First of all in response to Brolly, there is very little between Ronaldo and Messi. Both are up there with Maradona and the real Ronaldo as being some of the game's greats.

As for Brogan and Cooper.
Who is better? I am not sure
Who is greater? Definitely the Gooch.

Loyal2TheRoyal (Meath) - Posts: 4522 - 27/06/2011 14:48:22    967932

Gooch by a mile but Brogan is definitely one of the very best.

flemishgael (Kerry) - Posts: 67 - 27/06/2011 20:23:54    968626

2 best forwards in the country by a country mile, the only difference Cooper is playing with better players while Brogan does it with players of a different level

b.mullins (Dublin) - Posts: 1413 - 27/06/2011 21:10:06    968718

its the likes of these players that make the love of the game so interesting

dubbydave. (Dublin) - Posts: 3927 - 27/06/2011 21:18:38    968733

I was fairly emphatic before in my belief that cooper is better. I still think he is but the gap is closing. Brogan is one of the best of this generation. Hopefully they will meet again before the year is out.

mikeoc (Kerry) - Posts: 567 - 27/06/2011 21:50:22    968791

Cooper by far, would also put Declan Sullivan ahead of Brogan

moomoo (Kerry) - Posts: 4023 - 28/06/2011 10:48:45    968958

They are both a joy to watch; both leaders on the field. Their talent still stands out even when their team are not playing well; examples being the Gooch in last years QF against Down and Bernard in the 2009 QF against Kerry. The gap may well be closing and this year could paint a better picture....Gooch captain, a team in transit but hunger yet to suceed and Bernard, a team improving all the team with a lot to prove. Would indeed enjoy another meeting in this years championship.

kerrykerry (Kerry) - Posts: 1779 - 28/06/2011 13:17:04    969198

brogan for me phisically stronger and the ball always seems to just stick to him never seen him been marked well. a mayo corner back marked gooch once but still one if the best

01ros (Roscommon) - Posts: 113 - 28/06/2011 13:39:55    969243

01ros
County: Roscommon
Posts: 44

969243
brogan for me phisically stronger and the ball always seems to just stick to him never seen him been marked well. a mayo corner back marked gooch once but still one if the best

You didn't see Tom Sullivan marking him in 2009 then. He even scored the same amount from play as him that day and he almost 40 years of age.

Superglue (Kerry) - Posts: 1283 - 28/06/2011 13:55:39    969268

Your right there Brolly about the Brogan/Cooper comparison to Ronaldo/Messi. Not trying to bring soccer in to the equation here, but look at the players around Messi/Cooper. Xavi, Iniesta and Villa, top class. Same with The Gooch. Then look at Ronaldo, does brilliantly with limited resources in the form of supporting players. Same with BB.
Too close to call I think, but I'd put Brogan down first.

rrbm (Louth) - Posts: 120 - 28/06/2011 14:55:00    969399

Loyal2TheRoyal
County: Meath
Posts: 4055

As for Brogan and Cooper.
Who is better? I am not sure
Who is greater? Definitely the Gooch.

While I am a big fan of Brogan, today answered my first question. Cooper is both better and greater, and would never have a performance as bad as Bernards today. One likes to adopt a shoot on-site policy (Brogan), the other is far more economical with possession (Cooper). Cooper also has superior awareness and vision and is able to match Brogan in the scoring stakes. So Cooper for me is still the best footballer in Ireland.

Loyal2TheRoyal (Meath) - Posts: 4522 - 10/07/2011 15:33:43    979608

Big game today- Brogan went missing. Gooch for sure. No contest.

breffni666 (Cavan) - Posts: 294 - 10/07/2011 15:43:00    979618

I wile back i said that Brogan was very greedy and i think today was a prime example of

moomoo (Kerry) - Posts: 4023 - 10/07/2011 15:45:43    979621

Well the Gooch is slightly over-rated at this stage I'd feel. Was non-existent against Cork, whereas Declan O'Sullivan orchestrated the game up front on his own with a mixture of skill, vision and precision and incredibly gifted off both feet. For me, he portrays the Zidane of Gaelic Football as he has that awareness and ability to carve out a move and finish in style. Whereas a player like Bernard Brogan is the type of player who instantly looks up at the posts when he gets the ball in a Ronaldo-like fashion. He had a poor day today but we know what he's capable of.

RoyalClass (Meath) - Posts: 790 - 10/07/2011 15:47:40    979626

Cooper's performance against Cork has been largely ignored. It was full of flicks, tricks and magic. He put O'Sullivan in with a five yard hand pass last week in one of the moves of the game. His timing and his vision was fantastic.

He dosen't have to score bags of points every day to have a good game. It is his economical use of possession that makes him stand out as well. And like his hurling counterpart, Henry Sheflin, he works very hard when Kerry haven't got the ball.

Loyal2TheRoyal (Meath) - Posts: 4522 - 10/07/2011 15:54:47    979635

Gooch and Declan o'sullivan are by far the best 2 footballers in the country

Berbatov99 (Meath) - Posts: 31 - 10/07/2011 15:57:31    979639

RoyalClass
County: Meath
Posts: 298

979626
Well the Gooch is slightly over-rated at this stage I'd feel. Was non-existent against Cork, whereas Declan O'Sullivan orchestrated the game up front on his own with a mixture of skill, vision and precision and incredibly gifted off both feet. For me, he portrays the Zidane of Gaelic Football as he has that awareness and ability to carve out a move and finish in style. Whereas a player like Bernard Brogan is the type of player who instantly looks up at the posts when he gets the ball in a Ronaldo-like fashion. He had a poor day today but we know what he's capable of.

Gooch won 16/17 balls in the Cork game he may not have scored alot but every time he got the ball he drew the Cork back every time and layed it off to the free man then

moomoo (Kerry) - Posts: 4023 - 10/07/2011 15:59:17    979643

Two tremendous players but the Gooch is a class apart.

derfil1 (Kildare) - Posts: 1612 - 10/07/2011 16:05:35    979652

I read a very good article about Rory McIlroy on Friday. In it the reporter said that today we live in an "instant" world. He referred to the speculation about Rory challenging tiger's place in golf and Jack's 18 majors were mentioned.

He than said "we want to know if Rory will be better than tiger, and we want to know if he will beat Jack's records, but we want to know Next Sunday afternoon at Sandwich" In short if Rory does NOT win the Open there will be idiots writing him off again.

The instant world where everything get an immediate judgement, what Alex ferguson calls the "x factor society", one week you are the greatest player ever, the next week you are the worst player ever.

Some of the comments here about Brogan are childish in the extreme.

Brogan is a wonderful player, judge him on a career which is only beginning. Do not condemn him because he may not have been good today.

Gooch is a great and I do not like using that word but he has done it for ten years, NOT in every match I must say.

patrique (Antrim) - Posts: 13709 - 10/07/2011 16:11:32    979665

Cooper better than Brogan but neither a patch on Padraig Joyce

Oggy (Galway) - Posts: 245 - 10/07/2011 16:11:38    979666