James Horan on the case for Brian Howard and hoping Dublin inspire others

Howard had a huge All-Ireland decider but missed out on The Sunday Game panel's team.

HOWARD'S WAY: Brian Howard of Dublin under pressure from Graham O'Sullivan of Kerry during the All-Ireland SFC final. Picture: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

In the ongoing debate about the Gaelic football All-Stars, former Mayo player and manager James Horan believes Brian Howard belongs in any Team of the Year.

Howard had 35 possessions in the All-Ireland final and was Stephen Cluxton’s top target in the 2023 championship. Despite that, James McCarthy, Tadhg Morley and Conor McCarthy were the half-back line selected by The Sunday Game panel post-final.

Speaking on the Irish Examiner football podcast, Horan suggested there are two other strong contenders. Given his versatility, he selected Howard further up the field as a compromise.

“Obviously, Gareth McKinless and the huge year he had, is there not a case for Brian Howard? Some of his performances were amazing. As the year went on and the chips were down, the pressure was greatest, Brian Howard just grew and grew.

“His performance in the first half of the final, I don’t know if I have seen anything like it in terms of primary possession. His relationship with Cluxton from kickouts. He has to be in there.” 

Horan went on to state that Roscommon’s Enda Smith is another player likely to be overlooked but who he believes deserves a place.

“We are picking two teams really; we are picking the team that will be the All-Stars and our own Team of the Year,” he said. “If I was picking a team, I’d have Enda Smith in there after the way he performed. I don’t think he will get an All-Star.” 

He finished out his forward line with Howard, Paudie Clifford, David Clifford, Shane McGuigan and Cormac Costello.

As for the 2023 championship, it was an overall disappointing campaign, but Horan said that he hopes the winners set a trend. The All-Ireland semi-finals and final rewarded ambitious teams.

“A lot of teams go defensive because they say it is their best chance of winning. I would argue that all day. It is not. If you go out with a conservative, defensive mindset and don’t attack as much, you are not going to give yourself the best chance to win.

“I hope that Dublin winning it in a good competitive game, that sends out flares to coaches. They might look at Derry’s performance as well and think we can evolve, that we have more teams trying to play progressively. At a general level, football played well is still a brilliant game.”