How do you stop the Gooch?

Short of the covert use of a taser is there any way to stop the Gooch?

Surely one of the finest - if not THE finest players of the modern era. The lad has everything. Balance, accuracy, a superb football brain, elusiveness, scoring power, awareness and the type of physique that rarely lends itself to injury.

When he is not scoring he is linking play and providing scoring passes - or he is back in his own defence tidying up as he was in the semi against Mayo - with the game already won - outlining his hunger and appetite for work. Some lazy journalists would have you believe that earlier this season he was underperforming - the burden of captaincy was weighing him down. Absolute rubbish. These lads look at who scored and make up their opinions. If Gooch is not scoring he is providing. I have rarely see him play badly. His semi exploits shut them up.

And his captaincy could be an added fillip for his colleagues (as if they needed one! ). There is no doubt he is held in huge esteem by them. There is nothing they would like better than to give him the opportunity to climb the steps alone and lift Sam.

Gooch has rarely courted controversy. He has been kicked up and down pitches the length and breadth of the land. He had his tragedies a few years back but dealt with them quietly and with dignity and all the while maintained his consistency of performance.

Still only 28 and holder of 4 Celtic crosses and 6 All Star awards, the man is a legend. On form he is unstoppable and a joy to watch. He is the kind of player I would pay to watch on his own.

Colm, may your wonderful career continue for many years to come .... starting next Monday!

Greatest player of all time in my opinion.

Reducing the time and space he has on the ball might increase the chances of lessening his effect but it's not a guarantee - Gooch is a genius and will create opportunities even in the most congested of defences.

Only way I can see a Kerry win though is if Cooper has a very good day. Otherwise it's Dublin for me - who will possess the second, third and fourth best forwards on the pitch on Sunday.

The first thing I'd do is search on Youtube for 'Tyrone v Kerry 2003 / 2005 / 2008'.

More seriously, though, the Gooch operates along the right hand side of the Kerry attack. He normally has huge amounts of space to move into, as Paul Galvin usually plays deeper and more centrally than a traditional RHF.

This leaves Dublin with a number of questions to answer. Assuming that Michael Fitzsimmons is marking Cooper, he will need help from another defender to cover the space in front of him. Does Kevin Nolan sit there and cover, leaving Galvin to go and forage in midfield? If he does help Fitzsimmons, does Bryan Cullen drop back from LHF to help cover that wing? Declan O'Sullivan will also drop very deep into midfield, freeing up Ger Brennan, and it could be him that moves across to the left at times.

With Barry Cahill and Paul Flynn also playing deep roles, Dublin will surely try to shore up the whole half back line, cutting off space for Cooper in particular. The problem with this is that Kerry will see a lot of ball in midfield, and it will also invite the likes of Tomas O'Se forward. If that happens, the Dublin defensive line will have to be very disciplined when tackling runners, as Bryan Sheehan has the ability to score frees from 55m.

Rubbish Jayo. He is not fit to lace Bernard Brogan'd boots. BB different and superior class.

JC

Short of the covert use of a taser is there any way to stop the Gooch?

Well Jc i would like to see Cian pick up Cooper on sunday,and play him from the front Cian has the pace and football brain to give cooper plenty problems.....Think this could be the dual of the game...Big question is do Dublin mark space or go man to man......

mullins wrote:
Well Jc i would like to see Cian pick up Cooper on sunday,and play him from the front Cian has the pace and football brain to give cooper plenty problems.....Think this could be the dual of the game...Big question is do Dublin mark space or go man to man......

Aside from Donaghy, Cooper, Sheehan and possibly Darren O'Sullivan, Dublin will mark space.

I think that Cian O'Sullivan on Cooper is a possibility, but playing Cooper from the front is a huge risk. It is an even bigger risk in using a natural half back to do so. For the ultimate example of this going wrong, have a look at Paul Curran's disasterous efforts in trying to stop Mickey Linden in the 1994 final.

O'Sullivan played very well as a corner back when marking Mark Donnelly against Tyrone, but Cooper is a totally different prospect. I think they will go with Fitzsimmons on the Gooch, and have O'Sullivan on his namesake, Darren.

