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Still no answer to how he got the nickname Gooch and what does it mean?
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geraghty was probably one of the best pure athletes to play gaelic
half-back line, half-forward line, full-forward, he played in all positions and excelled. I would place him above Giles for that reason, Trevor was a very fine footballer himself DR - The Gooch thing as i understand it is something to do with a doll that was popular during Cooper's youth (in Kerry anyway) and some people involved in his club when he was a young lad thought he resembled this doll, hence the name stuck |
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Thank you Freddiek.
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Giles stayed around too long at intercounty imo.
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The first point really highlights his athleticism galwayman, I've seenStephen O'Neill score from more impossible angles as well though.
The pure striking of the football in the second clip is unbelievable. It is coming accross here that I don't like Ciaran McDonald, that is not the case, I rate him very, very highly, just not as a great. One could make a very strong case that he is the best pure striker of a football ever though. The only players playing the game today that I would consider greats are Tomas O'Se, Cooper, Declan O'Sullivan and Sean Cavanagh. Did McDonald ever win footballer of the year?, I don't know if he did or not, but surely that is a prerequisite for greatness, someone is gonna mention darragh O'Se now. |
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The first clip was in response to your point about great players looking better in Croke Park. That was an outstanding score to put his team a point up with 2 minutes left in an All Ireland semi final. Plenty of men went missing on the big day in Croke Park but McDonald was never one of them.
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As I said I've always enjoyed him, I'll definitely admit that the power in his stride in the first clip was a lot greater than I remembered, maybe he was the type of player that I would appreciate more now than when he was around, my focus was very Kerry/Tyrone centric when mcdonald was in his pomp, it was that first score that really impressed me, I'd have been younger I suppose when he was in his pomp, so was probably not in the best position to judge him, it is just that when one applies the usual criteria, he wouldn't be the most obvious footballer out of that era, but maybe you are right and he is a great, if his games show up on All ireland Gold, I'll tape them and have a look some evening, better than the **** that is on television most nights anyway.
I don't mean to denigrate the guy either with what I've said, I apologise if it has come accross that way, as my good friend Rocketfingers has pointed out, my comments can be a little rash and illthought at times. |
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I think also, from playing the game, I often played in the full forward line, it used to drive me mad if the ball wasn't delivered early, I may have built up a perception of him in my head which wasn't neccessarily correct.
I'm certain I did not think he was capable of covering the ground he did for that first score, it was reminiscent of the goals ronaldo got in the Champions league against Arsenal a few years ago, sheer power, rooney did something similar against them as well if I recall correctly, sheer power. |
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*covering the ground at that pace.
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Giles stayed around too long at intercounty imo.
Geraghty surely has done the same by coming back this season :) |
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Yeah, that is fair
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Trevor Giles was the original quarterback - don't think he stayed around intercounty too long either. He was instrumental in Skyrne winning the Meath SFC last year - six years after his intercounty retirement. Retired at 30 which would be young for a player who had the career of Giles. I think it was the 1998 Leinster Final when he went up for a ball and landed on his back - that was a bad injury and it was testament to him that the was able to come back better than ever in 1999 and 2001.
Geraghty is a phenomenal athlete too but he was more than just an athlete, an incredibly natural Gaelic Footballer. To be still making a championship appearance at aged 39 says it all really - a 20 year intercounty career! One of the rare sportspeople who could carve out a career in anything. A brilliant sportsperson. For what's it worth, I would regard Giles as the better footballer. McDonald was a unique talent. Realistically, the only player who compares is Maurice Fitz. Everything the two of them did, they did it with such elegance and grace. Really, really brilliant to watch the two. Of course, Maurice could kick with the left and kick with the right, whereas Ciaran Mc relied heavily on his left but it rarely, if ever, proved a problem for him. |
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Graham Geraghty was a decent player, but I agree with the man who said Giles was better. Unfortunately Geraghty was also a thug.
A thug or just a bit of a messer? He knew where the line was and only once crossed it - verus Kildare in the first replay in 1997 where he was sent off for the one and only time in his championship career, very harshly too. Think he earned the bad-boy image after the comment in Australia, and then there were rumours and false newspaper reports. After that, he played the part well. Incidents with Eammon Barry in 2006, David Henry in 2007, Stephen Shepherd in 2007. The only time he went too far was the time he got the 48 week suspension for verbal abuse of a referee in Meath. |
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YES
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i feel that when u talk about geniuses like gooch,maurice fitz,canavan etc.it boils down to personal preference .my favourite player was canavan and by a long way.GOOCH ISNT finished yet and could maybe rival him in the future.in the last 20 years nobody else was at a level these guys operated at.mcdonald,giles,mulligan ? r u having a laugh.these players are a couple of levels below these 3 gods and they would probably tell u that if u asked them
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impossible to measure players across generations...........in their time the likes of Matt Connor and Mike Sheehy were every bit as good Id say......Connor was phenomenal, a scoring machine
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