Well here goes! Can't see anything other than a Mayo win unfortunately. While doing quite well against Cork in that recent challenge, we still conceded 3-18 and still have no settled full back. Cathal Sweeney is nearly definitely out with a shoulder injury, he was probably one of our best players in last year's championship. Our subs bench is also a bit lacking in quality. Rochford also knows the Corofin lads inside out so I can see Liam Silke and Gary Sice having a difficult day. On the plus side Shane Walsh and Paul Conroy seem to be in fine form lately and Eamon Brannigan was playing well during the league. Hopefully Damo Comer can keep the head and play to his ability. We'll see, looking forward to it anyway, nothing like Galway and Mayo meeting in the championship!
Comer should have a field day against whoever Mayo have fit for FB. Exactly the sort of player that makes mincemeat of their back line. Problem is getting him enough service to do the damage. If Parsons was out it would be a big plus for Galway. Best midfielder they have that's allowed to actually play the position.
Looking forward to this, hopefully it'll be a decent game. Everything points to a Mayo win but it will be interesting to see how far galway have closed the gap. If they've closed it from last year and Mayo underperform, we could be caught out but I expect us to win by 3+
Hard to beat the big 2 in Connacht meeting up. Looking forward to it big time.
If Galway got a decent team together they could go all the way. That is the sad thing about all of Mayo's huffing and puffing and 5 in a row. Mayo are ahead now in terms of Connacht titles. Mean reversion will hurt. Better get that Sam before it is too late.
Quote from: seafoid on May 30, 2016, 02:59:38 AM
If Galway got a decent team together they could go all the way. That is the sad thing about all of Mayo's huffing and puffing and 5 in a row. Mayo are ahead now in terms of Connacht titles. Mean reversion will hurt. Better get that Sam before it is too late.
We'll huff and we'll puff and blow your house down ...again!!
I'd like to see the Galway forwards in hunting mode. They are quite impressive when they get going.
Quote from: PW Nally on May 30, 2016, 12:29:52 AM
Hard to beat the big 2 in Connacht meeting up. Looking forward to it big time.
Indeed PW and memories of some great tussles. Unfortunate that the games are no longer of much significance and for us are a box ticking exercise on the way to 6 in a row and the serious stuff in Croker. Hope PW ye give us a decent game as it is the only possible challenge this year in Connacht. A good start for Galway and maybe a few early goals is exactly the challenge we need but even if that was the case would still expect a 7+ pts margin for us. Connacht is now like Leinster with the Dubs and ourselves way ahead of everybody else.
Hope the Galway supporters will still travel in numbers and create a bit of atmosphere for what is in effect the Connacht final.
PW Nally is a Mayoman Mick. As regards the match itself, Mayo will have to do something about the wide count. Maybe some were overkicked passes, but still. I hope that no other player gets injured either.
Mayo have come a long way from Longford, baby. 6 in a row would be an achievement. They will be remembered like the great Ros team of the late 70s. But if they want to be immortal they hafta win Sam. It's like that and that's the way it is.
Quote from: seafoid on May 30, 2016, 11:28:59 AM
Mayo have come a long way from Longford, baby. 6 in a row would be an achievement. They will be remembered like the great Ros team of the late 70s. But if they want to be immortal they hafta win Sam. It's like that and that's the way it is.
Fully agree your 98 and 2001 will always trump our 6 or more in a row.
Apologies PW - rarely look at site nowadays and not familiar with posters.
Wides kicked in London Farr will not matter a whit the next day. No need to start worrying until August.
Quote from: seafoid on May 30, 2016, 09:28:38 AM
I'd like to see the Galway forwards in hunting mode. They are quite impressive when they get going.
Hunting?? :D :D :D
They may very well be impressive alright but what about the oul' football?
Have they given that up as a lost cause?
I'd be more worried about how we shape up defensively the next day, we seem to be using Boyle as a sweeper a role to which he's not really suited.
Could Regan be the missing link?
Liked the look of him before he got injured a while back.
Quote from: Jinxy on May 30, 2016, 02:30:54 PM
Could Regan be the missing link?
Liked the look of him before he got injured a while back.
Ros blood in him too Jinxy. Good shout.
The mind of a Ros man in the body of a Mayo man.
This might be competitive for the first half, but I fully expect Mayo will up the ante when they need to and get the job done handily enough.
Quote from: Syferus on May 30, 2016, 03:30:47 PM
Quote from: Jinxy on May 30, 2016, 02:30:54 PM
Could Regan be the missing link?
Liked the look of him before he got injured a while back.
Ros blood in him too Jinxy. Good shout.
Bedad, syf you'd better stop worrying about effin' Ballagh and all that goes with it. Relax, chill out; smell the bees and listen to the flowers as you go through life and cast your worries aside as they will only drag you down.
(Mind you, I'm not sure that I got the above sentence right but you should know what I mean as you come out with at least as much crap as I do.
Lookit, I never heard a single Mayo man yet who had a bad word to say about Dermot Earley even though he was born in Mayo and could have worn the green and red.
Same with Sean KIlbride; when his best years were behind him, he dropped down the gears a bit and switched to Roscommon. Never heard a Mayo man that didn't wish him the best of luck.
Cheer up; this is a Mayo Galway thread and you'll do yourself an injury if you keep on moaning about Ballagh.
The best thing for Mayo would be a tight match.
Quote from: Syferus on May 30, 2016, 03:30:47 PM
Quote from: Jinxy on May 30, 2016, 02:30:54 PM
Could Regan be the missing link?
Liked the look of him before he got injured a while back.
Ros blood in him too Jinxy.
My one reservation about Regan.
Quote from: Lar Naparka on May 30, 2016, 04:25:23 PM
Quote from: Syferus on May 30, 2016, 03:30:47 PM
Quote from: Jinxy on May 30, 2016, 02:30:54 PM
Could Regan be the missing link?
Liked the look of him before he got injured a while back.
Ros blood in him too Jinxy. Good shout.
Bedad, syf you'd better stop worrying about effin' Ballagh and all that goes with it. Relax, chill out; smell the bees and listen to the flowers as you go through life and cast your worries aside as they will only drag you down.
(Mind you, I'm not sure that I got the above sentence right but you should know what I mean as you come out with at least as much crap as I do.
Lookit, I never heard a single Mayo man yet who had a bad word to say about Dermot Earley even though he was born in Mayo and could have worn the green and red.
Same with Sean KIlbride; when his best years were behind him, he dropped down the gears a bit and switched to Roscommon. Never heard a Mayo man that didn't wish him the best of luck.
Cheer up; this is a Mayo Galway thread and you'll do yourself an injury if you keep on moaning about Ballagh.
It has nothing to do with Ballagh. Evan Regan is from Ballina.
His father is from Roscommon town, and poor ould Syf seems to think this gives Ros some claim to the lad.
Quote from: seafoid on May 30, 2016, 05:05:09 PM
The best thing for Mayo would be a tight match.
Wouldn't do Galway any harm either. To be fair, I don't believe tight matches are beneficial at this time of the year. Maybe in the Connacht final or the Quarters it can help.
Galway have to stay with Mayo for as long as possible. When i say stay, I mean be within a score with 10 minutes to go.
Galway have been spectacularly mediocre the last 15(?) years. It's hard to remember their last big scalp. Part (or maybe all) of Mayo going for six in a row is the total collapse as a force of Galway. Unlike Mayo who are now obsessed with winning Sam. Galway seemed to rest on the laurels of their 98 and 01 successes. Although most Galway people I talk to are disillusioned at the present time. They believe that some time in the future things will change back to the old way. I'm not so sure. Part of our biggest problem was how much we fell back from 1955 to 1981 winning just two connacht titles in that period. Players who went on to become Managers from that period, had no real big game experience. This has changed in the last 20 years.
Quote from: Lar Naparka on May 30, 2016, 04:25:23 PM
Quote from: Syferus on May 30, 2016, 03:30:47 PM
Quote from: Jinxy on May 30, 2016, 02:30:54 PM
Could Regan be the missing link?
Liked the look of him before he got injured a while back.
Ros blood in him too Jinxy. Good shout.
Bedad, syf you'd better stop worrying about effin' Ballagh and all that goes with it. Relax, chill out; smell the bees and listen to the flowers as you go through life and cast your worries aside as they will only drag you down.
(Mind you, I'm not sure that I got the above sentence right but you should know what I mean as you come out with at least as much crap as I do.
Lookit, I never heard a single Mayo man yet who had a bad word to say about Dermot Earley even though he was born in Mayo and could have worn the green and red.
Same with Sean KIlbride; when his best years were behind him, he dropped down the gears a bit and switched to Roscommon. Never heard a Mayo man that didn't wish him the best of luck.
Cheer up; this is a Mayo Galway thread and you'll do yourself an injury if you keep on moaning about Ballagh.
You have talked to many Mayo people Lar. Lots of sourpusses on the confused side of Ballagh when it comes to Sean playing for his own county.
Don't worry Lar, the poor mouthing from both counties will start soon enough to distract you.
Quote from: From the Bunker on May 30, 2016, 05:49:48 PM
Quote from: seafoid on May 30, 2016, 05:05:09 PM
The best thing for Mayo would be a tight match.
Wouldn't do Galway any harm either. To be fair, I don't believe tight matches are beneficial at this time of the year. Maybe in the Connacht final or the Quarters it can help.
Galway have to stay with Mayo for as long as possible. When i say stay, I mean be within a score with 10 minutes to go.
Galway have been spectacularly mediocre the last 15(?) years. It's hard to remember their last big scalp. Part (or maybe all) of Mayo going for six in a row is the total collapse as a force of Galway. Unlike Mayo who are now obsessed with winning Sam. Galway seemed to rest on the laurels of their 98 and 01 successes. Although most Galway people I talk to are disillusioned at the present time. They believe that some time in the future things will change back to the old way. I'm not so sure. Part of our biggest problem was how much we fell back from 1955 to 1981 winning just two connacht titles in that period. Players who went on to become Managers from that period, had no real big game experience. This has changed in the last 20 years.
Tight matches are good any time. How to turn the last 5 minutes their way is a skill mayo need.
Galway were worse in the early 90s.
When there is a good team they can be lethal. In 5 years time I expect the tables to be turned. Mayo have to win Sam this year. Dubs won't be as big a threat as next year. Throne need more time. Kerry vs dubs semi.
Galway had a disappointing league after a good start so KW will be expected to come up with a decent performance in this match.
Quote from: seafoid on May 30, 2016, 06:11:50 PM
Quote from: From the Bunker on May 30, 2016, 05:49:48 PM
Quote from: seafoid on May 30, 2016, 05:05:09 PM
The best thing for Mayo would be a tight match.
Wouldn't do Galway any harm either. To be fair, I don't believe tight matches are beneficial at this time of the year. Maybe in the Connacht final or the Quarters it can help.
Galway have to stay with Mayo for as long as possible. When i say stay, I mean be within a score with 10 minutes to go.
Galway have been spectacularly mediocre the last 15(?) years. It's hard to remember their last big scalp. Part (or maybe all) of Mayo going for six in a row is the total collapse as a force of Galway. Unlike Mayo who are now obsessed with winning Sam. Galway seemed to rest on the laurels of their 98 and 01 successes. Although most Galway people I talk to are disillusioned at the present time. They believe that some time in the future things will change back to the old way. I'm not so sure. Part of our biggest problem was how much we fell back from 1955 to 1981 winning just two connacht titles in that period. Players who went on to become Managers from that period, had no real big game experience. This has changed in the last 20 years.
Tight matches are good any time. How to turn the last 5 minutes their way is a skill mayo need.
Galway were worse in the early 90s.
When there is a good team they can be lethal. In 5 years time I expect the tables to be turned. Mayo have to win Sam this year. Dubs won't be as big a threat as next year. Throne need more time. Kerry vs dubs semi.
Mayo have to win Sam every year! Every year for the last 4 I've heard this. And if they don't this year, it will be the same proposition next year. Failure is not winning an AI at this stage. It's a huge expectation. But many counties would kill for such an expectation.
Galway at the moment, have three goals. A big Scalp. A Connacht title. A quarter final place. A good year would be achieving one of those. When you see Fermanagh in the Quarters last year - you see it is very possible for Galway to achieve this.
Quote from: From the Bunker on May 30, 2016, 07:06:42 PM
Quote from: seafoid on May 30, 2016, 06:11:50 PM
Quote from: From the Bunker on May 30, 2016, 05:49:48 PM
Quote from: seafoid on May 30, 2016, 05:05:09 PM
The best thing for Mayo would be a tight match.
Wouldn't do Galway any harm either. To be fair, I don't believe tight matches are beneficial at this time of the year. Maybe in the Connacht final or the Quarters it can help.
Galway have to stay with Mayo for as long as possible. When i say stay, I mean be within a score with 10 minutes to go.
Galway have been spectacularly mediocre the last 15(?) years. It's hard to remember their last big scalp. Part (or maybe all) of Mayo going for six in a row is the total collapse as a force of Galway. Unlike Mayo who are now obsessed with winning Sam. Galway seemed to rest on the laurels of their 98 and 01 successes. Although most Galway people I talk to are disillusioned at the present time. They believe that some time in the future things will change back to the old way. I'm not so sure. Part of our biggest problem was how much we fell back from 1955 to 1981 winning just two connacht titles in that period. Players who went on to become Managers from that period, had no real big game experience. This has changed in the last 20 years.
Tight matches are good any time. How to turn the last 5 minutes their way is a skill mayo need.
Galway were worse in the early 90s.
When there is a good team they can be lethal. In 5 years time I expect the tables to be turned. Mayo have to win Sam this year. Dubs won't be as big a threat as next year. Throne need more time. Kerry vs dubs semi.
Mayo have to win Sam every year! Every year for the last 4 I've heard this. And if they don't this year, it will be the same proposition next year. Failure is not winning an AI at this stage. It's a huge expectation. But many counties would kill for such an expectation.
Galway at the moment, have three goals. A big Scalp. A Connacht title. A quarter final place. A good year would be achieving one of those. When you see Fermanagh in the Quarters last year - you see it is very possible for Galway to achieve this.
Kevin Walsh isn't fit to polish Pete McGrath's boots.
Quote from: From the Bunker on May 30, 2016, 07:06:42 PM
Quote from: seafoid on May 30, 2016, 06:11:50 PM
Quote from: From the Bunker on May 30, 2016, 05:49:48 PM
Quote from: seafoid on May 30, 2016, 05:05:09 PM
The best thing for Mayo would be a tight match.
Wouldn't do Galway any harm either. To be fair, I don't believe tight matches are beneficial at this time of the year. Maybe in the Connacht final or the Quarters it can help.
Galway have to stay with Mayo for as long as possible. When i say stay, I mean be within a score with 10 minutes to go.
Galway have been spectacularly mediocre the last 15(?) years. It's hard to remember their last big scalp. Part (or maybe all) of Mayo going for six in a row is the total collapse as a force of Galway. Unlike Mayo who are now obsessed with winning Sam. Galway seemed to rest on the laurels of their 98 and 01 successes. Although most Galway people I talk to are disillusioned at the present time. They believe that some time in the future things will change back to the old way. I'm not so sure. Part of our biggest problem was how much we fell back from 1955 to 1981 winning just two connacht titles in that period. Players who went on to become Managers from that period, had no real big game experience. This has changed in the last 20 years.
Tight matches are good any time. How to turn the last 5 minutes their way is a skill mayo need.
Galway were worse in the early 90s.
When there is a good team they can be lethal. In 5 years time I expect the tables to be turned. Mayo have to win Sam this year. Dubs won't be as big a threat as next year. Throne need more time. Kerry vs dubs semi.
Mayo have to win Sam every year! Every year for the last 4 I've heard this. And if they don't this year, it will be the same proposition next year. Failure is not winning an AI at this stage. It's a huge expectation. But many counties would kill for such an expectation.
Galway at the moment, have three goals. A big Scalp. A Connacht title. A quarter final place. A good year would be achieving one of those. When you see Fermanagh in the Quarters last year - you see it is very possible for Galway to achieve this.
Were they not in the quarters in 14 and 15?
Quote from: seafoid on May 30, 2016, 08:26:15 PM
Quote from: From the Bunker on May 30, 2016, 07:06:42 PM
Quote from: seafoid on May 30, 2016, 06:11:50 PM
Quote from: From the Bunker on May 30, 2016, 05:49:48 PM
Quote from: seafoid on May 30, 2016, 05:05:09 PM
The best thing for Mayo would be a tight match.
Wouldn't do Galway any harm either. To be fair, I don't believe tight matches are beneficial at this time of the year. Maybe in the Connacht final or the Quarters it can help.
Galway have to stay with Mayo for as long as possible. When i say stay, I mean be within a score with 10 minutes to go.
Galway have been spectacularly mediocre the last 15(?) years. It's hard to remember their last big scalp. Part (or maybe all) of Mayo going for six in a row is the total collapse as a force of Galway. Unlike Mayo who are now obsessed with winning Sam. Galway seemed to rest on the laurels of their 98 and 01 successes. Although most Galway people I talk to are disillusioned at the present time. They believe that some time in the future things will change back to the old way. I'm not so sure. Part of our biggest problem was how much we fell back from 1955 to 1981 winning just two connacht titles in that period. Players who went on to become Managers from that period, had no real big game experience. This has changed in the last 20 years.
Tight matches are good any time. How to turn the last 5 minutes their way is a skill mayo need.
Galway were worse in the early 90s.
When there is a good team they can be lethal. In 5 years time I expect the tables to be turned. Mayo have to win Sam this year. Dubs won't be as big a threat as next year. Throne need more time. Kerry vs dubs semi.
Mayo have to win Sam every year! Every year for the last 4 I've heard this. And if they don't this year, it will be the same proposition next year. Failure is not winning an AI at this stage. It's a huge expectation. But many counties would kill for such an expectation.
Galway at the moment, have three goals. A big Scalp. A Connacht title. A quarter final place. A good year would be achieving one of those. When you see Fermanagh in the Quarters last year - you see it is very possible for Galway to achieve this.
Were they not in the quarters in 14 and 15?
Beat London, Sligo and Tipperary to get to QF in 2014.
Lost to Donegal by 10 points in Qualifiers in 2015.
The funny thing is that Galway have won as much as Mayo in the last 5 years. Cue Syf pointing out the importance of Connacht titles.
Wonder what kind of intensity level KW will have for the team
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9In3bD0D4n8
Quote from: seafoid on May 30, 2016, 06:11:50 PM
Quote from: From the Bunker on May 30, 2016, 05:49:48 PM
Quote from: seafoid on May 30, 2016, 05:05:09 PM
The best thing for Mayo would be a tight match.
Wouldn't do Galway any harm either. To be fair, I don't believe tight matches are beneficial at this time of the year. Maybe in the Connacht final or the Quarters it can help.
Galway have to stay with Mayo for as long as possible. When i say stay, I mean be within a score with 10 minutes to go.
Galway have been spectacularly mediocre the last 15(?) years. It's hard to remember their last big scalp. Part (or maybe all) of Mayo going for six in a row is the total collapse as a force of Galway. Unlike Mayo who are now obsessed with winning Sam. Galway seemed to rest on the laurels of their 98 and 01 successes. Although most Galway people I talk to are disillusioned at the present time. They believe that some time in the future things will change back to the old way. I'm not so sure. Part of our biggest problem was how much we fell back from 1955 to 1981 winning just two connacht titles in that period. Players who went on to become Managers from that period, had no real big game experience. This has changed in the last 20 years.
Tight matches are good any time. How to turn the last 5 minutes their way is a skill mayo need.
Galway were worse in the early 90s.
When there is a good team they can be lethal. In 5 years time I expect the tables to be turned. Mayo have to win Sam this year. Dubs won't be as big a threat as next year. Throne need more time. Kerry vs dubs semi.
I dunno Seafóid. I think you put too much weight on uaisleacht! And Mayo do not have to win an AI this year.
Mayo have been more dominant v Galway recently - albeit without winning Sam - than Galway teams that won the big pot were v Mayo. 98 match between the 2 was against the head win for Galway and a game I always felt we should have won. Galway finished the business alright but I suspect it will take more than uaisleacht to win against a team like the current Dublin lot of Tyrone when they were great or the great O Connor Kerry team.
Galway also lost horribly in 83 AI final and lost finals in the 70's as well.
This Mayo team is regenerating nicely from year to year. Contrary to the general perception out there, younger players are coming through that can play at the top level and are probably better than lads that were there before. That is very good.
Teams that were at the top; Down, Armagh, Meath, Derry and Galway have slipped to an extent that there is hardly any line back to where they were alpha teams. It's going to be very difficult for those teams to close up again because the Dublins, Kerrys, Tyrones and Mayo wont let their standards slip any time soon.
Mayo came from nowhere after the 2007- 2010 meltdown but we should never have been nowhere in the first place. We were always comfortably in Div 1 and had good players but there was a lot to be left desired.
Can a Galway do what Mayo did in 2011 - like take out the AI champions after being beaten by Sligo and knocked out by Longford 8 months earlier in 2010 championship? I have my doubts, because even in the last 6 years things have cranked up a lot.
However the thing about sport is that you can get levelled. Galway can roll into Castlebar and turn Mayo over. They did in 98. But they had an exceptional good few players then that came along at the same - Joyce, Savage, Clancy, Donnellan and Fallon. If Galway have that kind of quality now would they be in Div.2?
Moysider if you take the long view, Connacht football tends to go in cycles of Mayo and Galway with Ros popping up every 15 years or so . In terms of provincial wins the 2 counties are evenly matched but of course Galway have more all Irelands. That is something psychological.
Ni uasal agus iseal ach thuas seal agus thios seal
So Galway will be back.
I think it does matter whether or not Mayo win Sam. They have been in the last 5 semis and should have at least one by now
I'm not looking forward to this, I had a little optimism last year but that has evaporated for this year.
Lets see what happens in the qualifiers, Galway could get lucky like they did 2 years ago and have a very easy passage through to a quarter final where they beaten by a Kerry team who barely broke sweat. I though Galway did ok last year, we gave Mayo a game for the first time in many years and for about 55 minutes we were well in the game against Donegal; I watched the Donegal game again recently and we were the better team for a long period of the game and should have been 3 or 4 points up going into the final quarter.
Considering we've still stuck in div 2 for us to have progressed this year we really need to beat one of Mayo, Tyrone, Donegal, Monaghan, Dublin, Kerry or Cork.
2013 beaten by 17 points
Galway: M Breathnach; J Duane, C Forde, G Sweeney; G Bradshaw (capt.), K Kelly, G Sice; N Coleman, F O Curraoin; T Flynn, P Conroy (0-1), C Doherty; S Armstrong (0-3, frees), M Meehan (0-5, four frees, 45), D Cummins (0-1).
2014 beaten by 7 points
Galway: M Breathnach; A Tierney, F Hanley, D O'Neill; G Bradshaw (0-01), G O'Donnell, P Varley; F O'Curraoin, T Flynn; M Lundy (0-01), S Walsh (0-07, 5fs), D Comer; P Conroy (0-04), E Hoare, D Cummins (0-01).
2015 beaten by 4 points
Galway: M Breathnach; J Duane, F Hanley (1-00, own goal), C Sweeney; L Silke, G O'Donnell, S Denvir; F Ó Curraoin, P Conroy (0-03, 0-02 frees); G Sice (1-03, 0-02 frees), P Sweeney, T Flynn; D Cummins (1-01), D Comer (0-01), M Lundy.
the trend is your friend
a few of these would do the job
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxnYdka1XIo
I think they should run all day at them . They should have the fitness
Quote from: Maroon Manc on May 31, 2016, 10:42:48 AM
I'm not looking forward to this, I had a little optimism last year but that has evaporated for this year.
Lets see what happens in the qualifiers, Galway could get lucky like they did 2 years ago and have a very easy passage through to a quarter final where they beaten by a Kerry team who barely broke sweat. I though Galway did ok last year, we gave Mayo a game for the first time in many years and for about 55 minutes we were well in the game against Donegal; I watched the Donegal game again recently and we were the better team for a long period of the game and should have been 3 or 4 points up going into the final quarter.
Considering we've still stuck in div 2 for us to have progressed this year we really need Conor Lane.
;)
In all seriousness, I hope Galway do get back to winning provincials and having a rattle @ the AI. Always had a soft spot for the Tribesmen
Quote from: seafoid on May 31, 2016, 11:24:43 AM
2013 beaten by 17 points
Galway: M Breathnach; J Duane, C Forde, G Sweeney; G Bradshaw (capt.), K Kelly, G Sice; N Coleman, F O Curraoin; T Flynn, P Conroy (0-1), C Doherty; S Armstrong (0-3, frees), M Meehan (0-5, four frees, 45), D Cummins (0-1).
2014 beaten by 7 points
Galway: M Breathnach; A Tierney, F Hanley, D O'Neill; G Bradshaw (0-01), G O'Donnell, P Varley; F O'Curraoin, T Flynn; M Lundy (0-01), S Walsh (0-07, 5fs), D Comer; P Conroy (0-04), E Hoare, D Cummins (0-01).
2015 beaten by 4 points
Galway: M Breathnach; J Duane, F Hanley (1-00, own goal), C Sweeney; L Silke, G O'Donnell, S Denvir; F Ó Curraoin, P Conroy (0-03, 0-02 frees); G Sice (1-03, 0-02 frees), P Sweeney, T Flynn; D Cummins (1-01), D Comer (0-01), M Lundy.
the trend is your friend
a few of these would do the job
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxnYdka1XIo
I think they should run all day at them . They should have the fitness
It's a sign of the times when Galway football feels it's best shot at Mayo is through fitness.....
It will be a big shock if Mayo lose in Castlebar, can't see it happening to be honest, I think the only team on Mayo's side of the draw that could stop them getting to the All Ireland final (assuming no big gun gets bounced into the qualifiers) this year is Tyrone who look to be getting back to being in the mix for the top prize. Ulster is a lot more of a minefield than Connacht so no guarantees with them either.
6 in a row would be a fantastic achievement for this Mayo squad of players, Galway have been wretched for a long while and clearly the lack of competition within Connect has made it slightly easier but that doesn't lessen the feat if 2016 goes as expected, you can only beat what's in front of you.
Mayo are in the top tier, we are miles off. Leaving aside the next match, Galway football has massive problems as a whole besides the squad of players available currently. I would have always been of the opinion that there is a cyclical nature to whether a county is in the conversation for All Ireland glory but the way that top level GAA has gone, the disparity level between counties that are well organised and well funded compared to the also rans has me questioning this seriously.
Galway people will follow a successful team, not so much so on the other end of the scale, who are the team to follow in Galway at the minute? It isn't the footballers anyway, I care not a jot about rugby, but it is obvious that Connacht is better organised and run from the top down, there is some amount of hay being made by them from just getting to that final, now that they have won a single competition it is a platform for growing the support and (most importantly) the financial resources available.
I realise that this is in the context of a very much neglected team in Ireland's rugby environment, I don't mean this as a negative at all, I think it's fascinating to see the levels of interest and promotion in a team that was, frankly, nothing at all in the general scheme of things when I still lived in the West.
Would people have the same trust in the Galway GAA hierarchy to make similar use of a successful football team?
Regarding the next match I'll be in Castlebar to watch but I'd be fearful enough over how it will go from a Galway point of view, I hope I'm very wrong.
Quote from: ballinaman on May 31, 2016, 01:21:28 PM
Quote from: seafoid on May 31, 2016, 11:24:43 AM
2013 beaten by 17 points
Galway: M Breathnach; J Duane, C Forde, G Sweeney; G Bradshaw (capt.), K Kelly, G Sice; N Coleman, F O Curraoin; T Flynn, P Conroy (0-1), C Doherty; S Armstrong (0-3, frees), M Meehan (0-5, four frees, 45), D Cummins (0-1).
2014 beaten by 7 points
Galway: M Breathnach; A Tierney, F Hanley, D O'Neill; G Bradshaw (0-01), G O'Donnell, P Varley; F O'Curraoin, T Flynn; M Lundy (0-01), S Walsh (0-07, 5fs), D Comer; P Conroy (0-04), E Hoare, D Cummins (0-01).
2015 beaten by 4 points
Galway: M Breathnach; J Duane, F Hanley (1-00, own goal), C Sweeney; L Silke, G O'Donnell, S Denvir; F Ó Curraoin, P Conroy (0-03, 0-02 frees); G Sice (1-03, 0-02 frees), P Sweeney, T Flynn; D Cummins (1-01), D Comer (0-01), M Lundy.
the trend is your friend
a few of these would do the job
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxnYdka1XIo
I think they should run all day at them . They should have the fitness
It's a sign of the times when Galway football feels it's best shot at Mayo is through fitness.....
I think we have more scoring forwards...
Quote from: An Fhairche Abu on May 31, 2016, 01:43:12 PM
It will be a big shock if Mayo lose in Castlebar, can't see it happening to be honest, I think the only team on Mayo's side of the draw that could stop them getting to the All Ireland final (assuming no big gun gets bounced into the qualifiers) this year is Tyrone who look to be getting back to being in the mix for the top prize. Ulster is a lot more of a minefield than Connacht so no guarantees with them either.
6 in a row would be a fantastic achievement for this Mayo squad of players, Galway have been wretched for a long while and clearly the lack of competition within Connect has made it slightly easier but that doesn't lessen the feat if 2016 goes as expected, you can only beat what's in front of you.
Mayo are in the top tier, we are miles off. Leaving aside the next match, Galway football has massive problems as a whole besides the squad of players available currently. I would have always been of the opinion that there is a cyclical nature to whether a county is in the conversation for All Ireland glory but the way that top level GAA has gone, the disparity level between counties that are well organised and well funded compared to the also rans has me questioning this seriously.
Galway people will follow a successful team, not so much so on the other end of the scale, who are the team to follow in Galway at the minute? It isn't the footballers anyway, I care not a jot about rugby, but it is obvious that Connacht is better organised and run from the top down, there is some amount of hay being made by them from just getting to that final, now that they have won a single competition it is a platform for growing the support and (most importantly) the financial resources available.
I realise that this is in the context of a very much neglected team in Ireland's rugby environment, I don't mean this as a negative at all, I think it's fascinating to see the levels of interest and promotion in a team that was, frankly, nothing at all in the general scheme of things when I still lived in the West.
Would people have the same trust in the Galway GAA hierarchy to make similar use of a successful football team?
Regarding the next match I'll be in Castlebar to watch but I'd be fearful enough over how it will go from a Galway point of view, I hope I'm very wrong.
If Connaught drives the pendants nuts we may have just lost half the western seaboard.
Quote from: An Fhairche Abu on May 31, 2016, 01:43:12 PM
It will be a big shock if Mayo lose in Castlebar, can't see it happening to be honest, I think the only team on Mayo's side of the draw that could stop them getting to the All Ireland final (assuming no big gun gets bounced into the qualifiers) this year is Tyrone who look to be getting back to being in the mix for the top prize. Ulster is a lot more of a minefield than Connacht so no guarantees with them either.
6 in a row would be a fantastic achievement for this Mayo squad of players, Galway have been wretched for a long while and clearly the lack of competition within Connect has made it slightly easier but that doesn't lessen the feat if 2016 goes as expected, you can only beat what's in front of you.
Mayo are in the top tier, we are miles off. Leaving aside the next match, Galway football has massive problems as a whole besides the squad of players available currently. I would have always been of the opinion that there is a cyclical nature to whether a county is in the conversation for All Ireland glory but the way that top level GAA has gone, the disparity level between counties that are well organised and well funded compared to the also rans has me questioning this seriously.
Galway people will follow a successful team, not so much so on the other end of the scale, who are the team to follow in Galway at the minute? It isn't the footballers anyway, I care not a jot about rugby, but it is obvious that Connacht is better organised and run from the top down, there is some amount of hay being made by them from just getting to that final, now that they have won a single competition it is a platform for growing the support and (most importantly) the financial resources available.
I realise that this is in the context of a very much neglected team in Ireland's rugby environment, I don't mean this as a negative at all, I think it's fascinating to see the levels of interest and promotion in a team that was, frankly, nothing at all in the general scheme of things when I still lived in the West.
Would people have the same trust in the Galway GAA hierarchy to make similar use of a successful football team?
Regarding the next match I'll be in Castlebar to watch but I'd be fearful enough over how it will go from a Galway point of view, I hope I'm very wrong.
Was going to reply to Seafoid's last comment but you've hit the nail on the head IMO. I always believed football was cyclical and it used to be but we've now entered a semi-professional era. For all our faults, Mayo have moved with the times and are in that top bracket. From what I hear about Galway ye are in the dark ages structurally and, until that changes, Ross are more likely to knock us off our perch than Galway. Kind of sad to see it but that's the way things are looking. I miss the days when Mayo-Galway matches were the highlight of the Connacht c'ship. (Cue Galway handing us our arses in 3 weeks!)
I agree we need to win an All-Ireland to fulfill the squad and the county's needs but saying it has to be this year is the same shite we hear every year. It doesn't 'have to be' anything. We'll win it when we're good enough (on and off the pitch that is).
I can\t see Mayo winning the next 5
Quote from: seafoid on May 31, 2016, 11:24:43 AM
2013 beaten by 17 points
Galway: M Breathnach; J Duane, C Forde, G Sweeney; G Bradshaw (capt.), K Kelly, G Sice; N Coleman, F O Curraoin; T Flynn, P Conroy (0-1), C Doherty; S Armstrong (0-3, frees), M Meehan (0-5, four frees, 45), D Cummins (0-1).
2014 beaten by 7 points
Galway: M Breathnach; A Tierney, F Hanley, D O'Neill; G Bradshaw (0-01), G O'Donnell, P Varley; F O'Curraoin, T Flynn; M Lundy (0-01), S Walsh (0-07, 5fs), D Comer; P Conroy (0-04), E Hoare, D Cummins (0-01).
2015 beaten by 4 points
Galway: M Breathnach; J Duane, F Hanley (1-00, own goal), C Sweeney; L Silke, G O'Donnell, S Denvir; F Ó Curraoin, P Conroy (0-03, 0-02 frees); G Sice (1-03, 0-02 frees), P Sweeney, T Flynn; D Cummins (1-01), D Comer (0-01), M Lundy.
the trend is your friend
a few of these would do the job
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxnYdka1XIo
I think they should run all day at them . They should have the fitness
When it comes to fitness and conditioning Mayo are on a different level to Galway. Five years that Galway have been away from div one football now and this spring they only won 2 games in div 2 if Mayo were in div 2 they would win all 7 games. I think this game on June 18th Mayo will match their winning margin of 2014 v Galway.
Cillian needed the game against London, as he hasn't played much at county level since the replay against Dublin. 6 minutes won't have done him much good. Diarmuid, SOS and Caff also missed the London game.
If is a big ask to have them all hit the ground running in a Championship game against Galway.
On the other hand, Regan is a big positive, along with the form of Loftus, Coen and Durcan. New blood is needed to reach the promised land.
However I think this will be closer than people expect.
Quote from: seafoid on May 30, 2016, 06:53:44 PM
Galway had a disappointing league after a good start so KW will be expected to come up with a decent performance in this match.
Not so sure I would agree, Tyrone only beat them by 2pts and Cavan beat them by 4pts.
Galway's midfield were very poor last year V Donegal in Qualifier, and their overall tactics were naive.
If Mayo had a full team I would be fairly/very confident but
potentially missing;
Starters;
T Parsons
S O Se
D O Connor
D Vaughan
C Barrett
Players who usually see some game time;
Barry Moran
A.Freeman
C Loftus (seems to have picked up a knock in London)
Mayo may have a very trick game on their hands, especially with three midfielders on above list.
Think back to replay V Dublin and last fifteen minutes when same three were not on field. (I know Galway not Dublin)
Stephen Rochford and his team have a few headaches, not an expert of physio or injuries, but not the time of year you want to see this list as long as it is, what are chances of these guys going at full tilt in the next two to three months.
Indeed joemamas, the injury list is very worrying from a Mayo point of view. As you said it's hard to just come back with the click of a finger. I think Galway will give Mayo the fill of it in this game. Any more injuries and an upset is on the cards.
