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Always a tough game for Tyrone and with teams hugely changed from last years semi final meeting this could be another interesting game.

Will we see any of the older lads coming back into the fold? What about big Sean at FF?

I wonder will we continue with the open man for man defence. Will Mickey continue to chop and change now or try to find a settled team. Mayo sure put up a big score against Kildare despite missing quite a few regulars.

Quote from: Fuzzman on February 03, 2014, 01:39:32 PM
Always a tough game for Tyrone and with teams hugely changed from last years semi final meeting this could be another interesting game.

Will we see any of the older lads coming back into the fold? What about big Sean at FF?

Matty Donnelly is scheduled for a long term run at FF.

Why do you say that UL or what have you heard.
He didn't get much room on Sat night to show his true worth I felt.
Great to see Morgan kicking those 45's so effortlessly but I hope he learns this year to stay out of the verbal stuff and not to react to the crowd. If he gets a reputation for that he'll get a lot more pressure at away games when going up to hit his frees.

Do people think Clarke will stay at FB for the whole season. As someone else mentioned he's a bit slow and often allows his man to get out in front and then he jockeys him. McCrory is another who does the same but has a lot more pace but seems almost scared to get in front of his man in case it goes over his head. Is PJ Quinn back in the squad for the year or could we lose him again.
To me he's our best man marker but like a lot of our better players he's often out injured.

Quote from: Under Lights on February 03, 2014, 01:55:44 PM

Quote from: Fuzzman on February 03, 2014, 01:39:32 PM
Always a tough game for Tyrone and with teams hugely changed from last years semi final meeting this could be another interesting game.

Will we see any of the older lads coming back into the fold? What about big Sean at FF?

Matty Donnelly is scheduled for a long term run at FF.

I hope not to be honest, i believe Mattie donnelly could do a great job @ chb along with PJ Lavery and Ronan Mcnabb,
I think the half back line has been the problem area, offering no cover and leaving our backline totally exposed time and time again.
It is early in the season i know, but now is the time to sort it.

Yeah you could be right kickingmule
Did he play there a few games last year or drop back there as a sweeper?

Here's a little reminder of the meeting last year in the championship
http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/football/2013/0825/470194-mayo-tyrone/ (http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/football/2013/0825/470194-mayo-tyrone/)

MH has identified a problem of ball winning in our FFL. He see's Matty as being the player with the ability to solve that. It will take the lad a while to adjust to this new role. Matty has tested through the roof in his off the mark speed and upper body strength. I feel whenever the summer season kicks in, ground a bit better, we will see the best of him at this.

Quote from: Under Lights on February 03, 2014, 03:57:13 PM
MH has identified a problem of ball winning in our FFL. He see's Matty as being the player with the ability to solve that. It will take the lad a while to adjust to this new role. Matty has tested through the roof in his off the mark speed and upper body strength. I feel whenever the summer season kicks in, ground a bit better, we will see the best of him at this.

Yeah and as we all know these tests are all that matters when it comes to picking a team.

Whatever happened to good old fashioned ability, MD is not a full forward he does his best work round the middle 3rd of the pitch, MH just wont bite the bullet and drop his nephew from CHB.

I think its worth persisting with Matty at FF for now. He offers something very different. Ok it didn't work out on Saturday night but we need to give him more time. I think we have on paper loads of different options in the squad from 5 til 12 - but we are short of options in the full back line & our Full forwards are all a little similar - i.e McCurry, Ronan O'Neill, McAliskey are all very similar in size, and playing style.
Id keep Matty there for a good run of games & reassess it later.

Peter Harte is not a centre half back, and looked more exposed without the customary sweeper in there. Mark Lynch had a big game through the centre on Saturday past - we looked very open at times. Id like to see Peter Harte at 5 or 7 instead where he can better utilise his speed & ball carrying abilities

With 2 away games in Munster to come in march I think this is a very important game if tyrone are to have a chance of making the semis. Hopefully the younger players can push on from Saturday and learn some lessons from it. Mayo will be strong round the middle so it's important tyrone get stuck in there. I'd like to see a change at centre half back and mattie Donnelly brought out the pitch to win ball. Pj and McGuigan will be lucky to start again but given their performances in the McKenna cup I'd give both another go. Would like to see this team
Morgan
Mcginley
Clarke
Tierney
Mcnabb
Mcbride
Harte
Colm
Grugan
Pj lavery
McGuigan
Mattie d
Mccurry
Mcaliskey
O'neill

I wonder if there is a chance Harte will go back to keeper rotation or if he believes Morgan is now too important for it. I'm not convinced with the full back line but options are limited.

Not sure why folks are so hard on mcGuigan. I thought he was one of our better players last Sat. Plenty more were much worse.

Maybe I'm being harsh on McGuigan and expecting too much following the McKenna cup but I'd just liked to have seen him pick up a bit more ball. He has the potential to pick up ball from kick outs and seems to be a decent fielder. Would be hoping for the likes of him to really push on during the league.

Where's all the Mayo lads? Usually they would have started this thread yesterday and be on page 10 today.
Are they devastated from losing to Kildare yesterday or all gone to Spain for a training camp?

Quote from: tyroneman on February 03, 2014, 10:45:18 PM
Not sure why folks are so hard on mcGuigan. I thought he was one of our better players last Sat. Plenty more were much worse.

True. Some of McGuigans passing was excellent. He was gobbled up a few times by the derry pack & he was unfortunate with the bounce on at least on occasion & also missed a score-able free towards the end of the first half. But he did well considering that was a significant step up from McKenna cup or anything he would have experienced before. Hopefully he will come on for that experience because its clear he has talent. Always got the head up when he's running with the ball looking for the runners, and sprayed a few lovely passes into McCurry in particular, who was always out in front of his man.

Yeah I'd say like McCurry will benefit from Shea's vison and passing as he makes good runs off the ball and because of his pace he needs to get the ball early with his man trying to catch up with his run rather than a high ball into him where his marker will often out muscled or outfield him.
At the moment McCurry looks our most exciting forward which has surprised me as I was expecting RON to be our new goto man for scores.

Any more news on people returning from injuries?
When is Joey or Gormley expected back?

With a three week break after this game can we expect 100 pages on this one? :'(

wasn't mcaliskey playing for a college team mid-week last week, would he have had more game time/started if he'd had a free week (not saying he shouldn't have played mid-week).

other than dan mcnulty are there any U21's that would coming through that aren't on the senior panel.

Quote from: Fuzzman on February 04, 2014, 10:52:47 AM
Yeah I'd say like McCurry will benefit from Shea's vison and passing as he makes good runs off the ball and because of his pace he needs to get the ball early with his man trying to catch up with his run rather than a high ball into him where his marker will often out muscled or outfield him.
At the moment McCurry looks our most exciting forward which has surprised me as I was expecting RON to be our new goto man for scores.

Any more news on people returning from injuries?
When is Joey or Gormley expected back?

I think RON will be the man, but at this stage he is only really finding his feet after injury and a run of games over the next 3 or 4 months will have him in some form come the summer

Quote from: Rossfan on February 04, 2014, 10:59:58 AM
With a three week break after this game can we expect 100 pages on this one? :'(

Why is there a three week break?
Seriously where are all the Mayo lads Ross?

Quote from: Fuzzman on February 04, 2014, 03:15:15 PM

Quote from: Rossfan on February 04, 2014, 10:59:58 AM
With a three week break after this game can we expect 100 pages on this one? :'(

Why is there a three week break?
Seriously where are all the Mayo lads Ross?

County board to throw three club league games in.

Quote from: Fuzzman on February 04, 2014, 03:15:15 PM

Quote from: Rossfan on February 04, 2014, 10:59:58 AM
With a three week break after this game can we expect 100 pages on this one? :'(

Why is there a three week break?
Seriously where are all the Mayo lads Ross?

We've taken offence by your lot calling us arrogant last year... ;)

Quote from: Fuzzman on February 04, 2014, 03:15:15 PM

Quote from: Rossfan on February 04, 2014, 10:59:58 AM
With a three week break after this game can we expect 100 pages on this one? :'(

Why is there a three week break?
Seriously where are all the Mayo lads Ross?

3 week break so the great Sigerson and Railway Cups can be competed for. Meanwhile our Junior Champions will play the biggest game of their lives at the same time s the County team play Wexford >:(
As for the missing Rhubarbs - last seen after sheep round the Curragh.

Quote from: Fuzzman on February 04, 2014, 10:52:47 AM
Yeah I'd say like McCurry will benefit from Shea's vison and passing as he makes good runs off the ball and because of his pace he needs to get the ball early with his man trying to catch up with his run rather than a high ball into him where his marker will often out muscled or outfield him.
At the moment McCurry looks our most exciting forward which has surprised me as I was expecting RON to be our new goto man for scores.
Any more news on people returning from injuries?
When is Joey or Gormley expected back?

RON looked a bit heavy and slow on Saturday. Needs training and lots of it to speed up..

Glad to know the Tyronies are missing us anyway  :-*

I'd expect Mayo to name a similar enough team to last week - half experienced players and the remainder fringe / younger players.

The experiment with Boyle will presumably be continued, the same with McHale in CB. Gibbons could get a run out at midfield after doing well the last day. If we're to win, we'll need more from our more experienced men around the middle i.e. Keegan / O'Se / Higgins / Andy.

Quote from: macdanger2 on February 04, 2014, 06:01:09 PM
Glad to know the Tyronies are missing us anyway  :-*

I'd expect Mayo to name a similar enough team to last week - half experienced players and the remainder fringe / younger players.

The experiment with Boyle will presumably be continued, the same with McHale in CB. Gibbons could get a run out at midfield after doing well the last day. If we're to win, we'll need more from our more experienced men around the middle i.e. Keegan / O'Se / Higgins / Andy.

Tell them nothing..let them see for themselves on Sunday  :P

Fair play to Mayo. They always get back up onto the bike.

Quote from: ONeill on February 04, 2014, 07:53:26 PM
Fair play to Mayo. They always get back up onto the bike.

Arra, sure we like to give you things to give out about in the immediate aftermath of the All-Ireland anyway!

Quote from: ONeill on February 04, 2014, 07:53:26 PM
Fair play to Mayo. They always get back up onto the bike.

Good to have a nice handy one for us to get back to winning ways

Quote from: macdanger2 on February 04, 2014, 09:17:38 PM

Quote from: ONeill on February 04, 2014, 07:53:26 PM
Fair play to Mayo. They always get back up onto the bike.

Good to have a nice handy one for us to get back to winning ways

On your first step towards that 3 in a row some ye were banging on about last summer?  :D

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 04, 2014, 09:20:45 PM

Quote from: macdanger2 on February 04, 2014, 09:17:38 PM

Quote from: ONeill on February 04, 2014, 07:53:26 PM
Fair play to Mayo. They always get back up onto the bike.

Good to have a nice handy one for us to get back to winning ways

On your first step towards that 3 in a row some ye were banging on about last summer?  :D

3 in a row?? I'd like to distance myself from that kind of chat, it's that kind of talking ourselves down that has us in the mess we're in ffs

Quote from: macdanger2 on February 04, 2014, 09:50:13 PM

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 04, 2014, 09:20:45 PM

Quote from: macdanger2 on February 04, 2014, 09:17:38 PM

Quote from: ONeill on February 04, 2014, 07:53:26 PM
Fair play to Mayo. They always get back up onto the bike.

Good to have a nice handy one for us to get back to winning ways

On your first step towards that 3 in a row some ye were banging on about last summer?  :D

3 in a row?? I'd like to distance myself from that kind of chat, it's that kind of talking ourselves down that has us in the mess we're in ffs

;D You need to get yourself over to the hubris thread.

Parsons out for 4 to 6 weeks, according to WJ's blog, he found the info from the Mayo News. Saying that, Gibbons impressed in winning primary possession when he came on the last day. Our fellas will have to improve their fitness when picking up breaking ball around the middle. Saying that, Carolan did well enough in that regard, but soloed into blind alleys a bit too often for my liking. Our backs will obviously have to get a lot tighter on their men, I hope the black card hasn't scared the bejaysus out of them.

Re the number 17, he was David Drake. He was good when he came on. He may well give James Horan food for thought in the half back or indeed full back line. While more experimentation would be nice, we don't want to fall way behind and be involved in a relegation dogfight on the final round of the league. I'm sure the lads won't either. I'd say Boyle may be moved out to the hb line with Drake filling in the corner position. What led me to that conclusion, I don't know, but others may feel free to pick up on different things.

Re the forwards, 1-4 from play simply isn't good enough. It would be nicer if they could chip in with a lot more on Sunday. I'm not sure about Varley anymore. He's been tried and tested now long enough and he didn't make any impression when he went on the last day.

Disaster for Parsons, hope he gets back soon

Disappointing Parsons is out for a while. Needed to have a look at him now! Boyle at corner back i feel is a work around should Cunniffe go get injured again and not to sacrifice Higgins going back again. The problem with Boyle is there is no problem with him where he is at half back.  Varley has to be on a knife edge of becoming surplus to requirements. It's hard to see him making an impact this year. then again, I could have said the same of Freeman last year.

As expected it looks like Sean Cavanagh will see some action on Sunday. Timely boost for the red hands.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/tyrone-comeback-in-store-for-sean-cavanagh-29980269.html

Quote from: God14 on February 05, 2014, 08:35:18 AM
As expected it looks like Sean Cavanagh will see some action on Sunday. Timely boost for the red hands.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/tyrone-comeback-in-store-for-sean-cavanagh-29980269.html

Is he not serving a suspension from last year?

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on February 05, 2014, 11:32:32 AM

Quote from: God14 on February 05, 2014, 08:35:18 AM
As expected it looks like Sean Cavanagh will see some action on Sunday. Timely boost for the red hands.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/tyrone-comeback-in-store-for-sean-cavanagh-29980269.html

Is he not serving a suspension from last year?

The one Joe Brolly handed down?

At the weekend I went to collect my 6 year old son from a party and was giving a lift home to two of his wee pals as well. Both of them are real characters and know their football inside out already.

They got in the car and saw my Tyrone badge thingy hanging from the mirror.
Both were wearing their new Dubs shirts and so one pipes up
Do you support Tyrone?
Yeah I said
They're a bunch of cheats!
Why do you say that I asked?
Cos last year they did loads of fouling and dragging players down.
The other lad then joins in and starts slating Tyrone and shouting cheats cheats cheats!!!!

My lad didn't seem to upset when I put them out of the car and give them money for the bus home.
Brolly has a lot to answer for.
For once in my life I was speechless.

My cousin got a clout in Coppers for being from Tyrone on the night of last years All Ireland final. He had a Tyrone tracksuit top on him and one lad punched him in the side of the head ranting about being a disgrace to the association. The lad was thrown out and the bounchers told my cousin it was a regular enough occurrence every time Tyrone were playing that day.

Where would you see Mickey playing big Sean?
With these new rules I'd love to see him cause havoc on the edge of the square and it would hugely benefit McCurry and RON's games as well

Unfortunately i still think we need Sean in the middle..as its been mentioned before we were completely cleaned out in that area last sat nite in the 2nd half, and we will come up against stronger midfields than Derrys.His strength is winning ball around the middle and running at defences drawing fouls or scoring..not sure he would be as effective in at FF.

Would it not be worth a try for a few league games anyway to ease him back into it
If we're struggling out at MF then you can move him out. I think Colm is a better fielder than Sean is but definitely Sean is great for running at teams from MF

Quote from: Fuzzman on February 05, 2014, 05:00:30 PM
Would it not be worth a try for a few league games anyway to ease him back into it
If we're struggling out at MF then you can move him out. I think Colm is a better fielder than Sean is but definitely Sean is great for running at teams from MF

As Sean said himself last year, he'll benefit more than most from the new rules - I hope Mickey keeps him well out the pitch and has him running at teams from midfield. I can't think of any player who is harder to stop once he gets a gallop up!

It'll be a great weapon for Tyrone and hopefully will discourage teams from leaving a player in a deep sweeping position thus freeing up our full forward line a bit! Last season, a combination of our slow build up and a sweeper standing in front of Stevie seriously restricted our firepower. If that sweeper has to play 20 or 30 yards further out the pitch to stop Sean Cavanagh or Conan Grugan getting up a head of steam, there'll be more space to pick out Matty Donnelly, McAliskey, McCurrie etc. In theory!!

Quote from: Onthe40 on February 05, 2014, 04:40:00 PM
Unfortunately i still think we need Sean in the middle..as its been mentioned before we were completely cleaned out in that area last sat nite in the 2nd half, and we will come up against stronger midfields than Derrys.His strength is winning ball around the middle and running at defences drawing fouls or scoring..not sure he would be as effective in at FF.

He won footballer of the year from full forward!

Is there a suspension with the black card?

If not, I'd imagine a similar side with Sean as sub.

Tyrone flying it at the moment. Mayo away from home. Tyrone with the extra few hours rest. If Mayo manage to win, it'll be a surprise.

Quote from: Fuzzman on February 05, 2014, 03:54:21 PM
At the weekend I went to collect my 6 year old son from a party and was giving a lift home to two of his wee pals as well. Both of them are real characters and know their football inside out already.

They got in the car and saw my Tyrone badge thingy hanging from the mirror.
Both were wearing their new Dubs shirts and so one pipes up
Do you support Tyrone?
Yeah I said
They're a bunch of cheats!
Why do you say that I asked?
Cos last year they did loads of fouling and dragging players down.
The other lad then joins in and starts slating Tyrone and shouting cheats cheats cheats!!!!

My lad didn't seem to upset when I put them out of the car and give them money for the bus home.
Brolly has a lot to answer for.
For once in my life I was speechless.

You should have askes them what their team was at in the last 10 minutes of the All Iteland final :)

Quote from: Farrandeelin on February 05, 2014, 06:59:44 PM
Tyrone flying it at the moment. Mayo away from home. Tyrone with the extra few hours rest. If Mayo manage to win, it'll be a surprise.

Tyrone have no chance - this is a Mayo team full of a All Stars who were proclaimed as the saviours of football only a few short months ago. (Remember the hammerings they gave London and Leitrim?). Tyrone are full of kids who are learning their trade and if they can pick up just one or two tips from the Mayo lads during this hammering then I'll be happy.

I'd really like to see us put in a lot more pressure defensively on Sunday. If we stand of the big teams like Saturday they will destroy us. Watched the highlights there and for goal pj lavery got caught wrong side of his man and then a 1 2 was played as he followed back and he didn't follow the man. In next play Mcginley was a mile of his man. And for final score mattie d made no effort to block lynch. I'm glad to see us going more attacking but can't ignore basic defensive duties.

I could see 2 or 3 changes this week. Think Harte will make changes throughout the league. Mcaliskey and/or ronan oneill will probably start. Colm cavanagh will probably come into midfield.

I can see both sides of argument regarding sean cavanagh. He provides a great option inside and could get a free role which would allow him to go in and out. But he's so influential running at people from deep and picking up ball that Harte may keep him out the pitch. Grugan looks a decent option and can hopefully improve throughout the league.

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 05, 2014, 08:45:19 PM

Quote from: Farrandeelin on February 05, 2014, 06:59:44 PM
Tyrone flying it at the moment. Mayo away from home. Tyrone with the extra few hours rest. If Mayo manage to win, it'll be a surprise.

Tyrone have no chance - this is a Mayo team full of a All Stars who were proclaimed as the saviours of football only a few short months ago. (Remember the hammerings they gave London and Leitrim?).

