Mayo v Galway, MacHale Park, Sunday 13th May 4pm

Started by From the Bunker, April 01, 2018, 08:44:18 PM

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seafoid

Quote from: Orchard park on April 17, 2018, 10:43:39 PM
Seafoid 4 of the 6 were dynamite, 1 was a decent freetaker and 1 was lucky to be there just like the right half back, the centre back and one midfielder, but going through most winning teams none have 15 exceptional stars.

They played a great brand of football and improved hugely on leaving Connacht.

Did Seamus prior ever get  the recognition in Galway he deserved


Ja was my favourite from all the stars on the team
As a unit they were exceptional. 4 exceptional players but the other 2 faciliated the group.
Agree about the right half back. Jaysus.

Winning all Irelands is about team play and getting better as the summer progresses. And you need class forwards.

I remember 95. They had a few good players but a lot of gaps. The gaps emerged  about 10 minutes from.the end in Croke Park.
Donnellan and Joyce had been in the 94 minor final.
In 96 and 97 they experimented with different formations. John Donnellan and Damien Mitchell' were on the team for example . Val Daly was player/manager.  Mayo won both years. It was hard to know who was missing.
O Mahony came in and put the pieces in place. Re Seamus Prior
I think winning in Connacht in June/July when a team is operating at 50% of peak capacity can't be compared to a top notch performance in September.  2001 was an example of that.

It has been a long time since we had a decent team.
"f**k it, just score"- Donaghy   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbxG2WwVRjU

Maroon Manc

Quote from: galwayman on April 17, 2018, 07:16:54 PM
Quote from: GalwayBayBoy on April 17, 2018, 06:59:44 PM
Quote from: seafoid on April 17, 2018, 05:11:59 PM
Donnellan in full flow

https://t.co/xJdih0psVy

Paul Rouse (who I would have a lot of time for usually) was on Off the Ball AM this morning and said he wasn't in the top 5 players on that Galway side. Think he said Joyce, Ja and Finnegan were better forwards than him and not sure he named the other two he thought were better than him on top of that.

Utter mentalness.
Who is Paul Rouse?
There were a lot of fine footballers on that team but to say Donnellan wasn't in the top 5 strikes me of someone who hasn't a clue what they are talking about to be honest.
In that AI final in 98 he was the best player on the pitch.
He dipped in later years sure yes but at his peak he was brilliant.

Didn't have the longevity of Joyce but Donnellan is clearly one of the most naturally talented footballers I've seen, you'd have to be a simpleton to suggest he's not in the top 5.

Jinxy

If you were any use you'd be playing.

Maroon Manc

Quote from: seafoid on April 18, 2018, 05:44:24 AM
Quote from: Orchard park on April 17, 2018, 10:43:39 PM
Seafoid 4 of the 6 were dynamite, 1 was a decent freetaker and 1 was lucky to be there just like the right half back, the centre back and one midfielder, but going through most winning teams none have 15 exceptional stars.

They played a great brand of football and improved hugely on leaving Connacht.

Did Seamus prior ever get  the recognition in Galway he deserved


Ja was my favourite from all the stars on the team
As a unit they were exceptional. 4 exceptional players but the other 2 faciliated the group.
Agree about the right half back. Jaysus.

Winning all Irelands is about team play and getting better as the summer progresses. And you need class forwards.

I remember 95. They had a few good players but a lot of gaps. The gaps emerged  about 10 minutes from.the end in Croke Park.
Donnellan and Joyce had been in the 94 minor final.
In 96 and 97 they experimented with different formations. John Donnellan and Damien Mitchell' were on the team for example . Val Daly was player/manager.  Mayo won both years. It was hard to know who was missing.
O Mahony came in and put the pieces in place. Re Seamus Prior
I think winning in Connacht in June/July when a team is operating at 50% of peak capacity can't be compared to a top notch performance in September.  2001 was an example of that.

It has been a long time since we had a decent team.

For a start their was no Ja and Joyce didn't make his debut until 98; Don't think Savage played in 97 either. Those 3 would make a huge difference to any team.

Manning18

Quote from: Orchard park on April 17, 2018, 09:18:44 PM
Finnegan was a good freetaker but from play was only a fraction better than shay Walsh .

That Galway team had some fine players but some extremely weak by any standard

This is nonsense. When Ja was injured in 96/97 and a few had yet to come along, Finnegan was the main man in the forward line. He scored 9 points (4 from play i think) against Mayo in 97 and was the only real threat in the forward line. Scored two terrific points from play in the 98 (frustratingly never shown on the replays). During the Connacht campaign id say he was the second most important forward behind Ja, with perhaps Donnellan passing him out once in Croke Park. He was more influential than Joyce that season though and far ahead of Savage, with that pair obviously passing him out fairly quickly in subsequent years.

Manning18

The criticism's of Paul rouse about Donnellan are a bit mental. Obviously he said overrated which is different to "poor", but still the reasons he used. Inconsistency was one when he legitimately couldve won footballer of the year in any of 98, 00, 01. In fact the year he did get it was he least deserving imo, thought Ja ran away with it that year. Production was another reason, when from 99-04 or so he was possibly the highest scoring midfielder we've seen in modern times? Hard think of another. Injuries ruined him after that. Bizzare stuff

mouview

A small bit too critical of Niall Finnegan here. He was very skillful in his own right, was one of our few better forwards in the fallow period of the early 90s, and kicked 4 points in the '98 final. Donnellan was one of the most physically gifted forwards of his era, on a par with the likes of Matt Connor. Could use either foot with equal facility, had searing pace, very good at fielding, scoring, reading the game. Inter alia the most talented footballer I've ever seen in maroon.

