Don't shoot the messenger
"Pat Spillane’s 2022 All-Star Team
1 Shane Ryan (Kerry)
2 Chrissy McKaigue (Derry)
3 Jason Foley (Kerry)
4 Liam Silke (Galway)
5 Lee Keegan (Mayo)
6 Tadgh Morley (Kerry)
7 Gavin White (Kerry)
8 Cillian McDaid (Galway)
9 Rian O’Neill (Armagh)
10 Paudie Clifford (Kerry)
11 Seanie O’Shea (Kerry)
12 Ciarán Kilkenny (Dublin)
13 David Clifford (Kerry)
14 Damien Comer (Galway)
15 Shane Walsh (Galway)
And here’s an alternative team that I could make a strong case for
1 Ethan Rafferty (Armagh)
2 Graham O’Sullivan (Kerry)
3 Brendan Rogers (Down)
4 Conor McCluskey (Derry)
5 James McCarthy (Dublin)
6 John Daly (Galway)
7 Jack Glynn (Galway)
8 Diarmuid O’Connor (Kerry)
9 Conor Glass (Derry)
10 Rory Grugan (Armagh)
11 Ethan Doherty (Derry)
12 Stefan Campbell (Armagh)
13 Rob Finnerty (Galway)
14 Keelan Sexton (Clare)
15 Cormac Costello (Dublin)"
I'd be interested in the full article if you can oblige.
Mick O’Dwyer’s Kerry team was better than Jim Gavin’s six-in-a-row Dublin – and here is my All-Star team of 2022
Pat Spillane
August 29 2022 04:20 PM
I’m on a mission impossible today. Even before I pen another word, I know the chances of achieving unanimity on today’s topics is zero.
Let me tee it up.
Who is the greatest soccer player of all time: Pele, Maradona, Messi or Ronaldo? Or the greatest hurler: Mackey, Ring, Shefflin or Carey?
The best jockey – AP McCoy or Ruby Walsh?
Who was the best Irish rugby out-half: Kyle, Campbell, Sexton or O’Gara. Or was Mick O’Connell a better midfielder than Jack O’Shea?
You get my drift. I could go on and on. The beauty of the human mind is that everyone has different opinions.
I read with interest Martin Breheny’s series of articles in the Irish Independent on the greatest All-Ireland-winning football teams in the last 50 years.
Do I agree with his decision to rate Jim Gavin’s Dublin side at number one ahead of Mick O’Dwyer’s Kerry team?
Before I answer, let me repeat a joke which did the rounds after Dublin completed the six-in-row in 2020.
On the Sunday Game presenter Joanne Cantwell asked me whether the all-conquering Dubs would beat the Kerry’s four-in-row team.
I replied that Dublin would probably have beaten us by a couple of points.
Joanne was taken aback by my admission.
After a pregnant pause, I said the fact most of the Kerry team were now in their late sixties would give the Dubs an edge in fitness.
It was a good joke.
Anyway, back to the question do I think we were a better team than Jim Gavin’s Dubs?
Regardless of whether it’s considered biased or not, my answer is a definite yes. And I will explain why.
Dublin started 26 different players in the seven All-Ireland finals they played in to win the five-in-a-row (the 2016 and 2019 deciders went to replays).
In contrast, Kerry used only 18 starters in their five All-Ireland appearances between 1978 and 1981 – and, were it not for injuries to Ger Power (1979), me (1981 and 1982), Jimmy Deenihan (1982) and an appendicitis operation which kept Eoin Liston out of the 1980 final, we would have fielded virtually the same personnel in all the finals.
Now, after that long pre-amble I’m back on topic.
Today I’m naming my 2022 All-Star football team.
I know my selection (listed below) won’t please everyone. But then the task is next to impossible.
In the modern game this is now one of the most important positions.
Kick-out strategy, sweeping and, in some cases, long-distance free-taking have been added to his responsibilities – all thanks to the ground-breaking performances of Stephen Cluxton.
Two out of the three contenders – Armagh’s Ethan Rafferty and Odhrán Lynch from Derry – added a new dimension this summer.
Rafferty scored 0-2 from play on his frequent forward forays, while at times Lynch’s advanced position reduced the restart options of his opposite number.
