Who do you think has been Down's greatest ever player?
I know there will be the responses of Sean O'Neill and the likes but many people has forgot about the brilliance of Austin in the centre of the field. He was a complete unsong hero and imo never got the praise he fully deserved. He was a fantastic fielder of the ball and had a sweet right boot on him too. Just my opinion though.
Quote from: downboy2011 on December 08, 2011, 10:01:47 AM
Who do you think has been Down's greatest ever player?
I know there will be the responses of Sean O'Neill and the likes but many people has forgot about the brilliance of Austin in the centre of the field. He was a complete unsong hero and imo never got the praise he fully deserved. He was a fantastic fielder of the ball and had a sweet right boot on him too. Just my opinion though.
Uncle Liam? :D
Shane Mulholland. No question.
What happened the other thread Tadgh?
just my opinion, dont think he got the credit he deserved for the job he did
Quote from: sheamy on December 08, 2011, 10:05:50 AM
Shane Mulholland. No question.
What happened the other thread Tadgh?
He did a Spartacus on himself!!!
everyone going off topic here, just wondering who you think is downs greatest ever player?
Shorty Treanor!
Quote from: downboy2011 on December 08, 2011, 10:10:45 AM
everyone going off topic here, just wondering who you think is downs greatest ever player?
Val Kane
Quote from: sheamy on December 08, 2011, 10:16:48 AM
Quote from: downboy2011 on December 08, 2011, 10:10:45 AM
everyone going off topic here, just wondering who you think is downs greatest ever player?
Val Kane
;D, I reckon its Pat Donnan, best keeper ever.
Liam austin as Down's best ever player is a joke. He was certainly under-rated in Down but very much over-rated outside the county. Austin was a great servant and a very good fielder. He was a quality player and would make the squad for any of our All-Ireland teams. He would probably have been enough to make the defeat in 2010 into a victory.
But as the best player in our history he doesn't stand much chance when compared to Sean O'Neill, Paddy Doherty, Greg Blaney, Micky Linden, James McCartan(s), Colm McAlarney, Benny Coulter.......
Most would say Sean O'Neill, but I never saw him play (I only remember about 25 years back). So for me the best Down player I ever saw play was Greg Blaney. It's easy to look at high points scorers like Micky and Wee James and marvel at their skills but Blaney had a total footballing brain and was the reason these guys shone so brightly. I believe that any football team from any county in the last 25 years would have started him.
Ronan Murtagh
just watch back the tapes of austin in his hayday. Man was pure quality. Saw his son play in a minor county final recently too, has all his das qualities, was a class act on the day. Definately one for the future
Liam Austin? Great servant. But I'd take Barry Breen, Ambrose Rogers Jnr, Dan Gordon, Eamon Burns, Conor Deegan, Greg McCartan and Dougie Sheerin ahead of him, in midfield alone, in my time watching Down.
One of the above may not necessarily be true.
I can't comment on anyone pre-1985 or so, and in reality anyone pre-1990 would mostly be me misty-eyed.
1. Mickey McVeigh
2. Paul Higgins
3. Conor Deegan
4. Miceal Magil
5. Brendan McGovern
6. Barry Breen
7. DJ Kane
8. Greg McCartan
9. Dan Gordon
10. Ross Carr
11. Greg Blaney
12. Marty Clarke
13. Mickey Linden
14. Benny Coulter
15. James McCartan
Brendan McVeigh, Brendan Mason, Gary Mason, Brian Burns, Shane Mulholland, Ambrose Jnr and Ambrose Snr would all be close.
Quote from: brokencrossbar1 on December 08, 2011, 10:04:10 AM
Quote from: downboy2011 on December 08, 2011, 10:01:47 AM
Who do you think has been Down's greatest ever player?
I know there will be the responses of Sean O'Neill and the likes but many people has forgot about the brilliance of Austin in the centre of the field. He was a complete unsong hero and imo never got the praise he fully deserved. He was a fantastic fielder of the ball and had a sweet right boot on him too. Just my opinion though.
Uncle Liam? :D
Very much so, Jackie.
From what I have seen (limited as it is) Mickey Linden by a country mile.
mickey and liam both carried themselves well off the pitch too
Mickey Linden, no question. Greg Blaney second.
Greg Blaney first.
There is no second.
