GAA Betting: Who Will Win Footballer Of The Year?

Footballer Of The Year is a prestigious accolade and now that we have all the evidence, it’s worth investigating what the betting sites are offering as the excitement builds between now and November 17th, when the winner of the award in announced.

It's usually more or less a given that the winner will come from the team that gets it's hands on the Sam Maguire Cup, but this year could be very different.

James McCarthy was the 1/2 favourite after Dublin won the All-Ireland but he was a shock exit from the nominees which included David Clifford, Brian Fenton and Brendan Rogers.

The debate has become quite heated since Dublin edged out Kerry to win the All-Ireland!

So let’s see what the bookmakers are saying.

Clifford In Pole Position Now

Bookies had the reigning FOTY at 8/13 to retain his title and join a select group comprising Brian Fenton (Dublin) and Trevor Giles (Meath) as dual winners.

That price has since come in to 1/2 after James McCarthy was left out of the nominees despite getting the nod from The Sunday Game

It is no surprise that the debate has been emotive on social media, particularly with the Kerry folk defending their man. And Paul Flynn saying Clifford got ‘smoked’ on Twitter – something he certainly didn’t say at any point when on duty as a TV pundit – certainly had them up in arms.

It was a ridiculous statement, not based on fact. Mick Fitzsimons did a good job but he didn’t do it on his own and even at that, Clifford got on plenty of ball and never stopped trying. 

The problem is that Kerry need him to be outstanding every day and he knows that. He tried too hard to produce some Hollywood scores but kicked three points, two from play, and produced a fantastic kick pass for Paul Geaney’s goal. He hadn’t had a stinker and he wasn’t smoked. He kicked a few bad wides and tried to force it a few times.

The thing is, Clifford has set the bar incredibly high and it was against many of his other phenomenal efforts that his final outing was compared to. 

Apart from Geaney early on and his brother Paudie for a spell in the second half, he hadn’t enough consistent support and another threat to take some of the heat. It’s a problem Kerry must try to address.

Fenton Firmly In The Running

Brian Fenton followed an outstanding semi-final with a very good final and GAA betting sites go 2/1 about him winning this year's award.

He was as big as 20/1 after the final but that price has since collapsed after he was the only Dublin player to be nominated.

Fenton now has nine Leinster titles to his name and seven All-Ireland's, and at the age of 30 he has plenty left in the tank to add to his trophy cabinet.

The Raheny man will be keen to round off a fantastic season and make history by being the first player to win FOTY three times.

Rodgers A Surprise Inclusion

Not too many people would have predicted Brendan Rodgers would get a footballer of the year nomination, but the Derry man has earned his place and is the outsider of the trio at 12/1 with betting apps.

Rodgers played a pivotal role in guiding Derry to consecutive Ulster titles when they beat Armagh in the final on penalties.

Derry went on to top their group, this set up a quarter-final tie against an improving Cork side which Derry won comfortably by four points.

Kerry awaited them in the semi-final and despite being the better team for the majority of the game The Kingdom got on top in the last 10 minutes to win by two points.

Rodgers enjoyed another fantastic season for the Ulster men but it would be a shock if he were to become the first ever Derry man to win the footballer of the year award, considering Derry didn't make the final.

Derry Duo Favourites In Young FOTY Market

The young FOTY market has a more open look to it compared to the senior equivalent, considering Clifford is odds-on to win that award.

The Derry duo of Ethan Doherty and Eoin McEvoy lead the way with new betting sites which is no surprise after Derry won successive Ulster titles.

After the Provincial Championship Derry topped Group Four which set up a quarter-final tie against Cork which they won with ease.

But once again Derry failed to get past the All-Ireland semi-final stage despite playing better than Kerry for the majority of the game.

Both Doherty and McEvoy played a huge part for the Oak Leaf county this season as they aim to become the first ever Derry man to win the young FOTY award.

As for Roscommon's Conor Carroll, it would be somewhat of a surprise were he to win the award after Roscommon lost to Galway in the Connacht semi-final and they were knocked out by Cork in the preliminary quarter-final.