The players would help boost any squad.
Mickey Harte has had made a lot of big decisions recently, not least choosing to leave Louth to take the Derry job, but there are more decision he still needs to make.
A lot of the current Derry team picks themselves, given that the spine of the players who were central to the two Ulster titles they won in the last two years are still available, however, Harte wasn’t brought into this job to win Ulster, he is there to win the All-Ireland.
That means he needs to make improvements to the squad, add faces that were missing from the previous years who could potentially elevate them further and help them reach the holy grail.
Watching Watty Graham’s Glen beat Kilmacud Crokes at the weekend, you have to wonder why more of their players aren’t representing the Oakleaf county.
Ciaran McFaul, Conor Glass, Ethan Doherty, and Conleith McGuckian were all involved in the team last year, but there are a plethora of players that are more than capable of adding value to Harte’s panel.
Three names in particular stand out:
Emmet Bradley
Emmet Bradley represented Derry for years, and was a big part of their team that won their first Ulster title under Rory Gallagher, but he was used as an impact substitute more than a regular starter, with Niall Toner getting the nod ahead of him in midfield.
Bradley opted out of the panel last year, but watching him for Glen this season, and how good he was against the Dublin champions in particular, you have to wonder why Harte wouldn’t push to bring him back.
Derry’s midfield is pretty much nailed on with Conor Glass, and Brendan Rogers, but there would definitely be a place for him in the half forward line, an area where they probably lack high scoring players.
Michael Warnock
There are very few people who are given the task of man-marking Shane Walsh, and end up winning the Man of the Match award, but that’s exactly what Warnock did on Sunday.
in 2022, Kerry assigned Tom O’Sullivan with this task, a player who being tipped to win the player of the Year award that season, only to see the Galway forward turn him inside out and kick an unbelievable nine points in total.
This is the calibre of player that Warnock is mixing it with. Now he hasn’t shown any interest or desire to play at inter-county level, and of course, like everyone, that is his prerogative, but if you are managing a Derry team that is close to lifting Sam Maguire, then you will be in a better position if you had him on board, that’s for sure.
Danny Tallon
Like Bradley, Tallon fell out of favour under Gallagher when it came to playing for Derry, but unlike Bradley, he left the squad in the prime years of his career, choosing to instead focus on Glen.
That decision has undoubtedly paid off as the club are in their second All-Ireland final in a row, but it may have been Derry’s loss, because this versatile forward offers so much to the team.
A clinical forward who is brilliant on frees, has a great dummy in his locker, and tracks back like a tenacious corner back, he is the perfect kind of player that Harte has always admired during his Tyrone years.
Like a Martin Penrose, Tallon can attack, and defend, and offers a lot to the team. Now for all we know, Harte has been WhatsApping these lads eery week only to get a blunt ‘no’ in response, or he is waiting to the end of the club season, and we might be seeing a few of the men in green sporting the white and red of Derry.
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Related links:
- Robbie Brennan gives sporting interview after Kilmacud Crokes’ defeat to Glen
- Shane Walsh-inspired comeback falls short as Glen make All-Ireland club football final
- Sean Cavanagh opens up on working with Mickey Harte after “book” fallout
