best XV in the country

[INDIANA]

Was bored at work today and had a think about this. In this day and age I think I would go with:

                              Cluxton

K.Lacey                  J.Keane             A.Lynch

T. O'Se                  G.Canty             J.Miskella

               D.Earley                S.Cavanagh

P.Galvin                  D.O'Sullivan         B.Brogan

M.Meehan              K.Donaghy          P.Bradley     

Good mix there with an attacking HB line, a hard working half forward, A target-man and 2 excellent free takers.         

2 Dubs, a retired Westmeath player and an aging Kildareman? Where are you from?

IMHO Alan Brogan is the only current Dub (Shane Ryan also if was still playing) to have performed well enough in the heat of Championship to be even considered. Bernard looks like a good one alright but he will have to deliver outside Leinster. Dermot Earley is a great servant to the game but is not currently in the top 2 midfielders in the country. Paddy Bradley hasn't done anything in a big game in Croker recently either.  I thought McCloy looked a great prospect a few years ago but he hasn't really kicked on so McMahon would probably get my nod at fullback.

Murphy of Donegal would make my 15 after his exploits against Cork last year instead of Bradley. While any of The Gooch, SON, Alan Brogan and even John Doyle would get in ahead Bernard.

Alarming though the lack of Connacht players.

John Doyle isn't as good as Bernard now. 2 years ago yes. If you have a problem with him not picking Mayo players instead of Dublin players why don't you just say it.

[shaund10]

Was bored at work today and had a think about this. In this day and age I think I would go with:

                              Cluxton

K.Lacey                  J.Keane             A.Lynch

T. O'Se                  G.Canty             J.Miskella

               D.Earley                S.Cavanagh

P.Galvin                  D.O'Sullivan         B.Brogan

M.Meehan              K.Donaghy          P.Bradley     

Good mix there with an attacking HB line, a hard working half forward, A target-man and 2 excellent free takers.         

2 Dubs, a retired Westmeath player and an aging Kildareman? Where are you from?

IMHO Alan Brogan is the only current Dub (Shane Ryan also if was still playing) to have performed well enough in the heat of Championship to be even considered. Bernard looks like a good one alright but he will have to deliver outside Leinster. Dermot Earley is a great servant to the game but is not currently in the top 2 midfielders in the country. Paddy Bradley hasn't done anything in a big game in Croker recently either.  I thought McCloy looked a great prospect a few years ago but he hasn't really kicked on so McMahon would probably get my nod at fullback.

Murphy of Donegal would make my 15 after his exploits against Cork last year instead of Bradley. While any of The Gooch, SON, Alan Brogan and even John Doyle would get in ahead Bernard.

Alarming though the lack of Connacht players.

BTW, im from Galway. Fair enough i was off the mark with J.Keane, but I dont see a problem with the rest of the team. It was honestly a toss up between the 2 Brogans for that spot. I've seen enough from Bernard in the league this year to convince me that he is the real deal.

I was struggling to find a midfielder to partner Cavanagh. Nobody from Connacht is remotely good enough, Kerry look to be struggling there, I think Nicholas Murphy is too slow on  the ball.

Murphy is talented admittedly but I couldnt include him ahead of Bradley after Bradley carrying a Derry attack for years. Bradley hasnt done anything in Croker because he hasnt had the team around him to get there and perform in recent years.

As for the other posters reference to Mayo players, a lot of very good players in the county, but none quite on this level. A O'Shea in the future, not yet.

[Boozehell]

At the minute Ambrose Rodgers is one of the top midfielders around and Martin Clarke is going to be one to watch in the coming year for an all star gong

[DuffleKing]

That's a best 15 for 2009

[Bensars]

As much as it mightnt please some.
Phillip Jordan is having a great start to 2010

[DuffleKing]

how many games has he played?

[Boozehell]

how many games has who played?

[nrico2006]

I thought Donegal wans were hard to listen to with the whole 'Sam's coming home' talk because they won the NFL in 2007.  Fair play to them though, they partied like it was 1999, but in the end nothing was produced come the business end of the season, and personally, I never enjoyed a win as much as a did when Tyrone hammered them that summer.  Down fans are getting near as bad regarding their championship chances this summer and in particular how great Marty Clarke is, when in reality, the best Down can hope for is a wee run to the last 12 in the Qualifiers.

[gorm agus bui]

I thought Donegal wans were hard to listen to with the whole 'Sam's coming home' talk because they won the NFL in 2007.  Fair play to them though, they partied like it was 1999, but in the end nothing was produced come the business end of the season, and personally, I never enjoyed a win as much as a did when Tyrone hammered them that summer.  Down fans are getting near as bad regarding their championship chances this summer and in particular how great Marty Clarke is, when in reality, the best Down can hope for is a wee run to the last 12 in the Qualifiers.

I've yet to hear a Down fan say anything about championship success this year. There has been a turnaround in fortune and that is there for all to see, but we would be hopeful of progressing further this year than last. I think that is a reasonable aspiration for a county who have done as well as they have in the league.
Championship is a different scenario and you can be dumped out on your arse very quickly but we can only hope.
Marty Clarke is a very  good player but is only 21/22 and we would have great expectations of him in years to come but it really has been the press who have hyped him.

[Mourne Rover]

nrico, I would not like to suggest that you are overreacting, but Gorm agus Bui is spot on. This thread to date has featured a single Down contributor noting that Ambrose Rogers and Martin Clarke have been having decent seasons so far. He did not actually predict some form of championship success for Down, and made no reference to `Sam's coming home' either, so it is a little harsh to conclude on this evidence that Down fans are generally getting carried away with themselves.