I see someone has credited Paddy Tally with our improved defensive displays. Personally, I put it down to the emergence of a proper FB in Sean Andy, the fitness and improved form of Kerin, both of which have allowed Declan Kyne to settle better in the other corner. However, as I've said previously, I think it's pushed our defensive problems out the field a bit. I still wouldn't be satisfied with our HB line, which is too loose, and was flagging v Dublin in the later stages of the league final. Midfield is still a work in progress, but mgmt maybe seem to have recognised that Conroy will no longer do there. If true, I'm disappointed that Ml Farragher and Lundy aren't available to the squad as I feel both, (yes Lundy too), still could offer a lot in terms of depth and options.

TBH, I'm still not too optimistic about our later season chances. We're good enough to make the Super 8s, but that should nearly be default every year anyway. Unlike 98, I don't see that we have enough quality players in some positions and I hope that we haven't now peaked under KW.

Orchard park

Quote from: Manning18 on April 18, 2018, 11:08:29 AM
Quote from: Orchard park on April 17, 2018, 09:18:44 PM
Finnegan was a good freetaker but from play was only a fraction better than shay Walsh .

That Galway team had some fine players but some extremely weak by any standard

This is nonsense. When Ja was injured in 96/97 and a few had yet to come along, Finnegan was the main man in the forward line. He scored 9 points (4 from play i think) against Mayo in 97 and was the only real threat in the forward line. Scored two terrific points from play in the 98 (frustratingly never shown on the replays). During the Connacht campaign id say he was the second most important forward behind Ja, with perhaps Donnellan passing him out once in Croke Park. He was more influential than Joyce that season though and far ahead of Savage, with that pair obviously passing him out fairly quickly in subsequent years.

I worked with Roscommon on opposition team analysis in 98 and perhaps it was down to my personal views partly but the players we primarily focused on in this order as being the main areas of concern for us were Ja, Mikeen Donellan, Tomas Mannion, Kevin Walsh, Sean Og, Savage and P Joyce who at that time was viewed by a lot inside and outside galway as a college superstar but not up to senior. There was very little focus on Niall Finnegan a little bit more than on Tommy Joyce but not much......... Silke O'Domhnaill, McNamara and Divilly were where we saw maximum damage could be inflicted, we knew we had the most underrated and  reliable freetaker in the country at the time and the plan was draw fouls from Divilly and Silke when we turned them or else quick ball to Dineen at full forward who we felt could break even with a very good full back in Gary Fahy

galway did Connacht proud in 1998 and really pushed on from playing us, we never could have won an all-ireland that year but to the grave I wont forgive that lowlife Prior for tuam 98 and not giving a free to Dowdie which would have put us 2 up and handing Niall F a chance to equalise straight away.

both games were 0-11 each after 70 mins so i would think we had done a pretty good job on holding a serious forward line quiet

Rossfan

I still get livid when I hear that hoor mentioned.........
I still believe there was a CC wish to get an AI to Connacht and a shower of Ros men couldn't be allowed to derail it.
Davy's given us a dream to cling to
We're going to bring home the SAM

Orchard park

I can claim no credit for the substitutions in Tuam either............


Rossfan

Davy's given us a dream to cling to
We're going to bring home the SAM

Orchard park

Quote from: Rossfan on April 18, 2018, 01:10:20 PM
Quote from: Orchard park on April 18, 2018, 12:43:13 PM
I can claim no credit for the substitutions in Tuam either............
Remind me?

Gerry Keane replaced by Jason Neary, i think it was 40 seconds he lasted before being sent off

Jinxy

Quote from: Manning18 on April 18, 2018, 11:08:29 AM
Quote from: Orchard park on April 17, 2018, 09:18:44 PM
Finnegan was a good freetaker but from play was only a fraction better than shay Walsh .

That Galway team had some fine players but some extremely weak by any standard

This is nonsense. When Ja was injured in 96/97 and a few had yet to come along, Finnegan was the main man in the forward line. He scored 9 points (4 from play i think) against Mayo in 97 and was the only real threat in the forward line. Scored two terrific points from play in the 98 (frustratingly never shown on the replays). During the Connacht campaign id say he was the second most important forward behind Ja, with perhaps Donnellan passing him out once in Croke Park. He was more influential than Joyce that season though and far ahead of Savage, with that pair obviously passing him out fairly quickly in subsequent years.

Always rated Finnegan, even though he was half a Dub.  ;)
If you were any use you'd be playing.

Tubberman

Quote from: Jinxy on April 18, 2018, 01:51:18 PM
Quote from: Manning18 on April 18, 2018, 11:08:29 AM
Quote from: Orchard park on April 17, 2018, 09:18:44 PM
Finnegan was a good freetaker but from play was only a fraction better than shay Walsh .

That Galway team had some fine players but some extremely weak by any standard

This is nonsense. When Ja was injured in 96/97 and a few had yet to come along, Finnegan was the main man in the forward line. He scored 9 points (4 from play i think) against Mayo in 97 and was the only real threat in the forward line. Scored two terrific points from play in the 98 (frustratingly never shown on the replays). During the Connacht campaign id say he was the second most important forward behind Ja, with perhaps Donnellan passing him out once in Croke Park. He was more influential than Joyce that season though and far ahead of Savage, with that pair obviously passing him out fairly quickly in subsequent years.

Always rated Finnegan, even though he was half a Dub.  ;)

Pretty sure I remember him saying he quit because he didn't enjoy the AI win as much as he expected. He played for years in search of the Holy Grail, then when he got there, he thought "Is this it!?" and decided the effort wasn't worth it.
I'm sure our lads would love to find out if that's the case of course :(
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

Orchard park

He quit because he was working his hole off as a partner in a legal firm as well as trying to be married and play intercounty........ the intercounty way the easiest of those 3 to give up esp when one has the big medal won.

But you are right he has gone on record as to being somewhat underwhelmed by the win