Barry Owens has hung them up. He was some servant to Fermanagh. Came through the pain barrier on more than a good few occasions and gave all he had to the cause.
He doesn't owe Fermanagh a thing.
Such a player.
I honestly doubt there's been a better full back in the history of the game.
Best wishes on your retirement. A great servant of Fermanagh over the years.
Quote from: thewobbler on June 25, 2014, 02:00:09 PM
Such a player.
I honestly doubt there's been a better full back in the history of the game.
Are you for real?
Absolutely. He was completely peerless there in the early noughties, before injuries took their toll and he ended up playing everywhere else.
The best full backs ever lists tend to be quite short, and someone like Mick Lyons will make it on reputation as much as ability. I'd have Owens marginally ahead of Fay as the best I've seen (and then there's a very considerable gap).
Id agree with Wobbler there was a 5/6 year period were he was consistently 8/10 every game he played. He played with such enthusiasm he made you want Fermanagh to win. Huge loss to Fermanagh, a fantastic player, at the peak of his powers he was as good as any full back.
one of the true greats.
Completely agree, a serious brute of a man and serious full back, the equal of any you care to mention
An absolute legend in my opinion. Bull of a man.
2 time all star. The best full back i have ever seen ( and also not a bad full forward).
Will never forget his performance against Derry in the Ulster semi final in 08.
Gave everything to the county and stuck at it when it would have been easier to walk away.
Will be missed and impossible to replace.
Fantastic player and the tributes are well earned. Very unfortunate not to have won championship silverware as he should have in 2008, but the standout fullback of the last decade.
Great player, best of luck to him
Quote from: FermGael on June 25, 2014, 02:31:15 PM
Will never forget his performance against Derry in the Ulster semi final in 08.
That was the game that came to mind when I opened the thread.. He was immense, jaysus he wore his heart on his sleeve when it came to Fermanagh football. Excellent player..
Quote from: thewobbler on June 25, 2014, 02:00:09 PM
Such a player.
I honestly doubt there's been a better full back in the history of the game.
What a statement Wobbs. We have had 3 better full backs in Down alone in the last 30 years. Not to mention Lyons, O'Keeffe, the Doc, Shields. His ability was magnified by the fact that he was an All Star from a weaker county.
Great player and great servant to Fermanagh. When I first read Wobblers comment about him I chuckled a bit and thought that was a bit of hyperbole but the more I think about it, the more I understand what he means, as I can't think of too many better full backs in my lifetime.
Quote from: 5 Sams on June 25, 2014, 11:09:25 PM
Quote from: thewobbler on June 25, 2014, 02:00:09 PM
Such a player.
I honestly doubt there's been a better full back in the history of the game.
What a statement Wobbs. We have had 3 better full backs in Down alone in the last 30 years. Not to mention Lyons, O'Keeffe, the Doc, Shields. His ability was magnified by the fact that he was an All Star from a weaker county.
Those few years I have on you meant I never saw Paddy Kennedy play.
The other 2, I presume you mean Deegans and Burns? Two converted midfielders who got out of the FB position as soon as they could.
Best of luck to Barry in his retirement, he was an outstanding servant for his county.
And you Wobbler, calm down and stop making outrageous statements. :D
Quote from: 5 Sams on June 25, 2014, 11:09:25 PM
Quote from: thewobbler on June 25, 2014, 02:00:09 PM
Such a player.
I honestly doubt there's been a better full back in the history of the game.
What a statement Wobbs. We have had 3 better full backs in Down alone in the last 30 years. Not to mention Lyons, O'Keeffe, the Doc, Shields. His ability was magnified by the fact that he was an All Star from a weaker county.
No ye didn t and I ve seen every Down full-back these last 30 years. Get over yerselves.
Whatever about the best Owens was a fantastic player. The fact that he got 2 All-Stars for Fermanagh says it all. Another fantastic player from a weaker county like Eamonn O Hara only managed to be recognised once and I m sure others like Dessie Barry, Declan Browne, Kevin O Brien would not have fared any better.
I wish him all the best.