No, link? Sound

Quote from: ballinaman on February 05, 2014, 10:28:29 PM

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 05, 2014, 08:45:19 PM

Quote from: Farrandeelin on February 05, 2014, 06:59:44 PM
Tyrone flying it at the moment. Mayo away from home. Tyrone with the extra few hours rest. If Mayo manage to win, it'll be a surprise.

Tyrone have no chance - this is a Mayo team full of a All Stars who were proclaimed as the saviours of football only a few short months ago. (Remember the hammerings they gave London and Leitrim?).

No, link? Sound

Sorry that was 2012. Jeez they've been hammering teams for years - god help us!

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 05, 2014, 10:32:49 PM

Quote from: ballinaman on February 05, 2014, 10:28:29 PM

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 05, 2014, 08:45:19 PM

Quote from: Farrandeelin on February 05, 2014, 06:59:44 PM
Tyrone flying it at the moment. Mayo away from home. Tyrone with the extra few hours rest. If Mayo manage to win, it'll be a surprise.

Tyrone have no chance - this is a Mayo team full of a All Stars who were proclaimed as the saviours of football only a few short months ago. (Remember the hammerings they gave London and Leitrim?).

No, link? Sound

Sorry that was 2012. Jeez they've been hammering teams for years - god help us!

But Tyrone have been a bogey team for Mayo. They beat us in 2008 and nearly beat us last year and 2004!

Not to mention beating us in the league last year...

Absolutely huge game for Tyrone on Sunday - they really need to be winning their home fixtures this season against Mayo, Westmeath and maybe picking up points at Kildare. Dublin at home and Cork and Kerry away are very difficult fixtures. I'd say Tyrone will field a strong side this week. The loser will be bottom with Westmeath and it's a tough league when you're scrapping for survival every week. I don't adhere to the view that Mayo will come in and hammer Tyrone in Omagh or that they are huge favourites.

I doubt we'll hammer Tyrone either, I'd fancy them to keep it to 7 or 8 points if Sean Cavanagh plays  ;D

Tyrone 4/6
Mayo 6/4
Draw 15/2

I have an inkling that our match with Derry was of a slightly higher standard than their game with Kildare. Plus Mayo are probably missing more men than ourselves. Coupled with home advantage I think Tyrone can secure a narrow win. 

Yeah it's hard to judge which game was of a higher standard and I suppose we won't know til Sunday. Tyrone are still unbeaten in 2014 despite fielding a very new look team and playing with no sweeper.
I think we have a good spread of scorers in the team again and not many teams will go to Derry and win or draw I reckon.
I'm looking forward to seeing the team tonight but I agree I think Mickey will stop his experimenting now and start picking his best players from here on in. As CD said we don't want to be near the bottom after two games with Cork, Kerry & Kildare all tough away games and the Battle of Omagh II to come in March.

Anyone gonna make a stab at what team Mickey might pick tonight.
I'll go for

Morgan
Ryan McKenna
McBride
Tierney
McGinley
Harte
McNabb
Grugan
Colm Cav or Clarke
Niall McKenna
McGuigan
Lavery
RoN
Mattie
McCurry

Don't think there'll be many changes Fuzz, id say 2 from last weekend.
McNiece must be vulnerable, he never got into the game at all last week. I reckon McAliskey will get the nod over him.
The other change I would guess may be Ronan McNabb who seems to be struggling with fitness & subbed at half time in the last 2 games. Colm Cav to come into starting 15 with McBride dropping into defence id guess.

A lot of lads played Sigerson doing the week, havnt heard of any injuries TG.

Tyrone team announced.....

1 – Niall Morgan – Éadan na dTorc
2 – Aidan McCrory – Aireagal Chiaráin
3 – Conor Clarke – An Omaigh
4 – Barry Tierney – An Omaigh
5 – Ciaran McGinley – Aireagal Chiaráin
6 – Peter Harte – Aireagal Chiaráin
7 – Tiarnan McCann – Coill an Chlochair
8 – Colm Cavanagh – An Mhaigh
9 – Conan Grugan – An Omaigh
10 – Emmett McKenna – Eaglais
11 – Shea McGuigan – Ard Bó
12 – Peter Hughes – Eiscreach
13 – Darren McCurry – Éadán na dTorc
14 – Mattie Donnelly – Trí Leac
15 – Ronan O'Neill – An Omaigh
16 – Michael O'Neill – Cluain Eo
17 – Dermot Carlin – Coill an Chlochair
18 – Sean Cavanagh – An Mhaigh
19 – Kyle Coney – Ard Bó
20 – Mark Donnelly – An Charraig Mhór
21 – Connor McAlliskey – Cluain Eo
22 – Danny McBride – An Srath Ban
23 – Ryan McKenna – Eaglais
24 – Ronan McNabb – An Droim Mhór
25 – Ronan McNamee – Achadh Uí Aráin
26 – Patrick McNiece – Oileán a'Ghuail

Coney back .. Hope he gets some luck and stays injury free this year

Mayo team -

1)   Robert Hennelly - Breaffy
2)   Kevin Keane - Westport
3)   Ger Cafferkey - Ballina Stephenites
4)   Colm Boyle - Davitts
5)   Lee Keegan - Westport
6)   Shane McHale - Knockmore
7)   Brendan Harrison - Aghamore
8)   Aidan O'Shea - Breaffy
9)   Jason Gibbons - Ballintubber
10) Cathal Carolan - Crossmolina Deel Rovers
11) Keith Higgins - Ballyhaunis
12) Adam Gallagher - Mayo Gaels
13) Kevin McLoughlin - Knockmore
14) Andy Moran - Ballaghaderreen (Capt.)
15) Darren Coen - Hollymount/Carramore

Looks like James Horan is going for more of the same, i.e. picking same teams unless there's circumstances preventing him from doing otherwise.

The best of the McKenna lads was playing for St Pat's Armagh today, scoring 1-7. I hear he is heading to Australia whenever the Tyrone minor season finishes. A few Aussie Rules teams were after him. He is some talent.

Did Shane McHale play against us in the 08 minor final?

Plenty of running from the number 10 upwards, would be fairly hopeful! ;)

Quote from: Club Rossa on February 06, 2014, 09:15:04 PM
Did Shane McHale play against us in the 08 minor final?

Mchale played rhb on 08 final tho I think he started off the campaign as a half forward

Was he the lad who scored a couple of great points with the outside of his boot in the 08 final replay?

Quote from: omagh_gael on February 06, 2014, 11:38:07 PM
Was he the lad who scored a couple of great points with the outside of his boot in the 08 final replay?

I think that was the other wing back and captain Shane Nally who got the point with the outside of his boot.

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 05, 2014, 08:45:19 PM

Quote from: Farrandeelin on February 05, 2014, 06:59:44 PM
Tyrone flying it at the moment. Mayo away from home. Tyrone with the extra few hours rest. If Mayo manage to win, it'll be a surprise.

Tyrone have no chance - this is a Mayo team full of a All Stars who were proclaimed as the saviours of football only a few short months ago. (Remember the hammerings they gave London and Leitrim?). Tyrone are full of kids who are learning their trade and if they can pick up just one or two tips from the Mayo lads during this hammering then I'll be happy.

You mean we hammered Galway, Roscommon, London, Donegal and Tyrone ;)

Quote from: mayogodhelpus@gmail.com on February 07, 2014, 02:01:46 AM

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 05, 2014, 08:45:19 PM

Quote from: Farrandeelin on February 05, 2014, 06:59:44 PM
Tyrone flying it at the moment. Mayo away from home. Tyrone with the extra few hours rest. If Mayo manage to win, it'll be a surprise.

Tyrone have no chance - this is a Mayo team full of a All Stars who were proclaimed as the saviours of football only a few short months ago. (Remember the hammerings they gave London and Leitrim?). Tyrone are full of kids who are learning their trade and if they can pick up just one or two tips from the Mayo lads during this hammering then I'll be happy.

You mean we hammered Galway, Roscommon, London, Donegal and Tyrone ;)

In fairness Mayo didn't hammer Tyrone and it took a dubious penalty to swing that game around.

Quote from: Captain Obvious on February 07, 2014, 02:30:02 AM

Quote from: mayogodhelpus@gmail.com on February 07, 2014, 02:01:46 AM

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 05, 2014, 08:45:19 PM

Quote from: Farrandeelin on February 05, 2014, 06:59:44 PM
Tyrone flying it at the moment. Mayo away from home. Tyrone with the extra few hours rest. If Mayo manage to win, it'll be a surprise.

Tyrone have no chance - this is a Mayo team full of a All Stars who were proclaimed as the saviours of football only a few short months ago. (Remember the hammerings they gave London and Leitrim?). Tyrone are full of kids who are learning their trade and if they can pick up just one or two tips from the Mayo lads during this hammering then I'll be happy.

You mean we hammered Galway, Roscommon, London, Donegal and Tyrone ;)

In fairness Mayo didn't hammer Tyrone and it took a dubious penalty to swing that game around.

In all fairness 6 points is a hammering.

Quote from: mayogodhelpus@gmail.com on February 07, 2014, 02:01:46 AM

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 05, 2014, 08:45:19 PM

Quote from: Farrandeelin on February 05, 2014, 06:59:44 PM
Tyrone flying it at the moment. Mayo away from home. Tyrone with the extra few hours rest. If Mayo manage to win, it'll be a surprise.

Tyrone have no chance - this is a Mayo team full of a All Stars who were proclaimed as the saviours of football only a few short months ago. (Remember the hammerings they gave London and Leitrim?). Tyrone are full of kids who are learning their trade and if they can pick up just one or two tips from the Mayo lads during this hammering then I'll be happy.

You mean we hammered Galway, Roscommon, London, Donegal and Tyrone ;)

Absolutely - you lads are deadly altogether, I'd say ye are unstoppable this year. 3 in a row?

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 07, 2014, 06:07:28 AM

Quote from: mayogodhelpus@gmail.com on February 07, 2014, 02:01:46 AM

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 05, 2014, 08:45:19 PM

Quote from: Farrandeelin on February 05, 2014, 06:59:44 PM
Tyrone flying it at the moment. Mayo away from home. Tyrone with the extra few hours rest. If Mayo manage to win, it'll be a surprise.

Tyrone have no chance - this is a Mayo team full of a All Stars who were proclaimed as the saviours of football only a few short months ago. (Remember the hammerings they gave London and Leitrim?). Tyrone are full of kids who are learning their trade and if they can pick up just one or two tips from the Mayo lads during this hammering then I'll be happy.

You mean we hammered Galway, Roscommon, London, Donegal and Tyrone ;)

Absolutely - you lads are deadly altogether, I'd say ye are unstoppable this year. 3 in a row?

I sense some resentment.

Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on February 06, 2014, 11:15:48 PM
Plenty of running from the number 10 upwards, would be fairly hopeful! ;)

Im a bit underwhelmed by that selection Fear - not much height or physicality in the middle third of the field. Outside of Colm Cavanagh they are all mobile ball player type players and Ive reservations about our ability to win primary possession. Our 'modus operandus' will be for Colm & Grugan to break the ball for the half backs & half forwards to pick up the spills - but that clearly didn't work in Celtic Park last week.

Quote from: tyroneman on February 06, 2014, 08:26:08 PM
Tyrone team announced.....

1 – Niall Morgan – Éadan na dTorc
2 – Aidan McCrory – Aireagal Chiaráin
3 – Conor Clarke – An Omaigh
4 – Barry Tierney – An Omaigh
5 – Ciaran McGinley – Aireagal Chiaráin
6 – Peter Harte – Aireagal Chiaráin
7 – Tiarnan McCann – Coill an Chlochair
8 – Colm Cavanagh – An Mhaigh
9 – Conan Grugan – An Omaigh
10 – Emmett McKenna – Eaglais
11 – Shea McGuigan – Ard Bó
12 – Peter Hughes – Eiscreach
13 – Darren McCurry – Éadán na dTorc
14 – Mattie Donnelly – Trí Leac
15 – Ronan O'Neill – An Omaigh
16 – Michael O'Neill – Cluain Eo
17 – Dermot Carlin – Coill an Chlochair
18 – Sean Cavanagh – An Mhaigh
19 – Kyle Coney – Ard Bó
20 – Mark Donnelly – An Charraig Mhór
21 – Connor McAlliskey – Cluain Eo
22 – Danny McBride – An Srath Ban
23 – Ryan McKenna – Eaglais
24 – Ronan McNabb – An Droim Mhór
25 – Ronan McNamee – Achadh Uí Aráin
26 – Patrick McNiece – Oileán a'Ghuail

Coney back .. Hope he gets some luck and stays injury free this year

Strange enough selection, some guys who were average last week still in and other lads who need a chance still out. Whilst appreciating that not everyone can play I have to ask - why is McAliskey not on the 15, admittedly only back from injury but has shown enough over the last 2 years to suggest that he can do it. I think MH should persist with him, McCurry and Ronie O Neill on the team and fill in the other places after that - these 3 are proven score getters and that is what we are lacking. In the new rules, the target has to be aggregate of 17+ per game so scorers are needed. the 3 of them need to get used to playing together and getting an awareness of each others style of play in terms of runs, passes etc.
Our HFL will need to be fit to work up and down due to the Mayo style of attacking half backs and these 3 can do it but it will be a tough ask especially for Petie Hughes as Lee Keegan is a top number 5.
Believe Niall McKenna has fell victim to the concussion rule as he didn't even feature for Queens in Sigerson, McNeice is on the bench, McNabb is on the bench, McBride on bench...so that is all the changes.
Hope for a good open game and Tyrone to win by a whisker - tough run coming up so a win is vital !!!

It's not a bad line up and he continues to experiment. The players in the half forward line in theory should all be good at picking up ball. McKenna is a midfielder at club level and needs to provide a bit of help. Hughes and McGuigan should both be capable of winning ball. It's not a reserve side but its definitely far from full strength. Like the team below not starting if fully fit would possibly beat the team named on Sunday:
M O'Neill
R McKenna
Justy McMahon
PJ Quinn
R McNabb
Joe McMahon
C Gormley
A Cassidy
D McBride
M Penrose
S Cavanagh
Mark Donnelly
K Coney
S O'Neill
C McAliskey

I'd still be hopeful enough of picking up the points with plenty of good options on the bench if we're in trouble.

Quote from: Redhand Santa on February 07, 2014, 08:55:33 AM
It's not a bad line up and he continues to experiment. The players in the half forward line in theory should all be good at picking up ball. McKenna is a midfielder at club level and needs to provide a bit of help. Hughes and McGuigan should both be capable of winning ball. It's not a reserve side but its definitely far from full strength. Like the team below not starting if fully fit would possibly beat the team named on Sunday:
M O'Neill
R McKenna
Justy McMahon
PJ Quinn
R McNabb
Joe McMahon
C Gormley
A Cassidy
D McBride
M Penrose
S Cavanagh
Mark Donnelly
K Coney
S O'Neill
C McAliskey

I'd still be hopeful enough of picking up the points with plenty of good options on the bench if we're in trouble.

Very good - it shows how strong our panel is when 3 players that started against Derry cant even make your reserve 15 - namely Niall McKenna, Paddy McNeice and PJ Lavery. Shows great strength in depth.....

I'm sure you could make an argument to start all 3. Though when you consider 5 of the forwards in the team started versus Mayo in the All Ireland semi last year and I think the entire half back line the 3 you mentioned wouldn't be guaranteed ahead of any of them. You could make a case for McKenna in midfield. And PJ maybe ahead of Penrose depending on his form.

Quote from: Redhand Santa on February 07, 2014, 09:43:26 AM
I'm sure you could make an argument to start all 3. Though when you consider 5 of the forwards in the team started versus Mayo in the All Ireland semi last year and I think the entire half back line the 3 you mentioned wouldn't be guaranteed ahead of any of them. You could make a case for McKenna in midfield. And PJ maybe ahead of Penrose depending on his form.

I'd like to see all 3 start in a full forward line - McAliskey is good at winning his own ball so perhaps could play 14. There is plenty of pace in the squad which has maybe been missing over the last few years. That alternative 15 that Redhand Santa put up is very impressive and gives plenty of reason for optimism and there is loads of competition for places. Lets hope we can give a good acoount for ourselves on Sunday.

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 07, 2014, 10:11:51 AM

Quote from: Redhand Santa on February 07, 2014, 09:43:26 AM
I'm sure you could make an argument to start all 3. Though when you consider 5 of the forwards in the team started versus Mayo in the All Ireland semi last year and I think the entire half back line the 3 you mentioned wouldn't be guaranteed ahead of any of them. You could make a case for McKenna in midfield. And PJ maybe ahead of Penrose depending on his form.

I'd like to see all 3 start in a full forward line - McAliskey is good at winning his own ball so perhaps could play 14. There is plenty of pace in the squad which has maybe been missing over the last few years. That alternative 15 that Redhand Santa put up is very impressive and gives plenty of reason for optimism and there is loads of competition for places. Lets hope we can give a good acoount for ourselves on Sunday.

I think RHS is referring to the 3 men that were omitted from his alternative 15 which I mentioned (NMcKenna, PMcNeice and PJ Lavery) which goes to highlight how strong our panel is when you consider that all 3 started against Derry. The 3 that BennyCake refers to are I think RO'N, CMcA & DMcC which I believe should all be included in our first 15 every game to bring them up to speed with each others game and get a mutual understanding  between them - this can only take place during pressurised games - it wont happen in training.... if them 3 get quality ball into the FF line then it would be hard to mark from the opposing defence point of view. In saying that, any forward worth his salt should have a field day if he is getting the quality type ball that he likes.

A 'settled' experimental side by Horan. With the exception of Gallagher it's unlikely we ll see much change from last year's starting personnel when things get serious.
Boyle playing in the corner is probably out of necessity than a serious attempt to turn one of the best attacking half backs around into a marker. The injured Barrett and club tied Cunniffe the most likely to resume in the corners later. At the moment with Michael Walsh axed from panel there simply are no corner backs in there. Harrison isn't. Coen isn't. Keane and McHale more suited to central roles. I don't think Higgins is nailed down 11 either. I think he would be much more effective from 6 but sure we ll see how the next few games go for him at 11.

Higgins is the the best corner back in the country and mayo's best player when he plays corner back. its stupid to move him out  of there to where hes much less effective.
he's simply not a CHF nor a CHB.

Quote from: Mikhailov on February 07, 2014, 11:31:23 AM

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 07, 2014, 10:11:51 AM

Quote from: Redhand Santa on February 07, 2014, 09:43:26 AM
I'm sure you could make an argument to start all 3. Though when you consider 5 of the forwards in the team started versus Mayo in the All Ireland semi last year and I think the entire half back line the 3 you mentioned wouldn't be guaranteed ahead of any of them. You could make a case for McKenna in midfield. And PJ maybe ahead of Penrose depending on his form.

I'd like to see all 3 start in a full forward line - McAliskey is good at winning his own ball so perhaps could play 14. There is plenty of pace in the squad which has maybe been missing over the last few years. That alternative 15 that Redhand Santa put up is very impressive and gives plenty of reason for optimism and there is loads of competition for places. Lets hope we can give a good acoount for ourselves on Sunday.

I think RHS is referring to the 3 men that were omitted from his alternative 15 which I mentioned (NMcKenna, PMcNeice and PJ Lavery) which goes to highlight how strong our panel is when you consider that all 3 started against Derry. The 3 that BennyCake refers to are I think RO'N, CMcA & DMcC which I believe should all be included in our first 15 every game to bring them up to speed with each others game and get a mutual understanding  between them - this can only take place during pressurised games - it wont happen in training.... if them 3 get quality ball into the FF line then it would be hard to mark from the opposing defence point of view. In saying that, any forward worth his salt should have a field day if he is getting the quality type ball that he likes.

