Armagh v Mayo March 3

[muppet]

i suppose mayo are not rated by a lot of people, its easy to see why. donegal,derry,down,tyrone,armagh,dublin,offaly,cork,meath,kerry,galway are the ones off the top of my head that have won the big prize since we last did. kerry,dublin and perhaps tyrone see us as very beatable, we have beaten all three late in the championship in recent years but not late enough.
mayo are seen as nobodies until we win Sam .

That's about it, we need to stop moaning and whinging about been under the radar all the time and win the fricking thing once and for all (sometime) and then we might be recognised as a good team. However, undoubtedly when/if we ever do win Sam again it'll be down to the opposition missing a star player/ they took Mayo lightly for the final/bla bla bla etc.

However mannix, isn't it funny though how you haven't Kildare down on that list, and they're in the top 4, after Cork, Kerry, Dublin.

I did not put kildare in because mayo have won Sam 3 times since they last won it. Even Louth may have won one in the fifties?

True, but they should probably stop dwelling on it.

[From the Bunker]

I am sorry, but this Kildare top four is 'The Pale' media Bullsh*t!

The media love Kildare, they love their long journeys through the back door, they love the Geezer factor and they love the pity they can lay on Kildare when they lose narrowly to a dodgy decision.

Looking at the last 4 years under they Geezer, they have no Big scalp or provincial title for a team that are supposed to be in the big four.

In 2011 lost to Dublin and Donegal, Beat Wicklow, Meath, Laois, Meath, Derry

In 2010 lost to Louth and Down, Beat Antrim, Leitrim, Derry, Monaghan, Meath

2009 Lost to Dublin and Tyrone, Beat Offaly, Wexford, Laois, Wicklow

2008 Lost to Wicklow and Cork, Beat Cavan, Limerick, Fermanagh,

[Mac2]

Harte has never really convinced at this level and Mortimer has an awful lot to do if he's to nail down a place, there's a lot of fellas snapping at his heals. Mcloughlin's a good footballer, not sure if the forwards is his best position though.

I have always rated Harte highly. In his earlier days he was inclined to act impetuously when a cooler head was called for and his progress has been curtailed to a great degree by injury but if the choice was mine and Pat was mentally and physically fit, he'd be a shoo-in.
And so would Conoreen. The last night he was a spectator much of the time but he showed he still is a class act. He got one mighty point in the second half when he turned his man several times before popping it over.
It was vintage stuff.
If he stays clear of injury, he should be a front runner for a corner spot.

Given Harte's size and athleticism I always expected more of him, what position would you shoo him into btw? Have to say I'd be disappointed given the forwards coming through if Mort was the automatic choice for the corner, for one thing he has never been much of a goal threat whereas O'Connor and Doherty have an instinct to go for goal.

[moysider]

Yeah. Likes of O Connor, Doherty keen on goals. Freeman too. Regan is a menace with any decent chance. Harte gets a few coming from deep and Kirby can take a goal too.

I m not going to be hard on The Mort. He has more than pulled his weight over the years but I wonder can he bring it to another level. To make the team I believe he needs to. He s always been a lone assassin type of player and I suspect Horan is the type of coach that prefers the lay-off than a shot into a smothering block.

Conor has always been capable of running riot when he has the better of his man 1 on 1. He can still do that. But when things tighten up or when he s faced with an alpha corner-back, he s been unable to adjust his game - win a ball, give and go type of thing. There are others in the squad who will do that for you and they re the type we ll need if we re to eventually threaten late in the year. Individual brilliance wont do it on its own.

[Never beat the deeler]

Yeah. Likes of O Connor, Doherty keen on goals. Freeman too. Regan is a menace with any decent chance. Harte gets a few coming from deep and Kirby can take a goal too.

I m not going to be hard on The Mort. He has more than pulled his weight over the years but I wonder can he bring it to another level. To make the team I believe he needs to. He s always been a lone assassin type of player and I suspect Horan is the type of coach that prefers the lay-off than a shot into a smothering block.

Conor has always been capable of running riot when he has the better of his man 1 on 1. He can still do that. But when things tighten up or when he s faced with an alpha corner-back, he s been unable to adjust his game - win a ball, give and go type of thing. There are others in the squad who will do that for you and they re the type we ll need if we re to eventually threaten late in the year. Individual brilliance wont do it on its own.

Good post. I agree with your assessment of Mortimor. As you say, he has more than proven his worth through the years and has been unjustly pilloried by some.

Imo he will still be a very good squad player, and would be liable to make hay against a tiring corner back, and in the second half of games that have opened up slightly. I can't see him changing his game to any great extent at this stage of his career, but then I was wrong once before...