2 Sep 2010
Why Martin Clarke Must be Player of the Year
Comment (0)Martin “Marty” Clarke, the revelation of 2010 with his skill has wowed and astounded many fans far and wide. He has won games on his own in a year where a progressive Down side made the breakthrough and have withheld their fantastic record in Croke Park by reaching their first All Ireland final since 1994. Evidently Clarke has been giving a master class in what it means to be the “3rd midfielder”
Although some might argue players like Johnny Doyle or Bernard Brogan are more deserving of the award, no one can argue Clarke has been instrumental in many of the Down victories. On Sunday in Croke Park, he showed again his skill and major influence. When the ball broke away after the injury time drama, Clarke was there to clear it, his defending as able as his attacking.
While many will argue, like my colleague David Prendergast, the award will go down to the top two scorers, Johnny Doyle and Bernard Brogan. I feel Clarke’s arsenal of skills should overshadow the amount of scores one specific player got.
It was against Kerry where Clarke showed off his prowess with a 10/10 performance that was filled with energy that left the kingdom hanging onto life support; his incisiveness drove his teammates on and laid on scores for the sharpshooters, Mark Poland and Benny Coulter.
For me, the real question when sitting down to decide who is footballer of the year is who has been the most memorable. Without doubt that player is Martin Clarke of An Riocht, Co. Down.




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