Top 10 Forwards since 1977 - Survey Results

[Owen Brannigan]

Thanks to everyone who posted their top ten forward choices and to those who just agonised over them or even to those who trolled others who made the choices and agonised.

There were 44 players listed in 24 submissions and I have listed the top 25 according to the percentage of the vote received with 10 given to the first listed and down to 1 for last on an individual list.

1   Canavan Peter
2   Fitzgerald Maurice
3   Cooper Colm
4   Connor Matt
5   Brogan Bernard
6   Linden Mickey
7   Blaney Greg
8   McGuigan Frank
9   Sheehy Mike
10   Spillane Pat
11   Egan John
12   McDonald Ciaran
13   Donnellan Michael
14   McConville Oisin
15   Cavanagh Sean
16   Tomkins Larry
17   McDonnell Steven
18   O'Neill Stephen
19   Connolly Diarmuid
20   Joyce Padraic
21   Giles Trevor
22   O'Rourke Colm
24   Murphy Michael
24   Corkery Colin
25   Bradley Paddy

[Owen Brannigan]

The list below shows the percentage of the vote received by each player in the list.  If two or more had the same percentage then they are placed according to the greater number of votes received:

15.22%   Canavan   Peter
11.78%   Fitzgerald   Maurice
11.34%   Cooper   Colm
7.39%   Connor   Matt
4.68%   Brogan   Bernard
4.39%   Linden   Mickey
3.22%   Blaney   Greg
3.07%   McGuigan   Frank
2.78%   Sheehy   Mike
2.71%   Spillane   Pat
2.71%   Egan   John
2.63%   McDonald   Ciaran
2.56%   Donnellan   Michael
2.19%   McConville   Oisin
2.19%   Cavanagh   Sean
2.12%   Tomkins   Larry
2.05%   McDonnell   Steven
1.98%   O'Neill   Stephen
1.54%   Connolly   Diarmuid
1.54%   Joyce   Padraic
1.24%   Giles   Trevor
1.24%   O'Rourke   Colm
1.02%   Murphy   Michael
0.95%   Corkery   Colin
0.88%   Bradley   Paddy

*Amended on a recount but no change to order

[BennyCake]

Bernard Brogan? Really? Run this poll in 10 years and Brogan wouldn't even be mentioned, never mind make the top 25. Connolly either.

[Syferus]

Bernard Brogan? Really? Run this poll in 10 years and Brogan wouldn't even be mentioned, never mind make the top 25. Connolly either.

Canavan topping the poll by a large margin is the really mad thing. Provincial bias at its finest imho.

Brogan made it onto a lot of lists near the end and only 3% separates him from the next 13 players, while Canavan has a greater margin than that over Fitzgerald and Gooch, both nearly universally regarded as the best forwards of their respective generations.

[Owen Brannigan]

Bernard Brogan? Really? Run this poll in 10 years and Brogan wouldn't even be mentioned, never mind make the top 25. Connolly either.

I'll put it in the diary. 

[Owen Brannigan]

Canavan topping the poll by a large margin is the really mad thing. Provincial bias at its finest imho.

Hardly provincial bias when all bar one list had Canavan and it didn't recognise anyone above the 54th parallel but with only 9 names could have been leaving a space for him.

[Il Bomber Destro]

Bernard Brogan? Really? Run this poll in 10 years and Brogan wouldn't even be mentioned, never mind make the top 25. Connolly either.

Canavan topping the poll by a large margin is the really mad thing. Provincial bias at its finest imho.

Brogan made it onto a lot of lists near the end and only 3% separates him from the next 13 players, while Canavan has a greater margin than that over Fitzgerald and Gooch, both nearly universally regarded as the best forwards of their respective generations.

Canavan was the best forward over the past 25 years, I would be surprised if there were really many who would dispute that.

[The Stallion]

I would dispute it. Canavan was a great footballer but his inability to control his temper allied with his cowardly cynical fouling and feigning injury to get other players sent off detract from his undoubted ability for me.

[Zulu]

Bernard Brogan? Really? Run this poll in 10 years and Brogan wouldn't even be mentioned, never mind make the top 25. Connolly either.

Are you serious? They'll both be in the top 10 for definite, Connolly should be in the top 5 now and in 10 years. Both are genuine great forwards playing in an era when it is much more difficult to be a forward, particularly an inside one.

[BennyCake]

Canaan was a better player when Tyrone were shite. When Harte took over, he and his teammates resorted to anything that got them over the line, so his game and skills were watered down after 2002. Still a very talented player though and deservedly in the top 25.

[Syferus]

Bernard Brogan? Really? Run this poll in 10 years and Brogan wouldn't even be mentioned, never mind make the top 25. Connolly either.

Are you serious? They'll both be in the top 10 for definite, Connolly should be in the top 5 now and in 10 years. Both are genuine great forwards playing in an era when it is much more difficult to be a forward, particularly an inside one.

Brogan deserves to be there. Connolly doesn't even rank.

[BennyCake]

Bernard Brogan? Really? Run this poll in 10 years and Brogan wouldn't even be mentioned, never mind make the top 25. Connolly either.

Are you serious? They'll both be in the top 10 for definite, Connolly should be in the top 5 now and in 10 years. Both are genuine great forwards playing in an era when it is much more difficult to be a forward, particularly an inside one.

Deadly serious.

Brogan is decent but should be nowhere near the top 25. He's only there because it's easier for people to remember last weeks players than those of 30 years ago.

As for Connolly, he's probably the most over-rated player in the last decade.

Anyway, Owen B is running this poll again in 2027, so we'll see then how great these two were regarded.

[Zulu]

Connolly is the best player in Ireland. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I'm at a loss to see how anyone could view Connolly as anything other than one of the best players of his generation. Brogan is far better than decent. By the way, one of the reasons Brogan wil definitely be there in 10 years time is because more people will remember him better than Canavan or other players from the 80's 90's. Sure Matt Connor is easily the best forward of the past 40 years but he didn't top this one and will probably slip down the list as the years pass by.

I didn't enter a top ten as I couldn't really decide who would be in it and it's very hard to objectively compare current players with those from the past. While the likes of Brogan may benefit from being current, many past players benefit from being remembered for their best days rather than the days the couldn't hit a barn door or get a ball off some sticky corner back.

[Syferus]

Connolly is the best player in Ireland. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I'm at a loss to see how anyone could view Connolly as anything other than one of the best players of his generation. Brogan is far better than decent. By the way, one of the reasons Brogan wil definitely be there in 10 years time is because more people will remember him better than Canavan or other players from the 80's 90's. Sure Matt Connor is easily the best forward of the past 40 years but he didn't top this one and will probably slip down the list as the years pass by.

I didn't enter a top ten as I couldn't really decide who would be in it and it's very hard to objectively compare current players with those from the past. While the likes of Brogan may benefit from being current, many past players benefit from being remembered for their best days rather than the days the couldn't hit a barn door or get a ball off some sticky corner back.

..like Connolly every time he faces Keegan.

[Zulu]

What's your point? Having one of the best footballers in Ireland designated to mark you every time you play is proof positive of the quality of Connolly. I don't imagine Mayo management assign their best player to man mark Connolly because he's overrated.