Tom Humphries on Donal Óg

[Croí na hÉireann]

dedicated, passionate man who would do anything for the red jersey, cork people and for the rest of his fellow cork players. has brought the art of goalkeeping to a different level with his total dedication to the position and when goalkeepers around ireland travel down to him for goalkeeping sessions, it says somthing about the man. graham clarke the down and ulster keeper travels down to him a couple of times a year. i am from ulster, no cork bias, and feel that he is the best keeper in ireland, yes he doesnt make the spectacular saves that cummins and fitzhenry make, but he is completly dependent in every department of the art of goalkeeping, james mcgarry was another, never flash just totally dependent and trustworthy at the back. flashy saves may win you all stars but all irelands. cusack 3, mcgarry- 5.......cummings and fitzhenry 1 each.

Nothing to do with the 14 men in front of you I suppose 

[hurl4ever]

well thats true, then the next arguement is how do you decide is the best keeper? cleansheets? does the keeper keep a clean sheet or does the team keep a clean sheet? in the premier league in england goalkeepers get bonuses for keeping cleansheets but has that nothing to do with the 10 other outfield players??

[EddieMerx]

flashy saves may win you all stars but all irelands. cusack 3, mcgarry- 5.......cummings and fitzhenry 1 each.

I think you are forgetting about the 14 other players on the team!! Anyone will tell you it's the defence as a unit who keep clean sheets as the defenders also get bonuses for clean sheets in soccer

[hurl4ever]

im not forgetting bout the other 14, im saying that when people/experts talk about clean sheets they credit it to the goalkeepers, people talked about james mcgarry being the only goalkeeper to keep 3 clean sheets in all ireland finals, should it not have been credited to the team or backs???

[Reillers]

well thats true, then the next arguement is how do you decide is the best keeper? cleansheets? does the keeper keep a clean sheet or does the team keep a clean sheet? in the premier league in england goalkeepers get bonuses for keeping cleansheets but has that nothing to do with the 10 other outfield players??

Have you ever seen the likes of Shay Given play for Newcastle or even with Ireland, he keeps clean sheets inspite of his teams performances. Some keepers have it hard. But the likes of all of Man U's keeper, all his clean sheets have a lot to do with their defence. It depends on the team itself I suppose.

[sligeach]

flashy saves may win you all stars but all irelands. cusack 3, mcgarry- 5.......cummings and fitzhenry 1 each.

Doesn't make Cusack and McGarry better then Cummins and Fitzhenry.

[RedandGreenSniper]

This logic that a keeper must be the best in the country because his team keeps clean sheets and wins All-Irelands is mind-boggling. James McGarry and Donal Og Cusack are good, solid keepers but are rarely tested due to the nature of the defence in front of them.
Brendan Cummins is tested quite a lot as is Fitzhenry due to playing behind relatively weaker defences. The insinuation that they are 'flash' keepers and 'show offs' is an insult to them. Its as if they shouldn't have to dive to save some of the efforts - what utter nonsense. I remember reading Christy O'Connor's book on hurling goalkeepers - Last Man Standing, where former Kilkenny keeper Noel Skehan was of the opinion that if a keeper was any good then he shouldn't have to dive. Now Skehan was a great keeper for many, many years but I don't know how he could try to pass that off.

As for the argument as to who would be the best and how do you judge? Well McGarry might be a great keeper but he rarely gets the chance to show it. Cummins is tested frequently and frequently shows us how good he is. Its up to people's judgement to decide whose the best. Statistics are misleading. For me its Cummins whose number one because he has kept Tipp in so many games and despite being so busy, he rarely makes mistakes. But McGarry and Cusack are fine keepers too.

[magpie seanie]

Personally I think Fitzhenry is the best and has been for quite some time. Cummins would be next now that he is back on top form after a dip in form a couple of years back. Those two are a level above all the others at present.