Brady forecasts barren spell for O Se-less Kerry

February 19, 2010

Mayo's David Brady
Former Mayo midfielder David Brady believes Kerry will struggle in the absence of Darragh O Se.

The six-time All-Ireland winning midfielder announced his inter-county retirement earlier this week, and Brady - who lost All-Ireland finals to Kerry in 1997, 2004 and 2006 - is forecasting a lean spell for the Kingdom now that their most influential player has bowed out.

"They say that you only mss them when they're gone and I think that's true in Darragh's case. The older you get, the better you are in people's eyes and it'll only be in years to come, when Kerry aren't winning, that people will realise what a top player Darragh O Se was," the TV3 pundit said.

"In my opinion, Kerry are going to be short success in the next few years. And that's largely because Darragh's not going to be there for them.

"I played against him for the first time in 1995 in the All-Ireland under 21 final and played against him for the last time in the 2006 final. That's 11 years and he stayed at the top all that time. Throughout all of Kerry's successes in those years, he was the big driving force. The year that stands out for me was 2007, as I think he carried Kerry to the All-Ireland final that year.

"The semi-final stands out for me as he carried them on his own. He got injured but came back on and to have him on the pitch near the end was inspirational. He was a big driving force."

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