Michael Murphy injured his knee against Dublin inpho/Donall Farmer
Murphy's Law
Why Murphy's loss could relegate Donegal
The Glenswilly star has been responsible for more than half of his team’s scores in every game since he first played in 2007 and his absence could be devastating to his county.
THERE IS SURELY no argument that Michael Murphy is Donegal’s most important player.
His injury in the recent defeat to Dublin only served to highlight how indispensable he is. The All-Ireland champions always looked to have another gear in which to switch but Murphy was dragging his side closer and closer, that is until he was withdrawn with a knee injury.
After that, Jim McGuinness’ side had about as much cutting force up front as a plastic fork.
The Glenswilly man – who dragged his county to a Ulster title last season – is in a race to regain fitness for the provincial opener against Cavan and a look at his time in the green and gold jersey reveals his importance more fully.
Murphy made his debut in the 2007 Dr McKenna Cup but did not make a truly meaningful appearance for his county until the All-Ireland qualifiers that same year. His was a gradual rise in the Donegal shirt as he hit 1-2 from three qualifiers before Monaghan closed the back door (that defeat to the Farney County accounts for one of the four occasions in which Murphy has been kept scoreless in 43 league and championship appearances).
So after scoring just 11% of his side’s scores when picked in 2007, that figure shot up to 34% in 2008. Again, Murphy did not feature in the league but in three championship games: a loss to Derry, a game-winning haul of 2-2 against Roscommon and 0-5 in another season-ending defeat to Monaghan.
Murphy played his first league campaign in 2009 and ended up the year as Young Footballer of the Year. He was kept scoreless just twice all year long but on both of those occasions, he appeared as a substitute for a side chasing the game. He finished with 29% of his county’s haul and though that was down in percentage, it came as part of a massive personal tally of 2-38.
2010 was something of a chastening season for Tir Chonaill as they were beaten in five of the nine games. Still, Murphy kept up his fine scoring run with 2-33 from his eight appearances; averaging 0-5 per game.
Advertisement
Had Donegal managed to overcome Dublin in the 2011 All-Ireland semi-final (when the star full-forward was held scoreless for the first time in two years), there is little doubt that the Glenswilly man – now captain – would have been named Footballer of the Year. Coinciding with McGuinness’ first year in charge, Murphy led his side to Division 2 and Ulster glory.
All-white on the night
Surely his most impressive performance came despite a hamstring injury that relegated him to the bench for an epic All-Ireland quarter-final clash with Kildare.
With the Lilywhites on top, Murphy risked further injury to help bring the game to extra time where, after going three points down, he was involved in the game’s final four scores; how he kept an unforgiving pass in play in the lead-up to Kevin Cassidy’s winner is anyone’s guess. Though when you’re hitting 4-40 of your team’s 16-160 that year, perhaps anything is possible.
Such as accounting for 49% of the scores your county takes on your watch in the 2012 league. Donegal looked in desperate shape without Murphy – and Colm McFadden, it must be said – in defeat to Down and Laois early on but they have recovered since his return.
Relegation is still a big worry for McGuinness, now that he is without his most irreplaceable asset – man who has hit more than half your scores (51%) when he has lined out over the past six seasons. Of course, none of this takes into account his massive contribution from general play.
The statistics only serve to tell Donegal fans what they already know.
Scoring from league and championship games Murphy has played in.
Why Murphy's loss could relegate Donegal
THERE IS SURELY no argument that Michael Murphy is Donegal’s most important player.
His injury in the recent defeat to Dublin only served to highlight how indispensable he is. The All-Ireland champions always looked to have another gear in which to switch but Murphy was dragging his side closer and closer, that is until he was withdrawn with a knee injury.
After that, Jim McGuinness’ side had about as much cutting force up front as a plastic fork.
Murphy made his debut in the 2007 Dr McKenna Cup but did not make a truly meaningful appearance for his county until the All-Ireland qualifiers that same year. His was a gradual rise in the Donegal shirt as he hit 1-2 from three qualifiers before Monaghan closed the back door (that defeat to the Farney County accounts for one of the four occasions in which Murphy has been kept scoreless in 43 league and championship appearances).
So after scoring just 11% of his side’s scores when picked in 2007, that figure shot up to 34% in 2008. Again, Murphy did not feature in the league but in three championship games: a loss to Derry, a game-winning haul of 2-2 against Roscommon and 0-5 in another season-ending defeat to Monaghan.
Murphy played his first league campaign in 2009 and ended up the year as Young Footballer of the Year. He was kept scoreless just twice all year long but on both of those occasions, he appeared as a substitute for a side chasing the game. He finished with 29% of his county’s haul and though that was down in percentage, it came as part of a massive personal tally of 2-38.
2010 was something of a chastening season for Tir Chonaill as they were beaten in five of the nine games. Still, Murphy kept up his fine scoring run with 2-33 from his eight appearances; averaging 0-5 per game.
Had Donegal managed to overcome Dublin in the 2011 All-Ireland semi-final (when the star full-forward was held scoreless for the first time in two years), there is little doubt that the Glenswilly man – now captain – would have been named Footballer of the Year. Coinciding with McGuinness’ first year in charge, Murphy led his side to Division 2 and Ulster glory.
All-white on the night
Surely his most impressive performance came despite a hamstring injury that relegated him to the bench for an epic All-Ireland quarter-final clash with Kildare.
With the Lilywhites on top, Murphy risked further injury to help bring the game to extra time where, after going three points down, he was involved in the game’s final four scores; how he kept an unforgiving pass in play in the lead-up to Kevin Cassidy’s winner is anyone’s guess. Though when you’re hitting 4-40 of your team’s 16-160 that year, perhaps anything is possible.
Relegation is still a big worry for McGuinness, now that he is without his most irreplaceable asset – man who has hit more than half your scores (51%) when he has lined out over the past six seasons. Of course, none of this takes into account his massive contribution from general play.
The statistics only serve to tell Donegal fans what they already know.
Scoring from league and championship games Murphy has played in.
2007 (3 games)
1-2 of 3-36 – 11%
2008 (3 games)
3-8 of 4-28 – 34%
2009 (11 games)
2-38 of 9-126 – 29%
2010 (8 games)
2-33 of 8-79 – 38%
2011 (14 games)
4-40 of 16-160 – 25%
2012 (4 games)
2-19 of 2-45 – 49%
Opinion: Out of sight, out of mind for armchair GAA fans
Benny Coulter: ‘I’ve been the victim of GAA sledging’
Taking stick: Clare looking big for their age
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Donegal GAA Gaelic Football Michael Murphy Murphy's Law