Quote from: moysider on June 25, 2014, 11:50:41 PM
Quote from: 5 Sams on June 25, 2014, 11:09:25 PM
Quote from: thewobbler on June 25, 2014, 02:00:09 PM
Such a player.
I honestly doubt there's been a better full back in the history of the game.
What a statement Wobbs. We have had 3 better full backs in Down alone in the last 30 years. Not to mention Lyons, O'Keeffe, the Doc, Shields. His ability was magnified by the fact that he was an All Star from a weaker county.
No ye didn t and I ve seen every Down full-back these last 30 years. Get over yerselves.
Whatever about the best Owens was a fantastic player. The fact that he got 2 All-Stars for Fermanagh says it all. Another fantastic player from a weaker county like Eamonn O Hara only managed to be recognised once and I m sure others like Dessie Barry, Declan Browne, Kevin O Brien would not have fared any better.
I wish him all the best.
Sure the ones that get one are the lucky ones. Seanie Mac hasn't got a sniff of one and has watched lesser corner-backs collect All-Stars for fun for the last decade. And what about poor Emlyn? Niall McNamee.. the list goes on.
Alongside McGinity as the best Fermanagh player in living memory.
Quote from: ONeill on June 26, 2014, 12:00:15 AM
Alongside McGinity as the best Fermanagh player in living memory.
Had a lot time for Marty McGrath as well.
Quote from: Syferus on June 25, 2014, 11:56:13 PM
Quote from: moysider on June 25, 2014, 11:50:41 PM
Quote from: 5 Sams on June 25, 2014, 11:09:25 PM
Quote from: thewobbler on June 25, 2014, 02:00:09 PM
Such a player.
I honestly doubt there's been a better full back in the history of the game.
What a statement Wobbs. We have had 3 better full backs in Down alone in the last 30 years. Not to mention Lyons, O'Keeffe, the Doc, Shields. His ability was magnified by the fact that he was an All Star from a weaker county.
No ye didn t and I ve seen every Down full-back these last 30 years. Get over yerselves.
Whatever about the best Owens was a fantastic player. The fact that he got 2 All-Stars for Fermanagh says it all. Another fantastic player from a weaker county like Eamonn O Hara only managed to be recognised once and I m sure others like Dessie Barry, Declan Browne, Kevin O Brien would not have fared any better.
I wish him all the best.
Sure the ones that get one are the lucky ones. Seanie Mac hasn't got a sniff of one and has watched lesser corner-backs collect All-Stars for fun for the last decade. And what about poor Emlyn? Niall McNamee.. the list goes on.
Surely you re not suggesting that he s from a weaker county :o :o :o :o
Alright Sy. this cannot be another thread that Ros and Mayo take over. You get one reply only.
Quote from: 5 Sams on June 25, 2014, 11:09:25 PM
Quote from: thewobbler on June 25, 2014, 02:00:09 PM
Such a player.
I honestly doubt there's been a better full back in the history of the game.
What a statement Wobbs. We have had 3 better full backs in Down alone in the last 30 years. Not to mention Lyons, O'Keeffe, the Doc, Shields. His ability was magnified by the fact that he was an All Star from a weaker county.
lols
Barry could have played in a dozen positions such was his versatility. I must confess to only having seen him half a dozen times, (apart from occasionally on TV) but on each of those occasions he was standout.
Id say he was the best full back of his era, and if he had been from one of the big footballing counties he would have won a sizeable collection of allstars.
He may be best remembered as a full back, but his memorable display for me was as a corner back in a championship game against Antrim in 2006. His positioning and man to man marking was perfect, within touching distance of his opponent from the first whistle. When the ball came in his timing was incredible in the tackle or block, and his no nonsense link up play to set defence into attack was top notch. It was so good I instructed my 12 year old son to study Barry Owens carefully, which he spend the rest of the game doing.
Barry Owens up there in my book with the very very best defenders I can ever remember.
Quote from: 5 Sams on June 25, 2014, 11:09:25 PM
Quote from: thewobbler on June 25, 2014, 02:00:09 PM
Such a player.
