Mayo Football and Hurling - Discussion pages

[prewtna]

whats the plan for mchale park? is it increasing in capacity? new stand? hope to god they rid of the concrete lintols for seating. a bit of plastic would be no harm at all.

anyone else notice the collosal c**k-up on the mchale road side (as things stand) where the upper level of seating is set back from and at a shallower pitch then the lower level? the view from up there is brutal and purely bacause of a simple mistake. i hope this too is fixed.

[stephenite]

Maybe the money that poor auld Sean has to be paid can be donated to help cover some of these expenses? He has a point this time I think, but yet again, not really his place to be saying it. How many other county secretaries consistently engage in this type of media whoring?

[Barney]

Of course JOM and Feeney are entitled to different points of view. And in a way they were probably set up by the media who went to each, but did not advise the other of the position of the other. What bugs me is the need of Feeney to comment, or any Board official. There is no unity in Mayo football and that is why we will never win the major prize. Everybody as to pull together.

And as for the penny-pinching. We have been in two AIs in the last four years where serious fund-raising went on. How much was a ticket in City West for the after-match wake - about €200 I think - there were 2 or 3,000 at those so do the sums there. What about the corporate dinners in Castlebar. Its the tip of the iceberg. Where did all that money go? Why was it paid over? To support Mayo GAA, our clubs and our teams. In the interest of the County Board's carbon footprint how many of them will turn down their freebie to New York in May 2009?

Anyway back on the pitch this is from the Western People:

Johno begins intense search for new talent
By: Michael Gallagher

MAYO footballers return to the national stage on Saturday next when they line out with Connacht in the M. Donnelly Inter-Provincial semi-final against Ulster in Ballybofey at 7.45pm.

No panel has been finalised yet but it's highly likely that Ronan McGarrity, Keith Higgins, David Heaney, Andy Moran and Alan Dillon will all feature for the white and blue. The team will be managed by John O'Mahony and he'll be assisted by Martin Carney, Galway's Kevin Walsh and Ollie Honeyman from Leitrim.


The football joust with Ulster is part of a double-header with the hurling semi-final getting under-way at 6pm followed by the meeting of both provinces' finest footballers afterwards.


The provincial side had a challenge match in Aghamore on Thursday evening last when Connacht played Mayo under lights and the game served two purposes for O'Mahony.


"We wanted to get a run-out for the Connacht team before the game in Ballybofey, but from a Mayo point of view we wanted to have a look at a number of players who had impressed during the club season. Tommy Lyons, Kieran Gallagher and I have watched a huge amount of championship, league and under 21 matches throughout the county over the last few months and a number of names have cropped up. There will be a series of trial games in the coming weeks so that we can have a look at these lads and Thursday's was just one of those," the Mayo manager explained before revealing his thoughts regarding last Sunday night's Connacht Championship draw which pitted Mayo against the 2007 champions Sligo or London.


"It's going to be a tough match if its Sligo we have to face in the semi-final, but we have them at home in Castlebar and at least we won't be playing as early as May 17 as we had to last season when we played Galway in Salthill. Sligo are the Connacht champions and will be determined to hold onto their crown so we'll be expecting a very tough match in McHale Park," he added.



It's understood that the management team will be sitting down in the coming weeks to finalise a panel for the upcoming FBD and National League campaigns and a number of players are already in the midst of conditioing programmes.


"We'll be having a number of trial games in the next few weeks and we'll be selecting a panel shortly. It'd be fair to say that there'll be a fair few new names in that panel and that some previous squad members won't be coming back for the new season. Discussions are ongoing in this regard and no decisions have been made. The club championship has just finished and lads need a bit of breathing space but that'll all sort itself out in the coming weeks. Some of the squad are weight training at the moment and the plan between now and Christmas is to combine gym work with some outdoor sessions and trial games." the manager concluded.


Meanwhile Mayo have been installed as favourites to win back the Nestor Cup after last Sunday's provincial championship draw. O'Mahony's men are priced at 11/10 with Boylesports to regain the title while Galway come in at 11/8. Reigning champions Sligo who lost their manager Tommy Breheny during the week are priced at a very generous 10/1, while John Maughan's Roscommon outfit are an even more attractive 12/1. Leitrim are next in the betting at 25/1 while rank outsiders London and New York come in at 500/1 apiece.


