Mayo v Galway, 18/06/16, McHale Park

[An Fhairche Abu]

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.

[seafoid]

Mayo have been better than Galway over the last 30 years. The rivalry goes in circles. Which is why Mayo hafta win this year.

[seafoid]

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.

[An Fhairche Abu]

Galway football is at a low ebb but at least things can't get worse

The headline wasn't accurate anyway.

[Maroon Manc]

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.

[Syferus]

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.

[twohands!!!]

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.

[maigheo]

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

[Syferus]

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.

[seafoid]

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.

[Tubberman]

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.

[yellowcard]

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.

[Lar Naparka]

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.

[GalwayBayBoy]

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."

[GalwayBayBoy]

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."