Call me old-fashioned but I remain sceptical – the Rafferty/Lynch strategy is far too risky.
Remember Monaghan’s Rory Beggan got turned over for two goals by Kerry in the league.
Likewise, Lynch was caught away from his goal at a crucial stage of the All-Ireland semi-final, which enabled Damien Comer to kick the ball into the empty net.
Like Lynch, Rafferty is a converted outfield player and his inability to get anywhere near Galway’s successful penalties in the quarter-final shoot-out betrayed his lack of specialist experience.
Evolution is all very well, but a goalkeeper’s primary job is to stop the opposition scoring goals.
So, picking the All-Star goalkeeper was simple enough. Kerry’s Shane Ryan was a shoo-in.
The Rathmore native is one of Kerry’s most improved players this season – his kick-outs and composure were first class.
His record speaks for itself; Kerry conceded one goal in the championship.
Best of all, though, was the composure he showed in the clutch moments near the end of the games against Galway and Dublin, when he trusted himself and went short with key restarts, despite being under enormous pressure.
DEFENCE
With teams pulling everybody behind the ball, it could be argued that the role of the specialist marker was in danger of becoming obsolete.
Not so in 2022. It was a brilliant year for defenders – so much so that I could credibly pick two sets of All-Star defenders and stand over them.
We witnessed brilliant old-fashioned man-marking performances from the likes of Derry’s Conor McCluskey and Chrissy McKaigue and Galway’s Liam Silke.
Other defenders not only nullified their direct opponents, but turned the tables on them by bombing forward and scoring.
I’m thinking of Derry’s Brendan Rogers on Michael Murphy and Kerry’s Tom O’Sullivan on Cillian O’Connor – they outscored their direct opponents from play.
The majority of the top teams now favour a counter-attacking, rapid-transition-of-the-ball style of play.
So, ball-carriers or pacey wing-backs are in their element.
Kerry’s Gavin White, the Mayo pair of Eoghan McLoughlin and Paddy Durcan, Donegal’s Eoin Bán Gallagher and Peadar Mohan, and Dublin’s James McCarthy do this role to a tee.
Armagh and Derry deployed a slightly different strategy by using Jarly Óg Burns and Gareth McKinless, who would normally feature at midfield, in the half-back line, where they utilised their strength and powerful running to telling effect when they transitioned the ball.
Ultimately, I’ve gone for two specialist man-markers; a traditional full-back, a sweeper, and two attacking half-backs, one of whom doubled as a man-marker.
Derry captain Chrissy McKaigue held Jack McCarron (Monaghan), Paddy McBrearty (Donegal), Keelan Sexton (Clare) and Rob Finnerty (Galway) scoreless from play in the championship – and so gets my nod for the number-two jersey.
For holding Kerry’s on-field captain Sean O’Shea scoreless from play and restricting Derry’s key forward Shane McGuigan to one point from play, Galway’s Liam Silke is my choice at number four.
We all knew about Jason Foley’s athleticism and pace. This season his prowess as a very effective full-back came to the fore. He kept Comer scoreless from play in the All-Ireland final.
Mayo’s Lee Keegan is one of the greats of modern-day football.
He had a magnificent season again, showing inspiration, leadership and kicking vital scores when Mayo were struggling in the qualifier games against Monaghan and Kildare, and he kept Paudie Clifford scoreless in the All-Ireland quarter-final.
Tadgh Morley provided the glue that held the Kerry defensive system in place this season.
His intelligence, covering and ability to see danger before it happened were key factors in Kerry’s hat-trick of trophy wins.
Likewise, Gavin White played a pivotal role in Kerry’s triumphs. The fastest player on the team, he is the key to their transition game and had some huge moments in both the semi-final and final.
But it’s the players that had to be left out who really catch the eye.
Take your pick from John Daly (Galway), Conor McCluskey (Derry), Graham O’Sullivan (Kerry), Brendan Rogers (Derry), Sean Powter (Cork), James McCarthy (Dublin), Jack Glynn (Galway), Brian Ó Beaglaoich (Kerry) and Kerry team-mate Tom O’Sullivan – who looked odds-on to win an award until the All-Ireland final.
