Tony was a great , a fabulous player. Best of luck in his retirement , it’s actually hard to think of him retired.
Best of luck to Ken MCGrath in his recovery also
Barry Owens has knocked it on the head. An incredible servant to Fermanagh football.
His heart could never be questioned.
Ah Sid.
+1. Not just a great servant, an outstanding player too.
Barry Owens has called it a day.
Best full back of his generation?
[QUOTE=“Il Bomber Destro, post: 970563, member: 2533”]Barry Owens has called it a day.
Best full back of his generation?[/QUOTE]
Very very good. Considering the immense pressure he was under so often it’s hard not to put him up there. Hard to think of others. Marc O Se at a point, Tom O Sullivan at a point. But they were surrounded by other class players, Owens wasn’t.
Did he not play a good bit a midfield as well?
The way football is now it’s almost impossible to be a dominant full back. Every team is trying to expose that space in front of goal so much to even be competitive and break up 1/4 or a 1/3 of ball going in is an achievement.
[QUOTE=“caoimhaoin, post: 970572, member: 273”]Very very good. Considering the immense pressure he was under so often it’s hard not to put him up there. Hard to think of others. Marc O Se at a point, Tom O Sullivan at a point. But they were surrounded by other class players, Owens wasn’t.
Did he not play a good bit a midfield as well?[/QUOTE]
No.
[QUOTE=“caoimhaoin, post: 970572, member: 273”]Very very good. Considering the immense pressure he was under so often it’s hard not to put him up there. Hard to think of others. Marc O Se at a point, Tom O Sullivan at a point. But they were surrounded by other class players, Owens wasn’t.
Did he not play a good bit a midfield as well?[/QUOTE]
I’m sure McAnallen could have rivalled him if he didn’t pass away. O’Se and O’Sullivan were more corner backs, were they not? His career probably did interlude with Darren Fay for a while but I can’t think of too many players that would have played that position regularly as good as him. He played the majority of his football at full back, might have stepped into midfield on the odd occasion out of necessity.
I think he’s mixing him up with Marty McGrath. Marty incidentally took part in a Charity match recently in Portlaoise for cancer survivors, still a serious player.
As for fullbacks, its hard to think of a decent one of note to be honest, Fay obviously, but Gary Fahey of Galway was always a favourite of mine, a fine player.
I think I might be remembering him coming on maybe after injury or illness and he may even have come in full forward as well one day and helped win or rescue a game.
Ince Seamus Moynihan retired Kerry had a load of different full backs and both those filled the role at different periods. Tom O Sullivan is arguably the most under rated defender in history, and I think they under utilized him against the northern teams and sacrificed ball players like O Se and Moynihan to mark the big forwards from Armagh & Tyrone.
He may only have played there a handful of times, but he was superb any time I saw him there.
Aside from Owens and Fay, I was always a Paddy Christie fan back in the day. But I don’t tend to remember specific incidences of players getting “cleaned out” like some of you chaps so my trumpeting of the odd player from the past may be misplaced.
My viewing of Christie is tainted from the fact that he takes an U14 competition so seriously he took the kids away to a training camp to ensure they would win it. The man is obviously a freak.
Mugsy mugged him off.
Ya that’s nuts, he wasn’t what I would call an elite player or defender, a long way from it. Didn’t one if your own absolutely destroy him one day in CP? It might have been Forde, reasonably sure it was.
Paddy Frisky was a class fullback and footballer alrite…and for a full back exceptionally clean, which did lead to the odd roasting if dubs were getting cleaned further out the field…dogged by injuries in the end and might have played on a bit longer than the body allowed…there was a lad who played with Derry for a few years, Mccloy, who was very good in his pomp…
at present wylie from Monaghan looks a good full back and Mcgee of Donegal has serious presence … any man that comes into his domain is getting nailed… has the same sort of aura as Conor Deegan back in the day…I think Rory O carroll is good but a bit over rated …but like Kev said…the way football has gone a lad could be a good fullback and still get his fair share of roastings…
Don’t recall that. As I say, it could have happened though.
[QUOTE=“scumpot, post: 970608, member: 182”]Paddy Frisky was a class fullback and footballer alrite…and for a full back exceptionally clean, which did lead to the odd roasting if dubs were getting cleaned further out the field…dogged by injuries in the end and might have played on a bit longer than the body allowed…there was a lad who played with Derry for a few years, Mccloy, who was very good in his pomp…
at present wylie from Monaghan looks a good full back and Mcgee of Donegal has serious presence … any man that comes into his domain is getting nailed… has the same sort of aura as Conor Deegan back in the day…I think Rory O carroll is good but a bit over rated …but like Kev said…the way football has gone a lad could be a good fullback and still get his fair share of roastings…[/QUOTE]
Ya there is a few decent lads now. Mostly because they are putting a different type of player back there. I think ROC has come on a lot, there is a shit load of ball goes in there and does better than most.
McGee is good alright. Wiley is a super footballer and inspirational at times but he leaves Monaghan wide open at times. Against Dublin they only need one dispossession and a 40M kick into Brogan and it’s 2-3 v 1/2. Basically it’s a goal.
Walsh, Wiley and Kelly is the best full back line around at the moment.
McKaigue was very good in the league for Derry although O’Gara gave him a torrid time in the final.