Correct, that's who I meant - but I'm not Bennycake!  :)

Quote from: rosnarun on February 07, 2014, 01:46:07 PM
Higgins is the the best corner back in the country and mayo's best player when he plays corner back. its stupid to move him out  of there to where hes much less effective.
he's simply not a CHF nor a CHB.

He was wasted at corner back for the last couple of years. If you look at what made him a good back it was his speed and reading of the game as he is at best an average defender/man marker. Anyone who has watched him hurl over the years would have seen how good a CHF he is. If Kilkenny gave a shite about football do you think the would put Henry Shefflin or Eddie Brennan at corner back? It's not as if we overburdened with potential CHF's these days and he was doing serious damage against the Dubs up front until he was called back to the full back line. I would say give him more time and he will grow into the position by the summer. We know what he can do in the backs so lets try a couple of new faces in the corners for the league.

Quote from: moysider on February 07, 2014, 11:36:35 AM
A 'settled' experimental side by Horan. With the exception of Gallagher it's unlikely we ll see much change from last year's starting personnel when things get serious.
Boyle playing in the corner is probably out of necessity than a serious attempt to turn one of the best attacking half backs around into a marker. The injured Barrett and club tied Cunniffe the most likely to resume in the corners later. At the moment with Michael Walsh axed from panel there simply are no corner backs in there. Harrison isn't. Coen isn't. Keane and McHale more suited to central roles. I don't think Higgins is nailed down 11 either. I think he would be much more effective from 6 but sure we ll see how the next few games go for him at 11.

I would like Keith Rodgers to get a game in the corner as I think he could be an option although like you my personal preference would be Michael Walsh but Horan ( who sees him day ,day out)  doesn't think he is ready for intercounty.

All in all we are trying a couple of new faces so I am still keeping patient but with the lack of pace in the full back line I think we will be 0 for 2 after Sunday and then the pressure is on!

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 07, 2014, 02:16:37 PM

Quote from: Mikhailov on February 07, 2014, 11:31:23 AM

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 07, 2014, 10:11:51 AM

Quote from: Redhand Santa on February 07, 2014, 09:43:26 AM
I'm sure you could make an argument to start all 3. Though when you consider 5 of the forwards in the team started versus Mayo in the All Ireland semi last year and I think the entire half back line the 3 you mentioned wouldn't be guaranteed ahead of any of them. You could make a case for McKenna in midfield. And PJ maybe ahead of Penrose depending on his form.

I'd like to see all 3 start in a full forward line - McAliskey is good at winning his own ball so perhaps could play 14. There is plenty of pace in the squad which has maybe been missing over the last few years. That alternative 15 that Redhand Santa put up is very impressive and gives plenty of reason for optimism and there is loads of competition for places. Lets hope we can give a good acoount for ourselves on Sunday.

I think RHS is referring to the 3 men that were omitted from his alternative 15 which I mentioned (NMcKenna, PMcNeice and PJ Lavery) which goes to highlight how strong our panel is when you consider that all 3 started against Derry. The 3 that BennyCake refers to are I think RO'N, CMcA & DMcC which I believe should all be included in our first 15 every game to bring them up to speed with each others game and get a mutual understanding  between them - this can only take place during pressurised games - it wont happen in training.... if them 3 get quality ball into the FF line then it would be hard to mark from the opposing defence point of view. In saying that, any forward worth his salt should have a field day if he is getting the quality type ball that he likes.

Correct, that's who I meant - but I'm not Bennycake!  :)

I don't think you could play RO'N, CMcA & DMcC in the same full forward line - even if we did operate a traditional 3 man forward line. All too similar. Once you'd come up against a defensive system like Donegals they'd be redundant. We need at least one big man capable of winning 50/50 ball
I notice RO'N has been playing at 11 a lot more in recent times for Club & College, but id remain to be convinced he can play that role.

Tyrone GAA ‏@TyroneGAALive  1h
There is a new ticketing system in place at Healy Park this Sunday. Please allow extra time for entry into the ground
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Quote from: BennyHarp on February 07, 2014, 02:16:37 PM

Quote from: Mikhailov on February 07, 2014, 11:31:23 AM

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 07, 2014, 10:11:51 AM

Quote from: Redhand Santa on February 07, 2014, 09:43:26 AM
I'm sure you could make an argument to start all 3. Though when you consider 5 of the forwards in the team started versus Mayo in the All Ireland semi last year and I think the entire half back line the 3 you mentioned wouldn't be guaranteed ahead of any of them. You could make a case for McKenna in midfield. And PJ maybe ahead of Penrose depending on his form.

I'd like to see all 3 start in a full forward line - McAliskey is good at winning his own ball so perhaps could play 14. There is plenty of pace in the squad which has maybe been missing over the last few years. That alternative 15 that Redhand Santa put up is very impressive and gives plenty of reason for optimism and there is loads of competition for places. Lets hope we can give a good acoount for ourselves on Sunday.

I think RHS is referring to the 3 men that were omitted from his alternative 15 which I mentioned (NMcKenna, PMcNeice and PJ Lavery) which goes to highlight how strong our panel is when you consider that all 3 started against Derry. The 3 that BennyCake refers to are I think RO'N, CMcA & DMcC which I believe should all be included in our first 15 every game to bring them up to speed with each others game and get a mutual understanding  between them - this can only take place during pressurised games - it wont happen in training.... if them 3 get quality ball into the FF line then it would be hard to mark from the opposing defence point of view. In saying that, any forward worth his salt should have a field day if he is getting the quality type ball that he likes.

Correct, that's who I meant - but I'm not Bennycake!  :)

Sorry Benny Harp - obviously I am spending too much time on this bloody board !!!!

Quote from: Crete Boom on February 07, 2014, 02:25:28 PM

Quote from: rosnarun on February 07, 2014, 01:46:07 PM
Higgins is the the best corner back in the country and mayo's best player when he plays corner back. its stupid to move him out  of there to where hes much less effective.
he's simply not a CHF nor a CHB.

He was wasted at corner back for the last couple of years. If you look at what made him a good back it was his speed and reading of the game as he is at best and average defender/man marker. Anyone who has watched him hurl over the years would have seen how good a CHF he is. If Kilkenny gave a shite about football do you think the would put Henry Shefflin or Eddie Brennan at corner back? It's not as if we overburdened at with potential CHF's these days and he was doing serious damage against the Dubs up front until he was called back to the full back line. I would say give him more time and he will grow into the position by the summer. We know what he can do in the backs so lets try a couple of new faces in the corners for the league.

Quote from: moysider on February 07, 2014, 11:36:35 AM
A 'settled' experimental side by Horan. With the exception of Gallagher it's unlikely we ll see much change from last year's starting personnel when things get serious.
Boyle playing in the corner is probably out of necessity than a serious attempt to turn one of the best attacking half backs around into a marker. The injured Barrett and club tied Cunniffe the most likely to resume in the corners later. At the moment with Michael Walsh axed from panel there simply are no corner backs in there. Harrison isn't. Coen isn't. Keane and McHale more suited to central roles. I don't think Higgins is nailed down 11 either. I think he would be much more effective from 6 but sure we ll see how the next few games go for him at 11.

I would like Keith Rodgers to get a game in the corner as I think he could be an option although like you my personal preference would be Michael Walsh but Horan ( who sees him day ,day out)  doesn't think he is ready for intercounty.

All in all we are trying a couple of new faces so I am still keeping patient but with the lack of pace in the full back line I think we will be 0 for 2 after Sunday and then the pressure is on!

Mick Walsh is in London. Cut from panel. So too is James Burke. I mean he s been dropped as well or hasn't rejoined.
You re probably right about the 0 from 2 but a lot of these teams can take points off one another on any given day. If we had taken our goal chances the last day we could have been home and hosed by ht. silly black card too. These games can go either way.

Quote from: moysider on February 07, 2014, 11:36:35 AM
A 'settled' experimental side by Horan. With the exception of Gallagher it's unlikely we ll see much change from last year's starting personnel when things get serious.
Boyle playing in the corner is probably out of necessity than a serious attempt to turn one of the best attacking half backs around into a marker. The injured Barrett and club tied Cunniffe the most likely to resume in the corners later. At the moment with Michael Walsh axed from panel there simply are no corner backs in there. Harrison isn't. Coen isn't. Keane and McHale more suited to central roles. I don't think Higgins is nailed down 11 either. I think he would be much more effective from 6 but sure we ll see how the next few games go for him at 11.

I suppose it helps when the opposition is also experimental, i'd wonder how many of that Tyrone team will start come championship time likewise with Kildare last weekend.

Quote from: God14 on February 07, 2014, 08:37:27 AM

Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on February 06, 2014, 11:15:48 PM
Plenty of running from the number 10 upwards, would be fairly hopeful! ;)

Im a bit underwhelmed by that selection Fear - not much height or physicality in the middle third of the field. Outside of Colm Cavanagh they are all mobile ball player type players and Ive reservations about our ability to win primary possession. Our 'modus operandus' will be for Colm & Grugan to break the ball for the half backs & half forwards to pick up the spills - but that clearly didn't work in Celtic Park last week.

Point taken G14, though I'm still fairly optimistic - it depends on Healy not being as utterly sodden underfoot as Celtic Park last weekend,  to be sure.

Quote from: God14 on February 07, 2014, 02:26:41 PM

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 07, 2014, 02:16:37 PM

Quote from: Mikhailov on February 07, 2014, 11:31:23 AM

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 07, 2014, 10:11:51 AM

Quote from: Redhand Santa on February 07, 2014, 09:43:26 AM
I'm sure you could make an argument to start all 3. Though when you consider 5 of the forwards in the team started versus Mayo in the All Ireland semi last year and I think the entire half back line the 3 you mentioned wouldn't be guaranteed ahead of any of them. You could make a case for McKenna in midfield. And PJ maybe ahead of Penrose depending on his form.

I'd like to see all 3 start in a full forward line - McAliskey is good at winning his own ball so perhaps could play 14. There is plenty of pace in the squad which has maybe been missing over the last few years. That alternative 15 that Redhand Santa put up is very impressive and gives plenty of reason for optimism and there is loads of competition for places. Lets hope we can give a good acoount for ourselves on Sunday.

I think RHS is referring to the 3 men that were omitted from his alternative 15 which I mentioned (NMcKenna, PMcNeice and PJ Lavery) which goes to highlight how strong our panel is when you consider that all 3 started against Derry. The 3 that BennyCake refers to are I think RO'N, CMcA & DMcC which I believe should all be included in our first 15 every game to bring them up to speed with each others game and get a mutual understanding  between them - this can only take place during pressurised games - it wont happen in training.... if them 3 get quality ball into the FF line then it would be hard to mark from the opposing defence point of view. In saying that, any forward worth his salt should have a field day if he is getting the quality type ball that he likes.

Correct, that's who I meant - but I'm not Bennycake!  :)

I don't think you could play RO'N, CMcA & DMcC in the same full forward line - even if we did operate a traditional 3 man forward line. All too similar. Once you'd come up against a defensive system like Donegals they'd be redundant. We need at least one big man capable of winning 50/50 ball
I notice RO'N has been playing at 11 a lot more in recent times for Club & College, but id remain to be convinced he can play that role.

I think McAliskey is well capable of winning his own ball and I believe the three of them could provide plenty of movement which would be difficult to mark. Pace inside will kill most teams if fast enough ball is played in and the new rules make running at defenders a much more viable option. However, getting that fast ball in has been a problem of ours for a few years now, so I take your point about them being redundant.

How long would it take to walk from the Ulsterbus Depot to Healy Park?
I'd like to go to the game but, given the likely weather conditions, I don't fancy the idea of driving to Omagh and then back to Dublin afterwards.

20 mins. But you are following the crowd the whole way. It's like the walk from O'Connell Street to Croker.

Tyrone 0-14 Mayo 2-13

We're not ready to face one of the current giants of gaelic football.

Quote from: ONeill on February 07, 2014, 10:17:04 PM
Tyrone 0-14 Mayo 2-13

We're not ready to face one of the current giants of gaelic football.

Good job you are playing Mayo and not Dublin then.

Quote from: Mikhailov on February 07, 2014, 09:15:51 AM

Quote from: Redhand Santa on February 07, 2014, 08:55:33 AM
It's not a bad line up and he continues to experiment. The players in the half forward line in theory should all be good at picking up ball. McKenna is a midfielder at club level and needs to provide a bit of help. Hughes and McGuigan should both be capable of winning ball. It's not a reserve side but its definitely far from full strength. Like the team below not starting if fully fit would possibly beat the team named on Sunday:
M O'Neill
R McKenna
Justy McMahon
PJ Quinn
R McNabb
Joe McMahon
C Gormley
A Cassidy
D McBride
M Penrose
S Cavanagh
Mark Donnelly
K Coney
S O'Neill
C McAliskey

I'd still be hopeful enough of picking up the points with plenty of good options on the bench if we're in trouble.

Very good - it shows how strong our panel is when 3 players that started against Derry cant even make your reserve 15 - namely Niall McKenna, Paddy McNeice and PJ Lavery. Shows great strength in depth.....

You Tyrone lads are far too optimistic for my liking.

Don't you know the sky is always about to fall?

Quote from: Syferus on February 08, 2014, 01:52:55 AM

Quote from: Mikhailov on February 07, 2014, 09:15:51 AM

Quote from: Redhand Santa on February 07, 2014, 08:55:33 AM
It's not a bad line up and he continues to experiment. The players in the half forward line in theory should all be good at picking up ball. McKenna is a midfielder at club level and needs to provide a bit of help. Hughes and McGuigan should both be capable of winning ball. It's not a reserve side but its definitely far from full strength. Like the team below not starting if fully fit would possibly beat the team named on Sunday:
M O'Neill
R McKenna
Justy McMahon
PJ Quinn
R McNabb
Joe McMahon
C Gormley
A Cassidy
D McBride
M Penrose
S Cavanagh
Mark Donnelly
K Coney
S O'Neill
C McAliskey

I'd still be hopeful enough of picking up the points with plenty of good options on the bench if we're in trouble.

Very good - it shows how strong our panel is when 3 players that started against Derry cant even make your reserve 15 - namely Niall McKenna, Paddy McNeice and PJ Lavery. Shows great strength in depth.....

You Tyrone lads are far too optimistic for my liking.

Don't you know the sky is always about to fall?

I certainly wouldn't be getting carried away though am optimistic of a good year ahead. We have a strong squad and that 15 is impressive not to be playing . However there is a few boys on the starting team this week that I can't see being involved come championship. Also of the team not playing named 6 of them are injured for about 75 per cent of the time. If we kept everyone fit we'd be serious contenders.

Some of the Mayo shooting here is embarrassing! Tyrone's defence looks wide open and lucky not to be a few goals down

Any links? Premier sports stream or even radio?

Tightened up now and playing great stuff. Matty Donnelly cleaning up at the minute. Great goal by McCurry 1-6 to 0-2

http://www.midwestradio.ie/

Tyrone 1-9 Mayo 0-6 at half time. Matty Donnelly 0-5 from play in the first half.

Good pace to the game but Mayo forwards are incredibly poor, if it wasn't for Lee Keegan from half back Mayo would have even less and he dropped two scroreable efforts short.

That was some performance from Mattie Donnelly.  Tyrone full forward line destroying Mayo

Tyrone have gone to asleep again like last weekend. 1-11 to 0-11

Ship steadied. McGinley having a great game 2-15 to 2-15. McCurry with another goal

Bad result for Mayo, sounds like Adam Gallagher played well though. The two week break will hopefully do us good

He was good alright but the rest of the forward line is brutal.

Strange decision from the ref there, o'se fouled, played advantage, Doherty fouled and he blows up & brings it back for the first foul  :o

Quote from: mayogodhelpus@gmail.com on February 07, 2014, 03:35:13 AM

In all fairness 6 points is a hammering.

Good to see Tyrone giving Mayo a good hammering today ;D. Always important to get off to a good start in the league so can't complain with 3 points from the opening couple of fixtures.

Mayo were shocking , outrageously poor. Team is drained, time to rebuild I think. Realistically looking at  survival and a good lash at trying to retain Nestor.

Good win for Tyrone... Not a great performance but good to get the 2 points.. Forward line will do damage with the right supply coming in but defence is still weak.. Mayo cut us wide open more times and with better shooting could have had at least 3 goals, but some credit has to go to Morgan for being alert and cutting down the angles... Dunno why P Harte insists in taking the ball in to the tackle nearly every time ,seems to slow the play up...Mayo had a good few players missing but should be in the reckoning again come summer time, but they need to garner a few points and stay in the division.. Donnelly and McCurry  excellent for Tyrone

Quote from: Lamh Dhearg Alba on February 09, 2014, 05:16:25 PM

Quote from: mayogodhelpus@gmail.com on February 07, 2014, 03:35:13 AM

In all fairness 6 points is a hammering.

Good to see Tyrone giving Mayo a good hammering today ;D. Always important to get off to a good start in the league so can't complain with 3 points from the opening couple of fixtures.

Enjoy your february fiesta of football  ;)

Good luck to Castlebar Mitchels  ;) in their upcoming All-Ireland Semi Final v Crokes.

(http://www.gaa.ie/content/images/news/mayo/Moran_Barry_castlebar_2013.jpg)(http://f3.thejournal.ie/media/2013/08/tom-cunniffe-and-peter-harte-630x440.jpg)(http://www.gaa.ie/content/images/news/mayo/Feeney_Richie_vDonegal2012.jpg)

Quote from: larryin89 on February 09, 2014, 05:26:23 PM
Mayo were shocking , outrageously poor. Team is drained, time to rebuild I think. Realistically looking at  survival and a good lash at trying to retain Nestor.

They seriously need to work on their killer instinct. Should have 3 goals got inside the first 10 minutes. Would have been a different story then. Contrast with the way Tyrone stuck their first goal. Just cos its early in the game its no excuse to be blasting goal chances over the bar for a point to keep the scoreboard ticking. Goals win game in the first minute as well as the last.

But yes, I would not be surprised if the limit for Mayo this year is Nestor. That should be a given anyway. Galway not yet up to it, Ros are permanently all over the place, Sligo fading, and while Leitrim improving they are still Leitrim.

Quote from: larryin89 on February 09, 2014, 05:26:23 PM
Mayo were shocking , outrageously poor. Team is drained, time to rebuild I think. Realistically looking at  survival and a good lash at trying to retain Nestor.

To say we were outrageously poor is a bit harsh I think. Granted we were not great at both ends of the pitch for a lot of the game, but with only 8 from our regular 15 from last year starting we still created enough opportunities to get a result if we'd taken them. It was frustrating to watch our inability to take the goal chances that we had, that was a big part of our undoing today.
Both our full lines were ineffective today, the 2 Tyrone corner forwards had a field day today with Kevin Keane appearing to struggle badly. A lot of guys did seem to be sluggish, at times Tyrone looked to be quicker to a lot of breaking ball. Up front the missed goal chances along with an inability/unwillingness to shoot from outside 30 yards from goal typified a poor forward performance. I could not figure out how we were set up to play, was Andy playing FF or CHF? The logic of playing Kevin McLoughlin in the corner escapes me, he had another bad day with frees and it was only when he came out the pitch that he started to perform, no surprise that it coincided with our strong spell in the second half. The only real positive was Adam Gallagher's performance, he's looking comfortable at this level.

