same time, barely edge out Tyrone in the battle for the title of 'Team of the Decade'. And, if they do so, it will be down to one man. If Kerry take this title, then, whatever the players produce on the field, they will all still have to take second place to Jack O'Connor.
Nobody in the whole Kerry camp has shown as much courage or has stood taller or stronger than O'Connor over the last few months. He's made mistakes. The team he sent out to meet Cork at the start of this championship was misshapen and wholly inadequate for the task at hand. But from that low point, O'Connor has lifted this team up by its boot-straps and, even though performances have only been mediocre-to-good, he has marched his team through July and August and into this final. All through this championship campaign O'Connor has been the complete general – and now he has one final, massive battle in his sights.
As I have made clear in the past once or twice (or maybe 10 or 11 times if I'm being truthful), O'Connor led Kerry to two of the most wretched All Ireland final victories in living memory during his first term as Kerry boss. This view of mine has never rested easily with O'Connor or any Kerry football folk. The good people of The Kingdom choose denial when it comes to any real, decent inspection of the true worth of those victories.
O'Connor was a brave man in coming back to lead his county a second time. He has withstood injuries, indiscipline and some of the most inept performances we have ever witnessed from a Kerry team in all my adult years of watching and admiring them. So, how does he go about winning this game, which, no matter how it is won, will immediately go down as one of Kerry's most satisfying victories ever?
Will Kieran Donaghy, if he is thrown in midway through the first half, or late in the day, single-handedly make the difference between winning and losing? Hardly. Donaghy can help but the entire Cork camp will be prepared for him. O'Connor knows that he has a troubled defence of his own, and he will also be privately accepting that his team will do very well to split the share of possession in the middle third of the field. To be sure of winning, O'Connor needs to see his team physically dominating the Cork defence, running at them at every opportunity and pressurising them in a manner in which this Cork defence has not been pressurised all summer long.
This Cork defence does look supreme, and even though the injury to Ray Carey has produced some doubt about its make-up, it is hard to see how any single Kerry forward, with the possible exception of Colm Cooper, can get on top of his opposite number for a lengthy spell today. Michael Shields and Canty are both a perfect measure for Declan O'Sullivan and Tommy Walsh, whatever way the Kerry pair interchange, so the key to a breakthrough against Cork must surely rest with Cooper – and Cooper alone.
Anthony Lynch, admittedly, has always possessed the secret formula for keeping Cooper quiet. Lynch's tackling skills (and his balance while tackling) are the best in Gaelic football but he's also able to outfield Cooper. And, because he reads the game so brilliantly, Lynch can and will get out in front of Cooper and beat him to the ball every second time.
All of this is known to Cooper. So, what's he to do? Cooper, in truth, does not need to do anything different or additionally miraculous. He just needs to make certain that he raises his game up to a level we haven't seen from him in over three years.
At his very best there's no doubt about it, Cooper has the ability to overpower Lynch in perhaps the greatest and most defining individual contest the pair of them will ever experience. If Cooper does that, the entire Cork defence can become unhinged. And if the Cork defence is unhinged, and Donaghy is introduced and finds that little extra space around him, then one of the most memorable All Ireland final victories in modern times could be at hand.
This Kerry team has been playing football in a shallow grave all summer long. The destruction they visited upon Dublin in the quarter-final brought some life and hope to their dressing-room but, really, the semi-final against Meath proved for sure that the team is not in the healthiest or most confident of places.
Kerry are not dead and buried, not yet, but this team will have to rise to a massive height over if they are to win this All Ireland title. I can not see them doing that. Cork can win, should win, and will win, and on a perfect day they could do so by four or five points.
lhayes@tribune.ie
September 20, 2009
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2009 21:49:01 GMT
He will hammer Cork on Sunday and demean our victory that way.
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lorr29
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Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative
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Post by lorr29 on Sept 24, 2009 21:52:23 GMT
Lads, does anyone have Cormac MacConnell's article from Tuesday's examiner? My dad just brought it over to England for me and I have rolled around laughing quality stuff...After years of living in Cork and having great banter with the Rebels it's fab to read... I don't have a scaner to put it up, if anyone does could they post, a hilarious insight into being a Kerryman living in Cork (Nico, you'll love it!)...I'm tempted to sit here and type it but work in the moring, oh the giddy feeling post all Ireland win....
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Post by fenit67 on Sept 24, 2009 22:30:22 GMT
I must say I find it increasingly difficult to imagine this scribe ever having donned the Meath colours. Such constant debasement of a fine GAA tradition must arouse in Mr.Hayes an appraisal of his own personal worth. Does he feel through Kerry's constant excellence a diminution of his own prowess? If his hand defines his prowess and he scribes ever more importantly does this swell his importance? In giving this writer, doodler would be more appropriate, any importance we merely lend him our ear for a coming period. His text derives from a position of doubt which should never be fed other than to serve one's own propoganda. So in short; thanks Liam and check all your facts before putting which ever one of your appendages or orifices you use to write with!
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mozzy
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Post by mozzy on Sept 25, 2009 3:32:33 GMT
If he is a man ...... and maybe, a real man ..... and someone who may diserve some minor piece of respect, I truly hope he will honour himself and the profession he dares to call his work i.e. journalism by finally honouring this incredible team and write a piece that describes how hard they fought and how they overcame adversity and outwitted and outplayed every player on the opposition.
His disrespect of Longford, Sligo and Antrim, (all teams who gave their all to a Kerry team not quiet up to the usual expectation), speaks volumes on his disrespect for his fellow man and our great game.
So if he writes anything to the contrary as indicated by Ciarraiabu...... we should have nothing to say... for describing nought by someone who has nothing to say should be honoured by nothing... exact silence to be exact....
