Dublin v Mayo 4th March

[ballinaman]

Eoghan O Gara having 4 All Ireland medals reminds me of those jokes of obscure Man United players ..e.g. Luke Chadwick having premier league medals and then players like Gerrard having none...

[Canalman]

Eoghan O Gara having 4 All Ireland medals reminds me of those jokes of obscure Man United players ..e.g. Luke Chadwick having premier league medals and then players like Gerrard having none...

Have great time for Eoghan. Minority of one maybe , but think he is hugely underrated as a footballer. Mightn't come across as the most elegant of footballers but has been hugely effective for us many a time in the job I think he was there to do. Has had poor games as well I can accept . Alot of Dublin fans don't rate him which I think is harsh.

Don't really want to come across as spiteful, but he caused Mayo no end of trouble in the 2013 AIF if memory serves me right . Many other counties would love to have had him.

Will remember him fondly for that goal v Tyrone  that threw that monkey off our back.

Not sure by the way that he has 4 AI medals, think he missed one through injury.

[Buttofthehill]

This.
Sure O'Gara was so good in '13 that Mayo put Higgins on him even though O'Gara was on one leg

[Minder]

Does MDMA ever kick the ball?

[PW Nally]

He had Tom Cunniffe beat up a stick and needed stopping in 2013.

Saturday night his major contribution was deliberate fouling at source to stop any chance of a quick break upfield. Real frustrating side of football that this is allowed continue by all teams.

[IolarCoisCuain]

Have great time for Eoghan. Minority of one maybe , but think he is hugely underrated as a footballer. Mightn't come across as the most elegant of footballers but has been hugely effective for us many a time in the job I think he was there to do. Has had poor games as well I can accept . Alot of Dublin fans don't rate him which I think is harsh.

Don't really want to come across as spiteful, but he caused Mayo no end of trouble in the 2013 AIF if memory serves me right . Many other counties would love to have had him.

Will remember him fondly for that goal v Tyrone  that threw that monkey off our back.

Not sure by the way that he has 4 AI medals, think he missed one through injury.

He had Tom Cunniffe beat up a stick and needed stopping in 2013.

Saturday night his major contribution was deliberate fouling at source to stop any chance of a quick break upfield. Real frustrating side of football that this is allowed continue by all teams.

Both correct. I found O'Gara a revelation in that 2013 final, because I finally realised his worth to the team, which is pretty much as PW outlined. O'Gara is the first line of defence.

Others can pull faces as much as they like but you have to take your hat off to Dublin for being able to pick a team as a team, and not find the best fifteen men and try to make a team out of them.

The criticism of O'Gara is a little like that of Michael Dara. People can crib all they like about him lacking the skills of a classic midfielder but he's not there to do that. He has a role in the team and he fulfilled it to the letter when he was in his prime. He even showed on Saturday there could be life in the old dog yet. I wouldn't begrudge them anything, myself.

[Unlaoised]

Have great time for Eoghan. Minority of one maybe , but think he is hugely underrated as a footballer. Mightn't come across as the most elegant of footballers but has been hugely effective for us many a time in the job I think he was there to do. Has had poor games as well I can accept . Alot of Dublin fans don't rate him which I think is harsh.

Don't really want to come across as spiteful, but he caused Mayo no end of trouble in the 2013 AIF if memory serves me right . Many other counties would love to have had him.

Will remember him fondly for that goal v Tyrone  that threw that monkey off our back.

Not sure by the way that he has 4 AI medals, think he missed one through injury.

He had Tom Cunniffe beat up a stick and needed stopping in 2013.

Saturday night his major contribution was deliberate fouling at source to stop any chance of a quick break upfield. Real frustrating side of football that this is allowed continue by all teams.

Both correct. I found O'Gara a revelation in that 2013 final, because I finally realised his worth to the team, which is pretty much as PW outlined. O'Gara is the first line of defence.

Others can pull faces as much as they like but you have to take your hat off to Dublin for being able to pick a team as a team, and not find the best fifteen men and try to make a team out of them.

The criticism of O'Gara is a little like that of Michael Dara. People can crib all they like about him lacking the skills of a classic midfielder but he's not there to do that. He has a role in the team and he fulfilled it to the letter when he was in his prime. He even showed on Saturday there could be life in the old dog yet. I wouldn't begrudge them anything, myself.

MDM is everything that is just wong with the Gaa now to a certain extent.

His awkard running style ,his lack of any basic skills, his over exaggerated hand pass ,the flicking and fixing of his hair every few minutes the use of pure physical aspects to power past players, his over carrying of the ball (nearly every time)

The sweat band on the elbow ...just the whole package

The shaping on and off the field

He can be commended for being such a valuable player with the lack of ability he has, but the money and resources Dublin have has provided him with that platform.

Food protein dieticians etc etc etc ..

He is everything the modern monster of the Gaa has created lads pumped up on juice stopping the natural talent from flourishing .