It's a shame Barrett and Parsons seem to get injured almost every year at some stage. They have both plenty to offer.
Quote from: seafoid on May 31, 2016, 02:02:27 PM
Quote from: ballinaman on May 31, 2016, 01:21:28 PM
Quote from: seafoid on May 31, 2016, 11:24:43 AM
2013 beaten by 17 points
Galway: M Breathnach; J Duane, C Forde, G Sweeney; G Bradshaw (capt.), K Kelly, G Sice; N Coleman, F O Curraoin; T Flynn, P Conroy (0-1), C Doherty; S Armstrong (0-3, frees), M Meehan (0-5, four frees, 45), D Cummins (0-1).
2014 beaten by 7 points
Galway: M Breathnach; A Tierney, F Hanley, D O'Neill; G Bradshaw (0-01), G O'Donnell, P Varley; F O'Curraoin, T Flynn; M Lundy (0-01), S Walsh (0-07, 5fs), D Comer; P Conroy (0-04), E Hoare, D Cummins (0-01).
2015 beaten by 4 points
Galway: M Breathnach; J Duane, F Hanley (1-00, own goal), C Sweeney; L Silke, G O'Donnell, S Denvir; F Ó Curraoin, P Conroy (0-03, 0-02 frees); G Sice (1-03, 0-02 frees), P Sweeney, T Flynn; D Cummins (1-01), D Comer (0-01), M Lundy.
the trend is your friend
a few of these would do the job
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxnYdka1XIo
I think they should run all day at them . They should have the fitness
It's a sign of the times when Galway football feels it's best shot at Mayo is through fitness.....
I think we have more scoring forwards...
That's more like it!
Andy Moran said on Midwest radio Sunday evening that none of the Mayo injuries are serious and he expects Mayo to be picking from a full strength panel against Galway. Fintan Ó Curraoin returned to action with his club at the weekend having him back will be a boost to Galway.
If Mayo want to they could win this by between 15-20 points. Galway don't have the players and Walsh does not help matters either. Mind you Mayo would trample on most teams if in the form.
Quote from: Rudi on May 31, 2016, 04:26:23 PM
If Mayo want to they could win this by between 15-20 points. Galway don't have the players and Walsh does not help matters either. Mind you Mayo would trample on most teams if in the form.
I don't know Rudi. Even if 'in the form' as you put it, there'd probably be a bucket load of wides to keep the other team in the game. At least that's what I've seen all league campaign and I believe not much has changed in that department in London. We'll see how the training week goes anyway for them. Hopefully the injured players get to take part in something over there.
Quote from: Blowitupref on May 31, 2016, 04:16:33 PM
Andy Moran said on Midwest radio Sunday evening that none of the Mayo injuries are serious and he expects Mayo to be picking from a full strength panel against Galway. Fintan Ó Curraoin returned to action with his club at the weekend having him back will be a boost to Galway.
Fiontán isn't physical enough, he's grand in a free flowing, open game but he tends to get lost when things get physical. Ronan Steede or Michael Daly would be a better option in here I think but both are gone to USA for the summer/not on the panel anyway so that's a bit of a non starter. It'll be interesting to see who is named at full back, Declan Kyne spent most of the league there but he wasn't too convincing, Eoghan Kerin and David Wynne will most likely be in the corners unless Cathal Sweeney recovers in time but that seems unlikely. Liam Silke will probably be given the job of tracking Diarmuid O'Connor. I'd love to see him bringing the form he had during Corofin's All Ireland run into this game, he did a great job on Diarmuid Connolly when they played Vincent's, that's over a year ago now and he hasn't played anywhere near that level since. Shane Walsh was missed when we played Mayo last year so let's hope he's firing on all cylinders this time round. I really can't see us beating Mayo but who knows!
Quote from: Cunny Funt on May 31, 2016, 02:48:09 PM
Quote from: seafoid on May 31, 2016, 11:24:43 AM
2013 beaten by 17 points
Galway: M Breathnach; J Duane, C Forde, G Sweeney; G Bradshaw (capt.), K Kelly, G Sice; N Coleman, F O Curraoin; T Flynn, P Conroy (0-1), C Doherty; S Armstrong (0-3, frees), M Meehan (0-5, four frees, 45), D Cummins (0-1).
2014 beaten by 7 points
Galway: M Breathnach; A Tierney, F Hanley, D O'Neill; G Bradshaw (0-01), G O'Donnell, P Varley; F O'Curraoin, T Flynn; M Lundy (0-01), S Walsh (0-07, 5fs), D Comer; P Conroy (0-04), E Hoare, D Cummins (0-01).
2015 beaten by 4 points
Galway: M Breathnach; J Duane, F Hanley (1-00, own goal), C Sweeney; L Silke, G O'Donnell, S Denvir; F Ó Curraoin, P Conroy (0-03, 0-02 frees); G Sice (1-03, 0-02 frees), P Sweeney, T Flynn; D Cummins (1-01), D Comer (0-01), M Lundy.
the trend is your friend
a few of these would do the job
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxnYdka1XIo
I think they should run all day at them . They should have the fitness
When it comes to fitness and conditioning Mayo are on a different level to Galway. Five years that Galway have been away from div one football now and this spring they only won 2 games in div 2 if Mayo were in div 2 they would win all 7 games. I think this game on June 18th Mayo will match their winning margin of 2014 v Galway.
There's no doubt that Mayo are far ahead in strength and conditioning in Connacht and I left Hyde Park after the league game pretty disillusioned with the way they physically bossed Roscommon around. Technically they should ate any Connacht team alive. That said they have a lot of players that are not very mobile and don't mean just COC and when Dublin ran the arses off them they were gone with 15 minutes to go and you saw Philly McMahon a full back doing more damage on the scoreboard than any of the Mayo players. Now maybe only Dublin have the athletes to do that and the bench to back it up.
But you never know - a blistering hot day and the big Mayo lads may run out of steam. But that's the type of game Galway would need to execute to have any chance.
Nothing whatsoever to suggest Galway have improved by league performances . Drawing against the likes of Armagh is poor when you're lookin to push for promotion.I expect our bucks to devour the fancy dans TBH , Mayo are really up for it by all accounts and will toss all Connacht challengers to one side to make history on their way to HQ . #sixinarow
Winning 5 in a row and not winning the All Ireland is very unusual.
Dublin 2005-2009?
FOC gone to the states for the summer?
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 10, 2016, 03:03:01 PM
FOC gone to the states for the summer?
Could have told you that weeks ago 8), actually I think I did
Quote from: seafoid on June 01, 2016, 05:38:07 AM
Winning 5 in a row and not winning the All Ireland is very unusual.
Not really! The main reason Mayo have been winning these titles is the collapse of Galway football for the last 15 years. Mayo are a just above average team, while to call Galway average at this stage is an overstatement. Still ye have good forwards and play nice football, so that must be a consolation! ;)
Galway won Connacht titles in 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976 - No All Ireland!
Galway won Connacht titles in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987 - No All Ireland!
Quote from: ballinaman on June 10, 2016, 03:27:45 PM
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 10, 2016, 03:03:01 PM
FOC gone to the states for the summer?
Could have told you that weeks ago 8), actually I think I did
Technically you didn't ;D
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 10, 2016, 03:56:50 PM
Quote from: ballinaman on June 10, 2016, 03:27:45 PM
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 10, 2016, 03:03:01 PM
FOC gone to the states for the summer?
Could have told you that weeks ago 8), actually I think I did
Technically you didn't ;D
True but the story of him getting a month off to get an injury cleared up, only to play MOM the following weekend for his club should have raised suspicion of that story.
At this rate the amount of Galway players in the US this Summer would give the ones who have stayed at home for the championship a right good game. Tough situation for Kevin Walsh.
One thing is for sure if these lads felt there was a chance of silverware on offer they would not be heading off. Obviously they feel even a Connacht title is beyond them at the moment. Let alone an All-Ireland.
Quote from: ballinaman on June 10, 2016, 04:01:48 PM
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 10, 2016, 03:56:50 PM
Quote from: ballinaman on June 10, 2016, 03:27:45 PM
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 10, 2016, 03:03:01 PM
FOC gone to the states for the summer?
Could have told you that weeks ago 8), actually I think I did
Technically you didn't ;D
True but the story of him getting a month off to get an injury cleared up, only to play MOM the following weekend for his club should have raised suspicion of that story.
I agree, I'd imagine KW was trying to change his mind.
I'm not sure how big a loss it is as I'm not completely convinced by him anyway but it certainly leaves us short in numbers. I'm happy with Flynn partnering Conroy but it looks like if anything should happen to either of them than Peter Cooke will be next in line and considering he's played very little senior football and is u21 again next year its a lot to ask.
Chris Barrett defo out for this one. Loftus is 50/50 and Seamie Bear and Diarmuid O Connor also doubtful.
Stupid to say he was given a month off to recuperate from injury if he was going to the States anyway.
What was the point in that?
He was genuinely injured alright (he missed his clubs first championship game) but it was obviously known he was off to America at that stage.
Michael Daly also off for the summer.He has been playing very well for his club recently
Don't mean to sound negative here but our forwards need to have a good day to boost confidence. Another high wide tally will sow the seeds of doubt again and even if we scrape through, questions about the ability of this team to score enough points from play will remain. Some fellas need to step up and not be relying on the usual suspects to bail them out by popping over a handy free or show them how it's done off the bench.
Quote from: moysider on June 10, 2016, 05:55:56 PM
Chris Barrett defo out for this one. Loftus is 50/50 and Seamie Bear and Diarmuid O Connor also doubtful.
So none of them took part in the training week in London I assume. Such a balls with injuries. At least Parsons isn't on that list. And I do agree with Mayoffs point (pardon the pun) on the forwards, I've seen nothing in the league games to see the problem being rectified, the updates on the London game weren't too convincing either.
Looks like we all missed this one according to Tom Carr and Jarlath Burns >:( We might not have much of a chance of winning but a bit of respect would be nice.
Quote from: Duine Eile on June 12, 2016, 11:05:30 PM
Looks like we all missed this one according to Tom Carr and Jarlath Burns >:( We might not have much of a chance of winning but a bit of respect would be nice.
I'm liking Tommy (we're allowed to call him that) more and more every time he winds up the neighbours.
Quote from: Duine Eile on June 12, 2016, 11:05:30 PM
Looks like we all missed this one according to Tom Carr and Jarlath Burns >:( We might not have much of a chance of winning but a bit of respect would be nice.
It's certainly a big change from the days when Sunday Game analysts used to be slavering over Galway. Especially the forwards, even long after their 98-2001 forwards were no longer around.
Quote from: moysider on June 13, 2016, 12:09:53 AM
Quote from: Duine Eile on June 12, 2016, 11:05:30 PM
Looks like we all missed this one according to Tom Carr and Jarlath Burns >:( We might not have much of a chance of winning but a bit of respect would be nice.
It's certainly a big change from the days when Sunday Game analysts used to be slavering over Galway. Especially the forwards, even long after their 98-2001 forwards were no longer around.
Just wait until next weekend, there won't be enough adjectives in the dictionary to describe our forwards ;)
The greatest Kilmovee man of the lot waxed lyrical in his book about Galway forwards as opposed to those in his own county, unfortunately this vintage are not in that class although they've time on their side.
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 13, 2016, 10:28:38 AM
The greatest Kilmovee man of the lot waxed lyrical in his book about Galway forwards as opposed to those in his own county, unfortunately this vintage are not in that class although they've time on their side.
I didn't know Larryin wrote a book.
Odds with Paddy Power
Mayo 1/5
Draw 11/1
Galway 9/2
Odds for Connacht title
Mayo 2/5
Roscommon 11/4
Galway 8/1
Quote from: From the Bunker on June 13, 2016, 03:25:23 PM
Odds with Paddy Power
Mayo 1/5
Draw 11/1
Galway 9/2
Odds for Connacht title
Mayo 2/5
Roscommon 11/4
Galway 8/1
strange odds really
if galway beat mayo they would be surely red hot favourites for connaght
Odds about right. It would be a massive if for Galway middle of the road division 2 team to beat All Ireland contenders Mayo in Castlebar.
Cafferkey seems unlikely to make it as well. Seamie Bear a big doubt.
We will give the dans an awful pastin sat night.
Quote from: larryin89 on June 14, 2016, 12:59:38 AM
We will give the dans an awful pastin sat night.
One day larry I'll look forward to walking into duffy's with a big grin on my face, unfortunately we'll be old men at this rate.
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 14, 2016, 12:53:10 PM
Quote from: larryin89 on June 14, 2016, 12:59:38 AM
We will give the dans an awful pastin sat night.
One day larry I'll look forward to walking into duffy's with a big grin on my face, unfortunately we'll be old men at this rate.
I don't know what the frig a supermarket in County Roscommon has to do with Mayo and Galway.
Quote from: Syferus on June 14, 2016, 12:54:42 PM
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 14, 2016, 12:53:10 PM
Quote from: larryin89 on June 14, 2016, 12:59:38 AM
We will give the dans an awful pastin sat night.
One day larry I'll look forward to walking into duffy's with a big grin on my face, unfortunately we'll be old men at this rate.
I don't know what the frig a supermarket in County Roscommon has to do with Mayo and Galway.
Or a circus, which might be more appropriate for you.
Quote from: Owenmoresider on June 14, 2016, 12:57:29 PM
Quote from: Syferus on June 14, 2016, 12:54:42 PM
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 14, 2016, 12:53:10 PM
Quote from: larryin89 on June 14, 2016, 12:59:38 AM
We will give the dans an awful pastin sat night.
One day larry I'll look forward to walking into duffy's with a big grin on my face, unfortunately we'll be old men at this rate.
I don't know what the frig a supermarket in County Roscommon has to do with Mayo and Galway.
Or a circus, which might be more appropriate for you.
Better than Round 2 of the Quailifers with Cowboy Carrew in fairness.
Quote from: Syferus on June 14, 2016, 01:17:51 PM
Quote from: Owenmoresider on June 14, 2016, 12:57:29 PM
Quote from: Syferus on June 14, 2016, 12:54:42 PM
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 14, 2016, 12:53:10 PM
Quote from: larryin89 on June 14, 2016, 12:59:38 AM
We will give the dans an awful pastin sat night.
One day larry I'll look forward to walking into duffy's with a big grin on my face, unfortunately we'll be old men at this rate.
I don't know what the frig a supermarket in County Roscommon has to do with Mayo and Galway.
Or a circus, which might be more appropriate for you.
Better than Round 2 of the Quailifers with Cowboy Carrew in fairness.
He was clearly talking about a pub in Kilmovee. Supervalu has not been Duffy's since it was small shop on Main Street, well over twenty or thirty years ago. Why pollute their thread with such nonsense. For a people with a glorious history, there's too much juvenile nonsense in the Connacht threads. Let's keep it football.
Quote from: weareros on June 14, 2016, 02:08:35 PM
Quote from: Syferus on June 14, 2016, 01:17:51 PM
Quote from: Owenmoresider on June 14, 2016, 12:57:29 PM
Quote from: Syferus on June 14, 2016, 12:54:42 PM
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 14, 2016, 12:53:10 PM
Quote from: larryin89 on June 14, 2016, 12:59:38 AM
We will give the dans an awful pastin sat night.
One day larry I'll look forward to walking into duffy's with a big grin on my face, unfortunately we'll be old men at this rate.
I don't know what the frig a supermarket in County Roscommon has to do with Mayo and Galway.
Or a circus, which might be more appropriate for you.
Better than Round 2 of the Quailifers with Cowboy Carrew in fairness.
He was clearly talking about a pub in Kilmovee. Supervalu has not been Duffy's since it was small shop on Main Street, well over twenty or thirty years ago. Why pollute their thread with such nonsense. For a people with a glorious history, there's too much juvenile nonsense in the Connacht threads. Let's keep it football.
Tis Duffys to just about anyone who goes and it's still on the sign. John's fecking mug is all over the carpark to boot.
I'd wager I know Kilmovee better than most so maybe you've guessed by now that my wilful misreading went well over your head.
I'd like to think now that KW is 12 months further down the line that we'd have a better plan in place on our own kickouts and on Mayo's but i've seen nothing since to suggest there will be any improvement. There was an overall improvement 12 months ago and it wasn't as comfortable for Mayo as it was in 2013 & 2014.
The issue at fullback is still there although I don't think Hanley is near as bad as some make out, at times he was left far too exposed and the bad positioning of the spare man at the back has cost us like Donegal's first goal last year.
I just think we'll struggle to match last years result and be relatively close to Mayo, all the evidence points towards a more comfortable victory as we've not improved where we needed too. In both games we were beaten last year we didn't take advantage when we had a bit of impetus, we simply don't have the forwards to take advantage although I hope I'm proved wrong with the addition of Shane Walsh & Brannigan. I'm just hoping some of the new players give a good account of themselves and give us a bit of hope for the future.
I know the league is one thing ,but let's not forget an already relegated down pushed mayo to 3pts.galway were within a kick of a ball being promoted mayo a kick of the ball from being relegated.I don't think the gap is as big as people are saying.in saying that I do expect a mayo win,but I do expect a formidable challenge from galway.no more than ross/sligo last year no one saw that sligo win coming.just a thought!!
Quote from: cornetto on June 14, 2016, 04:51:03 PM
I know the league is one thing ,but let's not forget an already relegated down pushed mayo to 3pts.galway were within a kick of a ball being promoted mayo a kick of the ball from being relegated.I don't think the gap is as big as people are saying.in saying that I do expect a mayo win,but I do expect a formidable challenge from galway.no more than ross/sligo last year no one saw that sligo win coming.just a thought!!
Some kick of a ball to be worth five points. Galway won two of seven matches in the second tier.
Looking forward to this, hopefully it'll be a decent game. Realistically Mayo should win, galway seem not to have improved while we don't seem to be disimproved. With it being Galway, you'd expect that there won't be any complacency on our side though. Missing a good few starters by the sounds of it - DOC, SOS, Parsons, Caff, Barrett anyway. The loss of the last two means our FB line could be vulnerable enough, Comer did well against us last year from what I remember.
If those 5 are all that's missing, I'd say 13 starting berths are nailed on, possible changes in MF (Moran or Coen?) and corner forward (COS or Loftus or AN other?)
You'd hope to see development of our defensive and particularly attacking systems - I always think our forwards seem to play as individuals rather than as a unit which is enough against weaker teams but not against the top teams
Mayo by 3+
Quote from: macdanger2 on June 14, 2016, 10:28:04 PM
Looking forward to this, hopefully it'll be a decent game. Realistically Mayo should win, galway seem not to have improved while we don't seem to be disimproved. With it being Galway, you'd expect that there won't be any complacency on our side though. Missing a good few starters by the sounds of it - DOC, SOS, Parsons, Caff, Barrett anyway. The loss of the last two means our FB line could be vulnerable enough, Comer did well against us last year from what I remember.
If those 5 are all that's missing, I'd say 13 starting berths are nailed on, possible changes in MF (Moran or Coen?) and corner forward (COS or Loftus or AN other?)
You'd hope to see development of our defensive and particularly attacking systems - I always think our forwards seem to play as individuals rather than as a unit which is enough against weaker teams but not against the top teams
Mayo by 3+
With Barrett and Caff injured and Cunniffe on a sabbatical, we are missing a lot of our FB line's experienced campaigners. Higgins will have to start there as a result. Keane is experienced and a very good footballer with a couple of bad days hopefully well behind him while Harrison deserves his shot. But who is cover for Keane? Or for Higgins? I wish Cunniffe was sitting on the bench tbh.
The next line looks like a cracker though with Boyle flanked by the flying feet of Keegan and Durcan. I just hope they get to play to their strengths.
Yeah, we have no end of decent half backs - Vaughan, Nally, Coen, Hall, Drake. I think Vaughan could still do a job for us this year, he has serious athleticism if you could find the best way to make use of him
Quote from: muppet on June 14, 2016, 10:40:56 PM
Quote from: macdanger2 on June 14, 2016, 10:28:04 PM
Looking forward to this, hopefully it'll be a decent game. Realistically Mayo should win, galway seem not to have improved while we don't seem to be disimproved. With it being Galway, you'd expect that there won't be any complacency on our side though. Missing a good few starters by the sounds of it - DOC, SOS, Parsons, Caff, Barrett anyway. The loss of the last two means our FB line could be vulnerable enough, Comer did well against us last year from what I remember.
If those 5 are all that's missing, I'd say 13 starting berths are nailed on, possible changes in MF (Moran or Coen?) and corner forward (COS or Loftus or AN other?)
You'd hope to see development of our defensive and particularly attacking systems - I always think our forwards seem to play as individuals rather than as a unit which is enough against weaker teams but not against the top teams
Mayo by 3+
With Barrett and Caff injured and Cunniffe on a sabbatical, we are missing a lot of our FB line's experienced campaigners. Higgins will have to start there as a result. Keane is experienced and a very good footballer with a couple of bad days hopefully well behind him while Harrison deserves his shot. But who is cover for Keane? Or for Higgins? I wish Cunniffe was sitting on the bench tbh.
The next line looks like a cracker though with Boyle flanked by the flying feet of Keegan and Durcan. I just hope they get to play to their strengths.
Has the team been announced or are you going by what you expect to see?
If Keane does play at FB, I think he would be sound in every way bar the most important asset of the lot and that's pace.
He might be able to cope and indeed excel on wet, heavy pitches but if the going is firm and the weather is fine on Saturday, I could see him on trouble against the likes of Comer.
I know Andy has said there'd be a full strength panel to select from but it's hard to see this happening. Probably won't know for sure who is going to play where until the times lines out. Rochford should keep the hoors guessing in other words. I expect to win okay but with Galway, I won't be happy until the ref blows the long whistle.
They broke my heart too many times to take anything for granted. :(
Quote from: macdanger2 on June 14, 2016, 10:56:48 PM
Yeah, we have no end of decent half backs - Vaughan, Nally, Coen, Hall, Drake. I think Vaughan could still do a job for us this year, he has serious athleticism if you could find the best way to make use of him
Of those, in time I think Hall will probably make it and Coen will definitely make it somewhere on the team. A fit Vaughan should start somewhere but I personally don't think the others are an improvement on what we have and I think they are older than the rest if my memory serves me right.
Galway team named.
1. Bernard Power
2. Eoghan Kerin
3. Declan Kyne
4. David Wynne
5. Liam Silke
6. Gary O Donnell
7. Gareth Bradshaw
8. Paul Conroy
9 Thomas Flynn
10. Gary Sice
11. Shane Walsh
12. Johnny Heaney
13. Eamonn Brannigan
14. Damien Comer
15. Danny Cummins
Fullback line is our weakest unit. Mayo could do serious damage in there if they play early ball in.
Dec Kyne while an honest player isn't county senior standard and is there for the taking. I would seriously worry for us here.
Eoghan Kerin also not quite up to senior level. He's too small and light in my opinion for the fb line on a senior county team.
Am a little surprised to see Johnny Heaney named in the forwards but I am guessing he will drop back deep.He's a quality player from what I have seen of him.
Who is likely to be centre forward for Mayo?
Gary O Donnell struggles against mobile pacy forwards.
We will need a huge performance from our defence on Sat and Shane Walsh, Comer & Cummins will need to step up to the plate for us.
Had heard rumours about Power starting in goal, interesting development, hes sub goalie for Corofin seniors but a lot of people within the club believe he's a better goalie than Tom Healy. He performed fairly well for the Galway juniors I believe, best of luck to him. I share your concern about the FB line galwayman, the 2 lads in the corners aren't bad but they're very inexperienced, they're in for a baptism of fire Saturday. Declan Kyne at no 3 worries me, don't think he's the answer to our problems there but I'll wait until after Saturday to make judgement. Good to see Bradshaw back in the HB line, Tom Flynn needs to step up his game now, he was very quiet throughout most of the league, he won't get away with that Saturday. I thought Adrian Varley would start before Danny but we must be going for quick ball into Comer with Brannigan and Danny playing off him. Looking forward to seeing how Shane Walsh performs, we missed him badly last year.
So our GK is making his debut and our fullback line all appear in the championship for the 1st time, its a lot to ask especially although if AOS starts at full forward I'll be worried.
There is certainly no shortage of pace in the team and I do think our forwards will give Mayo problems, I'm sure we'll drop plenty of players inside our own half and I'd like to think we'll attack with more purpose and quicker when we make turnovers then we were doing in the league. I just hope we can produce a performance that can give us a bit of hope for the rest of the summer.
Would be some craic if the Herrins win this ;D
Then I realise the Final would be in Salthill..... :(
Maybe Nowlan Park could be available.
Hard to see anything other than a Rhubarb win by about 5 points.
Quote from: Rossfan on June 15, 2016, 11:21:27 AM
Would be some craic if the Herrins win this ;D
Then I realise the Final would be in Salthill..... :(
Maybe Nowlan Park could be available.
Hard to see anything other than a Rhubarb win by about 5 points.
i dont think many in mayo are even contemplating defeat . i have never know such an air of confidence going into a match against galway
which has me vry worried . a small drop off in performance and we could well lose ,
Its rochfords biggest test yet can he mentally prepare a bunch of guys who expect success at his level esp if galway play to their maximum ability and keep it close from beginning to end
Quote from: rosnarun on June 15, 2016, 12:14:41 PM
Quote from: Rossfan on June 15, 2016, 11:21:27 AM
Would be some craic if the Herrins win this ;D
Then I realise the Final would be in Salthill..... :(
Maybe Nowlan Park could be available.
Hard to see anything other than a Rhubarb win by about 5 points.
i dont think many in mayo are even contemplating defeat . i have never know such an air of confidence going into a match against galway
which has me vry worried . a small drop off in performance and we could well lose ,
Its rochfords biggest test yet can he mentally prepare a bunch of guys who expect success at his level esp if galway play to their maximum ability and keep it close from beginning to end
It'd be the thing Mayo would do, lose the match and send us off to Hell aka Salthill for the Connacht Final.
Quote from: rosnarun on June 15, 2016, 12:14:41 PM
Quote from: Rossfan on June 15, 2016, 11:21:27 AM
Would be some craic if the Herrins win this ;D
Then I realise the Final would be in Salthill..... :(
Maybe Nowlan Park could be available.
Hard to see anything other than a Rhubarb win by about 5 points.
i dont think many in mayo are even contemplating defeat . i have never know such an air of confidence going into a match against galway
which has me vry worried . a small drop off in performance and we could well lose ,
Its rochfords biggest test yet can he mentally prepare a bunch of guys who expect success at his level esp if galway play to their maximum ability and keep it close from beginning to end
I think the only people who are that over confident are the loons from Hogan stand, that have unfortunately infiltrated Mayogaablog. Lets look at the facts for a minute.
Mayo are potentially missing, Cafferkey, Barrett, SOS, Parsons, B Moran, DOC and Loftus. Throw in COC who has not played an intercounty game in ten months, and the fact that A Moran and A Dillon are 30+ and cannot be expected to win games anymore, then reality may set in. The last time, Mayo played a real championship game without those three midfielders, was the last twenty minutes V Dublin in the replay, that was not pretty.
Fortunately, Galway do seem to be somewhat in disarray, with all the defections, and their Midfield unless it has improved dramatically from the last time I saw them in the flesh V Donegal in the 2015 qualifiers, will not dominate Mayo.
At the end of the day it is 15 v 15, Galway V a much weakened Mayo team, that do not score freely on a good day.
Hoping mayo win by two or three and get injuries cleared up for Connacht final.
Quote from: rosnarun on June 15, 2016, 12:14:41 PM
Quote from: Rossfan on June 15, 2016, 11:21:27 AM
Would be some craic if the Herrins win this ;D
Then I realise the Final would be in Salthill..... :(
Maybe Nowlan Park could be available.
Hard to see anything other than a Rhubarb win by about 5 points.
i dont think many in mayo are even contemplating defeat . i have never know such an air of confidence going into a match against galway
which has me vry worried . a small drop off in performance and we could well lose ,
Its rochfords biggest test yet can he mentally prepare a bunch of guys who expect success at his level esp if galway play to their maximum ability and keep it close from beginning to end
True that ros, this 'all Ireland final' talk has me worried too. I'll wait until I see Mayo's team before I make judgement, with the supposed injuries we have. I've said before on this forum that Mayo's weakness is that we still can't put teams away. Even in the games in the league that we won, there was a sense that the other team could have snatched it. Despite beating Roscommon in all the physical stakes and battles that day, we had a bucketload of missed chances that day too I recall. If Mayo perform to their capabilities, (which hasn't been since last August remember, and performances can be hard to turn on and off) they'll win. If not then it'll be closer than many expect.
I wouldn't rule out the Galway forwards scoring 3 goals and beating Mayo in a classic. Mayo have been on the go since 2011. Galway have more all Ireland winners. Sad to say.
Any reason the team was released today? Wasn't expecting it until Friday evening.
Quote from: seafoid on June 15, 2016, 01:45:43 PM
I wouldn't rule out the Galway forwards scoring 3 goals and beating Mayo in a classic. Mayo have been on the go since 2011. Galway have more all Ireland winners. Sad to say.
Why is Kevin Walsh going picking himself to start in the middle or since he is getting on a bit , on the edge of the square to test the Mayo fullback line??? :o Please don't tell me Ja , Donnellan and Joyce are back in the squad!!!!! :'(After the game , win , lose or draw surely you will have to rustle up a few more why o why do Galway win more All Irelands than Mayo threads ;D!!!)
Being serious if Galway can hold on for 50 mins in and around the middle , play a full time sweeper in front of their fullback and get early ball into Walsh and Comer , it will keep them close going down the stretch.
A lot of ifs in that for Galway though and having not seen them in action much this year I haven't a clue if they have improved on last year or regressed because their results in the league were too up and down to guess.
Having watched the Cavan game though they would need to up it a good bit if they want to beat Mayo.
Quote from: seafoid on June 15, 2016, 01:45:43 PM
I wouldn't rule out the Galway forwards scoring 3 goals and beating Mayo in a classic. Mayo have been on the go since 2011. Galway have more all Ireland winners. Sad to say.
I would rule it out anyway. Galway may put up a decent score at one end but I can't see them not conceding a lot at the back. That is a very inexperienced full-back line and keeper. At least in terms of playing together and at this level. You would think Mayo could easily get 3+ goals on Saturday.
Quote from: GalwayBayBoy on June 15, 2016, 02:19:43 PM
Any reason the team was released today? Wasn't expecting it until Friday evening.
Game is a day earlier then normal or KW is playing mind games and will make several changes from that team?
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 15, 2016, 02:23:14 PM
Quote from: GalwayBayBoy on June 15, 2016, 02:19:43 PM
Any reason the team was released today? Wasn't expecting it until Friday evening.
Game is a day earlier then normal or KW is playing mind games and will make several changes from that team?
Forgot it was a Saturday game there for a minute.
it does not matter who mayo are missing if they are to go on till sept they will need about 25 players any way so if the bench is not up to it its as well to find out now, but im not really worried in that regard anyway
Mayo have plenty of talent. The question is, is it of sufficient quality to win an All-Ireland?
which is the only measure of success for these guys now, or at least to give it a damn good rattle.
Im confident they will beat galway but they only will by talking the game as serious as an all-ireland semi or Final
Quote from: seafoid on June 15, 2016, 01:45:43 PM
I wouldn't rule out the Galway forwards scoring 3 goals and beating Mayo in a classic. Mayo have been on the go since 2011. Galway have more all Ireland winners. Sad to say.
That's the spirit Seafoid! You're actually the first Galway man I've heard saying that ye might win it!
Although in terms of the current playing panels, Galway have same amount of All Ireland winners as Mayo and that is zero.
Mayo will get a big score on Saturday night against that Galway defence. Galway might score a goal or two like they did last year but I can't see them scoring many points.
Mayo 2-15 Galway 1-10
Probably team released for programme. KW so cute he might have a change or 2 come 7 o'clock Saturday night.
Quote from: Dubhaltach on June 15, 2016, 02:33:37 PM
Quote from: seafoid on June 15, 2016, 01:45:43 PM
I wouldn't rule out the Galway forwards scoring 3 goals and beating Mayo in a classic. Mayo have been on the go since 2011. Galway have more all Ireland winners. Sad to say.
That's the spirit Seafoid! You're actually the first Galway man I've heard saying that ye might win it!
Although in terms of the current playing panels, Galway have same amount of All Ireland winners as Mayo and that is zero.
under 21s as recent as 2013 iirc
Are Finian Hanley and Gareth Bradshaw playing with Galway this year? How come only a couple Corofin lads on panel?
Breathnach; J Duane, F Hanley, C Sweeney;S Denvir; F Ó Curraoin, P Sweeney, M Lundy all gone from the Galway team that was competitive against Mayo last year. Most of the replacements are not as good.
I expect a comfortable win for Mayo with AOS,Regan,C O Connor getting much joy against that inexperienced Galway defence.
Quote from: seafoid on June 15, 2016, 05:31:06 PM
Quote from: Dubhaltach on June 15, 2016, 02:33:37 PM
Quote from: seafoid on June 15, 2016, 01:45:43 PM
I wouldn't rule out the Galway forwards scoring 3 goals and beating Mayo in a classic. Mayo have been on the go since 2011. Galway have more all Ireland winners. Sad to say.
That's the spirit Seafoid! You're actually the first Galway man I've heard saying that ye might win it!
Although in terms of the current playing panels, Galway have same amount of All Ireland winners as Mayo and that is zero.
under 21s as recent as 2013 iirc
Think we only have 6 from our starting 15 with AI medals at U21 and Minor.
Quote from: seafoid on June 15, 2016, 01:45:43 PM
I wouldn't rule out the Galway forwards scoring 3 goals and beating Mayo in a classic. Mayo have been on the go since 2011. Galway have more all Ireland winners. Sad to say.
They (Ye) have? ???
Anyone who thinks underage All-Ireland medals will matter next Saturday in McHale Park is off their rocker. Recent Connacht Senior medals is a better metric, but even that won't matter when the ball is thrown in.
The main question is whether or not Galway will give this a real go, like last year, or lie down like other recent years. If it is the latter it doesn't matter what Mayo do, we will win handy.
However if they really go for it and build up a head of steam, say an early goal, then it could be very interesting. Mayo are missing a few and a Galway team that gets ahead early could stay ahead. DOC and Caff are very big losses, COC is just coming back and midfield looks lighter than usual.
The tradition of this fixture makes me a little worried, but recent form and history point to a Mayo win.
Irish Times
Ciaran Murphy
This should be a week of fevered football conversation in my home county of Galway. It's the sort of week around which the GAA world revolves – a match with your local rivals coming up, a team announcement on Wednesday morning to get your teeth into, a debate about tickets, lifts to the game, a venue for a pre-match drink perhaps.
But having talked to a few of my friends at home, the county is wrapped in a funereal gloom.
The Euros are stealing some of the limelight for sure, Connacht Rugby's success is still casting a glow and the hurlers are in action on Sunday, all of which might siphon attention away from what was once and may well be again our flagship sporting tea. But the silence ahead of Galway v Mayo, in Castlebar this Saturday evening, is deafening.
As one man in Tuam (they might as well put "the spiritual home of Galway football" on the sign outside the town, given how often it's described as such) put it – "if you ask anyone, even in this town, how you think we'll do this year in the championship, they'll presume you're talking about the hurling."
That's a damning, depressing thought. An organisation can deal with a lot of things, but apathy is a difficult poison to eradicate. And the apathy around this team is almost all-encompassing . . . unfortunately, that also includes some of the best footballers in the county. Manager Kevin Walsh said last month that 52 players have turned down the chance to come in and train with him since he took over 18 months ago.
In the last five years, Mayo have thrown down the gauntlet, and Galway haven't even cleared their throat in response. In that time, Mayo have poured massive resources into training and preparation. The county board, despite crippling debts incurred in the redevelopment of MacHale Park, found the money from somewhere.
James Horan may not have had the best relationship with the county board, but he had the players on-board from Day One.
Horan sold them all (players, fans, officials) a dream, and they bought it. For whatever reason, successive Galway managers haven't been able to sell the dream.
