Dublin v Mayo 2020 All-Ireland final

[moysider]

Westmeath game was in Portlaoise. Dubs rarely dish out as high a score outside Croke Park. Despite what some might make you believe  playing on your own patch has familiarity and easier to implement practiced tactics.

familiarity is no such problem when it comes to Croke Park for Mayo and its believed they play their best football on that pitch.

The fact Croke Park pitch is much better for their style of football, the Westmeath game was their first of the season and Westmeath put everyone behind the ball and played to keep the score down are some of the actual reasons for the scoreline.

Dublin had played two league games going into that match, 22 scores Dublin got not a lot different from the amount of scores in the other Leinster championship matches the main difference is Westmeath didn't allow Dublin in for easy goals unlike Laois, Meath.

Mayo play much better football inside of Croke Park than they do outside of it

The main players all have had serious game time there over the past few years

Even some of the younger lads have played there with their clubs and schools

So what?

[moysider]

Is there anyone anywhere predicting a Rhubarb victory??

19 people here are.

Really?
Even the kids I'm listening to don't believe that Mayo can win. It's a first for me. The kids always used to believe we could win. Now they are like kids that realise there is no Santa anymore. It's kinda sad.

[Joeythelips]

After watching the hurling final where the best team in the country squeezed the life out of and dominated a pretender it did feel like a premonition of what we can expect in the football final unfortunately. I do think Mayo can win but they have to get everything right on the day against this blue machine. 

The one thing Mayo do have is the knowledge that they have troubled the Dubs in the past which should at least help them go into the game with some confidence.

[From the Bunker]

After watching the hurling final where the best team in the country squeezed the life out of and dominated a pretender it did feel like a premonition of what we can expect in the football final unfortunately. I do think Mayo can win but they have to get everything right on the day against this blue machine. 

The one thing Mayo do have is the knowledge that they have troubled the Dubs in the past which should at least help them go into the game with some confidence.

The one thing Dublin do have is the knowledge that they have been troubled by better Mayo teams in the past which should at least help them go into the game with more confidence.

[sid waddell]

Is there anyone anywhere predicting a Rhubarb victory??

19 people here are.

Really?
Even the kids I'm listening to don't believe that Mayo can win. It's a first for me. The kids always used to believe we could win. Now they are like kids that realise there is no Santa anymore. It's kinda sad.

There must be some Kerry lads making a serious killing in Mayo with their "School Of Yerra"

Seems the whole county has been taking classes in playing the poor mouth

They're learnin' yis well

Meanwhile the Mayo squad is deep in concentration preparing to be Dubsleighers

Santa Claus may not be coming this year but Samta Claus might be

[thewobbler]

After watching the hurling final where the best team in the country squeezed the life out of and dominated a pretender it did feel like a premonition of what we can expect in the football final unfortunately. I do think Mayo can win but they have to get everything right on the day against this blue machine. 

The one thing Mayo do have is the knowledge that they have troubled the Dubs in the past which should at least help them go into the game with some confidence.

The one thing Dublin do have is the knowledge that they have been troubled by better Mayo teams in the past which should at least help them go into the game with more confidence.

The one hope the rest of us have is that this might be a better Mayo team.

It clearly isn't at midfield (in terms of ball winning potential anyway, but it is more athletic now), and probably isn't in defence (not quite as clearcut; for there's no madness like Vaughan about this year) but probably is better up front (4 experienced and flying fit players in good form, 2 young lads who seem to thrive in big spaces).

We would also hope that unlike in previous finals, if the game is in the balance, Mayo can reinforce at 55 minutes, with players - Higgins, Boyle, Parsons - who are proven at the level, and a shooting forward in Coen. It's not Dublin's bench, but it doesn't have to be. They're only playing for 15-20 mins.

It's the hope that kills you.

[From the Bunker]

Is there anyone anywhere predicting a Rhubarb victory??

19 people here are.