8 is a fairly good number of your top players and any county with aspirations of winning Sam should have a few players outside their first 15 who can play at the very highest level. Keane doesn't seem to be up to this level, Higgins isn't working out at 11 and Mayo just don't have the firepower necessary. Conroy in fairness added something to the party when he came on and Gallagher looks good but you just get the feeling that Mayo lack the bit of class to win Sam.

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 06:22:59 PM
8 is a fairly good number of your top players and any county with aspirations of winning Sam should have a few players outside their first 15 who can play at the very highest level. Keane doesn't seem to be up to this level, Higgins isn't working out at 11 and Mayo just don't have the firepower necessary. Conroy in fairness added something to the party when he came on and Gallagher looks good but you just get the feeling that Mayo lack the bit of class to win Sam.

Put that into the context of us playing against the 3'rd best team in All-Ireland last year.

Not sure the common consensus would be Tyrone were third best team in Ireland last year, besides are Mayo not the second best? This was also a Tyrone team short a good few players too wasn't it?

Quote from: mayogodhelpus@gmail.com on February 09, 2014, 06:39:53 PM

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 06:22:59 PM
8 is a fairly good number of your top players and any county with aspirations of winning Sam should have a few players outside their first 15 who can play at the very highest level. Keane doesn't seem to be up to this level, Higgins isn't working out at 11 and Mayo just don't have the firepower necessary. Conroy in fairness added something to the party when he came on and Gallagher looks good but you just get the feeling that Mayo lack the bit of class to win Sam.

Put that into the context of us playing against the 3'rd best team in All-Ireland last year.

Weren't playing Kerry today and i still think the Munster men would have won the All Ireland if they had beaten Dublin.

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 06:50:56 PM
Not sure the common consensus would be Tyrone were third best team in Ireland last year, besides are Mayo not the second best? This was also a Tyrone team short a good few players too wasn't it?

That is true, however it is not time to panic yet. If we still are bottom or close to the basement of Paddy's Dat and if the Mitchels players are still unavailable we could be in a little trouble.

Quote from: Captain Obvious on February 09, 2014, 06:55:16 PM

Quote from: mayogodhelpus@gmail.com on February 09, 2014, 06:39:53 PM

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 06:22:59 PM
8 is a fairly good number of your top players and any county with aspirations of winning Sam should have a few players outside their first 15 who can play at the very highest level. Keane doesn't seem to be up to this level, Higgins isn't working out at 11 and Mayo just don't have the firepower necessary. Conroy in fairness added something to the party when he came on and Gallagher looks good but you just get the feeling that Mayo lack the bit of class to win Sam.

Put that into the context of us playing against the 3'rd best team in All-Ireland last year.

Weren't playing Kerry today and i still think the Munster men would have won the All Ireland if they had beaten Dublin.

I have no doubt Mayo would have beaten Kerry by 4+

Quote from: mayogodhelpus@gmail.com on February 09, 2014, 06:58:18 PM

Quote from: Captain Obvious on February 09, 2014, 06:55:16 PM

Quote from: mayogodhelpus@gmail.com on February 09, 2014, 06:39:53 PM

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 06:22:59 PM
8 is a fairly good number of your top players and any county with aspirations of winning Sam should have a few players outside their first 15 who can play at the very highest level. Keane doesn't seem to be up to this level, Higgins isn't working out at 11 and Mayo just don't have the firepower necessary. Conroy in fairness added something to the party when he came on and Gallagher looks good but you just get the feeling that Mayo lack the bit of class to win Sam.

Put that into the context of us playing against the 3'rd best team in All-Ireland last year.

Weren't playing Kerry today and i still think the Munster men would have won the All Ireland if they had beaten Dublin.

I have no doubt Mayo would have beaten Kerry by 4+

The context is that we lost to Kildare and Tyrone at home this time last year in the league. O'Connor, Dillon, The Mitchels lads et a few others are not available. These games mean something when you are playing them and mean nothing 20 minutes after you have togged in! I heard the same fears and aspirations from League results only to mean nothing come Championship!

I wouldn't say it meant nothing, your forwards have been leaving you down for years and they don't look like they are going to be dependable. Tyrone, Donegal, Kildare and Monaghan all look like they'll be better this year than last. I think Mayo fans should have genuine concerns.

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 07:32:57 PM
I wouldn't say it meant nothing, your forwards have been leaving you down for years and they don't look like they are going to be dependable. Tyrone, Donegal, Kildare and Monaghan all look like they'll be better this year than last. I think Mayo fans should have genuine concerns.

You might well be right, but you always think we should be concerned.

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 07:32:57 PM
I wouldn't say it meant nothing, your forwards have been leaving you down for years and they don't look like they are going to be dependable. Tyrone, Donegal, Kildare and Monaghan all look like they'll be better this year than last. I think Mayo fans should have genuine concerns.

We had the same talk of the four counties you named last year. Both Kildare and Tyrone are further on fitness wise at this time of the year. Donegal and Monaghan are playing in Division 2, so I'd expect them to be winning well if they have any aspirations. Look, it's all about the summer! We have our forward problems when we played Dublin, but against the rest we were ok!

Quote from: Tubberman on February 09, 2014, 07:39:27 PM

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 07:32:57 PM
I wouldn't say it meant nothing, your forwards have been leaving you down for years and they don't look like they are going to be dependable. Tyrone, Donegal, Kildare and Monaghan all look like they'll be better this year than last. I think Mayo fans should have genuine concerns.

You might well be right, but you always think we should be concerned.

They've been proved right have they not?

QuoteWe had the same talk of the four counties you named last year. Both Kildare and Tyrone are further on fitness wise at this time of the year. Donegal and Monaghan are playing in Division 2, so I'd expect them to be winning well if they have any aspirations. Look, it's all about the summer! We have our forward problems when we played Dublin, but against the rest we were ok!

But that was when you needed them! The only thing Mayo need to win Sam is some better forwards, if they can unearth them then they have as good a chance as anyone. If they can't then they'll fall short again and with other counties improving they might start to drift back into the pack.

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 07:32:57 PM
I wouldn't say it meant nothing, your forwards have been leaving you down for years and they don't look like they are going to be dependable. Tyrone, Donegal, Kildare and Monaghan all look like they'll be better this year than last. I think Mayo fans should have genuine concerns.

Some of us are always concerned.

Mayo created several goal chances last 2 games but were not clinical enough. Our 2 most clinical scoring forwards are not available right now. That s about it really. Both games we had plenty possession.

I d be no more concerned than I was a year ago. I would expect that we would beat Tyrone and Kildare later in the year if we meet and I m not exactly an optimist. We are so far off fitness and a coherent selection right now that these results carry little weight. It would be a disappointment to get relegated. Especially for the next manager it would be no favour so avoiding relegation is the priority now in the league. If the goals had gone in last 2 games we would be nailed on for a semi already but that bird has flown.
The priority was to find a player or 2 and so far McHale has looked decent at 6 and Gallagher can play at this level. Stephen Coen is still only 18 and put in a good shift today. The Higgins thing will probably need to be reassessed but not the end of the world if it doesnt work out. Frees from the right continue to be an issue. But overall I d be happy enough at this stage of the year.

An enjoyable day in Healy Park. Took my son (3years old) to his first game today and he loved it. Have been to very little football over the last few years so was great to be back on board.

Couple of points on todays game:

If Darren McCurry can keep his current level of performance going on a regular basis and stay injury free we could have a real gem on our hands. His finishing today was superb, not many players would have the ability and, more importantly,  the awareness to place the ball where he did. 99 out 100 would attempt to rip the netting from the post in those situations. 

Mattie Donnelly was fantastic, his shooting from ridiculous angles was top notch. Last time I saw him 'live' was the u-21 ulster final versus Cavan a few years ago when he played in at 14 but wasn't effective at all. Has bulked up significantly and his ball winning,  movement and distribution was excellent.

I have read quite a bit and watched most of our games this year but I am still surprised to see how open our tactics are. We went, more or less, fully man to man in the defence and the gameplan seems to be 'we will score more than you!' Very refreshing and makes for great viewing. It will be interesting to see how this develops as the year progresses.

Anyway, a thoroughly enjoyable game and looking forward to some exciting times ahead.

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 08:01:48 PM

Quote from: Tubberman on February 09, 2014, 07:39:27 PM

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 07:32:57 PM
I wouldn't say it meant nothing, your forwards have been leaving you down for years and they don't look like they are going to be dependable. Tyrone, Donegal, Kildare and Monaghan all look like they'll be better this year than last. I think Mayo fans should have genuine concerns.

You might well be right, but you always think we should be concerned.

They've been proved right have they not?

QuoteWe had the same talk of the four counties you named last year. Both Kildare and Tyrone are further on fitness wise at this time of the year. Donegal and Monaghan are playing in Division 2, so I'd expect them to be winning well if they have any aspirations. Look, it's all about the summer! We have our forward problems when we played Dublin, but against the rest we were ok!

But that was when you needed them! The only thing Mayo need to win Sam is some better forwards, if they can unearth them then they have as good a chance as anyone. If they can't then they'll fall short again and with other counties improving they might start to drift back into the pack.

As good a chance as anyone? Thanks for the vote of confidence. We could be the surprise package this year?

Quote from: moysider on February 09, 2014, 08:12:05 PM

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 07:32:57 PM
I wouldn't say it meant nothing, your forwards have been leaving you down for years and they don't look like they are going to be dependable. Tyrone, Donegal, Kildare and Monaghan all look like they'll be better this year than last. I think Mayo fans should have genuine concerns.

Some of us are always concerned.

Mayo created several goal chances last 2 games but were not clinical enough. Our 2 most clinical scoring forwards are not available right now. That s about it really. Both games we had plenty possession.

I d be no more concerned than I was a year ago. I would expect that we would beat Tyrone and Kildare later in the year if we meet and I m not exactly an optimist. We are so far off fitness and a coherent selection right now that these results carry little weight. It would be a disappointment to get relegated. Especially for the next manager it would be no favour so avoiding relegation is the priority now in the league. If the goals had gone in last 2 games we would be nailed on for a semi already but that bird has flown.
The priority was to find a player or 2 and so far McHale has looked decent at 6 and Gallagher can play at this level. Stephen Coen is still only 18 and put in a good shift today. The Higgins thing will probably need to be reassessed but not the end of the world if it doesnt work out. Frees from the right continue to be an issue. But overall I d be happy enough at this stage of the year.

They'll never learn to reign in their arrogance. By the time Mayo hammer Leitrim or London this year we'll have the 3 in a row All Ireland brigade on here again.

Quote from: moysider on February 09, 2014, 08:12:05 PM

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 07:32:57 PM
I wouldn't say it meant nothing, your forwards have been leaving you down for years and they don't look like they are going to be dependable. Tyrone, Donegal, Kildare and Monaghan all look like they'll be better this year than last. I think Mayo fans should have genuine concerns.

Some of us are always concerned.

Mayo created several goal chances last 2 games but were not clinical enough. Our 2 most clinical scoring forwards are not available right now. That s about it really. Both games we had plenty possession.

I d be no more concerned than I was a year ago. I would expect that we would beat Tyrone and Kildare later in the year if we meet and I m not exactly an optimist. We are so far off fitness and a coherent selection right now that these results carry little weight. It would be a disappointment to get relegated. Especially for the next manager it would be no favour so avoiding relegation is the priority now in the league. If the goals had gone in last 2 games we would be nailed on for a semi already but that bird has flown.
The priority was to find a player or 2 and so far McHale has looked decent at 6 and Gallagher can play at this level. Stephen Coen is still only 18 and put in a good shift today. The Higgins thing will probably need to be reassessed but not the end of the world if it doesnt work out. Frees from the right continue to be an issue. But overall I d be happy enough at this stage of the year.

Definitely a good thing looking at new faces and Higgins at CHF showed enough promise in the C'ship to continue with it (looks like he enjoyed Xmas, looks like he carrying a few extra lbs!). However the other experimentation going on ie Boyle at corner back and McLoughlin at corner forward am not too sure about at all. While there is some logic trying Boyle at CB to see if he's an option there instead of bringing Higgins back, I'd much rather see him trying someone new there. I see no sense in how McLoughlin is being used. He's already a half back converted to a half forward, why try converting him to a corner forward? If he was coming out the field to play his usual game it might be understandable but from what I saw today he stayed inside as a conventional corner forward, to little effect. It would make more sense trying Adam Gallagher in there, given the ability he showed today to break and spin out of tackles and knew more than others where the posts were.

Towering performances from Clarke and Donnelly. McCurry will get you goals, though needs to prove this in the summer. O'Neill looked sharper. Hughes is a tidy footballer and can play ball.

But.....every game will be a shoot-out. Defensively from 5-9 we're susceptible. The Peter Harte conundrum remains. Everyone has an opinion on where to play him. At the minute Mickey reckons CHB. For me a CHB has to be a commanding defensive presence. Peter has an attacking instinct that leaves a gaping hole down the middle when the ball is turned over, and on either side of him he hasn't much experience.

I'd save the negativity about Mayo for a while longer. Mayo were well short today in all fairness.

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 07:32:57 PM
I wouldn't say it meant nothing, your forwards have been leaving you down for years and they don't look like they are going to be dependable. Tyrone, Donegal, Kildare and Monaghan all look like they'll be better this year than last. I think Mayo fans should have genuine concerns.

As one of the 'more concerned' posters, I agree totally Zulu. This high-pressing game had stood us well for two years. But I think that today we were out-played, and simply weren't good enough in some key areas. When we were having our best spell of the game (early on), the scoreline was 2 points to 1 in our favour. Games always ebb and flow, so Tyrone were always going to come into it, and they did. Our defence were caught napping for the first goal.

Gibbons and O'Shea did well in midfield however, and they seemed to win more breaking ball this week, in comparison to last, but again the end product let us down. I know we shouldn't be worrying yet, but I am. Is Higgins going to be left at number 11? Will Boyle and Keane remain as the cornerbacks? I wasn't impressed with either today. Brian Gallagher offered next to nothing after coming on. McLoughlin shouldn't start in the corner, he's much better running at defences. As mentioned before, Stephen Coen did well when he came on. Drake also had a very good game. On reflection taking off Carolan was a mistake as he would have been more of a worker around the middle area than Gallagher was as he tends to 'rough it up'.

The only plus points are that Kerry have 0 points and Westmeath have 0 points and we play them in our next two games. Like larryin89, I am worrying. Staving off relegation is probably what the team will be doing. Edited to say, Adam Gallagher was very good today.

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 09, 2014, 09:01:38 PM

Quote from: moysider on February 09, 2014, 08:12:05 PM

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 07:32:57 PM
I wouldn't say it meant nothing, your forwards have been leaving you down for years and they don't look like they are going to be dependable. Tyrone, Donegal, Kildare and Monaghan all look like they'll be better this year than last. I think Mayo fans should have genuine concerns.

Some of us are always concerned.

Mayo created several goal chances last 2 games but were not clinical enough. Our 2 most clinical scoring forwards are not available right now. That s about it really. Both games we had plenty possession.

I d be no more concerned than I was a year ago. I would expect that we would beat Tyrone and Kildare later in the year if we meet and I m not exactly an optimist. We are so far off fitness and a coherent selection right now that these results carry little weight. It would be a disappointment to get relegated. Especially for the next manager it would be no favour so avoiding relegation is the priority now in the league. If the goals had gone in last 2 games we would be nailed on for a semi already but that bird has flown.
The priority was to find a player or 2 and so far McHale has looked decent at 6 and Gallagher can play at this level. Stephen Coen is still only 18 and put in a good shift today. The Higgins thing will probably need to be reassessed but not the end of the world if it doesnt work out. Frees from the right continue to be an issue. But overall I d be happy enough at this stage of the year.

They'll never learn to reign in their arrogance. By the time Mayo hammer Leitrim or London this year we'll have the 3 in a row All Ireland brigade on here again.

Ah dont be so touchy. My own county is my only concern and I expect that we will improve from last year. Anything else is unacceptable imo.

Quote from: moysider on February 09, 2014, 09:19:42 PM

Quote from: BennyHarp on February 09, 2014, 09:01:38 PM

Quote from: moysider on February 09, 2014, 08:12:05 PM

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 07:32:57 PM
I wouldn't say it meant nothing, your forwards have been leaving you down for years and they don't look like they are going to be dependable. Tyrone, Donegal, Kildare and Monaghan all look like they'll be better this year than last. I think Mayo fans should have genuine concerns.

Some of us are always concerned.

Mayo created several goal chances last 2 games but were not clinical enough. Our 2 most clinical scoring forwards are not available right now. That s about it really. Both games we had plenty possession.

I d be no more concerned than I was a year ago. I would expect that we would beat Tyrone and Kildare later in the year if we meet and I m not exactly an optimist. We are so far off fitness and a coherent selection right now that these results carry little weight. It would be a disappointment to get relegated. Especially for the next manager it would be no favour so avoiding relegation is the priority now in the league. If the goals had gone in last 2 games we would be nailed on for a semi already but that bird has flown.
The priority was to find a player or 2 and so far McHale has looked decent at 6 and Gallagher can play at this level. Stephen Coen is still only 18 and put in a good shift today. The Higgins thing will probably need to be reassessed but not the end of the world if it doesnt work out. Frees from the right continue to be an issue. But overall I d be happy enough at this stage of the year.

They'll never learn to reign in their arrogance. By the time Mayo hammer Leitrim or London this year we'll have the 3 in a row All Ireland brigade on here again.

Ah dont be so touchy. My own county is my only concern and I expect that we will improve from last year. Anything else is unacceptable imo.

Ack sure, I was only joking! Unfortunately, I'm not sure that Mayo have the capacity to improve significantly from last year under the current management and with the panel of forwards they have. It's hard to keep coming back after big AI final defeats and improve each time.

The game is evolving very quickly and I think it's going to take big scores to win games this summer, should be an interesting championship and I'm glad Mickey is developing a new style with Tyrone. It may take a year or two but I think we are on the right track.

Quote from: From the Bunker on February 09, 2014, 08:52:26 PM

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 08:01:48 PM

Quote from: Tubberman on February 09, 2014, 07:39:27 PM

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 07:32:57 PM
I wouldn't say it meant nothing, your forwards have been leaving you down for years and they don't look like they are going to be dependable. Tyrone, Donegal, Kildare and Monaghan all look like they'll be better this year than last. I think Mayo fans should have genuine concerns.

You might well be right, but you always think we should be concerned.

They've been proved right have they not?

QuoteWe had the same talk of the four counties you named last year. Both Kildare and Tyrone are further on fitness wise at this time of the year. Donegal and Monaghan are playing in Division 2, so I'd expect them to be winning well if they have any aspirations. Look, it's all about the summer! We have our forward problems when we played Dublin, but against the rest we were ok!

But that was when you needed them! The only thing Mayo need to win Sam is some better forwards, if they can unearth them then they have as good a chance as anyone. If they can't then they'll fall short again and with other counties improving they might start to drift back into the pack.

As good a chance as anyone? Thanks for the vote of confidence. We could be the surprise package this year?

I meant of the likely All Ireland challengers but I presume you knew that. I'd love to see Mayo win the All Ireland but I'd worry about the bench and I don't think you've the forwards to win an All Ireland. Moysider said he thinks Mayo would beat Tyrone in the summer but I wouldn't be so sure, I think Tyrone will be a lot better than they were last summer, I'm not sure Mayo will. You are still an All Ireland contender and of course you'll improve from where you are today but so will all teams. Other than Gallagher I haven't seen anyone put their hand up for a summer jersey.

