GAA.ie Football Team of the last 25 years

[thewobbler]

Joyce v Canavan shouldn't be a discussion unless it's about who they're replacing in the FF line.

To be honest I'd have both ahead of McManus and Cooper in the full forward line, and y'know pick half forwards for the half forward line.

[FermGael]

As a completely biased Fermanagh man , I find it hard to believe that Barry Owens hasn't been mentioned .

[bannside]

Larry Reilly better than any of them boys...player of the century.

[Champion The Wonder Horse]

Joyce did more from 2000-2005 than Canavan did.

Won less All Irelands, less All Stars & less NFLs in that time though??

Fewer. What's your day job?

[Truthsayer]

Joyce did more from 2000-2005 than Canavan did.

Canavan

2001  Won Ulster championship.

2002... Tyrone won first League title and Canavan got his 4th All Star.

2003 Captained Tyrone to win Ulster and their first All Ireland senior title.
Top scorer in the All Ireland final with 5 points despite having suffered an ankle injury in the previous match, and was not expected (or advised) to play. Taken off before half-time and went back on with 10 minutes to go.

In the drawn Ulster final against Down, he scored penalty to start Tyrone comeback.

In 2003 championship scored 1–48, including 8 points in Ulster final replay, and won the National League. 

All Star No 5.

2005

In the All-Ireland semi-final against Armagh, Canavan scored with the last high pressure free kick of the game, winning the match for Tyrone.

Scored the only goal of the All Ireland final when Tyrone beat Kerry.

All Star No 6.

Retired from County football.

Tell us what Joyce did those years...

[trueblue1234]

Look I like Joyce. Was a fantastic footballer. But I think just below Canavan, which is no slight imo as I'd have Canavan in the top tier of footballers to have played that I witnessed. Stephen O'Neill or Joyce is a better conversion as both exceptional point takers.

[gallsman]

O'Neill a better footballer than Joyce. Joyce had the better career.

[03,05,08]

Mattie forde worth a mention?

[Armagh18]

Mattie forde worth a mention?

some player

[Premier Emperor]

Declan Browne is a huge omission. He was one of the greatest corner forwards of all time.
He played on a weak team and still performed miracles.

Most of those other forwards mentioned got an armchair ride from playing on strong teams.
Imagine if Cooper or Joyce played on a Division 4 team, double marked, the ball rarely getting up to them!

[thewobbler]

Declan Browne is a huge omission. He was one of the greatest corner forwards of all time.
He played on a weak team and still performed miracles.

Most of those other forwards mentioned got an armchair ride from playing on strong teams.
Imagine if Cooper or Joyce played on a Division 4 team, double marked, the ball rarely getting up to them!

Would it not perhaps be more difficult to be the clear stand-out player on a great team than do do likewise on a poor team?

The likes of Canavan, Joyce, Cooper, Clifford spent their entire careers being marked by the best defender from the best teams in Ireland. With the greatest respect to Browne and Forde, they did not.

[Armagh18]

Declan Browne is a huge omission. He was one of the greatest corner forwards of all time.
He played on a weak team and still performed miracles.

Most of those other forwards mentioned got an armchair ride from playing on strong teams.
Imagine if Cooper or Joyce played on a Division 4 team, double marked, the ball rarely getting up to them!

Would it not perhaps be more difficult to be the clear stand-out player on a great team than do do likewise on a poor team?

The likes of Canavan, Joyce, Cooper, Clifford spent their entire careers being marked by the best defender from the best teams in Ireland. With the greatest respect to Browne and Forde, they did not.

Argument to be made both ways isn't there.

If you're the main man on a weak team as a forward, you're getting less good ball into you, you could be the only real threat so the opposition can fully focus on you, if you're one of 3 or 4 top forwards on the team the opposition has more to worry about.

[Truthsayer]

Declan Browne is a huge omission. He was one of the greatest corner forwards of all time.
He played on a weak team and still performed miracles.

Most of those other forwards mentioned got an armchair ride from playing on strong teams.
Imagine if Cooper or Joyce played on a Division 4 team, double marked, the ball rarely getting up to them!

Would it not perhaps be more difficult to be the clear stand-out player on a great team than do do likewise on a poor team?

The likes of Canavan, Joyce, Cooper, Clifford spent their entire careers being marked by the best defender from the best teams in Ireland. With the greatest respect to Browne and Forde, they did not.

I thought the same... would Browne have been a stand-outplayer with Mulligan, Stephen O'Neill, Brian McGuigan, Cavlan, Dooher etc around him? 🤷

[thewobbler]

Declan Browne is a huge omission. He was one of the greatest corner forwards of all time.
He played on a weak team and still performed miracles.

Most of those other forwards mentioned got an armchair ride from playing on strong teams.
Imagine if Cooper or Joyce played on a Division 4 team, double marked, the ball rarely getting up to them!

Would it not perhaps be more difficult to be the clear stand-out player on a great team than do do likewise on a poor team?

The likes of Canavan, Joyce, Cooper, Clifford spent their entire careers being marked by the best defender from the best teams in Ireland. With the greatest respect to Browne and Forde, they did not.

Argument to be made both ways isn't there.

If you're the main man on a weak team as a forward, you're getting less good ball into you, you could be the only real threat so the opposition can fully focus on you, if you're one of 3 or 4 top forwards on the team the opposition has more to worry about.

You're right, and there's neither science nor symmetry to either side of the argument.

But just from personal experience of watching club football in Down around the same vintage as Browne and Forde i.e. before mass defences, the biggest difference for yo-yo club stars like Ronan Murtagh, Danny Hughes and John Clarke, was when they went to D1, most clubs had a defender with the physical and mental capacity to go head-to-head with them. Same 3 lads were still more than easy to pick out at D1, but they had to work much harder, and had to be more tuned in, in order to stand out. I'd expect county football follows a similar pattern. 

Meanwhile the best player in Down throughout that era was Benny Coulter. Yes he'd the best team around him, and by a distance. But he was visibly  the best and most important player in that team, and ruined most defenders who tried to prove otherwise.

[gallsman]

I thought the same... would Browne have been a stand-outplayer with Mulligan, Stephen O'Neill, Brian McGuigan, Cavlan, Dooher etc around him? 🤷

Ah playing with Cavlan would have brought out the dog in him alright.

Jokes aside, would he still have stood out? Yes. Would he have stood out to the same extent? Clearly no.