Gooch to captain Kerry

At last the Gooch gets to lead the Kingdom - following a couple of 'dubious' captains in recent years (and I know its down to the Co. C'ship)! One thing for sure he won't be short in leading by example. This is scary for all other counties if the other lads decide to give his career something it deserves - lifting Sam in Croker in September.

Jayo Cluxton wrote:At last the Gooch gets to lead the Kingdom - following a couple of 'dubious' captains in recent years (and I know its down to the Co. C'ship)! One thing for sure he won't be short in leading by example. This is scary for all other counties if the other lads decide to give his career something it deserves - lifting Sam in Croker in September.

True. Didn't he raise Sam with Declan one year though? Declan had an injury and Gooch was vice captain I think.

Sorry Declan wasn't injured - he was dropped! Can't believe I forgot that. I remember RKF was booing Declan earlier in the Championship against Cork!

3inarow08 wrote:Sorry Declan wasn't injured - he was dropped! Can't believe I forgot that. I remember RKF was booing Declan earlier in the Championship against Cork!

Him and the other 8 Kerry fans at the game as I recall ...

Darren O'Sullivan another ... inspired ... captain. C'mon the Gooch!

Jayo Cluxton wrote:

3inarow08 wrote:Sorry Declan wasn't injured - he was dropped! Can't believe I forgot that. I remember RKF was booing Declan earlier in the Championship against Cork!

Him and the other 8 Kerry fans at the game as I recall ...

Darren O'Sullivan another ... inspired ... captain. C'mon the Gooch!

Yes I must claim credit for the 2006 success.I turned the season around that day. Declan was good captain. Not many have collected Sam two years in a row. I think the previous occasion was some Dublin fella in the seventies. The Gooch better get his act together or he is in for a rollicking in 2011.

Real Kerry Fan wrote:Not many have collected Sam two years in a row. I think the previous occasion was some Dublin fella in the seventies.

Ah Deccie was a mere player - but Tony was also the manager second time around!

Gooch could be an inspiration.

Now Kerry have slipped a few notches but if the ref hadn't disallowed the goal against Down I suspect they could have won Sam again. You could say the same for a few others "only if" but the point is Kerry werenot really that far away, without galvin and Tomas.

So Gooch could get his hands on the cup next year as there is nothing outstanding out there.

Moi sentiments exactement ....

patrique wrote:Gooch could be an inspiration.

Now Kerry have slipped a few notches but if the ref hadn't disallowed the goal against Down I suspect they could have won Sam again. You could say the same for a few others "only if" but the point is Kerry werenot really that far away, without galvin and Tomas.

So Gooch could get his hands on the cup next year as there is nothing outstanding out there.

It's a fair enough point, and they could be back next year, but the side requires major surgery, and an all-ireland next year doesn't look very likely at this stage.

Realistically, Kerry need a goalkeeper, 3 new backs (2 of them in central positions) and a midfielder. A bit of new blood in the forward line would help too, although that should be easier to find than the backs.

Would be interested to hear from our 2 Kerry posters what the feeling in the Kingdom is, particularly around who might be FB/CHB and MF with Scanlon for next year.

TC. I get the feeling from the homeland that yes the positions you have listed are problem areas. I would have Reidy back in goal. He did pretty well in 2009 league games. I cant see a readymade fullback appearing but there is a strong rumour that Paul Galvin may be tried at centre half back. Midfield is a problem. In fairness Scanlon had a lot of injuries this year but David Moran(who has the potential) would need to step up to the mark. There are a few more, Ambrose,Gary O'Driscoll,Buckley etc but we should know more about them after the league. In the forwards, BJ Keane showed potential,also Kieran O'Leary,when back, but BJ Walsh's loss of form is baffling. Overall the general opinion is that 2011 will be too soon to get a revised strong team challenging for Sam as strengh in depth is missing in comparison to Cork,Tyrone,Down. I know that our poor underage performances did not affect the team over the past 10 years but now that so many players are coming to the end of their career the replacements do not seem to be coming through.We will look forward to the league campaign with extra interest to form a more reliable judgement.

Yeah, that's what I would think too RKF, that 2011 might be a bit soon for the overhaul to prove fruitful. Kerry have had a number of promising looking young lads over the last few years but, it is a big ask for 2-3 of them to now step up and make an impact in central roles.

At Fullback, I've seen both Daniel Bohane and Aidan O'Shea there over the last couple of years, but neither of them seems to have pushed on from that early promise. I think both have had injuries though.

At CHB, the Galvin option was mentioned last year and, with half backs generally having more time on the ball than half forwards nowadays, it may not deprive the side too much of his creativity. The worry that I would have is that CHB requires a huge amount of positional discipline, and is totally different to wing forward in that regard. I'd also wonder about Galvin's discipline in the tackle if the opposition run at him. Still, they have to try something, as there are no other obvious candidates.

In MF, you could bring Donaghy out, but that would seriously weaken the full-forward line. For all his obvious ability, I've never been a fan of Moran, and I think he would have been more suited to a by-gone era. He reminds me a lot of Tyrone's Raymie Mulgrew in that regard. Ambrose I haven't seen, although have heard good reports. Quirke is a good, intelligent footballer, but just too slow at this level.

Up front, yes, O'Leary and Keane have both shown something, as has Paul O'Connor. BJW didn't push on at all last year, so 2011 is huge for him. Over the last 5 years, 4 of Kerry's forwards have been household names, but the other 2 slots have always been up for grabs. I think a couple of these young lads have to start nailing down first team slots if Kerry are to be successful next year.

Still, though, every team has weaknesses, and Kerry will certainly be competitive. To what degree, we should have a better idea after the league campaign.