We need to talk about Diarmuid

[Gael85]

http://www.hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=276161
Dublin SHC: Connolly sees red for Vin's as Con nets again for Cuala
Misunderstood child!!

Were you at the game? Heard Fergal Whitely had a great for Crokes.

[nrico2006]

For natural talent, Diarmuid is as good as I have seen and I'm going back as far as Mikey Sheehy and Matt Connors when I say this but I'd hesitate calling him one of the greatest.
He was an absolute sensation when he came on the Dublin team. He was at least as good as the young Clifford fella , the Kerry minor, but it soon became obvious that his temperament was flaky.
If h got away to a good start, he could shoot the lights out but if he was beaten to the first couple of balls or if he missed with his early shots at goal, he was off the boil for the remainder of the game.
Opposition players would set out to rattle him and, more often than not, they would succeed. A couple of dirty tackles and he'd start losing the rag. I think you need more than pure talent alone to qualify as a great player. You'd need leadership qualities where a good player would raise his game when the going became tough and inspire the others around him. GIven his notorious temper, I'd say his mates were afraid he'd get put off and he certainly did not inspire anybody, except maybe the opposition.
I'm being serious here. I once heard a radio commentator comparing him to a lighthouse in a bog: brilliant but useless.
It was obvious as time went on that the management were taking steps to help him get his temper under control and  most of the time they succeeded but I'd say all club and county managers since he started playing feel a bit uneasy, especially if he gets rattled at an early stage of the game when he hasn't settled down yet.

Good post but can't agree with him being as good as Clifford at the same age.  Additionally he doesn't score enough in the big games.

[Lar Naparka]

For natural talent, Diarmuid is as good as I have seen and I'm going back as far as Mikey Sheehy and Matt Connors when I say this but I'd hesitate calling him one of the greatest.
He was an absolute sensation when he came on the Dublin team. He was at least as good as the young Clifford fella , the Kerry minor, but it soon became obvious that his temperament was flaky.
If h got away to a good start, he could shoot the lights out but if he was beaten to the first couple of balls or if he missed with his early shots at goal, he was off the boil for the remainder of the game.
Opposition players would set out to rattle him and, more often than not, they would succeed. A couple of dirty tackles and he'd start losing the rag. I think you need more than pure talent alone to qualify as a great player. You'd need leadership qualities where a good player would raise his game when the going became tough and inspire the others around him. GIven his notorious temper, I'd say his mates were afraid he'd get put off and he certainly did not inspire anybody, except maybe the opposition.
I'm being serious here. I once heard a radio commentator comparing him to a lighthouse in a bog: brilliant but useless.
It was obvious as time went on that the management were taking steps to help him get his temper under control and  most of the time they succeeded but I'd say all club and county managers since he started playing feel a bit uneasy, especially if he gets rattled at an early stage of the game when he hasn't settled down yet.

Good post but can't agree with him being as good as Clifford at the same age.  Additionally he doesn't score enough in the big games.

To be fair to Diarmuid here, I never saw him play underage football of any sort before he played for the county. So you really can't compare like for like. Clifford hasn't played senior yet so we'll have to wait and see what will happen when Lee Keegan or Philly McMahon picks him up on their radars.

[Beffs]

DC basically won the AI for Dublin in that last move when it mattered most. He took the game by the scruff got the free  that won it

Given his court appearance and his reaction to provocation on the litch he will never be  loved by any non Dub but he is one of if not the best player currently playing the game and certainly the most talented

All time great...yes he is...main man on a team that has won 4 all Irelands.

He is in his hole. Going into this years final, he wouldn't even make my list of the top 5 players that have made the biggest contributions to Dublins All Ireland medal haul. He'd be doing well to make the top 10. Philly McMahon, Kev Mc, Bernard Brogan, Cian O'Sullivan, James McCarthey and Michael Daragh McAuley have all made bigger contributions in AI finals and semi finals than Connolly has. None of them are as physically talented as him maybe, but that is a different argument entirely. Can you really say that he has more made more of an contribution than all  of those Dublin players have? Think about that for a sec.

[Wildweasel74]

He got the best roasting i ever seen from Mckeigue of Slaughtneil scoring 4 points from play off him last year in the club semi

[Orchard park]

The dubs think that was the Rossie refs fault

[Syferus]

The dubs think that was the Rossie refs fault

The Duba also think Croke Park is a neutral venue.

[TheGreatest]

1. I don't think hateful comments on this forum are the barometer to classify Connolly's greatness.
2. With 5 All Irelands, 4 Leagues , 10 Leinsters.. 2 club all Irelands. 4 club Leinsters and 4 Dublin club championships, 2 All Stars and 1 under 21 hurlingLeinster. He is an all time great.
3. Can have bad games, like all great players, specially man marked, sometimes by 2 players. Gooch vrs McMahon springs to mind.
4. He has done some spectacular things on the pitch over the years, the All Ireland Club final when he scored 2-06 springs to mind.
5. People just say he isn't because they don't like him and hes a dub but history will remember him as being one of the great players of the modern era.

