Another brilliant footballer retired. What a player. Had all the skills. I always felt he was at his best out the field rather than cooped up in the corner. Was always a classic case of Down needed him inside to get the scores, but also needed him out the field winning ball and distributing. Which I think shows what a footballer he was and how important he was to Down over the last 15 years. Fair play Benny!

icehonesty (Wexford) - Posts: 2550 - 24/11/2014 18:22:46    1674662

Great servant to his county.Incredible upper body strength,with an explosive burst of speed.The Mourne men can be excused for mourning the news.Benny gave his all and can retire knowing he gave every ounce for the cause.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 24/11/2014 18:32:39    1674665

Benny was as good a goal poacher as there was. He was always a joy to watch in action. All the best Benny, even though you broke our hearts in 2010

NorthKildare (Kildare) - Posts: 197 - 24/11/2014 18:39:11    1674670

Super player. Best wishes Benny.

Miler (Mayo) - Posts: 1015 - 24/11/2014 18:52:27    1674676

Enjoy your well earned retirement. A truly magnificent player!

David (Meath) - Posts: 567 - 24/11/2014 21:06:16    1674714

ledge.. enjoyed watcching you benny

sammaguire1 (Cavan) - Posts: 279 - 25/11/2014 08:46:55    1674743

With Stevie and now Benny retiring, Ulster GAA has lost two of the modern greats. Best of luck Benny.

brendtheredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 10897 - 25/11/2014 09:47:26    1674746

Benny was so good that he would have got on the Kerry team in the noughties, there isn't many players you can say that about.

KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 14092 - 25/11/2014 10:19:42    1674749

All the best to Benny Coulter in his retirement.
One game stands out in particular for me. It was in 2010 in Ballybofey when Donegal played Down in the Ulster championship. It wasn't a great game but it was tight. I remember midway through the second half Donegal were beginning to get the better of things in and around midfield so off Benny went out from his corner forward position. Talk about grabbing games by the scruff of the neck. He won a few mighty kickouts and got Down back in front only for Rory Kavanagh to equalise with almost the last kick of the game.

He wasn't finished there though. Extra time was still nip and tuck until Coulter decided it once and for all with a trademark goal.
It's a pity he never won the county honours that his talent deserved but he will still go down as a legend of Ulster football regardless.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9115 - 25/11/2014 10:44:37    1674755

Even though he never won an ulster, he is one of the few players that you would remember irrespective of what sort of a team he played for. When he was on form, he was virtually unstoppable because he had massive speed and strength as well as skill. Will be missed.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 25/11/2014 11:47:34    1674766

In his prime, Benny was one of the very few footballers that would make me want to watch a game, irrespective of who else was playing. He was such an exciting player and, although injuries slowed him in later years, we still saw frequent flashes of his talent right up until last summer.

Benny was an athletic mismatch for almost any corner back in his era - he was too strong for most of of them, and the few who could compete physically were invariably too slow to live with his burst of acceleration. His leaping ability coupled with great hands made him a nightmare under the high ball.

People will talk about how he should have been played out the field more, but to me he was an inside forward. Hugely powerful, very quick and loved to score goals. He wasn't an up and down the pitch kind of player - Benny determined games with sporadic bursts of huge power.

I first saw him as a 16 year old against Tyrone in the Ulster minor championship, and he stood out on what went on to be a brilliant Down minor side. Within about 5 years he was as dangerous an inside threat as there was in Ireland, and it's a real shame that his talent wasn't rewarded with an ulster or AI championship medal (he came very close to both).

A brilliant, exciting footballer and, though he has retired at the right time, he'll be missed by football fans throughout the country.

Thomas Clarke (Tyrone) - Posts: 1002 - 25/11/2014 11:48:44    1674767

Some amount of old school greats packing it in at the mo, good luck Benny!

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8585 - 25/11/2014 13:04:04    1674785

sorry to see Benny go one of the greatest I have ever saw , it will be a long time before he is replaced if ever , as someone once said to me he heard Benny had sore back , cause he is carrying that down team for 14 years !!! . very true words . well done Benny a truth gentleman on and off the pitch

topdownfan (Down) - Posts: 555 - 25/11/2014 15:55:29    1674849

One of the greatest ever - I know this is often said, but he was, it was unfortunate that he he played on some of the weakest

Down teams, especially 1999 to 2004. But he scored some great goals and for a team that didn't hit many heights he was one of the country's top goalscorers for the last decade...

Any person who scores a great goal bring great satisfaction to everyone regardless of where they are from,,
best of luck Benny

cuchulainn35 (Armagh) - Posts: 1671 - 25/11/2014 19:08:28    1674909

First saw him destroy the much vaunted mayo minor midfield duo of James Gill and Gavin Duffy in the 99 final even though i think he may have been a year younger than them?? From then on i always followed his progress closely and he didnt disapoint- an outstanding player, unmarkable on his day. Would agree 100% with his comments about modern day football. Best of luck to him in his retirement.

don_juan (Mayo) - Posts: 26 - 26/11/2014 10:41:43    1674960

What a great player Benny was, one of best forwards in the country in the past 20 years and a true great. It was a shame he didn't win an All-Ireland winners medal in 2010. Lockjaw I remember that game in Ballybofey, I'd go as far as to say it was the best individual performance by a player against Donegal that I ever witnessed. His abaility to catch high ball around midfield was unreal.

JimTheLegend (Donegal) - Posts: 247 - 26/11/2014 12:24:18    1674982

One of a fairly small number of footballers I loved watching. Brilliant player huge loss to the game. Agree with his comments to glad he said it

Brianmac78 (Dublin) - Posts: 1168 - 26/11/2014 13:00:55    1674990

A great talent who came onto the Down team 10 years too late. No doubt he would be seen as good as the likes of Linden if he got the opportunity to play in a great Down era. His comments are probably a little bit of frustration that the great Tyrone and Armagh teams dominated his inter county career within Ulster and were able to build on this nationally. Also1 to a lesser extent Donegal towards the end of his career. A Down legend all the same but it is a county who cherish All Ireland medals

sam1884 (UK) - Posts: 999 - 26/11/2014 13:16:15    1674996

Id say his comments are out of frustartion that the game he loves is being destroyed by every Tom Dick and harry team down to Juvenile now try to stop the other team from being good rather then being good themselves.

He might not have won much but he was a much better player then 99% of players from his time

Brianmac78 (Dublin) - Posts: 1168 - 26/11/2014 13:25:24    1675000

Seeing as Benny was complaining about the modern game did he suggest anything to improve things?

There is no point in anyone giving out unless they have some suggestions to make things better.

Every team that plays the game today is doing what the can to win the game under the rules that exist currently if people don't like the way teams play then change the rules.

Some people in the GAA seem to have this bizzare idea that good footballers should be let play as they wish and the opposition shouldn't even think about coming up with ideas on how to stop them.

uibhfhaili1986 (Offaly) - Posts: 1296 - 26/11/2014 20:47:34    1675102