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Who Is Considered The Greatest Football Player Of All Time?

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Stephen Lavin from Limerick :) KnockaineyAbú (Limerick) - Posts: 96 - 09/05/2023 14:59:48 2477045 Link
Replying To TheHuckleBuck: "I can't believe Mick Fitzsimons has got a mention in a thread discussing the best player of all time." A man with 8 AI medals (and perhaps heading for 9) is worthy of consideration/comment. That great Kerry team under Micko had Spillane, Power, Paidi, Ogie, and Mikie Sheehy all on 8. Yet, I'd rate Jacko above the lot. Same as I'd rate James Mac or Brian Fenton above Fitz. But Fitzsimons is definitely worth inclusion in this conversation. foreveryoung (USA) - Posts: 2118 - 09/05/2023 15:12:42 2477048 Link
Replying To TheHuckleBuck: "I can't believe Mick Fitzsimons has got a mention in a thread discussing the best player of all time." At least I've seen all the players I've mentioned :-) BarneyGrant (Dublin) - Posts: 3275 - 09/05/2023 15:20:25 2477052 Link
Best 15 I've seen.... 1. Cluxton 2. Lacey 3. Moynihan 4. M Ó Sé 5. T Ó Sé 6. McCarthy 7. Keegan 8. Fenton 9. Cavanagh 10. Connolly 11. Murphy 12. McDonald 13. Canavan 14. Fitzgerald 15. Cooper Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9541 - 09/05/2023 15:37:58 2477059 Link
Ja Fallon The_DOC (Galway) - Posts: 738 - 09/05/2023 15:50:09 2477066 Link
Replying To MesAmis: "Alan Brogan???!!!!! Not even the best player in his gaf!" Or 2nd best. . cavanman47 (Cavan) - Posts: 5215 - 09/05/2023 16:00:50 2477071 Link
Jim McKeever who died recently although he didn't win All Ireland's because of the small size of the county playing population. PattyONeill (Derry) - Posts: 251 - 09/05/2023 16:23:30 2477076 Link
Replying To Lockjaw: "Best 15 I've seen.... 1. Cluxton 2. Lacey 3. Moynihan 4. M Ó Sé 5. T Ó Sé 6. McCarthy 7. Keegan 8. Fenton 9. Cavanagh 10. Connolly 11. Murphy 12. McDonald 13. Canavan 14. Fitzgerald 15. Cooper" Not having that - Sean óg de Paor takes Keegans spot any day of the week, any week of the year The_DOC (Galway) - Posts: 738 - 09/05/2023 16:34:17 2477080 Link
I honestly could nt pick one. Times and eras are different too. The game has changed. I've been lucky to see so many and so hard to chose even the first 15 but a few definstes I'd have on team would be Cluxton and James Mccarthy (Dublin)) Jacko Shea and David Clifford (Kerry) Peter Canavan (Tyrone) Matt Connor (Offaly). Other possible would be Maurice Fitzgerald (Kerry) Diarmuid Connolly (Dublin) Michael Murphy(Donegal) Lee Keegan and Keith Higgins (Mayo) Michael Donnlon (Galway) Graham Canty (Cork) Seamus Moynihan(Kerry) Anthony Tohill (Derry) CiarraiMick (Dublin) - Posts: 3851 - 09/05/2023 17:09:44 2477094 Link
Lads, I'll come back to Sean Purcell for ye, if you're discussing the actual greatest player to ever play the game. Karl Lacey, Mick Fitzsimons, Ciarán McDonald, what?? Yes, all great talents - some of them a little too mercurial - but not bona fide legends of the game. Not part of the pantheon of the greats! I'll put it this way, in 72 years of broadcasting by our State broadcaster's two premier GAA commentators, Micheal O'Hehir (broadcasting from 1938 to 1985) and Micheal O'Muircheartaigh (broadcasting from 1985-2010) BOTH of them are independently on the record as stating without hesitation that Sean Purcell was the greatest Gaelic footballer they'd ever seen play the game. O'Hehir and O'Muircheartaigh (a Kerry man, remember) studied and saw a lot of superb players come and go in 72 years' worth of top tier games but only one player stood out above all others for both of them - Sean Purcell 'The Master'. That and achieving the most votes of any player in the team of the century announced in 1984 and featuring in the millennium team is validation enough to see him being rightly considered the GOAT. togoutlads (Galway) - Posts: 982 - 09/05/2023 17:13:35 2477096 Link
Most Galway people my age will say Michael Donnelan or Jarlath Fallon. My aul lad would say Sean Purcell or Mattie McDonagh. My buddy from Roscommon says Dermot Earley Senior. My cousin in Kerry says Maurice Fitzgerald. His father says Mick O'Connell. A lad I know from from Limerick says its John Galvin. Can we see a pattern developing here?..... streaker (Galway) - Posts: 504 - 09/05/2023 17:19:28 2477098 Link
Replying To foreveryoung: "A man with 8 AI medals (and perhaps heading for 9) is worthy of consideration/comment. That great Kerry team under Micko had Spillane, Power, Paidi, Ogie, and Mikie Sheehy all on 8. Yet, I'd rate Jacko above the lot. Same as I'd rate James Mac or Brian Fenton above Fitz. But Fitzsimons is definitely worth inclusion in this conversation." I mean, that's just a shockingly bad take. He's not in the conversation for best player on his own team in the last 10 years, never mind the entire history of the sport. TheHuckleBuck (Galway) - Posts: 24 - 09/05/2023 17:48:06 2477103 Link
