good post kingdom, as always the beaten team are finished and the winners are the world beaters where in reality the middle ground is more likely the truth. kerry made the game defining move in taking walsh off not that he was going to trouble the scoreboard but in that he kept big joe at cornerback allowing kerry to dominate our half forward line for most of the game.(i agree dooher was average apart from the scores) for the last 10 big joe was moved up and hey presto kerry suddenly struggled for posession around the middle. there is nothing between these two teams and i cant wait for 09 when both teams will be back to full strength galvon and o neill for another instalment should be good. tyrone for once are talkin the talk about defending the title which can only be good. so lets get instalment three next year.

reddoctor (Tyrone) - Posts: 1241 - 23/09/2008 16:27:24    105756

23/09/2008 16:27:24
reddoctor
County: Tyrone
Posts: 579

as always the beaten team are finished and the winners are the world beaters where in reality the middle ground is more likely the truth.

You can sing that boy. I have posted on this several times. The Irish are a nation of over-reactors (sp?). One defeat and a good team is written off (e.g. Tyrone against Down, Monagnan against Fermanagh) and one win and a average team is made out to be brilliant (e.g. Not going to name any counties cause it'll only annoy people!).

RMDrive (Donegal) - Posts: 2202 - 23/09/2008 16:42:10    105776

I just feel that (naturally at 33) DOS is not the player he was. Everyone's entitled to their opinion - not saying I'm right or wrong - but please don't come on telling me I'm foolish or its sour grapes FFS.

JayoCluxton (Dublin) - Posts: 2688 - 23/09/2008 16:56:10    105804

Agree with both previous.

Walsh should not have been taken off. Big big mistake. Was very strong when in possession but ball was not going in right for him overall. Still caused some problems as you said and kept big Joe under control. After Galvin came on we only won the odd break here and there.

Yes, I'm glad to hear people say this, that we knock people too quickly and praise people too quickly also. Some of the coverage in the printed media was unbvelievable with headlines like "Kerry thrashed" and "rampant Tyrone" and "finished for good." Same thing happened when we beat Galway in the last couple of minutes. Everything was Kerry Kerry Kerry. The fact is that it was an extremely close game between the 2 best counties in Ireland that could have gone either way at a couple of different stages. I look forward to meeting again which hopefully will happen next year at some stage. And it looks like Darragh may stay on again. Fair play to him if he does, he will be more than welcomed.

thykingdomcome (Kerry) - Posts: 1206 - 23/09/2008 17:00:12    105810

The guy wins an allstar in 06 and 07 and has a mighty game in the 08 final and you say:-

As I said one of the great players but not any more.

but the last 2/3 seasons he has not been the player of old

thykingdomcome (Kerry) - Posts: 1206 - 23/09/2008 17:17:54    105835

He was a very good midfielder, immense might be the right word to describe him, but just done stupid things. Can't say I will miss him or his antics.

Loyal2TheRoyal (Meath) - Posts: 4522 - 23/09/2008 17:54:04    105870

Holymoly I agree it might take minors a while to be bedded in but we have a few young players with enough senior experience so that the transition period won't be that rough. I also forgot to mention tadgh Kennelly who will/should be back in 2010. Providing he's injury free etc. He'll only be 30 so we'll get a couple of years out of him at least.

3inarow08 (Kerry) - Posts: 2455 - 23/09/2008 22:31:36    106093

Great player, especially in the old arts of high fielding and foot passing.

Over the last 20 years the only mid-fielder I would put in the same bracket was Tohill. I thought Tohill was a great as well. Both of them were famous for catching the ball under their own crossbar to relieve the danger.

There have been others, but those two stand out for me.

Sean Cavanagh is heading in the right direction mind you, although a different type of player.

patrique (Antrim) - Posts: 13709 - 23/09/2008 23:57:15    106183

It takes one hell of a brave manager to put wholesale faith in a bunch of recent minors and U21s and I can only name two who have done it in the last forty years. I don't think Pat O'Shea is of that calibre.

