Would be interested to get opinions on this. What lads and ladies do ye think is the most crucial position on a GAA pitch? Particularly in football.
Does it depend on the game? If your opponent has a Canavan/Gooch on the tem, is the fella who marks him the most impotant? Is your corner forward the most important? You need him to match Canavan (best of luck!)
Centre back is vital, for so many obvious reasons.
They say you cant win a game without a top class MF…
The 3rd midfielder/link half forward man can dictate a game if he is good enough ala Brian McGuigan
If your keeper cant be trusted and cant distribute then you wont win much…
So if a GAA magician came up to you and said, I will make your _______ the best player in Ireland, which position would you go for?
Liamo

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 08/04/2009 11:20:12    251760

midfield, the gooch/canavan cant do much if he doesnt have the ball

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 08/04/2009 11:39:02    251781

Bainisteoir.

Wests_Awake (Galway) - Posts: 877 - 08/04/2009 11:41:20    251783

Obviously Liam being from the land of the sliotar I haven't a clue about football positions but I believe in hurling all great teams are built on the half back line.
Clare - Daly, McMahon & Doyle,
Galway - Keady, Finnerty & McInerney,
Kilkenny - Walsh, Hogan, Delaney,
Wexford - Guiney, Dunne & O'Gorman,
Tipp - Bonner, Ryan & Kennedy,
Limerick - Clarke, Carey & Foley,
Offaly - Whelehan, Rigney & Martin and
Cork (as much as it kills me) Gardiner, Curran & O'Hailpin.
I could go on but I think these examples show how important the whole line is and in my opinion definitely the most important line on the pitch

solo (Kilkenny) - Posts: 314 - 08/04/2009 11:45:55    251789

centre-back

bad.monkey (USA) - Posts: 4649 - 08/04/2009 11:47:13    251792

Bainisteoir cant do much without theplayers Wests Awake....Micko/Heffo/Boylan wouldnt win anything without the players

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 08/04/2009 11:48:09    251794

I've always said the centre half back position is the most vital but what use is having a brilliant CHB if the rest of the team is useless, you need 15 top class players at this level really Liamo

updaroyal (Meath) - Posts: 1132 - 08/04/2009 11:49:54    251800

Stop the lights!!!!! A Kilkenny poster!! I am on HS about 5 or more years now and I cant remember seeing another!!! Welcome Welcome Welcome Solo!!! Great to see!! Now all we need is someone from Carlow and we will have a full house!! (i have some memory of a fella called Mark from Tullow..anyone else remember him??)
Anyway on your point, re the half backs. When your used to players like Tommy Walshe. JJ Delaney and the like I CAN SEE WHY!! :)
But who is the most important Solo....6?? 5? 7?

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 08/04/2009 11:52:42    251805

You will win nothing without a good manager.

denzel (None) - Posts: 452 - 08/04/2009 11:55:45    251809

Games are won and lost in midfield.

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 08/04/2009 11:58:09    251812

Well Liam, you would think being a midfielder for most of my life as a player and then a full forward in my later career that I would go for one of these. You could actually argue a point for every position but I think it has to be narrowed down to one of the central roles if we are going to generalise.

Full forward as far as I can see is a fairly handy position to play in and my favourite position. Its also my favourite position to watch from the sideline. If you can make quick space and kick points, get out ahead of your man and have a decent eye for a pass you can be brilliant at this position. For that reason I think it is extremely difficult to play at full back. Timing, speed, strength, intuition and composure are all needed to mark a good full forward. Its very rare you get a full back that everyone in the country will have agreement on. In Kerry we've been looking for a full back for the last 25 years. We've had half backs like Moynihan and Griffen, corner backs like O'sullivan and McCarthy and midfielders like Walsh. The last real full back was probably barry O'Shea but he didnt really make the grade after a few injuries so you have to go back to 82 and Johnno.

Midfield isnt that difficult a position if you blessed with a bit of Size and Mobility. There are plenty of other attributes that will help you and you dont have to have all of them.