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Post by patinkerry on Sept 25, 2009 7:57:53 GMT
Breaking a spirit from within, that’s the Kerry way By Michael Moynihan Friday, September 25, 2009 They’re already here. – Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, 1957. THEY walk among us. They talk and eat and love as we do, and yet they are different. Here and there they gather together and you know them, and you know their difference. I refer above not to creatures from another galaxy, but to the people of Kerry. Following last Sunday, much amateur psychology has been spouted about the relationship between Cork and Kerry (and to be accurate, there was a fair amount of it spouted before the game as well). Your columnist has been a Corkonian as far back as he can remember, feels as well qualified to spout as any of the other amateurs, and is happy to share his thoughts with you accordingly. The odd relationship between the two counties is not determined by the fact that they share a border but because they share living space in such large numbers: namely, the presence of so many Kerry people in Cork, rather than vice versa. The unscientific assessment is thousands of people from the Kingdom living in Cork, though there is a sharply defined and oddly limited range of occupations open to them. Roughly speaking, 74% of those Kerry people are gardaí, while 42% are teachers. The overlap has never been explained but is generally put down to double-jobbing. There were some Cork people who went to Kerry, but we lost touch with them some time ago and consequently fear the worst: that they opened B&Bs near Killarney and went native. In a sporting context, this has immediate and obvious consequences: witness the Kerry person’s determination to bring each sporting discussion around to football within his county, for instance. Let a Cork person refer to Roy Keane’s heroics for his country and a Kerry native will switch the conversation to some faction fight between two hamlets northeast of Tralee; as soon as a Leesider cites Ronan O’Gara’s kicking prowess, his neighbour from over the county bounds immediately cites a squabble between two representative bodies of leprechauns near Valentia. If a Corkman should actually refer to a hurling match, then a Cork-based Kerryman reacts the same way Kingsley Amis did whenever he saw Ava Gardner in a movie: i.e. remove his shoes and stretch out on his back on the ground feigning unconsciousness. They’re a focused people. You have to say that much. Thus, last Sunday and the week that has followed. The awful truth that Cork supporters have had to face in recent days was not that their team was second best on the day, but that they won’t even have the satisfaction of licking their wounds in peace. When Tyrone beat Kerry in the All-Ireland final, then natives of Ardboe and Omagh don’t congregate on the streets of Listowel and Castleisland, after all. When Kilkenny beat Waterford last year, the inhabitants of the Crystal City saw a lot of their neighbours, many of whom work in Waterford according to popular myth in the south-east – but that same popular myth holds that the Kilkenny natives stream back east across the bridge to their home county before nightfall. To focus on tensions being confined to the border of Cork and Kerry, however, is wholly misleading; vast swathes of the southern capital are known to be colonised by immigrants from the far south-west. These fifth columnists sally forth with their jerseys and their polo shirts to heap further pain on the heartbroken Rebel followers of their acquaintance; poor souls who cannot escape from their neighbours. Triumphant. Judging. Smirking. Writing traffic tickets. Assigning extra homework. And some of them doing both, if the statistics are anything to go by. - contact: michael.moynihan@examiner.ie; twitter: MikeMoynihanEx This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Friday, September 25, 2009 Read more: www.irishexaminer.com/sport/breaking-a-spirit-from-within-thats-the-kerry-way-101785.html#ixzz0S6RgeDNs
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Post by patinkerry on Sept 25, 2009 8:19:05 GMT
Kerry primal hunger fuelled by desire to silence critics who dared challenge players’ reputations by Keith Barr
Friday September 25 2009
ONE of the lingering questions for us football mortals is what makes Kerry so hungry for continued success. The story of 2009 emphatically answers that poser.
Last Sunday evening, I was adjourning to Jacksies in Kilmainham after the game to discuss the greatest defensive display I'd ever witnessed when four Kerry fans bedecked in their colours sauntered by carrying Chinese takeaways and cans of beer, quietly heading for their digs. It wasn't even nine o'clock.
Unfortunately for us in the capital, we can only imagine the scale of emotion that would be unleashed if we were to end the recent famine. Suffice to say, one's evening wouldn't be ending with a bowl of fried rice in front of the Sunday Game. The same goes for pretty much every other county in Ireland.
Yet, if we want to understand one of the key components in the make-up of the Kerry footballer, we only have to rewind to June and July when the infamous 'animals' in the Kingdom were savaging the team. And it wasn't just the 'animals'. Beyond the county boundaries even some of our more respected GAA commentators couldn't hide their delight at Kerry's perceived misfortune.
After returning to the helm, Jack O'Connor was feeling the heat. A national league title won at a canter suggested Kerry would take the championship by storm but after being chastened by Cork in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, poor form in the qualifiers had the gossip machine working overtime.
O'Connor was already well respected as a manager, but he still had his critics at home who were circling overhead as the team appeared to be plunging into a crisis. In his biography, Jack referred to the importance of 'fierce togetherness'. Now, two of his star players had been dropped and it seemed his panel couldn't buy a performance. The only 'fierce' thing around seemed to be the pressure on the manager.
Rift
In that book, Jack also referred to strains at times with some of the Ó Sés. Was there a rift? If they weren't pulling in the same direction, how could Kerry win an All-Ireland? You couldn't struggle against Sligo and Longford and then defeat Tyrone?
How wrong the critics were. Aided by the reassuring and inspirational presence of Darragh Ó Sé, the backdoor journey was really the making of Kerry this year and was a managerial triumph for Jack.
The trip around the country was never going to be pretty and, although they gambled with high stakes during the journey, that part of Kerry's campaign saw Paul Galvin exorcise the memories of last year by showing incredible leadership, Darragh Ó Sé got valuable game time, Tadhg Kennelly was integrated further into the team, Gooch recovered his form and Mike McCarthy was plucked from retirement.
All of which, of course, proved instrumental in Kerry's success once they hit the imported Croke Park turf. And all of which is a testimony to O'Connor and his management team.
Once at HQ, it all came together. Kerry emerged from their purgatory and Dublin were sentenced to hell. At the time we were well aware of the accepted approach to playing Dublin in Croke Park -- ensure you wrestle the momentum and stop Dublin going on a roll. However, few of us believed that scenario would unfold after just 40 seconds.