If you go back to 2009, the best 15 players available to Galway were more or less there. Taking into account the massive sacrifices they have made, and cognisant of the fact that they're the people who have put their hand up and were willing to make that sacrifice, the 15 named this week by Kevin Walsh are not the 15 best players in the county.
An alternative team, taken from those 52 who said "thanks, but no thanks" to Walsh over the course of the 18 months he's been in the job would have an excellent chance of winning a match between the two.
On a macro level, it seems like a travesty. But each of those 52 players had a reason for turning down the chance to play, however badly that might sting people who still hold the idea of being 'a county man' as the pinnacle of one's sporting career.
If we can all agree the demands on our intercounty players are unreasonable, is it not unfair to then turn around and ask people why they're not willing to be treated unreasonably?
So to the list of things we ask our intercounty managers to do, we can now add "convincing people to do things they don't really want to do".
At the top level, that takes a certain kind of man – a James Horan, or a Jim McGuinness.
But it's seldom a linear problem, to be fixed in a linear fashion. Do you focus your attention on getting the players onside first? Or do you focus on getting the money together, through the county board or through supporters clubs or rich beneficiaries or local businesses, to impress on the players who are prevaricating that the sacrifices will be worth it?
The answer is – you have to do both, simultaneously, and perhaps be economical with the truth to both sides equally.
Other counties have been able to sell that dream to enough of their best players to be successful. And it shouldn't necessarily be the hardest sell in the world in Galway.
I would wager there's a good proportion of those 52 players currently choosing to be outside the camp that have either All-Ireland minor or U-21 medals in their back pockets.
I realise I'm sitting here demanding that Galway find and hire a charismatic, business-savvy, cold-blooded, ruthless, tactically brilliant manager . . . and they don't exactly grow on trees. Kevin Walsh is about as respected a figure in Galway football as there is. If he can't do it, then maybe there's an attitudinal problem in the county that is beyond the powers of even a messiah figure to fix.
But Mayo found their man in October 2010, and the gap looks more and more intimidating with every passing year. The further ahead they are in terms of preparation and physical conditioning, the less enticing a prospect it is for a young Galway footballer to put in the effort to start to claw back some ground.
But it has to start somewhere, and relying on Mayo to come back to the pack seems like a forlorn hope at the moment.
Quote from: Blowitupref on June 15, 2016, 05:37:48 PM
Breathnach; J Duane, F Hanley, C Sweeney;S Denvir; F Ó Curraoin, P Sweeney, M Lundy all gone from the Galway team that was competitive against Mayo last year. Most of the replacements are not as good.
Duane, Cathal Sweeney and Lundy will be most missed from that list, the rest are about the same level or are a lower level than their replacements I think. I'd much prefer to have Shane Walsh playing instead of Paddy Sweeney for example. Breathnach blows hot and cold, it's a big ask for Bernard Power but we'll see. Hanley hasn't the legs anymore, he's ravaged by injury and had a nightmare against both Aidan O'Shea and Michael Murphy last year. In saying that, Declan Kyne isn't the steadiest full back I've ever seen either but best of what we have at the moment. Is Fiontáin gone to San Fran like rumours suggest? If so why is Kevin still harping on about him being injured and probably not ready for Sunday? As for Denvir, I'm not sure how much he brings to the team really, he's not a scoring threat and he doesn't defend but seems to see a lot of game time.
Quote from: Duine Eile on June 15, 2016, 07:15:54 PM
Quote from: Blowitupref on June 15, 2016, 05:37:48 PM
Breathnach; J Duane, F Hanley, C Sweeney;S Denvir; F Ó Curraoin, P Sweeney, M Lundy all gone from the Galway team that was competitive against Mayo last year. Most of the replacements are not as good.
Duane, Cathal Sweeney and Lundy will be most missed from that list, the rest are about the same level or are a lower level than their replacements I think. I'd much prefer to have Shane Walsh playing instead of Paddy Sweeney for example. Breathnach blows hot and cold, it's a big ask for Bernard Power but we'll see. Hanley hasn't the legs anymore, he's ravaged by injury and had a nightmare against both Aidan O'Shea and Michael Murphy last year. In saying that, Declan Kyne isn't the steadiest full back I've ever seen either but best of what we have at the moment. Is Fiontáin gone to San Fran like rumours suggest? If so why is Kevin still harping on about him being injured and probably not ready for Sunday? As for Denvir, I'm not sure how much he brings to the team really, he's not a scoring threat and he doesn't defend but seems to see a lot of game time.
I'd agree with all of that, as for Denvir he's quick and strong but unfortunately he lacks quality on the ball and shouldn't be near the team. Cathal Sweeney is a big loss, he had an outstanding year last year and had very good games and was usually on the oppositions best forward. I'd be surprised if that was the starting 15 so i'm sure there will be at least one change from that team come Saturday evening. KW was bold enough last year and went man for man on Mayo's forwards, I'm hoping that changes on Saturday.
I'm surprised he has both Danny Cummins and Eamonn Brannigan named, they're fairly similar physically and in the way they both play. I wouldn't be shocked to see Adrian Varley starting instead of one of them, he can win dirty ball and himself, Comer and Walsh usually link up very well. I'm hoping Cathal Sweeney might be another change we see coming in but I doubt it. The worst thing with shoulder injuries is you usually see them reoccurring, Paddy Sweeney, Cillian O'Connor, James O'Donoghue could write a book about them.
Quote from: muppet on June 15, 2016, 06:40:54 PM
The main question is whether or not Galway will give this a real go, like last year, or lie down like other recent years. If it is the latter it doesn't matter what Mayo do, we will win handy.
Strangely enough, I thought Galway were closer to Mayo in Castlebar in 2014 rather than last year. Eight (?) points down that day at HT, but with the wind had reduced it to 3/4 midway into the second half and had good goal chances from Danny (who missed all round him that day) and Shane Walsh (missed peno). Had we gotten a goal then, momentum could have carried us to a result. Last year I thought we were always trying to hold back the tide and just hadn't the quality to push on.
Not sure if team named will start - had heard David Cunnane of St. Michaels would be no. 3 - but with c'ship debutants at 1-4 it'll be a huge and probably impossible ask for KW et al.
Quote from: GalwayBayBoy on June 15, 2016, 07:08:09 PM
Irish Times
Ciaran Murphy
This should be a week of fevered football conversation in my home county of Galway. It's the sort of week around which the GAA world revolves – a match with your local rivals coming up, a team announcement on Wednesday morning to get your teeth into, a debate about tickets, lifts to the game, a venue for a pre-match drink perhaps.
But having talked to a few of my friends at home, the county is wrapped in a funereal gloom.
The Euros are stealing some of the limelight for sure, Connacht Rugby's success is still casting a glow and the hurlers are in action on Sunday, all of which might siphon attention away from what was once and may well be again our flagship sporting tea. But the silence ahead of Galway v Mayo, in Castlebar this Saturday evening, is deafening.
As one man in Tuam (they might as well put "the spiritual home of Galway football" on the sign outside the town, given how often it's described as such) put it – "if you ask anyone, even in this town, how you think we'll do this year in the championship, they'll presume you're talking about the hurling."
That's a damning, depressing thought. An organisation can deal with a lot of things, but apathy is a difficult poison to eradicate. And the apathy around this team is almost all-encompassing . . . unfortunately, that also includes some of the best footballers in the county. Manager Kevin Walsh said last month that 52 players have turned down the chance to come in and train with him since he took over 18 months ago.
In the last five years, Mayo have thrown down the gauntlet, and Galway haven't even cleared their throat in response. In that time, Mayo have poured massive resources into training and preparation. The county board, despite crippling debts incurred in the redevelopment of MacHale Park, found the money from somewhere.
James Horan may not have had the best relationship with the county board, but he had the players on-board from Day One.
Horan sold them all (players, fans, officials) a dream, and they bought it. For whatever reason, successive Galway managers haven't been able to sell the dream.
If you go back to 2009, the best 15 players available to Galway were more or less there. Taking into account the massive sacrifices they have made, and cognisant of the fact that they're the people who have put their hand up and were willing to make that sacrifice, the 15 named this week by Kevin Walsh are not the 15 best players in the county.
An alternative team, taken from those 52 who said "thanks, but no thanks" to Walsh over the course of the 18 months he's been in the job would have an excellent chance of winning a match between the two.
On a macro level, it seems like a travesty. But each of those 52 players had a reason for turning down the chance to play, however badly that might sting people who still hold the idea of being 'a county man' as the pinnacle of one's sporting career.
If we can all agree the demands on our intercounty players are unreasonable, is it not unfair to then turn around and ask people why they're not willing to be treated unreasonably?
So to the list of things we ask our intercounty managers to do, we can now add "convincing people to do things they don't really want to do".
At the top level, that takes a certain kind of man – a James Horan, or a Jim McGuinness.
But it's seldom a linear problem, to be fixed in a linear fashion. Do you focus your attention on getting the players onside first? Or do you focus on getting the money together, through the county board or through supporters clubs or rich beneficiaries or local businesses, to impress on the players who are prevaricating that the sacrifices will be worth it?
The answer is – you have to do both, simultaneously, and perhaps be economical with the truth to both sides equally.
Other counties have been able to sell that dream to enough of their best players to be successful. And it shouldn't necessarily be the hardest sell in the world in Galway.
I would wager there's a good proportion of those 52 players currently choosing to be outside the camp that have either All-Ireland minor or U-21 medals in their back pockets.
I realise I'm sitting here demanding that Galway find and hire a charismatic, business-savvy, cold-blooded, ruthless, tactically brilliant manager . . . and they don't exactly grow on trees. Kevin Walsh is about as respected a figure in Galway football as there is. If he can't do it, then maybe there's an attitudinal problem in the county that is beyond the powers of even a messiah figure to fix.
But Mayo found their man in October 2010, and the gap looks more and more intimidating with every passing year. The further ahead they are in terms of preparation and physical conditioning, the less enticing a prospect it is for a young Galway footballer to put in the effort to start to claw back some ground.
But it has to start somewhere, and relying on Mayo to come back to the pack seems like a forlorn hope at the moment.
That's amazing really when you think about it.
What is this writer suggesting? It's confusing.
Anyway Horan did not sell anybody a dream - players, fans, nobody - he gave the team hard work and fans appreciated the effort. If anything John O Mahoney sold the dream after 2006AI.
Horan did his stuff quietly and did most of it right but I suspect now he knows that he messed up with a bit of personnel that cost him dearly.
The money stuff I don't get. Not relevant. Mayo have spent more because their seasons have been longer for a start. And we all know about how tight Mayo CB were and there was other fundraising in NY to cover slack.
He puts in a line about Kevin Walsh being so respected but at the same time the article suggests that some players don't want to play for him - 52 players turned down the opportunity to get involved! Kevin said that himself and was foolish to do so. Cutting a stick to beat himself with. Crazy stuff as well as the stuff he said about O Curráin.
Why do they not want to play for you and Galway Kevin? A man that had greater respect in the game than Horan or McGuiness. Horan and McGuiness were only given their gigs reluctantly. Neither had the standing of Walsh. Walsh is blue chip. Some players will always feel that county football is beyond them but the implication that refusal is because of the 'demands' on an intercounty footballer is risible. Players in other counties ( pick one of several) show up year after year.
The lack of interest and apathy in Galway footballing public is nothing new. They only seem to get interested when they smell/expect success. I remember a championship game in Sligo when Bosco was in charge and only parents and siblings from Galway attended. I remembered Bosco looking around bemused when a Galway score got a few cheers. A couple of years later they got Donnellans and Joyces and they came out for the golden years.
Quote from: muppet on June 15, 2016, 06:40:54 PM
Anyone who thinks underage All-Ireland medals will matter next Saturday in McHale Park is off their rocker. Recent Connacht Senior medals is a better metric, but even that won't matter when the ball is thrown in.
The main question is whether or not Galway will give this a real go, like last year, or lie down like other recent years. If it is the latter it doesn't matter what Mayo do, we will win handy.
However if they really go for it and build up a head of steam, say an early goal, then it could be very interesting. Mayo are missing a few and a Galway team that gets ahead early could stay ahead. DOC and Caff are very big losses, COC is just coming back and midfield looks lighter than usual.
The tradition of this fixture makes me a little worried, but recent form and history point to a Mayo win.
Mayo have dominated this fixture recently but didn't win anything for all the power .It is very strange. If I was KW I would focus on this psychological aspect
.
Moy
Galway fans go with the flow. I remember Tomás Mannion's sister around 1992 observing the abuse the players were getting. 95 was just a few years away.
I don't think winning is as urgent as it is in Mayo.
I'm sure there are some of the supposed figure of 52 who decided they couldn't give the required level of commitment but who is to know all of the reasons.
You can be sure plenty of those lads would have been fringe guys who would not have made it anyway.
I know of one of the guys who was asked in who could not take up the offer as he was under contract with an LOI soccer club.
Gaelic Games have fallen down the pecking order in many counties with Galway included
Quote from: Kurtz on June 16, 2016, 10:33:45 AM
Gaelic Games have fallen down the pecking order in many counties with Galway included
True, well never get the massive crowds of up on 9K that Connaught rugby get
The Dream Horan sold was it was a great thing to play for mayo where as Kevin Walsh what ever about his other attributes has failed to do like wise in Galway Even if 52 seems exaggerated , how many would have been likely prospects anyway ,
Quote from: Kurtz on June 16, 2016, 10:33:45 AM
Gaelic Games have fallen down the pecking order in many counties with Galway included
I don't think Galway is necessarily different to the usual. The team has been mediocre for a while. It'll be back and when it is the crowds will return.
I would like to see signs of progress on Sunday. Mulholland started from rock bottom and the CB has had a focus on stability so hopefully the players can respond.
The Mayo team for Saturday's Connacht Senior Football semi final clash against Galway in Elvery's MacHale Park at 7pm is:
1. Robbie Hennelly (Breaffy)
2. Brendan Harrison (Aghamore)
3. Kevin Keane (Westport)
4. Keith Higgins (Ballyhaunis)
5. Lee Keegan (Westport)
6. Colm Boyle (Davitts)
7. Patrick Durcan (Castlebar Mitchels)
8. Tom Parsons (Charlestown)
9. Jason Gibbons (Ballintubber)
10. Kevin McLoughlin (Knockmore)
11. Aidan O'Shea (Breaffy)
12. Jason Doherty (Burrishoole)
13. Evan Regan (Ballina Stephenites)
14. Cillian O'Connor (Ballintubber, captain)
15. Conor O'Shea (Breaffy).
Team Manager: Stephen Rochford.
Selectors: Donie Buckley, Tony McEntee & Sean Carey.
Missing 3 definite starters in Caff, Seamie and Doc. Hopefully will be enough, but there are areas that Galway can exploit if they're good enough.
(http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa382/mayomick/GAA/mayo%20team%20v%20galway_zpshpgez7gw.jpg) (http://s1195.photobucket.com/user/mayomick/media/GAA/mayo%20team%20v%20galway_zpshpgez7gw.jpg.html)
Quote from: Tubberman on June 16, 2016, 12:41:33 PM
The Mayo team for Saturday's Connacht Senior Football semi final clash against Galway in Elvery's MacHale Park at 7pm is:
1. Robbie Hennelly (Breaffy)
2. Brendan Harrison (Aghamore)
3. Kevin Keane (Westport)
4. Keith Higgins (Ballyhaunis)
5. Lee Keegan (Westport)
6. Colm Boyle (Davitts)
7. Patrick Durcan (Castlebar Mitchels)
8. Tom Parsons (Charlestown)
9. Jason Gibbons (Ballintubber)
10. Kevin McLoughlin (Knockmore)
11. Aidan O'Shea (Breaffy)
12. Jason Doherty (Burrishoole)
13. Evan Regan (Ballina Stephenites)
14. Cillian O'Connor (Ballintubber, captain)
15. Conor O'Shea (Breaffy).
Team Manager: Stephen Rochford.
Selectors: Donie Buckley, Tony McEntee & Sean Carey.
Missing 3 definite starters in Caff, Seamie and Doc. Hopefully will be enough, but there are areas that Galway can exploit if they're good enough.
Same team named as was named for London, so it probably means damn all.
Loads of beards playing for Mayo.
Quote from: UpMeeyo on June 16, 2016, 12:51:43 PM
Quote from: Tubberman on June 16, 2016, 12:41:33 PM
The Mayo team for Saturday's Connacht Senior Football semi final clash against Galway in Elvery's MacHale Park at 7pm is:
1. Robbie Hennelly (Breaffy)
2. Brendan Harrison (Aghamore)
3. Kevin Keane (Westport)
4. Keith Higgins (Ballyhaunis)
5. Lee Keegan (Westport)
6. Colm Boyle (Davitts)
7. Patrick Durcan (Castlebar Mitchels)
8. Tom Parsons (Charlestown)
9. Jason Gibbons (Ballintubber)
10. Kevin McLoughlin (Knockmore)
11. Aidan O'Shea (Breaffy)
12. Jason Doherty (Burrishoole)
13. Evan Regan (Ballina Stephenites)
14. Cillian O'Connor (Ballintubber, captain)
15. Conor O'Shea (Breaffy).
Team Manager: Stephen Rochford.
Selectors: Donie Buckley, Tony McEntee & Sean Carey.
Missing 3 definite starters in Caff, Seamie and Doc. Hopefully will be enough, but there are areas that Galway can exploit if they're good enough.
Same team named as was named for London, so it probably means damn all.
The Printers team ( can i claim copyright on that ?)
Say silke writing in local paper.
Galway have not beaten Mayo since July 13, 2008 in championship football.
That is a long time without a win and the bookies do not think they can beat them this Saturday in McHale Park (7pm ) either.
The money men have put Galway at 4/1 to win the Connacht semi-final and they are giving them a five-point headstart (+5 ) in the handicap betting too.
Only three Galway players, Gary Sice, Gareth Bradshaw and midfielder Paul Conroy who saw action in 2008, will start on Saturday evening. Those men and others have taken enough beatings from Stephen Rochford's Mayo over the past seven years. So what must they and their colleagues do to produce a massive upset by 8.30pm on Saturday evening?
1 - Stop Aidan O' Shea
O'Shea made bits of Sligo in last year's Connacht final and he was also practically unstoppable in Galway's defeat to Mayo in Pearse Stadium. His height, footballing ability and sheer power make him a serious asset when he lumbers into full-forward.
If, and when, he gets possession of the leather, the Breaffy man is hard to dispossess.
It is fair to say that if he were in Galway's ranks on Saturday evening, most people would give Galway a great chance of winning the game.
Galway's new full-back Declan Kyne cannot be expected to stop O'Shea by himself if he goes into the edge of the square at stages during the game.
Kyne will need championship debutant corner backs David Wynne and Eoghan Kerin sweeping up the breaks, and probably a sweeper back cutting the ball out from going directly into O'Shea too.
However, if too much attention is focused on O'Shea, then it will leave additional space for Conor Loftus, Cillian and Diarmuid O'Connor to exploit, and Galway will be in trouble.
2 - Dominate central diamond
Galway have a new championship debutant goalkeeper in Bernard Power (Corofin ) and he has a fine kick-out.
However, when that ball lands out the field, it will be up to midfielders Tom Flynn, Paul Conroy, and both the half-back lines and wing-forwards Gary Sice and Johnny Heaney, to mop up any breaks and really take the fight to Mayo.
Mayo's half-back line of Keegan, Boyle and Durcan is very strong. The first two have All-Stars to confirm their ability and experience. Galway will need to target them and stop their forward sallies if they are to have any chance of reaching a Connacht final against Roscommon on July 10.
If Galway can get enough possession in that diamond area, and get ball forward fast to Shane Walsh, Eamonn Brannigan, Danny Cummins and Damien Comer, then they have the pace and footballing ability to trouble the Mayo defence.
3 - Belief
Having been beaten as often as they have by Mayo in the past four years and seeing some of their players in All-Ireland finals on TV in 2012 and 2013, and doing well in division one, Galway's confidence may have been sapped.
However the squad on Saturday evening must stamp out any doubts and have no fear of what lies ahead.
They have to believe, as Tipp did last weekend against Cork, that they can produce a huge performance and rock the GAA's status quo.
Quote from: moysider on June 16, 2016, 01:11:17 AM
Quote from: GalwayBayBoy on June 15, 2016, 07:08:09 PM
Irish Times
Ciaran Murphy
This should be a week of fevered football conversation in my home county of Galway. It's the sort of week around which the GAA world revolves – a match with your local rivals coming up, a team announcement on Wednesday morning to get your teeth into, a debate about tickets, lifts to the game, a venue for a pre-match drink perhaps.
But having talked to a few of my friends at home, the county is wrapped in a funereal gloom.
The Euros are stealing some of the limelight for sure, Connacht Rugby's success is still casting a glow and the hurlers are in action on Sunday, all of which might siphon attention away from what was once and may well be again our flagship sporting tea. But the silence ahead of Galway v Mayo, in Castlebar this Saturday evening, is deafening.
As one man in Tuam (they might as well put "the spiritual home of Galway football" on the sign outside the town, given how often it's described as such) put it – "if you ask anyone, even in this town, how you think we'll do this year in the championship, they'll presume you're talking about the hurling."
That's a damning, depressing thought. An organisation can deal with a lot of things, but apathy is a difficult poison to eradicate. And the apathy around this team is almost all-encompassing . . . unfortunately, that also includes some of the best footballers in the county. Manager Kevin Walsh said last month that 52 players have turned down the chance to come in and train with him since he took over 18 months ago.
In the last five years, Mayo have thrown down the gauntlet, and Galway haven't even cleared their throat in response. In that time, Mayo have poured massive resources into training and preparation. The county board, despite crippling debts incurred in the redevelopment of MacHale Park, found the money from somewhere.
James Horan may not have had the best relationship with the county board, but he had the players on-board from Day One.
Horan sold them all (players, fans, officials) a dream, and they bought it. For whatever reason, successive Galway managers haven't been able to sell the dream.
If you go back to 2009, the best 15 players available to Galway were more or less there. Taking into account the massive sacrifices they have made, and cognisant of the fact that they're the people who have put their hand up and were willing to make that sacrifice, the 15 named this week by Kevin Walsh are not the 15 best players in the county.
An alternative team, taken from those 52 who said "thanks, but no thanks" to Walsh over the course of the 18 months he's been in the job would have an excellent chance of winning a match between the two.
On a macro level, it seems like a travesty. But each of those 52 players had a reason for turning down the chance to play, however badly that might sting people who still hold the idea of being 'a county man' as the pinnacle of one's sporting career.
If we can all agree the demands on our intercounty players are unreasonable, is it not unfair to then turn around and ask people why they're not willing to be treated unreasonably?
So to the list of things we ask our intercounty managers to do, we can now add "convincing people to do things they don't really want to do".
At the top level, that takes a certain kind of man – a James Horan, or a Jim McGuinness.
But it's seldom a linear problem, to be fixed in a linear fashion. Do you focus your attention on getting the players onside first? Or do you focus on getting the money together, through the county board or through supporters clubs or rich beneficiaries or local businesses, to impress on the players who are prevaricating that the sacrifices will be worth it?
The answer is – you have to do both, simultaneously, and perhaps be economical with the truth to both sides equally.
Other counties have been able to sell that dream to enough of their best players to be successful. And it shouldn't necessarily be the hardest sell in the world in Galway.
I would wager there's a good proportion of those 52 players currently choosing to be outside the camp that have either All-Ireland minor or U-21 medals in their back pockets.
I realise I'm sitting here demanding that Galway find and hire a charismatic, business-savvy, cold-blooded, ruthless, tactically brilliant manager . . . and they don't exactly grow on trees. Kevin Walsh is about as respected a figure in Galway football as there is. If he can't do it, then maybe there's an attitudinal problem in the county that is beyond the powers of even a messiah figure to fix.
But Mayo found their man in October 2010, and the gap looks more and more intimidating with every passing year. The further ahead they are in terms of preparation and physical conditioning, the less enticing a prospect it is for a young Galway footballer to put in the effort to start to claw back some ground.
But it has to start somewhere, and relying on Mayo to come back to the pack seems like a forlorn hope at the moment.
That's amazing really when you think about it.
What is this writer suggesting? It's confusing.
Anyway Horan did not sell anybody a dream - players, fans, nobody - he gave the team hard work and fans appreciated the effort. If anything John O Mahoney sold the dream after 2006AI.
Horan did his stuff quietly and did most of it right but I suspect now he knows that he messed up with a bit of personnel that cost him dearly.
The money stuff I don't get. Not relevant. Mayo have spent more because their seasons have been longer for a start. And we all know about how tight Mayo CB were and there was other fundraising in NY to cover slack.
He puts in a line about Kevin Walsh being so respected but at the same time the article suggests that some players don't want to play for him - 52 players turned down the opportunity to get involved! Kevin said that himself and was foolish to do so. Cutting a stick to beat himself with. Crazy stuff as well as the stuff he said about O Curráin.
Why do they not want to play for you and Galway Kevin? A man that had greater respect in the game than Horan or McGuiness. Horan and McGuiness were only given their gigs reluctantly. Neither had the standing of Walsh. Walsh is blue chip. Some players will always feel that county football is beyond them but the implication that refusal is because of the 'demands' on an intercounty footballer is risible. Players in other counties ( pick one of several) show up year after year.
The lack of interest and apathy in Galway footballing public is nothing new. They only seem to get interested when they smell/expect success. I remember a championship game in Sligo when Bosco was in charge and only parents and siblings from Galway attended. I remembered Bosco looking around bemused when a Galway score got a few cheers. A couple of years later they got Donnellans and Joyces and they came out for the golden years.
Nonsense of an article that could be written down the pub, I can't believe the Irish Times actually pays Murph to write a column.
Quote from: moysider on June 16, 2016, 01:11:17 AM
Quote from: GalwayBayBoy on June 15, 2016, 07:08:09 PM
Irish Times
Ciaran Murphy
This should be a week of fevered football conversation in my home county of Galway. It's the sort of week around which the GAA world revolves – a match with your local rivals coming up, a team announcement on Wednesday morning to get your teeth into, a debate about tickets, lifts to the game, a venue for a pre-match drink perhaps.
But having talked to a few of my friends at home, the county is wrapped in a funereal gloom.
The Euros are stealing some of the limelight for sure, Connacht Rugby's success is still casting a glow and the hurlers are in action on Sunday, all of which might siphon attention away from what was once and may well be again our flagship sporting tea. But the silence ahead of Galway v Mayo, in Castlebar this Saturday evening, is deafening.
As one man in Tuam (they might as well put "the spiritual home of Galway football" on the sign outside the town, given how often it's described as such) put it – "if you ask anyone, even in this town, how you think we'll do this year in the championship, they'll presume you're talking about the hurling."
That's a damning, depressing thought. An organisation can deal with a lot of things, but apathy is a difficult poison to eradicate. And the apathy around this team is almost all-encompassing . . . unfortunately, that also includes some of the best footballers in the county. Manager Kevin Walsh said last month that 52 players have turned down the chance to come in and train with him since he took over 18 months ago.
In the last five years, Mayo have thrown down the gauntlet, and Galway haven't even cleared their throat in response. In that time, Mayo have poured massive resources into training and preparation. The county board, despite crippling debts incurred in the redevelopment of MacHale Park, found the money from somewhere.
James Horan may not have had the best relationship with the county board, but he had the players on-board from Day One.
Horan sold them all (players, fans, officials) a dream, and they bought it. For whatever reason, successive Galway managers haven't been able to sell the dream.
If you go back to 2009, the best 15 players available to Galway were more or less there. Taking into account the massive sacrifices they have made, and cognisant of the fact that they're the people who have put their hand up and were willing to make that sacrifice, the 15 named this week by Kevin Walsh are not the 15 best players in the county.
An alternative team, taken from those 52 who said "thanks, but no thanks" to Walsh over the course of the 18 months he's been in the job would have an excellent chance of winning a match between the two.
On a macro level, it seems like a travesty. But each of those 52 players had a reason for turning down the chance to play, however badly that might sting people who still hold the idea of being 'a county man' as the pinnacle of one's sporting career.
If we can all agree the demands on our intercounty players are unreasonable, is it not unfair to then turn around and ask people why they're not willing to be treated unreasonably?
So to the list of things we ask our intercounty managers to do, we can now add "convincing people to do things they don't really want to do".
At the top level, that takes a certain kind of man – a James Horan, or a Jim McGuinness.
But it's seldom a linear problem, to be fixed in a linear fashion. Do you focus your attention on getting the players onside first? Or do you focus on getting the money together, through the county board or through supporters clubs or rich beneficiaries or local businesses, to impress on the players who are prevaricating that the sacrifices will be worth it?
The answer is – you have to do both, simultaneously, and perhaps be economical with the truth to both sides equally.
Other counties have been able to sell that dream to enough of their best players to be successful. And it shouldn't necessarily be the hardest sell in the world in Galway.
I would wager there's a good proportion of those 52 players currently choosing to be outside the camp that have either All-Ireland minor or U-21 medals in their back pockets.
I realise I'm sitting here demanding that Galway find and hire a charismatic, business-savvy, cold-blooded, ruthless, tactically brilliant manager . . . and they don't exactly grow on trees. Kevin Walsh is about as respected a figure in Galway football as there is. If he can't do it, then maybe there's an attitudinal problem in the county that is beyond the powers of even a messiah figure to fix.
But Mayo found their man in October 2010, and the gap looks more and more intimidating with every passing year. The further ahead they are in terms of preparation and physical conditioning, the less enticing a prospect it is for a young Galway footballer to put in the effort to start to claw back some ground.
But it has to start somewhere, and relying on Mayo to come back to the pack seems like a forlorn hope at the moment.
That's amazing really when you think about it.
What is this writer suggesting? It's confusing.
Anyway Horan did not sell anybody a dream - players, fans, nobody - he gave the team hard work and fans appreciated the effort. If anything John O Mahoney sold the dream after 2006AI.
Horan did his stuff quietly and did most of it right but I suspect now he knows that he messed up with a bit of personnel that cost him dearly.
The money stuff I don't get. Not relevant. Mayo have spent more because their seasons have been longer for a start. And we all know about how tight Mayo CB were and there was other fundraising in NY to cover slack.
He puts in a line about Kevin Walsh being so respected but at the same time the article suggests that some players don't want to play for him - 52 players turned down the opportunity to get involved! Kevin said that himself and was foolish to do so. Cutting a stick to beat himself with. Crazy stuff as well as the stuff he said about O Curráin.
Why do they not want to play for you and Galway Kevin? A man that had greater respect in the game than Horan or McGuiness. Horan and McGuiness were only given their gigs reluctantly. Neither had the standing of Walsh. Walsh is blue chip. Some players will always feel that county football is beyond them but the implication that refusal is because of the 'demands' on an intercounty footballer is risible. Players in other counties ( pick one of several) show up year after year.
The lack of interest and apathy in Galway footballing public is nothing new. They only seem to get interested when they smell/expect success. I remember a championship game in Sligo when Bosco was in charge and only parents and siblings from Galway attended. I remembered Bosco looking around bemused when a Galway score got a few cheers. A couple of years later they got Donnellans and Joyces and they came out for the golden years.
I think the article correctly points out the fundamental problem facing Galway football i.e. an apathetic public. How you address the problem is where the article goes a bit astray. Like you Moy, I don't think a McGuinness/Horan messiah like figure is the solution.
There is no way that 52 players would reject the chance to join the Mayo, Donegal or Kerry county panels. Even when Mayo and Donegal were going through recent fallow periods, similar to Galway, there wouldn't have been anywhere near that number. The thing is, in Mayo, Donegal and plenty of other of other counties, you at least got a bit recognition from the general public for playing for the county. It went some way to making all the sacrifices worth while. However, the profile of the Galway football team seems to be at it's lowest ever ebb within the county it is no wonder players are asking themselves, Why bother? The likes of Seafoid might think that the historic cycle will run it's course and that Galway will rise to the top again without any radical intervention, I wouldn't be so sure. Especially when you consider the demands on county players are in a different universe when compared with any point in the last century.
The challenge faced by Galway football is made tougher by the fact that football doesn't rule the roost in Galway the way it does in other counties, particularly with hurling and rugby on the up. I reckon if Galway are serious about getting to the top again they need to start boosting the profile of their county team. Be it via the media, online, promotional tickets etc. I actually think something similar is going on with Cork football at the moment. At the end of the day, the more counties you have competing at the top, the better the championship will be.
Quote from: Dubhaltach on June 16, 2016, 03:32:09 PM
Quote from: moysider on June 16, 2016, 01:11:17 AM
Quote from: GalwayBayBoy on June 15, 2016, 07:08:09 PM
I think the article correctly points out the fundamental problem facing Galway football i.e. an apathetic public. How you address the problem is where the article goes a bit astray. Like you Moy, I don't think a McGuinness/Horan messiah like figure is the solution.
There is no way that 52 players would reject the chance to join the Mayo, Donegal or Kerry county panels. Even when Mayo and Donegal were going through recent fallow periods, similar to Galway, there wouldn't have been anywhere near that number. The thing is, in Mayo, Donegal and plenty of other of other counties, you at least got a bit recognition from the general public for playing for the county. It went some way to making all the sacrifices worth while. However, the profile of the Galway football team seems to be at it's lowest ever ebb within the county it is no wonder players are asking themselves, Why bother? The likes of Seafoid might think that the historic cycle will run it's course and that Galway will rise to the top again without any radical intervention, I wouldn't be so sure. Especially when you consider the demands on county players are in a different universe when compared with any point in the last century.
The challenge faced by Galway football is made tougher by the fact that football doesn't rule the roost in Galway the way it does in other counties, particularly with hurling and rugby on the up. I reckon if Galway are serious about getting to the top again they need to start boosting the profile of their county team. Be it via the media, online, promotional tickets etc. I actually think something similar is going on with Cork football at the moment. At the end of the day, the more counties you have competing at the top, the better the championship will be.
Football hasn't been top dog in Galway since the 1887 hurling final but the county still won enough all Irelands.
Goethe warned against exaggerating the importance of one's own times. He would be very dubious about the long term advantages of Mayo's strength and conditioning.
When the team starts winning people will get interested. Maybe it's not this year but it's not far off. Mean reversion is a bitch. Mayo will decline and most likely won't have Sam to comfort them. Ros are psychologically suspect at the sight of maroon swarms.
now that more like the fighting talk that make beating Galway a bit of fun . though i get a hint of desperation resorting to Goethe
Quote from: rosnarun on June 16, 2016, 04:19:31 PM
now that more like the fighting talk that make beating Galway a bit of fun . though i get a hint of desperation resorting to Goethe
Goethe was grand, but the brother was a better footballer.
Quote from: muppet on June 16, 2016, 04:21:02 PM
Quote from: rosnarun on June 16, 2016, 04:19:31 PM
now that more like the fighting talk that make beating Galway a bit of fun . though i get a hint of desperation resorting to Goethe
Goethe was grand, but the brother was a better footballer.
Are they any relations to the Göttsches??
Quote from: muppet on June 16, 2016, 04:21:02 PM
Quote from: rosnarun on June 16, 2016, 04:19:31 PM
now that more like the fighting talk that make beating Galway a bit of fun . though i get a hint of desperation resorting to Goethe
Goethe was grand, but the brother was a better footballer.
they lived out beyond Clare island for a while
Mayo's time will be up sooner rather than later.
I will remember a few things like Aidan O Shea at FF, the half back allstars, the Michael Murphy goals and this
Before the throw-in Johnny Duane extended his hand towards Alan Dillon for a handshake and Dillon launched a shoulder at him, knocking him to the ground
They never brought that attitude to Dublin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwxga8udIio
Quote from: seafoid on June 16, 2016, 05:30:15 PM
Mayo's time will be up sooner rather than later.
I will remember a few things like Aidan O Shea at FF, the half back allstars, the Michael Murphy goals and this
Before the throw-in Johnny Duane extended his hand towards Alan Dillon for a handshake and Dillon launched a shoulder at him, knocking him to the ground
They never brought that attitude to Dublin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwxga8udIio
What is Galway's record against Dublin or Kerry like? Have you seen either being beat in your lifetime?
