Greatest U21 side of all-time

The U21 championship is about to start, and I'm reminded that it's 15 years since Tyrone won the first of their back-to-back titles under Mickey Harte.  I think that you could make a strong case for Tyrone 00/01 being the greatest U21 side of all-time, with an amalgamated selection from the 2 years perhaps looking like:

1. Pascal McConnell
2. Ciaran Gourley
3. Conor Gormley
4. Mickey McGee
5. Davy Harte
6. Gavin Devlin
7. Philip Jordan
8, Cormac McAnallen
9. Kevin Hughes
10. Enda McGinley
11. Brian McGuigan
12. Ryan Mellon
13. Mark Harte
14. Stevie O'Neill
15. Eoin Mulligan

And if you want 5 subs, well that still leaves you with the following lads who all played senior championship football for Tyrone in the 2000s: Peter Donnelly, Shane Sweeney, Ciaran McGinley, Declan McCrossan and Richard Thornton.

Oh, to have that talent coming through again...

Kerry three in a row 1975-77

Paidi O Se,Jack O'Shea,Pat Spillane,M. Spillane, D. (Ogie) Moran,E. (Bomber) Liston to name just a few.

Gaa_lover wrote:Kerry three in a row 1975-77

Paidi O Se,Jack O'Shea,Pat Spillane,M. Spillane, D. (Ogie) Moran,E. (Bomber) Liston to name just a few.

Name the rest, to compare depth and overall quality. Also, those lads didn't all play on the same sides, whereas the Tyrone players mostly did. Agreed, though, Kerry 75-77 are certainly in the mix too...

Our U21 team from the early 90s was pretty special too TC, would be hard to say which one was better than the other.

bocerty wrote:Our U21 team from the early 90s was pretty special too TC, would be hard to say which one was better than the other.

It was an excellent side too, losing the 1990 final, before winning back-to-back in 1991/2.  I think, though, the noughties team, given that they had already been to 2 minor finals (winning one) and so many would go on to start in winning AI senior teams, would be a couple of notches ahead for me.  I also think that, while there wasn't a Canavan in the later team, there was a depth unmatched even by the Kerry side that Gaa_lover mentioned.

Pity really that this site never took off. Dubs to win 4th All Ireland since 2010 at this level but can't match some of the above strange but true. civil disobedience CALLS BYEEEEEEE

champers wrote:Pity really that this site never took off. Dubs to win 4th All Ireland since 2010 at this level but can't match some of the above strange but true. civil disobedience CALLS BYEEEEEEE

You've won 3, not 4, and you won them over 5 years, so it was basically 3 different sides. Also, it's too early to really assess what those lads have done as seniors, certainly in comparison to the 2 teams previously mentioned. Come back in a few years and I'll happily discuss the Dubs then.

Thomas Clarke wrote:

champers wrote:Pity really that this site never took off. Dubs to win 4th All Ireland since 2010 at this level but can't match some of the above strange but true. civil disobedience CALLS BYEEEEEEE

You've won 3, not 4, and you won them over 5 years, so it was basically 3 different sides.  Also, it's too early to really assess what those lads have done as seniors, certainly in comparison to the 2 teams previously mentioned.  Come back in a few years and I'll happily discuss the Dubs then.

It will be 4 after this year,and what i meant we have had a poor return from those teams as you say they were different sides funny how times change.Galvin will have to win at least another couple of All-Irelands from that return of talent.

champers wrote:
It will be 4 after this year,and what i meant we have had a poor return from those teams as you say they were different sides funny how times change.Galvin will have to win at least another couple of  All-Irelands from that return of talent.

Well, let's count the 4th when it's actually won. Galvin will win more AI with his current squad, although I'd be a little bit concerned that more of the bright young things in attack (Costello, Mannion, McHugh, Hudson, Rock, Kilkenny - various reasons, I know) still aren't developing into leaders or key senior players the way the likes of the Brogans, McMenamin and O'Gara still are.

At full strength, it's very possible that none of those young lads would make the first 15, (Flynn, Alan, Connolly, McMenamin, Andrews/O'Gara, Bernard), which should be a bit disappointing.