On the 40 is a very difficult position to play in. Its a kind of position that the game can regularly pass you by in unless you're built for the position. I think you have to be extremely active and have to have a massive determination to pick up breaks while driving on in the right direction. You have to be a playmaker and have to be able to carry the ball through traffic. Would you believe that Oggie Moran won all 8 of his all irelands when he wore the number 11 jersey and lost all 4 games when he wore a different number. We've been lucky enough with O'Sullivan recently but there arent too many great Centre forwards out there. I think that centre backs have an easier job than their counterparts. If they shepherd their man away from goal, pick up their fair share of breaks and ditribute well then they have done they're job.

Because in my own opinion the Full Back and the Centre Forward are the hardest positions to fill with ideal candidates i think that they are the 2 most important positions. If I was to pick one I'd say Full Back.

thykingdomcome (Kerry) - Posts: 1206 - 08/04/2009 12:07:46    251831

Denzel, Offaly won Leinster and the league with Tommy Lyons.........
And Dave Barry is on record saying less than nice things about Billy Morgan as a manager......

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 08/04/2009 12:11:45    251838

Cheers Liam. Was surprised at the lack of KK posters here myself. I guess if there was a bullet to my head I'd have to pick centre back but in reality I think that has to be your strongest line on the pitch

solo (Kilkenny) - Posts: 314 - 08/04/2009 12:23:32    251851

Denzel, Kerry have won all-irelands with Páidí O'Sé, Pat O'Sé and Jack O'Connor...

HokeyPokey (Tyrone) - Posts: 1744 - 08/04/2009 12:27:02    251856

I could,nt decide what is the most important position so goin to opt for (supporters) were would any team be without its loyal fans behind them...

DUB1 (Dublin) - Posts: 5583 - 08/04/2009 12:34:29    251870

No problems there Hokey Pokey. Wouldnt rate Paudie or Pat that highly at all. Mind you Jack isn't too bad and definitely has the potential. Afterall he just lead CNS to beat the All Ireland champions last week by 10 points. Has definitely made a few mistakes particularly in his second season, '05, but I'm sure he has learned not to let his heart rule his head too much as he can be inclined to do. With our panel he should be able to squeeze a good year out of us this year.

thykingdomcome (Kerry) - Posts: 1206 - 08/04/2009 12:42:42    251886

jimbodub
County: Dublin
Posts: 2132

251812 Games are won and lost in midfield.

Not Necessarily...If you look at the stats in the tyrone games Tyrone never won the kick-outs. They won more breaking ball due to their half backs and forwards. I think forwards are the most important if you dnt get score you can win games

shane_mck (Tyrone) - Posts: 159 - 08/04/2009 12:43:15    251887

Right Half Forward or Left Half Forward for me:

David Beggy
Trevor Giles
Evan Kelly
Graham Geraghty
Peader Byrne
PJ Gillic
Tommy Dowd
Jimmy McGuiness
Nigel Nestor
Stephen Bray
Jody Devine

All great men to have pulled on the No. 10 and the No. 12 shirts. If anyone would like to add to the list, go ahead...........

Loyal2TheRoyal (Meath) - Posts: 4522 - 08/04/2009 12:45:22    251891

Dub1 Derry won an All Ireland with half the people hating them and half of the other half noto giving a toss!!! And if supprters won you Sam, we would have it sewn up!!!

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 08/04/2009 12:51:08    251897

Don't be ridiculous Liam, every body knows that just like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and an honest politican; Carlow doesn't exist.

I would have had little opinion on this up till last Sunday and would have thought that like the cogs on a wheel each position is dependent on every other. But watching Galway's half forward line starve their own forwards of the ball, I might have to say that this line is vital. Everyone else on the field was doing their job, but a failure at this position resulted in a total failure to score, and Galway losing the game. No disprespect meant to my tipp friends (A Galway man being civil to Tipp men! Haven't we come a long way since the late 80's ;) ) who thoroughly deserved their victory; but that Galway team were woeful and still managed to only loose by a brace of points.

festinog (Galway) - Posts: 3143 - 08/04/2009 13:07:33    251914