Quote from: From the Bunker on June 16, 2016, 10:06:04 PM
Quote from: seafoid on June 16, 2016, 05:30:15 PM
Mayo's time will be up sooner rather than later.
I will remember a few things like Aidan O Shea at FF, the half back allstars, the Michael Murphy goals and this
Before the throw-in Johnny Duane extended his hand towards Alan Dillon for a handshake and Dillon launched a shoulder at him, knocking him to the ground
They never brought that attitude to Dublin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwxga8udIio
What is Galway's record against Dublin or Kerry like? Have you seen either being beat in your lifetime?
Just let him tire himself out
Quote from: From the Bunker on June 16, 2016, 10:06:04 PM
Quote from: seafoid on June 16, 2016, 05:30:15 PM
Mayo's time will be up sooner rather than later.
I will remember a few things like Aidan O Shea at FF, the half back allstars, the Michael Murphy goals and this
Before the throw-in Johnny Duane extended his hand towards Alan Dillon for a handshake and Dillon launched a shoulder at him, knocking him to the ground
They never brought that attitude to Dublin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwxga8udIio
What is Galway's record against Dublin or Kerry like? Have you seen either being beat in your lifetime?
Pretty bad against Dublin who are definitely our bogey team. Not that we've played them much recently. Was actually pretty decent against Kerry until the last 15 years or so.
I thought that the last time Galway beat Kerry in championship was 1965. No idea as to why I think this though. Well, I thought I read it somewhere.
Quote from: Farrandeelin on June 16, 2016, 10:56:49 PM
I thought that the last time Galway beat Kerry in championship was 1965. No idea as to why I think this though. Well, I thought I read it somewhere.
Yeah, it's 50 years since Galway beat Kerry in Championship.
Quote from: Farrandeelin on June 16, 2016, 10:56:49 PM
I thought that the last time Galway beat Kerry in championship was 1965. No idea as to why I think this though. Well, I thought I read it somewhere.
Could be but we actually used to beat them fairly regularly back then. Didn't play them for a long time after that until the mid 80's I think and not until 2000 after that. Even Micko said Galway were his bogey side and that continued into his Kildare years.
I have no recollection of Galway beating either Dublin or Kerry in Championship. Micko's quotes about Galway or anybody else are about as honest as Pele's assessments of teams before a World Cup - which was brilliantly used in the film Mike Basset England Manager.
Quote from: moysider on June 17, 2016, 01:10:31 AM
I have no recollection of Galway beating either Dublin or Kerry in Championship.
As the great Martin Luther King once said "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
Quote from: From the Bunker on June 16, 2016, 10:06:04 PM
Quote from: seafoid on June 16, 2016, 05:30:15 PM
Mayo's time will be up sooner rather than later.
I will remember a few things like Aidan O Shea at FF, the half back allstars, the Michael Murphy goals and this
Before the throw-in Johnny Duane extended his hand towards Alan Dillon for a handshake and Dillon launched a shoulder at him, knocking him to the ground
They never brought that attitude to Dublin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwxga8udIio
What is Galway's record against Dublin or Kerry like? Have you seen either being beat in your lifetime?
The record against Kerry is OK. Against Dublin it is poor.
You can play anyone in an AIF. Winning is more psychological than anything . I wonder would hypnosis work for Mayo this year .
We have bigger problems in Galway to worry about than our record against Kerry and Dublin, if Mayo lads want to barrel in on that, and it is a terrible one against Dublin definitely, then work away.
For this Mayo team (clearly their best ever in the modern era) and the Mayo support it's about getting over the line in September and there will always be a tinge of failure, regardless of the huge successes besides that most counties would kill to have had, if they don't surmount that hurdle.
A measure of how uncompetitive this fixture has become is that there isn't a single person in Mayo who doesn't think they are going to win on Saturday, on all known form you can't argue too much with that view either.
How long that will remain the case I don't know, there's nothing to indicate any prospect of a Galway revival at the moment but the joy of sport is that teams that should win 99 times out of 100 get caught the odd time, although in the GAA there seems to be less and less times the underdog (much less one as far out as 5/1) is pulling off the shock.
I don't expect many Galway people there but this isn't a new development, talk of apathy is overplayed a bit, Galway people have never followed the football team unless they are going well.
Mayo have been better than Galway over the last 30 years. The rivalry goes in circles. Which is why Mayo hafta win this year.
This is an interesting read now, 5 years on. I think it was in the Sunday Tribune RIP. Note the Kerry view on the Connacht championship in the year Mayo got their mojo.
Tribesmen's crisis of identity
Galway football is at a low ebb but at least things can't get worse, writes John O'Brien
Sunday June 26 2011
When he found himself in Killarney before Galway played Kerry in the league last March, Jim Carney beat the well-trodden path to Jimmy O'Brien's pub in Fair Hill. Jimmy's pub, 40 years old this month, is an institution in Kerry football and Carney was among old friends here. He mingled with the GAA stalwarts and old Kerry footballers that comprise Jimmy's clientele and soaked up the warmth and cheer of their hospitality.
Inevitably the talk turned to football and things took a turn for the worse. It wasn't that the Kerry lads got edgy and started pummelling him with a few low blows and sly digs. It was the absence of any edge at all that troubled Carney. "They were quite sympathetic actually," he says now. "They were feeling sorry for Galway football, wondering what happened to us. It was a bit depressing really."
Carney was there in his official role as editor of the Tuam Herald, in little doubt he was performing the grim task of reporting on another bad day for Galway football. Sure enough, Kerry inflicted a leisurely eight-point defeat, Galway's fourth in succession in a miserable campaign that would see just one victory in seven outings. Not that anyone seemed unduly shocked or alarmed, however. That's how deep the rot had set in.
In his Irish Times column on Wednesday, Darragh ó Sé paid a backhanded tribute to the Connacht championship. The former Kerry midfielder's contention was that a Connacht title had assumed a significance that outstripped the other three provinces. Not because it had an intrinsic value the others lacked, however, but because a provincial title was as much as any of them could aspire to over the course of a championship season.
"Maybe it's just a reflection of where the counties in the west find themselves at the minute," ó Sé wrote. "If you're being straight up and clinical about it, you'd have to say none of them will win the All-Ireland this year and, in fact, they don't look any way close to winning one. That's what makes their provincial championship so valuable."
Many of the views ó Sé expressed about Connacht sounded patronising, but they were underscored by a brutal truth. There's still a tendency to view Galway as a blue-chip football power -- if not in the top bracket then at the top of the next at least -- but fresh evidence to prove it is scarce. If ó Sé was damning them with faint praise, then it was merely an expression of the sentiment Carney heard in Killarney last March on a national stage.
Perhaps we've been too preoccupied with the annual kerfuffle that revolves around the hurlers to truly notice the downward spiral of the footballers. It's 10 years now since they took advantage of the new back door system to claim the county's ninth All-Ireland title and, although it was obvious that John O'Mahony's brilliant but ageing team was approaching the end of its lifespan, it was hard to figure that they would simply slip off the radar, as if they had reached the summit and then, collectively, flung themselves off the mountain top.
True, they would annex three of the next four Connacht championships, but their real worth was measured not against their provincial rivals, but on the killing fields far from the province. In the 2002 All-Ireland quarter-final, Kerry turned them over by eight points, much the same Kerry team that had been demolished by Meath in the previous year's semi-final, whom Galway had then routed by nine points in the final. In just a year, apparently, Kerry had sailed off over the horizon.
Away from Connacht the past decade has brought nothing but misery heaped upon misery. Galway's record in Croke Park, for instance, shows that they have played six championship games since 2001 and won none of them. Add a narrow defeat against Kerry in the 2004 league final and you build a picture of a once-feared county travelling to Dublin with a sense of trepidation, unable to feel confident about beating even the most ordinary teams.
In recent years Galway have developed a deep-rooted tendency to exit the championship with a whimper. In 2006, they were beaten in round four of the qualifiers by Westmeath, who were ransacked by Dublin in the All-Ireland quarter-final. A year later they lost by a goal to Meath who were slaughtered by Cork in the semi-final. In 2009, they lost to a Donegal team who were taken apart by Cork in the next round.
All they could manage last year was a solitary win against New York while Sligo and Wexford, who ended their interest in the championship, departed tamely themselves at the hands of Down and Cork respectively. For Galway, there is an alarming pattern here: subdued consistently by counties with little chance themselves of being there at the business end of the championship. "If we were a racehorse," says Carney, "you'd say the horses haven't franked the form next time out."
Of the team that lines out for this afternoon's Connacht semi-final in Castlebar, Joe Bergin and Pádraic Joyce remain from the All-Ireland winning side of 2001. Joyce was imperious in that final, kicking 10 of Galway's 17-point tally, and a grand total of 3-45 in that year's championship. They are glad that he is still on board, of course, but Joyce is 34 now and, even alongside a fit Michael Meehan, Galway are arguably more reliant on him now than they were back then and that is a distinctly unhealthy state of affairs.
All told, looking for shards of light is a tough business. "Look, all counties experience highs and lows," says Alan Mulholland who manages the county's under 21s. "It's not anybody's fault in particular. The fact is we haven't been competitive since 2001 in the way we'd like. We have to hold our hands up and say we haven't done well. We've failed."
Given that Mulholland guided the Galway minors to an All-Ireland title in 2007 and followed it with an under 21 All-Ireland this year, it is hard to square that success with the perception that Galway have failed to develop a production line of talent in line with other successful counties. Yet he is enough of a pragmatist to know that winning sporadic underage titles brings no guarantee of future senior success.
It encourages Mulholland that three of his All-Ireland winning under 21 team -- Colin Forde, John Duane and Mark Hehir -- will feature against Mayo today. And Paul Conroy, who lines out alongside Joyce at full-forward, was a star of the 2007 minor team. It represents progress, he thinks, although there is still room for much more.
"We can produce underage talent but it's something we've got to do year in year out. It's not much good producing a great minor team one year and then having nothing for years afterwards. Each year has to be competitive. And I think we've had decent underage teams consistently for a few years now so I wouldn't share the doom and gloom about the future."
Since 2001 their struggles have been most pronounced at midfield. Losing the likes of Michael Donnellan, Ja Fallon and Tomás Mannion was always going to leave a void, but the retirement of Kevin Walsh left the biggest vacuum of all.
Bergin won his 2001 All-Ireland medal wearing No 10 but, long term, they saw him as a leader and natural successor to Walsh. That evolution never happened, though. That he is restored to midfield today, alongside Finian Hanley, is seen as a major gamble by Tomás ó Flatharta.
Again Mulholland sees hope for the future. This year's under 21 pairing of Tomás Flynn and Fionntan ó Curraoin offered signs that the physical, imposing presence offered by Walsh might some day be replicated. There was a mini-clamour for Flynn to be ushered through but because he was sitting his Leaving Certificate, ó Flatharta resisted the temptation to call on his services. For all their needs, they still had to do the right thing.
In a way the situation with Flynn is a microcosm of their problems as a whole. Doing the right thing for Galway football has always entailed following a tradition that harks back to greats like Seán Purcell and Frank Stockwell who played the game in a certain way. O'Mahony's team adhered rigidly to the blueprint and won many admirers for the purity of their football and ability to kick passes and long-range scores.
A decade without success and they begin to wonder now. When they lost a high-scoring, entertaining game to Kerry in the 2008 All-Ireland quarter-final, some credited manager Liam Sammon for the quality of Galway's football while others questioned an approach that saw them go toe to toe with a superior team. With the tactical revolution of the noughties, they argued, Galway with their dreamy notions of a purer age were being left behind. Tactically outdated and naive.
In that light it is possible to view the curious experiment with Joe Kernan and last year's appointment of ó Flatharta as Galway's attempt to move with the times, seeking to blend their traditional style with a new defensive-minded toughness. But it has seemed too half-hearted, feeding a chronic identity crisis where Galway end up being neither one thing nor the other. Hanley neatly condensed the debate during the week, pointing out the strength of feeling for the old ways while offering the important qualifier that football today is increasingly a "results business".
"It's complicated," says Mulholland. "Everyone involved in Galway football is conscious of it. There's a brand of Galway football and people are very wary about compromising it. We're Galway football. Is it acceptable to compromise? 1966, 1998, 2001. Ten years on and we're still trying to play Galway football. It's nice to have that but two All-Irelands in 40-odd years? Would people prefer to win All-Irelands?"
So many questions they need to address as a matter of urgency. As things stand, they will wonder what lies in store for them this summer, perhaps clinging to the solitary ray of hope, if they dare, that as bad as things are, they surely can't get much worse.
Quote
Galway football is at a low ebb but at least things can't get worse
The headline wasn't accurate anyway.
James Horan may well be right with the article in the paper this morning but after listening to him on newstalk last year its very clear he has a strong dislike of Galway.
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 17, 2016, 10:01:04 AM
James Horan may well be right with the article in the paper this morning but after listening to him on newstalk last year its very clear he has a strong dislike of Galway.
He had a strong dislike for a few Mayo players it seemed too.
Quote from: seafoid on June 17, 2016, 08:24:53 AM
This is an interesting read now, 5 years on. I think it was in the Sunday Tribune RIP. Note the Kerry view on the Connacht championship in the year Mayo got their mojo.
In his Irish Times column on Wednesday, Darragh ó Sé paid a backhanded tribute to the Connacht championship. The former Kerry midfielder's contention was that a Connacht title had assumed a significance that outstripped the other three provinces. Not because it had an intrinsic value the others lacked, however, but because a provincial title was as much as any of them could aspire to over the course of a championship season.
"Maybe it's just a reflection of where the counties in the west find themselves at the minute," ó Sé wrote. "If you're being straight up and clinical about it, you'd have to say none of them will win the All-Ireland this year and, in fact, they don't look any way close to winning one. That's what makes their provincial championship so valuable."
Winning a provincial championship counts for close to zero (apart from keeping away from the other provincial winners for an extra round) if you have any serious eye on an All-Ireland. The less chance a team has at winning an All-Ireland the more important the provincial championship becomes. Winning the provincial title last year probably meant the sum total of feck all to the Mayo lads.
Quote from: Syferus on June 17, 2016, 10:09:33 AM
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 17, 2016, 10:01:04 AM
James Horan may well be right with the article in the paper this morning but after listening to him on newstalk last year its very clear he has a strong dislike of Galway.
He had a strong dislike for a few Mayo players it seemed too.
Could you please fu_ck off with your bullish-t back to some Rossie thread
Quote from: maigheo on June 17, 2016, 12:20:29 PM
Quote from: Syferus on June 17, 2016, 10:09:33 AM
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 17, 2016, 10:01:04 AM
James Horan may well be right with the article in the paper this morning but after listening to him on newstalk last year its very clear he has a strong dislike of Galway.
He had a strong dislike for a few Mayo players it seemed too.
Could you please fu_ck off with your bullish-t back to some Rossie thread
We all know where this one is heading. At least we might give ye a decent workout.
I can't believe there is nobody in Mayo who thinks this match could be tough. A spell in the qfs would do Mayo no harm.
Quote from: seafoid on June 17, 2016, 12:29:22 PM
I can't believe there is nobody in Mayo who thinks this match could be tough. A spell in the qfs would do Mayo no harm.
We've been in the quarter-finals every year since 2010 thanks - some tough, mostly comfortable.
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 17, 2016, 10:01:04 AM
James Horan may well be right with the article in the paper this morning but after listening to him on newstalk last year its very clear he has a strong dislike of Galway.
What was Horan trying to achieve with those comments other than to put pressure on the Mayo team and management? I don't think anyone can reasonably say that Mayo are a better team now than they were 2/3 years ago. Time will tell this year but I think their ship may have sailed as far as AI titles are concerned with the present group of players.
Quote from: yellowcard on June 17, 2016, 01:36:42 PM
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 17, 2016, 10:01:04 AM
James Horan may well be right with the article in the paper this morning but after listening to him on newstalk last year its very clear he has a strong dislike of Galway.
What was Horan trying to achieve with those comments other than to put pressure on the Mayo team and management? I don't think anyone can reasonably say that Mayo are a better team now than they were 2/3 years ago. Time will tell this year but I think their ship may have sailed as far as AI titles are concerned with the present group of players.
Well,who knows the Mayo players better than the same James Horan?
You can be sure he knew what he was doing before he wrote this article.
I'm quite happy with all things in the Mayo camp at the moment and stuff the begrudgers. Neither the team nor the management should feel themselves under any pressure to deliver anything special. I think Mayo fans know they'll give it their best shot and we'll accept the outcome, whatever it is.
I think we have a great chance this year- injuries permitting of course. For one thing our forwards with Evan Regan and Diarmuid O'Connor on board are a far more potent outfit than they were ever before. From what I see of the backs, the newcomers are at least as good as those who preceded them and midfield , whatever pairing plays, is as good as ever was the case since 2011.
Having said all that, I am not going to mouth off about the outcome of the game tomorrow. No coat trailing here. I have far too much respect for the heron chokers and their great tradition to do anything of the sort. I expect a Mayo victory but I won't rest easy until the game is over.
Former Galway midfielder Barry Cullinane isn't holding out much hope for the Tribesmen against Mayo tomorrow evening.
Cullinane, who was part of the last Galway team to register a championship win over their great rivals in 2008, says the absence of key players greatly diminishes Galway's chances of causing an upset in Castlebar.
"Since last year's game in Pearse Stadium, we have lost Micheál Lundy, Johnny Duane and Fiontán Ó Curraoin (all in America) and Cathal Sweeney (injured) from our starting side. Mayo have found three or four from their U21 All-Ireland winning panel," he noted in the Irish Examiner.
"We will travel down hoping for a colossal upset, but based on all known form it is Mayo's to lose."
The current Galway U21 selector laments the fact that the Galway jersey no longer strikes fear into Mayo.
"Unfortunately they have no fear of us now," he says.
"When I came into the senior set-up initially we had been beating Mayo regularly at minor and U21 level and we expected to beat them.
"We also had the likes of Pádraig Joyce, Michael Donnellan, Derek Savage and Michael Meehan to guide the way. They were hugely experienced and talented men and we took out lead from them. Unfortunately we did not build on those successes.
"Young players in Galway now don't have the genuine GAA superstars we had to look up too when we were in our formative years.
"The 1998 and 2001 teams were still fresh in our memories and playing for Galway was absolutely massive. Galway were always in Division One for the league and playing the likes of Dublin and Kerry regularly in the league was a carrot too."
James Horan senses a lack of energy around Galway football that does not augur well for the last team to put a championship foot forward this summer.
The four-in-a-row Connacht-winning manager believes the impetus provided by younger Mayo players, allied to the loss of some key Galway components, gives the reigning champions a decisive advantage.
"I know Kevin (Walsh) mentioned about closing the gap but I'd be the opposite. I think the gap is increasing," said Horan.
"Galway have lost some very good players, Michael Lundy, Johnny Duane, Fiontán ó Curraoin, you saw a lot of guys with Corofin winning an All-Ireland club title who aren't near the panel. If you talk to people in Galway there was usually a huge energy about where they're going and what the potential was, but you don't sense that any more.
"You almost get the sense that everyone in Galway thinks if they can get out of Castlebar with under a 10-point beating or a six-point beating that they'll be happy enough. To me, Mayo/Galway has definitely lost that bit of competitiveness."
Horan's harsh critique of Galway football includes a suggestion that they are not doing everything they can to recover as a football force.
"If you look at the pedigree or what you can make out of the U-21 category, Galway have three All-Ireland U-21-winning teams so it's surprising you wouldn't get a decent percentage of those coming through.
"I am surprised they have gone back. In my time playing against Galway it was always nip and tuck. They don't seem to have progressed like a couple of the top teams who are trying everything humanly possible. You just don't get that sense from Galway that they are doing everything they can."
He feels a Galway full-back line, with two championship debutants, Eoghan Kerin and David Wynne, will be targeted by Mayo.
"Going into a game with the experience of Mayo's forward line, and with two new debutants in your full-back line, that's going to be gunned at. If you were the manager of Mayo, what would you be looking to do there? So that will be an area that they will all look to target for sure. It's a good opportunity for those guys but that full-back line is going to be under pressure."
Horan had previously hailed the controversial move by the Mayo players to oust the previous management as "courageous" and sees it now as forging even closer links between them.
And he feels the right 'shot selection' by the frontmen can nudge Mayo closer towards the elusive prize.
"I'd say that shot selection for me is probably a key one. Play it, no matter what, until you get into the scoring zone where you get your eight from 10 shots, not taking them from an area where you get your two from 10 shots.
"I think one of the key things you're going to see tomorrow night is a different formation from Mayo.
"I think that throughout the league we saw various attempts at it, then when you have a 10-week break after the league and you have a training camp in England, where you can train twice a day, you get to really bed down what you want to do for the summer or how you want to approach things. Mayo are going to be more defensively-based that they have been."
Could be tough. I only saw Mayo once in the flesh this year and I left the Hyde fairly disillusioned by the sheer physical strength they had over Roscommon - and yet and despite bossing the hell out of us for 50 mins , they needed a goal that should never have been allowed for overcarrying and some handy frees to win that game. As someone said, they made heavy weather out of beating Ros, Monaghan and Down in the league - and were beaten well by surely the worst Cork team of all time. Have not seen this Galway team and maybe they are as mediocre as everyone is saying. But not without a chance. Could be like 1990, Mayo with their sights firmly set on the All-Ireland, and a sparky Galway team shock them.
Quote from: weareros on June 17, 2016, 02:37:59 PM
Could be tough. I only saw Mayo once in the flesh this year and I left the Hyde fairly disillusioned by the sheer physical strength they had over Roscommon - and yet and despite bossing the hell out of us for 50 mins , they needed a goal that should never have been allowed for overcarrying and some handy frees to win that game. As someone said, they made heavy weather out of beating Ros, Monaghan and Down in the league - and were beaten well by surely the worst Cork team of all time. Have not seen this Galway team and maybe they are as mediocre as everyone is saying. But not without a chance. Could be like 1990, Mayo with their sights firmly set on the All-Ireland, and a sparky Galway team shock them.
the only thing that couldn't handle the heavy weather that day was the hyde park bog
I'm sure Kevin Walsh will have Horan's piece nailed to the dressingroom door. If that kind of article doesn't give Galway motivation to do something, then it will be a bad day for Galway.
However, that team Mayo have out should have enough to do it. Any sign of the subs bench?
The early part of the championship usually throws up a surprise result. We already have had one with Tipp. beating Cork and hopefully that's all there will be.
Quote from: Farrandeelin on June 17, 2016, 09:41:16 PM
I'm sure Kevin Walsh will have Horan's piece nailed to the dressingroom door. If that kind of article doesn't give Galway motivation to do something, then it will be a bad day for Galway.
However, that team Mayo have out should have enough to do it. Any sign of the subs bench?
He can nail the Koran and the Mona Lisa to the dressing room wall if he wants. It won't make a damm bit of difference if he doesn't have the players, which I don't think he does.
Quote from: Beffs on June 17, 2016, 11:35:23 PM
Quote from: Farrandeelin on June 17, 2016, 09:41:16 PM
I'm sure Kevin Walsh will have Horan's piece nailed to the dressingroom door. If that kind of article doesn't give Galway motivation to do something, then it will be a bad day for Galway.
However, that team Mayo have out should have enough to do it. Any sign of the subs bench?
He can nail the Koran and the Mona Lisa to the dressing room wall if he wants. It won't make a damm bit of difference if he doesn't have the players, which I don't think he does.
Kevin Walsh has many good players selected tomorrow and numerous more players that are All Ireland club or U21 All Ireland winners that don't want to play for Galway and I think even James Horan knows if he was managing Galway their days of underachieving would probably be over.
Quote from: Cunny Funt on June 18, 2016, 12:06:29 AM
Kevin Walsh has many good players selected tomorrow and numerous more players that are All Ireland club or U21 All Ireland winners that don't want to play for Galway and I think even James Horan knows if he was managing Galway their days of underachieving would probably be over.
That's as well as may be, but this current crop of Mayo players have been winning Connaught titles and consistently getting to All Ireland semi finas and finals, every year this decade. Galways players have not. Mayo will have too much for them.
Quote from: Cunny Funt on June 18, 2016, 12:06:29 AM
Quote from: Beffs on June 17, 2016, 11:35:23 PM
Quote from: Farrandeelin on June 17, 2016, 09:41:16 PM
I'm sure Kevin Walsh will have Horan's piece nailed to the dressingroom door. If that kind of article doesn't give Galway motivation to do something, then it will be a bad day for Galway.
However, that team Mayo have out should have enough to do it. Any sign of the subs bench?
He can nail the Koran and the Mona Lisa to the dressing room wall if he wants. It won't make a damm bit of difference if he doesn't have the players, which I don't think he does.
Kevin Walsh has many good players selected tomorrow and numerous more players that are All Ireland club or U21 All Ireland winners that don't want to play for Galway and I think even James Horan knows if he was managing Galway their days of underachieving would probably be over.
Don't get that tbh. Are you suggesting that Galway would be better if James Horan was managing them? I seriously doubt that if that is what you are saying? or are you saying that Galway's underachieving days are over now anyway?
Horan got a Mayo team competing at a level they should have been at for some years previously. Not sure Horan would be able to improve Galway. They've had other outside managers, in recent years, that failed miserably. Most Mayo people would have been happy with Peter Forde in charge of Mayo but he was like Brian Clough - best option but not considerable. I thought he was doin ok in Galway but...... Joe Kernan could not satisfy palates either. He won an AI and could not generate much enthusiasm. Horan would do no better imo. He didn't even win an AI! He'd be ran as well.
Galway have to get their act together from inside out. Surprising that no managr has come through from 98-01 team. Maybe Walsh can do it still. Liam Sammon their best manager in recent years and a top coach. Unfortunately Sammom got the job too late because football had moved on. It would have been interesting to see what he could have done with the Johnno teams when football then would have suited him.
Quote from: Beffs on June 18, 2016, 01:14:15 AM
That's as well as may be, but this current crop of Mayo players have been winning Connaught titles and consistently getting to All Ireland semi finas and finals, every year this decade. Galways players have not. Mayo will have too much for them.
I predicted earlier that Mayo should win comfortably. My point was Galway do have the players however they are not exposed to the professional preparation that the Mayo players are. I wouldnt go back a decade either. The majority of this panel of Mayo players arrived in 2011 with a win against the defending All Ireland champions Cork against the odds.
Quote from: moysider on June 18, 2016, 01:49:44 AM
Don't get that tbh. Are you suggesting that Galway would be better if James Horan was managing them? I seriously doubt that if that is what you are saying? or are you saying that Galway's underachieving days are over now anyway?
Horan got a Mayo team competing at a level they should have been at for some years previously. Not sure Horan would Galway. They've had other outside managers, in recent years, that failed miserably. Most Mayo people would have been happy with Peter Forde in charge of Mayo but he was like Brian Clough - best option but not considerable. I thought he was doin ok in Galway but...... Joe Kernan could not satisfy palates either. He won an AI and could not generate much enthusiasm. Horan would do no better imo. He didn't even win an AI! He'd be ran as well.
Galway have to get their act together from inside out. Surprising that no managr has come through from 98-01 team. Maybe Walsh can do it still. Liam Sammon their best manager in recent years and a top coach. Unfortunately Sammom got the job too late because football had moved on. It would have been interesting to see what he could have done with the Johnno teams when football then would have suited him.
I think you do get it and have touched on it already by saying Galway have to get their act together from inside out. You see once things click for Galway competing at a level they should have been at for some years previously will be their reply also.
What I am suggesting is Galway need a manager of the mold of Horan who will bring in a management team which will give the required level of professionalism and organisation to their setup and rise them out of their current underachieving state. In the time Mayo have won 5 in a row Connacht titles and established themselves as a top 3 team in Ireland Galway have been relegated from division 1 and failed to get out of division 2. Old school management has knocked Galway back and not moving with the times will keep them there for the foreseeable future.
What will the attendance be like?
18,000 Rhus, 1,000 Galway, 1,500 Ros checking out our opponents.
Galway have as much chance of beating mayo as they have of winning Sam!
Quote from: cornetto on June 18, 2016, 11:39:52 AM
Galway have as much chance of beating mayo as they have of winning Sam!
Now that is an exaggeration. Mayo look likely to win. But it will be a closer match than many predict.
I hope Jason Gibbons plays well in midfield. I'm not overly convinced by him this year. Galway's midfield have been in or around for a while now and they should have a good understanding of each other at this stage. The match-up of Kevin Keane and Comer should be interesting too. I hope Keane is left on him because if anyone else tracks him, the defence will be out of shape a bit. Keegan ca.'t be pyt back in the fullback line as it limits his inuence outfield. I think it will be a tough encounter for most of the match. This thing of Mayo winning comforyably has me worried, because if that mindset seeps into the players, then it'll be a right battle. Mayo will have to keep the wide count down this evening I feel.
Quote from: Cunny Funt on June 18, 2016, 07:34:35 AM
Quote from: Beffs on June 18, 2016, 01:14:15 AM
That's as well as may be, but this current crop of Mayo players have been winning Connaught titles and consistently getting to All Ireland semi finas and finals, every year this decade. Galways players have not. Mayo will have too much for them.
I predicted earlier that Mayo should win comfortably. My point was Galway do have the players however they are not exposed to the professional preparation that the Mayo players are. I wouldnt go back a decade either. The majority of this panel of Mayo players arrived in 2011 with a win against the defending All Ireland champions Cork against the odds.
Mayo won Connaught last year, got to the AI semi finals and pushed the Dubs harder than any other county. They did all that, even though they had a sub par management set up too. They had the players to see them through the lack of professionalism - a phrase often used during their own mgt heave last year - in their own preparations. Galway don't.
We can debate all day long whether the Galway players just lack the basic raw talent, or whether they lack managers who could bring the best out of them, or whether they lack a more professional coaching and preparation set up. It's six of one, half a dozen of another, really. You can ask the same questions about half the teams in the country. Mayo just operate at a much, much higher level than they do, which is why they will win imo.
Quote from: Beffs on June 18, 2016, 01:10:20 PM
Quote from: Cunny Funt on June 18, 2016, 07:34:35 AM
Quote from: Beffs on June 18, 2016, 01:14:15 AM
That's as well as may be, but this current crop of Mayo players have been winning Connaught titles and consistently getting to All Ireland semi finas and finals, every year this decade. Galways players have not. Mayo will have too much for them.
I predicted earlier that Mayo should win comfortably. My point was Galway do have the players however they are not exposed to the professional preparation that the Mayo players are. I wouldnt go back a decade either. The majority of this panel of Mayo players arrived in 2011 with a win against the defending All Ireland champions Cork against the odds.
Mayo won Connaught last year, got to the AI semi finals and pushed the Dubs harder than any other county. They did all that, even though they had a sub par management set up too. They had the players to see them through the lack of professionalism - a phrase often used during their own mgt heave last year - in their own preparations. Galway don't.
We can debate all day long whether the Galway players just lack the basic raw talent, or whether they lack managers who could bring the best out of them, or whether they lack a more professional coaching and preparation set up. It's six of one, half a dozen of another, really. You can ask the same questions about half the teams in the country. Mayo just operate at a much, much higher level than they do, which is why they will win imo.
Sub-par to a bunch of perennial nearly men. Jesus wept. It wasn't C&H that got in Lee Keegan's head and forced a weak effort when unmarked to go six up against Dublin last year.
Quote
Mayo won Connaught last year, got to the AI semi finals and pushed the Dubs harder than any other county. They did all that, even though they had a sub par management set up too. They had the players to see them through the lack of professionalism - a phrase often used during their own mgt heave last year - in their own preparations. Galway don't.
We can debate all day long whether the Galway players just lack the basic raw talent, or whether they lack managers who could bring the best out of them, or whether they lack a more professional coaching and preparation set up. It's six of one, half a dozen of another, really. You can ask the same questions about half the teams in the country. Mayo just operate at a much, much higher level than they do, which is why they will win imo.
The joint managers from last year won 4 in a row U21s and All Ireland in 2006 they weren't as bad as portrayed now and even if they were this group of Mayo players still had four solid years under Horans management where they weren't going to drop much in one year after he left. Donie Buckley never left by the way a type of coach Galway could do with now.
Sligonian of this parish has always been a stern critic of the "most respected football man in Galway" Kevin Walsh. Maybe he was onto something?
Quote from: Syferus on June 18, 2016, 01:42:09 PM
Sub-par to a bunch of perennial nearly men. Jesus wept. It wasn't C&H that got in Lee Keegan's head and forced a weak effort when unmarked to go six up against Dublin last year.
At least they were actually THERE in the AI semi final. For the 5th year in a row. Galway and Roscommon players were away off on their summer holidays and, been for over a month. Take all the shots you want at the Mayo players, but they have achieved a heckuva lot more than the players from any other county in the province. Ergo they are miles better than any other team in the province. Therefore they will win today, fairly easily imo.
Weather not playing ball....
Latest radar
(http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa382/mayomick/Weather%20Charts-Screenshots/rain%20now_zpsz3air8cp.jpg) (http://s1195.photobucket.com/user/mayomick/media/Weather%20Charts-Screenshots/rain%20now_zpsz3air8cp.jpg.html)
Mayo will win easily tonight and should be concerned if they don't.
I see the Galway football team like a locomotive laying idle rusting away. You could get one decent man to paint that locomotive and start the engine to keep it ticking over however you will need a team of qualified men to get it moving and to its destination. Cork are similar to Galway but their locomotive is stuck in reverse.
Anyone ever hear of the "Connacht Conference" before? Have to admit, it's a new one on us ;D
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ClPNu7VWQAE_bCB.jpg)
Quote from: Captain Obvious on June 18, 2016, 02:36:53 PM
Mayo will win easily tonight and should be concerned if they don't.
I see the Galway football team like a locomotive laying idle rusting away. You could get one decent man to paint that locomotive and start the engine to keep it ticking over however you will need a team of qualified men to get it moving and to its destination. Cork are similar to Galway but their locomotive is stuck in reverse.
Can't make it to the game so I'll have to depend on Mad West to keep me in touch with what's happening in Castlebar. First championship derby I've missed (I'm nearly sure) since John Morley chased Pateen Donnellan half the length of McHale Park and he wasn't looking for his autograph either! ;D
Anyone know of there will be deferred coverage of the match this evening or tomorrow?
Any decent, laptop friendly, streams around for this? Had to take Modbro off my phone.
terrible stuff so far
Holy fiddlesticks!
Mayo are scoring wides like they were going out of fashion. Seven after 24 minutes. Awful, bleddy awful!
Quote from: Mayoffs on June 11, 2016, 03:18:41 AM
Don't mean to sound negative here but our forwards need to have a good day to boost confidence. Another high wide tally will sow the seeds of doubt again and even if we scrape through, questions about the ability of this team to score enough points from play will remain. Some fellas need to step up and not be relying on the usual suspects to bail them out by popping over a handy free or show them how it's done off the bench.
We have no forwards. Forget about it.
Comer just took ten steps before pass that led to 5th point
Ref is doing Mayo no favors
Btw Paul Earley is very happy as he does not like Mayo
Very poor fare and Mayo would want to improve on this display if they're to challenge for all Ireland honours . They'll probably step it up in the second half but shocking shooting from them .
Holy shit
What just happened in last ten minutes very very flattering score line
Nice Galway point by umpire 👀
Only one team in Connacht knows where the posts are and they ain't playing tonight.
@joesmama No one likes Mayo. That's like stating "grass is green" on the scale of pointless statements.
Quote from: Syferus on June 18, 2016, 07:46:05 PM
Only one team in Connacht knows where the posts are and they ain't playing tonight.
@joesmama No one likes Mayo. That's like stating "grass is green" on the scale of pointless statements.
weren't playing last week either - who are you referring to?
Plenty of people like Mayo and would be happy to see them win the All Ireland, if their own county doesn't. There just isn't a lot of them in their "noisy neighbour" counties. Shocker !
