Just wondering posters whose the greatest forward Gooch or Canavan? For me their the 2 stand out forwards I've seen and I'll always say Gooch was the greatest but Canavan was unbelievable as well , what makes one better than the other?? Probably done a million times before but Dublin beatable or unbeatable gets very boring.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 11/05/2016 12:39:08    1853960

Two of the greats, hard to say really. Brogan will be mentioned in the same breath by the time he retires.

KerryKillers (Dublin) - Posts: 711 - 11/05/2016 12:47:31    1853969

I remember one match between Kerry and Tyrone, maybe an All-Ireland semi final - Eamon Fitzmaurice was standing in the center back area and it seemed like one of the Kerry forwards was fouled, but no free was given - he held his arms out wide in dispute and Canavan who was making a run from behind him decided to divert this run into Fitzmaurice's right arm in a bid to get him sent off.

I thought this was pretty low and while both players are pretty equal I'd give Gooch the nod for having more class

Ban (Westmeath) - Posts: 1468 - 11/05/2016 13:01:14    1853982

If there was a minute to go, and my team needed a point ASAP and i had both in my FF line......i would get it to PC.

I would trust him more.

Both legends.

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 11/05/2016 13:07:51    1853987

Kerry Killers - no he wont. Brogan is a excellent footballer but not it the same league as Canavan and Gooch.
Brogan is on the next list of exceptional players like Joyce, McDonnell , Mickey Linden etc. That is no bad thing.

Its very close. For me its Peter. Although Tyrone had some good players in the mid-90s , Canavan almost single handedly won them the big prize. He was a genius IMO.

The Gooch played in a better side throughout his career .

Then again , one could argue that everything went through Canavan in his early years whereas Kerry were not as reliant on the Gooch.

Both are greats of the game- they are the best.

Hard to call but I will give the nod to Canavan .

TheRightStuff (Donegal) - Posts: 1688 - 11/05/2016 13:15:20    1853992

Ive seen this done to death on here , slow week, for me the gooch but its no different to a Maradona Pele argument how do you debate genius which both have , equally for me P Joyce had as much talent as either of them

Damothedub (Dublin) - Posts: 5193 - 11/05/2016 13:16:37    1853994

for the record, i'd get it to Maurice before either of them!

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 11/05/2016 13:26:14    1854004

ya wouldnt mind either of them on your team !! gooch for me of the two but the greatest ever was matt connor

kavvie (Clare) - Posts: 505 - 11/05/2016 13:31:48    1854009

Completely disagree about Joyce after 01 he did nothing , I'd have Bernard brogan ahead of him all day long.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 11/05/2016 13:41:06    1854018

Canavan for me every time.

Gooch is a silkier footballer but if you want a player to play in a tough match I'd pick Canavan.

He was such a great player and hard as nails aswell, also I thought he was probably the most intelligent footballer of the last 25 years or so.

His goal in the 2005 All Ireland is an example of his intelligence.99% of other players would have had their shot blocked down in that situation.

uibhfhaili1986 (Offaly) - Posts: 1296 - 11/05/2016 14:00:10    1854034

Gooch is tough as nails, believe it or not
he gets "special attention" in nearly every game he plays, but you never hear about it because he keeps his mouth shut and just gets on with it.

joncarter (Galway) - Posts: 2692 - 11/05/2016 14:07:16    1854036

Cooper is the best i have ever seen, hands down.

TheUsername (Dublin) - Posts: 4517 - 11/05/2016 14:10:36    1854038

Brogan is the best forward playing the game today
but
Gooch and PC in their prime, were better

No shame in that!

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 11/05/2016 14:12:00    1854039

Cooper. . .and it's not a close call IMO.

Have always said Sean Cavanagh is the best Tyrone have produced in the past 30+ years. Yes, even better than PC.

cavanman47 (Cavan) - Posts: 5251 - 11/05/2016 14:16:38    1854041

None of the two. The best I saw was Sean o Neill of Down , way ahead of anyone else
In saying that both the Gooch and PC were brilliant players. But I always thought he ( the Gooch) benefited big time from K Donagheys presence in the Kerry FF line. I am of the opinion that without K D Kerry might not have won a few of the AI s they won mid2000's The Gooch fed very well off him.
I would say P Canavan would have been a tougher , harder player than the Gooch.
And talking about P C's goal in the final of 2005 I give massive credit to O Mulligan on how he set up P C

SamOnErrigal (Donegal) - Posts: 1427 - 11/05/2016 14:18:03    1854042

They were both incredibly skillful and had wonderful vision. Gooch is taller and better in the air, but Canavan was faster. However, assuming that they were physically more or less equal, I'd side with Canavan largely, as Liam has said, because I'd trust him more.

Canavan was a leader of men. In a team with McAnallen, Cavanagh, Gormley, Ricey, Dooher etc, he was the top dog. He was at his very best in the white heat of big championship games, from Derry in 1995 all the way through to his final game in the AI final 10 years later. The Gooch is a magical footballer who is also very brave but, if I needed one man to drag my team over the line in a huge game, It'd be Peter Canavan. The ultimate winner in a team full of winners.

Thomas Clarke (Tyrone) - Posts: 1002 - 11/05/2016 14:23:52    1854045

Two of the greats, hard to say really. Brogan will be mentioned in the same breath by the time he retires.

KerryKillers

Agree - love watching all cooper canavan and brogan - legends all 3

janesboro (Limerick) - Posts: 1502 - 11/05/2016 14:26:24    1854046

On Canavan, it wasnt like he was playing in a poor Tyrone team they also had some great players similar if not better than Kerry at different times.

But the Gooch was always just a genius, its one of the saddest things now about Kerrys recent demise, part of me wants to remember him in his prime or he was on the O Se's vintage and had already retired.

TheUsername (Dublin) - Posts: 4517 - 11/05/2016 14:26:43    1854047

Gooch.......only messing obviously God! But its everyones own taste and memory obviously. Its a fair while since Canavan played now so peoples memory will fade.

Someone said he played on great teams to but the tyrone teams of early 90's did not have great players. He almost singlehandedly won them an AI.

All I can say is that I have never and, I include the gooch in this, seen a player who you knew as soon as he got the ball no matter how many men on or around him something was going to 100% happen, 99% of the time a score

redhanddefender (Tyrone) - Posts: 913 - 11/05/2016 14:46:24    1854056

Cooper. . .and it's not a close call IMO.
Have always said Sean Cavanagh is the best Tyrone have produced in the past 30+ years. Yes, even better than PC.
cavanman47

Agree. Sean Cavanagh was a superior player to Canavan. Id have joyce ahead of him too personally. Whoever said joyce didn't do anything after 2001 is off their heads - what did canavan do prior to 2003? It is a foolish way to judge the thing.
I think canavan, while a classy player, benefits from a lot of rose-tinted memories, because he soldiered on so diligently in the 90s etc and then finally getting the prize. Plus he is a likeable guy with a very dry wit, and we hear a lot of him in the media, where he is very fair in his analysis. All positive stuff which can make people like him more, and then rate him higher. He has become a bit of a mythical figure, and nobody can seem to remember a poor game he played at this stage. But if you compared the range of skills he had with say Conor McManus, McManus would be ahead of him I believe.

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 11/05/2016 14:51:25    1854059