It's hard for me to look past Mickey Linden too. He was one of the best players to ever play the game imo. To shine for as long as he did, winning everything that he did, with both club and county. If you look back at what he has won, its some haul. Started his Down career when he was 17, and ended it when he was 35( ???). Amazing. And such a gentleman too.
Is there really a need for two separate threads on this? Mickey Linden my first ever hero without a doubt best player ever seen in the flesh.
Micky was closer to 40 when he retired! Does anyone remember the reception he got when coming on v Fermanagh during POR's tenure - legend!
For quality (nationally accepted) and longevity AND quality with longevity - it has to be Micky Linden!
ps Sheamy you are some wind up merchant ;)
Quote from: EagleLord on December 08, 2011, 11:54:06 AM
It's hard for me to look past Mickey Linden too. He was one of the best players to ever play the game imo. To shine for as long as he did, winning everything that he did, with both club and county. If you look back at what he has won, its some haul. Started his Down career when he was 17, and ended it when he was 35( ???). Amazing. And such a gentleman too.
Think he was even older than that but could be wrong. Just going back to original post its very rare u hear of someone having a sweet "Right" boot. :)
Mickey Linden by far!
he played reserves for Mayobridge last season and they won the Reserve league and championship.
His left foot wasn't that bad either. From my own memeories 1990 onwards I'd say Linden but Blayney was quality too, the catalyst of a lethal forward line in the early 90s.
The old man raves on about Sean O'Neill and Paddy Doherty.
Although there have been conflicting posts about Mickey Linden's age, he was a minor in 1981, made his senior championship debut in 1982 aged 19 and played until the Ulster final of 2003 when he had turned 40. It is highly unlikely that we will see a USC outfield career of such duration again.
Linden would be on the short-list for the best Down player of all time, probably together with O'Neill, Doherty, Blaney and the McCartans senior and junior.
I would not argue much with Wobbler's best 15 of the last 25 years, other than to suggest that Ambrose senior, for his overall contribution, might edge out Marty Clarke, who has only featured for the last two years and may not be back.
Always remember a man talking about Austin playing Mc Crory cup football . One perticular player was a good bit younger than him and was given the job of marking him , he was worried about it and asked his manager how he was going to out catch him with the massive height differene . He was promtly told dont worry about trying to out catch him he will always win but dont worry when he lands he will give it back to us as he cant kick . As for the best we had some greats with the majority of them mentioned before but for bravery and class Blaney would be hard to make . In reality he made the full forward line tick only for him who knows . As for the wobblers post he did mention one man who defintely could not be mentioned in the same light as all of his other mentioned names
for me it has to be mickey linden followed by greg blaney and then benny coulter.
Have to disagree with me oul mate Wobbs about Deegan at full back...we have had at least 3 better fullbacks than Conor....he was a good one ok but not in the same class as Tommy McGovern. I would have Mark Turley and Paddy Kennedy in front of Deegan as well. Don't even mention the lads from the 60s like Leo Murphy, Patsy O'Hagan and Dan McCartan who I don't remember.
Brendan McGovern abd DJ need to switch wings on wobblers team..wouldnt be mine but not bad for the period.
Based on what I have seen and read the shortlist would probably be:
Tom O'Hare
Greg Blaney
Paddy Doherty
Sean O'Neill
Mickey Linden
with Sean O'Neill winning.
A lock of aul hands that I know that have seen a brave bit of Down gah over the years would tell you that Sean O'Neill, Paddy 'Mo' Doherty and Greg Blaney were the three best Down players of the past 50 years.
On the goalkeeping front Id put forward Eddie McKay over Neil Collins and Mickey McVeigh.
From what a saw it would be Mickey Linden. A joy to watch and not many you watch can you say are a joy
All of the players on the 60/61 team were absolutely outstanding, of the later crop only Linden, Mason and Blaney would merit that description
I've been going to Down matches since 1958 and without a doubt the best Down player I've seen was Paddy Doherty followed by Sean O'Neil - However the best all-around Down player in that time was Patsy O'Hagan, who lined out for Down at some time in every position except for goalkeeper
So this really a split question - Who is the best Down player ever? And secondly (because most of us are too young to have seen the teams of the 60's) Who is the best Down player of the last 25 years.
From what I see from the posts here the first question pretty much answered as one of O'Neill, Doherty, Blaney & Linden. With the second clearly being Blaney or Linden.
