An All-Star cast backed by pure class
Some of the best players the game has seen are on course to be honoured among the pick of 2019
APART from winning an All-Ireland, there are fewer greater thrills than walking the red carpet on All-Stars night.
I was lucky enough to be honoured three times and while our game is all about the collective, those evenings – particularly in 2007 when I was player of the year – are something to treasure.
And so it will be for 15 of the finest footballers of 2019 this Friday night. In anticipation, here are the 15 I would be calling on stage.
Stephen Cluxton (Dublin)
How fitting that when Dublin made history, the best goalkeeper of all time had his best season.
Jim Gavin offered us a peek at the standards the Dublin captain has set for himself, when he revealed his keeper took the blame for his positioning and not stopping Killian Spillane’s goal in the drawn All-Ireland final.
That was only the third goal he conceded in a summer in which he made a string of top-class stops including the most incredible finger-tip save to deny Paul Murphy.
As for his kick-outs, they were so precise they forced Kerry to take a step back in the replay to take comfort in extra cover.
Without a shadow of doubt, the player of the year.
Michael Fitzsimons (Dublin)
I have always felt he was the most under-rated of Dublin’s defenders, mainly because he does not have the same macho reputation as Philly McMahon or Jonny Cooper.
But it is the subtlety of his work, his intelligence in reading play, his ability to get a hand in without committing a foul, but above all it’s his quick feet and balance which makes it so hard to shake him off.
Ronan McNamee (Tyrone)
He has always been a high-quality defender but that has not been fully appreciated because he has been played in a line that has always been well protected.
This year we got to see him unplugged from that system where he was hard but precise in the tackle while strong on the ball.
Tom O’Sullivan (Kerry)
Not unlike Fitzsimons, in that he leans on his wit rather than on his physicality.
He was excellent all season, silencing a line of top-class forwards and still found the time and space to get up the field and inflict some pain on the opposition.
He had it tough on Con O’Callaghan in the replay, but who wouldn’t?
Brian Howard (Dublin)
Yes, I know he played at wing-forward but this guy is a movable feast as he showed in the drawn All-Ireland final when he excelled in the second half at wing-back.
He can play anywhere and it is only a matter of time before he ends up partnering clubmate Brian Fenton at midfield. He has the athleticism, physical presence and kicking skills to be a future footballer of the year.
Patrick Durcan (Mayo)
Despite a summer interrupted by injury, he revealed his class when the need was greatest.
Ryan McHugh was unplayable for most of the championship – not least against Kerry – but he didn’t get space to breathe in that vital Super 8s game, while Durcan kicked three points.
He effectively repeated that dose against Jack McCaffrey in the semi-final – something previously thought to be impossible.
Jack McCaffrey (Dublin)
He is so central to what makes this Dublin team special – his speed, decision-making, composure and big-game temperament make him the complete player.
He broke the scoring record for a defender in the All-Ireland final, but the reality is that he is – in keeping with the fluidity of the modern game – as much a half-forward as he is a half-back. That his ability comes packaged with a smiling face and status as a doctor makes him even more likeable.
Brian Fenton (Dublin)
He may have failed to get to the pitch of his player-of-the-year form, but – an anonymous performance in the drawn All-Ireland final apart – there is no denying the class of the best midfielder in the game. Just as is the case with McCaffrey, it is his complete skill-set which thrills – he has the hands and physical presence to change a game as he showed in the second half of the All-Ireland semi-final against Mayo.
And when he gets into the scoring zone he can have the impact of an ace forward.
David Moran (Kerry)
In a summer when a young Kerry team really needed a leader, he became a pillar of strength for the rest to lean on.
His first-half performance against Mayo ignited Kerry’s summer and a thundering second-half display helped ease his team in the semi-final against Tyrone – form he replicated in the drawn final.
Moran (left) has always had incredible technical ability for a big man, but he showed this year he has a temperament to match.
Michael Murphy (Donegal)
From the moment he returned in mid-spring to hammer home a goal against Armagh in a League game, his sustained brilliance reminded us why he is one of the truly great players of the modern era.
I have rarely seen a player who takes care of his team so well. Every time the squeeze comes on, invariably he is the one who offers himself for the clutch plays, as he did against Tyrone and Kerry down the straight.
Even against Mayo, when his kicking was a little off, he was still the one driving Donegal to the very end.
Seán O’Shea (Kerry)
He truly came of age this summer.
His technical ability has never been in doubt, but even so the sheer purity of his ball-striking defied belief, particularly his display in both All-Ireland finals.
There is this perception that he lacks pace, but tell that to the Meath defence he blew open in a man-of-the match display which was capped by a sublime finish.
Above all, he is blessed with a huge work ethic, and is utterly selfless in his approach which is rare for such a special talent. He also gets my nod for young player of the year.
Cathal McShane (Tyrone)
His move to full-forward was possibly inspired by the introduction of the advance mark in the spring, but few could have envisaged its transformative impact.
He finished the Championship with a staggering 3-49 and, most impressively, when Tyrone struggled in the semi-final against Kerry, he was the one who stood tall kicking seven points (four from play).
David Clifford (Kerry)
We use the word genius far too easily, which leaves us with an impoverished vocabulary when it comes to hailing this outrageous talent.
He made a mockery of the difficulty in delivering a second album with some sublime moments, not least that stunning sideline conversion against Mayo.
But what really stands out is the maturity he showed after a difficult start to the drawn final, when kicking a couple of early wides, that he refused to hide – showing he had courage to go with all that ability.
Paul Mannion (Dublin)
In many ways, he is the poster boy for the culture of player development that exists in the Dublin camp. He was always a decent player but when he started out I had him down as a conventional corner-forward, good but not to the point you would lose sleep.
And look at what he has become, developing all aspects of his game along the way. Technically he seems to get better with every season, underlined with some outrageous scores this summer.
Con O’Callaghan (Dublin)
You suspect that if he lavished his complete attention on inter-county hurling – and that is a prospect every hopeful Kerryman would relish – he would most likely make that team of the year as well.
He has now added physical strength to his sublime skills – his ability to operate even when space is at a minimum is frightening – while his ability to find the net makes him a serial match winner.