Ireland's greatest player poll.

[galwayhoop]

.............................. by the time he left MU at the age of 27 (after a year of arguing with new manager Tommy Docherty), he had played 466 games for United - that's 12 more than Keane.
He scored 178 goals for MU which, as a winger in teams with supreme goalscorers such as Denis Law, David Herd and Bobby Charlton, is stupendous.
He was voted English Footballer of the Year at the age of 22, though this is sometimes overshadowed by the fact that he was also EUROPEAN Footballer of the Year the same season.
And yes, Roy Keane performed mighty feats in that Champions League semi-final against Juventus. But have you ever seen footage of Best when he destroyed Benfica virtually single-handedly in Lisbon in 1966?
Benfica were unbeaten at home in the European Cup; after having drawn their first ever home game 0-0, they then won 20 consecutive home victories, scoring 86 goals and conceding 18. United humped them 5-1 and Best was the star of the show. Below is just a random "Google" about that match:

...................................

P.S. Your dismissal of Maradona is similarly off the mark (imo). .

if we're talking about an all time best ireland team (regardless if ROI or NI) i think it has to be based on their level of performance or achievements at international level. the above monologue may well prove best's right to get into a man utd all time 11 ahead of keane but he was a total underachiever at international level which keane was not. keane proved his worth both individually and as a leader to international collegues when IMO he led us practically single handed to WC2002 (before deserting us ) while best simply never had the same impact at international level that he did at club level

as regards maradona - pure class. but again both at international and club level. napoli winning seria a and argentina WC86 - 2 achievements which would not have happened without the magician. the fact he made brady look ordinary cannot surprise anyone as he would have made anyone look ordinary when in his prime

[DmanDmythDledge]

I wonder are you thinking of Johnny Carey. He joined Man.Utd. before the war. He was in the army and played was posted to Italy where he played for several Italian clubs as a guest player.

After the war, he resumed at Man.Utd. and captained Ireland in 17 of the 18 internationals played between September 1946 and May 1951. He captained the side twice more in the 1952/53 season.

I dont think any other Man.Utd. player captained Ireland in the 50's.

No, his name was definitely O'Connor. I heard it mentioned on some programme on RTÉ a few years ago.

My memory is a bit vague about this, but I've feeling that it wasn't Ireland he captained- it could have been Barca, or even Man Utd, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't them. He definitely captained one of the teams for sure.

[Superhoops]

No, his name was definitely O'Connor. I heard it mentioned on some programme on RTÉ a few years ago.

My memory is a bit vague about this, but I've feeling that it wasn't Ireland he captained- it could have been Barca, or even Man Utd, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't them. He definitely captained one of the teams for sure.

I am only aware of 2 O'Connors that ever played for Ireland. Tommy O'Connor who was mentioned earlier in this thread and Turlough O'Connor, who played for Bohemians and Fulham. He won 7 caps between 1967 and 1973.

[DmanDmythDledge]

This must be the fella I was thinking of. Got the date "slightly" off.

[Superhoops]

This must be the fella I was thinking of. Got the date "slightly" off.

and the name, but glad it is now sorted, though I was going mad!

[DmanDmythDledge]

and the name

Never noticed it different!

[OwlsFan]

Keane proved his worth both individually and as a leader to international collegues when IMO he led us practically single handed to WC2002 (before deserting us ) while Best simply never had the same impact at international level that he did at club level

I think Given's performances in that campaign were equally as important as Keane's.

[galwayhoop]

I think Given's performances in that campaign were equally as important as Keane's.

dont agree with you on that one. given has been more instrumental from 02 - 06 than he was previous. keanes performances against dutch, portuguese (espically in lansdowne) and away to cyprus were the main vital components which contributed to our qualification. i honestly don't think that any other player had the same effect on our qualification. the leadership shown was unreal. rember late in the portugal game when we were pure backs to the wall and keane ran the length of the pitch with the ball, stopped, turned and shouted for everyone else to come out - pure class.

[Stuttgart88]

Whatever about the campaign proper (Alan Kelly was no. 1 for first 3 games at least, and I recall Kelly making a great save at 0-0 at home to Estonia, seconds before Kinsella scored), Given almost single-handedly won us the play off vs. Iran.

The concession of an away goal at Lansdowne would have killed us, as could have an early goal in Tehran. So in that sense Given's role in getting us to Japan was absolutely crucial. He was excellent in both games. Late one-on-ones at Lansdowne and a great double save from Ali Dei (spelling?) in Tehran stick in the memory.

[bennocelt]

[QUOTE=EalingGreen;566463]I can ignore the jibes about "the North" [sic] and it's football team, just as I've ignored certain other posters' opinions such as that Given is better than Jennings; however, your assessment of Best is woefully ignorant]


wow what can i say, im in shock, i actually agree with ealing Green, a top class reply, what can i say, if you keep posting top quality posts like that i might have to start liking you!

[CollegeTillIDie]

Ok I have no problem with NI players being mentioned in this context. Don't forget for years in the 1970's if you bought a football magazine and international players were featured, our lot were shown as Éire and the boys from up North as Ireland. In that context I think Northern players should be included in this discussion and an All-Ireland Best XI would be an interesting selection.


Best Northern Ireland players in my view;- Pat Jennings, Danny Blanchflower
I don't mention George Best, at international level , because... he only scored 9 goals , which is not even as good as Colin Clarke!
At club level one of the best ever was Georgie.

Best Republic of Ireland players :- Paul McGrath, played better hungover than many players can today sober! Yes he missed the odd match, but never a whole tournament!

Roy Keane, was excellent, when he turned up!
Interestingly enough both players began their career in what is now known as the Eircom League, Mc Grath with Pat's and Roy Keane in the FIRST DIVISION with Cobh Ramblers.