I honestly doubt there's been a better full back in the history of the game.
What a statement Wobbs. We have had 3 better full backs in Down alone in the last 30 years. Not to mention Lyons, O'Keeffe, the Doc, Shields. His ability was magnified by the fact that he was an All Star from a weaker county.
What is this drivel?
Owens in his pomp was a brilliant full back. In my opinion Owens and Fay are the two standout full backs since I've started watching football. Owens was as good as anyone I've seen under a high ball and his swashbuckling style was great to watch. Great to see him signing off with 1-1 at the weekend too (although the goal will be disputed!)
Exceptional full back in his prime
Quote from: thewobbler on June 25, 2014, 02:00:09 PM
I honestly doubt there's been a better full back in the history of the game.
Not the place to be in any way disparaging but that's way wide of the mark in my view
What I liked about him ,and I saw a lot of this kind of thing in Quigley on saturday too, was that everything was done so nonchalantly and he didn't look like the train 3 times a day kind of robot football tends to produce now. It was more just raw ability.
Quote from: DuffleKing on June 26, 2014, 11:21:27 AM
Exceptional full back in his prime
Quote from: thewobbler on June 25, 2014, 02:00:09 PM
I honestly doubt there's been a better full back in the history of the game.
Not the place to be in any way disparaging but that's way wide of the mark in my view
Obviously I disagree.
In my mind, the role of a full-back changed forever in 1990, once frees started to be kicked from hands. Before that, a full-back was a big sturdy man with great hands and a greater presence. His principle role was to commandeer dropping balls into the big square. Pace was optional. Man marking wasn't a major factor as most of the traffic came through an aerial bombardment. The ability to get a good block in was a bonus.
With the change to quick frees from hand, the role started to evolve to require sharper man-marking.
With football later evolving to regularly featuring two-man full-forward lines, the role of a full-back meant they have to be every bit as competent at corner-back play as a corner-back, but with better positional awareness. But they still needed to be strong under the high ball, as every once in a while Kieran Donaghy and co come along.
So the full-back is now a 6' 2" man with exceptional pace, brilliant hands, amazing doggedness, superb awareness, and the all-important presence. Basically a freak of nature.
That's why, in my time watching football (mostly from 1990 onwards), I can only think of a half-a-dozen genuinely top-class full-backs. Players who ticked all of those boxes. There's probably been 30+ exceptional corner-backs in that time, which shows (to me) how much more simpler that role is to fulfil.
There might have been wonderful full-backs in the 60s, 70s or 80s. I wasn't around then to gauge if they had the rest of the tools needed to be an exceptional full-backs in the noughties. My guess is that most actually did not have all the tools required. Barry Owens did, Darren Fay did. Hence why I doubt there's been a better full-back in the history of the game.
Owens struggled regularly with pace - most traditional full backs as they are termed did i guess.
For me the best full backs in my time watching county football, in no particular order, were (ulster bias) scullion, gallagher, lyons, fay, lockhart and Hanratty.
I don't put Owens in that class but just below with the likes of moynihan, McCarthy, McNulty (E), Lawn, Shields, etc. Probably not the thread for this debate in deference to Barry Owens
Quote from: thewobbler on June 26, 2014, 11:38:30 AM
Quote from: DuffleKing on June 26, 2014, 11:21:27 AM
Exceptional full back in his prime
Quote from: thewobbler on June 25, 2014, 02:00:09 PM
I honestly doubt there's been a better full back in the history of the game.
Not the place to be in any way disparaging but that's way wide of the mark in my view
Superb post.
Obviously I disagree.
In my mind, the role of a full-back changed forever in 1990, once frees started to be kicked from hands. Before that, a full-back was a big sturdy man with great hands and a greater presence. His principle role was to commandeer dropping balls into the big square. Pace was optional. Man marking wasn't a major factor as most of the traffic came through an aerial bombardment. The ability to get a good block in was a bonus.
With the change to quick frees from hand, the role started to evolve to require sharper man-marking.