I think there's seems to be a we bit of disrespect from some Mayo posters towards tyrone. Tyrone were easily in the top 5 teams last year as proven by a run to the semis as well as running Dublin to a point in the league final. Yes we beat mayo last year and it didn't matter come championship but we won by 5 points more than last year today, have numerous improving young players and had only 6 of last years team on. I wouldn't be so confident if I was a mayo supporter of winning later in the year.

I thought we played really well in spells today. I'm still concerned with defence though. I personally think Harte should be left half back and a more defensive presence in the centre as well. Our half forward line in first half didn't win enough ball, especially the breaks.

The full forward lime was dangerous and there's great signs there for later in the year. I thought colm cavanagh put in a great shift in the middle and the younger players should look at his work rate and bravery. Grugan is good on the ball but needs to win more ball round the middle. He may be able to do a job in the half forward line.

Overall a lot to build on. Going to be interesting when we get the experienced boys back. If injuries stay away there is potentially a great blend of a team there.

Quote from: Farrandeelin on February 09, 2014, 09:12:44 PM

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 07:32:57 PM
I wouldn't say it meant nothing, your forwards have been leaving you down for years and they don't look like they are going to be dependable. Tyrone, Donegal, Kildare and Monaghan all look like they'll be better this year than last. I think Mayo fans should have genuine concerns.

As one of the 'more concerned' posters, I agree totally Zulu. This high-pressing game had stood us well for two years. But I think that today we were out-played, and simply weren't good enough in some key areas. When we were having our best spell of the game (early on), the scoreline was 2 points to 1 in our favour. Games always ebb and flow, so Tyrone were always going to come into it, and they did. Our defence were caught napping for the first goal.

Gibbons and O'Shea did well in midfield however, and they seemed to win more breaking ball this week, in comparison to last, but again the end product let us down. I know we shouldn't be worrying yet, but I am. Is Higgins going to be left at number 11? Will Boyle and Keane remain as the cornerbacks? I wasn't impressed with either today. Brian Gallagher offered next to nothing after coming on. McLoughlin shouldn't start in the corner, he's much better running at defences. As mentioned before, Stephen Coen did well when he came on. Drake also had a very good game. On reflection taking off Carolan was a mistake as he would have been more of a worker around the middle area than Gallagher was as he tends to 'rough it up'.

The only plus points are that Kerry have 0 points and Westmeath have 0 points and we play them in our next two games. Like larryin89, I am worrying. Staving off relegation is probably what the team will be doing.

Avoiding relegation would be a result from here now. Look, in spite of what Horan was saying about winning the league this was always going to be about threading water. That was old soft chat. He was hardly going to say 'no - we are not going to bother with the league'. The reality is we didn t do much pre season. Proper call. After 2 AI finals getting this team fresh later in the year is the key.
Last year we lost 3 matches in McHale Park to Kildare, Tyrone and Down. We were concerned. Both Kildare and Tyrone gave us the run around for long spells. We got to the AI.
The year before the sky fell in Ballyshannon. Donegal  killed us and made us look like a rabble. Things looked real bad but we recovered and made AI final. There s always worries.
Our forwards are taking a shoeing tonight and rightly so but its often a thin line. If Higgins and Carolan had goaled - and both should have- we d have people wetting themselves about finishes after carving Tyrone open. Meanwhile McCurry nails 2 half chances - with great quality, in case I m accused of being disrespectful again by the Tyronies ::). We fucked up 4 or more great  opportunities while Tyrone in fairness blew one. McLoughlin missed 2 gimmies from frees as well. It doesn t  take Einstein to work out why we lose games. But we wont always miss those and McCurry might not always get those either. Thats sport.
The Boyle thing doesn t look great and hopefully won t damage his confidence. But we're stuck for corner backs. Michael Walsh was dropped after grooming him for 2 years and not giving him matches. He s a natural marker ( you can be sure McCurry wouldn t have got 2 - 'pick an number' off him), but maybe James only saw him as a tackle bag in the squad but it seems a waste of time for everybody concerned. The Higgins thing I wouldn t be too worried about. It might not work out. His natural game is coming onto ball and he wouldn t be used to being marked or playing with his back to goal. If he was to stay in the forwards it could be as free deep role with 15 on his back. I would prefer a playmaker like Cillian O Connor at 11. There is another name that could improve the forwards but we cant go there without upsetting some people. Máirtín McHugh must be wondering where he is. He predicted before the Kildare game that himself and Adam Gallagher would make a big impression for Mayo in this league. He was right about Gallagher. James is begining to look a bit foolish about the other.

QuoteOur forwards are taking a shoeing tonight and rightly so but its often a thin line. If Higgins and Carolan had goaled - and both should have- we d have people wetting themselves about finishes after carving Tyrone open. Meanwhile McCurry nails 2 half chances - with great quality, in case I m accused of being disrespectful again by the Tyronies ::). We fucked up 4 or more great  opportunities while Tyrone in fairness blew one. McLoughlin missed 2 gimmies from frees as well. It doesn t  take Einstein to work out why we lose games. But we wont always miss those and McCurry might not always get those either. Thats sport.

While that's true, it's also true to say that Mayo forwards tend to miss more than they should at this level. You're unlikely to score goal opportunities in CP on All Ireland final day if you can't keep your head and finish them in February. As a neutral I liked the look of some of those Tyrone forwards while I was less impressed with Mayo's. Of course some of those Mayo forwards will have better days and the Tyrone boys will have poor outings too but Tyrone look like they've lads that will deliver more often than not. I can't say the same about Mayo.

As I said earlier I was disappointed with the half forward line in the first half. I thought out of the 3 Hughes was unlucky to be the 1st off. I'd give McGuigan a few more goes as he has a bit of class and a good passer of the ball. However he gave the ball away too cheaply today and didn't do enough. More disappointing than that was that after losing the ball he didn't bother chasing back. He's still learning though and can hopefully improve from today.

Agree with you Moysider about the other forward but like you say no point going there ,It just beggars belief though, the gaa population are often left scratching their heads with some bizzare decision making in Mayo.

It reminds of this time I was travelling back to Dublin from the 08 Connacht final defeat to Galway on the Monday morning and this random Cavan man says to me, " no offence but are ye well in the head at all in Mayo, Macdonald is the best footballer in Ireland never mind Mayo , yet ye ignore him like ye have a team who don't need him"

I replied , I agree and I texted him but he ignored me.

Who is it that Mayo men aren't allowed to talk about ?


Ronald Regan ?

Quote from: Zulu on February 09, 2014, 10:36:31 PM

QuoteOur forwards are taking a shoeing tonight and rightly so but its often a thin line. If Higgins and Carolan had goaled - and both should have- we d have people wetting themselves about finishes after carving Tyrone open. Meanwhile McCurry nails 2 half chances - with great quality, in case I m accused of being disrespectful again by the Tyronies ::). We fucked up 4 or more great  opportunities while Tyrone in fairness blew one. McLoughlin missed 2 gimmies from frees as well. It doesn t  take Einstein to work out why we lose games. But we wont always miss those and McCurry might not always get those either. Thats sport.

While that's true, it's also true to say that Mayo forwards tend to miss more than they should at this level. You're unlikely to score goal opportunities in CP on All Ireland final day if you can't keep your head and finish them in February. As a neutral I liked the look of some of those Tyrone forwards while I was less impressed with Mayo's. Of course some of those Mayo forwards will have better days and the Tyrone boys will have poor outings too but Tyrone look like they've lads that will deliver more often than not. I can't say the same about Mayo.

Well we have in last 2 games anyway but when we were scoring goals for fun last summer it was put down to poor quality opposition. Yet we carved out similar and as easy chances against Div1 teams last 2 games. The fact that we missed them was not down to anything opposition did. they were open goals. They were awful missses. Maybe these teams should be a bit concerned about giving up chances like Leitrim and London do. There seems to be a bit of smugness about that we are in decline. I wouldn t be so sure. I ve no doubt that if Cillian O Connor or the lad we cannot mention, was on the end of some of those chances we would be 2 wins from 2.

I d also factor in the intensity of marking Andy and Conroy in second half had to contend with compared to Tyrone forwards. Tyrone were able to get close and double up. Maybe it s a fitness thing. Like Kildare last week Tyrone forwards would have tighter marking in the warm up drills. If those performances are the real deal McCurry, Mattie D and Paddy Brophy should be handed their All Stars now.

Mayo s lack of bench and lack of fitness a factor. AOS burning oil early and Higgins not in best shape either. Because some starters didnt function and Boyle got injured the cupboard was bare long before the end today. Not the end of the world.
We ll have to give Andy games and hope he makes it but it is wait and see with him.

Quote from: orangeman on February 09, 2014, 10:54:25 PM
Who is it that Mayo men aren't allowed to talk about ?


Ronald Regan ?

Shhhhh!

Don t be upsetting Rosnarun or the East Mayo lads.

Big improvement from last weeks performance against derry,but we have a disaster waiting to happen @ chb, in saying that the wing halfs worked very hard , as did the full back line , tierney a great find. I think the bench is a good place for relatives.

In case we forget it was Regan who turned down the invitation to join the panel ,but shur never let the facts get in the way of a rant against the mayo management.Tyrone deserved there victory and I think if Harte gives them a bit more freedom than last year they will be contenders come August and September.

Quote from: maigheo on February 10, 2014, 12:24:47 AM
In case we forget it was Regan who turned down the invitation to join the panel ,but shur never let the facts get in the way of a rant against the mayo management.Tyrone deserved there victory and I think if Harte gives them a bit more freedom than last year they will be contenders come August and September.

Will James go after him again and look him to rejoin the panel ?

Quote from: maigheo on February 10, 2014, 12:24:47 AM
In case we forget it was Regan who turned down the invitation to join the panel ,but shur never let the facts get in the way of a rant against the mayo management.Tyrone deserved there victory and I think if Harte gives them a bit more freedom than last year they will be contenders come August and September.

Let's not forget he was cut from the panel last year in the middle of the summer .

Look we can debate this all night and day , it still doesn't take away from the fact  he is a better footballer than at least three of the forwards on display today and more potential than most of them. He's a young man of 21 years of age , if you as a manager can't make a house call and give some encouragement to persuade him , you're not doing your job imo. Get the best men in the county on the pitch is surely still part of your job as a manager .

Quote from: maigheo on February 10, 2014, 12:24:47 AM
In case we forget it was Regan who turned down the invitation to join the panel ,but shur never let the facts get in the way of a rant against the mayo management

Not true. Dropped last Summer. And who s ranting?

Quote from: larryin89 on February 10, 2014, 12:35:58 AM

Quote from: maigheo on February 10, 2014, 12:24:47 AM
In case we forget it was Regan who turned down the invitation to join the panel ,but shur never let the facts get in the way of a rant against the mayo management.Tyrone deserved there victory and I think if Harte gives them a bit more freedom than last year they will be contenders come August and September.

Let's not forget he was cut from the panel last year in the middle of the summer .

Look we can debate this all night and day , it still doesn't take away from the fact  he is a better footballer than at least three of the forwards on display today and more potential than most of them. He's a young man of 21 years of age , if you as a manager can't make a house call and give some encouragement to persuade him , you're not doing your job imo. Get the best men in the county on the pitch is surely still part of your job as a manager .

So basically what you're saying is that there is a class forward in Mayo not playing ball who because he got the chop in his mind very unfairly last year, ignored  a text or phone call from James to rejoin the panel this year and that James is so pig headed that we won't swallow his pride and go and track the lad down, knock on his door and ask him to come and play for Mayo.





That's all fair enough but you could be forgiven for thinking that Mayo and James had loads of brilliant, natural forwards already.

Good managers can usually find a way of resolving issues like these without behaving like an ostrich.


Forgive me if I've got bits of it wrong here. I'm only reading between the lines.

Quote from: larryin89 on February 10, 2014, 12:35:58 AM

Quote from: maigheo on February 10, 2014, 12:24:47 AM
In case we forget it was Regan who turned down the invitation to join the panel ,but shur never let the facts get in the way of a rant against the mayo management.Tyrone deserved there victory and I think if Harte gives them a bit more freedom than last year they will be contenders come August and September.

Let's not forget he was cut from the panel last year in the middle of the summer .

Look we can debate this all night and day , it still doesn't take away from the fact  he is a better footballer than at least three of the forwards on display today and more potential than most of them. He's a young man of 21 years of age , if you as a manager can't make a house call and give some encouragement to persuade him , you're not doing your job imo. Get the best men in the county on the pitch is surely still part of your job as a manager .

He s still U 21 but was good enough last year after injury. Possibly good enough year out of minor but injured. But Horan didn t like the cut of him and that s fair enough. A coach/manager has to go with what he wants and he obviously didnt like the cut of the lad and let him go. But it s not a shock that the player does not see the sense in going back.

Lads, is the Tyrone mayo game on Tg4 website? How do I watch it if so? Cheers :D

Quote from: cadhlancian on February 10, 2014, 01:07:01 AM
Lads, is the Tyrone mayo game on Tg4 website? How do I watch it if so? Cheers :D

Na. It was deferred on the tv.

Quote from: orangeman on February 10, 2014, 12:28:47 AM

Quote from: maigheo on February 10, 2014, 12:24:47 AM
In case we forget it was Regan who turned down the invitation to join the panel ,but shur never let the facts get in the way of a rant against the mayo management.Tyrone deserved there victory and I think if Harte gives them a bit more freedom than last year they will be contenders come August and September.

Will James go after him again and look him to rejoin the panel ?

If Mayo have a good U21 run and the team performs, he will perform. He ll be catapulted into senior starting like there was never a problem - maybe. If he is involved I can see the US thing go away.
The problem would be if Mayo exit the U21s early. It looks like Horan did not rate him on his own merits. Remember Boyle and Conroy had to be part of a successful club team to get back in.  I wouldn t hold my breath on him being involved. Can understand it from both sides.

Quote from: moysider on February 10, 2014, 01:09:06 AM

Quote from: orangeman on February 10, 2014, 12:28:47 AM

Quote from: maigheo on February 10, 2014, 12:24:47 AM
In case we forget it was Regan who turned down the invitation to join the panel ,but shur never let the facts get in the way of a rant against the mayo management.Tyrone deserved there victory and I think if Harte gives them a bit more freedom than last year they will be contenders come August and September.

Will James go after him again and look him to rejoin the panel ?

If Mayo have a good U21 run and the team performs, he will perform. He ll be catapulted into senior starting like there was never a problem - maybe. If he is involved I can see the US thing go away.
The problem would be if Mayo exit the U21s early. It looks like Horan did not rate him on his own merits. Remember Boyle and Conroy had to be part of a successful club team to get back in.  I wouldn t hold my breath on him being involved. Can understand it from both sides.

I doubt James is a thick hanlen.

Quote from: orangeman on February 10, 2014, 01:11:58 AM

Quote from: moysider on February 10, 2014, 01:09:06 AM

Quote from: orangeman on February 10, 2014, 12:28:47 AM

Quote from: maigheo on February 10, 2014, 12:24:47 AM
In case we forget it was Regan who turned down the invitation to join the panel ,but shur never let the facts get in the way of a rant against the mayo management.Tyrone deserved there victory and I think if Harte gives them a bit more freedom than last year they will be contenders come August and September.

Will James go after him again and look him to rejoin the panel ?

If Mayo have a good U21 run and the team performs, he will perform. He ll be catapulted into senior starting like there was never a problem - maybe. If he is involved I can see the US thing go away.
The problem would be if Mayo exit the U21s early. It looks like Horan did not rate him on his own merits. Remember Boyle and Conroy had to be part of a successful club team to get back in.  I wouldn t hold my breath on him being involved. Can understand it from both sides.

I doubt James is a thick hanlen.

I ll never forget John Motson asking Brian Clough why he signed Kenny Burns for Forest.

His reply was something like ' well, like most people in this game, he is thick'.
Ye have to be thick in football. That s a gimmie. Clough was thick but had other layers underneath. And he knew the value of havin a clever deliberate thickie in a creative team.  Thickness is only a start. That s the easy bit. And if you re good enough you don t even have to be thick as a manager.

Quote from: moysider on February 10, 2014, 12:44:27 AM

Quote from: maigheo on February 10, 2014, 12:24:47 AM
In case we forget it was Regan who turned down the invitation to join the panel ,but shur never let the facts get in the way of a rant against the mayo management

Not true. Dropped last Summer. And who s ranting?

Not picking a fight with you but Regan declined an invite to rejoin the panel this year to concentrate on sigerson and u21 which is his right.For all we know maybe Regan was not performing in training ,thus the reason why he was dropped last summer.I would find it hard to believe that Horan would drop a player that would possibly have helped mayo win the all ireland.I hope Regan makes him self available for Mayo again and  fulfills his potential

Quote from: cadhlancian on February 10, 2014, 01:07:01 AM
Lads, is the Tyrone mayo game on Tg4 website? How do I watch it if so? Cheers :D

http://www.tg4.ie/en/player/tg4-player.html

Go to sport, it's the 2nd Gaa Beo option ..

Quote from: Redhand Santa on February 09, 2014, 09:53:03 PM
I think there's seems to be a we bit of disrespect from some Mayo posters towards tyrone. Tyrone were easily in the top 5 teams last year as proven by a run to the semis as well as running Dublin to a point in the league final. Yes we beat mayo last year and it didn't matter come championship but we won by 5 points more than last year today, have numerous improving young players and had only 6 of last years team on. I wouldn't be so confident if I was a mayo supporter of winning later in the year.

I'm not sure where that disrespect is coming from but I fancy Tyrone to win the All Ireland this year. Haven't read all of this thread but there are a few posters who might be a bit upset and frustrated with a a few selections from Horan.

There was no disrespect whatsoever to Tyrone. I think Redhand Santa expects Mayo posters to be focussing on how good Tyrone were, rather than Mayo's short-comings, which is unrealistic.
Given that we had similar performances (indeed, we had worse) in last year's league, I'm not too concerned - yet. But I was definitely frustrated after watching the game yesterday. Our forwards had very little shape or purpose about them, which was in stark contrast to Tyrone, where you could see exactly what they were trying to do, and they did it very well.
Similarly in defence, our corner backs were roasted again. We had some success against their defence early in the first half which we didn't take advantage of. Once they got ahead in the second half, they had plenty of bodies back to stop our momentum going forward.
Keegan, Adam Gallagher and Gibbons were the better performers for Mayo I thought.
Higgins, Andy and AOS don't look fit yet. That's not a surprise with O'Shea, but Keith is usually flying all year round. Might be no harm.
Andy was woeful in the first half, spilling every ball that came his way and carrying into tackles. He was better in the second half, hopefully he's getting the sharpness back.

Was good to see Mark Donnelly back for Tyrone yesterday. He is the one half forward we have who can consistently break the tackle. He is very strong & rarely spills possession. Whilst its encouraging & exciting to see new younger faces like Shea McGuigan, Peter Hughes & Emmet McKenna in that half forward line, I felt we looked a lot more secure & composed in possession once he arrived.

I only saw the highlights last night and some of our forward play looked amazing. I'm glad Mickey has them back playing like that with a lot more foot passing into our FF line. Players like McCurry, Mattie & RoN will only benefit from playing like that.
I hope all the Ulster teams buy into this model and not return to playing sweepers but I'd fear come championship it will all get more serious and teams won't allow good players the space to tear them apart again.

How did our defenders play yesterday? How was McNabb and McCann. I've never saw him before.