Kerry's relentless display over the next 70 minutes though is what really mattered. That blew away the mid-summer fog. The 'animals' changed their bark pretty quickly. All was well in the world and we were presented with the usual array of riddles from the Kingdom about Kerry being Kerry and how they love playing the Dubs. However, the story still had some distance to run.
Meanwhile, Cork put the Munster final blip behind them and steamrolled Donegal and then Tyrone. Cork really impressed me at this juncture. Their mix of power and football had marked them apart as the form team of the championship.
And I genuinely believed they had the tools to cope with Kerry whose low-key display against Meath suggested once again that, physically at least, they might struggle to contain Cork's rampaging machine.
But being placed on the back foot is merely another motivating force in Kerry's relentless hunger. While O'Connor had already displayed his tactical awareness and decisiveness against Dublin and Meath, particularly with his handling of Tommy Walsh, Kerry's traditional qualities of entrusting every player to handle his own man came to the fore in the final.
It was, in my opinion, the greatest display by six defenders I have ever seen. Pearse O'Neill was considered the key man in Cork's awesome diamond around the middle of the field. Yet a man who has spent the last two years playing club football eclipsed him completely. This was a master stroke. Out of the confines of the full-back line, McCarthy's football ability blossomed.
I don't need to reiterate what's been said of Tom O'Sullivan, Marc Ó Sé and Tommy Griffin this week. It was flawless defending. Brave, out in front, comfortable on the ball and aggressive in the tackle.
In front of them, Tomás Ó Sé was outstanding, scoring without breaking stride and reducing Paul Kerrigan to a peripheral figure. Galvin was fearless as he covered the field.
In the forwards, Kerry were solid, but they were also anchored magnificently by Kennelly. The half-forward line of 2009 was so much better than its equivalent against Tyrone last year. This proved a massive difference as it crippled Cork's half-back machine, a key driving force for the Rebels.
Whether we like it or not, Kennelly nailed Nicholas Murphy in the first few seconds and while the pattern of the game didn't immediately follow suit, Cork's much-vaunted physical presence was challenged unceremoniously. Kerry were up for this fight. Cork didn't retaliate.
Cork hammered home 1-3 and looked as though they'd taken up where they left off against Tyrone. But, as Kennelly revealed afterwards, Kerry had a plan and were going to stick to it regardless. On the field, Darragh Ó Sé reiterated to all around him about the plan. On the line, the manager ensured that the plan was adhered to. The plan worked.
Tactically, Kerry risked a lot after the break by sitting back and taking off Darragh and Kennelly, but, they pulled four clear and the defence remained steadfast. If previous Kerry successes had be a triumph of forward brilliance, this one was manufactured at the back.
It would be easy to say that it was all psychological, but I don't believe that to be the case. It was pure football which proved Cork's downfall. Kerry made sure every man did his job.
Gooch won and converted his frees, Tomás negated Cork's pacy wing-forward, Paul Kerrigan; Marc silenced Donnacha O'Connor; O' Sullivan did the same with Daniel Goulding; Seamus Scanlon won huge possession; Kennelly put Graham Canty on the back foot; McCarthy snuffed out O'Neill, Walsh kicked four great scores, Darran O'Sullivan ran at the defence and Darragh spread the ball around from the middle.
If we want to know the secret of Kerry football, we have it here. The individual is the key to the collective. Challenge a Kerry footballer to prove himself and he will go to the ends of the earth to do so.
We know they're not unbeatable. But we also know that they're probably never more dangerous than when their reputations are challenged.
In Kerry reputation is everything. By meeting their toughest challenge ever, Jack O'Connor and Darragh Ó Sé have enhanced their stock to an all-time high.
However, the animals are already waiting for 2010. Anyone for a spring roll?
- Keith Barr
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Post by Die Hard Kerry Fan on Sept 25, 2009 10:34:46 GMT
Maybe it's just me, but does Mike Moynihan's article sound like sour grapes?!
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Post by austinstacksabu on Sept 25, 2009 12:39:00 GMT
A sour, bitter diatribe by Mr. Moynihan.
Surprised Tony Leen let it run, he being editor and a Kerry man to boot.
Or maybe, he let it run because he knows that articles such as this make it all the sweeter for Kerry people to see others so sour about our victory.
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Post by ardfertnarrie on Sept 25, 2009 13:22:43 GMT
Dedicated to Mr. Heaney, Hayes and co.
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Post by glengael on Sept 25, 2009 15:39:34 GMT
Tomas merits player award
Friday September 25 2009
THE outcome of last Sunday's final means there are now 23 senior All-Ireland medals residing among the O Se family at that crossroads in Ventry.
Without doubt, this is the most extraordinary family in football history and we get the impression that the story hasn't run its full course yet.
Personally, I don't think Darragh should retire from such a strong set-up while Marc is probably the best man-marker in the game.
And for me, Tomas pips his team-mates Paul Galvin and Graham Canty for footballer of the year.
He is an inspirational footballer, an old-school general in the modern game. Watching him gallop forward and kick a point without breaking stride is a joy to watch and serves to remind us has-beens why we love this game.
From todays Irish Independent
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lorr29
Senior Member
Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative
Posts: 647
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Post by lorr29 on Sept 25, 2009 16:50:37 GMT
I'm torn with this player of the year, Tomás was amazing all year and at jury's the last night I just thought he was just so sound, totally unassuming....oh but the joy and what an almost perfect ending to an incredible year to see Paul Galvin ,the most villified man in GAA last year, stand up and recieve a justifed POY...I just don't know.... Dream world,can they both have one??
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mozzy
Senior Member
Nunc Coepi
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Post by mozzy on Sept 27, 2009 0:35:34 GMT
I'm torn with this player of the year, Tomás was amazing all year and at jury's the last night I just thought he was just so sound, totally unassuming....oh but the joy and what an almost perfect ending to an incredible year to see Paul Galvin ,the most villified man in GAA last year, stand up and recieve a justifed POY...I just don't know.... Dream world,can they both have one?? Paul Galvin for strength, courage, overcoming adversity and playing some incredible football.... without him, we would have no All Ireland this year.
