Greatest midfielders of our times....opinions and comments welcome.

Having a bit of an advantage here age-wise I know, but I'll go with Brian Mullins paired with Jack O'Shea.

Complementary styles with great natural ability, stamina and leadership qualities. Fell free to agree, disagree or comment.

Tohill and O'Shea. Honourable mention to Mullins, McGinnity, and was McAlarney of our times?

Now he was some player.

I agree with Boxty here - but there have been some very good ones - Tohill and McDermott would make another great pair. Willie Bryan of Offaly was another good one.

1968. Down beat Kerry I think. A good player indeed.

I am not surprised that Tohills name is being bandied about in a discussion concerning great midfielders but i always thought Brian Mc Gilligan was equally important to that 93 team, an absolute monster of a man.

Boxtyeater wrote:1968. Down beat Kerry I think. A good player indeed.

Yes but he played right through the 1970s. He was 20 in 1968.

The greatest fielder of a ball i have ever seen was Mark Grimley bar none. probably not the most complete midfielder to be fair but as far as catching goes i have never seen better.

the great midfielders that i can remember are

Plunkett Donaghey,
Mark Grimley
John McDermott
Anthony Tohill
Brian Stynes
kevin Walshe
Darragh OShea
Paul McGrane

As a combination i would go for Donaghey and a fully fit (which unfortuately didnt happen too often) Mark Grimley

O'Shea is a given, but who goes beside him? I'd have to go with Tohill I reckon. 2 magnificent men indeed.

Corks Teddy Mc Carthy wasn't a bad one either, and possibly Larry Tompkins, i know he was seen more as a forward but he did play midfield for Cork at various times.

Can only really go for what i've seen in my lifetime here.

First off, Anthony Tohill who for me was the most complete footballer of his generation and could play anywhere on the pitch with great ease.

Darragh O'Se secondly, a monster of a man and in his peak was a brilliant player. Nowadays he's just not as good but still on top of his game.

If it was for midfield pairings then i'd find it hard to look past Tohill & McGilligian who complemented each other brilliantly. McGilligian was the shoulder behind the wheel while Tohill terrorised with his slick play and unreal fitness (thanks AFL).

Only reason i haven't picked big Brian in my 2 is simple. Having seen Tohill & McGilligian go head to head on several occassions i very rarely saw Brian get the better of Tohill, even though his clubside were a mile better that Swatraghs. When it mattered, Two Hills could put the shoulder behind the wheel and out work and out play McGilligian. The clashes between the two sometimes overshadowed that game and when Swatragh played Dungiven the crowds that went to see the Tohill/McGilligian show were unreal!

bald eagle wrote:Can only really go for what i've seen in my lifetime here.

First off, Anthony Tohill who for me was the most complete footballer of his generation and could play anywhere on the pitch with great ease.

Darragh O'Se secondly, a monster of a man and in his peak was a brilliant player. Nowadays he's just not as good but still on top of his game.

If it was for midfield pairings then i'd find it hard to look past Tohill & McGilligian who complemented each other brilliantly. McGilligian was the shoulder behind the wheel while Tohill terrorised with his slick play and unreal fitness (thanks AFL).

Only reason i haven't picked big Brian in my 2 is simple. Having seen Tohill & McGilligian go head to head on several occassions i very rarely saw Brian get the better of Tohill, even though his clubside were a mile better that Swatraghs. When it mattered, Two Hills could put the shoulder behind the wheel and out work and out play McGilligian. The clashes between the two sometimes overshadowed that game and when Swatragh played Dungiven the crowds that went to see the Tohill/McGilligian show were unreal!

Never had the privilege of seeing the two go toe-to-toe BE but i can imagine it was a fantastic tussle - no doubt Tohill was the classier of the two but big Brian was a brute of a man, he left a lasting impression with a few Aussies during a couple of Compromise Rules series.

Can I throw in a poser here? Gerrard or Lampard?

Point being that you can have two brilliant midfielders with very different qualities yet will be very effective in their role. Hence almost impossible to pick the best - never mind the best two!

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Can I throw in a poser here?

thought you were going to throw Loyal there for a minute - he's the biggest poser on here

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Can I throw in a poser here? Gerrard or Lampard?
!

I've been away for a week and this starts up....

Gerrard is the worst fielder of all time and Lampard hasn't the physique for midfield. Wing-half forwards both, at best....

I can;t believe that nobody on here has said Liam McHale. back when he was playing,McHale would have taken the likes of Darragh O'Se and Paul McGrane and showed them how it is done

Swinford2009 wrote:I can;t believe that nobody on here has said Liam McHale. back when he was playing,McHale would have taken the likes of Darragh O'Se and Paul McGrane and showed them how it is done

he was good but not as good as those boys.

samin10 wrote:

Swinford2009 wrote:I can;t believe that nobody on here has said Liam McHale. back when he was playing,McHale would have taken the likes of Darragh O'Se and Paul McGrane and showed them how it is done

he was good but not as good as those boys.

have to agree there Samin - McHale could be put in the same category as Donaghy - very over rated as a footballer in my opinion - his game was a tad limited for me - couldnt hit a cows arse with a bango for a start in terms of shooting

Nonsense - the man hit many many 3 pointers for the Merry Monks or whatever the Ballina basketballers were called - along with Kevin Mc bloody Stay!

He even had a ground named in his honour by us Metropolitans - Dub McHale Park!

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Nonsense - the man hit many many 3 pointers for the Merry Monks or whatever the Ballina basketballers were called - along with Kevin Mc bloody Stay!

He even had a ground named in his honour by us Metropolitans - Dub McHale Park!

Pity then that there was no back board in Croker...................

I think Donaghy is probably the best mid-fielder at present.

Unfortunately he is playing up front.

Mind you as a full forward only Bomber has been better of those I have seen.

patrique wrote:I think Donaghy is probably the best mid-fielder at present.

Mind you as a full forward only Bomber has been better of those I have seen.

Keaveney, Matt Connor, Stafford, Sean Cleary of Galway 63/66, ......Donaghy is but a big game gorsoon.....
Best m/f at present...you're having a laugh.

BTW, the prince of f/f's was Frankie Stockwell.

Even I am not old enough to remember Stockwell.

Donaghy has VISION.

That's what makes him the 2nd most complete player in Ireland at present.