Yes I agree that Canavan was a better but different type of player!

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8592 - 01/11/2014 21:10:29    1668933

Lads I know this is the silly season and there's not much to be discussing of any great importance but trying to compare Giles and Canavan is not really going anywhere.Both great players but different so they couldn't really be compared.Jaysus this really is a dreary few months alright.

Dubh_linn (Dublin) - Posts: 2312 - 02/11/2014 10:06:01    1668953

We could always start a team of the decade debate.

MB1 (Tyrone) - Posts: 360 - 02/11/2014 10:36:19    1668960

Bananas to say Giles was better than mike donnellan!

manager5 (Galway) - Posts: 724 - 02/11/2014 11:35:11    1668976

Ah here Giles better than Canavan hahaha give me a break these meath boys are gas. Micheal Donnelan grear player way better than Giles his pace was frightening.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 02/11/2014 14:34:01    1669002

clondalkindub
County: Dublin
Posts: 5536

1669002
Ah here Giles better than Canavan hahaha give me a break these meath boys are gas. Micheal Donnelan grear player way better than Giles his pace was frightening.

Ah so your either a WUM or just suffering selective memory either explanation will do me hahahahahahahahahahahahaha and so on........

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 02/11/2014 18:05:46    1669083

Giles in a way reminds me of Roy Keane in soccer. He did not display the eye catching skills of some other players but he was usually the most influential player on the pitch. From the years I can remember (I am too young to remember Kerry team of 80's) Giles would definitely be on a team I would pick. There were plenty of players with more skill (such as Maurice Fitz, Geraghty and McDonald) but few had his influence. I would only put O'Rourke, Canavan and Gooch ahead of him as better players in this time.

bdbuddah (Meath) - Posts: 1349 - 03/11/2014 21:19:41    1669508

I've been following Meath Gaa since the late 70's. IMO Trevor is the best footballer my county has produced in that period.That alone is saying alot.

Understated, cool, superb temperment, consistant and hardworking. Brilliant score taker but a better score maker. His passing was legendary.

Clondalkindub, your fear of Murphy, Geraghty and Reilly would be halved if Giles were not on the same team. He loaded the gun for the guys to pull the trigger. He never gave below a 7 out of 10 game.


Comparing Giles to Canavan is completely irrelevent. Two different types of player.

Compare him to McGuigan, McDonald, O'Sullivan, McHugh, Blayney if anything.

Being a biased Meathman TG stands above all those great names.

Kepak10 (Meath) - Posts: 162 - 04/11/2014 09:14:43    1669527

This was never meant to be a post comparing Canavan and Giles. Canavan was an exceptional footballer, as good as scoring forward as the game has seen which I guess in a lot of peoples eyes would make him as valuable a player as there has been. Funny thing when people mention Donnellan its immediately a reference to his pace. When Geraghty is mentioned its about his natural ability, a lot might argue he had more of a natural athleticism rather than a natural football ability. The point I think people are missing is Giles was a way more complete footballer. Her had a combination of so many things that he really was in my opinion in the top 3 forwards of his generation. Dublin folk coming on here saying the Dubs didn't fear Giles is maybe the reason Meath were far superior to the Dubs when Giles was playing! There are fast forwards. There are forwards with phenomenal work rates. There are deadly accurate forwards. There are playmaker forwards. There are game reading forwards. When you get a forward who has a combination of some of these traits, as Giles had in my opinion, you have a very special player.To see him back around his own forty sweeping up ball and spraying it into Ollie Murphy or Brendan Riely was special to watch. In my opinion he was a far superior footballer to his club mate Colm O Rourke.

