Tyrone vs Mayo AISF Semi-Final - August 25th

[trileacman]

I feel Cassidy isn't as mobile as we think and he mightn't be preforming as well as Colm on sports bra technology. Could be one of the reasons he isn't starting when we think he should be. To be fair to the much maligned Colm he was very good the last day and does cover a fair amount of ground, especially around defence.

[Syferus]

I feel Cassidy isn't as mobile as we think and he mightn't be preforming as well as Colm on sports bra technology. Could be one of the reasons he isn't starting when we think he should be. To be fair to the much maligned Colm he was very good the last day and does cover a fair amount of ground, especially around defence.

Another one bites the bra. Steady on.

[CitySlicker11]

Agree. Colm Cavanagh had a great game the last day out.

[ONeill]

On this day 1989 - Mayo 0-12 Tyrone 1-6

Remember it vividly.

Aftermath in Mayo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_T7Znq7VA4

[Tubberman]

On this day 1989 - Mayo 0-12 Tyrone 1-6

Remember it vividly.

Aftermath in Mayo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_T7Znq7VA4

Great video
The shtate of the roads and cars!

[BennyHarp]

On this day 1989 - Mayo 0-12 Tyrone 1-6

Remember it vividly.

Aftermath in Mayo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_T7Znq7VA4

Great video
The shtate of the roads and cars!

Look at them with their flags and all, rubbing it in after beating Tyrone. Sickening arrogance! Hope we can do it for the '89 boys - Unfinished Business!! 

[Fuzzman]

After the AI final last year I met a lot of very dejected and even embarrassed Mayo fans in Jurys hotel. Most didn't even want to talk about the match or hear any of my sympathy for them which was understandable. They've had that feeling much too often and fair play to them for being able to get back up on the horse and ride on again.
They sure gave Donegal a real hiding and looked on top all over the field and on that performance you would imagine they'll beat any team that gets in there way.

However, compare their fans confidence with that of most sensible Dublin fans and you get a very different picture. Dublin all year have also been putting up big scores and winning matches quite easily but there is a worry they will be caught out. Of course Kerry are always a worry for the Dubs but I am just amazed how the Mayo fans, who have suffered such pain over the years seem to believe Sam is already theirs this year.
Usually if you haven't won it for a large number of years you tend to keep yer head down and say nothing until you actually do win it. See Heffo & Co before 2011.

I think Tyrone will frustrate Mayo much more than they think and they will find it much harder to get scores than in previous games. I don't think we will have the forwards to win the game and so it depends again on how well Sean Cavanagh is contained.

On a different note, strangely part of me would be happy enough should we not get to the final this year as I know the build up to the final will be quite anti Tyrone and our negative cynical style. Everyone wants a Mayo v Dublin final I think with football being the winner which will bring an end to the Donegal/Ulster style of rugby league style of game. Whether that happens or not next year we'll have to wait to see.
It will be interesting to see how defensive Kerry set up against such a fast flowing Dublin outfit.

[ONeill]

From the Mayo News:

As a keen observer of Mayo teams over the years, Padraic O'Malley is hopeful that Sam may finally make that trip to Mayo. But, he says, it is better to remain circumspect since this was only a quarter-final and it is way too soon to start counting unhatched chickens.
"I think Mayo will beat Tyrone but we all know, from experience, the All-Ireland final is different. After all Mayo beat the [previous year's] All-Ireland champions over the last few years but didn't go on to win. But this team looks to have more steam and resolve," Padraic added.

Fair play to Mayo. Planning for the final already.

[Tubberman]

However, compare their fans confidence with that of most sensible Dublin fans and you get a very different picture. Dublin all year have also been putting up big scores and winning matches quite easily but there is a worry they will be caught out. Of course Kerry are always a worry for the Dubs but I am just amazed how the Mayo fans, who have suffered such pain over the years seem to believe Sam is already theirs this year.
Usually if you haven't won it for a large number of years you tend to keep yer head down and say nothing until you actually do win it. See Heffo & Co before 2011.

Would you care to tell us what you're basing this on? Well to be honest, I'm not sure I care.
There was little to no hype in Mayo last year - people were afraid to be excited, a) in case it affected the team, b) so that we wouldn't have to listen to supporters from other counties telling us we were losing the run of ourselves.
Up in Donegal there was a mardi gras atmosphere for weeks before the final, and it made fck all difference to the match itself. They continued the party up to Christmas, we never even started one.
So maybe Mayo people should just enjoy the ride - put up the flag, put on the jersey, have a bit of pride and confidence in the team - they deserve it.

[larryin89]

Hype = confidence ?

I go to all Mayo games and have done for years, like a lot more i know. What is the mood , genuinely i admit there is an air of confidence we can beat Tyrone and why shouldn't there be, we are playing great stuff.

The forums are a bit of craic in the main and a lot is said that doesn't reflect the true feelings of a supporter , its easy to be flippant and arrogant for a laugh to provoke reaction but i promise ya, you would be hard pressed come across a more humble bunch than the Mayo faithful in the main. Of course there will be the younger crowd giving it all the bravado, sure isn't that part of growing up.

Mayo senior football team in its present form are here to take Sam Maguire and there will be no apologies for that.  That team will not be beat handy and thats why there is slowly but surely a true confidence developing amongst the support.

[ballinaman]

However, compare their fans confidence with that of most sensible Dublin fans and you get a very different picture. Dublin all year have also been putting up big scores and winning matches quite easily but there is a worry they will be caught out. Of course Kerry are always a worry for the Dubs but I am just amazed how the Mayo fans, who have suffered such pain over the years seem to believe Sam is already theirs this year.
Usually if you haven't won it for a large number of years you tend to keep yer head down and say nothing until you actually do win it. See Heffo & Co before 2011.

Would you care to tell us what you're basing this on? Well to be honest, I'm not sure I care.
There was little to no hype in Mayo last year - people were afraid to be excited, a) in case it affected the team, b) so that we wouldn't have to listen to supporters from other counties telling us we were losing the run of ourselves.
Up in Donegal there was a mardi gras atmosphere for weeks before the final, and it made fck all difference to the match itself. They continued the party up to Christmas, we never even started one.
So maybe Mayo people should just enjoy the ride - put up the flag, put on the jersey, have a bit of pride and confidence in the team - they deserve it.

I think it's just a general attitude we have in Ireland. We're always a bit perturbed by somebody sticking their chest out and being confident.
Note 1.28 and....3.03. It's just in out nature to be bitter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpZbaz3Wlfw

[Syferus]

Hype = confidence ?

I go to all Mayo games and have done for years, like a lot more i know. What is the mood , genuinely i admit there is an air of confidence we can beat Tyrone and why shouldn't there be, we are playing great stuff.

The forums are a bit of craic in the main and a lot is said that doesn't reflect the true feelings of a supporter , its easy to be flippant and arrogant for a laugh to provoke reaction but i promise ya, you would be hard pressed come across a more humble bunch than the Mayo faithful in the main. Of course there will be the younger crowd giving it all the bravado, sure isn't that part of growing up.

Mayo senior football team in its present form are here to take Sam Maguire and there will be no apologies for that.  That team will not be beat handy and thats why there is slowly but surely a true confidence developing amongst the support.

Yes. I agree. Totally. Full-heartedly. Absolutely.

[Crete Boom]

After the AI final last year I met a lot of very dejected and even embarrassed Mayo fans in Jurys hotel. Most didn't even want to talk about the match or hear any of my sympathy for them which was understandable. They've had that feeling much too often and fair play to them for being able to get back up on the horse and ride on again.
They sure gave Donegal a real hiding and looked on top all over the field and on that performance you would imagine they'll beat any team that gets in there way.

However, compare their fans confidence with that of most sensible Dublin fans and you get a very different picture. Dublin all year have also been putting up big scores and winning matches quite easily but there is a worry they will be caught out. Of course Kerry are always a worry for the Dubs but I am just amazed how the Mayo fans, who have suffered such pain over the years seem to believe Sam is already theirs this year.
Usually if you haven't won it for a large number of years you tend to keep yer head down and say nothing until you actually do win it. See Heffo & Co before 2011.

I think Tyrone will frustrate Mayo much more than they think and they will find it much harder to get scores than in previous games. I don't think we will have the forwards to win the game and so it depends again on how well Sean Cavanagh is contained.