Quote from: Beffs on June 18, 2016, 07:59:50 PM
Plenty of people like Mayo and would be happy to see them win the All Ireland, if their own county doesn't. There just isn't a lot of them in their "noisy neighbour" counties. Shocker !
Lots of people give them the aww it'd be great to see shite but no one really cares if Mayo lose. It's just a plotline in a season, same as Paul Galvin batting a notebook out of a ref's hand was.
when mayo play defensive its a 'defensive structure'
when other counties do it it's a blanket
Oops, did some man say Mayo will hammer Galway out the gate???
Well this suddenly got interesting
Just when everyone thought Galway are shíte, they turn it around
typical Galway
Pity we weren't the ones to nail them. The signs have been there all year. C&H will be having a wry chuckle this evening.
Galway in Salthill is a very different type of challenge to Mayo in Castlebar.
Surely the Mayo players will sack the manager tonight!
Two minutes extra a joke not that it will matter
Paul Earley overjoyed
He didn't even play the full two minutes
very similar to Sligo's performances in 2010. Kevin Walsh teams are hard to break down
Mayo still 2 full forwards short of a team capable of winning the all-ireland on top of a below par performance
Quote from: BennyHarp on June 18, 2016, 08:37:22 PM
Surely the Mayo players will sack the manager tonight!
No need for that these players have up a hell of a lot over past six years
James Horan, your having a laugh with your pre match comments!!
This Mayo team ship has sailed simply don't have the firepower.
Well done Galway.Mayo just did not have it at any stage today and Galway deserving winners.Right now the dream of winning Sam seems over for this group of players
Galway win a game with Conor Lane reffing shocker!
Galway however deserved the win.
Brilliant win for our lads. They're a long way from competing at the top table but that's a serious confidence boost . Mayo were poor but they had to be for Galway to win. All is not lost for Mayo but I feel sorry for those players, they could get a hammering now.
some Ref, just dont let him back up North, a walking disaster
Well done Galway, hope ye win the final.
Long way back to croker for us from here....
brilliant stuff. Proper championship football tonight.
Quote from: cicfada on June 18, 2016, 08:43:09 PM
Brilliant win for our lads. They're a long way from competing at the top table but that's a serious confidence boost . Mayo were poor but they had to be for Galway to win. All is not lost for Mayo but I feel sorry for those players, they could get a hammering now.
They hung themselves on the cross. Being crucified shouldn't come as a shock.
Was the absence of Willie Joe a factor in Mayo's defeat?
I don't like to blame ref's but he was horrible. He gave Mayo sweet f all 50/50 decisions
If you review game you could pick up ten of them.
Cone among others not up to it at this stage, he appeared to be At fault score that made it 11-8 very poor. Then 30 seconds later. Hennelly just a horrible kick out game level
Maybe the end of the road, but these guys do not owe Mayo fans anything
More about that later
Well done Galway
Well done Galway. I got that badly wrong. The lack of leadership in Mayo, when things aren't going well, is shocking.
great to see the underdogs confound the media critics
This could be the year of the Aristocrats...
Quote from: joemamas on June 18, 2016, 08:52:07 PM
I don't like to blame ref's but he was horrible. He gave Mayo sweet f all 50/50 decisions
If you review game you could pick up ten of them.
Cone among others not up to it at this stage, he appeared to be At fault score that made it 11-8 very poor. Then 30 seconds later. Hennelly just a horrible kick out game level
Maybe the end of the road, but these guys do not owe Mayo fans anything
More about that later
Well done Galway
Mayo failed to get their usual soft frees more like
well done Galway
Quote from: Wildweasel74 on June 18, 2016, 08:38:20 PM
Mayo still 2 full forwards short of a team capable of winning the all-ireland on top of a below par performance
Correct, and the footballing IQ of the O'Shea's is definitely under question after that display. Kevin Walsh
will deliver an All Ireland to Galway, maybe not this year but soon and good luck to them.
Quote from: Mayoffs on June 18, 2016, 09:07:10 PM
Quote from: Wildweasel74 on June 18, 2016, 08:38:20 PM
Mayo still 2 full forwards short of a team capable of winning the all-ireland on top of a below par performance
Correct, and the footballing IQ of the O'Shea's is definitely under question after that display. Kevin Walsh will deliver an All Ireland to Galway, maybe not this year but soon and good luck to them.
Nah.
Delighted and proud to be a Galway football man tonight.
Honestly did not see that coming.
Fair play to the Mayo fans - extremely gracious in defeat as I have always found to be the case.
Ye will be back
Quote from: JoG2 on June 18, 2016, 08:42:39 PM
Galway win a game with Conor Lane reffing shocker!
Galway however deserved the win.
Well done Galway. Well deserved win. Could have won by more if they took their early chances.
But that ref. ::)
Clown.
Quote from: Syferus on June 18, 2016, 09:09:20 PM
Quote from: Mayoffs on June 18, 2016, 09:07:10 PM
Quote from: Wildweasel74 on June 18, 2016, 08:38:20 PM
Mayo still 2 full forwards short of a team capable of winning the all-ireland on top of a below par performance
Correct, and the footballing IQ of the O'Shea's is definitely under question after that display. Kevin Walsh will deliver an All Ireland to Galway, maybe not this year but soon and good luck to them.
Nah.
Why are you so dismissive towards a county where winning AI'si is in their DNA?
Quote from: Mayo Mick on May 30, 2016, 10:43:39 AM
Quote from: PW Nally on May 30, 2016, 12:29:52 AM
Hard to beat the big 2 in Connacht meeting up. Looking forward to it big time.
Indeed PW and memories of some great tussles. Unfortunate that the games are no longer of much significance and for us are a box ticking exercise on the way to 6 in a row and the serious stuff in Croker. Hope PW ye give us a decent game as it is the only possible challenge this year in Connacht. A good start for Galway and maybe a few early goals is exactly the challenge we need but even if that was the case would still expect a 7+ pts margin for us. Connacht is now like Leinster with the Dubs and ourselves way ahead of everybody else.
Hope the Galway supporters will still travel in numbers and create a bit of atmosphere for what is in effect the Connacht final.
;D
Quote from: INDIANA on June 18, 2016, 09:25:06 PM
Quote from: Syferus on June 18, 2016, 09:09:20 PM
Quote from: Mayoffs on June 18, 2016, 09:07:10 PM
Quote from: Wildweasel74 on June 18, 2016, 08:38:20 PM
Mayo still 2 full forwards short of a team capable of winning the all-ireland on top of a below par performance
Correct, and the footballing IQ of the O'Shea's is definitely under question after that display. Kevin Walsh will deliver an All Ireland to Galway, maybe not this year but soon and good luck to them.
Nah.
Why are you so dismissive towards a county where winning AI'si is in their DNA?
He is obviously very bitter for two reasons:
As usual he was totally wrong about Walsh, but then again he is always wrong about everything so it shouldn't be that much of a shock.
Secondly his closet supporting county got well beat this evening and that must be hard to take for him, not even Andy could save them ( the two of them went to the same school ya know, we only read that about 1000 times)
Ah lads dont go blamimg Syf for Mayos demise, he is as disapointed as any of ye, what will he post about now. Still Mayo have the back door but to reach an all-ireland final now they will more than likely have to beat both Kerry and the Dubs. Good luck with that lads.
If Mayo come through all the qualifier rounds, do we know yet which of the provincial champions they could meet in quarter finals? Am too lazy to look it up.
Quote from: GalwayBayBoy on June 17, 2016, 02:25:47 PM"You almost get the sense that everyone in Galway thinks if they can get out of Castlebar with under a 10-point beating or a six-point beating that they'll be happy enough. To me, Mayo/Galway has definitely lost that bit of competitiveness."
That's the end of anybody taking James Horan's opinions seriously.
If Galway start with a high tempo against the Rossies, and take their chances, they'll blow them away.
I was thinking all week it woukd happen. KW is better than a lot of people think .
Mayo were very good for 5 years but nothing lasts forever especially with misfiring forwards.
Quote from: Jinxy on June 18, 2016, 09:04:08 PM
This could be the year of the Aristocrats...
Meath to.paste the Dubs next
Well done Galway! And big word out to all their fans who traveled. You were rewarded for your loyalty.
Mayo's dominance in Connacht had to come to an end! It's good for football.
The unknown of the Back-door for us now! It naturally will be the making or breaking of us.
Well done again to Galway! Ye will be hard beat this year.
Bad losses usually come down to forwards not showing up. 3 points from play for the Mayo unit is dreadful.
Quote from: Mayoffs on June 18, 2016, 10:03:36 PM
If Galway start with a high tempo against the Rossies, and take their chances, they'll blow them away.
like Sligo in the first half the last day?
I think it'd annoy an awful lot of Mayo people if Roscommon end up winning the final
Quote from: giveballaghback on June 18, 2016, 09:52:11 PM
Ah lads dont go blamimg Syf for Mayos demise, he is as disapointed as any of ye, what will he post about now. Still Mayo have the back door but to reach an all-ireland final now they will more than likely have to beat both Kerry and the Dubs. Good luck with that lads.
With a few matches under the belt they could take both of them. Mayo are still in it with everything to play for.
Quote from: manfromdelmonte on June 18, 2016, 10:26:10 PM
Quote from: Mayoffs on June 18, 2016, 10:03:36 PM
If Galway start with a high tempo against the Rossies, and take their chances, they'll blow them away.
like Sligo in the first half the last day?
I think it'd annoy an awful lot of Mayo people if Roscommon end up winning the final
No it wouldn't, just rising Syfrus with the comment. Seriously though, it will be an interesting game. Pressure on Ros now to deliver a Connacht, they will hopefully have gained confidence from the second half display against Sligo. But Galway, in Salthill, will test their metal.
Before I start on about the game, I'm on my shitty mobile so forgive me if there are spelling mistakes.
I suppose we were beaten up a stick at midfield. Conroy and to a lesser exten but not too lesser Flynn had a field day. Our 'much vaunted' middle third came out second best for most of the game, apart from 10 minutes before halftime. Mayo started off the game by thinking what most of the fans thought, that they had to turn up to win. Galway were playing the best football and could have had an early goal. Realisation probably set in with the majority of fans then that this would be no.walk in the park for us. That continued until the.last 10 minutes of the first half when Mayo rattled off 5 points (I think) in succession. I was pleased to be two up at halftime because I felt that the lacsidasical rustiness had gone with them final firdt half flurry. Indeed, I thought we were in control of the game for the early part of the second half, we were keeping Galway at arms length. Then Conroy's goal came and it sucked the life out of the team. It gave Galway the momentum to go ahead and win the match. Mayo only managed 1 point after that.
I did mention now and again that kicking
Typical Mayo performance. After about 25 min the score was 2-1. While the conditions were poor it wasn't monsoon like conditions to justify that score. Once again no leadership in the forwards, shocking wides and no obvious game plan. Players got the management sacked early on in the year claiming bad management. When will players take responsibility for their performance. Can't blame Connelly and Holmes for today and not management fault if senior inter county forward are frankly incompetent and unable to kick a point
I did mention that kicking wides could prove our downfall. Sadly I was proven correct. What in the name of Christ are they doing in training to rectify this? Our forwards were shocking tonight. Our midfield was badly beaten too. How is a team supposed to win when the front and middle of a team are malfunctioning?
I'm not going to slate individual performances as singling out individuals when our so called big guns let themselves down - to put it mildly, wouldn't be exactly fair.
I'll finish by saying that management have a helluva lot to do to rescue the year.
Harsh, perhaps but I think it's true.
They have not got the 2 high scoring forwards they need to win the all-ireland, been saying that for 2 years, think Murphy/McBearthy, Brogan/Connolly, the bradleys, or even high scoring single threats like McManus, Jamie Clarke, or James O'Donoghue
What were they doing in London for a week
Quote from: mjg on June 18, 2016, 11:05:05 PM
What were they doing in London for a week
sightseeing?
Quote from: Wildweasel74 on June 18, 2016, 10:48:49 PM
They have not got the 2 high scoring forwards they need to win the all-ireland, been saying that for 2 years, think Murphy/McBearthy, Brogan/Connolly, the bradleys, or even high scoring single threats like McManus, Jamie Clarke, or James O'Donoghue
All going well till you mentionrd the Bradleys ;D
I forgot to mention Jason Gibbons and his injury. I hope he recovers well and is back playing soon.
Here if the 2 bradleys had been playing for mayo past 5 years they would have won and all-Ireland, its as simple as that
Quote from: Wildweasel74 on June 18, 2016, 11:30:12 PM
Here if the 2 bradleys had been playing for mayo past 5 years they would have won and all-Ireland, its as simple as that
if the Bradleys had even been playing for Derry for the past 5 years they might have done something of note
Managers wouldn't pick them even though P Bradley top scorer in derry 4 seasons running
Can any Galway lads tell me why Varley can't make the starting 15. Doesn't make sense
Farr I don't know what game you were watching. Neither midfield had a meaningful contest til about the 25min.
All short kick outs by us til then that played into galways hands and allowed the
To filter back in a mass defense.
Only when long kick outs started did we start to get quick balls and scores in.
Our running game was non existent due to the waste of having our best passer of the ball as a duckin sweeper.
However bad the players were tonight the management were worse. Added to this we have no bench.
True highorlow. Fair enough, but I expected our midfield to win.most of the dirty ball too and it nevee happened. I thought AOS looked lost out there too.
Management will have to take the blame for tactics too. Agree re bench,. Goes to show our options are limited with a few injuries unfortunately.
Is this not the manager most Mayo supporters were looking last year??
Quote from: Wildweasel74 on June 19, 2016, 12:29:07 AM
Is this not the manager most Mayo supporters were looking last year??
In fairness that person is still managing a team in the Connacht championship.
Well done to Galway their locomotive is moving now a great win for them and for the Connacht football championship and if Galway play like that again in the final they won't be beaten.
Mayo given a wake up call tonight however they are a group of players that has long since moved on from winning provincial titles it's All Ireland or bust for them and they will be looking to bounce back through the back door I'd say most sides will be hoping to avoid them in the draw.
James horan"where are you now" as......
Quote from: Wildweasel74 on June 18, 2016, 11:30:12 PM
Here if the 2 bradleys had been playing for mayo past 5 years they would have won and all-Ireland, its as simple as that
or Jamie Clarke and Tony Fearon, the terrible twins
Quote from: Farrandeelin on June 19, 2016, 12:20:06 AM
True highorlow. Fair enough, but I expected our midfield to win.most of the dirty ball too and it nevee happened. I thought AOS looked lost out there too.
Management will have to take the blame for tactics too. Agree re bench,. Goes to show our options are limited with a few injuries unfortunately.
Longford was a long time ago. The Mayo team has been on the go for 5 very intense years and strength and conditioning don't score points or generate the will to win. 5 in a row was exceptional.
Galway had a rotten last 8 years. Mayo is the best team beaten in a very long time.
Well back home in the middle of the night and almost incalculable what this win means for Galway football. I had lost faith myself unfortunately and gave them no chance. To receive so many bad beatings down the years to your biggest rivals is hard to take but fair play to the lads. They had enough of it and that was it. No more.
Even for getting lads back from the US next year it means a lot. Connacht final now and it's a division 1 team against a division 2 team. Underdogs again but a great contest in store. Still think Mayo will be knocking around on All-Ireland quarter final weekend.
Thought Declan Kyne gave a marvellous display of intelligent defending by the way.
I had conniptions about Bernard Power early on but his kick outs became increasingly accurate as the game went on. Justified his selection.
Didn't see that result coming but what a performance from Kevin Walsh and his management team and all the Galway players. Mayo were beaten by a much better team on the day. A team that would beat them most of the time on a display like yesterday. Not like Mayo didn t show up either. They were aware of Galways form early in the match and responded before half time as best they could. But they weren t good enough on the day to win themselves.
That performance by Galway should be the focus. They were much better than Mayo and could have won by more. The myth that Galway don't have the players was busted and on yesterday's showing they probably have more quality in their team than Mayo. Their ff line and fb lines were better for starters. I was half expecting something but couldn't have imagined that Galway would be that good.
Plenty thought Mayo needed to put down a few markers. But the longer the game went on who was going to do that? Boyle,Keegan,Parsons etc had their hands full. Evan Regan looked lost when he didn't have the freedom to play. Galway had leaders throughout their team in the forwards. Brannigan,Sice were pure quality and Walsh,Comer had their moments also. Conroy,Flynn won midfield hands down. In defence O Donnell,Silke,Kyne were not fazed by the usual Mayo match winners C O Connor or A O Shea.
Well done Galway. Home advatange and having beaten Mayo in Machale park against the odds should make them favouites to win the Connacht final now.
Fair play Galway, delighted to see ye win and look forward to facing ye in the final. As for Mayo, the players do realise that losing Connacht may be an obstacle to their All Ireland ambitions? ;D ;) Noel and Pat will be laughing ...
The qualifiers favour the strong teams. Mayo will be there in August.
Quote from: seafoid on June 19, 2016, 08:23:55 AM
The qualifiers favour the strong teams. Mayo will be there in August.
Well if Mayo were to make it to August the Leinster or Ulster champions await. Of the teams they could face next round Fermanagh, providing they get through, would be a tricky assignment. And Longford could still be there ... ;)
Quote from: highorlow on June 19, 2016, 12:09:41 AM
Farr I don't know what game you were watching. Neither midfield had a meaningful contest til about the 25min.
All short kick outs by us til then that played into galways hands and allowed the
To filter back in a mass defense.
Only when long kick outs started did we start to get quick balls and scores in.
Our running game was non existent due to the waste of having our best passer of the ball as a duckin sweeper.
However bad the players were tonight the management were worse. Added to this we have no bench.
Running game?
I thought it was football ye were playing?
Quote from: GalwayBayBoy on June 19, 2016, 03:41:05 AM
Well back home in the middle of the night and almost incalculable what this win means for Galway football. I had lost faith myself unfortunately and gave them no chance. To receive so many bad beatings down the years to your biggest rivals is hard to take but fair play to the lads. They had enough of it and that was it. No more.
Even for getting lads back from the US next year it means a lot. Connacht final now and it's a division 1 team against a division 2 team. Underdogs again but a great contest in store. Still think Mayo will be knocking around on All-Ireland quarter final weekend.
Thought Declan Kyne gave a marvellous display of intelligent defending by the way.
I had conniptions about Bernard Power early on but his kick outs became increasingly accurate as the game went on. Justified his selection.
Yawn @ this shite of trying to pass off favouritism lie I it matters. Match is dead even with bookies and it's likely Galway will drift in rather than out playing at home against a team that hasn't beaten them in 15 years. Can we no do the 'no but you're favourites' stuff for once?
Didn't see that one coming and certainly not at half time or 10 minutes into the second half.
Have Mayowestros begun the downward slide that comes to all teams? They didn't seem to have the hunger in the last quarter or is it all part of some cunning plan.....?
Anyone know what the final wide tally was for both sides?
I know Mayo had 10 wides at the half-way mark and Galway had a fairly high number as well.
Mayo need a marquee forward
Quote from: heffo on June 19, 2016, 10:17:11 AM
Mayo need a marquee forward
Would O Shea and O Connor not be classified as marquee forwards? Or is it more hype?
Was baffling why O Shea stayed out around MF for the last few minutes
Quote from: king of leon on June 19, 2016, 10:22:37 AM
Quote from: heffo on June 19, 2016, 10:17:11 AM
Mayo need a marquee forward
they have too many passengers when the game is in the balance
Would O Shea and O Connor not be classified as marquee forwards? Or is it more hype?
Was baffling why O Shea stayed out around MF for the last few minutes
Quote from: ck on June 18, 2016, 11:47:49 PM
Can any Galway lads tell me why Varley can't make the starting 15. Doesn't make sense
I believe Varley was carrying an injury which is why he didn't start.
Don't think he will get back in for the Connacht final ahead of any of the 6 that started yesterday.
Good to see Cathal Sweeney on the bench yesterday.
He had a very good season last year.
Now that the dust has settled maybe a bit of factual accessment of that game would not go astray. It was a very poor quality affair, yes there was a high intensity feel to the last 15 minutes but the standard of general play was below par and some terrible passages of play and poor finishing were the order of the day. I also watched the Laois v Armagh game yesterday and in fairness their was very little differance in the games. A so called big head rolling in Castlebar was the only notable differance. Now dont shoot the messanger.
Quote from: Rossfan on June 19, 2016, 10:04:30 AM
Didn't see that one coming and certainly not at half time or 10 minutes into the second half.
Have Mayowestros begun the downward slide that comes to all teams? They didn't seem to have the hunger in the last quarter or is it all part of some cunning plan.....?
Some Cunning plan to turn down winning another Connacht title, A straight run to the Quarters and avoiding a possible date with Dublin and Kerry until the AI final.
Quote from: giveballaghback on June 19, 2016, 10:42:18 AM
Now that the dust has settled maybe a bit of factual accessment of that game would not go astray. It was a very poor quality affair, yes there was a high intensity feel to the last 15 minutes but the standard of general play was below par and some terrible passages of play and poor finishing were the order of the day. I also watched the Laois v Armagh game yesterday and in fairness their was very little differance in the games. A so called big head rolling in Castlebar was the only notable differance. Now dont shoot the messanger.
Mayo rocked up without a fully formed game plan and the necessary intensity that you need for championship football.
Galway on the other hand had both and that was where the game was won or lost. Galway could and should have been out of sight long before the end but they grew visibly after the goal went in.
Mayo on the other hand were a bit of a shambles. No leadership apart from the excellent Colin Boyle (lucky to escape sanction for a late challenge). A team with so much experience went down without a whimper and that will make the next day out fascinating.
I'd be tempted to blood a few new players in the qualifiers and see where that takes us as a few eager young bucks might inject some energy into the team.
Good luck to Galway in the final and it must be sweet to win in Castlebar after a few bad beatings at the hands of this Mayo team in the last few years.
Where are you now beff?
Mayo won Connaught last year, got to the AI semi finals and pushed the Dubs harder than any other county. They did all that, even though they had a sub par management set up too. They had the players to see them through the lack of professionalism - a phrase often used during their own mgt heave last year - in their own preparations. Galway don't.
We can debate all day long whether the Galway players just lack the basic raw talent, or whether they lack managers who could bring the best out of them, or whether they lack a more professional coaching and preparation set up. It's six of one, half a dozen of another, really. You can ask the same questions about half the teams in the country. Mayo just operate at a much, much higher level than they do, which is why they will win imo.
What was the story with the loud generator sound coming from the bacon factory end yesterday. Very annoying.
Horans piece before match .ha ha!
James Horan doesn't subscribe to the view that the gap b :)etween Mayo and the chasing pack in Connacht is closing.
In fact, the former Mayo manager reckons the opposite is the case.
"I know Kevin Walsh (Galway manager) mentioned that he thinks his side have been closing the gap, but I'd be the opposite. I think the gap is increasing," Horan told Newstalk ahead of tomorrow's Connacht SFC semi-final between Mayo and Galway.
"Galway have lost some very good players as well; Michael Lundy, Johnny Duane and Fiontan Ó Curraoin, the U21 All-Ireland winning captain.
"There's a couple of guys we've seen with Corofin who have a club title and they're not anywhere near the squad. There's usually a huge energy around Galway football, where they were going and what the promise was. You don't sense that anymore.
"You almost sense that the people in Galway think that if they get out of Castlebar with under a ten-point beating, six points beaten, that they'll be happy enough, which is not what Galway used to be. I think it's lost a bit of that competitiveness."
He continued: "I think Mayo are going to be very strong, I think they're stronger than last year with the addition of a number of players. Obviously Diarmuid O'Connor has become the player that he is but you've also got Evan Regan breaking through, you've Stephen Coen who captained the U21 side.
"He's playing very good football. You've got Patrick Durcan back from Castlebar (Mitchels). These are all young progressive, very dynamic players with proven character.
"You've got five or six new guys who appear to be very ready to jump into senior championship football. So when you add that to the experience that is already there and the age profile of the guys that are there are very, very good."
Sound from the bacon factory end was Mayo fans nashing their teeth and sharpening the long knives :D
Was it Prenty and the Connacht Council figuring how much money lost to McHale Pk?
Quote from: twohands!!! on June 19, 2016, 10:11:25 AM
Anyone know what the final wide tally was for both sides?
I know Mayo had 10 wides at the half-way mark and Galway had a fairly high number as well.
Mayo 12 Galway 9 I think it was. Galway created 2 or 3 other goal chances I can't recall Mayo creating any goal chance.
First time since 2008 that Galway bate Mayo. In with a realistic chance Vs Ros . Very different year to the last few.
Quote from: Cunny Funt on June 19, 2016, 12:50:31 PM
Quote from: twohands!!! on June 19, 2016, 10:11:25 AM
Anyone know what the final wide tally was for both sides?
I know Mayo had 10 wides at the half-way mark and Galway had a fairly high number as well.
Mayo 12 Galway 9 I think it was. Galway created 2 or 3 other goal chances I can't recall Mayo creating any goal chance.
Boyler was in on goal in the first half and was taken down outside the box. No black, No yellow? The same happened in the second half to a Galway player - No black, No yellow?
What an evening! Delighted for those lads yesterday, they've had some stick all week about not being good enough and how Mayo only had to show up to win, well that was some answer! Every one of them, including the famous five debutants gave their all for as long as they could, you couldn't fault them for commitment. Plenty to improve on but this will have brought on their confidence in leaps and bounds. A lot has been said about the lads that turned down the chance to join the panel (from myself included!) but you couldn't question the desire and commitment from the lads that were out there yesterday, they went out, did what they were asked and got the job done. Mayo didn't get going at all yesterday, right up til the end I was waiting for a long ball into Aidan O'Shea or for COC throw over a couple of points but they never came. They haven't become a bad team overnight and I'd expect them to get through the qualifiers without too much bother even though some of the tactics were a bit strange I thought, Lee Keegan at full back at one stage?
Will Mayo players now get rid of Rochford? He has been terrible with them and after way the players treated last years management the should be ashamed of themselves.
I am not one bit surprised by yesterday's result. Mayo have no forwards I would say they have one of the worst 5 forward lines in the country. DOC is only forward the have.COC can only hit frees can't score from play simple as. Everyone was on about regan but he has done nothing got man of match in few game he didn't deserve it against Roscommon in the league he scored a goal that should been free out for over carrying and then scores few against a shite Down side and London and everyone thinks he's next big thing. Mayo are finished. Well done Galway and look forward to final should be great game
Well done to Galway posters on here. Their team showed great resolve and hunger. Won comfortably in the end.
I wouldn t mind losing too much but the lack of urgency and game management in last quarter was worrying and unacceptable from a team of this experience. Remember this is the same team that took the fight to Kerry with 14 men 2 years ago.
Against a young team yesterday and playing at home they should have been knocking down the doors yesterday in last 20 mins and Galway should have had their backs to the wall. But they were easily able to keep clear. Similar scenarios developed in league games when even a few points lead against us never looked like being clawed back.
The usual old chestnuts will be thrown out but this game was lost from back to front literally. Yesterday was a system failure and everybody involved needs to take a long hard look at themselves. Yesterday I thought our setup for far too 'clever', experimental and complicated. Inevitably it was poorly executed. When players started to play their natural strengths just before half time we looked like we could boss the game.
I m not optimistic about the qualifiers but you never know. If they have any temper left there has to be a backlash. Changes are needed in approach - we need to go back more to running game- and there is at least one glaring change needed in personnel. Individually a good few Mayo lads played quite well.
I would agree with you moy - Mayo are at their best when they play a hard running game from deep attacking in waves.
They were exceptional playing this way under Horan & it was very difficult to defend against.
Still reckon ye could do well through the qualifiers.
Nobody will fancy drawing ye
Mayo's lack of energy should be cause for concern. Off the pace all over the pitch and actually didn't even look very fit. It's good to see Connaught being injected with something new, but leadership, fighting spirit, and actual will to win was missing with Mayo yesterday. Maybe the qualifiers will force them to shape up if they're serious about salvaging their season, but things are really going to have to improve in their fitness levels and overall attitude. Young O'Connor is the captain now, I see. Now is the time for him to lead by example.
It's a generator for the flood lights
Are we seeing the end of another group of Mayo players who didnt take the opportunity put on a plate?
No point blaming Rochford or indeed Pat Holmes. No more than Galway hurlers with Cunningham the players are taking the easy option if blaming management
Easy to kick the poor Rhus now they're down but if they didn't have so much success we wouldn't be taking so much enjoyment out of them losing. I cringe at the thoughts of what this board would have been saying about our four-in-a-row team back in 1981 when they finally lost their crown.
History was kind to that team and they are regarded as heroes to this day and not as failures. The Dah saw Harry Keegan out around town today and the hushed tones he talked about Harry tells you how the first thing that comes to mind are the great moments and the times everything seemed possible, not the moments when things fell short.
History will probably be kind to this Mayo team too.
Quote from: Syferus on June 19, 2016, 07:04:34 PM
Easy to kick the poor Rhus now they're down but if they didn't have so much success we wouldn't be taking so much enjoyment out of them losing. I cringe at the thoughts of what this board would have been saying about the Earley 4-in-a-row team back in 1981 when they finally lost their crown. History was kind to that team and it probably will be to this Mayo team too.
From what my dad says that was a very unlucky Ros team. Hard to know how history will judge this Mayo team. Because it's a Mayo team, however - I'm not sure 'kind' will be bandied about.
I think its fitting that syf writes the Rhubarb obituary, after all he is their no.1 supporter ;D
Quote from: moysider on June 19, 2016, 03:13:44 PM
Well done to Galway posters on here. Their team showed great resolve and hunger. Won comfortably in the end.
I wouldn t mind losing too much but the lack of urgency and game management in last quarter was worrying and unacceptable from a team of this experience. Remember this is the same team that took the fight to Kerry with 14 men 2 years ago.
Against a young team yesterday and playing at home they should have been knocking down the doors yesterday in last 20 mins and Galway should have had their backs to the wall. But they were easily able to keep clear. Similar scenarios developed in league games when even a few points lead against us never looked like being clawed back.
The usual old chestnuts will be thrown out but this game was lost from back to front literally. Yesterday was a system failure and everybody involved needs to take a long hard look at themselves. Yesterday I thought our setup for far too 'clever', experimental and complicated. Inevitably it was poorly executed. When players started to play their natural strengths just before half time we looked like we could boss the game.
I m not optimistic about the qualifiers but you never know. If they have any temper left there has to be a backlash. Changes are needed in approach - we need to go back more to running game- and there is at least one glaring change needed in personnel. Individually a good few Mayo lads played quite well.
When you win an AI U21 Title. You need to play them.
Simple as.
Mayo could still win Sam. Some personnel changes and anything could happen. I would love to see mayo, Galway and Ros in the semi finals
Quote from: seafoid on June 19, 2016, 09:17:56 PM
Mayo could still win Sam. Some personnel changes and anything could happen. I would love to see mayo, Galway and Ros in the semi finals
Not going to happen so you needn't worry about it
Quote from: Syferus on June 19, 2016, 07:04:34 PM
Easy to kick the poor Rhus now they're down but if they didn't have so much success we wouldn't be taking so much enjoyment out of them losing. I cringe at the thoughts of what this board would have been saying about our four-in-a-row team back in 1981 when they finally lost their crown.
History was kind to that team and they are regarded as heroes to this day and not as failures. The Dah saw Harry Keegan out around town today and the hushed tones he talked about Harry tells you how the first thing that comes to mind are the great moments and the times everything seemed possible, not the moments when things fell short.
History will probably be kind to this Mayo team too.
I'd agree with most of this. They will go down as one of the greatest teams never to win an AI and they have provided neutrals with some of the most exciting games in a bad period for gaelic football.
However if they don't get their act together in the qualifiers then they will be finished as a group a year or two earlier than I expected. The good news for them though is that they have good players coming through to rebuild so they shouldn't be down for long. Good for football in Connaught for Roscommon and Galway to have a chance of silverware and the opportunity to step up a level.
Quote from: Farrandeelin on June 19, 2016, 07:10:18 PM
Quote from: Syferus on June 19, 2016, 07:04:34 PM
Easy to kick the poor Rhus now they're down but if they didn't have so much success we wouldn't be taking so much enjoyment out of them losing. I cringe at the thoughts of what this board would have been saying about the Earley 4-in-a-row team back in 1981 when they finally lost their crown. History was kind to that team and it probably will be to this Mayo team too.
From what my dad says that was a very unlucky Ros team. Hard to know how history will judge this Mayo team. Because it's a Mayo team, however - I'm not sure 'kind' will be bandied about.
That Roscommon team were unlucky to be around when both Dublin and especially Kerry had (not good but) great teams.
As for Mayo, stall on with all the obituaries, we lost one game. We are still in it! On the law of averages we had to lose one game in 8 years to a proud football county like Galway!
Quote from: From the Bunker on June 19, 2016, 09:39:58 PM
Quote from: Farrandeelin on June 19, 2016, 07:10:18 PM
Quote from: Syferus on June 19, 2016, 07:04:34 PM
Easy to kick the poor Rhus now they're down but if they didn't have so much success we wouldn't be taking so much enjoyment out of them losing. I cringe at the thoughts of what this board would have been saying about the Earley 4-in-a-row team back in 1981 when they finally lost their crown. History was kind to that team and it probably will be to this Mayo team too.
From what my dad says that was a very unlucky Ros team. Hard to know how history will judge this Mayo team. Because it's a Mayo team, however - I'm not sure 'kind' will be bandied about.
That Roscommon team were unlucky to be around when both Dublin and especially Kerry had (not good but) great teams.
As for Mayo stall on with all the obituaries, we lost one game. We are still in it! On the law of averages we had to lose one game in 8 years to a proud football county like Galway!
the gap was coming down every year and anyway the qualifiers favour the big teams.
Quote from: seafoid on June 19, 2016, 09:45:19 PM
Quote from: From the Bunker on June 19, 2016, 09:39:58 PM
Quote from: Farrandeelin on June 19, 2016, 07:10:18 PM
Quote from: Syferus on June 19, 2016, 07:04:34 PM
Easy to kick the poor Rhus now they're down but if they didn't have so much success we wouldn't be taking so much enjoyment out of them losing. I cringe at the thoughts of what this board would have been saying about the Earley 4-in-a-row team back in 1981 when they finally lost their crown. History was kind to that team and it probably will be to this Mayo team too.
From what my dad says that was a very unlucky Ros team. Hard to know how history will judge this Mayo team. Because it's a Mayo team, however - I'm not sure 'kind' will be bandied about.
That Roscommon team were unlucky to be around when both Dublin and especially Kerry had (not good but) great teams.
As for Mayo stall on with all the obituaries, we lost one game. We are still in it! On the law of averages we had to lose one game in 8 years to a proud football county like Galway!
the gap was coming down every year and anyway the qualifiers favour the big teams.
As a Galway fan you'd be hoping Galway were moving up closing the gap rather than Mayo coming down. It's of no benefit in the scheme of things Galway finally beating Mayo if mayo are still not a force and Galway heading out of Connacht for a hiding. One sparrow does not make a summer, but it can be the sign of the start of summer.
Quote from: INDIANA on June 19, 2016, 09:14:07 PM
Quote from: moysider on June 19, 2016, 03:13:44 PM
Well done to Galway posters on here. Their team showed great resolve and hunger. Won comfortably in the end.
I wouldn t mind losing too much but the lack of urgency and game management in last quarter was worrying and unacceptable from a team of this experience. Remember this is the same team that took the fight to Kerry with 14 men 2 years ago.
Against a young team yesterday and playing at home they should have been knocking down the doors yesterday in last 20 mins and Galway should have had their backs to the wall. But they were easily able to keep clear. Similar scenarios developed in league games when even a few points lead against us never looked like being clawed back.
The usual old chestnuts will be thrown out but this game was lost from back to front literally. Yesterday was a system failure and everybody involved needs to take a long hard look at themselves. Yesterday I thought our setup for far too 'clever', experimental and complicated. Inevitably it was poorly executed. When players started to play their natural strengths just before half time we looked like we could boss the game.
