Mayo Football and Hurling - Discussion pages

[stephenite]

In a statement earlier today new Mayo County Board spokesman Mr. D. Rumsfeld announced that Barney had been arrested and taken to Blacksod Bay Detainment Camp for questioning. He has been classified as an 'enemy combatant' by the CB and is being held without trial in Camp X-Ray. Witnesses describe Barney as being calm but most heard him shout 'you can't handle the truth' numerous times before being taken away.

[AbbeySider]

Warms the Soul......


O'Mahony glad to be back in the hot seat
26 January 2007

Mayo manager John O'Mahony admits that he is really enjoying his role and always knew that he was destined to come back and manage his native county some day.

O'Mahony has been running the rule over a number of players during the FBD League and putting the squad through their paces ahead of the National Football League that kicks off in a fortnight's time.

"I enjoy being back in management. Deep down, inevitably, the way my career developed, I was always going to be back managing Mayo," admitted O'Mahony.

"I wouldn't have said it publicly but I knew it was likely. There was always great pressure to be there. I wanted to pick the best time but, to be honest, there's never a perfect time.

"I enjoy the big days too. I enjoy being clam on the big days. I would like to think that I send out a feeling of calmness on the big day because there's only one thing that's important – that we have won the match."

[Farrandeelin]

Why are the Mayo hurlers in the Kehoe cup could anyone with insights on the small-ball game tell me? I thought it was for Leinster teams only.

[highking]

Mayo first enetered the Kehoe Cup a few years ago to get extra games. The Leinster council is well run and they are very much in favour of letting other counties outside their province in. This year Roscommon and Mayo played in the Kehoe Cup, while Antrim and Down played in the Walsh Cup. The higher standard helps connacht teams prepare better.

[intoDwest]

any reports on the challange games over the weekend? how did mayo play against louth and what was the lineup?

[Mayo4Sam]

Congrats to Chuckie, for a man who has been ignored for so long its mighty that he'll finally get some kind of reward, couldn't happen to a nicer fella.
Our first captain since '93(?), hope he has better luck that PB
Wouldn't it be greta to see a Knockmore man lift Sam   

Hopefully this means JOM has a full time CF spot kept for him

[Tubberman]

A surprise choice really, but fair play to O'Neill. It's been some couple of years for him!
He obviously still has the drive and determination, even if there must be huge doubts about his ability to last a full game.
But it must be remembered he was one of the few players to really perform last Sept

[Tubberman]

Great interview with JOM in this week's Mayo News. He talks pure sense, I can't wait to see how things develop this year.

Following the leader

INTERVIEW
Mike Finnerty
mikefinnerty@mayonews.ie

WEDNESDAY morning in Claremorris and the wind sweeps through the streets. People scurry from their cars to the shops and life in the South Mayo town carries on regardless.
You step through a small door on D'Alton Street and arrive in a warm, cosy room. It is simply decorated, yet welcoming and a local newspaper lies casually on the table.
On the walls are pictures. Dozens are crammed with faces from around the region, one is of the Fine Gael leader, and most others feature the man of the moment.
Only one has an obvious football connection. It may be over 17 years old now but it still retains its energy and colour. It was taken in Croke Park just after the 1989 All-Ireland Final. A track-suited 36 year old is standing in the foreground, his emotions sketched across his face.
People mill around him. One holds a sign above his head. 'John Says Keep The Faith' reads the banner.
That picture may paint a thousand words but now it nestles in the corner of the Mayo manager's Dáil election office. And John O'Mahony has little time to dwell on the past.