 

[mannix]

Any word on who will not be back?
My guess is d brady,james nalllen.kevin oneill,aiden higgins,c mac,heaney and prehaps a few of the panel that did not feature on the field.
Conor mort and a few others are fairly good but do not stand up when counted,i.e allireland finals.At least if you are going to be beaten to a pulp you have to leave a few marks on your opponent, kerry laughed and joked at how easy it was to beat Mayo.
I would keep d brady if at all possible, fullforward option for definite even if he does not like to think so.He beat charlestown in a 7 minute spell by shear muscle and grit, something our real fullforwards cannot do.He would surely give the best fullbacks something to think about.In 2006 Mayo would have given up about 4 more goals were brady not up to it,donahy was afraid of him and it was very easily seen, i watched the video a few times, he really was not interested in the ball but more like avoiding the fists and wallops brady gave out legally that day.
MacDonald too, he should not walk just yet.Despite the bad championship by Mayo they are lucky that there is other lads in Mayo that can come in and put them back in the hunt straight away.Imagine if we were in rosscommon or sligos position, delighted with a connaught title!
One thing I want to see in Mayo in 2008 is no backing off in 50/50 balls.James Kilcullen is a perfect example of what we need, he is fearless, takes some hard knocks but wins the ball for his troubles.Can JOM train that into lads?

[Davitt Man]

County board happy with new league system
18 October 2007


County Board secretary Seán Feeney has admitted the new league format has been a success and is expected to be used in next years competition.

Speaking to the Mayo News, Feeney believes the current system is much better compared to the previous format used. The new format consisted of 20 teams in Division 1 and 2, splitting them into two groups of ten.

"We can't start until March and if we finish too soon players will be giving out about being idle. I think a season that runs from March to October is suitable. Most clubs will be finished by the end of the month and that is a good outcome.

"I think the league was an improvement on last year. I've had much less requests for challenge games this year than last year which is a good sign that teams are getting football.

"The Kelly Cup competition and its like worked well and I think teams are beginning to appreciate the greater significance of these games," added Feeney.


What are peoples view on the league, personnaly i dont think it is a success, they should revert back to the old Div 1 and leave it at that

[AbbeySider]

Any word on who will not be back?
My guess is d brady,james nalllen.kevin oneill,aiden higgins,c mac,heaney and prehaps a few of the panel that did not feature on the field.
Conor mort and a few others are fairly good but do not stand up when counted,i.e allireland finals.At least if you are going to be beaten to a pulp you have to leave a few marks on your opponent, kerry laughed and joked at how easy it was to beat Mayo.

IMO Heaney has a season or two left in him Mannix. And because of the rest McDonald got last year he could well give it one last lash this year. When Trev Mort was out for a while last year he came back with a bang, I suppose being out for a length of time you find the hunger again and are fresh so id say the same could apply for McDonald this year. Thats if his back holds up to it and I dont know how well he is.

I wouldnt have Conor Mort within an asses roar of the team. Id say the only reason he held on last year was for frees on the right. That could be a good enough reason for JOM to keep him on the team.
I think he has let us down on too many big days. He pulls out of every 50-50 ball and always seems to be on the deck. A player that keeps going down like that before he gets the ball is hiding. Half the time he doesnt make the run and make himself available for the pass and because of that the ball isnt sent in first time and a lot of hand passing and messing goes on around the middle. He probably isnt the only one at fault all the same.

[Farrandeelin]

What are peoples view on the league, personnaly i dont think it is a success, they should revert back to the old Div 1 and leave it at that

Agree with you Davitt man. They should use the league for championship standings, i.e. if you're in Division 1, you are Senior, Division 2 Intermediate, and Division 3 or below Junior. It's kind of ridiculous the system that has happened over the last few years whereby a poor team might be in Division 1, i.e. Kilmeena. Galway's Championship is based on their leagues.

[Davitt Man]

Yes the league was a very competive league a years back when your league status determined your c\ship the status, the way it should be. Now the league has been de- valued and clubs wont give a monkeys about the league now anymore. Every year when the fixtures were made you always looked to see when your club is playing the big names, Ballina, Cross e.t.c but now many of these games cannot take place because the league has been spilt up.

