Mayo Football and Hurling - Discussion pages

[rosnarun]

3 years dont mean didilly in gaa terms M moran was suppose to have 3 too. syaing regan was there last year and not good enough misses the point completly . he was there last year and Moran decided not to start him  . hopefully this year well find out if hes good enough. Moran did some very odd things last year and I was a big critic of him for it. such as using regan in croker when he did A durcan was another one played as well as any against dublin but never got another  chance. I'm very wary of call for mass inclusion of club players after they have a good championship. a few few years back it was swinfor then burrishole then ballina then charlestown and whoever . Look the players that are good enough should come through irrespective of their clubs doing well in any particular year or else we will still be waiting for ronan loftus to come good

[stephenite]

players after they have a good championship. a few few years back it was swinfor then burrishole then ballina then charlestown and whoever . Look the players that are good enough should come through irrespective of their clubs doing well in any particular year or else we will still be waiting for ronan loftus to come good

It's a fair point, how and ever as was pointed out earlier, I think that with the combination of the trial games that MM held last year, and the knowledge that each of the selectors and the manager have of the club scence there will not be too many additions to this panel, top club players are worth a look at training and FBD but if they're not good enough, this managemnet team will be fairly quick to get shot of them.

[Johno07]

I agree with rosnarun that we have to be looking at SAM next year, we should keep him for the 3 years regardless but success has to be the ultimate goal. Heaney, Brady, O Neill, Nallen, Mc Donald havnt long left and their definately not going to be thinking in terms of a "3 year plan". Also if you look at the last 10 years half the All Irelands have been won by managers in their first year in charge Paidí 97, Johnno 98, Kernan 02, Heart 03, O Connor 04.

With regards to the supposed "big 3" of the last few years, If you were to ask their supporters and players what their goal for next year was they would only tell you one thing, Sam. We shouldnt be any different.
Roll on 07!

[MacDanger]

With Mayo at 16/1 for Sam and Galway at 6/1 for Liam, you'd get a return of a grand or so for a tenner on a double if they came in......

Would obviously be a long shot but both have top new experienced managers and neither are too far away from the top at the moment. You'd kinda expect both to come up a little short this year but it could be worth a punt nonetheless.........

[Barney]

This has come sooner than we expected!!:

DAVID BRADY is going to reconsider his decision to retire from inter-county football after this year's All-Ireland final.

Brady, still only 31, admitted yesterday that the presence of Tommy Lyons, his former Ballina manager, in addition to new manager John O'Mahony, could make it hard for him to stick by his original decision.

Lyons was manager of Ballina when they landed the All-Ireland club title in 2005 and Brady was one of the key figures.

Brady didn't make himself available for the 2005 season but returned to play an influential role in the closing stages of this year's All-Ireland championship.

He was arguably Mayo's best player as they were thumped by Kerry in the final.

Brady is sure to be invited to return in what it expected to be an all-inclusive squad devised by O'Mahony in the coming weeks.

"The body is in bits. I wouldn't go back just for the sake of it but we'll have to see," he said yesterday.

Others such as Ciaran McDonald and James Nallen, who may have also thought of retirement, will be urged to stay on.

O'Mahony's constituency office for his Fine Gael election campaign opens in Claremorris next Saturday.

[OkeyDoke]

Back page news again for DB. I knew this would happen, esp with Lyons as a selector. He also played for Connacht under JOM this year. I don't know how his body is in bits as he's hardly played all year......once i think in the league and 2-3 sub appearances in Championship.
I would love to find out how many appearances he's made for Mayo as he seems to be injured all the time.
Still, delighted to hear that he'll play next year

[Mayo4Sam]

I have to disagree with a lot of what u are saying there

Howley has been a class act in football all year, will be pushing strongly for the No.6 jersey next year

Gerry cafferkey is too young, just about making the ballina team & has an injury, should make a fine full back but not for a few years yet
Enda devenney hasn't lived up to the hype that surrounded him 3 years ago and now couldn't possibly be further from the county panel, will need to refind his form to even be considered
IMO benson isn't good enough but still should be given the oppurtunity


No real surprise brady is back & having talked to heaney's father it sounds like all of last years team will be back to give it another go.
Talk to nallen for corner back!

[OkeyDoke]

No real surprise brady is back & having talked to heaney's father it sounds like all of last years team will be back to give it another go.

