Gooch Retires

[Maiden1]

All Ireland final record.  Win or lose he was always consistent.

2011 C Cooper 1-3
2009 C Cooper 0-6
2008 C Cooper 1-5
2007 C Cooper 0-6
2006 C Cooper 1-2
2005 C Cooper 0-5
2004 C Cooper 1-5

[Il Bomber Destro]

Look at the finals Kerry won and lost over that period. All close games were lost!

Wind-up of the week.

Well played Colm Cooper - one of the best I've seen.

Don't believe that Gooch hid in big games, however, this statement is pretty close to the truth. Outside of the 2014 final when Durkan handed the game to them Kerry haven't won a close final since the 90s.

... or in other words, Kerry, when they don't win, lose only narrowly.

..........or in other words they lose tight games.

OK. I understand. They'd be a better team if they lost by more.

No they'd be better if they won even one tight final.

OK. I'm getting the hang of it. Winning by a lot is a sign of a bad team.

Sad to see a Meath man existing through other counties. Maybe they'll annex you if you keep on pleading.

[Never beat the deeler]

All Ireland final record.  Win or lose he was always consistent.

2011 C Cooper 1-3
2009 C Cooper 0-6
2008 C Cooper 1-5
2007 C Cooper 0-6
2006 C Cooper 1-2
2005 C Cooper 0-5
2004 C Cooper 1-5

Didn't he play in 02 and score 1 or 2 points?
And held scoreless against Dublin in 15?

Still a fantastic record, over 5point average across 9 finals, only drops to 4.7-4.8 across 11 if you include club finals

[David McKeown]

Fantastic footballer and a joy to watch. Interestingly Ronan Clarke and he made his debut the same year possibly even on the same day. Clarke won Young player of the year that year whilst Gooch won an all star. Pity about Clarkes injuries or that would have been a great battle to watch over the years.

[lenny]

Look at the finals Kerry won and lost over that period. All close games were lost!

Wind-up of the week.

Well played Colm Cooper - one of the best I've seen.

Don't believe that Gooch hid in big games, however, this statement is pretty close to the truth. Outside of the 2014 final when Durkan handed the game to them Kerry haven't won a close final since the 90s.

... or in other words, Kerry, when they don't win, lose only narrowly.

..........or in other words they lose tight games.

OK. I understand. They'd be a better team if they lost by more.

No they'd be better if they won even one tight final.

OK. I'm getting the hang of it. Winning by a lot is a sign of a bad team.

Love it Hardy, you've totally destroyed that argument.

[The Stallion]

Fantastic footballer and a joy to watch. Interestingly Ronan Clarke and he made his debut the same year possibly even on the same day. Clarke won Young player of the year that year whilst Gooch won an all star. Pity about Clarkes injuries or that would have been a great battle to watch over the years.

Clarke was a good young player but not in the same League as Cooper.

[Walter Cronc]

Fantastic footballer and a joy to watch. Interestingly Ronan Clarke and he made his debut the same year possibly even on the same day. Clarke won Young player of the year that year whilst Gooch won an all star. Pity about Clarkes injuries or that would have been a great battle to watch over the years.

Clarke was a good young player but not in the same League as Cooper.

Battle? No disrespect to Clarke but not even on the same planet!

[magpie seanie]

Can't believe Martin Breheny had Maurice Fitz so low on his list. I didn't agree with a lot of it.

[Rossfan]

Martin Breheny. Nuff said

[Maiden1]

All Ireland final record.  Win or lose he was always consistent.

2011 C Cooper 1-3
2009 C Cooper 0-6
2008 C Cooper 1-5
2007 C Cooper 0-6
2006 C Cooper 1-2
2005 C Cooper 0-5
2004 C Cooper 1-5

Didn't he play in 02 and score 1 or 2 points?
And held scoreless against Dublin in 15?

Still a fantastic record, over 5point average across 9 finals, only drops to 4.7-4.8 across 11 if you include club finals

Yeah I think he scored 0-2 in 02.  He was only 19 at the time.  I might be being a bit unfair but I don't think he was quite the same player after the injury in 14.  Still a very good player with his quick brain but just about markable.  Dublin exploited that he couldn't get up and down the pitch like he once could by putting Philly McMahon on him and had McMahon doing full pace sprints up and down the pitch for the whole game until Gooch eventually ran out of steam.

[galwayman]

Can't believe Martin Breheny had Maurice Fitz so low on his list. I didn't agree with a lot of it.

f**king Breheny.
All he does is spent his time compiling lists and quoting statistics.
His articles are a joke

[Jinxy]

Who'd be in your top 5 GAA reporters (not columnists)?
For me, it's the following:
Kieran Shannon.
Malachy Clerkin.
Vincent Hogan.
Sean Moran.
Wooly Parkinson.

[omagh_gael]

Look at the finals Kerry won and lost over that period. All close games were lost!

Wind-up of the week.

Well played Colm Cooper - one of the best I've seen.

Don't believe that Gooch hid in big games, however, this statement is pretty close to the truth. Outside of the 2014 final when Durkan handed the game to them Kerry haven't won a close final since the 90s.

... or in other words, Kerry, when they don't win, lose only narrowly.

..........or in other words they lose tight games.

OK. I understand. They'd be a better team if they lost by more.

No they'd be better if they won even one tight final.

OK. I'm getting the hang of it. Winning by a lot is a sign of a bad team.

Love it Hardy, you've totally destroyed that argument.

Yes Hardy, the games they lost were by small margins and that's a testament to how good they were. However, there is a strong argument that whenever they met their biggest rivals (Tyrone 00s and Dublin in the 10s) they invariably lost on the biggest days.

The finals they won since Gooch came on the scene:

2 x Mayo
2  x Cork
1 x Donegal (Durcan mistake being the decisive moment)

Finals they lost:

Tyrone x 2
Dublin x 2
Armagh x1

I think it's fair to say that Tyrone and Kerry were the standout teams from the 00s and Dublin hold that mantle in the '10s and Kerry win record in the biggest occasions was 0%. Of course, their biggest achievement is being consistently in the finals but that's an argument for another day.

[Syferus]

Ian Cooney
Seamus Duke
Eamonn Sweeney
Paul Healy
Ciara McCaughley

[David McKeown]

Fantastic footballer and a joy to watch. Interestingly Ronan Clarke and he made his debut the same year possibly even on the same day. Clarke won Young player of the year that year whilst Gooch won an all star. Pity about Clarkes injuries or that would have been a great battle to watch over the years.

Clarke was a good young player but not in the same League as Cooper.

Battle? No disrespect to Clarke but not even on the same planet!

Oh I completely agree. Clarkes injuries ruined any chance he had of getting to the level that Cooper achieved.  The point I was badly trying to make was that Clarke was considered his level if not better in 02 when they both started. It would have been great had they both stayed injury free from then on. As it was the Gooch for me went on to be the finest player of his generation whilst Clarke will not really be remembered outside of Armagh.