With football later evolving to regularly featuring two-man full-forward lines, the role of a full-back meant they have to be every bit as competent at corner-back play as a corner-back, but with better positional awareness. But they still needed to be strong under the high ball, as every once in a while Kieran Donaghy and co come along.
So the full-back is now a 6' 2" man with exceptional pace, brilliant hands, amazing doggedness, superb awareness, and the all-important presence. Basically a freak of nature.
That's why, in my time watching football (mostly from 1990 onwards), I can only think of a half-a-dozen genuinely top-class full-backs. Players who ticked all of those boxes. There's probably been 30+ exceptional corner-backs in that time, which shows (to me) how much more simpler that role is to fulfil.
There might have been wonderful full-backs in the 60s, 70s or 80s. I wasn't around then to gauge if they had the rest of the tools needed to be an exceptional full-backs in the noughties. My guess is that most actually did not have all the tools required. Barry Owens did, Darren Fay did. Hence why I doubt there's been a better full-back in the history of the game.
Quote from: thewobbler on June 26, 2014, 11:38:30 AM
Quote from: DuffleKing on June 26, 2014, 11:21:27 AM
Exceptional full back in his prime
Quote from: thewobbler on June 25, 2014, 02:00:09 PM
I honestly doubt there's been a better full back in the history of the game.
Not the place to be in any way disparaging but that's way wide of the mark in my view
Obviously I disagree.
In my mind, the role of a full-back changed forever in 1990, once frees started to be kicked from hands. Before that, a full-back was a big sturdy man with great hands and a greater presence. His principle role was to commandeer dropping balls into the big square. Pace was optional. Man marking wasn't a major factor as most of the traffic came through an aerial bombardment. The ability to get a good block in was a bonus.
With the change to quick frees from hand, the role started to evolve to require sharper man-marking.
With football later evolving to regularly featuring two-man full-forward lines, the role of a full-back meant they have to be every bit as competent at corner-back play as a corner-back, but with better positional awareness. But they still needed to be strong under the high ball, as every once in a while Kieran Donaghy and co come along.
So the full-back is now a 6' 2" man with exceptional pace, brilliant hands, amazing doggedness, superb awareness, and the all-important presence. Basically a freak of nature.
That's why, in my time watching football (mostly from 1990 onwards), I can only think of a half-a-dozen genuinely top-class full-backs. Players who ticked all of those boxes. There's probably been 30+ exceptional corner-backs in that time, which shows (to me) how much more simpler that role is to fulfil.
There might have been wonderful full-backs in the 60s, 70s or 80s. I wasn't around then to gauge if they had the rest of the tools needed to be an exceptional full-backs in the noughties. My guess is that most actually did not have all the tools required. Barry Owens did, Darren Fay did. Hence why I doubt there's been a better full-back in the history of the game.
There has.
You just mentioned him there.
Quote from: Jinxy on June 27, 2014, 12:54:37 AM
Quote from: thewobbler on June 26, 2014, 11:38:30 AM
Quote from: DuffleKing on June 26, 2014, 11:21:27 AM
Exceptional full back in his prime
Quote from: thewobbler on June 25, 2014, 02:00:09 PM
I honestly doubt there's been a better full back in the history of the game.
Not the place to be in any way disparaging but that's way wide of the mark in my view
Obviously I disagree.
In my mind, the role of a full-back changed forever in 1990, once frees started to be kicked from hands. Before that, a full-back was a big sturdy man with great hands and a greater presence. His principle role was to commandeer dropping balls into the big square. Pace was optional. Man marking wasn't a major factor as most of the traffic came through an aerial bombardment. The ability to get a good block in was a bonus.
With the change to quick frees from hand, the role started to evolve to require sharper man-marking.
With football later evolving to regularly featuring two-man full-forward lines, the role of a full-back meant they have to be every bit as competent at corner-back play as a corner-back, but with better positional awareness. But they still needed to be strong under the high ball, as every once in a while Kieran Donaghy and co come along.
So the full-back is now a 6' 2" man with exceptional pace, brilliant hands, amazing doggedness, superb awareness, and the all-important presence. Basically a freak of nature.