Mayo4sam - any other inside from Heaney's father, you must be in the know

[Tubberman]

Interview with JOM in this week's Western. Very positive, but realistic I think. I can't wait for the new season - record attendances for the FBD I'd say 

WHAT was another four or five weeks, one wondered, when Mayo football had waited fully 15 years for the return of its Prodigal son? But ever since last month's departure of Mayo manager Mickey Moran created a vacancy in need of filling, while most supporters were prepared to allow obvious choice John O'Mahony the time to arrive at whatever decision best suited himself, others appeared to be getting more and more anxious, with every passing hour, that their first preference may once again opt not to assume managerial control of their beloved Green and Red.


The doubters need not have worried as one year on from declining an initial opportunity to resume inter-county football duties on home territory, the former double All-Ireland winning Galway manager last night (Monday) accepted the challenge to revitalise a team that has as good as taken up permanent residency in the school of hard knocks since his self-imposed exit (because of a much-publicised dispute with county board officials) from the same job in 1991.


At that time, O'Mahony felt he had no other option but to step down from his position after a four-season term in charge. Six managers and four All-Ireland senior final appearances (but no wins) later, the county welcomes back the retired schoolteacher whose mission is to spearhead a campaign that ultimately, might one day result in Mayo football being considered top of the class once again.


"I'm excited about the challenge," beams the Ballaghaderreen clubman who has been handed an initial three-year reign.


"I feel I have a fair handle on what needs to be done in the long term but it's not about instant success, it's about creating the right structures, putting in the right systems and getting together the ambitious play-ers that want to progress Mayo football.


"If the new management did nothing more than lay that foundation, I wouldn't mind if somebody else came afterwards and got the benefit of it. I'm not talking about winning twos or threes in a row in the immediate future, I'm just on about getting things right with everybody moving forward together. That's the challenge that excites me most because if, for once, that can happen, then we'll see what the possibilities bring," continued the Fine Gael General Election candidate, before explaining why, just 12 months after turning down the same job, now was the right for him to become Mayo manager once again.


"Big things have happened in my own personal circumstances since then. Basically I had had seven very intensive years in charge of Galway and that was the longest span I ever had in management, so I felt I needed more time out. I had just started up a lot of other things in my life be it writing for the Western People, working on the Sunday Game with RTE or presenting on Mid West Radio, all of which I enjoyed. I also got back involved with my own Ballaghaderreen club both on and off the field. I had taken up some of those things just a short time before the vacancy arose last year so I was enjoying them and wanted to continue them. That would have been a major reason why I didn't take the Mayo job then.


"However, a lot has since changed. I have retired from teaching at St Nathy's College where I taught for the last 31 years and that has given me flexibility and of course I have now entered the Political arena having been nominated last June. That is something I hadn't envisaged 12 months ago when I didn't go forward for the Mayo job but it is now another challenge I have taken on. I was surprised when the Mayo job became vacant again but I made it very clear last year when I didn't take up the job, both publicly and with the Mayo county board, that I would never rule out the possibility of taking it some time in the future.


"When this vacancy came about, I would have initially thought that Pat Holmes and his management team, whom I gave some small help to this year during the under 21 campaign, would have moved up to senior and that if it was required that I could work in some consultancy role with them. I'm not saying that the position was ever put to Pat but it was just a scenario that went through my own thoughts.


"But my name was then linked to the job, perhaps inevitably once I wasn't involved in team management, and while I would always do all that I could to further advance Mayo football, I wanted to make sure that I was able to give the time, commitment and energy alongside the other big thing that I have on which is of course the Political campaign.


"That's why this process of appointing a manager took so long but I want to assure everybody that I am fully committed to the Mayo football job otherwise the answer would have been 'No' again," explained O'Mahony, the man who in 1994, guided Leitrim to their first Connacht senior title in 67 years.


Mayo will enter the 2007 season on the back of another All-Ireland final defeat in what was the first year of Mickey Moran's supposed two year term in charge. However, on October 17 last, the Derry man departed his position under a cloud of suspicion - despite the apparent mutual agreement between manager and county board.


Just what the circumstances were behind the whole 'Moran affair' may never become public knowledge, but John O'Mahony himself is only too familiar about having to cut ties as Mayo manager, his experiences of 1991 perhaps prompting him to enquire as to the reasons that led to Moran's recent exit, therefore enabling him and the county board to iron out any similar potential problems and difficulties that could, if allowed to go unchecked, have hindered their future working relationship.


"I would have had private and confidential discussions with the county board and I have discussed all those topics," confirmed the new manager.


"I'm not taking this job lightly. I was as surprised like everybody else that the management stepped down after what I would have seen as quite a successful year but to a certain extent that is water under the bridge now and I'm happy that I and my management team will take Mayo football forward.


