Tomás Ó Sé says Colm 'Gooch' Cooper is the best forward he's ever seen.

Referring to Martin McHugh's labelling of the Kerry legend as "a two-trick pony", Cooper's former Kingdom team-mate writes in The Irish Independent:

"For the life of me, I don't know where Martin McHugh was coming from because Gooch Cooper has more tricks up his sleeve than a magician. I've no hesitation in saying that he is the best forward I've ever seen.

"When I heard that line on 'The Sunday Game', my first reaction was to laugh it was so ridiculous. Maybe live television can set traps and people get caught saying things that they immediately regret.

"I seem to remember Joe Brolly having a little pop off Gooch a couple of years ago too. All I can say is the two boys can't have been watching the things from Gooch that I've been watching for more than ten years now.

"Because, in my eyes, nobody comes close. I've seen him do stuff in training that's been nothing short of outrageous; I've seen him pull Kerry through awkward games when the rest of us were floundering; I've had a bird's eye view of him putting up with dogs' abuse, being treble-marked at times, but still sticking it to the opposition.

"Look, bottom line, his legacy is safe. Personally I doubt too many knowledgeable football people would have taken much heed of the controversy. Thinking about it this week, the person I'd most liken Gooch to is Brian O'Driscoll. Marked men for virtually all of their sporting lives, yet almost never failing to deliver." Tweet

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