HE’S PLAYED WITH some of the greats of Mayo football over the years, and seen many more talented players growing up, but David Brady thinks Cillian O’Connor is the best he’s ever seen.
O’Connor was the go-to man in Salthill last Sunday when Mayo needed an accurate boot to kick a point against Galway, and Brady believes everyone is now seeing O’Connor as a marquee forward.
“There was an over reliance on Cillian O’Connor. The whole question was have they got a marquee forward? Now everyone is seeing that he is a marquee forward, I have seen it from day one,” said Brady.
“He carries himself well and he’s a role model on and off the pitch.”
For me he is the best Mayo footballer I have ever seen, I have played with some of the heroes of the past but I see this guy as the ultimate team player and he is in the top two or three players in the country.
The former All-Ireland club winner with Ballina ranks the Ballintubber forward above Ciarán McDonald, the man regarded by many as Mayo’s greatest ever forward.
“No one will say Mayo have not got a top class forward but it’s been a long time coming for them to say it. They’ve never said it.”
“Even when Conor Mortimer was there, Ciaran McDonald, we had the most stylish, skilful, elegant player you could have in Ciaran, but as a top class forward, (Cillian is) spreading the scores, spreading the ball spreading the work rate.”
Brady was also pleased to see Mayo dabbling in the ‘dark arts’ of the game, by slowing Galway down in the final minutes last Sunday to close out the victory.
“If Mayo did what they did last Sunday – and I’m not saying whether it’s right or wrong – in the last ten minutes in Croke Park in the All-Ireland semi-final last year they would have made the final. What happens then is up to anyone.”
But you hold on to as many jerseys as you can, pull in as many men and make it as rough and tumble as you can and don’t give the ball away and act the blackguard. It’s good to see Mayo acting the blackguard.
Brady believes the Mayo team would have sat around at the beginning of this year and discussed such tactics, citing Donegal as another side who previously set out to grind the final few minutes of games out.
“Jim McGuinness and the Donegal boys are on record to say they had a session sitting around on chairs on how to perfect the bad mouthing and the sledging.”
“Mayo would have sat around chairs saying ‘How do we become meaner, how do we become more cuter, how do we slow down a game, or build up a game?’.”
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Eircom yesterday launched their online GAA platform for supporters this summer.
The GAA hub, www.eircom.ie/gaa, will see the introduction of a new feature where fans can record and share their views on players throughout the championship via a new audio social network BOAST
Ciaran McDonald is the better footballer I think, O’Connor seems to get a lot of his scores from frees.
Is the last point of the article about Jim McGuiness giving a class on sledging true? First I have heard of it.
Re: the sledging, it is true if you believe what you read it Kevin Cassidy’s book – the book that saw him kicked off the team. Donegal had a team meeting and decided to use it to get into the heads of other teams.
Ciaran McDonald. need I say more…
“He is in the top two or three players in the country” what a joke of a statement. Hardly Mayo bias on Bradys part.
Michael Murphy, James O’Donoghue, Gooch, Paul Flynn to name but a few that are better outside Mayo and I would argue Keith Higgins and Aidan O Shea are better also within the Mayo team. He doesn’t have the speed to ever be the forward Mayo need to win an AI.
Finally saying he is better than Mcdonald should be a form of blasphemy punishable by death.
God, I really wish David Brady would keep quiet! Has he not enough pressure on his shoulders already? He has a long way to go before he can consider himself better than Ciarán MacDonald, James Nallen or even Alan Dillon.
He’s the best cry baby I’ve ever seen
Mayo for Ham
McDonald without a doubt was better,o connor is good but don’t know if he’d make the top 3 in the country even,gooch,brogan,Murphy ahead of him for me
conor McManus is up there too, basically carries Monaghan
He’s a great man to knock over a 14 yard free though in fairness
dosent matter how good he is.all he,ll ever win is connaught medals.
The amount of hype about Mayo in general is unreal. The Newcastle United of Gaelic football
By the most cynical analysts of Ireland Mayo are nowhere outside the top 4 teams of the country, bit of a stretch to compare us to a team nearly relegated in the English league.
Ah come on, I would say we’re the Holland of Gaelic football…
He can be but not yet….
His turning out to be a brilliant footballer. Finally Mayo have a quality scoring forward. Can’t remember Mayo having one of these. Had some serious injuries. Not as good as Ciaran Mc tho.
Id say there’s a few boys who saw Peter Solan, Tom Langan, Eamon Mongey, Pairic Carney, Peter Quinn, and the like who might not agree.
I agree with the Luke fella fully,o Conner is probably the most overated player in the county
He scored one point from play on Sunday…Brady is and always has been a meathead
Era Mayo are only bottlers. They get a dirty nappy when it’s the third Sunday of September. Couldn’t hold it together down in Limerick either.
if he wins an all ireland he will be! your nobody in gaelic or hurling until you have an all ireland senior
NO!
O’connor may be good but better than Ciaran McDonald not a chance.Let me put it this way would O’Connor pull a game out of the fire the way a gooch,brogan or Murphy would??
Conor McManus far better player not just with Monaghan but he was the best player on the pitch in the most recent Compromised Rules match.
No.
When this guy kicks 10 points in an All Ireland then we can have this debate. Bloody hell
This fella comes across as an ignorant fan.