It was mainly on the basis of his 1991 performances particularly in the four games against Dublin
Pat Spillane would probably not have made the Kerry team had he been born 20-30 years later
He was prominent in that era because he was fitter than other players
fitness is still a variable that can win you footballer of the year, MDMA for example.
McAuley plays in a different position and the team is set up to exploit his strengths
Spillane had no special gifts in terms of talent
He’d probably have been a half-back if he was around today
He wouldn’t be a top forward
Peter Canavan is the greatest player ever
Nobody else could do the things he routinely did
I wouldn’t have any tyrone player in the top 3 on point of principle. If I had to choose between canavan and that big nosed fucker I’d chose the former. There was some sort of honesty about his cheating, he only resorted to it after a decade of failure and being marked out of it by mckeever and lockhart etc. He realised he’d nowhere else to go. The big nosed lad never tried to play the game any other way.
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Who is the big nosed fucker? Enda Muldoon?
I d be having a look at the 1984 all Ireland final to remind yourself of his kicking skills. He kicked a scatter of fine points that day and made several scores. pretty key contribution in 1985 too in the closing stages when he kicked a super point just when it looked like Dublin had reeled in a 9 pt deficit. His finishing skills were not too bad either in the 1986 final. getting key scores to win all Ireland finals is a pretty special talent in my book
A lot of half forwards today are half backs so in many ways he d be an ideal half forward in today’s game so I don’t get that point either
Canavan was special alright
He had no special kicking skills bar the basics you’d expect of an inter-county player
His points tended to be got from space and with a standing kick
No comparison to Sheehy who would have been a great in any era
Bernard Flynn was another great forward who would have been a great in any era - Colm O’Rourke as well, the bollix
What separates Canavan from anybody else is the breadth of his skills allied to his tigerish nature - he’s the best dribbler of the ball ever and could beat a team on his own up front with no help
He could do things no other player could do
A great small one beats a great big one any day
Flynn was super, stylish and a finisher, tough as well, was able to soak up a lot of the physical stuff corner forwards got in that era
He gave Down’s Brendan McKernan the biggest roasting ever served up in an All-Ireland final - but missed the easiest chance he got, a goal chance from point blank he should have buried
Meath might have won if he had buried it
McKernan’s blood must have been clotted like jam by the end of the game
Flynn clotted the blood of many a Dublin supporter between 1986 and 1991
That Meath team was fearsome
My 3 favourites that I’ve seen.
Jack ó shea
Peter canavan
Gooch
Is that the same team Mick O’Connell was selected on?
Micko belongs on that team. Nowhere near the complete footballer that Purcell was though, by all accounts. Jimmy Duggan was probably a better a footballer than Micko, dominated an AI final at age 18, in 1966.
I was told by several people who spanned generations of galway football, that Sean Purcell was the best.
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If I didn’t know better I’d think a few lads here have seriously selected Limerick’s John Galvin as one of the three best footballers of the past 30 or so years
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Plenty written about him to that effect.
Mentally Canavan had everything, the toughness and fearlessness, the speed of thought, the awareness and nerve to deliver when it mattered most. When you allied that to natural talent he had and his ability to look after himself despite his small frame, there has been nobody close to him that I’ve seen.
Sean Purcell himself said that he wasn’t deserving of a place on the Millennium Team ahead of Packie McGarty.
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The goal in the All Ireland final 2005 summed him up for me.
His awareness that once Mulligan caught the ball that this was a major chance.
His desire to get on the ball to convert the chance, as evidenced by his screaming at Mulligan to hold it and lay it off.
The sheer quality of the finish, hence converting the chance on the biggest stage.
Deccie Meehan scored a peach of a goal in the 2000 final replay I think but I would say Canavan’s goal was certainly the best goal I have seen in an All Ireland final and one of the very best I have seen in any match.
The point he got in the second half was sublime too. He was 34 then and wrecked with injuries, he did not have 70 minutes in him but yet still decisive, still clutch and it was a fitting swansong to the greatest player on the intercounty scene.