Really?
Even the kids I'm listening to don't believe that Mayo can win. It's a first for me. The kids always used to believe we could win. Now they are like kids that realise there is no Santa anymore. It's kinda sad.

There must be some Kerry lads making a serious killing in Mayo with their "School Of Yerra"

Seems the whole county has been taking classes in playing the poor mouth

They're learnin' yis well

Meanwhile the Mayo squad is deep in concentration preparing to be Dubsleighers

Santa Claus may not be coming this year but Samta Claus might be

Why would there be confidence?

[From the Bunker]

After watching the hurling final where the best team in the country squeezed the life out of and dominated a pretender it did feel like a premonition of what we can expect in the football final unfortunately. I do think Mayo can win but they have to get everything right on the day against this blue machine. 

The one thing Mayo do have is the knowledge that they have troubled the Dubs in the past which should at least help them go into the game with some confidence.

The one thing Dublin do have is the knowledge that they have been troubled by better Mayo teams in the past which should at least help them go into the game with more confidence.

The one hope the rest of us have is that this might be a better Mayo team.

It clearly isn't at midfield (in terms of ball winning potential anyway, but it is more athletic now), and probably isn't in defence (not quite as clearcut; for there's no madness like Vaughan about this year) but probably is better up front (4 experienced and flying fit players in good form, 2 young lads who seem to thrive in big spaces).

We would also hope that unlike in previous finals, if the game is in the balance, Mayo can reinforce at 55 minutes, with players - Higgins, Boyle, Parsons - who are proven at the level, and a shooting forward in Coen. It's not Dublin's bench, but it doesn't have to be. They're only playing for 15-20 mins.

It's the hope that kills you.

But there is no hope! There is no Hype. It reminds me of 2006. We knew our fate that year and were only hoping to stay in the game for as long as possible.

[larryin89]

Is there anyone anywhere predicting a Rhubarb victory??

19 people here are.

Really?
Even the kids I'm listening to don't believe that Mayo can win. It's a first for me. The kids always used to believe we could win. Now they are like kids that realise there is no Santa anymore. It's kinda sad.

There must be some Kerry lads making a serious killing in Mayo with their "School Of Yerra"

Seems the whole county has been taking classes in playing the poor mouth

They're learnin' yis well

Meanwhile the Mayo squad is deep in concentration preparing to be Dubsleighers

Santa Claus may not be coming this year but Samta Claus might be

But it's honestly not yerra, of course there is always a little hope in your heart , that's what being a supporter is all about imo.

My sister a very staunch supporter all her life , living in the UK,  travels over to all championship games and is the most positive person I have ever known , she is off the scale positive personality , she is genuinely of the opinion we will be bet out the gate . It really took me by surprise,  everyone I know is of the opinion we are not up to the task this year but most of us think Horan could very well be building a very good side for the next couple of years. 

[thewobbler]

After watching the hurling final where the best team in the country squeezed the life out of and dominated a pretender it did feel like a premonition of what we can expect in the football final unfortunately. I do think Mayo can win but they have to get everything right on the day against this blue machine. 

The one thing Mayo do have is the knowledge that they have troubled the Dubs in the past which should at least help them go into the game with some confidence.

The one thing Dublin do have is the knowledge that they have been troubled by better Mayo teams in the past which should at least help them go into the game with more confidence.

The one hope the rest of us have is that this might be a better Mayo team.

It clearly isn't at midfield (in terms of ball winning potential anyway, but it is more athletic now), and probably isn't in defence (not quite as clearcut; for there's no madness like Vaughan about this year) but probably is better up front (4 experienced and flying fit players in good form, 2 young lads who seem to thrive in big spaces).

We would also hope that unlike in previous finals, if the game is in the balance, Mayo can reinforce at 55 minutes, with players - Higgins, Boyle, Parsons - who are proven at the level, and a shooting forward in Coen. It's not Dublin's bench, but it doesn't have to be. They're only playing for 15-20 mins.

It's the hope that kills you.