"What needs to be clarified is that I left Mayo very reluctantly in 1991 and I was only ever going to go back once I was convinced that it was for the good of Mayo football and that I would be able to play that role, knowing that I had the full confidence and full backing of everybody.


"Past problems that I had were referred to last year when I first declined the job offer but I would have found a gradual assurance this year both through working with Ballaghaderreen and to a lesser extent with the Mayo under 21s, that I could work with the county board. I've had good discussions with James Waldron, Sean Feeney and others and I'm happy that past difficulties won't be a factor because if they were I wouldn't be part of it because the only thing that counts here is the advancement of Mayo foot-ball."


Announced as selectors to John O'Mahony at Monday night's press conference in Castlebar were Tommy Lyons from Ballina and Swinford's Kieran Gallagher, the latter serving as a selector under Mickey Moran for the past season.


O'Mahony, working in an advisory capacity to Ballina Stephenites, became familiar with Lyons who managed the Moysiders to All-Ireland club honours in 2005, and with the FBD Connacht football league only a matter of weeks away, Mayo's new supremo says that it's straight down to serious business for the trio.


"The first thing that'll happen is that myself, Tommy and Kieran will meet and begin the process of drawing up a new panel but the biggest thing that is needed to be done quickly is to talk to the players, to lay out plans, for management to give their intentions to the players and for the play-ers to give their intentions also.


"I'm well aware that some teams are already back training but we were lucky in the sense that Mayo were in the All-Ireland final. Even if there had been a manager all along it would be unlikely that the team would be back training yet but the new state of the art gym that was recently installed in An Sportlann by Elverys is a major bonus.


"We'll also have to start the process where new play-ers are brought in. Mayo have played in a number of under 21 and Minor finals in recent years but the trawl for talent won't just be confined to players from those teams. We'd be hoping that players who have shown fine form but for one reason or another weren't in panels in recent years, might come through also.


"There needs to be a short-term plan and long-term plan. The short term plan will be to get up and running as quickly as possible and win as many games as quickly as possible but the long term plan would be to create structures for future players."


It's clear from speaking to O'Mahony, who is also busy preparing Roscommon club team, St. Brigid's, for their upcoming Connacht final showdown with Corofin, that when addressing the subject of possible goals and ambitions that he may hold for his upcoming tenure, rather than identifying a specific date and time when 'Sam Maguire' or other major honours might just happen to make an appearance West of Frenchpark, he prefers to talk about creating the right environment where success could be made possible.


"I think what's important is that supporters be realistic. This is not going to be a quick fix or an overnight solution to all of the problems in Mayo football. I think GAA President Nicky Brennan hit the nail on the head a couple of weeks ago when he suggested that Mayo can sometimes be too negative in the aftermath of a defeat. In the short term, there needs to be a bit of positivity and a bit of dusting yourself down to get going at it again," he concluded"


Somehow John, I don't think Mayo fans will have too much difficulty in managing that!

[Mayo4Sam]

No real surprise brady is back & having talked to heaney's father it sounds like all of last years team will be back to give it another go.

Mayo4sam - any other inside from Heaney's father, you must be in the know

Ya, ya, finger on the pulse

[magpie seanie]

Was hoping O'Mahoney would have a few clowns alongside him but he doesn't. Looks like a good setup on balance and Mayo will be contenders again. Damn it anyway.

[Barney]

This is the gaffers article in the Western. Really rehashing previous comments in the interview with Anthony Hennigan:

Excited to answer the home county's call

AFTER two years away from the sideline, it's back to the coalface of inter-county management.

I was as surprised as everybody else a few weeks ago upon hearing of the resignation of John Morrison firstly, then followed by the entire Mayo senior management team a week later. Since Mickey Moran took over at the helm of Mayo senior football this time last year, the season had been a roller coaster. A successful League campaign, albeit coming to an abrupt end against Galway in the semi-final, preceded a six match unbeaten championship trailblazer that showed all the signs of solid progress and established real credibility for Mayo to launch a massive assault on winning the All-Ireland title.


That potential was affirmed in a massive way with an amazing victory against a Dublin side that itself seemed to be on a mission and destined for All-Ireland glory. In overcoming the events that unfolded prior to throw-in in that game, and demonstrating the mental steel to haul back a seven point deficit in the second half, Mayo looked to have banished many of the ghosts of the past.


What subsequently transpired in the final against Kerry and the manner of the loss, left everybody stunned in Croke Park in mid-September. The fallout from that defeat was the last thing this county needed but something to which it has become all too accustomed.