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Post by glengael on Sept 27, 2009 16:37:59 GMT
Fab Four never miss a beat
By Eamonn Sweeney
Sunday September 27 2009
June 18, 2000. The temperature goes as high as 27 degrees centigrade, Tiger Woods wins the US Open by 15 strokes. There are threats to throw England out of the European Football Championships after 1,000 of their fans are arrested in Brussels and Charleroi.
In Killarney, Kerry are playing their first senior football championship match of the decade. They are up against their old rivals Cork. Cork are the reigning Munster champions, having beaten Kerry in the previous year's final.
Kerry lead by 2-9 to 0-5 at half-time and withstand a spirited Cork comeback to come through by 2-15 to 1-13. At left corner-back, Mike McCarthy is outstanding, holding 1999's Young Player of the Year Philip Clifford scoreless. Darragh ó Sé rules midfield for most of the 70 minutes. At right half-back Tomás ó Sé is so dominant against Don Davis that the dangerous attacker is withdrawn before the half-hour mark. His replacement is subbed too. At left half-back, Tom O'Sullivan has occasional problems with the tricky Aidan Dorgan but, like his team-mates, comes through in the finish.
Last Sunday, Kerry played their last senior football championship match of the decade. Once more they were up against their old rivals Cork. Once more Cork were the reigning Munster champions, having beaten Kerry in this year's semi-final. Once more Kerry dashed the dreams of their neighbours.
And once more the quartet who'd shone on the blisteringly hot day which began the county's championship decade were to the fore. At left-corner back, Tom O'Sullivan was outstanding, outplaying Cork's brightest prospect Daniel Goulding until the dangerous attacker was withdrawn. Tomás ó Sé was not merely dominant in defence, he found time to cruise forward for two inspirational points and looked not just the best player on the field but the outstanding player in Gaelic football. At centre half-back, Mike McCarthy totally negated Pearse O'Neill who, an aeon ago, had run Kerry ragged in that Munster semi-final. And while Darragh ó Sé's days of midfield supremacy may have come to an end, he played his part as Kerry won the lion's share of possession in the area.
There's been a lot of chat over the past few weeks about teams of the decade. But there can be no doubt about the players of the decade. Because the two ó Sé's, McCarthy and O'Sullivan have done something remarkable in winning All-Ireland medals in both the first and last years of a decade. So remarkable is it that only two footballers in the history of the game had done it previously, Miko Doyle who triumphed in 1930 and 1939 and his Austin Stacks clubmate John O'Keeffe who was on winning teams in 1970 and 1979.
Perhaps the first among these awesome equals, the man who deserves to wear the mantle of player of the decade is Tomás ó Sé. Going into the 2000 final, for example, Galway's Michael Donnellan was regarded as almost the complete footballer, a player who when on song was almost impossible to stop. In the drawn match, Donnellan found himself up against the one player who was as quick, aggressive, determined and strong as him and came out the worst in a titanic battle. In the replay, Tomás's uncle Páidí moved his nephew to centre half-back where he played a crucial role as Kerry prevailed by four points.
In fairness to Michael Donnellan, there were times when he did look like the complete footballer. Tomás ó Sé, on the other hand, has always looked like the complete defender. Yet though he holds more All-Stars at wing-back than anyone else and was named Footballer of the Year in 2004 sometimes we under-rate the man.
We under-rate him by forgetting that Tomás ó Sé may be the best defender to ever play Gaelic football. We take it for granted that when Kerry are in trouble, ó Sé will move up a gear and start making those unhurried looking forays into attack which so often end with vital scores. Two points from a wing-back were like gold dust in a tight game like Sunday's but Tomás has been so good for so long that they almost passed unremarked. And what makes him really special is that while there have been wing-backs with equal attacking flair, none of them has been so defensively sound. The man from An Ghaeltacht is like the result of a genetic experiment to combine the best features of Uncle Páidí with those of Pat Spillane.
Perhaps the ultimate Tomás ó Sé moment came in the closing minutes of the 2007 quarter-final against Monaghan when a defeat might well have led to the break-up of the current team. With the scores level, the wing-back started a move in his own back-line and surged forward to take the final pass and fist the winning point over the bar. There was something inevitable about the score, something about the nature of ó Sé's journey which suggested that the mission would be accomplished. Tomás ó Sé travels with intent.
Or maybe his finest hour came on one of those rare days when Kerry fell short. In the 2005 final against Tyrone, Kerry would have lost by a lot more than three points had it not been for an extraordinary second-half performance from ó Sé, a series of lancing runs forward being capped by one of the best goals ever scored by a defender in Croke Park. One of the best scored by the best. It is impossible to over-praise him.
And, though there has been much talk about the achievement of Paul Galvin in coming back from last year's suspension, I'd argue that Tomás ó Sé achieved an even greater triumph over adversity. His dropping after the narrow win over Sligo must have been a brutal experience. It's one thing to be sidelined after a dispute with a referee, it's another to be singled out by your own manager in a championship campaign as a man who let the team down by breaching team discipline. Had Kerry screwed up against Antrim, ó Sé and Colm Cooper would have been scapegoats. As it was, their socialising attracted nationwide criticism with not a thought about the
right to privacy of either man. Sitting on the bench in Tullamore can only have been excruciating for a player of ó Sé's stature. His ability to immediately return to top form is just another reason why he should win his second Footballer of the Year award.