Quote from: Fuzzman on February 10, 2014, 11:11:34 AM
I only saw the highlights last night and some of our forward play looked amazing. I'm glad Mickey has them back playing like that with a lot more foot passing into our FF line. Players like McCurry, Mattie & RoN will only benefit from playing like that.
I hope all the Ulster teams buy into this model and not return to playing sweepers but I'd fear come championship it will all get more serious and teams won't allow good players the space to tear them apart again.

How did our defenders play yesterday? How was McNabb and McCann. I've never saw him before.

Mcnabb wasnt playing, mcginleyw as the other WHB.
Mccann did rightly yesterday, but i cant see him holding on to a starting jersey come championship time.

I would like to see RON get a run of games at 11.
I think he has the vision and passing ability to be able to cuase damage from there, im not sure he has the real pace to make it as an inside forward.

Quote from: orangeman on February 09, 2014, 09:11:37 PM
I'd save the negativity about Mayo for a while longer. Mayo were well short today in all fairness.

I just read in the paper that Mayo have 20 men unavailable at the minute. Talk of their demise is premature.

Kerry lost their first 4 league games last year, stayed up and could have won the all Ireland, having played in one of the best games in history.

Perspective please.

I doubt Mayo are missing 20 players unless they're carrying a panel of 50 or so and if they are then at least 25 of them will play no part in championship. Kerry were very poor in lasts year league but they were missing some of the best players the game had seen in the past 25 years, mayo are not.

I don't think anyone is saying Mayo are in crisis mode on the back of a disappointing February league game but Mayo are all about All Irelands now and I saw little encouraging in yesterday's performance to suggest that they'll have difference makers on the bench or forwards who'll deliver when the need is greatest.

Quote from: Zulu on February 10, 2014, 12:23:54 PM
I doubt Mayo are missing 20 players unless they're carrying a panel of 50 or so and if they are then at least 25 of them will play no part in championship. Kerry were very poor in lasts year league but they were missing some of the best players the game had seen in the past 25 years, mayo are not.

I don't think anyone is saying Mayo are in crisis mode on the back of a disappointing February league game but Mayo are all about All Irelands now and I saw little encouraging in yesterday's performance to suggest that they'll have difference makers on the bench or forwards who'll deliver when the need is greatest.

We lost the All-Ireland final last year by one point as you're undoubtedly aware. We had 3 of our best forwards carrying injuries or not recovered from serious injury (Moran, Dillon, O'Connor). We also took off one of our better forwards for some reason (Freeman).
We also had to move one of our better attacking players back to cover for an injured defender (Higgins, although his worth as a forward is now in some doubt).
We didn't deserve to win last year, but I don't think we need to add that much to what we already have to be in with a chance of winning it this year. It looks like we have already found one good forward in Gallagher.
You seem to think we can't win with the players we have?

Was trying to get a list of the scorers and subs made so found it in this report.
Was Morgan not hitting all the long frees or was he missing them.
Looks like McCurry will be top scorer in the league this year and he must love teams not playing packed defences. With Derry winning in Kerry I'd say the young lads would be looking forward to tht one now.

Sublime brace from McCurry keeps Mayo rooted to foot of the table
Tyrone 2-15 Mayo 0-16

Darren McCurry struck two sublime goals to sink Mayo at Healy Park, and leave James Horan's side propping up the NFL Division 1 table without a single point.

Tyrone are getting key players back on the grass, Sean Cavanagh and Mark Donnelly the latest men to return to action.

James Horan is having difficulty keeping track of a mounting Mayo injury toll now estimated at 20, with Ger Cafferkey, Lee Keegan, David Drake and Colm Boyle all added to the list following this fast-moving encounter in Omagh.

Adam Gallagher's nine-point haul was not enough to rescue last year's beaten All-Ireland finalists, who have chalked up healthy but insufficient score-lines in both their games to date.

"We would have to be very happy with the economy of our finishing in the first half and it really set us up for the win," said Tyrone manager Mickey Harte.

"In the second half, we were not as good in front of the goals and we wasted some chances that would have given us some breathing space and Mayo would not let go and they kept at us until we got that second goal from Darren McCurry."

ENCOURAGEMENT

Donnelly's new role is one of many sources of encouragement for Harte, who watched his full-forward shoot five points from play in that first half.

McCurry also shot some delightful scores, but that was only after the Connacht side had sliced open the home defence for three goal chances.

To Horan's dismay, they failed to take any of them.

Tyrone survived and set about blitzing their opponents at the other end, hitting 1-4 in the space of five minutes, McCurry netting his impressive first goal.

Tyrone led by 1-9 to 0-6 at half-time, and stretched the advantage to seven, before Mayo, with the gusting wind in their backs, started to press and closed the gap to two.

Tyrone went 12 minutes without scoring, before wing back Ciaran McGinley and 'keeper Niall Morgan, from a free, got them back on track.

And they settled the game with McCurry's second goal, planted accurately in the corner of the net.

Cavanagh's entry after 50 minutes was warmly welcomed by manager Harte, who sees his skipper as the catalyst for an assault on both major titles.

SCORERS –Tyrone: D McCurry 2-4 (1f), M Donnelly 0-5, C McGinley 0-2, P Harte, N Morgan (f), C McAliskey, R O'Neill (1f) 0-1 each. Mayo: A Gallagher 0-9 (6fs), K McLoughlin 0-2, A Moran, K Higgins, L Keegan, B Gallagher, C Carolan 0-1 each.

Tyrone – N Morgan 7; A McCrory 6, C Clarke 7, B Tierney 5; C McGinley 7, P Harte 7, T McCann 6; C Cavanagh 7, C Grugan 6;, E McKenna 5, S McGuigan 5, P Hughes 5; D McCurry 8, M Donnelly 8, R O'Neill 7. Subs: C McAliskey 7 for Hughes (h-t), S Cavanagh 6 for McKenna (50), Mark Donnelly 6 for McGuigan (50), D Carlin 5 for Tierney for Tierney (58)

Mayo – R Hennelly 6; K Keane 5, G Cafferkey 6, C Boyle 6; L Keegan 7, S McHale 6, D Drake 7; A O'Shea 7, J Gibbons 6; C Carolan 6, K Higgins 6, A Gallagher 8; K McLoughlin 6, A Moran 5, D O'Connor 5. Subs: B Harrison 5 for Boyle (h-t), B Gallagher 6 for O'Connor (h-t), M Conroy 5 for Carolan (h-t), J Doherty 4 for Cafferkey (58), A Freeman 4 for Keegan (65).

Quote from: blewuporstuffed on February 10, 2014, 11:17:19 AM

Quote from: Fuzzman on February 10, 2014, 11:11:34 AM
I only saw the highlights last night and some of our forward play looked amazing. I'm glad Mickey has them back playing like that with a lot more foot passing into our FF line. Players like McCurry, Mattie & RoN will only benefit from playing like that.
I hope all the Ulster teams buy into this model and not return to playing sweepers but I'd fear come championship it will all get more serious and teams won't allow good players the space to tear them apart again.

How did our defenders play yesterday? How was McNabb and McCann. I've never saw him before.

Mcnabb wasnt playing, mcginleyw as the other WHB.
Mccann did rightly yesterday, but i cant see him holding on to a starting jersey come championship time.

I would like to see RON get a run of games at 11.
I think he has the vision and passing ability to be able to cuase damage from there, im not sure he has the real pace to make it as an inside forward.

McGinley had a great second half yesterday. McCann struggled in my opinion. I think he would benefit from a good run of games to be honest. He has a good engine, but id like to see him to be more aggressive. I don't think he will be starting come championship, but he is definitely one for the future. He should have done better with the pass to Mattie Donnelly towards the end of the first half, panicked a little.
That's to be expected with rookies though. Read a good article somewhere yesterday where Enda McGinley reckoned most Tyrone fans now felt that his group arrived on the scene in 02/03'  as the 'finished article' - when clearly they didn't. There's potential there, and plenty of improvement in the tank

We need to get a handle however on the centre of our defence - far too open regardless of going 'man to man'. That standard wouldn't be any where near good enough come July or August.

Quote from: maigheo on February 10, 2014, 01:59:04 AM

Quote from: moysider on February 10, 2014, 12:44:27 AM

Quote from: maigheo on February 10, 2014, 12:24:47 AM
In case we forget it was Regan who turned down the invitation to join the panel ,but shur never let the facts get in the way of a rant against the mayo management

Not true. Dropped last Summer. And who s ranting?

Not picking a fight with you but Regan declined an invite to rejoin the panel this year to concentrate on sigerson and u21 which is his right.For all we know maybe Regan was not performing in training ,thus the reason why he was dropped last summer.I would find it hard to believe that Horan would drop a player that would possibly have helped mayo win the all ireland.I hope Regan makes him self available for Mayo again and  fulfills his potential

Like a lot of people, I was surprised when Regan was let go off the panel last year, he should be pissed off. However, somebody should take him aside and advise him, that this current team has a pretty narrow window to win an all-Ireland. Danger for him not joining this group, is that he becomes a pivotal part of a Mayo team in a year or two that may be past their prime or in the middle of a rebuild. He should think it out. James Horan should also do what he has to to bring him back, if Regan declines in the next month or two then so be it. James Horan should say he did make the offer and then move on.

I am not panicking yet, it is February. James Horan did not become a bad manager overnight. We are struggling winning primary ball at midfield, at the end of the day, if you dont have the ball, it is more difficult to win a game. Last year, most teams were afraid to kick the ball out such was our dominance, that will improve when Seamus o Shea, Barry Moran and Tom Parsons are available.


I am worried about our forward line out and their inability to kick points. Carolan is a great worker, but his kicking/passing skills level are most likely below where they should be for an intercounty player. Andy may have to assume the role of a impact sub, as most likely will Alan Dillon if he recovers fully.

We have a strong panel at our disposal, a good manager and a good coach. Lets stay positive and remember it is February 10th.

Lads, I read an article a couple of weeks ago in the Irish star I think.. It was about a Mayo forward playing sigerson this year, maybe for Sligo?? He went on to score 9-10 points that day but ended up on the losing team... Is this the lad Regan? Anyhow, I am not buying all the negativity about Mayo this year... They are missing a good chunk of the starting team from last year and it's still only Feb!! When everyone is back and fit they are as god as anybody in the country, remember last year they were so close but injuries to key forwards took its toll...

As for Tyrone, we have plenty to be optimistic about, but plenty far of work to be done.....key players returning will add strength in depth to the squad but the centre of defence needs tightened up.. Harte is not a CHB and Clarke is too slow for FB, great under the high ball but let's his man out in front first too often. Maybe CHB would suit him better...Would like McCann and mcnabb to get a run of games.

Quote from: Beantown on February 10, 2014, 01:43:07 PM
Lads, I read an article a couple of weeks ago in the Irish star I think.. It was about a Mayo forward playing sigerson this year, maybe for Sligo?? He went on to score 9-10 points that day but ended up on the losing team... Is this the lad Regan? Anyhow, I am not buying all the negativity about Mayo this year... They are missing a good chunk of the starting team from last year and it's still only Feb!! When everyone is back and fit they are as god as anybody in the country, remember last year they were so close but injuries to key forwards took its toll...

As for Tyrone, we have plenty to be optimistic about, but plenty far of work to be done.....key players returning will add strength in depth to the squad but the centre of defence needs tightened up.. Harte is not a CHB and Clarke is too slow for FB, great under the high ball but let's his man out in front first too often. Maybe CHB would suit him better...Would like McCann and mcnabb to get a run of games.

McBride would be the man for full back or CHB.

Quote from: joemamas on February 10, 2014, 01:26:13 PM

Quote from: maigheo on February 10, 2014, 01:59:04 AM

Quote from: moysider on February 10, 2014, 12:44:27 AM

Quote from: maigheo on February 10, 2014, 12:24:47 AM
In case we forget it was Regan who turned down the invitation to join the panel ,but shur never let the facts get in the way of a rant against the mayo management

Not true. Dropped last Summer. And who s ranting?

Not picking a fight with you but Regan declined an invite to rejoin the panel this year to concentrate on sigerson and u21 which is his right.For all we know maybe Regan was not performing in training ,thus the reason why he was dropped last summer.I would find it hard to believe that Horan would drop a player that would possibly have helped mayo win the all ireland.I hope Regan makes him self available for Mayo again and  fulfills his potential

Like a lot of people, I was surprised when Regan was let go off the panel last year, he should be pissed off. However, somebody should take him aside and advise him, that this current team has a pretty narrow window to win an all-Ireland. Danger for him not joining this group, is that he becomes a pivotal part of a Mayo team in a year or two that may be past their prime or in the middle of a rebuild. He should think it out. James Horan should also do what he has to to bring him back, if Regan declines in the next month or two then so be it. James Horan should say he did make the offer and then move on.

I am not panicking yet, it is February. James Horan did not become a bad manager overnight. We are struggling winning primary ball at midfield, at the end of the day, if you dont have the ball, it is more difficult to win a game. Last year, most teams were afraid to kick the ball out such was our dominance, that will improve when Seamus o Shea, Barry Moran and Tom Parsons are available.


I am worried about our forward line out and their inability to kick points. Carolan is a great worker, but his kicking/passing skills level are most likely below where they should be for an intercounty player. Andy may have to assume the role of a impact sub, as most likely will Alan Dillon if he recovers fully.

We have a strong panel at our disposal, a good manager and a good coach. Lets stay positive and remember it is February 10th.

Look letse worry about the players we have and those that are willing to resume after injury rather than stay a home saviours .
I was encouraged by the way mayo turned it around in the 2nd half as they a mess before the Break.
Its important that these games are used to weed out the Wheat from the chaff when it come to the Newer players
Adam Gallagher looks a natural . so did harrision yeaterday but was very poor against kildare  Vice versa when it come to D oconnor both needs further monitoring ,
I Stephen coen Looked ok when he came on but darren did little to impress.
Lets just hope the selectors cam make sense of what they are seeing

Tyrone are certainly going well, we having a lot of scoring potential, but Harte is not a CHB, he is so suited to WHB I can't for the life of me figure out why the Uncle can't see that, or maybe he can't see another player who can play CHB and Peters the best of the bunch. Clarke will get destroyed at FB when the ground hardens and the speedsters can turn faster.

Quote from: joemamas on February 10, 2014, 01:26:13 PM

Quote from: maigheo on February 10, 2014, 01:59:04 AM

Quote from: moysider on February 10, 2014, 12:44:27 AM

Quote from: maigheo on February 10, 2014, 12:24:47 AM
In case we forget it was Regan who turned down the invitation to join the panel ,but shur never let the facts get in the way of a rant against the mayo management

Not true. Dropped last Summer. And who s ranting?

Not picking a fight with you but Regan declined an invite to rejoin the panel this year to concentrate on sigerson and u21 which is his right.For all we know maybe Regan was not performing in training ,thus the reason why he was dropped last summer.I would find it hard to believe that Horan would drop a player that would possibly have helped mayo win the all ireland.I hope Regan makes him self available for Mayo again and  fulfills his potential

Like a lot of people, I was surprised when Regan was let go off the panel last year, he should be pissed off. However, somebody should take him aside and advise him, that this current team has a pretty narrow window to win an all-Ireland. Danger for him not joining this group, is that he becomes a pivotal part of a Mayo team in a year or two that may be past their prime or in the middle of a rebuild. He should think it out. James Horan should also do what he has to to bring him back, if Regan declines in the next month or two then so be it. James Horan should say he did make the offer and then move on.

I am not panicking yet, it is February. James Horan did not become a bad manager overnight. We are struggling winning primary ball at midfield, at the end of the day, if you dont have the ball, it is more difficult to win a game. Last year, most teams were afraid to kick the ball out such was our dominance, that will improve when Seamus o Shea, Barry Moran and Tom Parsons are available.


I am worried about our forward line out and their inability to kick points. Carolan is a great worker, but his kicking/passing skills level are most likely below where they should be for an intercounty player. Andy may have to assume the role of a impact sub, as most likely will Alan Dillon if he recovers fully.

We have a strong panel at our disposal, a good manager and a good coach. Lets stay positive and remember it is February 10th.

Winning possession didn't appear to be the problem yesterday, it was the use of it. Along with the Regan situation, it's also starting to look like Freeman is being alienated. The only full forward player who started every championship match last year and IMO improved with every game only got 5 mins yesterday. Very hard to justify considering how utterly ineffective that line was yesterday.

QuoteAlong with the Regan situation, it's also starting to look like Freeman is being alienated. The only full forward player who started every championship match last year and IMO improved with every game only got 5 mins yesterday.

Can you explain how you think Freeman is alienated?

I would prefer to see us through the league as injury free as possible.

Conor Gormley to me would be the natural centre half back for Tyrone. He can hold the centre, is a big physical presence and his distribution is top drawer.

Quote from: Wee Roddy on February 10, 2014, 03:22:25 PM
Conor Gormley to me would be the natural centre half back for Tyrone. He can hold the centre, is a big physical presence and his distribution is top drawer.

Yeah id agree with that. Id like to see Conor at 6 & Pete Harte switched to 7.

Any word about Carrickmore Roddy when he is likely to be back? Read somewhere a while back that his wife was due to give birth to twins in Feb? I noticed at the Derry match nearly all the injured players were present (even longer term injured players like AIdan Cass) - but no sign of SON or Conor... Maybe I read too much into these things!

Quote from: Wee Roddy on February 10, 2014, 03:22:25 PM
Conor Gormley to me would be the natural centre half back for Tyrone. He can hold the centre, is a big physical presence and his distribution is top drawer.

Agree. He would work well there with 2 solid Errigal men either side to keep him right ;)

Quote from: EC Unique on February 10, 2014, 03:56:51 PM

Quote from: Wee Roddy on February 10, 2014, 03:22:25 PM
Conor Gormley to me would be the natural centre half back for Tyrone. He can hold the centre, is a big physical presence and his distribution is top drawer.

Agree. He would work well there with 2 solid Errigal men either side to keep him right ;)

i would agree with that also.
Gormley at 6 and Joe at 3 would give a great solid centre to the defence and might give Harte a wee bit more freedom from the wing, or even to push up and play that dooher role from 10.

I would also like to see ronan oneill given a few games at CHF, i think he could have the passing ability and vision to really cause a bit of damage from there

As good as Gormley has been for Tyrone, probably was our best ever defender, maybe even still is, it would be more important to look to the future.. This will probably be his last year, mores the pity!

 
My team is
Morgan / O Neill
Mc Crory, Clarke, Joe Mc Mahon 
Mc Ginley, Gormley, Harte             
Mc Kenna / Grugan,  Colm Cavanagh
Mark Donnelly Sean Cavanagh Conor Mc Aliskey
Ronan O Neill, Mattie Donnelly, Darren Mc Curry.       

I think that keeps us solid and experienced at the back with some blinding pace at wing half back, I havent liked our half forward line this year, we need the break ball that Mark Donnelly can win and Sean setting off.  I think one of the reasons we have a loose defence is we are missing Gormley and indeed Mc Mahon so badly in there.  I think Mc Aliskey and O Neill have laid on some superb ball this season.  Fair play to Mickey he has persevered with some players and they are now starting to deliver - sometimes its all a young lad needs is the faith of the manager.  Morgan probably has goals at the moment but I really like the Clonoe lad as well, in fact if he was taking the frees he would be in.  I think we have two cracking keepers at the moment.  Both Grugan and Mc Kenna have to be persevered with as they are the most likely to succeed to let Sean up front.  Theres a big year in Darren Mc Curry and Ronan O Neill and Mc Aliskey. 

