James Nallen

[muscles magoo]

Great servant to Mayo and a good footballer.

He's no legend though.

He is to Mayo football folk Gallsman - perhaps I should have made that clearer, I didn't think it would become an area of contention...

[gallsman]

Great servant to Mayo and a good footballer.

He's no legend though.

He is to Mayo football folk Gallsman - perhaps I should have made that clearer, I didn't think it would become an area of contention...

I'm not trying to make it a bone of contention. I don't dispute Nallen's credentials or the near two decades of service he gave to Mayo football.

However, you specifically mentioned that the word legend is "bandied about" too often these days, and I'm offering this up as an example of one such occurrence.

I think you may have hit my nail on the head for me. Does being a legend to the people of Mayo make you a legend period, deserving to placed alongside the names I mentioned earlier?

Of course, this is all irrelevant and this is purely a matter of opinion.

[mannix]

he is not a true genius footballer and never was but his commitment and efforts on the field was never in doubt, even when he was being skinned as will happen to all players sometime or other.Its a pity we do not have a few young james nallens in the panel of 2010.Heaney was another notable man, not a genius but always tried no matter what.JOM cannot put that attitude into any player, its either there or its not.

[LilySavage]

Right tot to hang around for any longer, a great servant to Mayo GAA.

[IolarCoisCuain]

Great servant to Mayo and a good footballer.

He's no legend though.

Can you define legend Gallsman? Just so we're sure.

Can you?

My idea of legend would include names such as Jack O'Shea, Pat Spillane, Sean O'Neill, Colm O'Rourke or Peter Canavan.

Would you honestly place James Nallen in that kind of company?

I can, yes. My idea of a legend is at odds with your own.

A legend was well defined by a friend of mine from Roscommon who told me about what it was like when his father would bend down to him as a child and say "that's Harry Keegan across the road." Harry Keegan didn't win as many All-Ireland medals as the lads you name, but whenever my friend saw that man around the town he'd involuntarily throw back the shoulders and straighten his back.

So I would define a legend as being the man that fathers point out to their sons as examplars of all that's good and great and worth aspiring too. It casts a wider net, of course, but I'm happy enough with it, and very happy to include James Nallen among that number.

BTW, it's interesting that you name two Kerrymen in there with seven and eight All-Irelands each. One thing that's always interested me about Kerry is that their two most legendary figures, Mick O'Connell and Maurice Fitzgerald, were men who were on relatively unsuccessful Kerry teams. Obviously, that's a qualification that only Kerry can afford to make, but still. It's interesting to see how they define it. More to it than the medals, like.

[heineken_on_tap]

One player I would of liked to see picking up an A.I. medal before retirement, great player and by all accounts a gentlman also.

[orangeman]

What age is James by the way ?

[ross matt]

Best of luck to him. Think he'd be about 36? Still plenty of club football in him I imagine. Thought maybe he stayed on a few seasons too long. Excellent attacking centre back from mid 90's and the following decade. For someone with so much pace on the ball etc I thought he appeared to slow very quickly once he hit his 30s but perhaps injuries etc may have been a cause of that. Very well respected by most if not all gaa supporters and there are'nt many players you can say that about these days.

[muppet]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5LQPr6F0Qs&feature=related

One of Mayo's great moments. Nallen takes it off Johnny Crowley (thats what Canning seems to say) and races past everyone to finish at the other end.

[Mano]

An excellent footballer but was like many of the recent Mayo defenders - too nice and clean on the pitch. On some occasions its better to take a yellow card with a cynical foul than prevent a goal scoring opportunity.

[Celt_Man]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5LQPr6F0Qs&feature=related

One of Mayo's great moments. Nallen takes it off Johnny Crowley (thats what Canning seems to say) and races past everyone to finish at the other end.

Jaysus he covered some amount of ground at a fair speed to get onto the end of that move...

Like what has been said earlier on, a fine footballer who gave everything to whatever jersey he had on his back everytime he played.

[Rossfan]

[A legend was well defined by a friend of mine from Roscommon who told me about what it was like when his father would bend down to him as a child and say "that's Harry Keegan across the road." Harry Keegan didn't win as many All-Ireland medals as the lads you name, but whenever my friend saw that man around the town he'd involuntarily throw back the shoulders and straighten his back.

You're filling th'oul eyes with tears Iolar 
James was one great servant in the Rhubarb cause and best of luck to him for the future.
I came across Harry K  last year and felt the hairs on the back of the neck bristling.

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5LQPr6F0Qs&feature=related

One of Mayo's great moments. Nallen takes it off Johnny Crowley (thats what Canning seems to say) and races past everyone to finish at the other end.

Jaysus he covered some amount of ground at a fair speed to get onto the end of that move...

Like what has been said earlier on, a fine footballer who gave everything to whatever jersey he had on his back everytime he played.

Throw ball by McHale. Free out to Kerry. 

[mylestheslasher]

Always enjoyed him playing at his prime. Has been a great servant to Mayo and its a shame that he didn't win an AI. I think using the word "legend" is a bit much though. Legend to me who is someone who steps beyond  the ordinary. See Mick Higgins thread. BTW I'm not trying to belittle Nallen in anyway.

[cavanmaniac]

Legend might be a bit strong alright but then again, if he'd managed to squeeze himself over the other side of a very fine margin and snag an All-Ireland, our perceptions of him would be different. It's the same thinking that sees All-Ireland finalists reqarded with the vast majority of Allstars every year, often at the expense of logic when you view the season as a whole.

Anyway that's a moot point in passing, Nallen was an elegant, cultured footballer, an intelligent gentlemanly presence on and off the field who did himself and Mayo proud. Good luck to him in his retirement.