Derry snubbed in the 2024 PwC Football All-Stars nominations

Derry have been snubbed in the PwC Football All-Stars nominations for this 2024 season.

The All-Ireland champions Armagh lead the way with 11 places on the list of 45 deemed to be the best players this season.

Connacht champions and All-Ireland defeated finalists Galway had eight nominations, while Ulster champions Donegal had seven.

It is surprising Derry and its players have been completely overlooked for a single nomination.

The Oakleaf county did not have a brilliant championship campaign as they crashed out to Donegal in their first match in Ulster and were defeated by Kerry in the All-Ireland quarterfinal.

However, they were fantastic in the National League, as they claimed the Division One title with victory in a mammoth final against Dublin in March.

This performance brought about much excitement within the county and had pundits seriously considering Mickey Harte’s side as potential All-Ireland champions.

Then it fell apart.

There were whispers about disharmony in the squad prior to the Ulster Championship fixture with Donegal and then rumours surrounding the future of Harte after defeats to Galway and Armagh in the group stage of the championship.

As stated above, Derry did not impress in the championship the way they did in the league, but they reached the same stage as Louth, Roscommon, and Dublin, while making it further in the competition than Tyrone, Cork, and Mayo, a side they defeated on the way to the quarterfinal.

Yet all those counties have had players nominated for the PwC Football All-Stars.

Brendan Rodgers and Conor Glass will feel hard done by not having received a nomination for their league campaign, with the Slaughtneil man also impressing at times during the championship campaign, coming up with decisive points to tip the game in Derry’s favour.

It is surprising Derry has been so overlooked not to receive one of the 45 nominations when you look at it in this manner, as a team to win silverware last campaign and impress for half the season to not have their individuals considered for the accolades at the end of the year.

Yet, there is nothing that can be done or said that will change this.

Derry fans may hope that this snub inspires the players to further success next season to prove the doubters wrong, with the elusive first All-Ireland since 1993 the target once again, but a managerial appointment is the first step to achieving this.