That's why, in my time watching football (mostly from 1990 onwards), I can only think of a half-a-dozen genuinely top-class full-backs. Players who ticked all of those boxes. There's probably been 30+ exceptional corner-backs in that time, which shows (to me) how much more simpler that role is to fulfil.
There might have been wonderful full-backs in the 60s, 70s or 80s. I wasn't around then to gauge if they had the rest of the tools needed to be an exceptional full-backs in the noughties. My guess is that most actually did not have all the tools required. Barry Owens did, Darren Fay did. Hence why I doubt there's been a better full-back in the history of the game.
There has.
You just mentioned him there.
So that's why they call him Star..
Quote from: Syferus on June 27, 2014, 02:38:18 AM
Quote from: Jinxy on June 27, 2014, 12:54:37 AM
Quote from: thewobbler on June 26, 2014, 11:38:30 AM
Quote from: DuffleKing on June 26, 2014, 11:21:27 AM
Exceptional full back in his prime
Quote from: thewobbler on June 25, 2014, 02:00:09 PM
I honestly doubt there's been a better full back in the history of the game.
Not the place to be in any way disparaging but that's way wide of the mark in my view
Obviously I disagree.
In my mind, the role of a full-back changed forever in 1990, once frees started to be kicked from hands. Before that, a full-back was a big sturdy man with great hands and a greater presence. His principle role was to commandeer dropping balls into the big square. Pace was optional. Man marking wasn't a major factor as most of the traffic came through an aerial bombardment. The ability to get a good block in was a bonus.
With the change to quick frees from hand, the role started to evolve to require sharper man-marking.
With football later evolving to regularly featuring two-man full-forward lines, the role of a full-back meant they have to be every bit as competent at corner-back play as a corner-back, but with better positional awareness. But they still needed to be strong under the high ball, as every once in a while Kieran Donaghy and co come along.
So the full-back is now a 6' 2" man with exceptional pace, brilliant hands, amazing doggedness, superb awareness, and the all-important presence. Basically a freak of nature.
That's why, in my time watching football (mostly from 1990 onwards), I can only think of a half-a-dozen genuinely top-class full-backs. Players who ticked all of those boxes. There's probably been 30+ exceptional corner-backs in that time, which shows (to me) how much more simpler that role is to fulfil.
There might have been wonderful full-backs in the 60s, 70s or 80s. I wasn't around then to gauge if they had the rest of the tools needed to be an exceptional full-backs in the noughties. My guess is that most actually did not have all the tools required. Barry Owens did, Darren Fay did. Hence why I doubt there's been a better full-back in the history of the game.
There has.
You just mentioned him there.
So that's why they call him Star..
Well he can t mean the fella that was scalded by PJ in 2001.
Mark O'Reilly?
Quote from: thewobbler on June 25, 2014, 02:00:09 PM
Such a player.
I honestly doubt there's been a better full back in the history of the game.
It must be what he did post 2007 then.
http://gaaboard.com/board/index.php?topic=4410.msg147185#msg147185
Or maybe not:
Quote from: thewobbler on June 25, 2014, 02:09:51 PM
Absolutely. He was completely peerless there in the early noughties, before injuries took their toll and he ended up playing everywhere else.
The best full backs ever lists tend to be quite short, and someone like Mick Lyons will make it on reputation as much as ability. I'd have Owens marginally ahead of Fay as the best I've seen (and then there's a very considerable gap).
That's some might fine stalking there champ. I guess though it's okay to evolve thinking over a 7 year period?
Looking at my 2007 team, I'd be finding room for Owens, McConville and Cavanagh somehow. I should have done so then.
Quote from: thewobbler on June 28, 2014, 10:04:35 PM
That's some might fine stalking there champ. I guess though it's okay to evolve thinking over a 7 year period?
Looking at my 2007 team, I'd be finding room for Owens, McConville and Cavanagh somehow. I should have done so then.
I just used the search facility because I reckoned there would be threads like that. I re-read that whole thread and didn't spot Barry Owens getting a mention, never mind a place on anyone's team. It's not just your thinking that has evolved.