Getting the best out of a player can be all down to their positioning.
Rian O’Neill is undoubtedly a special talent whose versatility is one his greatest strengths, however, this may lead to him becoming a victim of the ‘Michael Murphy conundrum.’
Murphy was of course Donegal’s star man for over a decade – their leader, their inspiration, their answer to most problems on a football field.
At full forward he could destroy defences, burst nets and be his county’s biggest threat, the one that the opposition had to focus on stopping.
However, such was the standard of his all-round play, the former Donegal captain was often brought out to the middle of the park, coming a bit deeper to get his hands on the ball more and make things happen.
If his team were being dominated in the air, or the opposition were finding it too easy running through the middle, then Murphy would come and sort that out too.
However, this is where the issue would lay, because when you take him out of the square, you take away the threat that he poses.
Since the departure of Jim McGuinness, no manager really knew how best to manage Murphy’s positioning and get the absolute most out of his scoring prowess.
Armagh are now in a similar situation with O’Neill who is a powerhouse near goal, but also arguably their best player when he moves deeper on the pitch.
Speaking on the latest episode of the GAA Hour, Darran O’Sullivan thinks that it isn’t a conundrum at all, and where Kieran McGeeney should be playing O’Neill, is a no-brainer.
“It is a bit like Michael Murphy, so good inside, so good outside, but I want my best players closer to goal because that’s where they’re going to hurt teams.
“Do Kerry mind him being out around the middle? No, because is he going to hurt them that much out there? Probably not.
“Now he can play well out there and be on the ball, but he’s not going to hurt them. He could beat a team on his own inside, he has that bit of nastiness, that bit of spikiness, when he tackles you, you know all about it.
“That’s why some of the players we all hype up, who don’t have that, never kick on – but he has that.”
You can listen to the full episode of the GAA Hour here: McStay ball TM, Tyrone missing Mickey Harte and why forwards should just take on their man
Related links:
- Darran O’Sullivan reveals which ex-Kerry star did what Jack McCaffrey’s doing
- Armagh’s plan to ditch “Kevin Keegan’s entertainers” tag against Kerry doesn’t pay off
- Peter Canavan: “The Tyrone support has been very poor”
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