If I could be equivocal and suggest that we just say that we have four outstanding candidates, each with differing merits. It isn't really possible to say any one was definately better than the other and nof fair on teh others to place one ahead of them. I would say we have four players there all of whom could be considered our best ever player and all of whom are roughly equal in talant and contribution
I think most Meath men would say either Linden or Blaney. 1991 still hurts 20 years on. I remember all the talk around the county was that we would be facing Kerry if we got to the final and we were saying that since they beat Cork in Munster that year. Remember we were only young lads but we were convinced no one could beat us that year except Cork or whoever could beat them.
But I wouldn't say there was any dismissal of Down before the final. They just seemed like a bit of an unknown entity after all the familiar battles with Dublin and Cork. However they came out of the traps on the day and were almost out of site by half time if I'm not mistaken. Linden, Blaney and Kane were all on fine form that day if I can remember correctly. We were completely outplayed for most of the game. Without Stafford to steady things we'd have been totally beat.
While a jaded Colm O'Rourke nearly got us back into it he probably wasn't able for 70mins but thats all talk now.
My memory of 91 was that Meath made a good start and Flynn looked particularly dangerous. Then we got back into it with a few frees by Mason and a fantastic team score finished off by Eamon Burns. Wee James started causing a lot of bother for the meath backs, particularly in the 2nd and 3rd quarters in which Down won the game. At one stage we were 11 up. Then Meath clawed there way back with Flynn as dangerous as ever and Stafford deadly from frees.
It was a great game of football. Blayney IMHO was instrumental, he was involved in almost every single Down score, although wee James got MOTM, the Meath defence simply couldn't handle him.
If there were another 5 minutes played in that game I dread to think how it would have ended up. I have the whole 70 mins on DVD, if anyone would like to borrow it feel free to PM me, fantatstc viewing.
Quote from: PAULD123 on December 09, 2011, 09:06:35 AM
So this really a split question - Who is the best Down player ever? And secondly (because most of us are too young to have seen the teams of the 60's) Who is the best Down player of the last 25 years.
From what I see from the posts here the first question pretty much answered as one of O'Neill, Doherty, Blaney & Linden. With the second clearly being Blaney or Linden.
If I could be equivocal and suggest that we just say that we have four outstanding candidates, each with differing merits. It isn't really possible to say any one was definately better than the other and nof fair on teh others to place one ahead of them. I would say we have four players there all of whom could be considered our best ever player and all of whom are roughly equal in talant and contribution
This is a valid point, for most of us that didnt see the likes of o'neill, paddy mo and james snr it is very hard to judge how the 90's players compared with them.
On the Linden/Blaney debate it is very hard to seperate them but i would just give it to Blaney on the basis that i have never seen him have a quiet game. I have on the odd occasion seen Mickey been kept quiet partly due to the ball not coming into him and partly because he was well marked. One of the all time greats all the same but Greg gets the vote from me.
Quote
"I have on the odd occasion seen Mickey been kept quiet partly due to the ball not coming into him and partly because he was well marked."
That's probably cause Blaney wasn't playing :-\
No harm to youse boys, but does this thread not belong in the Down section?
:) :)
I have been watching Down from a distance for many years and agree with the consensus that Sean O'Neill, Paddy Doherty, Greg Blaney and Mickey Linden are the main contenders. All 4 were great players, but IMO Sean O'Neill was No. 1.
Quote from: downboy2011 on December 08, 2011, 10:01:47 AM
Who do you think has been Down's greatest ever player?
I know there will be the responses of Sean O'Neill and the likes but many people has forgot about the brilliance of Austin in the centre of the field. He was a complete unsong hero and imo never got the praise he fully deserved. He was a fantastic fielder of the ball and had a sweet right boot on him too. Just my opinion though.
He wasn't always on song. ;)
I am not from Down, but I am surprised that Colm McAlarney (apologies if I spelt the name wrong) does not figure prominently in the discussion. He was one hell of a player.
should greg blaney not have been playing for armagh? ;)
Thought blaney was a fantastic player, and mickey linden on his day unstoppable. To young to have seen paddy doc but my father always said he was the best footballer he had ever seen, with the exception of John mcgarry of course.
