Manus Boyle has nailed his colours to the mast and chosen the player he believes to be Donegal’s best ever.
The Killybegs man kicked nine points in the 1992 All-Ireland final win over Dublin to help secure Sam Maguire for the first time for Donegal.
Boyle knows a thing or two about great players, given the Tir Chonaill sides he lined out on.
But he believes that one man stands above any other: Michael Murphy.
“He’s the greatest player ever to wear the green and gold,” Boyle said.
“Even with the way he handles himself off the field and the way he speaks to people, the way he holds himself. He’s a huge ambassador for the GAA and for the county.”
New Donegal manager Declan Bonner has already hinted that Murphy could be deployed at full-forward in 2018.
“Donegal are strongest when Michael Murphy is in around the edge of the square,” Boyle said.
“He’s a brute of a man and he has very good feet. You rarely get men like that
“He has always developed his game. He plays for the team. That is the biggest compliment I can pay him. He never plays for Michael Murphy, even when he’s playing club football for Glenswilly.”
Murphy captained Donegal to their second All-Ireland final win, in 2012 when they defeated Mayo.
Boyle said: “I never was into saying whether this team or that team was better, but it’s easy to stand and watch a player.
“We wouldn’t have won anything without the group of players we had in ’92, from Gary (Walsh) to whoever. It was the whole squad, which was developed out of must-win characters who accepted nothing less than 100 per cent even when you were eat training. That was the strength of our squad
“The 2012 squad was much the same with some brilliant characters.
“But they had a standout like Michael Murphy who, from he was 17, has carried such high standards. That speaks volumes for the man.”
Tags: