Mayo v New York, Gaelic Park 10.05.09

[blast05]

'd say there could be a small enough crew going.

Far bigger numbers going from my rural corner of North Mayo than travelled in 2004. Approx 20 from an area with a weekday population of less than 500.

[kevmy]

with the loss o c mort im afraid aom is definite starter as a free taker and out and out scorer. we are sadly lacking in that regard and if austie is our betst bet someone has q's to a

True enough but then it's been obvious for a few years that a small corner forward with only one kicking leg and a short range and no nose for goal has been our most consistent and highest scorer.

People give out about Conor but in general he does his best and when Dillon is not on scoring form he is unfairly asked to carry the burden as regards and is just not the talent of a Gooch, Stevie McDonald or Mattie Forde. Tbh he has done pretty well to prop us up in the scoring dept. for a few years. Even when Mac played he was never a mad scorer.

Mort best argument was always that there was no one in the county near him in terms of point scoring or consistency, which was/is true. I'd love it if we had a few more options up front but we don't

[rosnarun]

 whats the story on tickets. i have a season myself but the brother and i want to invite my american pm along. hate to see them locked out . i hear its holds only a thousad or so

[rosnarun]

not fair on mort that. he knows he has job to do and he does it as well as any in the country. maddens me to hear lads expecting mort to run like a headless chicken isnt that what trevor is for

[AbbeySider]

Working off a target man like O Se, Mortimor should be able to make hay.
In fact it should be a fairly lethal FF line as Austie works best on the loop and popping it over. He has being doing it for years for Louisburgh and its hard to defend against.
Himself and Mort are similar in the fact that they are not the best at winning 50-50 ball. But with O Se in there they havnt any excuse. I would expect Mort to start in the corner when he gets back from his injury's. The break might do him good as he should be hungry when he gets back to full fitness.

[rosnarun]

dispite3 all the slagging ive given the poor lad my only concern with Austin is . doe his mind tick over fast enough for championship fare. and I know he has flattered to decieve on a few occasions but some of the bad things he does really make you wonder.
Cant fault his dedicaton or commitment to the cause though hes proven himself to be a real soldier to the ccause thoughout a lot of flack.himself and harte are very similar like that
  foot soldiers though  not  officer material  surely?

[Carmen Stateside]

whats the story on tickets. i have a season myself but the brother and i want to invite my american pm along. hate to see them locked out . i hear its holds only a thousad or so

There will be plenty of room dont worry!

[Kevin]

LOL, sleep easy.

Tickets will be no issue whatsoever.

[moysider]

dispite3 all the slagging ive given the poor lad my only concern with Austin is . doe his mind tick over fast enough for championship fare. and I know he has flattered to decieve on a few occasions but some of the bad things he does really make you wonder.
Cant fault his dedicaton or commitment to the cause though hes proven himself to be a real soldier to the ccause thoughout a lot of flack.himself and harte are very similar like that
  foot soldiers though  not  officer material  surely?

Jesus Ros what de f*** are you on about puttin those 2 in the same bracket. Chalk and cheese ffs. Whatever about officer material there is little to connect this pair. Austin could never even imagine doin what Harte does club or county. Why not David Clarke and Austie or Cafferkey and Austie or McGarrity, or Gardiner, or Dillon or Trevor or whoever v Austin? How many leaders we got? Without Nallen, Aiden, Heaney and Mac, maybe a few - if you include Harte and Clarke.  How many Majors we got? Anybody who was at our league matches would have to admit that Harte was one of a very few that went out without fear and tried to make things happen. Few others did. And  I d speculate that PH is one of the last in the panel that does nt geneflect to the great leader and his side-kick but he s one of the most likey to get him out of his hole even though management will always leave a question- mark about him. Would Austin have gone for those fetches off the back-foot second-half v Tyrone ( got a few great ones)? That s not fair on Austin but Harte did it without any fear. As I ve pointed out to another poster previously, your perfectly entitled to dislike Harte ( apparentlt a lot do) but get the grounds right. I d even bank on Harte to do a better job in the ff line.

[rosnarun]

maybe youll letus know on what grounds its ok to under rate harte on . like/dislike does not come into it at all.
harte has the hands and the engine to be a great player but not the head or the boot. Austin has the boot and the hands but not the engine or the head . queit similar strenghts and  defects
i did see the league game and harte definitely added something in Letterkenny but apart from that we got what we expect from harte except fewer red cards.
both  have earned a place on the panel ready to come on but after new york i would not expect either to be a starting option.

I take it all the lads are sure the whole party will get in are going themselves? any one going to the dinner in the Astoria?

[kevmy]

not fair on mort that. he knows he has job to do and he does it as well as any in the country. maddens me to hear lads expecting mort to run like a headless chicken isnt that what trevor is for

That wasn't meant as a slight against Mort at all. He does his job as best he can and as that type of player there is noone better. But that doesn't hide his obvious flaws (one footed, not able to win 50-50 ball, poor shooting range). Basically I'm saying there are a few better forwards in the country but no one near him in terms of corner forwards in the county. If he had some competition for the spot Mayo football would be better off. If he gets injured or has a bad day who have we to bring on (Austie? Kilcoyne? Sweeney? Andy?) None of them are anywhere near Mort in corner forward play.

In fact I'd go as far as saying Mort is a victim of his own success. People are full time giving out about him yet if he was injured for a year people would know it. He covering up the lack of consistent scorers we have in the team by always getting 4-6 points a game. Only Dillon could match him in that ability but as a wing forward he not able to produce that on a reliable basis.

[small white mayoman]

[
In fact I'd go as far as saying Mort is a victim of his own success. People are full time giving out about him yet if he was injured for a year people would know it. He covering up the lack of consistent scorers we have in the team by always getting 4-6 points a game. Only Dillon could match him in that ability but as a wing forward he not able to produce that on a reliable basis.

don't know would mort score 4-6 points a game from play get quite a lot from frees but i see where your coming from

[rosnarun]

why is being one footed seen as a flaw in Citogs . when was the last time you saw alan dillion or Andy moran scoring a point with their left sure some can do it like Austin but there are more serious problems there(see above).
Connor has to put up with a lot of prejudice because hes not the typical looking footballer  and this includes from refs but he still just does his thing.

[kevmy]

why is being one footed seen as a flaw in Citogs . when was the last time you saw alan dillion or Andy moran scoring a point with their left sure some can do it like Austin but there are more serious problems there(see above).
Connor has to put up with a lot of prejudice because hes not the typical looking footballer  and this includes from refs but he still just does his thing.

Having watching Mort for many years there are very few players as one footed as him and it's a flaw in any player cos all the defender has to do is keep him on the other side. Gooch, Forde and the rest of the top top forwards in the country can score with both feet. It's a flaw in that it stops a really good player becoming a great player. And I'm not comparing Conor with Andy I'm comparing him with the best in the country.

I agree with you that he gets a lot of undeserved stick and I'd hate to see this Mayo team play a serious championship game without him. Just pointing out what everyone can see. If you are as reliant on a player as much as we have been on Mort over the last couple of years and expect to win things they have to be truly great and Conor is just that bit short.

As for Conor not hitting 6 points from play true enough he gets a good percentage of his scores from frees but he wins a lot of them himself and an accurate free taker under pressure should never be taken for granted.

[moysider]

maybe youll letus know on what grounds its ok to under rate harte on . like/dislike does not come into it at all.
harte has the hands and the engine to be a great player but not the head or the boot. Austin has the boot and the hands but not the engine or the head . queit similar strenghts and  defectsi did see the league game and harte definitely added something in Letterkenny but apart from that we got what we expect from harte except fewer red cards.
both  have earned a place on the panel ready to come on but after new york i would not expect either to be a starting option.

I take it all the lads are sure the whole party will get in are going themselves? any one going to the dinner in the Astoria?

Another regular here posted some weeks ago that Harte has nt the pace for the game. In fact he s well above average for Mayo midfielders/half forwards I ve seen down the years. He s got a sweet left boot and is one of the most likely to get a couple from play and he more likely to get a goal than most. He s getting fewer cards but he has a bit of cut about him. And he s a team player that can see a pass( goal v Tyrone last year). After putting up a worthy and proper defence of another citóg I thought you would appreciate that. Plus he can pass off his hands further than most. However Austin has no hands for a man of his considerable size ( and as you ve pointed out his football brain is questionable). Austin s biggest failing is his inability to compete for and hold onto ball above his navel.
The differences between Harte and Austin could hardly be more different. Poles apart. Whatever about Austin I d love to hear who is a better starting option after the meaningless NY gig than Harte? So you admit he has hands and engine. He s got a fine left boot(good enough for the goose good enough for....). So you dont like his head.