Perhaps comparisons are invidious when it comes to this mighty gang of four. Because, outside of Mick O'Connell and Jack O'Shea, who has matched the feats of Darragh ó Sé at midfield? Tom O'Sullivan's decade included the double destructions of Conor Mortimer in the 2004 and 2006 finals and a similar wipe-out of the previously unmarkable Bernard Brogan in this year's quarter-final. Mike McCarthy started the decade by winning an All-Star after a campaign which saw him hold Philip Clifford, Derek Savage and Stevie McDonnell scoreless for 70 minutes each and ended it with the first minute surge forward from wing-back against Dublin to create the Colm Cooper goal which heralded the emergence of the real Kerry from their chrysalis.
Their collective talent has been wondrous. And their durability is equally so. In 2000, the fab four played alongside Seamus Moynihan who had once teamed up with Pat Spillane in the 1992 Munster final. By 2009, their teammates included David Moran and Tommy Walsh, sons of Spillane's former teammates in the only Kerry team which has bettered the current one.
For Tomás, Darragh, Tommy and Mike, time is just one more opponent to be taken on. So far, time is getting the worst of it.
FOOTNOTE: Technically speaking the quartet is a quintet as Tommy Griffin was brought on with three minutes to go in the replay of the 2000 All-Ireland final
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falveyb2k
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"The way this man played today, if there was a flood he'd walk on water. Jack O Shea"
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Post by falveyb2k on Sept 27, 2009 17:06:38 GMT
Reading a lot of the articles today makes you wonder about the journalists. Eamon Sweeny is fawning over us now but for 3 weeks after last year's final he couldn't put the boot in quick enough. And like us last year Cork are being savaged personally with smart know it all comments. At least Colm O Rourke was fair to both sides.
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thepope
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Post by thepope on Sept 27, 2009 22:58:28 GMT
The Magic Kingdom
Kerry's dismantling of Cork has Jack O'Connor as an equal now in football terms with Mickey Harte, writes Liam Hayes
Praise for Jack O'Connor these past seven days could not be high enough. Last Sunday, by first stopping, and then clinically dismantling his All Ireland final opponents with amazing dexterity and speed, he proved beyond all doubt that his football brain was the sharpest in the land in 2009. This was not like before, when Cork have met up with Kerry in Croke Park. On this occasion Cork did not freeze. This time, a Cork football team was left in bits and pieces in an All Ireland final with almost half a game of football still to be played.
It was an astonishing piece of work brilliantly cooked up by Jack. At the end of this decade, he stands shoulder to shoulder with Mickey Harte, each with three All Irelands to their name, and the pair of them virtually inseparable for any of us attempting to judge Ireland's greatest living, breathing Gaelic football manager.
It doesn't really matter that they never got to play one another in the final game of the 2009 season! Of course, it might matter a little bit to Jack O'Connor, because he was denied the personal satisfaction of victory over Mickey Harte which, almost certainly, would have come his way had the two gone toe-to-toe last Sunday. Nevertheless, they end a long and enthralling decade as equals, and as it should be.
Last Sunday's game was, indeed, a strange one. The game itself as a contest, or as a work of sporting art, was entirely forgettable, but by the end of it, I was not only left enthralled by Jack O'Connor's excellence, I was also left applauding the four or five vastly superior individual performances within his team. And here I'm not talking about Tommy Walsh, who was once-again extraordinary in his general calmness and clinical point-scoring, or Declan O'Sullivan or Tom O'Sullivan who were both exemplary, at either end of the field. I'm actually talking about two of the characters whom, so often in the past, I have considered to be just below accepted standards for inter-county footballers.
Tommy Griffin, after such a stomach-churning beginning to the game for a full-back, gave one of the most courageous performances in true leadership which we have viewed on this great stage in almost a generation. Seamus Scanlon, however, for me, was the most inspired Kerry footballer of all on this occasion. A footballer who can give 100 per cent of his absolute ability on All Ireland final day is a rare enough breed. Scanlon is a footballer with the most basic, rudimentary skill levels, but last Sunday he must have performed at 200 per cent of his natural ability, and when Kerry needed someone to step up and stop Cork's early surge, it was Scanlon who was the first to be seen.
For so many reasons, he was my 'Man of the Match', and now is the right time for me to personally apologise to him and anyone who knows Seamus Scanlon, for being so consistently dismissive of his abilities and his role on this Kerry football team. I do so very happily. There was no score in the last 11 minutes of the game, which is one extremely strange statistic from last Sunday's final, but the real reason behind this lies in the fact that the contest had ended sometime before then.
The Cork football team did not freeze over, but their manager did appear to be incapable of doing anything about what was happening on the field, and right in front of his nose. Conor Counihan, all winter long and into the spring, will feel that the blame for this bitterly disappointing defeat lies, in the largest measure, with him. And so it does.
He watched his magnificent defence being made to look miserable, and he watched his powerful selection of footballers in the middle third of the field being entirely overpowered. Also, he watched 14 wides being kicked over the 70 minutes, most of them tame, most of them lily-livered in their execution – and one of the many, many things which will surely cross Counihan's mind in the months to come is why on earth he didn't put Michael Cussen into the middle of the field before half-time to do something about Kerry's complete authority there, and why on earth he then didn't shove Cussen into full-forward for the final 15 minutes of the game? Instead, Michael Cussen was sent onto the field in the 66th minute.
But Michael Cussen is just one of perhaps a dozen different regrets which Conor Counihan will have to labour his way through, and deal with in the best way he can, before we see him and his team again in 2010. How he deals with this self-analysis might be the making of him as an outstanding football manager. Unfortunately, however, even if Counihan comes back stronger and far smarter next year, the nature of his particular defeat is only going to be further debilitating for some of his senior footballers who should be forgiven if any of them choose to throw the towel in and forget about ever winning that one precious All Ireland medal.
Last Sunday, it was informally announced within this column, that the three or four years of domination which Cork enjoy over Kerry every quarter of a century was about to commence, if it had not already done so. Such a period of domination hinged entirely on victory, and any kind of victory at that.
This Kerry team, after five All Ireland titles in a busy, and truculent decade, is indeed pretty much over and out. Seven of the nine players who lined out last Sunday in defence and midfield are in their 30s, and some are three and four years past that point of no return. O'Connor has a whole pile of work ahead of him.