SO how busy is the Mayo manager as he attempts to lead the county footballers to their first All-Ireland in 56 years and get elected to Dail Eireann at the same time? He smiles and tells you a quick story to set the scene.
"I'm learning the ability to switch instantly from one to the other," he explains. "I had training on Tuesday night in Castlebar and drove to Knock afterwards to a farmers' meeting about lactose content in milk. You switch totally. It meant that I didn't get any food after training but that's probably no harm, it'll help the diet," he chuckles.
"What I'm enjoying is the little bit of freedom. In the past I'd have been in the classroom all day and going off to training after. I didn't even have a mobile phone back in those early days with Mayo; I have two of them now."
We sit and talk for almost an hour, our conversation interrupted only by a telephone call from party headquarters and a constituent that drops in for a quick word. The local postman, who has Davitts GAA club roots, also shoots the breeze with O'Mahony for a few minutes about a game that was played many moons ago against Ballaghaderreen. If Johnno' is under pressure he is hiding it well.
"I don't know to be honest," he says when asked if this Mayo squad is good enough or mentally strong enough to win this year's All-Ireland. "This is how I put it to the players, I'm not appearing here to wave a magic wand and say, 'This is the way that this is done'. But I would be confident that I have a fair idea of how to help the players to find the solution to why they haven't won the ultimate prize.
"Everyone is asking at the moment, 'Can we bring back Sam?' My answer is that Mayo will bring back Sam. The question is when. I can't guarantee immediate success. What I will guarantee is that we will do everything right to have a real assault on the championship this year. And that's not being evasive.
"People look back on the disappointment of the Kerry game last year as if that's the only thing to solve," he continues. "I would love to be in the situation where it was now the morning after the Dublin match and take it from there.
"But that's not what I'm doing. What I'm doing is getting the squad back together, dealing with the after-effects of the final, bringing in new players, and putting the jigsaw together from the very start.
"When we get to the stage of getting back into finals again we'll deal with them. But that's not what's to be solved now. Right now we have to get consistency into our game, get a game-plan, get everybody working together. Once we get that we'll move on to the next stage."

THE Mayo manager will be 54 in June. He was appointed to his current position eight weeks ago and has looked at 55 players so far.
He knows what men like David Heaney, James Nallen, David Brady, Ciaran McDonald and others like them bring to the table. It is the new faces that he is trying to read.
"What's needed is ambition, dedication, commitment and a basic amount of talent," offers O'Mahony. "Pace is an important commodity in the modern game, as is physical strength. But that doesn't mean that we won't have some light guys on the team, it's about balance.
"Character would be another thing," he adds quickly. "There will be setbacks along the way and mental strength is a huge thing, especially in Mayo.
"We have taken a buffeting over the years. We have done tremendously to get so close but there is something that we need to get into the heads that when we get to that stage again that we put in the performance that will get us close. That's all you can do; get the performance.
"That's what Mayo did against Dublin, they got themselves into a position to win the game. That didn't happen against Kerry.
"People ask, 'Are you going to win an All-Ireland if you get into it again?' First of all you have to get into a position to do that. Stage two is to close the deal. We didn't do either in 2004 or 2006. But I'm not even thinking about that yet."

IN the run-up to last year's All-Ireland Final the late Johnny Mulvey was asked what his life would have been like without Mayo football. 'Sure it wouldn't have been a life at all," was his heartfelt response.
O'Mahony seems to share a similar philosophy. Football permeates every second of every day for him. He is fascinated by its minute details, intoxicated by its unpredictability, and convinced of its ability to bind people together.
"Mayo people are unique in the sense there's huge passion, we've come so close, the hopes have been raised so many times...
"Last year was a big year in that the U-21 title was won. Mayo don't have a divine right to get to finals and lose them all the time. They don't have a divine right to win them but they don't have a divine right to lose them and the U-21s showed that.
"The one thing that I would want people to remember is that anything I've achieved in football is with people working together. Let nobody think that Mayo's football problems are solved because John O'Mahony is back.
"If Mayo are to be successful while I'm around it'll be Mayo's success, not mine. It'll be the people all around doing various jobs that come together. This individuality has to be got out of every level, including management. When I'm gone it will have been the county that will have been successful, not me. I'm not saying that for the sake of saying it, I'm not being patronising."
His voice raises just a notch as he warms to the theme.
"There is no chance of success if anybody is seen to be above anybody else's station. Any conflict anywhere along the line cannot be allowed. That was one of the things that has been mentioned in relation to my previous time in Mayo. I am convinced that that's not there now."
Debate among Mayo supporters is intense just now as the National League and another season is about to dawn. One of the more interesting subjects is how John O'Mahony, renowned for his man-management skills, will marry the striking individuality of some of his squad with the needs of the team. How will be convince everyone of the benefits?
"You encourage individuality, of course you do. Every player must be pushing themselves to the maximum. How to put that together into the maximum effort of the team is the trick. But there isn't a formula that you can present to the lads and say, 'Boys, this is the way to do it.' It's a slow process. But if you're successful then everyone is a winner. The great example was TJ Kilgallon in 1989 who sacrificed his midfield game to play centre-back in the All-Ireland."