On_the_ditch (Tyrone) - Posts: 98 - 24/09/2008 01:36:57    106214

red doctor first well done on sun , its nice of you to say the positives about daragh . been savage for us over15 yrs it will be his decesion tostay or go . on sun he was the best fielder on view , people say about the 2 red cards i wondered what was said or done between o neill and him its strange in all the yrs he never got sent off and then 2 against o neill . at 33 it might be time to call it a day , i rem being as a young fella at the munster final the day denny long showed micko connell the ball . it was a sad end to o connells career i hope it doesnt happen darragh

kerryblue (Kerry) - Posts: 239 - 24/09/2008 01:57:25    106217

Comparing players from different eras can be tricky so it's best left alone. What we know for certain is that Ciaran Whelan, McGrane, Murphy....etc they all tried and failed when it came to outplaying Dara. Himself and John McDermot didn't have enough head to head clashes to to make a definite call but we all know who the likely winner would have been.
A true legend, he can walk away (if that is what he decides) happy with his 5 AI nmedals and standing head and shoulders above the numerous pretenders over the last 10 years.

scholesy (Kerry) - Posts: 180 - 24/09/2008 14:06:53    106615

scholsey

mcgrane v ose

2000 paul mcgrane gave as good as he got against ose in both semi finals
2002 ose dominated first half, mcgrane completely dominated second half
2006 vice versa

try and think of the games that the players competed against eachother before you spout any more crap

samin10 (Armagh) - Posts: 2434 - 24/09/2008 20:49:17    107099

Great post Kingdom come. Really like that kind of analysis and have to agree with you. This was a very close game with the outcome in doubt right up until the final couple of minutes. I am sure I wasn't alone in that I was expecting Kerry to push for a goal and would not have been surprised if they had gotten one.

As for Darragh ... brilliant player and certainly one of the best mid-fielders of all time. His skills compare with anyone you care to mention.

As always these things come down to a personal choice, for me the best midfielder I ever saw was Jack O Shea ... I could not believe how high he could jump off the ground. I then remember reading an article about him ... he used to spend hours jumping over a plank suspended between 2 chairs about 3 feet off the ground from a standing position. No wonder he appeared to be able to reach about a foot higher than anyone else around him. Amazing player.

Beacaire Gorm (Dublin) - Posts: 597 - 24/09/2008 22:58:12    107159

Samin10

If I agreed with your analysis of the head to heads (which I don't) they would still end up even. One would then have to look at what they achieved right through their career. No contest there! There was a big guy a few years back that played for Tipp called Derry Foley. He always gave Dara "as good as he got" yet I don't hear people putting him up there with the great man.

scholesy (Kerry) - Posts: 180 - 25/09/2008 13:28:21    107635

scholsey

so what you are saying is that it is as much the men around him that made him good rather than anything he actually did himself

samin10 (Armagh) - Posts: 2434 - 25/09/2008 17:09:39    107951

despite all the facts and figures about dara o shea v other midfielders if he was from any other county he would never be on the bench for anybody in the last 10-12 years.then,he is one of the greats of this generation.

superdub (Dublin) - Posts: 392 - 25/09/2008 18:05:29    108005

samin10 - lads this fella hates everything about Kerry football, he just cant face facts that Dara annihalated the Armagh midfield in 2000 and 2006. Also Dara has more All ireland medals than any of those orange folk lads will ever have ;)

Ciarrai Abu (Overseas) - Posts: 1050 - 25/09/2008 18:46:14    108029

He was picking balls out of the sky in the first half but i do believe he only caught one in the second half, I think hufghes really kept him quiet.

HokeyPokey (Tyrone) - Posts: 1744 - 25/09/2008 19:39:40    108052

Yes, a great mid-fielder was Dara, but Hughes, Tyrone's 4th choice, is the best ever. Very accurate as well when shooting for points.

patrique (Antrim) - Posts: 13709 - 25/09/2008 20:31:33    108084

HokeyPokey Dara was immense in the first half as you rightly stated. Mickey Harte, the clever tactician that he is, saw that as well and changed things around. MH crowded midfield in the second half, thereby stifling Dara's effect on the game. It was said before the game that if Kerry were to win they had to control midfield. They did in the first half and were ahead by a point. In the second half Kerry had to kick ball from half back to half forward, which were not at the races, and the full forwards, where the ball kicked in dropped short, thereby negating the "twin towers" effect. That's the way Kerrys attacking game went as far as I can see it.

To sum it all up, Dara has been the best Kerry midfielder since Jack O' Shea, and the best midfielder in Ireland for the last 10 or so years.

3inarow08 (Kerry) - Posts: 2455 - 25/09/2008 21:09:35    108120