It's work, now, we know for sure, that he will enjoy – and should be allowed to enjoy, whether this work ends with further All Ireland titles or not.
In Cork, at the same time, a new team surely now has to be built, and if Counihan decides that he is the man for such a job (and he should!) then he's going to have to start thinking and planning without his most trusty warhorses, Anthony Lynch, Graham Canty, and Nicholas Murphy – and even start looking beyond the likes of Pearse O'Neill and Donnacha O'Connor, who are also moving fast to the 30-year-old mark.
Question is, will Counihan decide to regroup and afford this team one more year of a mighty, extraordinary effort? Most likely he will, and most likely that is a gamble which he or most other managers would choose to take. From looking certain for an All Ireland title in 2009, Conor Counihan is going to be into gambling with 2010.
As for domination? And domination over Kerry for three or four years? That must now be considered a giant-sized miscalculation which I and others bought into.
It was Jack O'Connor's day, and it was Jack O'Connor's year, and while he has much to do if he chooses to remain as Kerry manager for the first half of the next decade, it is now suddenly very hard to imagine any single team – outside of Tyrone – dominating Kerry in the immediate future.
The next decade will start as it should, with Kerry and Tyrone leading the way and building a whole new set of standards for everyone else. In many respects, it's tempting to think that the enthralling rivalry between the two counties is only just beginning, or is only halfway through. There's a pleasant thought to help us all through the next few months of rugby football and association football!
It was Jack O'Connor's year, and nobody else's in my view. He was gutsy and always strong when his team looked to quite distressed and disorientated in the middle of the summer. There's so much about O'Connor which I too admire. His trust and belief is made of rock. It showed, perfectly, in his answer to a big question asked of him within minutes of the final whistle last Sunday, when it was put to him that he must have been thinking twice about Tommy Griffin 10 minutes into the game when Colm O'Neill had a goal and a point scored, and a severe roasting looked on the way for the Kerry number three.
O'Connor, as an example to all up and coming manages, and club managers throughout Ireland, instantly replied that when Kerry needed Tommy Griffin's help and support by taking up the fairly treacherous offer of wearing the number three shirt in the first place, Tommy Griffin gave it to the manager and his teammates, and did so unconditionally. Last Sunday, as O'Connor rightly stated, was not a day for the Kerry management and the rest of the Kerry team to give up on Griffin after 10 lousy minutes. O'Connor and his teammates owed him more than that.
It was superbly acted, and superbly said by the Kerry football manager. It is a pity, it also has to be said, that Jack O'Connor is less gracious than he should probably be, and less respectful and humble in victory, than team bosses of his rare ability should be. Jack's big fist up to photographers, and in the face of the nation first thing Monday morning, does not do him justice. Neither does his need to instantly beat his chest in front of those of us who ever doubted him.
In the world of Gaelic football, Jack O'Connor is bigger than all of us who have raised small and big questions about him personally and about his team. Far bigger! In how he deports himself and presents himself, at this stage of his football life, he is still not the equal of Mickey Harte.
lhayes@tribune.ie
September 27, 2009
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Post by glengael on Sept 28, 2009 19:18:56 GMT
I read only the last paragraph of that and I am still laughing . Deportment ? I have not heard that word mentioned since the nuns talked about it in secondary school all those years ago. We will have to go to evening classes to learn it so that we will be fit to take our places on the catwalks, sorry sidelines in 2010.
In a word or 2, Mr Hayes = plonker.
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Post by kerrygold on Sept 29, 2009 12:07:14 GMT
Personally I despise Sweeney's opinions on football,I wouldn't give him the time of day.Whats he trying to achive with that little piece of arse licking tripe.
Say what you really mean or don't bother half saying it.
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Johnnyb
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Post by Johnnyb on Sept 29, 2009 12:40:27 GMT
"they [Joc MH] end a long and enthralling decade as equals, and as it should be" at the beginning of the article...
"he is still not the equal of Mickey Harte" at the end of the article....
LH, do you even read what you write? Criticising a celebration?
Yeah, he's right though throwing your arms in the air after the final whistle, tut tut tut, Jack, wheres you dignity, look at mickey, look at his gracious/sly chesire cat grin/smirk...delete as approriate.
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Post by fortyyards on Sept 29, 2009 13:36:54 GMT
I bought the Tribune one last time to see if that plonker would at last write some sense and admit to his many mistakes throughout the season, but all we got was more of the same biased views. No more or as a far superior scribe put it at the end of his diary..... Enough.
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Post by patinkerry on Sept 29, 2009 20:39:18 GMT
I bought the Tribune one last time to see if that plonker would at last write some sense and admit to his many mistakes throughout the season, but all we got was more of the same biased views. No more or as a far superior scribe put it at the end of his diary..... Enough. I did the same and how right you are!
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hamish
Senior Member
Posts: 276
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Post by hamish on Oct 1, 2009 20:22:37 GMT
From the health supplement of The Irish Times, 29th Sept 2009
The Kingdom, the power and glory of Sam
MAURICE NELIGAN - HEART BEAT: Putting medical problems aside in favour of a little praise for the Kerrymen
I AM IN fatalistic mood and am putting national and medical problems aside for now. Fata viam invenient , wrote Virgil in the Aeneid ; so I suppose we can chicken out and leave it to the Fates. Last week I had other things on my mind.
I returned to Kerry on the Friday before the All-Ireland final. Crossing the county boundary at the river Feale it was apparent that the county was on war footing. Green and gold was everywhere. Houses, shops, telegraph poles, schools, were festooned with the Kerry colours. The population was mobilised. This was not any old All-Ireland, God knows Kerry takes them in unbroken stride. This was against the old foe across the border, the Boys of Fair Hill, the Corkmen. Furthermore, they had beaten us in the Munster final and were favourites to avenge their defeat of just two years ago.