I m not optimistic about the qualifiers but you never know. If they have any temper left there has to be a backlash. Changes are needed in approach - we need to go back more to running game- and there is at least one glaring change needed in personnel. Individually a good few Mayo lads played quite well.
When you win an AI U21 Title. You need to play them.
Simple as.
The ones that were able for it and fit were playing. It was those lads that dragged a limited enough U21 side to the title. We won t be getting many more seniors out of that side.
Really looking forward to reading Martin Brehony s insightful colum in tomorrows Sindo.Probably has it written since last october.
Totally agree on u21's, bigger issue is lack of forward coaching over last five years to seven years, incredible to think we have maybe one forward who has progress from minor level to senior, truly pathetic. I would love to know who has that detail, as I feel they have failed miserably
This group of seniors owe nothing to Mayo fans they have been incredible.
The BS about H and C from last year is nonsense, Anybody who thinks differently should look at Peter Canavans analysis yesterday on Mayo V Dublin last year.
Having said that Mayo looked listless after ten minutes and it did not change much for hour and ten minutes.
Best to forget it, I also fear for the back door, we may win a game and then mail it in just like a tired Donegal did in 2013
Quote from: moysider on June 19, 2016, 10:01:35 PM
Quote from: INDIANA on June 19, 2016, 09:14:07 PM
Quote from: moysider on June 19, 2016, 03:13:44 PM
Well done to Galway posters on here. Their team showed great resolve and hunger. Won comfortably in the end.
I wouldn t mind losing too much but the lack of urgency and game management in last quarter was worrying and unacceptable from a team of this experience. Remember this is the same team that took the fight to Kerry with 14 men 2 years ago.
Against a young team yesterday and playing at home they should have been knocking down the doors yesterday in last 20 mins and Galway should have had their backs to the wall. But they were easily able to keep clear. Similar scenarios developed in league games when even a few points lead against us never looked like being clawed back.
The usual old chestnuts will be thrown out but this game was lost from back to front literally. Yesterday was a system failure and everybody involved needs to take a long hard look at themselves. Yesterday I thought our setup for far too 'clever', experimental and complicated. Inevitably it was poorly executed. When players started to play their natural strengths just before half time we looked like we could boss the game.
I m not optimistic about the qualifiers but you never know. If they have any temper left there has to be a backlash. Changes are needed in approach - we need to go back more to running game- and there is at least one glaring change needed in personnel. Individually a good few Mayo lads played quite well.
When you win an AI U21 Title. You need to play them.
Simple as.
The ones that were able for it and fit were playing. It was those lads that dragged a limited enough U21 side to the title. We won t be getting many more seniors out of that side.
They didn't start DOC - bizarre stuff. Loftus as well. You're going back to players who were never good enough to begin with.
These guys migth be good enough.
D.O connor had his first full training session last tuesday in 4 weeks and Loftus pulled a hamstring against London so was unfit to play but carry on and don't let any facts get in the way of your postings
Quote from: INDIANA on June 19, 2016, 10:37:39 PM
Quote from: moysider on June 19, 2016, 10:01:35 PM
Quote from: INDIANA on June 19, 2016, 09:14:07 PM
Quote from: moysider on June 19, 2016, 03:13:44 PM
Well done to Galway posters on here. Their team showed great resolve and hunger. Won comfortably in the end.
I wouldn t mind losing too much but the lack of urgency and game management in last quarter was worrying and unacceptable from a team of this experience. Remember this is the same team that took the fight to Kerry with 14 men 2 years ago.
Against a young team yesterday and playing at home they should have been knocking down the doors yesterday in last 20 mins and Galway should have had their backs to the wall. But they were easily able to keep clear. Similar scenarios developed in league games when even a few points lead against us never looked like being clawed back.
The usual old chestnuts will be thrown out but this game was lost from back to front literally. Yesterday was a system failure and everybody involved needs to take a long hard look at themselves. Yesterday I thought our setup for far too 'clever', experimental and complicated. Inevitably it was poorly executed. When players started to play their natural strengths just before half time we looked like we could boss the game.
I m not optimistic about the qualifiers but you never know. If they have any temper left there has to be a backlash. Changes are needed in approach - we need to go back more to running game- and there is at least one glaring change needed in personnel. Individually a good few Mayo lads played quite well.
When you win an AI U21 Title. You need to play them.
Simple as.
The ones that were able for it and fit were playing. It was those lads that dragged a limited enough U21 side to the title. We won t be getting many more seniors out of that side.
They didn't start DOC - bizarre stuff. Loftus as well. You're going back to players who were never good enough to begin with.
These guys migth be good enough.
DOC wasn't fit to start. Loftus got a hamstring injury v London.
Quote from: INDIANA on June 19, 2016, 10:37:39 PM
Quote from: moysider on June 19, 2016, 10:01:35 PM
Quote from: INDIANA on June 19, 2016, 09:14:07 PM
Quote from: moysider on June 19, 2016, 03:13:44 PM
Well done to Galway posters on here. Their team showed great resolve and hunger. Won comfortably in the end.
I wouldn t mind losing too much but the lack of urgency and game management in last quarter was worrying and unacceptable from a team of this experience. Remember this is the same team that took the fight to Kerry with 14 men 2 years ago.
Against a young team yesterday and playing at home they should have been knocking down the doors yesterday in last 20 mins and Galway should have had their backs to the wall. But they were easily able to keep clear. Similar scenarios developed in league games when even a few points lead against us never looked like being clawed back.
The usual old chestnuts will be thrown out but this game was lost from back to front literally. Yesterday was a system failure and everybody involved needs to take a long hard look at themselves. Yesterday I thought our setup for far too 'clever', experimental and complicated. Inevitably it was poorly executed. When players started to play their natural strengths just before half time we looked like we could boss the game.
I m not optimistic about the qualifiers but you never know. If they have any temper left there has to be a backlash. Changes are needed in approach - we need to go back more to running game- and there is at least one glaring change needed in personnel. Individually a good few Mayo lads played quite well.
When you win an AI U21 Title. You need to play them.
Simple as.
The ones that were able for it and fit were playing. It was those lads that dragged a limited enough U21 side to the title. We won t be getting many more seniors out of that side.
They didn't start DOC - bizarre stuff. Loftus as well. You're going back to players who were never good enough to begin with.
These guys migth be good enough.
DOC is coming back from injury. Had his first full training session on Tuesday. If he started last night in wet conditions and got injured, we'd all be saying jez that was silly!
Quote from: INDIANA on June 19, 2016, 10:37:39 PM
Quote from: moysider on June 19, 2016, 10:01:35 PM
Quote from: INDIANA on June 19, 2016, 09:14:07 PM
Quote from: moysider on June 19, 2016, 03:13:44 PM
Well done to Galway posters on here. Their team showed great resolve and hunger. Won comfortably in the end.
I wouldn t mind losing too much but the lack of urgency and game management in last quarter was worrying and unacceptable from a team of this experience. Remember this is the same team that took the fight to Kerry with 14 men 2 years ago.
Against a young team yesterday and playing at home they should have been knocking down the doors yesterday in last 20 mins and Galway should have had their backs to the wall. But they were easily able to keep clear. Similar scenarios developed in league games when even a few points lead against us never looked like being clawed back.
The usual old chestnuts will be thrown out but this game was lost from back to front literally. Yesterday was a system failure and everybody involved needs to take a long hard look at themselves. Yesterday I thought our setup for far too 'clever', experimental and complicated. Inevitably it was poorly executed. When players started to play their natural strengths just before half time we looked like we could boss the game.
I m not optimistic about the qualifiers but you never know. If they have any temper left there has to be a backlash. Changes are needed in approach - we need to go back more to running game- and there is at least one glaring change needed in personnel. Individually a good few Mayo lads played quite well.
When you win an AI U21 Title. You need to play them.
Simple as.
The ones that were able for it and fit were playing. It was those lads that dragged a limited enough U21 side to the title. We won t be getting many more seniors out of that side.
They didn't start DOC - bizarre stuff. Loftus as well. You're going back to players who were never good enough to begin with.
These guys migth be good enough.
O Connor would be one of first name on team sheet but was injured. In hindsight maybe he could have been started. Loftus also injured and not sure he's ready yet anyway.
Mayo had 4 new starters in that side yesterday and they did decent. Meanwhile one of the older players (Boyle) was easily our best player on the night. It's the sum of the parts that didn t add up.
I could see what the management had in mind tactically but it failed miserably. McLoughlin should never have been taken out of hf line. For years some of us wanted Higgins taken out of corner and played in hb line but at one stage in first half he was playing back to goal as one of the inside 3!!. Think management might have been trying to be a bit too clever. Reverse the Higgins and McLoughlin roles and we might have been onto something. I d be amazed if that is not how we go next day out. Also showed Galway too much respect from start by not pressing up on their kick-outs and making them kick long.
Quote from: joemamas on June 19, 2016, 10:36:55 PM
Totally agree on u21's, bigger issue is lack of forward coaching over last five years to seven years, incredible to think we have maybe one forward who has progress from minor level to senior, truly pathetic. I would love to know who has that detail, as I feel they have failed miserably
This group of seniors owe nothing to Mayo fans they have been incredible.
The BS about H and C from last year is nonsense, Anybody who thinks differently should look at Peter Canavans analysis yesterday on Mayo V Dublin last year.
Having said that Mayo looked listless after ten minutes and it did not change much for hour and ten minutes.
Best to forget it, I also fear for the back door, we may win a game and then mail it in just like a tired Donegal did in 2013
Where did he write that? There's been enough hot air generated by the likes of Eugene McGee and Colm O'Rourke and their ilk about the removal of H&C and the effrontery of the players involved, to power Sellafield for a week. Chancers without a clue of what went on and were too lazy to go and find out.
I'd love find out what Peter the Great had to say on the subject. As an analyst, he's miles in front of the gobdaws I've mentioned.
Quote from: Lar Naparka on June 19, 2016, 11:03:09 PM
Quote from: joemamas on June 19, 2016, 10:36:55 PM
Totally agree on u21's, bigger issue is lack of forward coaching over last five years to seven years, incredible to think we have maybe one forward who has progress from minor level to senior, truly pathetic. I would love to know who has that detail, as I feel they have failed miserably
This group of seniors owe nothing to Mayo fans they have been incredible.
The BS about H and C from last year is nonsense, Anybody who thinks differently should look at Peter Canavans analysis yesterday on Mayo V Dublin last year.
Having said that Mayo looked listless after ten minutes and it did not change much for hour and ten minutes.
Best to forget it, I also fear for the back door, we may win a game and then mail it in just like a tired Donegal did in 2013
Where did he write that? There's been enough hot air generated by the likes of Eugene McGee and Colm O'Rourke and their ilk about the removal of H&C and the effrontery of the players involved, to power Sellafield for a week. Chancers without a clue of what went on and were too lazy to go and find out.
I'd love find out what Peter the Great had to say on the subject. As an analyst, he's miles in front of the gobdaws I've mentioned.
good luck with the tour of Ireland
I hope ye met Longford or Westmeath.
Quote from: Lar Naparka on June 19, 2016, 11:03:09 PM
Quote from: joemamas on June 19, 2016, 10:36:55 PM
Totally agree on u21's, bigger issue is lack of forward coaching over last five years to seven years, incredible to think we have maybe one forward who has progress from minor level to senior, truly pathetic. I would love to know who has that detail, as I feel they have failed miserably
This group of seniors owe nothing to Mayo fans they have been incredible.
The BS about H and C from last year is nonsense, Anybody who thinks differently should look at Peter Canavans analysis yesterday on Mayo V Dublin last year.
Having said that Mayo looked listless after ten minutes and it did not change much for hour and ten minutes.
Best to forget it, I also fear for the back door, we may win a game and then mail it in just like a tired Donegal did in 2013
Where did he write that? There's been enough hot air generated by the likes of Eugene McGee and Colm O'Rourke and their ilk about the removal of H&C and the effrontery of the players involved, to power Sellafield for a week. Chancers without a clue of what went on and were too lazy to go and find out.
I'd love find out what Peter the Great had to say on the subject. As an analyst, he's miles in front of the gobdaws I've mentioned.
All goes back to Autumn 2014 when Paddy Mac and a few other officers of the board, who had the responsibility for the future of a damn good senior team in their hands after James Horan left. They acted with a duplicity that would have put medieval cardinals in conclave to shame.
As a result we ve ended up with managers that got the gig by default. It's been damaging. Hopefully Rochford can recover from yesterday's nightmare ( it was a nightmare; I wouldn't like to have to stand over yesterdays effort).
Quote from: From the Bunker on June 19, 2016, 09:39:58 PM
Quote from: Farrandeelin on June 19, 2016, 07:10:18 PM
Quote from: Syferus on June 19, 2016, 07:04:34 PM
Easy to kick the poor Rhus now they're down but if they didn't have so much success we wouldn't be taking so much enjoyment out of them losing. I cringe at the thoughts of what this board would have been saying about the Earley 4-in-a-row team back in 1981 when they finally lost their crown. History was kind to that team and it probably will be to this Mayo team too.
From what my dad says that was a very unlucky Ros team. Hard to know how history will judge this Mayo team. Because it's a Mayo team, however - I'm not sure 'kind' will be bandied about.
That Roscommon team were unlucky to be around when both Dublin and especially Kerry had (not good but) great teams.
As for Mayo, stall on with all the obituaries, we lost one game. We are still in it! On the law of averages we had to lose one game in 8 years to a proud football county like Galway!
That's part of Mao's problem, they think medals should be handed out in turn.
After watching the highlights on the Sunday game the lack of urgency in our performance yesterday just seems more obvious. Bar the 7-8 mins before half time where we rattled off 5 pts on the trot, everything about our performance was sluggish, work rate, support running, decision making etc. It all just looked laboured, casual looking even. Tactically we looked all over the place, too many positional switches, players looking uncertain as to where they were supposed to be or what they were supposed to be doing. Again the lack of urgency could be a factor, guys not being swtiched on enough, not focused on what was going on. Our scoring situation is not improving, 8 pts from 18 chances in the first half with only one forward scoring from play the entire game and no clear effort on goal tells its own story. A lot of areas to work on, really hope we can go some way to sort it out in the next three weeks.
On another note I know all teams have injury problems but ours seem to be chronic at the moment. You'd have to wonder how much training SO'S, DO'C, Parsons and Vaughan had under there belts up to yesterday. With Barry and Conor Loftus missing, and the rumour I heard in McHale park yesterday that Caff's season could be over you'd wonder why we see to be having such a bad run of it to key players. Sick bay hasn't been clear since the beginning of the year! :-\
Been wondering about the near-constant injury problems in the Mayo squad myself. This is a strength and conditioning issue.
Quote from: ZeitChrist on June 20, 2016, 03:00:26 AM
Been wondering about the near-constant injury problems in the Mayo squad myself. This is a strength and conditioning issue.
maybe there is a limit to what sandc can do.
I was listening to a rugby coach.
He was saying that modern sport is so intense even at amateur level.
He spoke of the five year cycle where teams start to breakdown with injury and you need a strong bench to replace players.
It doesnt help that Mayo have struggled to score from play.
But has the fun gone out of sport for many players
Do Mayo fans think Rochford should stay on? if so why? IMO Mayo have gone back so far since he took over its frightening he is way out of his dept.
What is going on with Aidan O'Shea and COC both were terrible again, All Aidan seems to do is want talk to media and rumours of him trying to pick the team and not been happy the brothers weren't starting circling dont sound good when he was one main players that removed previous management.
COC although I never rated him he is highly rated in Mayo how many wides did he kick? Don't know how he is Captain and how he lasted the 70mins he does nothing from play and wouldn't score in whore house during play.
When Mayo have Zero forwards where are lads like Liam Irwin? Regan is NOT county standard got man of match against a shite down and London sides and against us because he scored a goal that should have been a free out for over carrying and people reckoned he was next big thing.
The lads need to quit this game 2 of 6 bullshit and sit down now a realize this is year 1 of a 5 year plan.
Well that was very disappointing... the worst Mayo championship display since Longford 2010.
It's worrying and puzzling because Rochford's strengths were supposed to be his attention to detail, his planning, his intrinsic knowledge of the opposition and how to set his team up to play against them.
There was very little evidence of that on Sat evening, the team looked under-prepared both in terms of fitness (cramping up with 20 mins left) and in terms of a game plan, with a lot of players seemingly unsure of what they were supposed to be doing.
Hopefully we can recover through the qualifiers, in fairness we reeled them in and went 5 points up at one stage so the ability is still there.
But there's a lot of honest self-assessment needed for management and players. They have given a huge commitment over the past number of years and given huge enjoyment to supporters, so I hope they can rouse themselves to give it another real go.
Well done Galway, they really celebrated that win - players shouldered off the pitch, "The Fields of Athenry" being sung, it's a long time since there scenes like that for a Connacht semi-final win. There should be similar scenes for whichever teams wins the final which will be good to see.
Ultimate goal is playing well in August and September - a poor display in June is little to worry about.
Of course it's not the ideal route on paper, but it might turn out to be. Senan Connell made a good point in the after-match analysis - the rest of the season will be decided by the attitude of the players when they meet up next. Not a lot the management can do about that. I expect them to knuckle down and treat this as a great opportunity to build momentum.
Could well end up facing the Dubs in the quarter-final. And they'd probably have a better chance in that than meeting the Dubs in the final. They will be under-estimated by all in that match (including the Dubs players) because of what happened on Saturday - no matter what improvements they show in between.
Management has to sort out where to play Higgins and AOS.
Has Cillian played any club games since London? It was his worst performance that I can remember, but the extra games in the qualifiers will surely do him good and I don't doubt he'll be back to Mr Reliable by the time August comes around. And the brother was obviously a huge loss.
They will be vulnerable in the next round, but there's not a whole heap to worry about in potential opponents. Get over that and I've no doubt they'll be in the quarter-finals. Equally I've no doubt they'll beat Galway or Roscommon should they cross paths in the All Ireland series. Still as short as 10/1 with the bookies for the All Ireland, compared to Donegal, Galway, Monaghan, Roscommon all 22/1+.
A great and very important win for us on Sat evening. Some immense performances all around the pitch and delighted with how all the new lads performed. Flynn's goal gave the team that boost of confidence that the game was there for the winning and the last 20 mins was quite impressive with some great scores. I was honestly surprised that Mayo couldn't / didn't respond during that period and they didn't seem as fit as Galway? Maybe they have the training tailored for later in the year and I would fully expect them to be around for the quarter finals in Aug and possibly beyond.
Quote from: Tubberman on June 20, 2016, 09:14:42 AM
Well that was very disappointing... the worst Mayo championship display since London 2010.
It's worrying and puzzling because Rochford's strengths were supposed to be his attention to detail, his planning, his intrinsic knowledge of the opposition and how to set his team up to play against them.
There was very little evidence of that on Sat evening, the team looked under-prepared both in terms of fitness (cramping up with 20 mins left) and in terms of a game plan, with a lot of players seemingly unsure of what they were supposed to be doing.
Hopefully we can recover through the qualifiers, in fairness we reeled them in and went 5 points up at one stage so the ability is still there.
But there's a lot of honest self-assessment needed for management and players. They have given a huge commitment over the past number of years and given huge enjoyment to supporters, so I hope they can rouse themselves to give it another real go.
Well done Galway, they really celebrated that win - players shouldered off the pitch, "The Fields of Athenry" being sung, it's a long time since there scenes like that for a Connacht semi-final win. There should be similar scenes for whichever teams wins the final which will be good to see.
Surely Longford was worse
Quote from: seafoid on June 20, 2016, 09:45:22 AM
Quote from: Tubberman on June 20, 2016, 09:14:42 AM
Well that was very disappointing... the worst Mayo championship display since London 2010.
It's worrying and puzzling because Rochford's strengths were supposed to be his attention to detail, his planning, his intrinsic knowledge of the opposition and how to set his team up to play against them.
There was very little evidence of that on Sat evening, the team looked under-prepared both in terms of fitness (cramping up with 20 mins left) and in terms of a game plan, with a lot of players seemingly unsure of what they were supposed to be doing.
Hopefully we can recover through the qualifiers, in fairness we reeled them in and went 5 points up at one stage so the ability is still there.
But there's a lot of honest self-assessment needed for management and players. They have given a huge commitment over the past number of years and given huge enjoyment to supporters, so I hope they can rouse themselves to give it another real go.
Well done Galway, they really celebrated that win - players shouldered off the pitch, "The Fields of Athenry" being sung, it's a long time since there scenes like that for a Connacht semi-final win. There should be similar scenes for whichever teams wins the final which will be good to see.
Surely Longford was worse
Woops I meant Longford 2010, London was 2011 and at least we escaped that one!
If Mayo have the right attitude they can win the all Ireland . Galway had a similar experience when Ros beat them in the first round in 2001 but they used it as motivation. Mayo might pick up a forward or two on the scenic route.
Quote from: Tubberman on June 20, 2016, 09:14:42 AM
Well that was very disappointing... the worst Mayo championship display since Longford 2010.
It's worrying and puzzling because Rochford's strengths were supposed to be his attention to detail, his planning, his intrinsic knowledge of the opposition and how to set his team up to play against them.
There was very little evidence of that on Sat evening, the team looked under-prepared both in terms of fitness (cramping up with 20 mins left) and in terms of a game plan, with a lot of players seemingly unsure of what they were supposed to be doing.
Hopefully we can recover through the qualifiers, in fairness we reeled them in and went 5 points up at one stage so the ability is still there.
But there's a lot of honest self-assessment needed for management and players. They have given a huge commitment over the past number of years and given huge enjoyment to supporters, so I hope they can rouse themselves to give it another real go.
Well done Galway, they really celebrated that win - players shouldered off the pitch, "The Fields of Athenry" being sung, it's a long time since there scenes like that for a Connacht semi-final win. There should be similar scenes for whichever teams wins the final which will be good to see.
It's just Game 4 for us.
QuoteAfter watching the highlights on the Sunday game the lack of urgency in our performance yesterday just seems more obvious. Bar the 7-8 mins before half time where we rattled off 5 pts on the trot, everything about our performance was sluggish, work rate, support running, decision making etc.
Yes very worrying from that perspective. Over the last 5 years in Connacht (apart from that London game) our lads came out all guns blazing and almost played with a sort of frenzy. No sign of that the other night and you would wonder is it gone?
Quote from: seafoid on June 20, 2016, 10:02:21 AM
If Mayo have the right attitude they can win the all Ireland . Galway had a similar experience when Ros beat them in the first round in 2001 but they used it as motivation. Mayo might pick up a forward or two on the scenic route.
Galway also had a team who'd won the AI three years previously - no comparison imo
Quote from: heffo on June 20, 2016, 12:10:04 PM
Quote from: seafoid on June 20, 2016, 10:02:21 AM
If Mayo have the right attitude they can win the all Ireland . Galway had a similar experience when Ros beat them in the first round in 2001 but they used it as motivation. Mayo might pick up a forward or two on the scenic route.
Galway also had a team who'd won the AI three years previously - no comparison imo
Mayo should have won the all Ireland at least once in recent years so it is valid imo
1st thing i d say it was just one of those days for Both Mayo and Galway , some of their windiest players had great days and some of mayos most reliable had stinkers
This Mayo team is old enough and bold enough to Put a bad day behind them.
your not going to win many games shooting 10 wides in the 1st half and that just took the wind out of their sails in the 2nd as Galway improved ,
Lets keep the faith while were in the championship any way , then the back biting and recriminations can commence
Has anyone mentioned the player coup-d'etat yet? That normally gets an airing fairly quickly after a result like that.
Very poor application on Saturday evening was my viewing of it. Lets call a spade a spade, the game was won with 10 mins gone in the second half, we should have been easing away but didn't steady the ship after the goal.
With the right attitude a run in the qualifiers could do us the world of good but we don't have a great track record in the qualifiers which is why it scares the bejaysus out of most of us. However these lads have NEVER played in the qualifiers, Longford is a distant memory.
The big negatives from Saturday:
- The team as a whole, where were the leaders after the galway goal, just get ur hands on the ball and steady the ship FFS
- Hennelly - FFS what does he have to do to get dropped. Its at least one major mistake in every big game
- Regan - great showing and winning of the ball but zero end product. There seems to be so much there but its like he doesn't realise that he needs to stay on his feet and protect the ball. Needs to be taken aside by a good coach because its clear the raw talent is there but we need him to cop on.
- Cillian - seemed on Saturday to have stopped the lethal passes he used to make in order to take his own shots. Very poor
- Rochford - It was like he was shell shocked. It was clearly moving away from us after their goal, where was DOC, Andy and Freeman? Why were there two lads dead on their feet in the full back line?
Quote from: GaillimhIarthair on June 20, 2016, 09:36:01 AM
A great and very important win for us on Sat evening. Some immense performances all around the pitch and delighted with how all the new lads performed. Flynn's goal gave the team that boost of confidence that the game was there for the winning and the last 20 mins was quite impressive with some great scores. I was honestly surprised that Mayo couldn't / didn't respond during that period and they didn't seem as fit as Galway? Maybe they have the training tailored for later in the year and I would fully expect them to be around for the quarter finals in Aug and possibly beyond.
I can't imagine that Mayo were not fit or conditioned correctly. They've been way ahead of the rest of Connacht at the very least in terms of physical conditioning over the past 5 or 6 years. I just think in the life cycle of any side there are only so many times they can go back to the well to try and win a game when it's put up to them. Mayo just couldn't seem to summon the reserves the last day and Galway were also probably more organised defensively than they've been for a long time. Once Galway got the goal and a few points after I expected a huge Mayo push but it never really materialised and Galway held on fairly comfortably in the end. Would not write Mayo off though. Hard to see that many sides in the qualifiers who could beat them. Granted nobody thought Galway would either.
Quote from: moysider on June 19, 2016, 11:17:49 PM
Quote from: Lar Naparka on June 19, 2016, 11:03:09 PM
Quote from: joemamas on June 19, 2016, 10:36:55 PM
Totally agree on u21's, bigger issue is lack of forward coaching over last five years to seven years, incredible to think we have maybe one forward who has progress from minor level to senior, truly pathetic. I would love to know who has that detail, as I feel they have failed miserably
This group of seniors owe nothing to Mayo fans they have been incredible.
The BS about H and C from last year is nonsense, Anybody who thinks differently should look at Peter Canavans analysis yesterday on Mayo V Dublin last year.
Having said that Mayo looked listless after ten minutes and it did not change much for hour and ten minutes.
Best to forget it, I also fear for the back door, we may win a game and then mail it in just like a tired Donegal did in 2013
Where did he write that? There's been enough hot air generated by the likes of Eugene McGee and Colm O'Rourke and their ilk about the removal of H&C and the effrontery of the players involved, to power Sellafield for a week. Chancers without a clue of what went on and were too lazy to go and find out.
I'd love find out what Peter the Great had to say on the subject. As an analyst, he's miles in front of the gobdaws I've mentioned.
All goes back to Autumn 2014 when Paddy Mac and a few other officers of the board, who had the responsibility for the future of a damn good senior team in their hands after James Horan left. They acted with a duplicity that would have put medieval cardinals in conclave to shame.
As a result we ve ended up with managers that got the gig by default. It's been damaging. Hopefully Rochford can recover from yesterday's nightmare ( it was a nightmare; I wouldn't like to have to stand over yesterdays effort).
I know moy. I've been able to piece together a good deal of what led to the parting pof the ways and, without wishing Noel and Pateen any harm, I back the players 100%.
What bugs me is the way the likes of McGee and O'Rourke, amongst others, waded into the controversy to give their tuppence worth without having an effin' clue of what went on.
McGee had over half a page in his Indo column that started by saying that details were not available to hand but...
Then the hoor went on to spout a load of bile even though he had professed he knew nothing about what went on. But what really goat my goat was one of the closing paragraphs that began with "In the absence of hard facts, we are entitled to believe..."
Now if the bustard had taken the trouble to read the previous day's Sindo, he'd find a pretty detailed and accurate summary of events...
O'Rourke had a picture of a dejected Keith Higgins sitting on his bum in the aftermath of the loss to Dublin last year with the caption, "Keith Higgins, the best Mayo defender for years. Whose fault was it that he got skinned by Paddy Andrews?"
Any fool could have told him that it was the management's fault that nothing was done to counteract this. (Assuming one would agree with what he said.)
There would have been no public controversy and no guarantee that H&C would have been forced to walk the plank if some frigger on the county board hadn't leaked the contents of the players' letter to the executive.
Dunno what happened on Saturday and I'm too shagged to talk about it but we'll sort things out in our own good time and the fine team hasn't gone away just yet.
The performances of the 5 Galway debutants was also a big factor in the win. What everyone thought would be a big weakness to be exploited turned into a strength on the day. The keeper and both corner backs making their championship debuts. Kyne at full-back may as well have been also. Think he had played only 2 minutes of championship football before. All played well. Power in goal looks like he wintered well but his kickouts were generally excellent and I'm sure that's the main reason he was promoted from the Galway junior team. It was a big problem area for Galway during the league. Eamon Brannigan up front kicked 0-3 from play on his debut. Heaney scored 0-1 although probably should have scored a goal from that chance he had. Couldn't have asked for much more from the debutants.
Quote from: GalwayBayBoy on June 20, 2016, 12:54:27 PM
Quote from: GaillimhIarthair on June 20, 2016, 09:36:01 AM
A great and very important win for us on Sat evening. Some immense performances all around the pitch and delighted with how all the new lads performed. Flynn's goal gave the team that boost of confidence that the game was there for the winning and the last 20 mins was quite impressive with some great scores. I was honestly surprised that Mayo couldn't / didn't respond during that period and they didn't seem as fit as Galway? Maybe they have the training tailored for later in the year and I would fully expect them to be around for the quarter finals in Aug and possibly beyond.
I can't imagine that Mayo were not fit or conditioned correctly. They've been way ahead of the rest of Connacht at the very least in terms of physical conditioning over the past 5 or 6 years. I just think in the life cycle of any side there are only so many times they can go back to the well to try and win a game when it's put up to them. Mayo just couldn't seem to summon the reserves the last day and Galway were also probably more organised defensively than they've been for a long time. Once Galway got the goal and a few points after I expected a huge Mayo push but it never really materialised and Galway held on fairly comfortably in the end. Would not write Mayo off though. Hard to see that many sides in the qualifiers who could beat them. Granted nobody thought Galway would either.
Yeah, I would normally have the same opinion GBB in terms of Mayo's conditioning as its definitely one area where they have excelled in the past but they just seemed out on their feet for the last quarter. Maybe it was just a general malaise thru the team on Sat evening or they are tailored towards later in the year and thought they had the reserves already in the tank to get through this one comfortably enough, as did most people. They will have a big say yet before the year is out though, but still probably lacking the fire-power to grab sam.
Quote from: Mayo4Sam on June 20, 2016, 12:39:11 PM
With the right attitude a run in the qualifiers could do us the world of good but we don't have a great track record in the qualifiers which is why it scares the bejaysus out of most of us. However these lads have NEVER played in the qualifiers, Longford is a distant memory.
D Clarke; C Barrett, G Cafferkey; D Vaughan, K Higgins, K McLoughlin; S O'Shea,; A Moran, A O'Shea, A Dillon;, B Moran, A Freeman, T Parsons all played that qualifier against Longford and all will likely play in this years qualifiers.
Quote from: AZOffaly on June 20, 2016, 12:38:18 PM
Has anyone mentioned the player coup-d'etat yet? That normally gets an airing fairly quickly after a result like that.
Not really, as I would say based on a lot reports from last year, the co- managers seemed to be in over their skis.
In addition, this is not a fly by night group of footballers, they have been on the road for six years and have dedicated a ton of time and effort to reach the summit, unfortunately it seems as far away as ever now.
Quote from: Lar Naparka on June 19, 2016, 11:03:09 PM
Quote from: joemamas on June 19, 2016, 10:36:55 PM
Totally agree on u21's, bigger issue is lack of forward coaching over last five years to seven years, incredible to think we have maybe one forward who has progress from minor level to senior, truly pathetic. I would love to know who has that detail, as I feel they have failed miserably
This group of seniors owe nothing to Mayo fans they have been incredible.
The BS about H and C from last year is nonsense, Anybody who thinks differently should look at Peter Canavans analysis yesterday on Mayo V Dublin last year.
Having said that Mayo looked listless after ten minutes and it did not change much for hour and ten minutes.
Best to forget it, I also fear for the back door, we may win a game and then mail it in just like a tired Donegal did in 2013
Where did he write that? There's been enough hot air generated by the likes of Eugene McGee and Colm O'Rourke and their ilk about the removal of H&C and the effrontery of the players involved, to power Sellafield for a week. Chancers without a clue of what went on and were too lazy to go and find out.
I'd love find out what Peter the Great had to say on the subject. As an analyst, he's miles in front of the gobdaws I've mentioned.
Peter Canavan gave an in studio analysis on Sky Saturday, on how naive/poorly Mayo were set up last year.
Bigger issue Lar is bigger issue is lack of forward coaching over last five years to seven years, incredible to think we have maybe one forward who has progress from minor level to senior, truly pathetic. I would love to know who has that detail, as I feel they have failed miserably.
This should be a topic for the "county board to address", if it is not addressed, we may be having the same conversation in another ten years. Forward play comes down to good football skills and good coaching at u16 and u 18 level. In Mayo by all accounts the focus appears to be elsewhere.
Quote from: Cunny Funt on June 20, 2016, 01:51:06 PM
Quote from: Mayo4Sam on June 20, 2016, 12:39:11 PM
With the right attitude a run in the qualifiers could do us the world of good but we don't have a great track record in the qualifiers which is why it scares the bejaysus out of most of us. However these lads have NEVER played in the qualifiers, Longford is a distant memory.
D Clarke; C Barrett, G Cafferkey; D Vaughan, K Higgins, K McLoughlin; S O'Shea,; A Moran, A O'Shea, A Dillon;, B Moran, A Freeman, T Parsons all played that qualifier against Longford and all will likely play in this years qualifiers.
I cant see D Clarke; C Barrett, G Cafferkey; D Vaughan, ,; A Moran, A Dillon;, B Moran, or A Freeman, having a huge rol the next day for various reasons
but even if they doo they are older and wiser and if complacency had any thing to do with Saturday it will be well gone now.
rochford had a stinker but he one of the newest Guys on the team and played v little intercounty himself so he may have needed a while to adapt to this level.
in the S&C front mayo in Barry solan have one of the countries top coaches he has worked with Kt taylor, Polish soccer team Laois footballers and now Working for Arsenal
and what ever happened to the saviour from Kiltaine? that was gonna rock the scene a couple of years back
Quote from: rosnarun on June 20, 2016, 02:33:28 PM
Quote from: Cunny Funt on June 20, 2016, 01:51:06 PM
Quote from: Mayo4Sam on June 20, 2016, 12:39:11 PM
With the right attitude a run in the qualifiers could do us the world of good but we don't have a great track record in the qualifiers which is why it scares the bejaysus out of most of us. However these lads have NEVER played in the qualifiers, Longford is a distant memory.
D Clarke; C Barrett, G Cafferkey; D Vaughan, K Higgins, K McLoughlin; S O'Shea,; A Moran, A O'Shea, A Dillon;, B Moran, A Freeman, T Parsons all played that qualifier against Longford and all will likely play in this years qualifiers.
I cant see D Clarke; C Barrett, G Cafferkey; D Vaughan, ,; A Moran, A Dillon;, B Moran, or A Freeman, having a huge rol the next day for various reasons
but even if they doo they are older and wiser and if complacency had any thing to do with Saturday it will be well gone now.
rochford had a stinker but he one of the newest Guys on the team and played v little intercounty himself so he may have needed a while to adapt to this level.
in the S&C front mayo in Barry solan have one of the countries top coaches he has worked with Kt taylor, Polish soccer team Laois footballers and now Working for Arsenal
and what ever happened to the saviour from Kiltaine? that was gonna rock the scene a couple of years back
Time to jettison Moneybags Buckley and save a few quid me thinks.
Well done Galway and the best of luck in CF.
We were very poor , slow ,deliberate and heavy legged for the most part.