But there is no hope! There is no Hype. It reminds me of 2006. We knew our fate that year and were only hoping to stay in the game for as long as possible.

If this was a league game I'd expect Mayo to lose gallantly while making a game out of it 6 times out of 10, to draw 1, win 1, and get demolished twice.

For reasons that's hard to explain, in championship I'd expect two of those gallant defeats to be converted into Dublin demolitions.

So I'm going 40% chance of a demolition and 60% chance this game will be in the balance at 60 minutes.

They're not great odds. But there is hope.

It's the hope that kills you.

[From the Bunker]

It's 3 years since 2017!

Most of the Big stalwarts of that 2013-2017 group are retired, dropped from the panel, peripheral squad members or are just an older version of that player.

We have the weakest midfield we've had in a generation. Our Full back line is thrown together. Our Goalkeeper is weak at kick outs.

We have not beaten Dublin in Championship or League in 8 years.

Any confidence in this game borders on stupidity.

Only a month or so ago we were third favourite behind Kerry and Donegal to give Dublin a game this year.

We were relegated from Division One.

We barely beat an average Galway team and would have lost only for a last minute intervention from McLoughlin.

Last year we were hammered in the semi-final by this team.

We are playing away against a team who have not lost a Championship game in 6 years.

[Captain Obvious]

most of us think Horan could very well be building a very good side for the next couple of years.

Clarke, Barrett, Keegan, McLoughlin, O Shea will not be around in a couple of years. Cillian O'Connor will be in his 30s and likely past his best by then. Now is the time for those players. The backdoor returning for 2021 who knows when Mayo will reach another All Ireland final and Horan could well step down after a early exit from the championship next year.

[WhoDat]

dunno why anyone would think mayo people are playing the poor mouth. the facts are there for everyone to see. mayo have way more work to do in 2 weeks than dublin and some of their problems, like the kickout for example, are not going to be solved before the final. they are clearly nowhere near as defensively sound as they have been in previous years too. defenders like boyle are not easily replaced. that's not to say a mayo win is an impossibility, stranger things have happened, but they're massively up against it and i think that's plain to see to anyone who has been paying attention to this championship.

[macdanger2]

Looking at the match ups and who might have the advantage in each of them:

Clarke v Cluxton: Dublin
Mullin v Small: Split
Barrett v Rock: Dublin (split from play but Dublin because he'll score every free inside 45m)
Keegan v O'Callaghan: Dublin
Durcan v KK: split
Coen v Bugler: split
McLaughlin v Scully: Mayo
Loftus v McCarthy: Dublin
Ruane v Fenton: Dublin
McLoughlin v McDaid: Mayo
ROD v Small: Dublin
DOC v Murchin: split
Conroy v Bryne: Mayo
AOS v Cooper: split
COC v Fitzsimons: split

So even with my red & green tinted glasses, I have it as a 6 v 9 in favour of Dublin; we'd need to turn 4 of those splits into a Mayo win to just edge ahead. And that's not even considering the Dublin bench which is better than ours.

[seafoid]

It's 3 years since 2017!

Most of the Big stalwarts of that 2013-2017 group are retired, dropped from the panel, peripheral squad members or are just an older version of that player.

We have the weakest midfield we've had in a generation. Our Full back line is thrown together. Our Goalkeeper is weak at kick outs.

We have not beaten Dublin in Championship or League in 8 years.

Any confidence in this game borders on stupidity.

Only a month or so ago we were third favourite behind Kerry and Donegal to give Dublin a game this year.

We were relegated from Division One.

We barely beat an average Galway team and would have lost only for a last minute intervention from McLoughlin.

Last year we were hammered in the semi-final by this team.

We are playing away against a team who have not lost a Championship game in 6 years.

Mayo don't have 500 championship standard subs orbiting the team to fill gaps as soon as they emerge.
Mayo depend on the 19th century approach of using players until they can no longer perform.
Meath and Kildare are exactly the same.
They should all concentrate harder and stop complaining. 
And it's not about money.