Raiding parties had already crossed the border and painted red and white graffiti through- out the Kingdom, even putting a red jersey and hat on the sacred goat of Killorglin, guarding the crossing of the Laune. Such bravado, indeed arrogance, was intolerable. Favourites indeed; we’ll see about that.
A word of explanation here. My Kerry qualification comes from my paternal grandfather who was Kerry born. The Highest Authority’s father was from Ballylongford in North Kerry. By my reckoning that leaves her only about 200 years and me about 400 years before we re-establish ourselves amongst the clans. However, the genes run true and we figure it’s well worth the wait.
The HA’s brother Brian never missed a Kerry match in over 30 years. He attended the semi-final win over Meath and then sadly and suddenly slipped away before the final. We buried him with a Kerry jersey. I trust the Good Lord allowed him attend the final.
The day before the final I played golf on past captains’ and presidents’ day in Dooks. This, the most scenic golf course in Ireland, was at its very best, bathed in warm sunshine and caressed by a gentle breeze. Nature’s omens were auspicious and we assumed it was raining in Cork. At our dinner that evening there was one thing on everybody’s mind. This was up close and personal. Kerry were to be led on the morrow by a member of Dooks, Darran O’Sullivan, and three other members of the panel came from the Glenbeigh/ Glencar club or from Cromane, our immediate environs. I polled my companions about the outcome. They were staunch to a man.
Final day was bright and clear. Kerry flags flew in the church grounds in Cromane. Kerry jerseys were everywhere in the congregation. Defeat was not an option. I remembered a late great friend and Kerry footballer Colm Kennelly, then county engineer, big brother to Brendan. Colm was driving me through Killarney on a day when Cork had triumphed in a Munster final in Fitzgerald stadium. The streets were awash with red and white, The Banks and the Boys of Fair Hill were heard on every side. The native population had disappeared in the face of such triumphalism. “Jaysus,” said Colm, “I hate losing to Cork, Corkmen are lousy winners.”
Mid-afternoon the world stopped. God only knows what tourists and visitors thought as the population vanished and an eerie silence fell over mountain, valley and coast. A little pressure on our hearts early on was followed by a growing feeling that things were going to be alright, the world was not ending.
Kerry people are good winners and magnanimous in victory. Cork were worthy opponents and when their turn comes, as it assuredly will, I ask God to let it be in the distant future in a year when Kerry are taking a rest. The cup came to Glenbeigh on Tuesday night, borne by the captain and the men who won the day. The vast crowd assembled will never forget the evening. Finn, sitting on his mountain Seefin (Suí Finn) above Glenbeigh, will have been happy with the champions he sent forth, and who, unlike the incompetents he sent to capture Diarmuid and Gráinne, were successful in their quest. Ceann Comhairle John O’Donoghue was to have been MC at the homecoming but reluctantly the people decided they couldn’t afford him.
Maybe we can give our Cork friends a new verse for Fair Hill ?
“The lads from Cork were full of glee
They’d bring Sam back to the Lee
Here’s up them all, said the boys of Ciarraí”
I can go and vote Yes to Lisbon with a light heart.
Maurice Nelligan is a cardiac surgeon This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times
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Post by bilythewalsh on Oct 2, 2009 12:14:14 GMT
If anyone is looking for hard copies of The Irish Times from over the summer you can ring them up, tell them the date you want and give them your address, and they will post it out to you free of charge. I don't know how far back they can go, I think it is around 3 months.
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animal
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Post by animal on Oct 2, 2009 12:27:15 GMT
If anyone is looking for hard copies of The Irish Times from over the summer you can ring them up, tell them the date you want and give them your address, and they will post it out to you free of charge. I don't know how far back they can go, I think it is around 3 months. Good man. Nice one to know. Thanks
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Post by ardferttodundrum on Oct 2, 2009 12:47:43 GMT
Personally I despise Sweeney's opinions on football,I wouldn't give him the time of day.Whats he trying to achive with that little piece of arse licking tripe. Say what you really mean or don't bother half saying it. To be fair to Eamonn Sweeney i think he's an excellent journalist and his writing on most sports is quite creative and accomplished. Indeed he's an positive aspect, along with O'Rourke, of an otherwise quite poor Sunday Indo. There are undoubtedly a lot of terrible sports journalists out there(Hayes, Roy Curtis etc) but i don't think Sweeney is one of them.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2009 13:24:36 GMT
Personally I despise Sweeney's opinions on football,I wouldn't give him the time of day.Whats he trying to achive with that little piece of arse licking tripe. Say what you really mean or don't bother half saying it. To be fair to Eamonn Sweeney i think he's an excellent journalist and his writing on most sports is quite creative and accomplished. Indeed he's an positive aspect, along with O'Rourke, of an otherwise quite poor Sunday Indo. There are undoubtedly a lot of terrible sports journalists out there(Hayes, Roy Curtis etc) but i don't think Sweeney is one of them. Eamonn Sweeney slaughtered the Kerry team last year. He really dug the knife in. Up until then I had no view one way or the other on him. The article he wrote is probably somewhere on the forum.
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kaywhy
Senior Member
Posts: 333
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Post by kaywhy on Oct 4, 2009 19:59:14 GMT
Tyrone scars run deep for Kingdom Wednesday September 30 2009
Another season rolls by, the final one of the decade, and the debate to establish which team dominated is up and running. Five titles flew south to Kerry and three north to Tyrone; the other two were shared by Galway and Armagh.
There are other statistics hidden within the reign of the single winners and Armagh's dominance of Ulster is certainly one. But we eliminate those last two counties for failing to reach the quota, their numbers don't allow us to consider their merits any further.
We fleshed out the Team of the Decade debate in this column a few weeks ago and ended up with two separate gongs: Kerry won the award for consistency; Tyrone win in terms of head-to-heads. But the overall award for excellence? Up to now I would have argued strongly in favour of Tyrone: three wins from three championship outings against the Kerry boys; never beaten by Kerry in championship action this decade; Mickey Harte took on three different managers during that reign and the winning margins were always convincing.