On a different note, strangely part of me would be happy enough should we not get to the final this year as I know the build up to the final will be quite anti Tyrone and our negative cynical style. Everyone wants a Mayo v Dublin final I think with football being the winner which will bring an end to the Donegal/Ulster style of rugby league style of game. Whether that happens or not next year we'll have to wait to see.
It will be interesting to see how defensive Kerry set up against such a fast flowing Dublin outfit.

  I think as a Mayoman I find it better to embrace the occasion and be confident in the team. We have made it to an All Ireland semi final playing the best football from a Mayo team that I can ever remember. Personally I like to enjoy following this team and if asked whether I think this team can win the All Ireland I tell the truth and answer yes. If we get beaten by Tyrone then so be it and there is no shame in been beaten by a county that was probably the team of the last decade but I am not going to keep the head down look at the ground murmuring I don't know if asked where I think this current Mayo team are at. We have failed so many times before at this stage we have nothing to fear from failure as fans so in my opinion it is better to hope and dream rather than hide and try a deflect from a potential failure. What is the point in lying about how you feel about your county to just so you can be the first say "I warned you all" if we happen to lose in the semi final. People seem to forget that this is a semi final of a knock out competition of considerable quality so it would hardly be beyond the realms of possibility if Mayo or Dublin were to be caught out.
 
  It is pretty obvious that people in this country put a lot of stock in being cute (e.g playing down the prospects of your team) as if this is some brilliant tactic to fool an opponent when in fact it is a default position to prevent yourself from sticking your head above the parapet for fear of being proven wrong. If I were a Tyrone fan I would be confident of a possible victory as long as the team is set up correctly as a result of the successes of the last decade(due to the confidence and experience this brings) and Tyrone could very well dominate and dictate the game to win by a relatively comfortable margin of 3 or 4 points due to this Mayo team failing to live with the pressure of having to retrieve a game in the last quarter. Expect immediately a Mayo poster to think what an arrogant statement, rolling out the tired old cliche that Mayo bottle it in Croke park when in fact if you look at the fact that Mayo haven't been behind in the second half let alone the last quarter of a game this championship to date , why would this scenario be outlandish to the Mayo fan. Also if Mayo get a lightning start and win by ten plus points would anyone be really shocked after what happened in their four previous games. So where does all this accusations of arrogance and worship of the "beal bocht " come from?

Personally I think it's part and parcel ( a bad part ) of our character as a nation just like being compulsive/widely emotional is part and parcel of the character of a Mayoman/Mayowomen so please don't throw up a quote from a local paper ( Mayo or Tyrone) by some local expert (Padraic O' Malley or Adrian Logan) as some kind of beacon as to how either Mickey Harte or James Horan and their players will approach this game mentally or as a measure of the respect either sets of fans have towards each county. Also it would be nice if fans from both sides could give a genuine opinion as to why the think their county will win or lose this match without resorting to trying to be" cute" for fear of reprisal! To quote the great Mickey Harte " a man how never made a mistake , never made anything at all".

Would Mayo v Dublin be a final pairing that would be good for football? Well as a fan of the Gaa if my own county isn't in the final I would watch the final to be entertained. Does the football have to be free flowing and high scoring to do this? Well for me no and who is to say that such a match up wouldn't be cagey and defensive? I am sure a lot of people would be satisfied with a Kerry Mayo final as  wondering can Mayo seek revenge for past annihilation's at the hands of the Kingdom or will it be another case of car crash TV? Wouldn't Dublin Tyrone be interesting with the grizzly veterans of Gormely , O'Neill , Cavanagh and Harte against the young upstarts of McCaffrey , Kilkenny , Mannion and Gavin? Lastly who wouldn't want to see the war that would be Kerry Tyrone which could possibly put the who was the greatest argument to bed ( well for a little while at least)?

[larryin89]

Great post Crete Boom.

[Farrandeelin]

For me, the major worry is that Mayo won't play as well again. (I know Lar and the whole lot of you will say it's Farr's pessimism etc.) But I can't see them playing as well against Tyrone as they did the last day. Maybe I'm too caught up on previous teams etc, but to be entering a semi final as odds on favourites when the opposition is managed by Mickey Harte I can only hope the Mayo players remain grounded. If they do, we stand a great chance. If not, and it's level with 5 to go, then it's squeaky bum time.