Focus on ourselves, f..., them ,that's the way to win on Sunday....Kerry don't give two .... about Dublin or our players simple as that they don't even rate Dublin...Their just coming to Dublin to go through the Formalities....Lost cause Jc but we had a good year

Thomas Clarke wrote:

mullins wrote:
Well Jc i would like to see Cian pick up Cooper on sunday,and play him from the front Cian has the pace and football brain to give cooper plenty problems.....Think this could be the dual of the game...Big question is do Dublin mark space or go man to man......

Aside from Donaghy, Cooper, Sheehan and possibly Darren O'Sullivan, Dublin will mark space.

I think that Cian O'Sullivan on Cooper is a possibility, but playing Cooper from the front is a huge risk. It is an even bigger risk in using a natural half back to do so. For the ultimate example of this going wrong, have a look at Paul Curran's disasterous efforts in trying to stop Mickey Linden in the 1994 final.

O'Sullivan played very well as a corner back when marking Mark Donnelly against Tyrone, but Cooper is a totally different prospect. I think they will go with Fitzsimmons on the Gooch, and have O'Sullivan on his namesake, Darren.

Tc Cian has unnatural pace maybe he could play him from the back ,but personally i would play him from the front knowing that cian has the pace to get back and cover.....If cooper was to go to FF i would just let Rory pick him up....Can't see fitzer picking him up as he is suspect under the high ball cooper would have a field day...

I know one thing Kerry will target what they believe is our weak points for the first 15 mins.Hopefully we can frustrate them and drive for home..

mullins wrote:Focus on ourselves, f..., them ,that's the way to win on Sunday....Kerry don't give two .... about Dublin or our players simple as that they don't even rate Dublin...Their just coming to Dublin to go through the Formalities....Lost cause Jc but we had a good year

Ah I'm just going down for the minor mullins. If its dry and I have a good seat I might have a gawk at the senior.

Jayo Cluxton wrote:

mullins wrote:Focus on ourselves, f..., them ,that's the way to win on Sunday....Kerry don't give two .... about Dublin or our players simple as that they don't even rate Dublin...Their just coming to Dublin to go through the Formalities....Lost cause Jc but we had a good year

Ah I'm just going down for the minor mullins. If its dry and I have a good seat I might have a gawk at the senior.

The last time we played it was over after 46 seconds,make sure your in your seat in time or you night miss the match

mullins wrote:The last time we played it was over after 46 seconds,make sure your in your seat in time or you night miss the match

Think it was quicker than that .....

To be still in it after 2 minutes would be 100% progress ... here's hoping.

Fantastic player......a player who runs with the 'head up' , constantly finding space while simultaneously thinking forward to the next pass/scoring chance. An example of how a modern footballer does not have to be a bodybuilder and that, ultimately, class prevails.

One thing I would say though (and this is in no way to detract from his superb talent), while he has blessed Kerry football with his ability, he has also been blessed to have, almost perpetually, a team of fine natural footballers around him. The overall natural brilliance of the Kerry team over the years has made it hard for teams to make a concerted attempt to neutralise his effect on the game. Double mark him and a host of Kerry forwards were always there to punish the defensive deficit; in the past Mike Frank and Tommy Walsh and even now Declan O'Sullivan surging through, and Darran O'Sullivan's defence splitting pace. While other classy forwards like Coulter, Forde, Declan Browne, Brogan were often easily 'took out' of games because they were really the only real dynamic attacking outlets.

For me though, Cooper's greatness is manifest in the fact that even in a group of wonderful players, in a team which remains the last superpower standing from the 00's, he is still a cut above the rest.

Kerry players are inevitably surrounded by other good players Bluearmy. But Gooch's club record too stands up to his greatness.

It doesnt matter how talented a fella is... it's all about the supply of ball.

Limit the amount of times the lad has his hands on the ball and you limit his scoring opportunities.

It's easier said than done but the Gooch is at his best when he is free to play his natural game. Take him out of that and he struggles - Just like any other forward.

We have to play as a unit. If we stick to that.... Kerry will find it difficult enough.

