Retirements

[From the Bunker]

Hard to believe he started off as a corner back

He didn't, he was always a forward and made his debut under Pillar at 1/2 forward.

Gilroy tried him in his first year at corner back along with Bastick @ full back

It was in the Sigersen cup that his manager (can't remember who it was) decided to convert him from a forward to a corner back. Gilroy went with it then as well. Experiment didn't work out too well for Dublin or Paddy.

I think he scored an own goal in a Sigerson match as a corner back

My recollection of the startled earwigs match is that Andrews was one of the most startled of them all, Brigid's club campaign in 2011 revitalised him

It took him quite a while to recover and he wasn't seen much if at all in a Dublin jersey again until 2013

2015/16 was his peak - the Mayo replay in 2015 he was very good and he steadied Dublin a lot when coming on as a first half sub in the drawn 2016 final

Solid player rather a great but those are players that great teams need

Vaughan was marking him in this game. Vaughan had to get help getting his Bib off after the the warm up. His Shoulder was fecked and he could hardly raise one of his arms. Pure madness starting him? If I seen that, I'm sure the Dublin sideline noticed. Andrews had high ball after high ball kicked to him. Vaughan spent the game shadowing him and protecting his injury. Think Vaughan was replaced just before half time.

[Gael85]

Vaughan was marking Kilkenny.  Higgins was on Paddy.  Cafferkey was switched over after Paddy kicked 2 points.

[Gael85]

Paddy Andrews, 7 All Irelands, not a bad haul. Always thought he was underrated. Hard to believe he started off as a corner back

Great servant to Dublin football.  Played vital role in Mayo/Kerry games in 2015. Kicked 2 big points in 2016 final drawn final.  Injuries hampered his contribution in recent years.

[greatpoint]

Why are Mayo supporters so concerned with what Joe Brolly says? There's a performative love-in towards them from essentially everyone else in the media nearly ever year, despite their recurring failures when it counts. With their sensitivity, are they implicitly acknowledging that he does in fact have a point?

What point is he trying to make?

Possibly that there's something psychological behind Mayo's repeated All-Ireland losses over the past 30 or so years. I'm not sure though, you'd have to ask those who get worked up about it.

[Tubberman]

Why are Mayo supporters so concerned with what Joe Brolly says? There's a performative love-in towards them from essentially everyone else in the media nearly ever year, despite their recurring failures when it counts. With their sensitivity, are they implicitly acknowledging that he does in fact have a point?

What point is he trying to make?

Possibly that there's something psychological behind Mayo's repeated All-Ireland losses over the past 30 or so years. I'm not sure though, you'd have to ask those who get worked up about it.

Its a personal thing with him, and he makes personal attacks at Mayo players. There's no actual analysis of football matches.

[MayoBuck]

Why are Mayo supporters so concerned with what Joe Brolly says? There's a performative love-in towards them from essentially everyone else in the media nearly ever year, despite their recurring failures when it counts. With their sensitivity, are they implicitly acknowledging that he does in fact have a point?

What point is he trying to make?

Possibly that there's something psychological behind Mayo's repeated All-Ireland losses over the past 30 or so years. I'm not sure though, you'd have to ask those who get worked up about it.

So you don't know what Brolly is talking about either. He harps on about celebrity culture, sponsored cars etc but never actually says anything meaningful. You could also use those as reasons why Donegal and Kerry flopped last year.

The reality is Dublin are better than us in almost every position and that's why we lost the final. I wonder will Brolly write an article taking the piss out of paddy Andrews' retirement statement this weekend?

[Lar Naparka]

The oul' memory iis a bit flaky, never was great at the best of times, and I don't recall the game in which Mayo last beat Dublin very well. But, IIRC, Mayo had to dig in to hold on and just scraped it.
In the aftermath, Brolly cut loose and called Horan everything in a farmyard except a pet lamb. Mayo, sez he, were the most cynical team ever known to man. They were pulling and dragging off the ball, running across free takers and using just about every dark art in the Mayo ever since and he can got town at times. Allll reason is left behind when he writes  anything about Mayo.
Remember the end of the '16 final?
The little s.o.b has plenty to say about Lee Keegan trying to obstruct Dean Rock but sweet FA about Costello kicking the ball off David Clarke's tee or the Dublin players dragging and obstructing the Mayo lads while waiting for Clarke's kickout.
I don't see any point in talking about the little bollox.
It's none of his business if a Mayo player announces his retirement or not.  So he won no All Irelan medals? So what? It doesn't mean a lot to most people outside of Mayo and hardly merits a mention in the national media but it is of interest to most Mayo folks and we don't give two flying fucks about Brolly and his bile.

[Maroon Manc]

Surprised to see Chris Barrett retiring

[MayoBuck]

Barrett will be a big loss. We haven't many options for the full back line now.

[Angelo]

Barrett was outstanding against Tyrone in the 2013 semi final.

Tyrone started off very brightly though losing O'Neill and Harte early with injuries was a big blow and were 4/5 points up. Mayo gradually began to dominate in the middle as the first half wore on but couldn't kick the ball over the bar. Think Barrett came forward with two magnificent points to keep Mayo in touch near the end of the first half when misses were really sapping confidence for Mayo who then kicked on another gear in the second half.

Had a few outstanding games against Dublin too.

Brilliant, brilliant footballer.

[macdanger2]

Massive loss to see him retiring, he was the only natural FB we had this year. Surprised that he didn't stay on for the short year that's coming up

Great servant to Mayo, good luck in your retirement Chris

[GetOverTheBar]

Barrett, another warrior gone for Mayo. Very 'underrated' player. Most people didn't really rank him until 2017ish I suppose.

Great player.

[Blowitupref]

Great defender. I'm a little surprised Barrett hasn't stayed on for at least another year when you consider he was starter for the last 4 championship games in a row and was still performing well.

[imtommygunn]

In one of those Dublin games , they have all blurred into one for me, he gave the best display of tackling I have ever seen.

[From the Bunker]

Good decision by Barrett. Leaves at the top of his game. Nothing worse than seeing a player fade away.

I expect a few more to retirements to follow.

There are now only a few players left for the likes of Brolly left to insult, belittle and look at with disdain.

The present Mayo squad is now only a shadow of the 2013-17 group. There are still enough surviving big names for him to continue this charade for a year or two.

Getting to an AI final this year was a bit of a fluke and I expect us to fade in the next couple of years.

Being out of the lime light will mean Brolly will have to get a new set of players to pick on!