Once the 'Manager Wanted' sign appeared again in Mayo, speculation erupted and as has been a regular occurrence since I stepped down from Galway a couple of years ago, my name was linked with the post.


When your native county comes calling, which in this case happened about a week later, it is always a compliment and must be given serious consideration. It hadn't happened for me since I reluctantly resigned from the same position in 1991, until last year.


Twelve months ago, I was still recovering from seven years of the most intense seasons in my managerial career with Galway. I was just after joining the Sunday Game team on RTE as well as the Western People and Mid-West Radio, all of which I have thoroughly enjoyed. At that stage as well I was vice-chairman of Ballaghaderreen GAA club and assisting Frank Kelly and Pat O'Grady with team training.


Subsequently I was approached to enter the political arena with Fine Gael, something which I never envisaged a year ago but at which I am now working hard and am committed to. Retirement from my teaching post in St. Nathy's College since September has also been a major change in my circumstances and has given me a lot of flexibility to do other things.


It would have been very easy to say yes immediately to doing a job that I enjoy. However the delay in accepting was down to needing to be certain that my present circumstances away from football could allow for devoting the time and energy needed to guide Mayo's fortunes over the next few years. That has now been done with a fine comb and I am looking forward to the challenge ahead.


As I stated last week this is only and always about the advancement of Mayo football. It is imperative that the necessary structures, some of which are already in place, are built on and changed if necessary, to enable Mayo to challenge for honours in the years ahead.


There are plenty of opinions out there as to what is wrong but the one essential now is that everybody works in unison to strive for that success which will only emerge if there is a unity of purpose in the county. Of course, we will be striving to win every game in the new year but with the success of the U21 team last year and two final appearance at minor level in the last few years, there must now be a plan put in place to bring through some of that talent if those young players have the ambition, commitment and discipline.


I was delighted to obtain the services of Ballina's Tommy Lyons and Swinford's Kieran Gallagher as my two selectors. The Ballina manager and Louisburgh native has done a wonderful job in charge at Stephenites which I saw at close quarters a couple of years ago when they won the All- Ireland. Kieran Gallagher will provide continuity from Mickey Moran's backroom team as well as having played a big role in the Minor setup a couple of years ago. Kieran, who also led Sligo IT to Sigerson Cup glory, is a past pupil of St. Nathy's College in Ballaghaderreen so I am looking forward to renewing acquaintances with him. Martin Carney will also be a part of the wider management where he will be in charge of video and statistical analysis.


Other key appointments will be made in the coming days so that we can meet the play-ers and lay out the plans for both the short and long term as soon as possible.


While many inter-county teams have already commenced their preparations for next season, the fact that Mayo were in the championship until late September and then had to play club championship meant that the inter-county squad would not have been back yet anyway but we do need to get the plans up and running now as soon as possible.


T he first task of the management will be to meet and start putting a panel together for 2007. There has been much speculation since the All-Ireland as to who might retire or give it another lash. All will be revealed in due course - busy times ahead!

[venter]

A Fairly Level headed Crew on board. Good to hear that Brady is coming back as well. Why does he constantly make a tool out of himself by retiring and unretiring etc, etc??

[Mayo4Sam]

A Fairly Level headed Crew on board. Good to hear that Brady is coming back as well. Why does he constantly make a tool out of himself by retiring and unretiring etc, etc??

gaggin as I am to pass a comment, I'll let it pass in the interest of a united front for '07
Come on Mayo

[Mayo4Sam]

McHugh: O'Mahony faces huge task
22 November 2006


Former Donegal All-Ireland winner Martin McHugh believes John O'Mahony faces a "massive task" in his quest to win that elusive All-Ireland football title for Mayo.

And he says there can be no more excuses if the new Mayo manager doesn't deliver the Sam Maguire.
Writing in his newspaper column, McHugh stated: "There can be no more blaming managers or county boards because they have the man they wanted.

"The players have the talent, but do they have the balls and the leadership? That's what they have to go out and prove on the field.

"Another thing that the players have to get over is their tendency to get carried away with one good performance. The county might go stone mad, but they must keep their feet on the ground.

"No other team in the country, Kilkenny aside, would have got the hammering from Kerry in the All-Ireland final that Mayo got.

"They were beaten after 10 minutes and that doesn't bode well for them.

"What a manager has to do is get his team mentally as well as physically right. Under John Maughan, Mayo were always physically well prepared because that was his strong suit.

"O'Mahony has to work on the mental aspect of the game."

Apart from the Kilkenny comment hes not far wrong. Does sound like a dig at M&M though