MIDFIELD
It wasn’t a vintage year for midfielders. With the exception of Galway’s Cillian McDaid, who was very consistent from the provincial final onwards, none of the other contenders excelled in every game.
McDaid is a nailed-on certainty with his 1-11 from play. He is the prototype midfielder: strong, athletic and comfortable on the ball.
Three of the contenders had one outstanding game: David Moran against Mayo, Diarmuid O’Connor against Galway, while Jack Barry, again, did an effective man-marking job on Brian Fenton in the semi-final.
Derry’s Conor Glass was magnificent in the Ulster Championship, while Galway’s Paul Conroy gave a tour-de-force performance against Mayo.
I’m bending the rules slightly and giving the second midfield berth to Armagh’s Rian O’Neill. He comfortably moved between full-forward and centre-field all season.
After a magnificent start to the season he laboured for a while, but finished the year well.
He was immense in the All-Ireland qualifier against Donegal, scoring 1-7 and he played a pivotal role in Armagh’s dramatic comeback against Galway – remember, unlike Seanie O’Shea’s late free against Dublin – O’Neill had to convert his more difficult kick, or his side were gone.
FORWARDS
As a card-carrying member of the forward brigade I’m partial to them.
But this summer I didn’t see that consistency of excellence I normally take for granted. Overall, it wasn’t one of the great seasons for forwards.
There were some awesome individual efforts. David Clifford was excellent in the All-Ireland quarter-final, semi-final and, particularly, the final.
Shane Walsh gave a superb performance in the final. O’Neill’s 1-7 against Donegal was brilliant. O’Shea’s winning free against Dublin or Comer’s demolition of Derry with his 2-2 were other high points.
Even though Clifford was the stand-out forward of 2022, he too had a subdued outing against Cork, when he scored just 0-1 from play.
Even though his primary role is to provide assists to his sibling, Paudie Clifford filled many roles this summer.
He scored 0-2 in four of his five championship outings and his second-half performances against Dublin and Galway were crucial in getting Kerry over the line.
O’Shea gets the nod for his leadership, composure and razor-sharp free-taking. He hit 1-27, with 1-7 from play.
Ciarán Kilkenny is now Dublin’s Mr Consistency. His second-half performance against Kerry, in which he nearly single-handled dragged them over the line sealed the deal for me.
David Clifford is the GAA’s answer to the famous Australian rugby captain John Eales, whose nickname was ‘Nobody’ as in ‘Nobody’s Perfect.’
Suffice to say, Kerry would not be All-Ireland champions but for Clifford’s contributions in Croke Park.
I give the full-forward berth to Comer for his semi-final performance, while Shane Walsh is an automatic selection at top of the left.
The Galway man gave one of the greatest ever performances on a losing team in an All-Ireland final and don’t forget his clinical conversions of 45s and long-distance frees in other matches.
Pat Spillane’s 2022 All-Star Team
1 Shane Ryan (Kerry)
2 Chrissy McKaigue (Derry)
3 Jason Foley (Kerry)
4 Liam Silke (Galway)
5 Lee Keegan (Mayo)
6 Tadgh Morley (Kerry)
7 Gavin White (Kerry)
8 Cillian McDaid (Galway)
9 Rian O’Neill (Armagh)
10 Paudie Clifford (Kerry)
11 Seanie O’Shea (Kerry)
12 Ciarán Kilkenny (Dublin)
13 David Clifford (Kerry)
14 Damien Comer (Galway)
15 Shane Walsh (Galway)
And here’s an alternative team that I could make a strong case for
1 Ethan Rafferty (Armagh)
2 Graham O’Sullivan (Kerry)
3 Brendan Rogers (Down)
4 Conor McCluskey (Derry)
5 James McCarthy (Dublin)
6 John Daly (Galway)
7 Jack Glynn (Galway)
8 Diarmuid O’Connor (Kerry)
9 Conor Glass (Derry)
10 Rory Grugan (Armagh)
11 Ethan Doherty (Derry)
12 Stefan Campbell (Armagh)
13 Rob Finnerty (Galway)
14 Keelan Sexton (Clare)
15 Cormac Costello (Dublin)