And yet I must admire the manner in which Kerry came back again in the final championship of the decade. Written off by most pundits, they rallied from a very low position indeed and following their provincial defeat by Cork, regrouped and emerged champions again. How do they accomplish such feats? At the end of the day it comes down to skill, ability and character -- and this team has them in abundance. We tend to rush too quickly to draw the line through this squad -- their longevity is simply amazing.
It is that magnificent skill, the team's longevity, their five titles, the six finals in a row and the eight finals in total that they have played in this decade that swings me back to the Kingdom. They are the Team of the Decade. But, a bold asterisk accompanies the title -- the dominance of Tyrone over them is a deep scar that has not repaired.
FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR
Picking a Footballer of the Year is generally a straight-forward enough effort. One player stands out and his excellence ensures his team carries Sam Maguire home. This year the waters are a little more muddied. For the champions Paul Galvin, Tomás ó Sé and Declan O'Sullivan played fantastic football throughout the season but their beaten opponents on All-Ireland final day can produce Graham Canty as a worthy candidate. Canty was magnificent throughout their unbeaten run and only fell short of those high standards come final time. As a consequence of that average display when marking Tadgh Kennelly, I must rule him out of contention.
Any other runners and riders? Meath and Tyrone had good seasons but ultimately they were off the pace. Nobody stood out for me but Kevin Hughes and Ryan McMenamin deserve mention while the Royals relied more on an even spread of reasonable talent.
It's down to the Kerry men then and while acknowledging the roles played by both Galvin and O'Sullivan, I must select Tomás ó Sé as the outstanding footballer in 2009. His skill level is very high, his fitness allows him to both defend and surge into opposing defences and his accuracy at this stage is legendary. His returns from play often embarrass a hard-working half-forward who freezes anywhere close to goal.
ó Sé leads by example and displays a passion and hunger for the game that is simply amazing. Each season he shows up, rolls up the sleeves and gets on with the business of trying to win yet another Celtic Cross. He took a time out mid-season to have a few scoops and refocus but once back in the fold, he never allowed any of that controversy to affect performance. My own sense is that Jack O'Connor is fully aware that the three players I mentioned are, year in and year out, his triangle of excellence and once they are on song, Kerry can believe.
YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR
The Young Player of the Year category is a deep pool from which to fish a winner. The season produced four young stand-out footballers: Tommy Walsh (Kerry), Aidan O'Shea (Mayo) and Colm O'Neill (Cork) and Michael Doherty (Donegal). As I understand things, Tommy Walsh does not qualify for the award as he has too many 'caps' from last season and therefore cannot be considered.
I believe Michael Murphy will win an All Star and it is difficult to know if that will help or hinder his selection for the younger footballer category. I believe it will hinder and at any rate winning an All Star and failing to carry off the Young layer trophy is not a contradiction.
Donegal did not have a run in the Under-21 championships while Cork would go on to win it. That is why I go for Colm O'Neill from Cork to be the winner. He had a splendid season winning the Sigerson Cup in early 2009 and quickly adding a second U-21 title to his haul.
He emerged as a fine player for the Cork seniors with a very competent display against Tyrone in the semi-final. And his goal and a point in the All-Ireland final deserve special mention. If a bit more ball came his way, Tommy Griffin would probably have been dry-roasted. Colm O'Neill will make a most deserving Young Player of the Year.
Manager of the Year
It has to be the 'Man who came Back'. Jack O'Connor had plenty of issues to deal with from his previous command and indeed had plenty to face as the season evolved. In fairness, he got just about each and every call right. He rejigged his team after their Munster defeat, coaxed Michael McCarthy back on-side, disciplined two of his biggest stars and dealt with the many rumours the Kerry faithful generate on a daily basis.
His team selections were perfect and his change in emphasis, post Donaghy's injury, to a more running-passing game improved matters greatly for his team. The inclusion and integration of Tadgh Kennelly was another success story and having Seamus Moynihan to help out and provide the extra inches Kerry might need to win back Sam showed a new maturity and willingness to share.
I thought Jack O'Connor had an exceptional managerial season -- probably his best ever. His college also won the Hogan Cup and his club had success too. Did I mention he led this side to the national league title too? The league and championship double seems an appropriate way to mark his outstanding season.
TEAM OF THE YEAR
Picking a Team of the Year that is acceptable to all is just about impossible. The provincial winners will want a say, those teams that had a run to round four of the qualifiers will feel they deserve a touch and of course the All-Ireland semi-finalists will expect to be in the shake up.
On the night of this year's final we had to sit and select The Sunday Game Team of the Year and while it is a 'cabinet decision' each of us had alternatives. The arguments went on for a few hours until the editor had to call time -- the team would not see the light of day if we did not submit it immediately!
This team then is my team based on the players I saw in action, either live or on TV. My own province of Connacht had a very poor year indeed and both Leinster and Ulster did only slightly better. In a year when the finalists came from the same province, it is only right that they provide the majority of the players but it will be very interesting to see what the All Star selectors come up with.
- Kevin McStay
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falveyb2k
Fanatical Member
"The way this man played today, if there was a flood he'd walk on water. Jack O Shea"
Posts: 1,920
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Post by falveyb2k on Oct 4, 2009 22:13:29 GMT
McStay changed his mind very quickly in a few weeks, tried to cover his backside but still ended up looking a bitter little man after his comments in that article.
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Post by jerryewe on Oct 4, 2009 22:25:16 GMT
I thought Jack O'Connor had an exceptional managerial season -- probably his best ever. His college also won the Hogan Cup and his club had success too. Did I mention he led this side to the national league title too? The league and championship double seems an appropriate way to mark his outstanding season.
Typical lazy journalism from someone who likes to talk a good game but is generally talkin a load of rubbish. You would think somebody who is gettin paid to write an article could bother their arse to do some proper research but why am I surprised that this hasn't happened
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