Boyler stood up , Regan done ok but supply into him was too slow and obvious . Cillian had a stinker , Aido was muck , neither looked fit or near fired up enough for championship . The mcgloughlin experiment was pure rubbish , why people think it worked to an extent is beyond me , his zonal positioning was off too .
Was the London training camp to close to the game , how does the date compare to other years does anyone know , as in time allowed for recovery from camp to game ?
Parsons didn't do great either , why didn't he chase Flynn like his life depended on it , so many lethargic efforts like that from numerous players . Cillian had a ball coming in to him low down in one play ,he didn't fancy it and let it spill that would not of happend in previous years , is he 100% ?
Clarke is our number one , henelly will make mistakes as well as pull off the greatest saves you'll see but safety is paramount in the last line and he just doesn't command like Clarke does.
Overall it was a poor day at the office for SR and co , they failed their first test .
See on few forums talk about some rumour and discontent in the Mayo camp. Any Mayo posters care to share what supposedly is going on? Not sure if its same rumour I heard about basically AOS trying pick the team and wasn't happy brother was dropped
Quote from: oliverkelly on June 20, 2016, 04:07:51 PM
See on few forums talk about some rumour and discontent in the Mayo camp. Any Mayo posters care to share what supposedly is going on? Not sure if its same rumour I heard about basically AOS trying pick the team and wasn't happy brother was dropped
Don't know about a rumour, but AOS could do with a spell on the bench unless he improves.
Quote from: oliverkelly on June 20, 2016, 04:07:51 PM
See on few forums talk about some rumour and discontent in the Mayo camp. Any Mayo posters care to share what supposedly is going on? Not sure if its same rumour I heard about basically AOS trying pick the team and wasn't happy brother was dropped
Oliver, time to go back to Hogan Stand . Not at all impressed with your last three blogs.
" Not sure if it is the same rumor" = "A man told me"= BS
These guys have put too much effort into Mayo football for the past six years, for you to try to feed into that nonsense. Grow up. This is the type of crap that always surfaces after a loss, more often that not without merit.
Quote from: AZOffaly on June 20, 2016, 12:38:18 PM
Has anyone mentioned the player coup-d'etat yet? That normally gets an airing fairly quickly after a result like that.
https://mobile.twitter.com/unofficialgaa/status/744253317019115520/photo/1
Quote from: oliverkelly on June 20, 2016, 04:07:51 PM
See on few forums talk about some rumour and discontent in the Mayo camp. Any Mayo posters care to share what supposedly is going on? Not sure if its same rumour I heard about basically AOS trying pick the team and wasn't happy brother was dropped
Another Clown from Roscommon, just what we need here, I feel sorry for Rossfan and the likes.
So the Ros machine is that afraid that we'll come back and beat them in the back door that they're starting rumour's already?
I would love to get the Rossies in the QF (assuming we get there)
Quote from: Mayo4Sam on June 20, 2016, 04:45:32 PM
I would love to get the Rossies in the QF (assuming we get there)
if Mayo reach the QF they can only play the Ulster or Leinster champions.
Quote from: joemamas on June 20, 2016, 04:35:11 PM
Quote from: oliverkelly on June 20, 2016, 04:07:51 PM
See on few forums talk about some rumour and discontent in the Mayo camp. Any Mayo posters care to share what supposedly is going on? Not sure if its same rumour I heard about basically AOS trying pick the team and wasn't happy brother was dropped
Oliver, time to go back to Hogan Stand . Not at all impressed with your last three blogs.
" Not sure if it is the same rumor" = "A man told me"= BS
These guys have put too much effort into Mayo football for the past six years, for you to try to feed into that nonsense. Grow up. This is the type of crap that always surfaces after a loss, more often that not without merit.
It was off the Mayogaablog I seen there are rumours flying around. I am not starting anything myself. I know they owe ye nothing go to that Mayo page and I have given a fair comment myself on Mayo. There has been numerous posts deleted by moderator there that I have not seen in time and reason given for deletion was moderator doesn't want it getting around
I see it isn't just Roscommon team rumours you deal in, Olivier.
Quote from: Mayo4Sam on June 20, 2016, 04:45:32 PM
Quote from: oliverkelly on June 20, 2016, 04:07:51 PM
See on few forums talk about some rumour and discontent in the Mayo camp. Any Mayo posters care to share what supposedly is going on? Not sure if its same rumour I heard about basically AOS trying pick the team and wasn't happy brother was dropped
Another Clown from Roscommon, just what we need here, I feel sorry for Rossfan and the likes.
So the Ros machine is that afraid that we'll come back and beat them in the back door that they're starting rumour's already?
I would love to get the Rossies in the QF (assuming we get there)
As my other comment states I am not coming on here speading rumours these are rumours that are coming out of your own county you clown check out Mayogaablog
Quote from: Syferus on June 20, 2016, 05:00:26 PM
I see it isn't just Roscommon team rumours you deal in, Olivier.
What rumour have I ever said anything about Roscommon syferus
Quote from: oliverkelly on June 20, 2016, 05:01:59 PM
Quote from: Syferus on June 20, 2016, 05:00:26 PM
I see it isn't just Roscommon team rumours you deal in, Olivier.
What rumour have I ever said anything about Roscommon syferus
Do you mean apart from the 4 pages of negativity you started on stolensheep around the bank holiday weekend?
Just put away your big spoon gasùinín ;)
Quelle surprise the mod doesn't want whatever it is getting around. It might not be true.
Quote from: Farrandeelin on June 20, 2016, 06:18:43 PM
Quelle surprise the mod doesn't want whatever it is getting around. It might not be true.
In fairness Willie Joe would probably ban someone for not slating the Hyde enough..
If we progressed to the CF I could understand it but wtf are Ye boys interested in Mayo stuff for now is beyond me .
Quote from: rosnarun on June 20, 2016, 02:33:28 PM
in the S&C front mayo in Barry solan have one of the countries top coaches he has worked with Kt taylor, Polish soccer team Laois footballers and now Working for Arsenal
and what ever happened to the saviour from Kiltaine? that was gonna rock the scene a couple of years back
Barry Solan did nothing special with Kildare, they were a long way off where they were 3 or 4 years earlier. Granted plenty of players were past their peak. Meath in 2014 bullied them physically and Dublin were in a different galaxy.
Quote from: larryin89 on June 20, 2016, 07:03:28 PM
If we progressed to the CF I could understand it but wtf are Ye boys interested in Mayo stuff for now is beyond me .
Because I still think Mayo will be playing football in August and they will be back again next year. Ye had an off day shite happens happened us twice last year. Mayo still best team in Connacht imo but Ye have no forwards. Can't understand why Liam Irwin is so far off it from what I have seen of him up along I would have him tried at 14 for Mayo. Ye still have DOC to come back the best forward Ye have. Cillian needs get his finger out from play imo.
Fantastic win and fantastic scenes at the end. There wasn't many of us there but you could see what it meant to the hardcore, I can't remember the last time a Galway win released so much emotion in supporters at the finish.
Mayo have long been the benchmark and the top dogs, they were going to get caught in Connacht at some stage but I, like everyone else outside the Galway panel, did not see it happening last Saturday. I was drinking in Castlebar for the night after the match and the Mayo fans were, to a man, very fair in their assessment of the match and of Galway getting the best of it.
The most pleasing aspect was that Galway had a clear plan that all the players were focused on. Even at H/T when most people would have felt that Mayo would probably kick on, I was happy that there was a decent defensive setup from Galway and the players looked like they knew exactly what their roles were in it regardless of the full time result. From what I saw in the league this setup was certainly not functioning with the level of effectiveness seen last Saturday.
Flynn and especially Conroy gave great performances at midfield and any forward that bags 0-3 from play as Brannagan did, has had a fine day out.
A lot of doubt about Declan Kyne prematch on here and elsewhere, he did himself, his family and his club proud with a great display to walk away with the Galway Bay fm MOTM award, not many Clonbur men get the Galway jersey so fair play to him. The rest of his colleagues in the FB line were tenacious as well in defence.
Mayo still have the best squad of players in Connacht, they played poorly on Saturday bar a couple of ten minute spells. When the question was asked of them after the goal, they had the look of a team that had to go unexpectedly to the well and found nothing there. There is no doubt whatsoever that they took the Galway challenge lightly, looked like a team that thought they didn't have to be at 100% to win and they paid the price for this.
They have some top class players such as Diarmuid O'Connor to come back in and I doubt that they will look as lethargic again. No one will back against them playing football at the start of August and they are a team that everyone will want to avoid in the qualifiers. Some of the players are a long time on the road however, their reaction to this defeat is key.
That said, Galway didn't even really play superbly throughout the game either on Saturday, especially up front, there's a lot of stuff to be worked on. There were numerous bad shots taken during the initial period when Galway started well and they should have really put more on the board at that stage. Comer and Walsh were well held by the Mayo team over the course of the match also. For application, heart and effort however, they left everything out there and that's all you can ask of a team really. The boost this result will give the players mentally in terms of belief should be massive as well.
We'll know a lot more about Galway after the Connacht final, I'd have it as a straight 50/50 toss up as to who will win, neither team will fear the other really.
I'm sure the Rossies are delighted that they don't have to face Mayo and they have a nice set of forwards that can do damage, likewise no one in Galway will be thinking that Roscommon can't be beaten, you could make a case for either side at the moment.
Quote from: Rossfan on June 20, 2016, 08:08:45 PM
Quote from: larryin89 on June 14, 2016, 12:59:38 AM
We will give the dans an awful pastin sat night.
That was my prediction , what is your point young man . I got it wrong ? That's an obvious observation tbh.
Oh and I still believe we are capable of giving Galway a right hiding .
Fair play An Fhairche, indeed you were the first person I thought of when the ft whistle went and seeing the Galway fans erupt. Hardcore people who are there throuhh thick and thin deserve success. And that includes Roscommon men too. If I wasn't from Mayo I pronbably would be happy, yet it's pride of place that makes the GAA so appealing.
The more the week goes on, I realise that it might give Mayo the kick up the resr end that was needed. But the attitude has to be right.
Quote from: Rossfan on June 15, 2016, 11:21:27 AM
Would be some craic if the Herrins win this
Hard to see anything other than a Rhubarb win by about 5 points.
This make you feel better Larryin :D
Quote from: larryin89 on June 20, 2016, 08:19:36 PM
Quote from: Rossfan on June 20, 2016, 08:08:45 PM
Quote from: larryin89 on June 14, 2016, 12:59:38 AM
We will give the dans an awful pastin sat night.
That was my prediction , what is your point young man . I got it wrong ? That's an obvious observation tbh.
Oh and I still believe we are capable of giving Galway a right hiding .
Right hidings normally happen when the opposition are a shambles in midfield and defence. The way Galway were set up on Saturday night they wouldn't have got a hiding off any team.
Plenty have the opinion that Mayo played poorly but for me Kevin Walsh had his homework done, Mayo were unsettled and not allowed to play well.
There is some hope for us when my Kerry buddies laughed at me today when I said we were finished.
I think there is still one more kick in this bunch yet, you never know but it could be the best thing to happen this team.
We only played for 10 mins and still only lost by 3 and that gap was due to stupidity. If we play the qualifiers for even a half per game we will be in the quarters.
Quote from: highorlow on June 20, 2016, 09:10:40 PM
There is some hope for us when my Kerry buddies laughed at me today when I said we were finished.
I think there is still one more kick in this bunch yet, you never know but it could be the best thing to happen this team.
We only played for 10 mins and still only lost by 3 and that gap was due to stupidity. If we play the qualifiers for even a half per game we will be in the quarters.
'If they're men they'll be back'' - Babs Keating.
These Mayo lads owe nobody else anything, but they owe it to themselves to respond to this and I expect they will.
Quote from: Farrandeelin on June 20, 2016, 04:26:22 PM
Don't know about a rumour, but AOS could do with a spell on the bench unless he improves.
Agreed. What sets the management of Dublin and Kerry apart from Mayo's, is that Jim Gavin and Eamonn Fitzmaurice have no problem, with not starting their biggest names, or taking them off if they under perform. Aidan O'Shea seems to be untouchable, no matter how badly he plays.
Quote from: Beffs on June 20, 2016, 11:10:09 PM
Quote from: Farrandeelin on June 20, 2016, 04:26:22 PM
Don't know about a rumour, but AOS could do with a spell on the bench unless he improves.
Agreed. What sets the management of Dublin and Kerry apart from Mayo's, is that Jim Gavin and Eamonn Fitzmaurice have no problem, with not starting their biggest names, or taking them off if they under perform. Aidan O'Shea seems to be untouchable, no matter how badly he plays.
Disagree. I think it is unfair to single out a player when the whole team is dysfunctional. Aidan won ball early in the game the last day and as usual had no support and was left isolated. That would not happen in a Kerry or Dublin team. There would be lay-offs and points and goals resulting. Regan was left isolated as well. Won most balls that came his way and mostly isolated against 2/3 defenders. When support was there he deftly put Boyle in for a nice point. Says a lot when the only decent supporting runs came from Boyle. In fact you could hear Boyle in first half getting after his team because he knew we were in trouble. Says something else when you can hear players in a championship match with over 20,000 people present.
But mostly there was no runner to pop off too. Disappointingly Cillian had the opportunity to lay it off a few times but went for optimistic long range shots. This is a tactical/coaching thing and pretty basic tbh. It's not rocket science and should have been sorted long ago. A return of McLoughlin and Diarmuid O Connor to hf line should help for a start. But there is no use lumping in Aidan O Shea in various roles and expecting him to make big plays all the time. It's a team game.
I think it is fair to single him out. He has the highest profile in the media, of all the Mayo players. He puts him self out there, so much, as the figurehead of the Mayo team, it is fair to hold him to a higher standard.
There can be a variety of reasons why it doesn't happen for a forward on any given day. He may be too tightly marked by his man, or he may be triple teamed, or his eye just isn't in, or he may be carrying a knock, or he may not getting a supply of good ball, or he may be just having one of those days. The reason can be sorted out later. During the game itself, mgt should be thinking about taking off an ineffective player and bringing on someone else, who can offer up something different.
That doesn't seem to ever happen with him. When the chips are down, the lad himself doesn't seem to have the personality, the will or the leadership to make something happen, the way that you see with a Kieran Donaghy or a Michael Daragh McAuley, or even a Lee Keegan. There is no dynamism with him. His size and strength means he can run through a brick wall, especially against the weaker teams. But if that doesn't work, there doesn't ever seem to be an Plan B with him, the head drops and the game passes him by, more and more. Given his huge media presence, I'd be expecting more leadership from him, when things are going pear shaped, in the really big games. That didn't happen on Sunday. Again.
Some time on the bench may make him start thinking about what else he can offer, other than his size. He's not the first player to find himself on the receiving end of some special attention and he won't be the last. The truly great players are able to impact the game, despite it.
Quote from: Beffs on June 21, 2016, 12:37:49 AM
I think it is fair to single him out. He has the highest profile in the media, of all the Mayo players. He puts him self out there, so much, as the figurehead of the Mayo team, it is fair to hold him to a higher standard.
There can be a variety of reasons why it doesn't happen for a forward on any given day. He may be too tightly marked by his man, or he may be triple teamed, or his eye just isn't in, or he may be carrying a knock, or he may not getting a supply of good ball, or he may be just having one of those days. The reason can be sorted out later. During the game itself, mgt should be thinking about taking off an ineffective player and bringing on someone else, who can offer up something different.
That doesn't seem to ever happen with him. When the chips are down, the lad himself doesn't seem to have the personality, the will or the leadership to make something happen, the way that you see with a Kieran Donaghy or a Michael Daragh McAuley, or even a Lee Keegan. There is no dynamism with him. His size and strength means he can run through a brick wall, especially against the weaker teams. But if that doesn't work, there doesn't ever seem to be an Plan B with him, the head drops and the game passes him by, more and more. Given his huge media presence, I'd be expecting more leadership from him, when things are going pear shaped, in the really big games. That didn't happen on Sunday. Again.
Some time on the bench may make him start thinking about what else he can offer, other than his size. He's not the first player to find himself on the receiving end of some special attention and he won't be the last. The truly great players are able to impact the game, despite it.
It's more complicated than that I think. Maybe he has not matured as well as we would like but ....
Take Michael Murphy. When he plays inside he is focal point and has a role in a finely tuned system. When he is isolated on his own he kills teams himself or pops in a runner. When he is swamped they do not waste him inside. When he plays around the middle he wins ball and has runners to bring into the game.
With Aidan, going to a game, you never can tell where he will play and it seems the rest of his team don t know either. He won early ball inside the last day but isolated against at least 2 dogged defenders without any support in the same timezone. Daft stuff.
My problem with the criticism of O Shea is that he was playing in a team that were totally at odds with their game. It's alright talking about leadership but if the basic structure is cat all you get is individuals raging against the tide like Boyle did. Other leaders like McLoughlin and Higgins were neutered by being asked to do roles they never did before at this level. Too clever, too complicated, too ambitious and poorly executed.
In Donegal, Gallagher has not gone far away from the McGuiness template. No Surprises, usual shape. Murphy does his usual stuff and everybody knows what he does. He's been doing it for years. Mean while O Shea has been with Mayo seniors since '09 but is still playing off-the-cuff to an extent from game to game.
It doesn't help that we have no stability. We were the only team being considered a contender that has not got an established management. 3 different managers in 3 years!!
And before anybody blames the players for that - not their doing. The County Board in 2014 had the future of probably the best group of players this county has ever had in their hands and messed it all up. Stone Age stuff but nobody will be muttering about them after last Saturday night.
Quote from: moysider on June 20, 2016, 10:59:50 PM
Quote from: highorlow on June 20, 2016, 09:10:40 PM
There is some hope for us when my Kerry buddies laughed at me today when I said we were finished.
I think there is still one more kick in this bunch yet, you never know but it could be the best thing to happen this team.
We only played for 10 mins and still only lost by 3 and that gap was due to stupidity. If we play the qualifiers for even a half per game we will be in the quarters.
'If they're men they'll be back'' - Babs Keating.
These Mayo lads owe nobody else anything, but they owe it to themselves to respond to this and I expect they will.
of course they will. They underestimated Galway but they are still a very good team.
the next 5 years are going to be very interesting
Quote from: Beffs on June 21, 2016, 12:37:49 AM
That doesn't seem to ever happen with him. When the chips are down, the lad himself doesn't seem to have the personality, the will or the leadership to make something happen, the way that you see with a Kieran Donaghy or a Michael Daragh McAuley, or even a Lee Keegan. There is no dynamism with him. His size and strength means he can run through a brick wall, especially against the weaker teams. But if that doesn't work, there doesn't ever seem to be an Plan B with him, the head drops and the game passes him by, more and more. Given his huge media presence, I'd be expecting more leadership from him, when things are going pear shaped, in the really big games. That didn't happen on Sunday. Again
That's a bit unfair Beffs - Have a look back at the drawn AISF v kerry, when Keegan went off, AOS was the one behind us getting back into that match. He was driving us on all over the pitch.
I agree however that star players in a team should be held to higher standards than others, that's what makes them star players. In that regard, we had none on Saturday.
Agree 100% moy about players being isolated - our forwards played like individuals rather than as a unit. Part of that is down to coaching but ffs when players see the ball going in to AOS in the FF, they should have enough savvy to play off him. When we did support the man in possession, we got easy scores - Boyle and Keegan for example.
If you look at the very first play of the game which almost ended in a goal for Galway, it was Keith Higgins' man who played the ball in and you can see on the replay that Keith just let him go. That's something you'd never see from him normally; in the first minute, it's hardly physical tiredness so it can only be explained by complacency. Again, management must take some of the blame but a senior player of that quality shouldn't need anyone to tell him what's required. That malaise seemed to affect the entire team for most of the game.
As regards McLoughlin as a sweeper, I actually don't think it's a bad idea - he's one of our best ball players so if you can maximise the time he spends on the ball by playing as sweeper then it's a huge benefit. Trying it for the first time against Galway was a sh*te idea though. As a sweeper, he needs to know when to attack and when to drop deep - studying how lacey and cian o's play would benefit him greatly.
Higgins in the forwards isn't necessarily a bad idea so long as he plays the role McLoughlin normally plays - coming deep to collect ball and driving on into the forwards. I think this was trialled once in the league but then he got injured so it's understandable that this wasn't 100%
Attitude is the big change needed for the next match and i'm hopeful that Saturday was the kick up the hole we needed.
On O'Shea, I see he's back in the papers today, talking about the match. I think this is a time for going to ground, regrouping, spending time with teammates and management, and focusing the minds on the job ahead, not standing in the glare of the camera and getting into a discussion with the media about what went wrong. That's a discussion for their own dressing room. Why isn't management insisting on this?
Quote from: ZeitChrist on June 21, 2016, 10:13:55 AM
On O'Shea, I see he's back in the papers today, talking about the match. I think this is a time for going to ground, regrouping, spending time with teammates and management, and focusing the minds on the job ahead, not standing in the glare of the camera and getting into a discussion with the media about what went wrong. That's a discussion for their own dressing room. Why isn't management insisting on this?
Kelloggs paid him a few quid to promote something, so he's well entitled to take them up on it. Not going to make even the smallest iota of a difference to how Mayo play the next day.
Some people will begrudge him his few quid or somehow make out that it impacted his performance, but that's their lookout.
Quote from: moysider on June 20, 2016, 11:49:06 PM
Quote from: Beffs on June 20, 2016, 11:10:09 PM
Quote from: Farrandeelin on June 20, 2016, 04:26:22 PM
Don't know about a rumour, but AOS could do with a spell on the bench unless he improves.
Agreed. What sets the management of Dublin and Kerry apart from Mayo's, is that Jim Gavin and Eamonn Fitzmaurice have no problem, with not starting their biggest names, or taking them off if they under perform. Aidan O'Shea seems to be untouchable, no matter how badly he plays.
Disagree. I think it is unfair to single out a player when the whole team is dysfunctional. Aidan won ball early in the game the last day and as usual had no support and was left isolated. That would not happen in a Kerry or Dublin team. There would be lay-offs and points and goals resulting. Regan was left isolated as well. Won most balls that came his way and mostly isolated against 2/3 defenders. When support was there he deftly put Boyle in for a nice point. Says a lot when the only decent supporting runs came from Boyle. In fact you could hear Boyle in first half getting after his team because he knew we were in trouble. Says something else when you can hear players in a championship match with over 20,000 people present.
But mostly there was no runner to pop off too. Disappointingly Cillian had the opportunity to lay it off a few times but went for optimistic long range shots. This is a tactical/coaching thing and pretty basic tbh. It's not rocket science and should have been sorted long ago. A return of McLoughlin and Diarmuid O Connor to hf line should help for a start. But there is no use lumping in Aidan O Shea in various roles and expecting him to make big plays all the time. It's a team game.
You are bang on, moy. What you said here sums up just about all that's wrong with Mayo football and what stopped the team going the whole way at least once in the time since James Horan took over. There seems to be no tactical savvy either on the sideline or out on the pitch and it's a sincere tribute to all concerned that they have done so well in spite of their all-too-obvious shortcomings.
I'm thinking of Donaghy in Limerick in '14 and Aido vs. the Dubs in the replay last year.
Our bucko was moving forward and the outfielder were supposed to send high ball into him. Well, that was in theory anyway. Seamie, in particular, seemed to have a malfunctioning GPS. He hoofed it closer to the corner flag than the square most times and nobody else did much better.
When the ball did come Aiidan's way, he had no one waiting to pick up a breakdown from him and he had two or three defenders swarming about him.
Both were target men and that's about where the comparison ended.
Doonaghy planted himself right in front of goal and those outfield rtained down diagonal bal oon him time after time. Caff was on his own and obviously no match for him. Even when he failed to win the ball cleanly, O'Donoughe was waiting for the breakdown time after time.
I can recall anyone in any game doing the same for AOS. Last Saturday was no exception. In spite of the wholesale turnover of managers, Mayo can still be a threat to anyone in the weeks ahead but they can be their own worst enemy, missing up front and messing at the back.
Donegal's two goals in '12, Brogan's one the following year and Donaghy's tap in that day in Limerick were all down to defensive errors. Flynn's all-important goal on Saturday was just the last in a long list of unenforced c**k-up's .
It is very worrying that, while we have probably the most experienced squad in the land, they keep on making the same mistakes you'd accept from a Div 4 team but no higher.
From a Galway pov the performance of the goalie was very encouraging. This was a real problem area in the league. The running at Mayo was also encouraging . We might be able to beat Tyrone later on.
This Mayo team will win the AI in the next five years or so, of that there is no doubt imo. Have a gnawing feeling though Galway could win it before them though.
They are well able to win it this year. Last year they were by far the second best team in the land and possibly the best. They had the pistol at Dublin's head twice last year and failed to pull the trigger.
Have said it here before, I think Mayo will win the AI when they are seriously under the radar and think the qualifiers this year will help no end. No one will want to draw them in the quarter finals, that's for sure.
Think Mayo management now have a glorious opportunity of dropping the two or three established players (sacred cows) needed to improve the team.
Quote from: seafoid on June 21, 2016, 12:22:28 PM
From a Galway pov the performance of the goalie was very encouraging. This was a real problem area in the league. The running at Mayo was also encouraging . We might be able to beat Tyrone later on.
Careful now! Don't fall into the Mayo trap of looking at games further down the line. Roscommon first before talk of anything else.
Quote from: Canalman on June 21, 2016, 12:31:33 PM
This Mayo team will win the AI in the next five years or so, of that there is no doubt imo. Have a gnawing feeling though Galway could win it before them though.
They are well able to win it this year. Last year they were by far the second best team in the land and possibly the best. They had the pistol at Dublin's head twice last year and failed to pull the trigger.
Have said it here before, I think Mayo will win the AI when they are seriously under the radar and think the qualifiers this year will help no end. No one will want to draw them in the quarter finals, that's for sure.
Think Mayo management now have a glorious opportunity of dropping the two or three established players (sacred cows) needed to improve the team.
There's no one there to replace the players you're referring to.
Quote from: Canalman on June 21, 2016, 12:31:33 PM
This Mayo team will win the AI in the next five years or so, of that there is no doubt imo. Have a gnawing feeling though Galway could win it before them though.
They are well able to win it this year. Last year they were by far the second best team in the land and possibly the best. They had the pistol at Dublin's head twice last year and failed to pull the trigger.
Have said it here before, I think Mayo will win the AI when they are seriously under the radar and think the qualifiers this year will help no end. No one will want to draw them in the quarter finals, that's for sure.
Think Mayo management now have a glorious opportunity of dropping the two or three established players (sacred cows) needed to improve the team.
I'm hearing that for the last 20 years.
Quote from: Jinxy on June 21, 2016, 01:26:26 PM
Quote from: Canalman on June 21, 2016, 12:31:33 PM
This Mayo team will win the AI in the next five years or so, of that there is no doubt imo. Have a gnawing feeling though Galway could win it before them though.
They are well able to win it this year. Last year they were by far the second best team in the land and possibly the best. They had the pistol at Dublin's head twice last year and failed to pull the trigger.
Have said it here before, I think Mayo will win the AI when they are seriously under the radar and think the qualifiers this year will help no end. No one will want to draw them in the quarter finals, that's for sure.
Think Mayo management now have a glorious opportunity of dropping the two or three established players (sacred cows) needed to improve the team.
I'm hearing that for the last 20 years.
Time for a hearing test so...tinnitus? ;)
"Agree 100% moy about players being isolated - our forwards played like individuals rather than as a unit. Part of that is down to coaching but ffs when players see the ball going in to AOS in the FF, they should have enough savvy to play off him. When we did support the man in possession, we got easy scores - Boyle and Keegan for example. "
It beggars belief and it's getting so frustrating to watch , it's just complete nonsense , very bad coaching . I'd like to ask what do they see as an end result when you pump a ball into AOS , telling both your corner men to leave him on his own , what's going to happen , what's the end result , we can't score unless Aido does everything in this play catch , beat two maybe 3 and gets his shot away . What's the % chance of that , why can't Regan make a dart off the shoulder as Aido is in the air ?
Quote from: seafoid on June 21, 2016, 12:22:28 PM
From a Galway pov the performance of the goalie was very encouraging. This was a real problem area in the league. The running at Mayo was also encouraging . We might be able to beat Tyrone later on.
His kickouts were great but I don't believe Mayo created one goal chance during the game - and one forward scoring from play for something like 78mins tells it own story. It sounds like Kevin Walsh regards him very highly. I would hope that the Roscommon forwards at least test him (lots!).
Congrats to Galway, stunning victory - didn't I say it would be like 1990. Good luck to Mayo in qualifiers and though they've gone back a bit this year, would be surprised not to see them in qtrs and would not even rule out an all Connacht semi.
Jim McGuiness has his say on the game.
Teams rarely feel when the arc of their progression is on the downwards curve until it is already happening. Mayo may not have reached that stage but Saturday's brave coup by Galway has brought this team to the critical few weeks of its life span.
There were five debut players on the Galway team and they were coming into Castlebar with a callow fullback line and a debut goalkeeper. Not many people gave them much hope.
But as soon as the ball was thrown in, they won it, showed good intent and created a goal chance through Gary O'Donnell in the first minute. Now, they still looked tentative and dropped four or five balls into Rob Hennelly's hands in the opening phase of the game. And the interesting aspect was that Mayo set up quite defensively and as a result Galway played possession football.
A few weeks ago, I referred to Derry keeping the ball for the sake of it against Tyrone. And Galway started out like that. But all of a sudden they began running hard lines and produced consistent off-the-shoulder support and they began punching holes in the Mayo defence.
There was a situation where Eamon Brannigan made a good thrust and then Damien Comer did the same and set up Gary Sice and Johnny Heaney. Now they were keeping the ball and recycling it smartly, waiting for strong runners from deep. I thought Thomas Flynn was exceptional from beginning to end in terms of the directness of his approach.
It all meant that Galway had settled within 15 minutes, whereas Mayo looked very flat. It was as if people were waiting for their team-mates to do something to kick-start the collective effort. And a few times Galway went down the barrel of the gun, running through the centre of Mayo's defence. It was alarming to look at from a Mayo perspective.
One of the elements I struggled to understand was Mayo's reaction to Galway's kick-out. Their strategy was strikingly traditional: they had their two big men in the middle, Paul Conroy and Flynn, running to the wing and Bernard Power pinging the ball out to them. It was a really simplistic, bold statement: these are our big men and we are going to out-fetch you.
There were no short kicks-outs or little chips to the half backs. They just put their faith in their midfielders.
I felt it should have been a relatively easy task for the Mayo management to identify and rectify that. All they had to do was break that ball and make sure the two Galway men didn't get clean possession. It was too easy for Galway and after 25 minutes, we were looking at a very poor performance from Mayo. There was very little of the intensity or desire to win that we have come to expect from Mayo.
People are talking about this Mayo team as potential winners in September. Systematically, there was nobody in synchronicity here. Dublin, who are the template, are extremely well oiled and execute so slickly. Mayo just looked so far off that pace here.
And then one of Mayo's old problems came to the surface: the absence of a marquee forward. I feel Cillian O'Connor is a marquee place-kicker but in terms of open play, I don't feel they quite have a player comparable to Michael Murphy or Bernard Brogan or Colm Cooper. It was why I felt the switch of Aidan O'Shea into full forward last summer might have been the answer to their prayers. Used correctly, he could – and still can – ask serious questions.
That said, Mayo still kicked five points in succession in the 10 minutes prior to half-time and there was a moment where Mayo turned Galway over and for the first time the maroon players were jogging back rather than really committing to defence. There was no real sense that we were witnessing a memorable coup by the Galway men because their body language wasn't good in that period. But for whatever reason, the fluency was absent from Mayo's play and everything was sporadic.
Yet again, the Mayo half-back line showed the way to the overall attack. The team had scored 0-8 at half time from 20 efforts: top teams are operating at around 60 per cent, not 40 per cent. This lack of economy has become their Achilles' heel.
And the longer the game went on, the more I felt that it was there for Galway. Once it was clear that Mayo were malfunctioning, then Galway had to throw off the shackles. Except, that is not an easy thing for a young team. It is almost like this fusion between the tactical set-up and the ability to just release and express yourself and be brave. It is the ability to fuse tactical demands and then throw caution to the wind within that framework that can bring a team to success. And Thomas Flynn led the way in this regard.
The funny thing was that Mayo's tactical strategy on their kick-out was to chip the ball 10 metres over their 45 and 10 metres in from the sideline. Flynn identified what Mayo were going to do and he pre-empted it: he got in front of his man, won the ball, soloed down the flank and had the fearlessness and clarity of mind to think: I'm going to bury this.
After the goal, Paul Conroy kicked a brilliant point and the match turned with that flash 1-1. It sent a jolt through Castlebar because suddenly an alternate set of possibilities was there for both teams.
And for we neutrals, this was a great moment because it left Galway three points up with 15 minutes remaining. It was a perfect scenario in which to see if Mayo could respond to this moment of adversity in a match in which they weren't firing and show the country what they are about. But they couldn't respond.
And the interesting thing was that Galway didn't quite take the game by the scruff of the neck either. Instead, they created energy from the scores they got rather than working like demons and then getting scores. The game itself was sporadic but you would see this surge of Galway energy after every score. I suppose the point I am making is that Galway weren't fantastic in this game. But they did keep working and they had belief in themselves. The three full backs did really well and Gareth Bradshaw's leadership was crucial.
Galway are now well placed: they have the tradition and the belief and a very good manager. I think Kevin Walsh intuited what Mayo would do defensively. They didn't panic in possession; they injected pace when they took on the Mayo defence. There was a synergy there even if it didn't always come off. You could still see the trends in terms of what they were trying to do.
Bernard Power's kick-outs were terrific and he gave them a platform to attack. A novice full-back line got out in front of their men and triumphed against a very experienced Mayo forward line. So even if it wasn't a perfect performance you could see enough of Kevin Walsh's fingerprints on the consistency of the performance to make you feel they are well coached.
And that will increase between now and the Connacht final. And a good dry day could make for a terrific match because Roscommon and Galway are exciting teams and are very evenly matched.
But the big question arising from the game is: what the hell happened to Mayo? Where they complacent? Certainly the intensity and focus wasn't there. Nor the ruthlessness . They still haven't sorted the number three position and their forward line will come under further scrutiny now.
They are ranked as the number two team in the country but I didn't see that on Saturday night. The management team obviously don't have intercounty experience and this will come into sharper focus now. The county hasn't won the All-Ireland title in 65 years so these provincial championships, whatever anyone says, are a source of comfort to the supporters. You only realise how much you appreciate something when it is gone.
That dose of hard reality might be beneficial to this group as summer progresses. They aren't Connacht champions for the first time in six summers and they are still searching for that All-Ireland.
I feel that there are critical gaps in how Mayo play the game. To win an All-Ireland you need to be operating at a very high level across a number of sectors: intensity, discipline, leadership, focus, the execution of gameplans (plural), accuracy on frees. You need to have these boxes ticked simultaneously.
And I think Mayo's problem is that they tick a lot of these boxes all of the time but not all of them at the same time – or at the right time of the season. This is still a very talented group of players. The question is: how do they react to this? Can they prove everyone else wrong?
I was surprised by how acquiescent Mayo were – in their home stadium, too. I felt there was a softness there which wasn't evident before. It looked to me like they felt they were going to win the game anyway and then they conceded 1-1 and when it was game-on, they weren't equipped to respond.
Height advantage
Aidan O'Shea, their totemic figure, played between 14 and the middle of the park on Saturday night. It didn't work well because they didn't get enough possession around the middle and the quality of the ball going inside was at times substandard. I would play Aidan full forward in open play and at midfield for the opposition kick outs. I would have another big man alongside him at full forward so that if the best opposition full back is marking O'Shea, then who is going to mark Tom Parsons or Seamus O'Shea or Barry Moran? Mayo need to use their height advantage.
Then I'd have a real sniper – Cillian O'Connor or Conor Loftus hovering around their feet looking to pick off easy scores – the kind of points that Conor Mortimer used to habitually score without anyone really noticing. It's funny, Conor was a polarising figure in Mayo football but he had that natural scorer's knack for picking off simple scores. And he was busy.