Replying To NinaMurphy: "Some people might argue that it's Pelé, the Brazilian forward who won three World Cups Sport/ and scored over 1000 career goals. Others might say it's Diego Maradona, the Argentine midfielder who led his country to World Cup victory in 1986. Others might argue for players like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Johan Cruyff." The answer is no one,you can't answer that question,you can't compare different times, would Pele get a game now in soccer,no one can answer that, maybe ask the best player every 5 years outside of that you can't compare. cityman73 (Limerick) - Posts: 783 - 09/05/2023 18:09:30 2477114 Link
It's a very subjective question. In my opinion, Clifford is as good as any who has every played. However, that's just my opinion. It is an interesting debate, though. Fontofwisdom (Cavan) - Posts: 128 - 09/05/2023 18:14:43 2477117 Link
I have been lucky to live long enough to have seen many great players. So many that it probably isn't fair to say which was better or best. 3 that spring to mind are Mick O'Connell, Jack O'Shea and Peter Canavan. Matt O'Connor and Pat Spillane wouldn't be far off. Offaly, Galway, Down and indeed the Dubs both in the 70s and this latter contingent all had great players. Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 1325 - 09/05/2023 18:50:26 2477121 Link
Replying To NinaMurphy: "Some people might argue that it's Pelé, the Brazilian forward who won three World Cups Sport/ and scored over 1000 career goals. Others might say it's Diego Maradona, the Argentine midfielder who led his country to World Cup victory in 1986. Others might argue for players like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Johan Cruyff." Ha! Did you mean to post this in the "Non-GAA forum" thread or just put it up to see what the reaction would be? Must be disappointed if the latter was the intention! Anyway, Matt Connor and Maurice Fitzgerald would be my 2 favourite players of all time and they wouldnt be too far out of the conversation fot the GOAT either! PoolSturgeon (Galway) - Posts: 1968 - 09/05/2023 19:01:04 2477123 Link
These threads are interesting and enjoyable to debate but pretty pointless. Almost impossible to define the parameters of greatness, let alone argue over whose the greatest. For example, hurling wise, I always thought Tommy Walsh was by a mile the best hurler I witnessed, but Henry and Joe always get the mention from their era probably because people just pay more attention to players whose job it is to score, and not prevent scores. Galway9801 (Galway) - Posts: 1942 - 09/05/2023 19:35:22 2477129 Link
Matt Connor (Offaly) Gaa_lover (USA) - Posts: 3517 - 09/05/2023 20:23:44 2477137 Link
Replying To togoutlads: "Darren Fay was good alright, until he met Padraic Joyce! Padraic took him to the cleaners in the 2001 AI final with a 10 point tally, 9 of them in an unbelievable second half performance. (He fluffed an open goal chance too!) Fay had never encountered anything like it." I was in Croke park that day, Fay held Joyce scoreless from play in the first half. Joyce scored two points off him in the second half as they started to turn the screw, and the biggest mistake was that Meath made that day(although would have lost anyway) was they didn't let Fay follow Joyce to the corner(Galway trying to take Fay out of position) and Joyce was picked up by Mark O'Reilly(who i thought would have been a better match given their similar speed and stature) - from that point Joyce went on the demolition job. Still surprises me how badly O'Reilly coped with him. Joyce and Canavan were the best for me from the 90's Special Mention from Colm O'Rourke- what a clutch player. Always, always showed up when it really mattered. Leinster Semi Final '93 on (a 1 point loss for Dublin). He was just magic. Kingroyal (Meath) - Posts: 40 - 09/05/2023 20:24:43 2477138 Link
Fair enough so I'll try pick a team without my own county men on it. The best I've seen without Kerry players. 1.Cluxton. 2.SM.Lockhart (Derry) 3.Mick Lyons (Meath) 4.Graham Canty (Cork) 5.Lee Keegan (Mayo) 6.Glen Ryan (Kildare) 7.James Mccarthy (Dublin). 8.Anthony Tohill (Derry) 9.Brian Fenton(Dublin).10.Michael Donollen (Galway) 11.Larry Tompkins 12.Diarmuid Connolly (Dublin). 13.Peter Canavan (Tyrone) 14.Michael Murphy (Donegal). 15.Matt Connor (Offaly). Subs. 16.Billy Morgan (Cork) 17.Kieran McGeeney (Armagh) 18.Keith Higgins ((Mayo) 19.Karl Lacey (Donegal) 20.Liam Currams (Offaly) 21.Dermot Earley (Roscommon) 22 Seán Cavanagh (Tyrone) 23.Brian Mullins (Dublin) 24.Tony McManus (Roscommon) 25.Con Ó Callaghan (Dublin) 26.Trevor Giles (Meath) CiarraiMick (Dublin) - Posts: 3851 - 10/05/2023 00:10:13 2477154 Link