STEPHEN THE HERO IN RARE GOLD TIMES THE SPECIAL ONE JOYCE AT SUMMIT IN WESTERN RACE
Innovation puts Cluxton at the top of ranking as Leinster’s leader
ONLY three goalkeepers, Billy Morgan (1973), Martin Furlong (1982) and Stephen Cluxton (2019) have been chosen as Footballer of the Year in the 62-year history of the award.
It shows how difficult it is for No 1s to beat their outfield rivals – especially forwards – for individual honours. That Stephen Cluxton has managed it in this particular Leinster exercise is down to a simple reality: nobody in the province has made more impact on football over the last 50 years.
It’s debatable whether his shot-stopping is better than John O’Leary, Furlong or Paddy Cullen, but the rest of his game, especially the manner in which he has changed kick-out play, sends him shooting up the impact charts. Not only is his accuracy and timing a major plus for Dublin, there’s the psychological advantage that comes from knowing the opposition are in a constant state of worry over the influence he will exert from restarts.
Sadly, Matt Connor’s career was cut short by a car accident, but he had done enough by then to ensure he would remain at the top end of most achievement lists.
Superbly balanced and with a positional instinct that invariably took him to the right place at the right time, he was the ultimate
Offaly’s Matt Connor was the ultimate stylist
stylist and a deadly finisher.
Brian Mullins played a different type of game, based on power, endurance and endless graft. Fiercely competitive, he was central to Dublin’s against-the-odds revival in 1974. Still only 19, he out-manoeuvred several more experienced rivals and would go on to be one of the best midfielders of all time.
It’s quite an achievement for the Skryne club to have two players in the top five, but Colm O’Rourke and Trevor Giles are there on merit after careers which, as with two All-Ireland wins each, saw them take the Footballer of the Year award in 1991 and 1999 respectively.
Dublin, Meath, Offaly and Kildare are the only counties represented on the top 20 which will, no doubt, attract criticism from elsewhere.
That’s understandable, but then competition was fierce as our final selections proves.
MAYO (11), Galway (8) and Roscommon (1) have played in 20 All-Ireland SFC finals between them since 1970, winning two, drawing three and losing 15. The only wins were in 1998, when Galway beat Kildare and three years later when they overpowered Meath.
Still, the collective failures by so many Connacht teams in finals shouldn’t be mistaken for a shortage of individual talent, as shown by the quality of footballers in our top 20 and, indeed, those who missed out.
Pádraic Joyce takes top spot after a 15-season career (1997-2012), which took in Galway’s best spell since the three-in-a-row era in the 1960s. The Killererin man was a central figure in their two All-Ireland final wins, scoring a crucial goal against
Kildare and kicking 0-10 (five from play) against Meath in 2001. He was later chosen as Footballer of the Year.
His leadership skills were invaluable for Galway right through a career which left him with genuine claims to be regarded as the county’s best-ever forward.
Unlike Joyce, Dermot Earley never won an All-Ireland medal, while Lee Keegan’s pursuit of the big prize has, so far at least, proved incredibly frustrating. Earley was one of the most popular players of all time, not just in Roscommon, but all over the country.
Athletic and skilful, he was also the complete sportsman, playing the game as it should be played while, at the same time, bringing a fiercely competitive edge to his approach.
Keegan is one of a rare band who won the Footballer of the Year award without being part of an All-Ireland winning side, a tribute to the respect in which he is held by his fellow players. The complete wing-back package, combining flinty defensive skills with adventurous forward play, Keegan’s talents really do deserve All-Ireland gold.
Like Joyce, Ja Fallon contributed enormously to Galway’s two All-Ireland wins, having earlier been a consistently impressive figure in less successful times for the county. Mickey Kearins completes the top five, having been one of the highest scoring forwards in the game in the 1960s and much of the 1970s.