Quote from: rrhf on February 10, 2014, 08:23:13 PM

My team is
Morgan / O Neill
Mc Crory, Clarke, Joe Mc Mahon 
Mc Ginley, Gormley, Harte             
Mc Kenna / Grugan,  Colm Cavanagh
Mark Donnelly Sean Cavanagh Conor Mc Aliskey
Ronan O Neill, Mattie Donnelly, Darren Mc Curry.       

I think that keeps us solid and experienced at the back with some blinding pace at wing half back, I havent liked our half forward line this year, we need the break ball that Mark Donnelly can win and Sean setting off.  I think one of the reasons we have a loose defence is we are missing Gormley and indeed Mc Mahon so badly in there.  I think Mc Aliskey and O Neill have laid on some superb ball this season.  Fair play to Mickey he has persevered with some players and they are now starting to deliver - sometimes its all a young lad needs is the faith of the manager.  Morgan probably has goals at the moment but I really like the Clonoe lad as well, in fact if he was taking the frees he would be in.  I think we have two cracking keepers at the moment.  Both Grugan and Mc Kenna have to be persevered with as they are the most likely to succeed to let Sean up front.  Theres a big year in Darren Mc Curry and Ronan O Neill and Mc Aliskey.

There's plenty of scores in that forward line but I just think Mark Donnelly needs to learn to move the ball faster. This seems to be part of the new system to get quick ball into the inside forwards and hopefully Mark can adapt his running game to suit. Also, can you really not decide between Morgan and O'Neill in goals? I haven't seen much of O'Neill but he must be some talent to be challenging Morgan.

That's a decent Tyrone team, not sure about Gormley at chb though, could see him getting the run around from the likes of Kilkenny come the summertime

Wouldn't be unhappy with most of that team. Main concern would be that we would be cleaned out at MF with Grugan / McKenna beside Colm.

Morgan is by far the better GK.

Quote from: highorlow on February 10, 2014, 03:17:05 PM

QuoteAlong with the Regan situation, it's also starting to look like Freeman is being alienated. The only full forward player who started every championship match last year and IMO improved with every game only got 5 mins yesterday.

Can you explain how you think Freeman is alienated?

I would prefer to see us through the league as injury free as possible.

Without dragging up what did or didn't happen between Freeman and Horan last year, there is no clear reason why Freeman is on the bench. He was one of our very few form forwards last year, and given the number of forwards we have out at the moment with injury would it not make sense to have some consistency in our forward division? Freeman started every C'ship match last year, improved in every game, why is he now not deemed good enough to introduced until the last five minutes when the game was gone??? Especially in a match where inability to win possession in the FF was obvious, would introducing a factor that worked for a lot of last year not have been the logical move? Freeman is a confidence player and it took a long time for him to get back to the level he was playing last year. I have a real fear that this current selection policy, whatever the reason behind it, will knock him back.

Not necessarily my team but I'd like to see the following get a run out in the league:
Morgan
Pj Quinn
Clarke
Tierney
Mcginley
Gormley
Harte
Joe McMahon (playing defensive role)
C cavanagh
McNabb
S cavanagh
Grugan
Mccurry
Donnelly
R o'neill

That team would provide bit of cover for defence and ball winning ability while still providing a lot of attacking threat.

Quote from: kickingmule on February 10, 2014, 12:22:08 AM
Big improvement from last weeks performance against derry,but we have a disaster waiting to happen @ chb, in saying that the wing halfs worked very hard , as did the full back line , tierney a great find. I think the bench is a good place for relatives.

Although I think Harte is too attacking for centre half back I still think he's worth his place on the team whether he's a relative or not. I wouldn't be surprised if similar to last year Harte stays at centre half back with joe McMahon at half forward dropping back allowing Harte to bomb forward. McMahon will help cover up the centre of defence.

Quote from: tyroneman on February 10, 2014, 09:34:38 PM
Wouldn't be unhappy with most of that team. Main concern would be that we would be cleaned out at MF with Grugan / McKenna beside Colm.

Morgan is by far the better GK.

I've seen o Neill so much at club level and he's a very impressive keeper. Morgan place kicking sets him apart. I think that midfield is where some hard choices need to be made.  As I said before colm is the only man we trust is at the level and ye have 3 options alongside him this year. Mr Kenn a assists the running game of the half backs and is a great passer of the ball. Gregson has been great in most games and is still a cub. Cassidy or a fit Justin mc mahon would give serious options. But I think the new rules and indeed thrones system mean we will continue to attack at pace up the wings rendering midfield as less important. To have the luxury of big Sean running at goals from 11 would be class.

Quote from: rrhf on February 10, 2014, 09:55:32 PM

Quote from: tyroneman on February 10, 2014, 09:34:38 PM
Wouldn't be unhappy with most of that team. Main concern would be that we would be cleaned out at MF with Grugan / McKenna beside Colm.

Morgan is by far the better GK.

I've seen o Neill so much at club level and he's a very impressive keeper. Morgan place kicking sets him apart. I think that midfield is where some hard choices need to be made.  As I said before colm is the only man we trust is at the level and ye have 3 options alongside him this year. Mr Kenn a assists the running game of the half backs and is a great passer of the ball. Gregson has been great in most games and is still a cub. Cassidy or a fit Justin mc mahon would give serious options. But I think the new rules and indeed thrones system mean we will continue to attack at pace up the wings rendering midfield as less important. To have the luxury of big Sean running at goals from 11 would be class.

Would love to see a fit Justy given a run of games in MF.

Unfortunately a fit Cass seems like a pipe dream.

PJ will need game time after the break. 

Quote from: bucko on February 10, 2014, 09:35:52 PM

Quote from: highorlow on February 10, 2014, 03:17:05 PM

QuoteAlong with the Regan situation, it's also starting to look like Freeman is being alienated. The only full forward player who started every championship match last year and IMO improved with every game only got 5 mins yesterday.

Can you explain how you think Freeman is alienated?

I would prefer to see us through the league as injury free as possible.

Without dragging up what did or didn't happen between Freeman and Horan last year, there is no clear reason why Freeman is on the bench. He was one of our very few form forwards last year, and given the number of forwards we have out at the moment with injury would it not make sense to have some consistency in our forward division? Freeman started every C'ship match last year, improved in every game, why is he now not deemed good enough to introduced until the last five minutes when the game was gone??? Especially in a match where inability to win possession in the FF was obvious, would introducing a factor that worked for a lot of last year not have been the logical move? Freeman is a confidence player and it took a long time for him to get back to the level he was playing last year. I have a real fear that this current selection policy, whatever the reason behind it, will knock him back.

Are you suggesting that James Horan does not like to be questioned and may hold a grudge to the detriment of the team? :o

Quote from: orangeman on February 10, 2014, 11:18:21 AM

Quote from: orangeman on February 09, 2014, 09:11:37 PM
I'd save the negativity about Mayo for a while longer. Mayo were well short today in all fairness.

I just read in the paper that Mayo have 20 men unavailable at the minute. Talk of their demise is premature.

Kerry lost their first 4 league games last year, stayed up and could have won the all Ireland, having played in one of the best games in history.

Perspective please.

I agree.
Here is Mayo's prospects in perspective.
(http://i57.tinypic.com/2em372a.png)

Quote from: moysider on February 10, 2014, 10:25:08 PM

Quote from: bucko on February 10, 2014, 09:35:52 PM

Quote from: highorlow on February 10, 2014, 03:17:05 PM

QuoteAlong with the Regan situation, it's also starting to look like Freeman is being alienated. The only full forward player who started every championship match last year and IMO improved with every game only got 5 mins yesterday.

Can you explain how you think Freeman is alienated?

I would prefer to see us through the league as injury free as possible.

Without dragging up what did or didn't happen between Freeman and Horan last year, there is no clear reason why Freeman is on the bench. He was one of our very few form forwards last year, and given the number of forwards we have out at the moment with injury would it not make sense to have some consistency in our forward division? Freeman started every C'ship match last year, improved in every game, why is he now not deemed good enough to introduced until the last five minutes when the game was gone??? Especially in a match where inability to win possession in the FF was obvious, would introducing a factor that worked for a lot of last year not have been the logical move? Freeman is a confidence player and it took a long time for him to get back to the level he was playing last year. I have a real fear that this current selection policy, whatever the reason behind it, will knock him back.

Are you suggesting that James Horan does not like to be questioned and may hold a grudge to the detriment of the team? :o

Not at all, I wouldn't dream of such a thing......😬

Quote from: bucko on February 10, 2014, 10:32:24 PM

Quote from: moysider on February 10, 2014, 10:25:08 PM

Quote from: bucko on February 10, 2014, 09:35:52 PM

Quote from: highorlow on February 10, 2014, 03:17:05 PM

QuoteAlong with the Regan situation, it's also starting to look like Freeman is being alienated. The only full forward player who started every championship match last year and IMO improved with every game only got 5 mins yesterday.

Can you explain how you think Freeman is alienated?

I would prefer to see us through the league as injury free as possible.

Without dragging up what did or didn't happen between Freeman and Horan last year, there is no clear reason why Freeman is on the bench. He was one of our very few form forwards last year, and given the number of forwards we have out at the moment with injury would it not make sense to have some consistency in our forward division? Freeman started every C'ship match last year, improved in every game, why is he now not deemed good enough to introduced until the last five minutes when the game was gone??? Especially in a match where inability to win possession in the FF was obvious, would introducing a factor that worked for a lot of last year not have been the logical move? Freeman is a confidence player and it took a long time for him to get back to the level he was playing last year. I have a real fear that this current selection policy, whatever the reason behind it, will knock him back.

Are you suggesting that James Horan does not like to be questioned and may hold a grudge to the detriment of the team? :o

Not at all, I wouldn't dream of such a thing......

Hmmmmm. Never doubted you would  ;)

Quote from: orangeman on February 10, 2014, 11:18:21 AM
I just read in the paper that Mayo have 20 men unavailable at the minute.

The paper must be including squad and players no longer on the panel? Mayo were missing 7 All Ireland final starters yesterday. Tom Cunniffe, Chris Barrett, Donal Vaughan, Seamus O’Shea, Alan Dillon; Cillian O’Connor, Alan Freeman and how likely are Freeman,Dillon to be starters this year?

Quote from: Blowitupref on February 10, 2014, 11:20:58 PM

Quote from: orangeman on February 10, 2014, 11:18:21 AM
I just read in the paper that Mayo have 20 men unavailable at the minute.

The paper must be including subs and players no longer on the panel? Mayo were missing 7 All Ireland final starters yesterday. Tom Cunniffe, Chris Barrett, Donal Vaughan, Seamus O'Shea, Alan Dillon; Cillian O'Connor, Alan Freeman and how likely are Freeman,Dillon to be starters this year?

Why are you picking on Dillon and Freeman? Just asking like.

Quote from: Blowitupref on February 10, 2014, 11:20:58 PM

Quote from: orangeman on February 10, 2014, 11:18:21 AM
I just read in the paper that Mayo have 20 men unavailable at the minute.

The paper must be including subs and players no longer on the panel? Mayo were missing 7 All Ireland final starters yesterday. Tom Cunniffe, Chris Barrett, Donal Vaughan, Seamus O'Shea, Alan Dillon; Cillian O'Connor, Alan Freeman and how likely are Freeman,Dillon to be starters this year?

Freeman will definitely be a starter unless something has gone terribly wrong.

Barry Moran & Conor Loftus would be getting games. Mikey Sweeney from Kiltane would be getting a look, although I am not convinced. Richie Feeney yes, although if he wasn't brought on against the Dubs around the same time he was brought on against Donegal, when would you use him?  Maybe a keeper or two is unfit.

Evan Regan is technically unavailable I suppose.  :D

Hard to see '20 men unavailable' though.

Quote from: moysider on February 10, 2014, 11:25:41 PM

Quote from: Blowitupref on February 10, 2014, 11:20:58 PM

Quote from: orangeman on February 10, 2014, 11:18:21 AM
I just read in the paper that Mayo have 20 men unavailable at the minute.

The paper must be including subs and players no longer on the panel? Mayo were missing 7 All Ireland final starters yesterday. Tom Cunniffe, Chris Barrett, Donal Vaughan, Seamus O’Shea, Alan Dillon; Cillian O’Connor, Alan Freeman and how likely are Freeman,Dillon to be starters this year?

Why are you picking on Dillon and Freeman? Just asking like.

Seems like Freeman has fallen out of favour and Dillon in his early 30s struggling with injuries might be used as impact sub.

Quote from: Blowitupref on February 10, 2014, 11:38:14 PM

Quote from: moysider on February 10, 2014, 11:25:41 PM

Quote from: Blowitupref on February 10, 2014, 11:20:58 PM

Quote from: orangeman on February 10, 2014, 11:18:21 AM
I just read in the paper that Mayo have 20 men unavailable at the minute.

The paper must be including subs and players no longer on the panel? Mayo were missing 7 All Ireland final starters yesterday. Tom Cunniffe, Chris Barrett, Donal Vaughan, Seamus O'Shea, Alan Dillon; Cillian O'Connor, Alan Freeman and how likely are Freeman,Dillon to be starters this year?

Why are you picking on Dillon and Freeman? Just asking like.

Seem like Freeman has fallen out of favour and Dillon in his early 30s struggling with injuries might be used as impact sub.

I m not sure what falling out of favour means, but if it means what I think it means we are fucked. As you say Dillon is only early 30s and if he gets his injuries sorted he ll be good to go.

Quote from: moysider on February 10, 2014, 11:43:32 PM

Quote from: Blowitupref on February 10, 2014, 11:38:14 PM

Quote from: moysider on February 10, 2014, 11:25:41 PM

Quote from: Blowitupref on February 10, 2014, 11:20:58 PM

Quote from: orangeman on February 10, 2014, 11:18:21 AM
I just read in the paper that Mayo have 20 men unavailable at the minute.

The paper must be including subs and players no longer on the panel? Mayo were missing 7 All Ireland final starters yesterday. Tom Cunniffe, Chris Barrett, Donal Vaughan, Seamus O'Shea, Alan Dillon; Cillian O'Connor, Alan Freeman and how likely are Freeman,Dillon to be starters this year?

Why are you picking on Dillon and Freeman? Just asking like.

Seem like Freeman has fallen out of favour and Dillon in his early 30s struggling with injuries might be used as impact sub.

I m not sure what falling out of favour means, but if it means what I think it means we are fucked. As you say Dillon is only early 30s and if he gets his injuries sorted he ll be good to go.

I'm not sure what you mean that you are fcuked, good subs to bring on are essential, early 30s yes however Dillon has plenty of mileage on the clock. The seven given a chance yesterday i think Gallagher,McHale impressed Drake had his moment also.

Quote from: muppet on February 10, 2014, 11:26:57 PM

Quote from: Blowitupref on February 10, 2014, 11:20:58 PM

Quote from: orangeman on February 10, 2014, 11:18:21 AM
I just read in the paper that Mayo have 20 men unavailable at the minute.

The paper must be including subs and players no longer on the panel? Mayo were missing 7 All Ireland final starters yesterday. Tom Cunniffe, Chris Barrett, Donal Vaughan, Seamus O'Shea, Alan Dillon; Cillian O'Connor, Alan Freeman and how likely are Freeman,Dillon to be starters this year?

Freeman will definitely be a starter unless something has gone terribly wrong.

Barry Moran & Conor Loftus would be getting games. Mikey Sweeney from Kiltane would be getting a look, although I am not convinced. Richie Feeney yes, although if he wasn't brought on against the Dubs around the same time he was brought on against Donegal, when would you use him?  Maybe a keeper or two is unfit.

Evan Regan is technically unavailable I suppose.  :D

Hard to see '20 men unavailable' though.

Maybe the casualties from last day are being factored in? Boyle was winged early and Cafferkey and Keegan also ended up casualties. Jason Doherty ended up wing back!

Quote from: Blowitupref on February 10, 2014, 11:54:25 PM

Quote from: moysider on February 10, 2014, 11:43:32 PM

Quote from: Blowitupref on February 10, 2014, 11:38:14 PM

Quote from: moysider on February 10, 2014, 11:25:41 PM

Quote from: Blowitupref on February 10, 2014, 11:20:58 PM

Quote from: orangeman on February 10, 2014, 11:18:21 AM
I just read in the paper that Mayo have 20 men unavailable at the minute.

The paper must be including subs and players no longer on the panel? Mayo were missing 7 All Ireland final starters yesterday. Tom Cunniffe, Chris Barrett, Donal Vaughan, Seamus O'Shea, Alan Dillon; Cillian O'Connor, Alan Freeman and how likely are Freeman,Dillon to be starters this year?

Why are you picking on Dillon and Freeman? Just asking like.

Seem like Freeman has fallen out of favour and Dillon in his early 30s struggling with injuries might be used as impact sub.

I m not sure what falling out of favour means, but if it means what I think it means we are fucked. As you say Dillon is only early 30s and if he gets his injuries sorted he ll be good to go.

I'm not sure what you mean that you are fcuked, good subs to bring on are essential, early 30s yes however Dillon has plenty of mileage on the clock. The seven given a chance yesterday i think Gallagher,McHale impressed Drake had his moment also.

Why has Freeman gone out of favour do you think?
Dillon will be an automatic later. No question. He will tell JH when he s ready to play.
Adam Gallagher will come into it. McHale has done well and I think Drake has done well.

Quote from: moysider on February 11, 2014, 12:07:15 AM
Why has Freeman gone out of favour do you think?

Only Mayo management and would know the answer to that.

Quote from: Blowitupref on February 11, 2014, 12:22:23 AM

Quote from: moysider on February 11, 2014, 12:07:15 AM
Why has Freeman gone out of favour do you think?

Only Mayo management and would know the answer to that.

Indeed. But I m sure we a fair idea.
But fair dues to freeman for going back for more.
And fair dues to those that didnt go back for more.

Quote from: moysider on February 10, 2014, 11:43:32 PM

Quote from: Blowitupref on February 10, 2014, 11:38:14 PM

Quote from: moysider on February 10, 2014, 11:25:41 PM

Quote from: Blowitupref on February 10, 2014, 11:20:58 PM

Quote from: orangeman on February 10, 2014, 11:18:21 AM
I just read in the paper that Mayo have 20 men unavailable at the minute.

The paper must be including subs and players no longer on the panel? Mayo were missing 7 All Ireland final starters yesterday. Tom Cunniffe, Chris Barrett, Donal Vaughan, Seamus O'Shea, Alan Dillon; Cillian O'Connor, Alan Freeman and how likely are Freeman,Dillon to be starters this year?

Why are you picking on Dillon and Freeman? Just asking like.

Seem like Freeman has fallen out of favour and Dillon in his early 30s struggling with injuries might be used as impact sub.

I m not sure what falling out of favour means, but if it means what I think it means we are fucked. As you say Dillon is only early 30s and if he gets his injuries sorted he ll be good to go.

I think what was learnt last year, that Freeman is a confidence player (what player isn't, but certainly more so than most) who thrives when he gets a bit of a backing and a run of games hasn't been taken on board by Horan. The musical chairs he's dealing with after coming up big on multiple occasions in last year's championship would knock the confidence of any player.

If performing to a near All-Star level last year isn't enough for Horan to have faith in him, what hope does the lad have?

Quote from: moysider on February 11, 2014, 12:31:18 AM

Quote from: Blowitupref on February 11, 2014, 12:22:23 AM

Quote from: moysider on February 11, 2014, 12:07:15 AM
Why has Freeman gone out of favour do you think?

Only Mayo management and would know the answer to that.