S O'N was probably the best, but Paddy Doherty had a Canavanesque mystique about him. Always liked McAlarney and Joe Lennon, as well as a lorryload of fellas called MacCartan.
re: other thread. M O'Hehir made them superhuman
According to legend the best Down footballer ever was someone none of us on this forum ever saw playing. No less a personage than Michael O Hehir described him as the greatest gaelic footballer ever. His name was Dan Lavery and he apparently hailed from Ballynahinch. Anyone ever hear off him, i often heard real old-timers talking about him
If Down have produced a better player than Paddy Doherty I have yet to see him.
In my experience following the Down teams from 1960 era , these are my selection of fine players who play for Down Senior Football team.
1. Neil Collins, Carryduff
2. Tommy McGovern, Burren
3. Leo Murphy, Lisnarcree
4. Tom O'Hare, Mayobridge
5. Cathal Digney, Saval
6. Dan McCartan, Glenn
7. Joe Lennon, Aghaderg
8. Colm McAlarney, Liatroim
9. Jarlath Carey, Dundrum
10. Ambrose Rodgers, (Sen) Longstone
11. Greg Blaney, Carryduff
12. Paddy Doherty, Ballykinlar
13. Mickey Linden, Mayobridge
14. Sean O'Neill, Newry Mitchels
15. Benny Coulter, Mayobridge
My second selection
1.Micheal McVeigh
2.Brendan Sloan, Atticall
3.Conor Deegan, Downpatrick
4. Barry Breen, Downpatrick
5. Pasty O'Hagan, Clonduff
6. Paddy O'Rourke, Burren
7. DJ Kane, Newry Shamrocks
8. Liam Austin, Rostrevor
9. Brendan Toner, Castlewellan
10. Ross Carr, Clonduff
11. James McCartan, (Sen) Glenn
12. James McCartan (jun), Tullylish
13. Peter Rooney, Warrenpoint,
14. John McCartan, Glenn
15. Martin Clarke An Riocht.
Others players who have also played well.
Geogre Lavery, Kilwarlin
Pat Rice, Castlewellan,
Kevin Mussen, Clonduff
Tony Hadden, Newry Shamrocks
Breen Morgan, Annaclone
Willie Doyle, Liatroim
James Milligan, Ardglass
Micheal Cole, Rostrevor
Micheal Cunningham, Bryansford
Cecil Ward, Bryansford
Adrain McAuilfield, St Michael
Mark Turley, Glenn
Paddy Kennedy, Glenn
Brendan McGovern, Burren
Jim McCartan, Glenn
Donal Bell, Tecounnagh
Brendan Mason, Loughinisland
Paul Higgins, Ballymartin
Gregory McCartan, Ballymartin
Eamon Burns Bryansford.
Gary Mason. Loughinisland
Brendan McVeigh, An Riocht
Dan Gordon, Loughinisland.
Daniel Hughes, Saval
Best match
1994 in Celtic Park Derry, Down v Derry in Ulster Championship
Best individual performance
Tom O'Hare, Mayobridge in 1968 All Ireland Semi-final against great Galway side who have won three in row 64,65 and 66.
Top Ten players
1. Sean O'Neill
2. Tom O'Hare
3. Colm McAlarnery
4. Paddy Doherty
5. Mickey Linden
6. Greg Blaney
7. Benny Coulter
8. Leo Murphy
9. Tommy McGovern
10. Joe Lennon
Best Down Club Player
Shorty Treanor Burren,
never made any impact on Down Senior team., should have been good enough for Down on 91 and 94 teams.
Best Manager, Peter McGrath, Rostrevor.
Dalsey Mooney Clonduff and Brian Conlon, Newry Mitchels were brilliant young players and they could have been really outstanding players of all time for Down but they had to retired early due to serious injuries.
Quote from: DandyMan on December 11, 2011, 10:35:09 AM
I am not from Down, but I am surprised that Colm McAlarney (apologies if I spelt the name wrong) does not figure prominently in the discussion. He was one hell of a player.
Same here. I remember him in an A-I semi (against the Dubs?) in the seventies and he was absolutely unbelievable. Pains me to say it as an Armagh man but many greats from the Mourne county over the last 35 years (my era) but a S O'Neill of Down is always mentioned when the greatest of all time are brought up. Never saw him play but apparently he was 100% the finishede article.
i would go withe sean o neill followed with mickey linden and greg blaney