I admire his dedication no doubt but its sad in my opinion that someone of that ilk could win footballer of the year .


Just an opinion

[Jinxy]

Have great time for Eoghan. Minority of one maybe , but think he is hugely underrated as a footballer. Mightn't come across as the most elegant of footballers but has been hugely effective for us many a time in the job I think he was there to do. Has had poor games as well I can accept . Alot of Dublin fans don't rate him which I think is harsh.

Don't really want to come across as spiteful, but he caused Mayo no end of trouble in the 2013 AIF if memory serves me right . Many other counties would love to have had him.

Will remember him fondly for that goal v Tyrone  that threw that monkey off our back.

Not sure by the way that he has 4 AI medals, think he missed one through injury.

He had Tom Cunniffe beat up a stick and needed stopping in 2013.

Saturday night his major contribution was deliberate fouling at source to stop any chance of a quick break upfield. Real frustrating side of football that this is allowed continue by all teams.

Both correct. I found O'Gara a revelation in that 2013 final, because I finally realised his worth to the team, which is pretty much as PW outlined. O'Gara is the first line of defence.

Others can pull faces as much as they like but you have to take your hat off to Dublin for being able to pick a team as a team, and not find the best fifteen men and try to make a team out of them.

The criticism of O'Gara is a little like that of Michael Dara. People can crib all they like about him lacking the skills of a classic midfielder but he's not there to do that. He has a role in the team and he fulfilled it to the letter when he was in his prime. He even showed on Saturday there could be life in the old dog yet. I wouldn't begrudge them anything, myself.

MDM is everything that is just wong with the Gaa now to a certain extent.

His awkard running style ,his lack of any basic skills, his over exaggerated hand pass ,the flicking and fixing of his hair every few minutes the use of pure physical aspects to power past players, his over carrying of the ball (nearly every time)

The sweat band on the elbow ...just the whole package

The shaping on and off the field

He can be commended for being such a valuable player with the lack of ability he has, but the money and resources Dublin have has provided him with that platform.

Food protein dieticians etc etc etc ..

He is everything the modern monster of the Gaa has created lads pumped up on juice stopping the natural talent from flourishing .

I admire his dedication no doubt but its sad in my opinion that someone of that ilk could win footballer of the year .


Just an opinion

[bucko]

I thought we'd deal well enough with MDM, if I'm remembering rightly he never played well starting against us, but always caused us problems coming on as a sub. He got on a serious amount of ball Saturday evening, as did the rest of the Dublin middle eight. The workrate and intensity of the entire Dublin team was phenomenal, from the amount of support and options they had in attack to the speed they got numbers back to defend, and the general domination of possession around the middle. We were well off the pace all over the pitch in this regard, the only glimmer of hope I can scrounge is that a lot of the Dublin lads who started Saturday evening might not be near the first 15 come summer and are working their holes off to state otherwise and we're just not up to the same pitch fitness wise. The alternative is that the mileage of the last few years is catching up on our lads, if so the signs for the summer aren't good.

[Brapbrap]

Have great time for Eoghan. Minority of one maybe , but think he is hugely underrated as a footballer. Mightn't come across as the most elegant of footballers but has been hugely effective for us many a time in the job I think he was there to do. Has had poor games as well I can accept . Alot of Dublin fans don't rate him which I think is harsh.

Don't really want to come across as spiteful, but he caused Mayo no end of trouble in the 2013 AIF if memory serves me right . Many other counties would love to have had him.

Will remember him fondly for that goal v Tyrone  that threw that monkey off our back.

Not sure by the way that he has 4 AI medals, think he missed one through injury.

He had Tom Cunniffe beat up a stick and needed stopping in 2013.

Saturday night his major contribution was deliberate fouling at source to stop any chance of a quick break upfield. Real frustrating side of football that this is allowed continue by all teams.

Both correct. I found O'Gara a revelation in that 2013 final, because I finally realised his worth to the team, which is pretty much as PW outlined. O'Gara is the first line of defence.

Others can pull faces as much as they like but you have to take your hat off to Dublin for being able to pick a team as a team, and not find the best fifteen men and try to make a team out of them.

The criticism of O'Gara is a little like that of Michael Dara. People can crib all they like about him lacking the skills of a classic midfielder but he's not there to do that. He has a role in the team and he fulfilled it to the letter when he was in his prime. He even showed on Saturday there could be life in the old dog yet. I wouldn't begrudge them anything, myself.

MDM is everything that is just wong with the Gaa now to a certain extent.

His awkard running style ,his lack of any basic skills, his over exaggerated hand pass ,the flicking and fixing of his hair every few minutes the use of pure physical aspects to power past players, his over carrying of the ball (nearly every time)

The sweat band on the elbow ...just the whole package

The shaping on and off the field

He can be commended for being such a valuable player with the lack of ability he has, but the money and resources Dublin have has provided him with that platform.

