#TheToughest Issue: The Football All-Star team selected by our readers is very different, but still brilliant

Four changes from the official team announced on Thursday morning.

The announcement of the Football All-Star team is usually the trigger for a full-scale and often angry debate amongst the GAA community, but that doesn’t seem to be the case in 2016. David Clarke getting the nod in goals despite his exclusion from the team for the All-Ireland Final replay was probably the biggest talking point, but apart from that, there was no major qualms about the eventual XV. Last week, we asked the readers of JOE and SportsJOE to pick the XV they felt most deserving of honours at the All-Star ceremony on Friday night and the eventual team showed four changes from the official team, with alterations to almost every line of the pitch. After thousands upon thousands of votes (see a more detailed breakdown below), here’s who made the cut; it’s a team that would take some beating (click here for a larger image).

Goalkeeper: David Clarke (Mayo)

As was the case with the All-Star committee, Clarke’s demotion for the All-Ireland Final replay didn’t affect the opinion of our readers. More than half of voters gave the nod to the Ballina man and he gets the nod between the sticks ahead of Stephen Cluxton and Tipperary’s Evan Comerford.

Defenders: Lee Keegan (Mayo), Jonny Cooper (Dublin), Philly McMahon (Dublin), Cian O’Sullivan (Dublin), Keith Higgins (Mayo), Ryan McHugh (Donegal)

Cian O’Sullivan and Keith Higgins didn’t get All-Stars this year but they do merit a mention here alongside four men who will be honoured on Friday night. Lee Keegan proved the most popular inclusion with almost 5,000 votes, while his Mayo teammates Patrick Durcan and Brendan Harrison came very close to making the cut.

Midfielders: Brian Fenton (Dublin), Gary Brennan (Clare)

So close was the battle for one of the two available midfield slots that just two (TWO!) votes separated Gary Brennan and Peter Acheson when the voting deadline passed. The Clare man just about got the nod and earns his reward for a wonderful campaign by slotting in alongside Footballer of the Year nominee Brian Fenton.

Forwards: Diarmuid Connolly (Dublin), Michael Quinlivan (Tipperary), Cillian O’Connor (Mayo), Dean Rock (Dublin), Paul Geaney (Kerry), Ciaran Kilkenny (Dublin)

Only one change from the official All-Star forward line, with Peter Harte arguably suffering from his versatility and losing out to Mayo’s Cillian O’Connor in attack. O’Connor, to be fair to him, finished third in the voting in the forward division, while Footballer of the Year nominee Ciaran Kilkenny was the sixth selection after pulling in less than 10% of votes.

Footballer of the Year: Lee Keegan (Mayo)

There was no real contest when it came to the outstanding individual performer in the eyes of our readers, with Mayo’s Lee Keegan earning just under 60% of the vote. Brian Fenton had plenty of support but not enough to challenge Keegan, while Ciaran Kilkenny was a long way back in third.

Young Footballer of the Year: Diarmuid O’Connor (Mayo)

The GAA should consider naming this award after the O’Connor family because it’s barely moved from Ballintubber in recent seasons. Diarmuid O’Connor is strong favourite to collect this honour for the second season in succession on Friday night and the support of just under 7 of every 10 readers would suggest it’s inevitable.