JohnMitchel (Dublin) - Posts: 178 - 04/11/2014 09:29:29    1669532

Johnmitchell. When you put it like that its hard to disagree. And yes I too would rate tg better than O'Rourke.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 04/11/2014 10:04:42    1669536

Giles was a good player but not near as good as Geraghty O Rourke Flynn Murphy O Reilly etc never did all these things posters are saying, you can compare Canavan to Giles cause Canavan played centre forward in his younger days and I'm sorry but comparing Giles to him is laughable

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 04/11/2014 10:26:25    1669543

Canavan is the best forward ever to pull on a Jersey. This without doubt includes my Tyrone bias but through the 90's success Tyrone had we were a one man band. He scored 11 points in a contentious AI final. He did get abused in 96 and took him 3/4 years to get back to his best. Then in 03 and 05 he was still outstanding. Simply unmarkable.

There's an argument that in the 90's a forward would have had more time and space, didn't have to face the defensive systems now in place but the man is simply a genius. See him in club action by clicking the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PVJtHiR-qk

Tyrone Gaa (None) - Posts: 403 - 04/11/2014 11:08:22    1669555

tyrone gaa

How many of Canavans scores were from play in 95?

BigTom2050 (Tipperary) - Posts: 289 - 04/11/2014 11:18:22    1669556

Tyrone Gaa your not being bias at all IMO it's between him and the Gooch as the greatest forward of all time; I pick Gooch as number 1 with Canavan a close number 2 , but two unreal footballers I probably go for Gooch as no 1 cause I love the way he's so unselfish with the ball he always takes the right option and picks out the man in the better position.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 04/11/2014 11:47:08    1669570

Mikey Sheehy ahead of Canavan (definitely) and Gooch (Probably)

pdempsey (Mayo) - Posts: 1313 - 04/11/2014 12:13:28    1669581

JohnMitchel
County: Dublin
Posts: 178

1668593
For quite a few years now it has become quite popular to see ex footballers, pundits, journalists and the like pick their best 15 footballers. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of so called experts that don't consider Trevor Giles as a player that should walk on to the team. I watched Canavan pick his team and not a mention of Giles. I guess there is bad blood there after the lesson Meath gave Tyrone in 96 but Canavan should still be astute enough to recognise the brilliance of Giles. For the time in which he played the man was head and shoulders above all the others when it came to a footballing brain( with Moynahan being a close second) He played his college football at centre back where some think he was even better.His strength was playing between his own half back line and the mid field. He was great off both feet, he had fantastic leadership qualities, he had composure and he was as hard as nails. I am not taking way from the likes of McCartan, Fallon, Donnellan or Dooher but Giles was a step above. Does anybody else hold him in the same regard?

Giles was a superb footballer, and to my mind was the difference between the sides in the 1996 All-Ireland final. Rarely, if ever, missed from placed balls and as said, was a superb link player.

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 04/11/2014 12:31:51    1669586

Big Tom I honestly cant answer how many were from free kicks, I would need to research that. However i'd safely say that if he did have many frees he was the player fouled at to win the free. The GAA have not seen a talent like Canavan since, the gooch is up there but I'd rate Caanavan ahead because he was a hard player. He took the hits. Look at him in aussie rules he never shirked away. Class act. Gooch announced his retirement after his aussie rules debut

Tyrone Gaa (None) - Posts: 403 - 04/11/2014 12:39:36    1669591

I think peter dignam from wicklow is worthy of a mention for the goalkeeper spot, one of the most underrated keepers out there

Newrytothebone (Cork) - Posts: 16 - 04/11/2014 12:40:24    1669592

Tyrone gaa, I'm a huge fan of Canavan and I'd probably rate him as the best forward I've seen. From memory he scored a point from play that day, the game was on tg4 last year and think he hit a couple of brilliant free's but most of them were very straight forward for a decent free taker. I'm sure he's had far better days in a Tyrone jersey.

BigTom2050 (Tipperary) - Posts: 289 - 04/11/2014 14:46:28    1669633

Throne gaa. I'd say john McDermott would disagree about him been able to take hits. J Mc was by no means a hard man in the sense of Lyons, fay , O'Rourke , mcentee, Hayes. Tough for sure but that's it.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 04/11/2014 14:49:05    1669637