Reason why we need the mark to keep the tradition off catching a footballer

castlemaine (Kerry) - Posts: 546 - 15/04/2010 20:45:38    618832

Strong, good in the air, hard as nails and a workhorse = Paul McGrane

Brolly (Monaghan) - Posts: 4472 - 15/04/2010 21:34:17    618879

High fielding is key.

shnappy (Wexford) - Posts: 220 - 17/04/2010 13:38:35    620238

Nice smile, blade 2 on the back and sides, adidas predators.

proteuspal (Laois) - Posts: 423 - 17/04/2010 14:04:29    620262

The clue to a great midfielder is probably in the title, control the midfield area. The majority of possesion is won and lost between both 45s so this is obviously where a good midfielder comes in. High fielding is not necessarily key but history proves that all the greats were excellent fielders. For example, last Sunday, there was a clear tactic used by both Kildare midfielders to slap the ball away from their much taller Meath opponents, Mark Ward and Conor Gillespie. Kildare, particularly in the first half, dominated because their midfielders were getting their fists to the ball before the Meath lads could make a clear catch. So there's a case of the best fielders losing out. But generally, good midfielders are excellent catchers.

In recent times, Tyrone pioneered a new type of midfield player in Sean Cavanagh. He was not the convential type of midfielder but he sure was effective. The trouble with this type of player is that there's a greater onus on the midfield partner to dominate kickouts etc. I'd agree that Cavanagh is nowhere near the greatest midfielder ever, that award probably goes to one of Jack O'Shea, Mick O'Connell, Darragh O'Se, Anthony Tohill, John McDermott, Brian Mullins or Kevin Walsh. For versatility between 8 and 15 though, there's very few, if any, better than Sean Cavanagh.

Loyal2TheRoyal (Meath) - Posts: 4522 - 17/04/2010 20:25:03    620549