When I was first given this brief I was thinking where do I start?
And by the time my well-washed and crackled hands started typing I was still wondering where will this end?
That is because how do you judge the most important players, is the skilful player who played among several All-Star winning team-mates more valued than the footballer who stuck with the team even though he knew it was going nowhere, but was prepared to put their shoulder to the wheel to ensure better days.
Either way, several different players have been included and then withdrawn in the many drafts I have compiled, but luckily for you and my lock-downed sanity, there are a few stand-out candidates that I believe we all can agree on.
DAN GORDON
Dan Gordon is a player of almost mythical stature. For more years than anyone cares to remember Dan the Man was the answer to Down’s problems.
Fans in the Mourne County quite rightly look back fondly with Gordon’s superb fielding and distribution at midfield as it is a position they have failed to settle on since the Loughinisland player called time on his county career in 2013.
Having missed much of the National League, Gordon returned to the Down squad in 2010 for the Championship, where he became the lynchpin at full-back and his entrusted battle with Kieran Donaghy helped Down defeat Kerry in Croke Park in the All-Ireland quarter-final.
Gordon was still at the peak of his power when he stepped away before the 2013 season and it was only in 2017 when the county management stopped being asked about him, such was the clamour to get him back in the red and black.
The fact that Down still haven’t found a replacement suggests that Gordon was a vital cog in a slick Down team in the early part of the decade.
BENNY COULTER
Benny Coulter is arguably the best Down player of his generation. Both-footed, powerful, strong in the air and deadly in front of goal Coulter had it all and even more importantly he gave his all.
Coulter’s name is rarely written these days without the prefix of Down legend, much like mercurial seems to be attached to Armagh’s Jamie Clarke, especially by scribes outside the six counties.
Coulter announced his retirement in 2014, after 15 years of leading the Down attack, finishing the top goal-scorer in the Ulster Championship during his career, but his most important three-pointer was that goal against Kildare in the 2010 All-Ireland semi-final. What square ball?
Coulter placed bums on seats, he was the type of player could conjure up a piece of magic that would have the crowd on their feet. And even when on the few days that he didn’t dazzle, his conviction and courage never waned and he continued to carry the fight for Down.
His breath-taking skills caught the imagination of those who longed for past glory days and inspired many more to simply kick a ball and try to be better players. Coulter’s place in Down’s footballing history is assured.
MARTIN CLARKE
Like those holiday romances, Martin Clarke’s involvement with Down was a fleeting affair and without doubt - the earth moved. Clarke returned from playing Australian Rules football with Collingwood in 2009 to give Down two seasons of flamboyance and exciting football.
Clarke possessed the vision and the feet to change the game with his awe inspiring and accurate cross-field passes, which split his opponents in half. It isn’t too far a stretch to suggest Down would not have reached the All-Ireland Final in 2010 had it not been for presence and ability of Clarke.
He was joy to watch, the An Riocht playmaker was the centrepiece of a talented team and his All-Star in 2010 was nailed on. But Addison’s disease robbed us all of seeing him back in the red and black of Down, after coming back to Ireland in 2014.
KEVIN McKERNAN
Another All-Star winner in 2010, Kevin McKernan has been ever-present with the Down cause through the good times and the not so great.
McKernan has found himself as being the player to plug holes at one end and pick holes at the other as his versatility has seen him play in almost every position.
The Burren club-man has Ulster and All-Ireland runners-up medals and he has become one of the growing band of leaders in Paddy Tally’s Down. A multiple Man of the Match winner, McKernan is a player who possesses the conviction to go for that long-range effort and is never afraid to carry the fight to his opponent.
A fantastic communicator and solid reader of the game, McKernan is player who wears his heart on his sleeve and he has adapted to the sweeper role with ease. It may deprive Down of his attacking flair but McKernan is a team player.
He brings players into his game and encourages them throughout both on and off the pitch. He is someone the younger players look up to but McKernan has plenty more to offer.
DONAL O’HARE
Donal O’Hare made his debut for Down against Armagh in a pre-championship friendly in 2011 in the opening of the new pitch at St Paul’s Lurgan and it was clear even then that Down had found an ace forward.
The razor sharp shooter has been a pivotal player for Down all through the last decade and O’Hare has played a key role in their latest revival under manager Paddy Tally.
His hat-trick of goals against Longford in 2019, pushed Down towards promotion, albeit they faltered, but even this season the Burren man has displayed leadership as well as cool finishing.
His steady free-taking has kept the Mourne machine ticking over throughout the decade, but his ability to grab goals in tight spaces, is a quality few can match. O’Hare arrived too late for the 2010 All-Ireland journey, but he could hold the key to unlocking Down’s next race for silverware in the uncertain future.
DARREN O’HAGAN
IT is hard to image Down going into battle without their tenacious and tough tackling defender Darren O’Hagan.
The current Down captain has been in the Mourne squad since 2013 and he keeps getting better.
O’Hagan is still playing at the highest level and he leads by example with his aggressive style, be that with his technically accurate and strong defending or his slick running into attack and abilities in front of the posts. The Clonduff man has been a major player which helped carry Down to an Ulster Final in 2017, under the late Eamonn Burns and under Paddy Tally, O’Hagan’s role has been further up the pitch, where he sometimes plays with his club.
O’Hagan has evolved into becoming the total footballer and when he goes into battle, his team-mates follow.
Others who could have been included are Ambrose Rogers, Conor Maginn and Danny Hughes.
