Marc Ó Sé watched Cillian O'Connor being sent-off in Mayo's defeat to Galway last weekend and thought it the mark of a man playing without joy in his game right now.
In his column in today's Irish Mail On Sunday, the Kerry man disagrees with Alan Dillon's recent claim that O'Connor is as good as Colm Cooper.
It was the politician in Dillon which made the statement, believes Ó Sé. Though, he also thinks the former Mayo footballer and possible future Fine Gael candidate was not being insincere regarding his clubmate.
"People still question whether Cillian O'Connor is a marquee forward - but he's nearly coming into the realms of the 'Gooch' as being one of the all-time championship scorers," Dillon told The Irish Daily Star last month.
Unlike Gooch, Ó Sé feels O'Connor is not a unique talent who can evolve his game one his pace has dissipated
He is no one-off, who when his pace deserts him has still some magic invisible pocket which he can dip into and produce some irresistible piece of skill which leaves you open-mouthed, wondering where did that come from?
That is not a condemnation of Cillian O'Connor, just a statement of reality that his qualities are earthier and easier measured.
If Ballintubber man is to return to his best form - Ó Sé thinks it is the O'Connor of three years ago Mayo need - then he must "find his football happy place".
"He is not the deadly assured presence he once was from placed balls although he was closer to his old form last weekend on that front, while his impact in open play is not as profound," writes Ó Sé. "But more than anything, I can't see the fun in his game at the moment."
Photo by Diarmuid Greene/Sportsfile