WE have run out of time. John O'Mahony has people to meet and his first game of the new season with Mayo is just hours away now.
It signals the beginning of a three year term during which time he hopes to deliver Sam Maguire. And if he doesn't, will his second coming have been a failure?
"I'd die happy if it could be achieved. But I would have no worries if there was a momentum being built and structures put in place over three to five years that eventually led to Mayo winning an All-Ireland.
"I don't have to be central to that success. Of course you'd love it to happen in your era but the important thing is that it happens."

JOHN O'MAHONY
Quoteunquote

Being Mayo boss
"Let nobody think that Mayo's football problems are solved because John O'Mahony is back. If Mayo are to be successful while I'm around it'll be Mayo's success, not mine."

May 20 v Galway
"I have great memories of my time in Galway but the only thing that will count for me that day is for Mayo to be successful."

All-Irelands lost
"My thoughts would be that that doesn't have any lasting impact. It's something that needs attention and it's something that I am and will be giving attention to."

Filling positions
"There are plenty of different opinions on how we should pick from full-back right up to full-forward. Right down the centre are open books."

Getting elected and winning Sam
"I'm not a betting man. What are the each-way odds?"

Most important thing learned in management
"Try and earn respect, not demand it."

[Mayo4Sam]

Its a good article giving the impression of a grounded man who can see the huge potential in this mayo team

[AbbeySider]

From the Hogan Stand...


Captaincy role surprises O'Neill
31 January 2007

Mayo attacker Kevin O'Neill has insisted that he was surprised to have been chosen to captain his county this year as they bid to secure an elusive All-Ireland SFC title.

The 33 year old is delighted to receive the honour but admits that he didn't see it coming as he had been concentrating on keeping fit and playing.

"My intention will be to play, make the team, lead by example . . . just the same as everyone else," the seasoned campaigner explained.

"I'll be fighting for a place and that's my first objective. Nobody is guaranteed that. I didn't expect to be given the captaincy but at the same time you have to take it when it's offered to you.

"It wasn't something that I had ever really thought about. I had no real interest in being captain. I suppose maybe I was chosen because I'm there so long with Mayo and I have a fair bit of experience.

"I'm also based in Dublin and a lot of the lads are up here at the moment so I guess it's a way of keeping things together when we're training during the week."




"Lead by example" ... that summed him up against Dublin and Kerry last year. What a legend. Delighted for him

[AbbeySider]

McDonald nearing return
Mayo's Ciaran McDonald
08 February 2007

Mayo manager John O'Mahony has revealed that All-Star Ciaran McDonald is back in light training and may play some part in the National football league campaign.

McDonald has been suffering from a bulging disc in his back all winter, but the injury has responded well to treatment and the Crossmolina player returned to the squad last week.

"He's getting intensive treatment but the situation is he's going to be out for the next number of weeks but hopefully not too long," said O'Mahony.

"He'll have some input into the league. The main thing we want to do is get this right. The perfect solution would be an operation but we can't afford that because he'd be out for the season so we're trying other methods. Our medical team and our backroom team are working very hard to get that right."

[Redgreenery]

Great to hear some positive news about his return. Hopefully he'll return soon enough. Hope he'll just be careful not to make it worse though. Things are looking up!!

[AbbeySider]

This thread was waaaaay back. Anyway has anyone been checking out the mchalepark.com board?
It looks good but im not so sure if there is room for another GAA board.

Like so far Mayo Gaa have this one (Mayo threads at least)
MayoFans board
Hogan Stand
and now McHale Park board.

Something gotta give. Mayo people have been very quiet as of late on this board and on this topic in particular.

[Mayo4Sam]

Thats cause theres feck all happening on the club scene.
Knockmore had a "friendly" with Hollymount, never thought i'd say those words, at the weekend but i heard no news of it

[Mayo4Sam]

Just checked that site out, some cheeky fecker has robbed my name 

Frank browne is doing a column for them