Blondie Cregan, my uncle maintains, was as good as there ever was.
My father, @Batigolās father, your uncle, @flattythehurdler, @backinatracksuit. That pretty much seals it.
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Auld lads love Cregan
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When I started watching hurling games, my memories go back to 82 the great games that I witnessed often involved Limerick and Cork, up to the classics in 87, Tipp 84 being the obvious exception.
Cregan was my favourite anyway, Cork had a very strong team but no all time greats, I never understood the talk of JBM, Tom Cashman was my favourite Cork hurler, he was an ultra stylist as well. Cregan went around in slow motion using his arse as an extra limb to make a bit of space for himself, God he was fantastic
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Cregan always seemed a thorough gent too
Ah jbm was a fantastic hurler in fairness
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Heās a lovely man.
I know for a fact that 94 caused him awful personal pain. Iām not sure if he has ever reconciled it with himself.
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Iāve done this dozens of times now, I should probably just fall in line,
I think he was massively overrated by 1982, when he should have been at his peak
And I saw him play and train many times every year, he was a very very nice man which is a greater compliment anyway
To add to that, I met him after the 2018 final. He was incredibly emotional and simply said āItās done now anyway, thank Godā.
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No , youre entitled to your opinion. Just because I differ with you doesnāt make your opinion invalid. Theres a few names being belted around from various different counties as being greats that I dont particularly rate but Im not in the mood for a pelting
My father used to say Tipp only broke through in 1987 cos JBM had retired
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I would have thought you were a younger man
I know, you donāt have to explain yourself.
I just canāt think of a single game that I ever saw JBM play where he was the best player on the pitch, club or county, or even close. Iād assume the all time greats would be looking like that most of the time 
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Thatās rubbish, no offence to your father.
He maintains thatās a fact. He worked in Cork for the duration of Tippās famine.
In fairness to you, and I gave you a scalding at the time for saying it, I looked at a lot of those lockdown āclassicā matches through the lens of your comments about JBM and you certainly had a point.
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For a player who didnāt spend all his time in the forwards, Cregan had an astonishing strike rate. 85 goals in 148 senior appearances.
There must be very few players with a better goals to games ratio than that. Rackard and Keher perhaps.
Doesnāt Rackard have more goals than games?
Joe McKenna must have a pretty good strike rate too.
@BruidheanChaorthainn thought I was in my 60s
Iām 47, going to matches was a huge and memorable part of my youth, I lived close enough to Pairc ui chaoimh to walk so I was at every match that went on there, and a good share of Cork training sessions
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Rackard got 59 goals in 36 games, I think thatās championship only. I know he got 7-7 in one match against Antrim. Rackard would have only played 60 minute games so itās even more impressive.
McKenna has 72 goals from 129 senior appearances.
Cregan would have straddled the 60 minute, 80 minute and 70 minute eras but did not play in the forwards during some of the 80 minute era.
If you compare those goalscoring feats to more modern day players, Joe Canning only got 40 goals in senior inter-county hurling, DJ Carey 62, Patrick Horgan 46, Seamus Callanan 62, Henry Shefflin 55, Eddie Brennan 48.