Down's spring form has been good, very few midfielders have scored more from play than Ambrose in the league and Marty - although he has yet to kick a ball at championship level - was impressing before his recent injury. At the same time, Down have not made the last eight of the competition since the qualifiers were introduced in 2001, and our last provincial title was 16 years ago.

In other words, we hope we are improving but we have a huge amount of ground to make up before we can be seriously compared with the established contenders. Some Down fans think we might have a run this summer but many believe that getting to the last eight in 2011 or 2012 is more realistic. In any event, the experience gained from division one football next year can only help us. 

[J70]

I thought Donegal wans were hard to listen to with the whole 'Sam's coming home' talk because they won the NFL in 2007.  Fair play to them though, they partied like it was 1999, but in the end nothing was produced come the business end of the season, and personally, I never enjoyed a win as much as a did when Tyrone hammered them that summer.  Down fans are getting near as bad regarding their championship chances this summer and in particular how great Marty Clarke is, when in reality, the best Down can hope for is a wee run to the last 12 in the Qualifiers.

There must be some right idiots among your Donegal friends then, because I don't know anyone who was tipping Donegal for AI glory that year! Granted, I'm sure you'll find a few teenage idiots somewhere, particularly in these internet days, who are talking shite, but they're hardly representative of the average Donegal (or any other) supporter. I do remember we were talked up in the media a little all right, but I don't recall anyone putting us down as even semi-serious contenders to go all the way, and especially not after our performance against Armagh in Ballybofey the first day out. Any Donegal supporter who has followed the team for even a couple of years knows that catastrophe is always just around the next corner, and generally arrives just when hopes are getting raised. For example, from just the past eight years (and this is not an exhaustive list!): Dublin hammering '02, Fermanagh '03 (not a hammering, but about as bad as I have ever seen from a Donegal team, which is saying something!), Armagh hammering '04, the disgraceful indiscipline of Fermanagh '04 and Armagh '05, Cavan '05 (narrow defeat in the end, but shocking, complacent, disrespectful performance), yourselves '07 and Monaghan '07 (up there with Fermanagh '03!). I won't include the Cork game last year as I think the team was just about done out from their previous month of football and Cork were simply unstoppable that day (although it is curious how many times we meet teams on their "unstoppable" days! ).

[RMDrive]

I thought Donegal wans were hard to listen to with the whole 'Sam's coming home' talk because they won the NFL in 2007.  Fair play to them though, they partied like it was 1999, but in the end nothing was produced come the business end of the season, and personally, I never enjoyed a win as much as a did when Tyrone hammered them that summer.  Down fans are getting near as bad regarding their championship chances this summer and in particular how great Marty Clarke is, when in reality, the best Down can hope for is a wee run to the last 12 in the Qualifiers.

There must be some right idiots among your Donegal friends then, because I don't know anyone who was tipping Donegal for AI glory that year! Granted, I'm sure you'll find a few teenage idiots somewhere, particularly in these internet days, who are talking shite, but they're hardly representative of the average Donegal (or any other) supporter. I do remember we were talked up in the media a little all right, but I don't recall anyone putting us down as even semi-serious contenders to go all the way, and especially not after our performance against Armagh in Ballybofey the first day out. Any Donegal supporter who has followed the team for even a couple of years knows that catastrophe is always just around the next corner, and generally arrives just when hopes are getting raised. For example, from just the past eight years (and this is not an exhaustive list!): Dublin hammering '02, Fermanagh '03 (not a hammering, but about as bad as I have ever seen from a Donegal team, which is saying something!), Armagh hammering '04, the disgraceful indiscipline of Fermanagh '04 and Armagh '05, Cavan '05 (narrow defeat in the end, but shocking, complacent, disrespectful performance), yourselves '07 and Monaghan '07 (up there with Fermanagh '03!). I won't include the Cork game last year as I think the team was just about done out from their previous month of football and Cork were simply unstoppable that day (although it is curious how many times we meet teams on their "unstoppable" days! ).

Thanks J70  Nice little summary there to send me off to bed in bad humour.

[J70]

I thought Donegal wans were hard to listen to with the whole 'Sam's coming home' talk because they won the NFL in 2007.  Fair play to them though, they partied like it was 1999, but in the end nothing was produced come the business end of the season, and personally, I never enjoyed a win as much as a did when Tyrone hammered them that summer.  Down fans are getting near as bad regarding their championship chances this summer and in particular how great Marty Clarke is, when in reality, the best Down can hope for is a wee run to the last 12 in the Qualifiers.

There must be some right idiots among your Donegal friends then, because I don't know anyone who was tipping Donegal for AI glory that year! Granted, I'm sure you'll find a few teenage idiots somewhere, particularly in these internet days, who are talking shite, but they're hardly representative of the average Donegal (or any other) supporter. I do remember we were talked up in the media a little all right, but I don't recall anyone putting us down as even semi-serious contenders to go all the way, and especially not after our performance against Armagh in Ballybofey the first day out. Any Donegal supporter who has followed the team for even a couple of years knows that catastrophe is always just around the next corner, and generally arrives just when hopes are getting raised. For example, from just the past eight years (and this is not an exhaustive list!): Dublin hammering '02, Fermanagh '03 (not a hammering, but about as bad as I have ever seen from a Donegal team, which is saying something!), Armagh hammering '04, the disgraceful indiscipline of Fermanagh '04 and Armagh '05, Cavan '05 (narrow defeat in the end, but shocking, complacent, disrespectful performance), yourselves '07 and Monaghan '07 (up there with Fermanagh '03!). I won't include the Cork game last year as I think the team was just about done out from their previous month of football and Cork were simply unstoppable that day (although it is curious how many times we meet teams on their "unstoppable" days! ).

Thanks J70  Nice little summary there to send me off to bed in bad humour.

Just pointing out that sensible and experienced Donegal supporters never, ever let themselves get carried away about a county team!