Behindthegoal wrote: ↑Mon Oct 13, 2025 2:35 pm
Would like to revisit this. Any other posters at the time too. Kevin just wondering do you have something against Cian Johnson or is it because you are from Ferbane you don’t want to praise him? I found it very strange as did others I was watching the stream with that you proceeded to play him down after every score, "he’s not dominating the game at all" the man scored 1-8 I’ve never scored 1-8 in lunch time at school never mind a county semi final. Does Haaland dominate the game? Did David Clifford dominate the all Ireland final? No these poacher players don’t touch the ball an awful lot but when they do they make it count I thought Nigel was a lot more balanced on commentary saying the hardest thing to do is score and he’s exactly right if it was easy everyone would be doing it.
Just a few Ferbane men find it strange that you were waxing lyrical about Farrell over a performance against Durrow saying he would be offalys best player next year if he went in, he got 2 scores from play in games against the big teams this year Ferbane x2 and Rhode, he got roasted by Conor dunican yesterday never scored from play and you never mention that but want to put Johnson down for scoring 1-8 because he’s not dominating the game. The lad has had to deal with unbelievable hype since he was 18 had serious injuries and setbacks has got himself back to his best captain top scorer in the championship and steered Ferbane to another final I think your commentary on him yesterday was strange to say the least. Similar to the Ferbane / Edenderry debate this two Cian’s thing has never been a debate for me yesterday wasn’t the first or last time one of them stood up and the other was anonymous if there’s a big game in the morning I know which Cian I’d want in my team.
Not sure I agree with the characterisation of a lot of what was said there, but I'll take it bit by bit.
(1) I don't think Cian Johnson dominated that game yesterday. He scored 1-4 from play, with one wide and in a game where he had three goal chances. He's a very talented forward who 100% would be getting an invite into the Offaly panel if I was manager, with the caveat that he has a lot of ground to make up because he spent so long out of the game and not playing ball through different injuries. That's not a slight on him, it's incredibly hard for guys to get their conditioning to intercounty level when they haven't been in that environment. That said, absolutely he's someone I'd want in there in November and see how he goes from there. I think he'd have a bit of ground to cover to get to the point where you could confidently put him down on an Offaly teamsheet and know that he'll give you 70 minutes, but there is more than enough raw material there to justify his inclusion in a winter panel of 40+, and in that environment, it'll soon become obvious whether he's going to be able to step up or not.
(2) That being said, I wouldn't say I was talking him down in commentary. I'll say again he didn't dominate the game, for two reasons - one, because he wasn't prominent until Seán Pender went off with an injury in the second half, and two because Cathal Flynn put in as good an individual performance as we've seen in the county this year from any player.
Flynn was dominating the game in a way that I've rarely seen, and that was up against Lee Pearson. He was marking an Offaly captain and he absolutely dictated that game in an incredible performance, as good as I've seen him play. I would say David Nally, Brian Carroll, Conor Dunican and Kevin Nugent all had huge games as well, with a handful more - including Johnson - putting in solid shifts, but that game was all about Cathal Flynn running the show.
I understand that in the modern era of social media and short-clip-dominated content, the money is in going to extremes. Everything is a crisis, everything is fantastic, a player was unbelievable, a player was terrible. We live in this binary, brainless world where nobody hears nuance or middle ground any more, they want black or white, good or bad, yes or no.
Maybe it's because I'm older, maybe it's because I'm cranky and not moving with the times, but for whatever reason, I reject that way of writing, of commentating, of thinking. The world exists in the grey area, not in black or white. I'm happy to say that Cian Johnson in 2025 is playing the best football he has played for several seasons, but that he has a lot of ground to make up to come anywhere close to fulfilling his potential. But somehow, trying to show that balance leads to a question like this:
do you have something against Cian Johnson
(3) I agree that the Johnson vs Farrell thing is nonsense, it just came about because they were two forwards who came along at the same time, with the same first name. They should be assessed and measured independently, not in relation to each other. Now as for Cian Farrell, yes, I was hugely impressed with him against Durrow. I've said all along, as you've quoted, that I think 2026 should be a new start, and he should be brought in on the same terms as any other player. If he acts up or falls out of line, cut him - but don't rule him out because of something he did a few years ago.
I do think he's farther down the line than CJ, both in terms of physical prep. He also has more senior football played, he impressed at Sigerson level, he has played more senior county football, and I think he's slightly more suited to the modern game. These are real considerations. CF is a two-point threat, CJ isn't. CF can win his own high ball and is strong in the tackle, CJ isn't. The flip side of that is that CJ is for me, a player with better vision, and a better goalscorer. But in terms of the modern intercounty game, I think CF is more suited to where the game has gone, notwithstanding the concerns about his past behaviour.
(4) CJ was much better than CF yesterday, and you are 100% right - Conor Dunican had a monster game on him, the best game I've ever seen him play. He was good all year, but that was proper shutdown cornerback play, and it was a joy to watch. On this:
he got roasted by Conor dunican yesterday never scored from play and you never mention that
I absolutely did mention it, several times. It seems you seem to only hear what you want to hear, and what suits the argument that you plan to make anyway.
Now I'll add the caveat here - the supply of ball into the Ferbane full forward line was excellent in comparison to what the Edenderry forwards had to work with. Because Flynn, Nally, Carroll and others were going so well in the middle third, some of the delivery was sublime, and CF didn't have that. But I will absolutely accept that CF's stock fell yesterday, even though I don't agree that he should be ruled out of contention for county selection on account of it.
After all, if justice was done, Cillian Bourke would have been red-carded yesterday, and if that happened, it would have been a bad day all round where he could have cost Tullamore dearly. He got lucky, but it was still irresponsible - and yet quite rightly, nobody would suggest that if Cillian Bourke is available for selection for Offaly in 2026, he should be left out because he had a bad semi-final. I don't see why Cian Farrell would be any different.
(5) This all goes back to the same thing. In 2025, Offaly were chronically short of subs that Harte/Kelly trusted to bring on. More often than not we had just 16 or 17 players used going into the last five minutes, taking on teams that could keep freshening things up throughout. By the end of the year, we were playing guys who were carrying significant injuries, purely because management didn't trust the next men up.
I'm not going to name names and say the players that were in there who just weren't up to that level, but I think we can all accept that we need to deepen the panel, and that means finding players that MAY, if things go well for them, be capable of making an impact in Division Two and the Leinster SFC. To me, that includes Johnson, it includes Farrell, it includes Bourke, and if arms could be twisted, it would include Declan Hogan, Ruairí McNamee, Peter Cunningham and a few more as well. Depending on whether they want to go back into the hurling panel after how Johnny Kelly made it clear he doesn't want them this year, you could make a case for David Nally and Jack Clancy too.
That's not to say that they would all be fit and ready by the start of April, but they have the raw material to get there, and every place on the Offaly senior panel should be designated for someone who has the potential to play a role, not just someone who happens to be next in line, even if they have quite clearly shown their ceiling.
I think we can all agree that in 2025, there were lads on the Offaly senior football panel who quite frankly, just aren't at that level, and have shown no signs that they will ever get there. My thinking is that Farrell - and Johnson - are clear and obvious candidates to slot in in place of those guys.
But as to your core question, do I have something against Cian Johnson?
I want to be a lot more aggressive in my response, but I'll water it down and I'll say cop on and stop stirring s***.