[Wildweasel74]

Hes very good but in short i pick Cooper; Fitzgerald; Canavan; M Connor;  in front if him and a number if others level with him: If it down to half forwards only then u looking at him been level with Giles; Donnellan etc:

[westbound]

1. I don't think hateful comments on this forum are the barometer to classify Connolly's greatness.
2. With 5 All Irelands, 4 Leagues , 10 Leinsters.. 2 club all Irelands. 4 club Leinsters and 4 Dublin club championships, 2 All Stars and 1 under 21 hurlingLeinster. He is an all time great.
3. Can have bad games, like all great players, specially man marked, sometimes by 2 players. Gooch vrs McMahon springs to mind.
4. He has done some spectacular things on the pitch over the years, the All Ireland Club final when he scored 2-06 springs to mind.
5. People just say he isn't because they don't like him and hes a dub but history will remember him as being one of the great players of the modern era.

You are being very blinkered with the comment in bold.
Lots of fair minded people (I would consider myself one!) don't think he is an all time great for football reasons. I've never met the man so I don't know if I like him or not. I'm basing my opinion on what I've seen on the football pitch.

As I've said already, it's only my opinion. You are entitled to your's as well. But saying that people don't rate him because he is from Dublin is just plain wrong.

[TheGreatest]

1. I don't think hateful comments on this forum are the barometer to classify Connolly's greatness.
2. With 5 All Irelands, 4 Leagues , 10 Leinsters.. 2 club all Irelands. 4 club Leinsters and 4 Dublin club championships, 2 All Stars and 1 under 21 hurlingLeinster. He is an all time great.
3. Can have bad games, like all great players, specially man marked, sometimes by 2 players. Gooch vrs McMahon springs to mind.
4. He has done some spectacular things on the pitch over the years, the All Ireland Club final when he scored 2-06 springs to mind.
5. People just say he isn't because they don't like him and hes a dub but history will remember him as being one of the great players of the modern era.

You are being very blinkered with the comment in bold.
Lots of fair minded people (I would consider myself one!) don't think he is an all time great for football reasons. I've never met the man so I don't know if I like him or not. I'm basing my opinion on what I've seen on the football pitch.

As I've said already, it's only my opinion. You are entitled to your's as well. But saying that people don't rate him because he is from Dublin is just plain wrong.

Don't think so, if you monitored this site and others over the last few years, a lot of it is ill will negative type comments. Some, not all, cant bring themselves to say he is a good player or great player because of 1. Dub. 2. Temper. 3. Dub fans. Outside of forums there is genuine recognition that he is a brilliant football and one of the most skilful to play the game.

Fact is, they will probably laochra gael him in a few years.

[westbound]

1. I don't think hateful comments on this forum are the barometer to classify Connolly's greatness.
2. With 5 All Irelands, 4 Leagues , 10 Leinsters.. 2 club all Irelands. 4 club Leinsters and 4 Dublin club championships, 2 All Stars and 1 under 21 hurlingLeinster. He is an all time great.
3. Can have bad games, like all great players, specially man marked, sometimes by 2 players. Gooch vrs McMahon springs to mind.
4. He has done some spectacular things on the pitch over the years, the All Ireland Club final when he scored 2-06 springs to mind.
5. People just say he isn't because they don't like him and hes a dub but history will remember him as being one of the great players of the modern era.

You are being very blinkered with the comment in bold.
Lots of fair minded people (I would consider myself one!) don't think he is an all time great for football reasons. I've never met the man so I don't know if I like him or not. I'm basing my opinion on what I've seen on the football pitch.

As I've said already, it's only my opinion. You are entitled to your's as well. But saying that people don't rate him because he is from Dublin is just plain wrong.

Don't think so, if you monitored this site and others over the last few years, a lot of it is ill will negative type comments. Some, not all, cant bring themselves to say he is a good player or great player because of 1. Dub. 2. Temper. 3. Dub fans. Outside of forums there is genuine recognition that he is a brilliant football and one of the most skilful to play the game.

Fact is, they will probably laochra gael him in a few years.

Point 2 (temper) is relevant to the debate as to whether he is a great or not. Points 1 and 3 are irrelevant.

[TheGreatest]

This guy makes really good compilations videos of players, so many good ones over the years.

Here is Connolly's. https://www.facebook.com/pg/mauricewalshphotography/videos/?ref=page_internal

So other very good ones on his page.

[Syferus]

Have ye not cottoned onto the fact TheGreatest is a troll account yet?

[TheGreatest]

Have ye not cottoned onto the fact TheGreatest is a troll account yet?

No they haven't.......

Its not trolling when you state facts. I just don't go along with the narrative of the forum which is quite clear what certain posters narrative is. The above post is not trolling, just stating facts.