Midfielders ... best current pairing?

It strikes me that the days of two midfielders dominating a game are gone. Time was you had two very good midfielders - one brilliant - to win Sam (thinking Jacko and AN Other, Mullins and AN Other etc). In latter years one exceptional player may have got you over the line (Darragh for Kerry) or in Tyrone's case no exceptional midfielder but exceptional ability and adaptability around the half lines.

Think of your own county. Is your midfield brilliant - or does your system aim to bypass midfield? Have you got one outstanding 8 or 9. From a Dub perspective it is now clear that Whelo was a special talent - but Dubs always knew that.

The reason for this thread is that one county (IMO) have two of the finest midfielders in the country - at least one will be an All Star already I reckon. I speak of Louth. Paddy Keenan and Brian White (though slow to get to grips on Sunday) are a superb pairing. Paddy is very like Whelan I think - marauding, busy and taking inspirational scores. White is an able assistant with the bonus that he is a really good free taker.

I doubt there is a better pairing left in the Championship - am I wrong?

Carlows Brendan Murphy and Thomas Walsh even though were not in the Championship

Midfielder's are the new corner forwards. Nothing much tends to happen to them nowadays but if and when it does you'd hope they make the best of it
As for corner forwards, they tend to be the new midfielders, at least one of them is always knocking about to 'mop up' any 'dirty ball' in that 'sector'.

mossbags wrote:Midfielder's are the new corner forwards. Nothing much tends to happen to them nowadays but if and when it does you'd hope they make the best of it
As for corner forwards, they tend to be the new midfielders, at least one of them is always knocking about to 'mop up' any 'dirty ball' in that 'sector'.

Aye Moss - know where you are coming from. But if you take the 'old' (think Boxty) description of midfielders then the two Louth men are the best pairing this season I reckon - haven't seen better.

Would have to agree with you on the Louth pairing JC - they are easily the best pairing this year. We in Tyrone dont do midfielders (but if we did they'd probably be the best midfielders in the world!!!) at least not in pairs anyway. Sean Cavanagh has probably been our best of late and the pairing of him and Hughes was probably the best we've had in along time.

Alas big Sean doesnt have a permanent position anymore - he can alternate anywhere between midfield and the full forward line, to little effect of late it must be said.

If Keenan doesnt win an All Star this year he never will

Two Louth midfielders are lovely footballers, very stylish and all the panache of your typical athletic midfielder. But as midfielders, they fall a bit short of Hughes/Cavanagh, Taylor/Gilmartin, Walsh/O'Connor and even McAuley/McConnell. I think the percentages from Sunday had Meath in front by 53-47. All depends what you want in a midfielder I suppose.

As a pairing; Galvin/O'Donovan --Lomerick

dont think theres much better than the louth and carlow pairing.

Always thought The Mort couldve been the best of the lot if he was given a run at midfield. Alas, no manager has been brave enough to give it a try

Kenneth...

Real Kerry Fan wrote:As a pairing; Galvin/O'Donovan --Lomerick

I'd agree with that also. They will give Cork plenty to deal with on Saturday.

But Jayo's original point is a good one. Think back 10-15 years, and you had the likes of Dara O'Se, McGrane, Whelan, Kevin Walsh, Pat Fallon, Liam McHale, Gregory McCartan, Tohill, Dermot McCabe, John McDermott, Niall Buckley, a young Dermot Earley, to name a few. What is there now that would compare to those?

The superstar midfielder began to die out about 10 years ago, and has been virtually followed into extinction by the play-making centre-half forward.