Sean seven up.. Golden Stuey is his this season
‘THE Golden Stueys’ – the end of season awards the players really want. Right?!
No matter how many times I mull over the ‘Player of the Year’ conundrum, I keep coming back to the same conclusion.
Sean Gannon, the Dundalk right-back, is my king of the crop this season, edging out Shamrock Rovers star Jack Byrne.
I love a flair player just as much as anyone but when it comes to these awards I tend to start with goalkeepers and work my way through.
Bohemians’ James Talbot was the standout keeper for the first-half of the season but I think he has fallen off a cliff.
The art of defending has changed so much that great defensive displays don’t really stand out any more although Lee Grace at Shamrock Rovers has been consistent.
These days, everyone wants their defenders to play out from the back and their game is more about creating space and positional sense on the ball than tackling.
Modern day defenders tend to drop deep for the ball, so they are rarely up the backside of strikers like they would have been and that art is sadly dying.
But Gannon (right) is some performer and stands out for me. Honourable mention too must go to Bohs’ Derek Pender.
He’s been so consistent and is their only player with real experience which in turn brings responsibility.
But Gannon is a league apart and this title brings him level with Owen Heary – another great
THE Premier Division’s top scorer chart makes for grim reading. It’s a pretty damning indictment.
Dundalk’s Pat Hoban remains the leading scorer, but only has 13 league goals to his name.
Aaron Greene, Romeo Parkes, Junior Ogedi-uzokwe and Michael Duffy are in joint second with 11 while there are three players stuck on 10. right-back- and Johnny Mathews on a record equalling seven winners medals.
Now, he doesn’t count the one he got at Shamrock Rovers because he didn’t really play and I can understand that.
But this guy is only 28 and yet it feels like he’s been around for years. He’s on track to beat Ryan Giggs’ records, never mind the League of Ireland!
He goes about his business quietly. He doesn’t get frustrated and has a good nature about him. He loves to get forward and he’s a real problem for opposing teams who not only have Daniel Kelly to contend with on the right, but Gannon too.
He’s the type of player that team-mates love and managers adore because he’ll do exactly what’s asked of him – with a bit more thrown in.
Maybe I’m being harsh on Byrne. He is an international after all on the back of his Rovers performances.
He has treated us to some magical moments and I love his back story and how he reinvented himself.
Players around the league may well vote for Jack. I wouldn’t bet against it as flair players make headlines after all but I’d prefer to scratch away at the surface a little.
And I don’t think you can ignore Dundalk’s league win and the 31-game unbeaten domestic run they are on with Gannon to the fore.
Danny Mandroiu at
Bohs was also on my shortlist but I’ll give him the ‘Golden Stuey’ for Young Player of the Year.
Another honourable mention goes to Romeo Parkes. We haven’t had an outstanding centre-forward in the league but he proved he can conjure goals out of nothing.
It’s rare that a team win a league with a top scorer on just 13 goals but Dundalk’s overall team performances have been outstanding, so you can take them out of the equation.
But the rest of the clubs haven’t covered themselves in glory with their goal returns. It’s been a poor season.