Food protein dieticians etc etc etc ..

He is everything the modern monster of the Gaa has created lads pumped up on juice stopping the natural talent from flourishing .

I admire his dedication no doubt but its sad in my opinion that someone of that ilk could win footballer of the year .


Just an opinion

What a pile of s%$#e. I'm not a dub either. You could do with a couple of his ilk in Laois. Lots of nice players with natural talent but no physicality no toughness.

[blast05]

Dublin's problem is that once the league is over end April, they then effectively go into pre-season until August bank holiday weekend. Dublin (when they apply themselves 100% like Saturday) play like Gods at this time of the year. That is made possible by the string of games in the league against the best teams around.
I don't expect them to perform to the same level during the summer as they did on Saturday - regardless of who was missing. Think of last year ... were any of their summer performances from the top top top drawer? did any of their summer performances trump Saturday night ? They seldom produce such performances outside of spring time in Croke Park (not in Killarney or Breffini of course because gaelic football is almost like a different sport away from CP).
For whatever reason, it at least feels like an overly high percentage of their top 10 performances from the last 5 or 6 years have come in the league

Mayo on the other hand ... well for the last 5 or 6 seasons, the league has been about staying in Division 1 and trying to find a few players with the intent to try and peak during the summer. Not one of Mayos top 10 performances in last 6 seasons have come in the league. For Mayo to have been competitive with Dublin on Saturday (given that Dublin were going to give 100%) would have required the players to go deep deep into the hurt locker .... and while i believe they (obviously) went out with the intent of winning, the raw hunger and passion was not there - and to be honest i am OK with that. Any given team can only go into said 'hurt locker' a limited number of times in its life span - it would have almost been a waste to do so on Saturday night.

[Hound]

Most of the Dublin players came through the conveyor belt of underage teams from U14 through U21, usually trained by ex-county players giving something back. A few came from an All Ireland junior winning team of 7/8 years ago (such as Fitzsimons, Bastic, Daly). Macauley is one of the very few who break into the Dublin from club form. Pure hard work has got to him to where he is.

Utter drivel from unlaoised.

[Hound]

Mayo on the other hand ... well for the last 5 or 6 seasons, the league has been about staying in Division 1 and trying to find a few players with the intent to try and peak during the summer. Not one of Mayos top 10 performances in last 6 seasons have come in the league. For Mayo to have been competitive with Dublin on Saturday (given that Dublin were going to give 100%) would have required the players to go deep deep into the hurt locker .... and while i believe they (obviously) went out with the intent of winning, the raw hunger and passion was not there - and to be honest i am OK with that. Any given team can only go into said 'hurt locker' a limited number of times in its life span - it would have almost been a waste to do so on Saturday night.

May be right, but smells like a self fulfilling prophecy.

If you did go to the "hurt locker" in an effort to win the league, and completely flopped in the summer, then you'd have evidence to point to. For me, if Mayo beat Dublin in a league final, I think they'd be more likely to beat them in the summer too. Of course Mayo could still beat Dublin this year, despite last week, and if Mayo did win the league they could still end up losing to Dublin in the summer. But having a win over the Dubs in a league final would, in my opinion, give the players that extra bit of belief in the last 10 minutes of an All Ireland final, that they are going to win it. 

[highorlow]

Dublin's problem is that once the league is over end April, they then effectively go into pre-season until August bank holiday weekend. Dublin (when they apply themselves 100% like Saturday) play like Gods at this time of the year. That is made possible by the string of games in the league against the best teams around.
I don't expect them to perform to the same level during the summer as they did on Saturday - regardless of who was missing. Think of last year ... were any of their summer performances from the top top top drawer? did any of their summer performances trump Saturday night ?

Fully agree with this. It's fairly inevitable that on a Sat night in their hometown with a large crowd, Dublin families heading to the game and the hill open that this is worth a 5 or 6 point start straightaway.

The league for Dublin in Croaker under lights is now akin to the Leinster Rugby team playing the pro12 games in the RDS, major advantage. That's what struck me the other night.

It's an awful pity that some of the Leinster teams are unable to step up to the plate and do something to the Dubs at an early stage to at least knock their confidence. Maybe Kildare can do something this year?

Padraig Clancy wasn't the most majestic footballer around for the Laois team so knocking MDMcA is a bit rich.

[criostlinn]

Did O'Connor get a card for this?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WJJD9Cqkv9k

Ah the auld Philly holding the face rolling around in agony routine.
Some medical staff all that money buys ye. The way they can revive Philly and Cooper from these near death experiences is nothing short of a miracle.
What did Ciaran Whelan say about him when he went on with this carry on against O'Shea. Doesn't seemed to have knocked a feather out of him as witnessed in last years final and last Sat league match.

Some hard man all right. Prefers the sneaky finger in the eye and the off the ball head butt to actual physical contact