We generally play an adapted Tyrone style game - Kerry wont like it. It all comes down to work rate, and how much breaking ball we win in the middle.

We need to get our hands on as much ball as possible and when we dont have it - we need to frustrate Kerry and take them out of their natural comfort zone.

I'd agree with TC on this one.
There is no way that I would and play Gooch one on one from the front. - His running off the ball is the best in the game and probably the best there has ever been - so the last place I want him is behind me.

So the corner back needs to stay glue tight and but on his heels - if he gets the ball in low and turns force him out to the corner. - The danger then is that Gooch has freedom of space to run between the 21 and 45 but can't see Dublin being set up for that - If anything I'd see Nolan as marking the space from the 21- 45 regardless of what Galvin does - If Galvin goes deep I think that Cullen will drop back
and cover him with Ger Brennan or Flynn covering the left wing if O Se runs from deep - in any case
O se will still meet Cullen and then Nolan somewhere on his journey.

OMAR - would Gooch be surplus to requirements if he was a Donegal man ....

Break both his legs.

Jayo Cluxton wrote:OMAR - would Gooch be surplus to requirements if he was a Donegal man ....

Not at all - Feed him a bit and put a backpack of weights on him - get him to run up and down Muckish a few times to beef up the legs - and maybe with a bit of coaching he would have the makings
of a defensive half forward - Coverage for Mark McHugh.

Though joking aside Ive said the Donegal game needs to evolve and we are on the look out for a second forward.

Its all a gamble let cooper out in front and he gets enough ball hes going to damage anyway...Play him from the front Kerry will need pin point ball to reach him,if Dublin play their pressure game, Kerry won't have time to pick cooper out...

Cian has enough pace to recover anyway i could be a mile out....

Former Dublin star Paul Curran believes Cian O'Sullivan should be given the unenviable task of marking Colm Cooper in Sunday's All-Ireland final.

Curran is of the opinion that if Dublin can curtail Cooper's influence, they will go a long way towards ending their 16-year wait for Sam Maguire Cup glory.

"Dublin need to get the match-ups right. Gooch Cooper is a match-winner and the Dubs need to put their best marker on him from the start," Curran said in the Evening Herald.

"For me, the job must go to Cian O'Sullivan, who has the pace and the defensive skills to counteract Cooper's class.

Thomas Clarke wrote:The first thing I'd do is search on Youtube for 'Tyrone v Kerry 2003 / 2005 / 2008'.

I know you're joking TC, but I'd just like to point out that it was either in 05 or 08 (I think 08) that Gooch was the top scorer of both teams on the day, and then in either 03 or 05 he had a finger or two in his eye socket for half the match and wasn't as effective, which might lead me to suggest Dublin go with the latter option, if they want to keep him quiet.

3inarow08 wrote:

Thomas Clarke wrote:The first thing I'd do is search on Youtube for 'Tyrone v Kerry 2003 / 2005 / 2008'.

I know you're joking TC, but I'd just like to point out that it was either in 05 or 08 (I think 08) that Gooch was the top scorer of both teams on the day, and then in either 03 or 05 he had a finger or two in his eye socket for half the match and wasn't as effective, which might lead me to suggest Dublin go with the latter option, if they want to keep him quiet.

Now Now behave you know Dublin wouldn't do anything like that/maybe to the langers

we wont bring any scum tactics , cian will get the job , i just hope its a good game of ball and not the usual tripe that is getting thrown up over the last decade or so

All vans to report to Dunboyne Saturday morning,description of the target will be giving on arrival

Like the donegal game where lacey was targeted dublin will obviously also target An Gooch.
Everyone is keen to point out that O'Sullivan is the man to pick the gooch up. O'Sullivan was super against Tyrone and was out in front a lot. However the gooch, is also super in the air.

What formation do the dubs think they'll play?

I was in the jacks ag leath ama during the Semi. A jackeen beside me on the verge of pulling his ever receding hair out said
" We're playing too many midfielders, we need to move back to the 3-3-2-3-3 formation. i've been LOLing ever since. God bless them. Ahhhhh