[westmayo]

I see the leagues have been thrown into a bit of turmoil after the county board meeting last night, According to the county board the bottom two teams in each section will be in relegation play-offs. For example second last in division one a will play last in one b to see who goes down and so on.
But according to Connacht council secretary John Prenty the county board passed an initial plan to have only the bottom sides in each divisional section automatically relegated at a county board meeting back in January and the minutes of that meeting were passed at the Feb meeting, the same meeting that the current rules were passed. So two rules were passed concerning relegation and clubs could appeal.
Ironically Prenty's own club Ballyhaunis are currently second last in division two B and would avoid the threat of relegation to division three if the original rules are held up. I wonder would he have brought this up if, Ballyhauins were safe from the possability of relegation.

On another note, anyone at the Ballaghaderreen Kilmeena match at the weekend, a bit strange that a side who has walked over almost everyone else in the league were held to a draw by a side who only needed a point to almost deffinatly ensure their status in division one and sending Castlebar and Shrule into a possible relegation playoff.   

[Davitt Man]

A DIFFERENT LEAGUE

Relegation play-offs are disputed by John Prenty

Exclusive
Edwin McGreal

CONNACHT Council Secretary John Prenty and members of the executive of the Mayo GAA Board were at odds last night over how the format for relegation in the County League work.
Clubs had been informed via the Mayo GAA Fixtures Booklet (issued by the County Board) that the bottom two teams in each section would go into play-offs with the corresponding teams from the other section in their division. The two losing teams would be relegated, according to the booklet.
However, John Prenty argued at last night's County Board delegates meeting that the Mayo GAA Board could run into difficulty if any club appealed against the relegation rulings. Prenty argued that, because the initial plan of automatically relegating the bottom team in each section (with no play-offs) was passed at the meeting of January 23, the minutes of that meeting had to be amended for any changes to come into being.
He went on to argue that although the relegation rulings as they currently stand were passed at the next meeting [in February], the fact that the February meeting also passed the January minutes without any amendments has created a problem.
"The February meeting approved two different things with regard to relegation," Prenty told delegates. "There needed to be an amendment to the original relegation standing passed by a two-thirds majority and this didn't happen. What I'm asking is will they (the current relegation procedures) stand up to scrutiny on appeal?"
After several arguments from members of the County Board executive such as Secretary Seán Feeney, Chairman James Waldron and Vice-Chairman Paddy McNicholas were countered by Prenty from his position at the back of the hall, County Board assistant treasurer, Cathal Hennelly, asked mischievously, 'Has Prenty the County Board over a barrel?'
However, Seán Feeney told The Mayo News that he was confident that the procedures will not be subject to any successful appeal.
"We're confident we're on a solid footing. We're proceeding on the basis of what we set out to do, that is the bottom two from each section will go into a play-off. We're confident we'll beat him on this one."
Meanwhile, Mayo minor manager, Ray Dempsey, Under-21 manager, Pat Holmes and senior hurling manager, Martin Brennan were all ratified for another year without any objections at last night's meeting

[rosnarun]

how a  secretary can allow  2 motions on one subject on the same night beggars belief!. and this is the clown that we had to employ because  he was such a wonderful administrater. will we end up with 2 identical mchale parks built either side of an sportlann?.

[An Gaeilgoir]

how a  secretary can allow  2 motions on one subject on the same night beggars belief!. and this is the clown that we had to employ because  he was such a wonderful administrater. will we end up with 2 identical mchale parks built either side of an sportlann?.

He is not alone on the board when it comes to the competent stakes!

[Farrandeelin]

When are the League finals on does anybody know?

[rosnarun]

no but he is the paid secretary  whose like any secretary 1st job is to look after the agenda of meetings and he seems incapable of doing this.couls it be that this unadvertised job went to one of the boys
Isuppose though he raised the money himself by cutting back n the sliothers used by the hurdlers . If they cound use wavin hurls therd be no need to replace them and he could have the job full time

[An Gaeilgoir]

no but he is the paid secretary  whose like any secretary 1st job is to look after the agenda of meetings and he seems incapable of doing this.couls it be that this unadvertised job went to one of the boys
Isuppose though he raised the money himself by cutting back n the sliothers used by the hurdlers . If they cound use wavin hurls therd be no need to replace them and he could have the job full time

In fairness Rosnarun...this has been going on for the past 20 years in Mayo.... there is no excuse for it..but look at all the officials on our board and its seems its all about "looking after my own patch and feck the rest of ye and the greater good" will things change?....i wont hold my breath.