On Saturday evening, a lot of Mayo scores seem to be kicked from difficult angles and from far out. And you wonder if that is a consequence of how they are being coached? Is that what they are being asked to do going out onto the pitch? Should they be slicker and more selective or make one more pass to enable easier scoring chances? These are the little gaps in certainty that add up in the end; the things that Dublin, for instance, had ironed out by the first night of the championship.
I am confident Kerry will get up to that level of detail. The question for them is whether their age profile can keep pace with Dublin. Going into Saturday night you would have said Mayo were best placed in terms of physical attributes and depth to match Dublin.
So this is potentially a defining moment in this chapter of the Mayo story and its attendant heartbreak. They have to prove everyone wrong now and push on with their credentials. Or else this becomes the moment where the concerted effort over the last few years, which has brought them so close to winning an All-Ireland on a number of occasions, starts to fade. The key thing is: how do they react to this?
It is a tantalising question. And it won't become immediately evident. The big quest is still there for Mayo but they are on a different road now. So how will they respond to what has been a serious jolt to their collective conviction and ambition?
The thing is, they could potentially get to the All-Ireland quarter finals before they themselves truly discover the answer to this.
He could spare all the gibberish which I writes in that article in an attempt to set him apart from the rest , which he always does and just say , this is a defining moment in this Mayo teams life cycle . Although I'd also agree with him on the twin towers type tactic , it's unforgivable of management that they let a novice full back line away with settling in so handy.
Quote from: larryin89 on June 21, 2016, 01:30:13 PM
"Agree 100% moy about players being isolated - our forwards played like individuals rather than as a unit. Part of that is down to coaching but ffs when players see the ball going in to AOS in the FF, they should have enough savvy to play off him. When we did support the man in possession, we got easy scores - Boyle and Keegan for example. "
It beggars belief and it's getting so frustrating to watch , it's just complete nonsense , very bad coaching . I'd like to ask what do they see as an end result when you pump a ball into AOS , telling both your corner men to leave him on his own , what's going to happen , what's the end result , we can't score unless Aido does everything in this play catch , beat two maybe 3 and gets his shot away . What's the % chance of that , why can't Regan make a dart off the shoulder as Aido is in the air ?
A difference between AOS and Donaghy though is when AOS catches a ball his first reaction is to head towards goal. Donaghy's first reaction is to lay off to a teammate.
Okay, sometimes (too often for sure) AOS has nobody to pass to, but other times he allows himself to be surrounded so he can neither go forward nor release the ball - whereas if his mindset was to instantly release the ball I'd say he'd often have a good option.
Quote from: larryin89 on June 21, 2016, 01:55:01 PM
He could spare all the gibberish which I writes in that article in an attempt to set him apart from the rest , which he always does and just say , this is a defining moment in this Mayo teams life cycle . Although I'd also agree with him on the twin towers type tactic , it's unforgivable of management that they let a novice full back line away with settling in so handy.
thats Jimmy still squeezing every last drop out of the great one in a row Donegal team,
Confirmed in the Mayo News today that Cafferky's season is over along with Gibbons. Must be a bad hamstring injury to end his year, really disappointing considering his league form was very good.
Quote from: Hound on June 21, 2016, 02:00:30 PM
Quote from: larryin89 on June 21, 2016, 01:30:13 PM
"Agree 100% moy about players being isolated - our forwards played like individuals rather than as a unit. Part of that is down to coaching but ffs when players see the ball going in to AOS in the FF, they should have enough savvy to play off him. When we did support the man in possession, we got easy scores - Boyle and Keegan for example. "
It beggars belief and it's getting so frustrating to watch , it's just complete nonsense , very bad coaching . I'd like to ask what do they see as an end result when you pump a ball into AOS , telling both your corner men to leave him on his own , what's going to happen , what's the end result , we can't score unless Aido does everything in this play catch , beat two maybe 3 and gets his shot away . What's the % chance of that , why can't Regan make a dart off the shoulder as Aido is in the air ?
A difference between AOS and Donaghy though is when AOS catches a ball his first reaction is to head towards goal. Donaghy's first reaction is to lay off to a teammate.
Okay, sometimes (too often for sure) AOS has nobody to pass to, but other times he allows himself to be surrounded so he can neither go forward nor release the ball - whereas if his mindset was to instantly release the ball I'd say he'd often have a good option.
Agree 100%. For such a big man, Donaghy has lightening quick reflexes, very fast hands, nimble feet & great vision. He's cute as a fox too. You get the sense that he knows what he wants to do with the ball, before he even gets it & has all the options figured out. He is a very unselfish player too. I've often wondered if it comes from his basketball background.
Can we say all of that about Aidan O'Shea? He only seems to have one direction, one speed & one option - bulldoze his way towards goal. That generally results in being called for over carrying, or spilling the ball. The other forwards get criticism for not giving him options, when he gets double and triple teamed. But if his first instinct is to hang onto the ball & do it all himself, what is the point of their giving him support & then running into traffic themselves?
It's a tough nut for Mayo to crack and I don't claim to have the answer to it. But we are a year on from last years champo & the Aido as a forward experiment. If you include this years league, they seem to be no nearer to cracking it. At what point, do you apportion more blame to the players own deficiencies & less to management or teammates?
Quote from: rosnarun on June 21, 2016, 02:13:31 PM
Quote from: larryin89 on June 21, 2016, 01:55:01 PM
He could spare all the gibberish which I writes in that article in an attempt to set him apart from the rest , which he always does and just say , this is a defining moment in this Mayo teams life cycle . Although I'd also agree with him on the twin towers type tactic , it's unforgivable of management that they let a novice full back line away with settling in so handy.
thats Jimmy still squeezing every last drop out of the great one in a row Donegal team,
He certainly had our number when it counted.
Donaghy can pass to scoring forwards. Can O'Shea? They are usually poor but they were atrocious on Saturday .
I wonder when the first wave of Mayo secondos will turn up on the Galway team.
Quote from: Beffs on June 21, 2016, 03:21:57 PM
Quote from: Hound on June 21, 2016, 02:00:30 PM
Quote from: larryin89 on June 21, 2016, 01:30:13 PM
"Agree 100% moy about players being isolated - our forwards played like individuals rather than as a unit. Part of that is down to coaching but ffs when players see the ball going in to AOS in the FF, they should have enough savvy to play off him. When we did support the man in possession, we got easy scores - Boyle and Keegan for example. "
It beggars belief and it's getting so frustrating to watch , it's just complete nonsense , very bad coaching . I'd like to ask what do they see as an end result when you pump a ball into AOS , telling both your corner men to leave him on his own , what's going to happen , what's the end result , we can't score unless Aido does everything in this play catch , beat two maybe 3 and gets his shot away . What's the % chance of that , why can't Regan make a dart off the shoulder as Aido is in the air ?
A difference between AOS and Donaghy though is when AOS catches a ball his first reaction is to head towards goal. Donaghy's first reaction is to lay off to a teammate.
Okay, sometimes (too often for sure) AOS has nobody to pass to, but other times he allows himself to be surrounded so he can neither go forward nor release the ball - whereas if his mindset was to instantly release the ball I'd say he'd often have a good option.
Agree 100%. For such a big man, Donaghy has lightening quick reflexes, very fast hands, nimble feet & great vision. He's cute as a fox too. You get the sense that he knows what he wants to do with the ball, before he even gets it & has all the options figured out. He is a very unselfish player too. I've often wondered if it comes from his basketball background.
Can we say all of that about Aidan O'Shea? He only seems to have one direction, one speed & one option - bulldoze his way towards goal. That generally results in being called for over carrying, or spilling the ball. The other forwards get criticism for not giving him options, when he gets double and triple teamed. But if his first instinct is to hang onto the ball & do it all himself, what is the point of their giving him support & then running into traffic themselves?
It's a tough nut for Mayo to crack and I don't claim to have the answer to it. But we are a year on from last years champo & the Aido as a forward experiment. If you include this years league, they seem to be no nearer to cracking it. At what point, do you apportion more blame to the players own deficiencies & less to management or teammates?
I think the O'Shea at full forward experiment needs to end IMO. I've always thought that we just don't have enough players with the ability to consistently deliver quality long ball that he would have greater than 50/50 chance of winning. I agree with what was previously said about O'Shea's first instinct is to turn into and take on his man, he never steps out away from goal even to try and give himself some space. I think the best we've ever benefitted from O'Shea in an attacking sense, last year's performance against Sligo aside, is having him coming onto the ball around the forty and carrying at the opposition. Once he has momentum he's very hard to stop and will usually draw 2-3 defenders onto him. His fault though previously when he's done this is not passing to a supporting player, usually going into contact and getting turned over, or maybe getting a free. There's no doubt in my mind about his ability, the challenge is figuring out how best to use him, getting him to buy into it and perform more consistently than he has in the past.
What a result for Galway football, I'd have been happy with a decent performance that would have given us some hope for the summer; I really didn't see that coming and thankfully I was over for it.
KW has taken plenty of stick and even a few claimed that we hadn't progressed under him which was nonsense and he was right when he said we were a lot closer to beating Mayo last year than many though. Tactically he got it spot on and when he analyses the game he'll probably be disappointed we weren't 6 or 7 points up early on as we missed a lot of easy chances and that continued into the 2nd half with Heaney & Bradshaw hitting wides when they shouldn't. I haven't managed to watch the 1st half again but have seen the 2nd half; Power's kickouts were superb, a bit of brilliance by KW to bring in a man who isn't 1st choice for his club although because of Mayo's tactics there was a little more space to pick out a Galway man as opposed to last year. The fullback line grew in stature as the game went on, from memory Regan appeared to beat Kerin to the ball for the first 45 minutes but Kerin eventually got to grips with him and along with Wynne they broke with pace into Mayo's half several times and along with Kyne look very comfortable on the ball. Kyne was outstanding but he's certainly going to have a lot tougher tests ahead. We've certainly improved in the tackle and were very unlucky with some of those frees COC scored with as a couple looked debatable and several were given when Mayo were going nowhere, apart from that 10 minute spell in the 1st half Mayo found it very difficult to find any space from scoring positions. Keegan did miss in the 2nd half from a scoring position and Regan was in 2 minds what to do when bearing down on Galway goal but can't recall too many easy chances Mayo missed in the 1st half, they appeared to be shots from tough positions.
In comparison to Mayo's 0-5 from play Galway hit 1-9 which really should have been a lot more, we found it a lot easier to find space than Mayo did. The goal gave the players great belief, I still don't think they believed they could win until the goal went in and from then on Galway were superb, from when we went 4 points up it was a very mature performance from a very inexperienced team and Mayo never got close to creating a goal chance. I doubt anyone will be getting carried away but the one thing we now have is a bit of hope for the future and its not all doom and gloom.
A few points on the match
-The Mayo transition from defence to attack really let us down on the day. The players seemed very hesitant once an initial turnover or short kick out had been won. It was as if they were often unsure of whether to run it or kick it. This was a pattern that was present during the league and I had hoped that it would have been ironed out by the time the championship came around. Unfortunately it hasn't. Either the players are still unsure of the new system that mangement are trying to implement or they are aware of it and they just havn't bought into it. I personally hope it's the former as the latter would have larger repercussions for the year ahead IMO.
-I couldn't believe that we didn't properly push up on their kick outs. This has always been one of our big strengths. Against London, our two goals came from this tactic. Granted, London were always going to be a different proposition to Galway but if it aint broke....etc. McLoughlin's absence from the half forward line meant that the likes of Bradshaw won a number of clean kick-outs. I am aware of the neccessity for a sweeper but surely a system could be devised whereby the sweeper immediately drops back once the kick-out has been lost. Thus allowing you to push up and use a sweeper simultaneously.
-Our forwards had an off day on the shooting front. In fairness to this team, it's not often you see a stat showing that only one forward scored from play. It was always going to be tough to win when that was happening and hopefully that shouldn't be the case the next day.
In saying all that though, I actually felt comfortable enough mid way through the second half when we were 4 points up. I'd imagine the bookies live odds would have shown that. In reality, the goal changed everything, had it not gone in I'd say we probably would have held on. Once an underdog with a massive stock pile of motivation gets gifted a momentum swing at the right time, it's always going to be tough to turn it around. Fair play to Galway, once they got their chance they took it.
As each year passes, I increasingly believe that the kick-out is the single most important aspect of play in the modern game. As we all know, the foundation of the current Dublin team is based on Cluxton's Kick-out. The 2014 All-Ireland was decided on one. Galway have been plagued by this issue in recent years and have tried out God knows haw many different keepers (Although they seem to have finally sorted it out). I also think that kick-outs have played a big part in our last 2 championship exits. Unfortunately, it came back to haunt us again the last day. While I would personally start with Clarke in goal, I think it's unfair to lay the blame fully at Hennelly's door. I was listening to an interview Robbie gave on radio earlier on in the year. When he was questioned on whether he had any regrets about the Dublin replay last year, he said no. Something along the lines of 'when Dublin started to come at us, I made sure to kick the ball as far away from our goal as possible.' This suggests to me that he just followed previous management team(s) instructions. After that match Darragh O Sé stated that Kerry always had a fail safe kick-out, practiced in training, that was only used when they badly needed to retain possession e.g. during vital periods of a game where momentum looks to be going against you or after the concession of a bad score. Long kick-outs never guarantee you more than a 50/50 chance of retaining possession, this is the reason Cluxton never goes for them. Just after Galway got their goal the last day, Robbie kicked a big long one down the middle which Conroy caught and kicked over the bar. This denied us the chance to calm things after the goal and instead copperfastened the momentum swing in Galways favour. It also leads me to believe that current management are continuing on with some of the negative trends of the past.
Good post dubhaltach, hard to disagree with any of that
Quote from: oliverkelly on June 20, 2016, 08:47:09 AM
Do Mayo fans think Rochford should stay on? if so why? IMO Mayo have gone back so far since he took over its frightening he is way out of his dept.
What is going on with Aidan O'Shea and COC both were terrible again, All Aidan seems to do is want talk to media and rumours of him trying to pick the team and not been happy the brothers weren't starting circling dont sound good when he was one main players that removed previous management.
COC although I never rated him he is highly rated in Mayo how many wides did he kick? Don't know how he is Captain and how he lasted the 70mins he does nothing from play and wouldn't score in whore house during play.
When Mayo have Zero forwards where are lads like Liam Irwin? Regan is NOT county standard got man of match against a shite down and London sides and against us because he scored a goal that should have been a free out for over carrying and people reckoned he was next big thing.
You're making a show of yourself again.
Quote from: Syferus on June 21, 2016, 10:51:11 PM
Quote from: oliverkelly on June 20, 2016, 08:47:09 AM
Do Mayo fans think Rochford should stay on? if so why? IMO Mayo have gone back so far since he took over its frightening he is way out of his dept.
What is going on with Aidan O'Shea and COC both were terrible again, All Aidan seems to do is want talk to media and rumours of him trying to pick the team and not been happy the brothers weren't starting circling dont sound good when he was one main players that removed previous management.
COC although I never rated him he is highly rated in Mayo how many wides did he kick? Don't know how he is Captain and how he lasted the 70mins he does nothing from play and wouldn't score in whore house during play.
When Mayo have Zero forwards where are lads like Liam Irwin? Regan is NOT county standard got man of match against a shite down and London sides and against us because he scored a goal that should have been a free out for over carrying and people reckoned he was next big thing.
You're making a show of yourself again.
What you mean again? When have I in the past and how did I yesterday morning when I posted that?
I see you havnt been back to stolensheep since whole forum rip the piss out of you earlier for been such a clown. You really havnt got a clue. Over here trying put spot light on me because you got laughed off Roscommon forum Knobhead
Two embarrassments now :-[ :-[
Lads does anyone know what's wrong with Caff? I heard it's his hamstring but must be serious to be season ending. Really bad news as he was probably our best player, certainly defender, in the league and looked to be back to his best.
He must have ripped it from the bone like Paul O Connell did. He was on crutches after so it looked fairly catastrophic from word go.
Gibbons dislocated the shoulder and is finished for the year as well. When wheels start coming off ........
Quote from: moysider on June 21, 2016, 11:38:24 PM
He must have ripped it from the bone like Paul O Connell did. He was on crutches after so it looked fairly catastrophic from word go.
Gibbons dislocated the shoulder and is finished for the year as well. When wheels start coming off ........
Thanks Moy, was hoping it wouldn't be that serious. Brutal news if that's the case, best wishes to them both. I hope we can find a replacement, especially for Caff. We have plenty of cover for Gibbons but can't think of anyone better who can do Caffs job in the white Heat of battle in Croke Park. Caps off a bad few days!
I think we mentioned this before the match, we're very weak on cover for the FB line.
Keane, Harrison, Higgins and Barrett are our only out and out full back line men. Vaughan, Hall and Coen can probably do a job there but after that, you're struggling
Quote from: macdanger2 on June 22, 2016, 12:02:28 AM
I think we mentioned this before the match, we're very weak on cover for the FB line.
Keane, Harrison, Higgins and Barrett are our only out and out full back line men. Vaughan, Hall and Coen can probably do a job there but after that, you're struggling
without caff back there, I'd be very weary of the 'higgins in attack' experiment. He is now desperately needed in that full back line.
Quote from: macdanger2 on June 22, 2016, 12:02:28 AM
I think we mentioned this before the match, we're very weak on cover for the FB line.
Keane, Harrison, Higgins and Barrett are our only out and out full back line men. Vaughan, Hall and Coen can probably do a job there but after that, you're struggling
Big time!!
That loss really took the wind out of the Mayo lads. Nobody cares what happens in June if the team has the right attitude. If mayo were dumped out of the qualifiers it would be a sad end to a great Project.
Quote from: seafoid on June 22, 2016, 09:04:19 AM
That loss really took the wind out of the Mayo lads. Nobody cares what happens in June if the team has the right attitude. If mayo were dumped out of the qualifiers it would be a sad end to a great Project.
It's a fickle aul world as supporters , sure in a few weeks time it could be Mayo heading to the quarters and Galway at home wondering what the hell they were thinking . Early days buck early days
Quote from: seafoid on June 22, 2016, 09:04:19 AM
That loss really took the wind out of the Mayo lads. Nobody cares what happens in June if the team has the right attitude. If mayo were dumped out of the qualifiers it would be a sad end to a great Project.
Mayo will be back they are still best team in Connacht but the gap is closing, They were caught cold the other night but it might be best thing ever happen them. Let them regroup and bring down a few fella's egos and they will still be around come August and next year. Time for them to blood in a few their successful u21s and it makes for very competitive Connacht championship next few years.
Caff is a massive loss though I have my doubts about Keane and should he get injured I don't see any other cover. Even in league game against Roscommon Mayo were out of sight until Caff went off. Coen didn't look comfortably in full back line that day
Quote from: oliverkelly on June 22, 2016, 09:33:27 AM
Quote from: seafoid on June 22, 2016, 09:04:19 AM
That loss really took the wind out of the Mayo lads. Nobody cares what happens in June if the team has the right attitude. If mayo were dumped out of the qualifiers it would be a sad end to a great Project.
Mayo will be back they are still best team in Connacht but the gap is closing, They were caught cold the other night but it might be best thing ever happen them. Let them regroup and bring down a few fella's egos and they will still be around come August and next year. Time for them to blood in a few their successful u21s and it makes for very competitive Connacht championship next few years.
Caff is a massive loss though I have my doubts about Keane and should he get injured I don't see any other cover. Even in league game against Roscommon Mayo were out of sight until Caff went off. Coen didn't look comfortably in full back line that day
Hopefully it's a chance to blood O donoghue . Cunnife would be an option too but he's in the states with a few more. (Don't blame them either )
Darragh O'Sé has his spake in the IT today.
Everything goes in cycles. Galway beating Mayo on Saturday night was obviously a shock but we probably shouldn't be too surprised that it happened. Mayo were never going to dominate Connacht forever. Believe it or not, the Dubs aren't going to win every Leinster title from now until the end of time either. Meath probably won't beat them on Sunday but it will happen eventually. These things come around and go around.
It isn't all that long since Meath, Galway and Kerry were the only three teams in the country who could win All-Irelands. In the early-to-middle part of my career, Meath and Galway were the big rivals for us. For six straight seasons between 1996 and 2001, we won two All-Irelands apiece and very often we had to go through each other to get them. After that, the northern teams took their place and Galway and Meath fell away.
There's no disgrace in that. Famines happen very easily. When I started playing for Kerry in 1993, we were way down in the depths of a famine. I came on board not long after Kerry had lost to Clare in the '92 Munster final. To Clare! That was only six years after the last All-Ireland of the golden years team. It can happen nearly without people noticing.
It's very simple, actually. The one downside of having a great team is that most counties cling on to them longer than they should. Players build up a bank of credit that they still get to use a fair while after they're good for it. And when you have players who are over the hill getting picked, you also have guys who are up-and-coming getting impatient at having to wait their turn.
Straight away, you have not one, not two but three problems. First, you have players in the team who aren't as effective as they were or as you need them to be. Second, you have young players who aren't developing at the rate you'd like them to because they aren't getting games. And third, you inevitably lose some of those younger guys because they get fed up waiting. So you're suffering in the present and sowing seeds for suffering in the future.
But what's a manager going to do? Ditch the guys who got him up the steps of the Hogan Stand? Go with a 20-year-old who might be a crucial player in three or four years ahead of a 33-year-old former All Star and take a world of flak from the media and the public if it doesn't work out? Brian Cody does it but there aren't a lot of Brian Codys out there.
Of course, some guys are irreplaceable. John McDermott retired at 31 and Meath never really recovered. Without him, Meath were a different animal. They weren't as good at bullying you. They had no enforcer so you got away with things against them that you wouldn't have chanced before.
Meath were always more than just bullies who could play a bit but when you took away that aspect of them, you took away a piece of their identity. When Sean Boylan left a couple of years later, that was another bit of it gone. What replaced it? Maybe a bit of apathy, maybe a bit of confusion, probably a bit of both. Counties can lose direction so easily in those circumstances.
Things that were unthinkable become acceptable. I was playing intercounty football for four years before we beat Cork in Munster and yet I remember a couple of those years running into fellas in the street after we got knocked and them saying, "It wasn't a bad year".
That's what it meant to be in the middle of a famine – expectations were lowered and there was a sense of stagnation about the whole thing. The worst of it was that people started taking moral victories and holding them up as something half-positive. Not to be proud of, exactly. Just not the end of the world.
I'd say there's been plenty of that in Galway and Meath over the past 15 years or so. Lots of talk of resetting and going back to the drawing board and starting again. But for anything to change, there needs to be a build up of anger that becomes impossible to ignore. And to be very honest about it, I never heard a lot of that coming out of either county through those years.
We played Galway in an All-Ireland quarter-final in 2008 and Meath in a semi-final the following year and our main focus going into those games was to not get caught. All our talk was about not being complacent, about taking them seriously and doing a professional job. That's how much they had diminished in our minds since that period around the turn of the millennium. It was a huge change in emphasis.
There were plenty of reasons why we kicked on and they fell back. Some of it was about age profile – we were coming into the start of a really good cycle whereas Galway were probably somewhere in the middle of one and Meath were nearing the end. When we got a hammering from Meath in 2001, the likes of Colm Cooper, Declan O'Sullivan, Paul Galvin, Marc Ó Sé, Aidan O'Mahony and Kieran Donaghy were all either still in school or not long out of it and none of them had played senior for Kerry.
Galway and Meath either just didn't have that sort of talent coming through or they didn't make use of what they did have. In Meath's case, it was probably the former. But for Galway, you'd have always wondered why they weren't getting more out of the under-21 teams they had.
Galway won four under-21 All-Irelands since 2002 – the same as Dublin. But Dublin have converted those titles into becoming the best team in the country. Galway haven't even won Connacht since 2008. You can talk about population and money and whatever you want – Galway have had the raw materials but just haven't got the best out of them.
Again, that can happen. All it takes is for enough people to accept it. Eventually, a couple of mediocre years go by and then a couple of genuinely bad ones and without anybody making a big fuss about it, a half a decade has slid by and nobody has done anything about it. By that stage, you're starting at the bottom again and you're overhauling structures and investing in coaching and all those things that you should have been doing when times were good.
For anything to change, there has to be anger. You could see it in Kevin Walsh when he was giving out during the league that his Galway players were being ridiculed for having no backbone. There's a man who didn't win his All-Irelands by accident. He wasn't going to let Mayo stroll to a sixth Connacht title in a row. Anger was a starting point.
Anyone who was around Kerry in the mid- to late-90s would recognise that. The local papers at the time were vicious enough but local radio was worse. People would ring in on a Monday night and absolutely decorate the players. It wasn't much fun at the time but it meant the thing reached a tipping point.
I remember getting phonecalls from people saying, "Are you listening to what they're saying on the radio?" And I wouldn't have been – deliberately. Like, what use was it going to be do me to hear any of it? There was no escaping it anyway in the heel of the hunt. The call would always come on a Monday night or Tuesday morning.
Friend: "Well, how are you holding up?"
Me: "I'm grand, why wouldn't I be?"
Friend: "Ah Jesus, you got absolutely pulverised on the radio. You're as well off not hearing it."
Me: "Well sure, what use is it telling me then?"
Friend: "Oh. Yeah. Sorry."
Me: "How bad was it?"
Friend: "Aw, they tore you asunder. Said you could catch, couldn't kick, couldn't run."
Me: "Well, I'm glad we had this little chat. I feel so much better. Feel free never to ring me again."
But at the back of it all, you'd have to say that it was that sort of environment and attitude in the county that ended the famine. The barren years became unacceptable. It meant that everyone really had to focus in on how this was all going to get turned around.
We don't know yet if this is the start of something for Galway. One win can't be expected to turn everything on its head. But we do know tradition counts for something. Once people in a county that has known success start sniffing more of it, the thing can grow quickly. If people in the county start rallying to the cause, then there could be a way back.
Tradition is like dry hay – it doesn't take much of a spark to set the whole place on fire.
https://dontfoul.wordpress.com/ Its clear to see from his charts that Galway were shooting from better positions than Mayo were hence why Galway returned more scores from less shots. Galway have clearly worked hard on restricting space in certain areas and it led to Mayo taking shots from more difficult angles than Galway did.
I realise its natural Mayo are attracting all the attention for their failings but Galway & KW haven't got the credit they deserve for winning the tactical battle. BJ Padden claims Galway were better last year which is nonsense, it was probably a better display then most gave Galway credit for last year but they've obviously very hard on their defensive structure and it should have received more praise. Mayo were poor but they weren't allowed to play well by an opposition who were more drilled then they were last year and whom showed more discipline in the tackle then Galway did last year when they conceded 8 points from frees to this years 6 points; It still needs more work but its going in the right direction.
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 22, 2016, 02:26:50 PM
I realise its natural Mayo are attracting all the attention for their failings but Galway & KW haven't got the credit they deserve for winning the tactical battle. BJ Padden claims Galway were better last year which is nonsense
Heard that on Newstalk last night alright and thought he was off his rocker. Galway were competitive last year and it was a tough physical game but only for Hanley dragging down AOS numerous times in dangerous positions we could have conceded a scatter of goals. There was chaos almost every time Mayo kicked the ball in there. Mayo didn't have a single goal opportunity on Saturday unless I'm forgetting one. Now you could argue that Mayo didn't play as well this year but no way Galway played better last year in Pearse Stadium than they did last Saturday. I think we only very briefly held the lead last year immediately after Sice's goal.
Dara likes Galway, in the same way as he (sorta) likes Mayo! Galway play nice non threatening football. Mayo used to play the same way (and still do to a point). Dara has no bad memories of either teams and would like to see either win an AI especially if they played them ruffians from the North. Them Northern Counties played threatening football. And Dara has bad memories of the northern counties.
Galway offer Kerry classic games to win. Games that the media can ogle at. Mayo just offered easy landslides. Kerry got more credit for their Galway wins because of the football played and Kerry always won. All was well in paradise. Playing Mayo held no weight. Even though Galway always lost to Kerry, the performance was always remembered and the result and scoreline were ignored. Galway were a nice team to beat. Mayo were an easy team to beat.
(BTW Cork at AI stage offered the same weight as Mayo!)
Count the the recent AI's finals won by Kerry against teams other than Galway, Mayo and Cork.
Northern teams offered neither, only defeat. The Kerry media created labels such as 'Puke' and 'Blanket' to discredit such achievements. Streetwise and sc**bag are the new clever labels for recent threats to their Monopoly.
Quote from: Hound on June 21, 2016, 11:45:38 AM
Quote from: ZeitChrist on June 21, 2016, 10:13:55 AM
On O'Shea, I see he's back in the papers today, talking about the match. I think this is a time for going to ground, regrouping, spending time with teammates and management, and focusing the minds on the job ahead, not standing in the glare of the camera and getting into a discussion with the media about what went wrong. That's a discussion for their own dressing room. Why isn't management insisting on this?
Kelloggs paid him a few quid to promote something, so he's well entitled to take them up on it. Not going to make even the smallest iota of a difference to how Mayo play the next day.
Some people will begrudge him his few quid or somehow make out that it impacted his performance, but that's their lookout.
The American Football ruined him!!!
Good summary, From The Bunker !!
Quote from: GalwayBayBoy on June 22, 2016, 02:47:48 PM
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 22, 2016, 02:26:50 PM
I realise its natural Mayo are attracting all the attention for their failings but Galway & KW haven't got the credit they deserve for winning the tactical battle. BJ Padden claims Galway were better last year which is nonsense
Heard that on Newstalk last night alright and thought he was off his rocker. Galway were competitive last year and it was a tough physical game but only for Hanley dragging down AOS numerous times in dangerous positions we could have conceded a scatter of goals. There was chaos almost every time Mayo kicked the ball in there. Mayo didn't have a single goal opportunity on Saturday unless I'm forgetting one. Now you could argue that Mayo didn't play as well this year but no way Galway played better last year in Pearse Stadium than they did last Saturday. I think we only very briefly held the lead last year immediately after Sice's goal.
Agreed, matching Mayo physically as we did last year was a start but this year KW has added an extra dimension to the defence; As for Power he did very well but he will certainly have sterner tests to follow when we meet a team who are more positive on Galway's kickout then Mayo. Kickouts were a huge issue last year with Mayo getting so many scores from applying pressure to Galway's own kickout, Power certainly is able to control the ball a lot better then Breathnach has done in the past.
Quote from: seafoid on June 22, 2016, 09:04:19 AM
That loss really took the wind out of the Mayo lads. Nobody cares what happens in June if the team has the right attitude. If mayo were dumped out of the qualifiers it would be a sad end to a great Project.
The loss didn't ..... but news on the extent of Ger Cafferkys injury certainly has. We can get to Croke Park but the ultimate is no longer possible in my view
Mayo need a bit of luck with the draw, if they can avoid Cork or the losers of Donegal/Monaghan in round 3 and then draw whoever Dublin beats in Leinster in round 4 although dependent on what happens in Ulster they might end been forced to play the losers of Ulster as teams can't meet again. Then there's the issue of the 7 day turnaround to the quarter final so its hard to make a case for any of the qualifiers making the semi's if they had a tough game in round 4.
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 23, 2016, 02:25:44 PM
Mayo need a bit of luck with the draw, if they can avoid Cork or the losers of Donegal/Monaghan in round 3 and then draw whoever Dublin beats in Leinster in round 4 although dependent on what happens in Ulster they might end been forced to play the losers of Ulster as teams can't meet again. Then there's the issue of the 7 day turnaround to the quarter final so its hard to make a case for any of the qualifiers making the semi's if they had a tough game in round 4.
Disagree that a soft draw would help them. What would an easy, facile victory over a Westmeath or Tipp do for them? What would it reveal to them, that they don't already know, or how to fix what went wrong against Galway? A good tough win, against a quality Div 1 opponent could bring them on in leaps and bounds. It would be good for their confidence, as well as building momentum.
Quote from: Beffs on June 23, 2016, 11:39:27 PM
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 23, 2016, 02:25:44 PM
Mayo need a bit of luck with the draw, if they can avoid Cork or the losers of Donegal/Monaghan in round 3 and then draw whoever Dublin beats in Leinster in round 4 although dependent on what happens in Ulster they might end been forced to play the losers of Ulster as teams can't meet again. Then there's the issue of the 7 day turnaround to the quarter final so its hard to make a case for any of the qualifiers making the semi's if they had a tough game in round 4.
Disagree that a soft draw would help them. What would an easy, facile victory over a Westmeath or Tipp do for them? What would it reveal to them, that they don't already know, or how to fix what went wrong against Galway? A good tough win, against a quality Div 1 opponent could bring them on in leaps and bounds. It would be good for their confidence, as well as building momentum.
2009 Kerry struggled past Longford,Antrm,Sligo who were all all deemed soft draws, Kerry were then totally written off for the All Ireland quarter final against Dublin yet they had that game won in ten minutes.
Qualifiers soft or hard draws it doesn't really matter. You keep winning and you progress to All Ireland quarter final with momentum. Lose and you are out unless the opposition are stupid enough to use too many subs.
Quote from: Beffs on June 23, 2016, 11:39:27 PM
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 23, 2016, 02:25:44 PM
Mayo need a bit of luck with the draw, if they can avoid Cork or the losers of Donegal/Monaghan in round 3 and then draw whoever Dublin beats in Leinster in round 4 although dependent on what happens in Ulster they might end been forced to play the losers of Ulster as teams can't meet again. Then there's the issue of the 7 day turnaround to the quarter final so its hard to make a case for any of the qualifiers making the semi's if they had a tough game in round 4.
Disagree that a soft draw would help them. What would an easy, facile victory over a Westmeath or Tipp do for them? What would it reveal to them, that they don't already know, or how to fix what went wrong against Galway? A good tough win, against a quality Div 1 opponent could bring them on in leaps and bounds. It would be good for their confidence, as well as building momentum.
Only twice in the last 5 years has a qualifier beaten the provincial winner and on both occasions its been Tyrone who've beaten Monaghan; On both occasions Tyrone haven't had to play anyone of note in the round 4 qualifier. A 7 day turnaround has the odds stacked against you especially of the back of a tough game.
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 24, 2016, 01:01:54 PM
Quote from: Beffs on June 23, 2016, 11:39:27 PM
Quote from: Maroon Manc on June 23, 2016, 02:25:44 PM
Mayo need a bit of luck with the draw, if they can avoid Cork or the losers of Donegal/Monaghan in round 3 and then draw whoever Dublin beats in Leinster in round 4 although dependent on what happens in Ulster they might end been forced to play the losers of Ulster as teams can't meet again. Then there's the issue of the 7 day turnaround to the quarter final so its hard to make a case for any of the qualifiers making the semi's if they had a tough game in round 4.
Disagree that a soft draw would help them. What would an easy, facile victory over a Westmeath or Tipp do for them? What would it reveal to them, that they don't already know, or how to fix what went wrong against Galway? A good tough win, against a quality Div 1 opponent could bring them on in leaps and bounds. It would be good for their confidence, as well as building momentum.
Only twice in the last 5 years has a qualifier beaten the provincial winner and on both occasions its been Tyrone who've beaten Monaghan; On both occasions Tyrone haven't had to play anyone of note in the round 4 qualifier. A 7 day turnaround has the odds stacked against you especially of the back of a tough game.
Mayo are better than any other qualifier in the last 5 years
I have this on the ipod
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o2cV-FpoHo
I always associate it with the fluency that you need to win an all Ireland and the buzz that goes with the feeling on that Sunday in September
For the last few years I would have associated it with Mayo . They got so close . Galway were so poor.
But maybe now I will think about Galway when I hear it.
There might be another photo added to the wall in Sheridans in Milltown in the next few years
When mayo were wrote off in the past it used to really irk away at me but hand on heart im really embracing this whole mayo havent a hope attitude by the masses. Its all about getting to qf now and who better to meet than dublin.
Sure doesn't everyone just love playing Dublin in *Croke Park ::)
* Of course in the wide open spaces of