Indeed. But I m sure we a fair idea.
But fair dues to freeman for going back for more.
And fair dues to those that didnt go back for more.

Time to trust the manager that has gotten mayo to 2 AIF's in a row.
constant Sniping does no one any good.
Mayos history is littered with Genius' that Flattered to deceive  or never reach their potential due to injuries  Work, women, Beer or Hubris .
Regan would not even break that top 10.

And if any one knows the situation regarding Feeney or freeman stop hinting and spit it out  that what discussion boards are for , not people pretending to have some great inside knowledge  thats its unsafe to pass on. try delusionalParanod.com for that

Quote from: God14 on February 10, 2014, 03:34:09 PM

Quote from: Wee Roddy on February 10, 2014, 03:22:25 PM
Conor Gormley to me would be the natural centre half back for Tyrone. He can hold the centre, is a big physical presence and his distribution is top drawer.

Yeah id agree with that. Id like to see Conor at 6 & Pete Harte switched to 7.

Any word about Carrickmore Roddy when he is likely to be back? Read somewhere a while back that his wife was due to give birth to twins in Feb? I noticed at the Derry match nearly all the injured players were present (even longer term injured players like AIdan Cass) - but no sign of SON or Conor... Maybe I read too much into these things!

His wife had twins last week so he has three children under 3. He was at club training last Sunday Morning I believe but I don't think him or indeed Penrose have been back at collective county training yet.
I like the look of a half back line of McGinley Conor and Harte but we will concede scores.

Quote from: rosnarun on February 11, 2014, 01:22:27 AM

Quote from: moysider on February 11, 2014, 12:31:18 AM

Quote from: Blowitupref on February 11, 2014, 12:22:23 AM

Quote from: moysider on February 11, 2014, 12:07:15 AM
Why has Freeman gone out of favour do you think?

Only Mayo management and would know the answer to that.

Indeed. But I m sure we a fair idea.
But fair dues to freeman for going back for more.
And fair dues to those that didnt go back for more.

Time to trust the manager that has gotten mayo to 2 AIF's in a row.
constant Sniping does no one any good.
Mayos history is littered with Genius' that Flattered to deceive  or never reach their potential due to injuries  Work, women, Beer or Hubris .
Regan would not even break that top 10.

And if any one knows the situation regarding Feeney or freeman stop hinting and spit it out  that what discussion boards are for , not people pretending to have some great inside knowledge  thats its unsafe to pass on. try delusionalParanod.com for that

I think its common enough knowledge they had a row in coke the week after the all-ireland, presumably based on Freeman coming off in the AIF. Word was that he was sick the week leading up to it and Horan obviously based part of his reason to take him off. By the looks of it they've kissed and made up and fair play to them.

As for the Regan thing, FFS Moysider will you let this one go. He was dropped from the panel last year, you dont agree with it but Horan is the manager, sees him and the rest of the team in training every week, for whatever reason he deemed him surplus to requirements. He was asked back this year and declined. If it was because he was thick over last year then good luck to him, its a priviledge to wear the mayo jersey not a god given right. Barry Moran and the way he has handled himself would be a good role model for him.
If its because hes off to the states for the summer and he prioritises that then fair enough, its a huge commitment to play with a county team, esp when you may not get to kick a ball.

Just stuck the head into this thread for a nosy - very interesting to find out a bit round Freemans substitution in the AI, an utterly bizarre substitution, he was the pick of the forward line at that point. We had thought he had to have been injured.

Re Horan, he gave an interview in the Irish News after the Tyrone game which I thought was bizarre too, lines like 'We bought a lot of dummies today' 'those lads [mccurry/donnelly] wont get space like that again' - seemed like the kind of stuff supporters would be saying in the car on the way home, not an interco manager giving media interviews.

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on February 11, 2014, 09:37:59 AM

Quote from: rosnarun on February 11, 2014, 01:22:27 AM

Quote from: moysider on February 11, 2014, 12:31:18 AM

Quote from: Blowitupref on February 11, 2014, 12:22:23 AM

Quote from: moysider on February 11, 2014, 12:07:15 AM
Why has Freeman gone out of favour do you think?

Only Mayo management and would know the answer to that.

Indeed. But I m sure we a fair idea.
But fair dues to freeman for going back for more.
And fair dues to those that didnt go back for more.

Time to trust the manager that has gotten mayo to 2 AIF's in a row.
constant Sniping does no one any good.
Mayos history is littered with Genius' that Flattered to deceive  or never reach their potential due to injuries  Work, women, Beer or Hubris .
Regan would not even break that top 10.

And if any one knows the situation regarding Feeney or freeman stop hinting and spit it out  that what discussion boards are for , not people pretending to have some great inside knowledge  thats its unsafe to pass on. try delusionalParanod.com for that

I think its common enough knowledge they had a row in coke the week after the all-ireland, presumably based on Freeman coming off in the AIF. Word was that he was sick the week leading up to it and Horan obviously based part of his reason to take him off. By the looks of it they've kissed and made up and fair play to them.

As for the Regan thing, FFS Moysider will you let this one go. He was dropped from the panel last year, you dont agree with it but Horan is the manager, sees him and the rest of the team in training every week, for whatever reason he deemed him surplus to requirements. He was asked back this year and declined. If it was because he was thick over last year then good luck to him, its a priviledge to wear the mayo jersey not a god given right. Barry Moran and the way he has handled himself would be a good role model for him.
If its because hes off to the states for the summer and he prioritises that then fair enough, its a huge commitment to play with a county team, esp when you may not get to kick a ball.

Why the hell is anyone questioning Regan's attitude?

He didn't sell Mayo up the river, he was dropped from your panel (clearly Horan regrets it given it's an open secret he tried to get him back this year) and he's decided to not commit to the heavy load that is senior inter-county training this year. He's a county U21, was playing Sigerson this year and is obviously in college too. We've got a couple lads of college-age who opted to take the year off from senior too, in fact the surprise is this isn't even more widespread. And they didn't get dropped, either.

Regan will probably be on your panel next season when he has more time to give, he's done nothing to have you coming on here attacking him for being so bold as to take a break from what amounts to being unpaid professional athlete.

who the f**k is attacking him?

I gave two scenarios and rationalised both

Quote from: haranguerer on February 11, 2014, 10:10:46 AM
Just stuck the head into this thread for a nosy - very interesting to find out a bit round Freemans substitution in the AI, an utterly bizarre substitution, he was the pick of the forward line at that point. We had thought he had to have been injured.

Re Horan, he gave an interview in the Irish News after the Tyrone game which I thought was bizarre too, lines like 'We bought a lot of dummies today' 'those lads [mccurry/donnelly] wont get space like that again' - seemed like the kind of stuff supporters would be saying in the car on the way home, not an interco manager giving media interviews.

I wouldnt agree with that personally, I think he had got one ball that the FB had dropped into his lap, which he was onto like a shot. But he is the kinda fella I would keep in there, hes very sharp.
But to argue the point, I dont think he was burning the place up at the same time

Quotewhy is he now not deemed good enough to introduced until the last five minutes when the game was gone???

You have a very blinkered outlook if you think that if a player is a sub this time of year its because he is not good enough. I'll leave it a that.

Quote from: Mayo4Sam on February 11, 2014, 10:27:20 AM

Quote from: haranguerer on February 11, 2014, 10:10:46 AM
Just stuck the head into this thread for a nosy - very interesting to find out a bit round Freemans substitution in the AI, an utterly bizarre substitution, he was the pick of the forward line at that point. We had thought he had to have been injured.

I wouldnt agree with that personally, I think he had got one ball that the FB had dropped into his lap, which he was onto like a shot. But he is the kinda fella I would keep in there, hes very sharp.
But to argue the point, I dont think he was burning the place up at the same time

Unfortunately there was noone on the Mayo team at any point that day who was burning the place up, despite going into the lead early on, it was clear Dublin had the measure of them, I thought.
I was right behind the goals Mayo were attacking, so was basically watching the ff lines runs. O'Connor had contributed very little at that point and was drifting out the pitch, and Andy Moran looked tired after 5 min - Cooper had him in his pocket, he tried to take him on once and went to ground when he realised there was no way through. Freeman seemed sharper, his runs were better, and he just looked more dangerous, albeit, as said, noone was tearing the place up.

I had expected Horan and the team to take the league seriously this year and go flat out to win it, same as Gavin and the Dubs last year.
The win set them up nicely for the championships and the rest, as we say, is history.
Coming off the back of two AI final defeats, Mayo badly need a good morale booster to overcome the feelings of self-doubt and indecisiveness that must be affecting them now. Right now, there's a real possibility of relegation and that would knock our hopes of winning Sam for years to come. You can only go to the well for water so many times...
I know its only February and we've a long list of injuries. Many of those we've seen in the first two league games won't be in the reckoning when the championships begin and so on and so forth.
But Kildare and Tyrone are hardly at full strength either and the same goes for Kerry and the Dubs and just about every other team in the land. From what I've seen so far, Adam Gallagher is the only newcomer who seems likely to make it onto the championship side. The same also goes for those who've been on the fringe.
With so many of last year's regulars missing, I'd thought their replacements would fight like mad to force their way onto the championship side. This doesn't seem to be happening. Sure, many of them will improve as the league goes on but right now, Adam seems the only one likely to strengthen the panel in the summertime.
I think Zulu has been right all along when he says that we don't have the forwards to win an AI and I don't blame Horan for all of this. He can only work with what he's got and his options are limited.
If I had to name the top twenty forwards I've seen in recent years, only Andy and Cillian would be on the list and neither is likely to be fully fit when the championships come around. Mayo got half the All Star awards for the backs and not a single one for the forwards. That tells its own tale.

I'm not a pessimist by nature but when I try to look into the future, I don't like what I see.

As usual ye Mayo lads have taken over this thread and with 2 more weeks to the next game ye'll probably stay on here for another 5-10 pages.

It's nice to see most Tyrone fans have finally accepted MF is the place position for Colm Cav. Strange however that after almost 10 years we still can't decide what's his brother's best position.
Any time he's played on the 40 he hasn't seem to get into games as well.

Also I can't decide whether Clarke is the answer at FB. In some games he's done well there even against great players like Michael Murphy of Donegal but he somehow always looks slow and cumbersome and I think that's why Mickey moved him out to wing back a few times last year. If he doesn't have a sweeper or two in front of him this year he could get an awful roasting but he is good under the high ball.

Big Joey reads the game so well and makes up for his lack of aggression perhaps. I'd much prefer to see Joe at FB with Block at 6 although Joey is very good at pushing up and giving good passes and also well able to kick long range points. It's good to get gametime for this younger lads coming in and am delighted that Tierney could be another option at corner back but come summer I'll be worried if Joey and Conor are not in the team.

Quote from: Lar Naparka on February 11, 2014, 02:12:34 PM
I had expected Horan and the team to take the league seriously this year and go flat out to win it, same as Gavin and the Dubs last year.
The win set them up nicely for the championships and the rest, as we say, is history.
Coming off the back of two AI final defeats, Mayo badly need a good morale booster to overcome the feelings of self-doubt and indecisiveness that must be affecting them now. Right now, there's a real possibility of relegation and that would knock our hopes of winning Sam for years to come. You can only go to the well for water so many times...
I know its only February and we've a long list of injuries. Many of those we've seen in the first two league games won't be in the reckoning when the championships begin and so on and so forth.
But Kildare and Tyrone are hardly at full strength either and the same goes for Kerry and the Dubs and just about every other team in the land. From what I've seen so far, Adam Gallagher is the only newcomer who seems likely to make it onto the championship side. The same also goes for those who've been on the fringe.
With so many of last year's regulars missing, I'd thought their replacements would fight like mad to force their way onto the championship side. This doesn't seem to be happening. Sure, many of them will improve as the league goes on but right now, Adam seems the only one likely to strengthen the panel in the summertime.
I think Zulu has been right all along when he says that we don't have the forwards to win an AI and I don't blame Horan for all of this. He can only work with what he's got and his options are limited.
If I had to name the top twenty forwards I've seen in recent years, only Andy and Cillian would be on the list and neither is likely to be fully fit when the championships come around. Mayo got half the All Star awards for the backs and not a single one for the forwards. That tells its own tale.

I'm not a pessimist by nature but when I try to look into the future, I don't like what I see.

I don't think Mayo could realistically have gone all out for a league title. For a few reasons.
This panel has already had 3 longish years where incremental progress was made. The priority is to get it right in summer. A sustained slog from Feburary would be difficult. Castlebar s run and the catalogue of injuries also made a league shot highly unlikely. This is division one and few counties have unlimited numbers of players who can perform at this level, let alone go on and win it. Open to contradiction but I reckon Dublin had their championship team, or close to it, for most of the league last year. If we survive in Div one and Adam G continues his form it will be alright under the circumstances. We were never going to find much more anyway. If Pardons recovers and lives up to his ability it will also be an addition. My worry is that our Summer form might level off whereas in fact we need to push and find another 10%.

QuoteI'm not a pessimist by nature but when I try to look into the future, I don't like what I see.

I have to laugh every year during the league at the same sort of rubbish coming from the Mayo support. I remember coming out of the league semi last year and a buck saying to me that Horan has to go.

As an earlier poster said it's snowing outside.

I would look at the positives and what I've seen so far are plenty of goal chances created in the early stages of matches and away from home by a team who are in the middle of intensive training for the Championship.

Peoples outlook will change to complete optimism as soon as we beat Kerry out the gate in our own patch.

Quote from: moysider on February 11, 2014, 02:50:57 PM

I don't think Mayo could realistically have gone all out for a league title. For a few reasons.
This panel has already had 3 longish years where incremental progress was made. The priority is to get it right in summer. A sustained slog from Feburary would be difficult. Castlebar s run and the catalogue of injuries also made a league shot highly unlikely. This is division one and few counties have unlimited numbers of players who can perform at this level, let alone go on and win it. Open to contradiction but I reckon Dublin had their championship team, or close to it, for most of the league last year. If we survive in Div one and Adam G continues his form it will be alright under the circumstances. We were never going to find much more anyway. If Pardons recovers and lives up to his ability it will also be an addition. My worry is that our Summer form might level off whereas in fact we need to push and find another 10%.

Spot on, these lads must be drained physically and mentally, I'm surprised to see the likes of andy and higgins back at this stage, I would have thought rest up and be ready for the summer

Quote from: Fuzzman on February 11, 2014, 02:15:45 PM
As usual ye Mayo lads have taken over this thread and with 2 more weeks to the next game ye'll probably stay on here for another 5-10 pages.

It's nice to see most Tyrone fans have finally accepted MF is the place position for Colm Cav. Strange however that after almost 10 years we still can't decide what's his brother's best position.
Any time he's played on the 40 he hasn't seem to get into games as well.

Also I can't decide whether Clarke is the answer at FB. In some games he's done well there even against great players like Michael Murphy of Donegal but he somehow always looks slow and cumbersome and I think that's why Mickey moved him out to wing back a few times last year. If he doesn't have a sweeper or two in front of him this year he could get an awful roasting but he is good under the high ball.

Big Joey reads the game so well and makes up for his lack of aggression perhaps. I'd much prefer to see Joe at FB with Block at 6 although Joey is very good at pushing up and giving good passes and also well able to kick long range points. It's good to get gametime for this younger lads coming in and am delighted that Tierney could be another option at corner back but come summer I'll be worried if Joey and Conor are not in the team.

I hate all this talk about Cavanagh in half forward or full forward.  The man is at his best in the middle of the field, thats where he has been best for Tyrone over the years.  He played well in full forward in 2008, but his biggest asset is getting the ball in the middle and building up speed from deep.

Quote from: nrico2006 on February 11, 2014, 03:17:07 PM

Quote from: Fuzzman on February 11, 2014, 02:15:45 PM
As usual ye Mayo lads have taken over this thread and with 2 more weeks to the next game ye'll probably stay on here for another 5-10 pages.

It's nice to see most Tyrone fans have finally accepted MF is the place position for Colm Cav. Strange however that after almost 10 years we still can't decide what's his brother's best position.
Any time he's played on the 40 he hasn't seem to get into games as well.

Also I can't decide whether Clarke is the answer at FB. In some games he's done well there even against great players like Michael Murphy of Donegal but he somehow always looks slow and cumbersome and I think that's why Mickey moved him out to wing back a few times last year. If he doesn't have a sweeper or two in front of him this year he could get an awful roasting but he is good under the high ball.

Big Joey reads the game so well and makes up for his lack of aggression perhaps. I'd much prefer to see Joe at FB with Block at 6 although Joey is very good at pushing up and giving good passes and also well able to kick long range points. It's good to get gametime for this younger lads coming in and am delighted that Tierney could be another option at corner back but come summer I'll be worried if Joey and Conor are not in the team.

I hate all this talk about Cavanagh in half forward or full forward.  The man is at his best in the middle of the field, thats where he has been best for Tyrone over the years.  He played well in full forward in 2008, but his biggest asset is getting the ball in the middle and building up speed from deep.

I don't mind him moving into full forward for periods throughout a game - maybe its the way forward as he gets older to conserve a bit of energy and he can add a different dimension in there which teams will have to adapt to as the game is in progress. However, I agree than midfield is where he is most effective and where he will most likely have to play come the championship.

Quote from: Lar Naparka on February 11, 2014, 02:12:34 PM
I had expected Horan and the team to take the league seriously this year and go flat out to win it, same as Gavin and the Dubs last year.
The win set them up nicely for the championships and the rest, as we say, is history.
Coming off the back of two AI final defeats, Mayo badly need a good morale booster to overcome the feelings of self-doubt and indecisiveness that must be affecting them now. Right now, there's a real possibility of relegation and that would knock our hopes of winning Sam for years to come. You can only go to the well for water so many times...
I know its only February and we've a long list of injuries. Many of those we've seen in the first two league games won't be in the reckoning when the championships begin and so on and so forth.
But Kildare and Tyrone are hardly at full strength either and the same goes for Kerry and the Dubs and just about every other team in the land. From what I've seen so far, Adam Gallagher is the only newcomer who seems likely to make it onto the championship side. The same also goes for those who've been on the fringe.
With so many of last year's regulars missing, I'd thought their replacements would fight like mad to force their way onto the championship side. This doesn't seem to be happening. Sure, many of them will improve as the league goes on but right now, Adam seems the only one likely to strengthen the panel in the summertime.
I think Zulu has been right all along when he says that we don't have the forwards to win an AI and I don't blame Horan for all of this. He can only work with what he's got and his options are limited.
If I had to name the top twenty forwards I've seen in recent years, only Andy and Cillian would be on the list and neither is likely to be fully fit when the championships come around. Mayo got half the All Star awards for the backs and not a single one for the forwards. That tells its own tale.

I'm not a pessimist by nature but when I try to look into the future, I don't like what I see.

Andy should be as for as ever this year, the knee injury is finally in the review mirror. COC is the big worry for Mayo this year. If he's not properly fit it's hard to see a third AI charge materialising.

Quote from: Syferus on February 11, 2014, 03:46:45 PM
Andy should be as for as ever this year, the knee injury is finally in the review mirror.

Anyone?? :-[ :-[

So, if Mayo lose to Kerry is it time to be worried then or what?

Quote from: highorlow on February 11, 2014, 02:52:01 PM

QuoteI'm not a pessimist by nature but when I try to look into the future, I don't like what I see.

I have to laugh every year during the league at the same sort of rubbish coming from the Mayo support. I remember coming out of the league semi last year and a buck saying to me that Horan has to go.

As an earlier poster said it's snowing outside.

I would look at the positives and what I've seen so far are plenty of goal chances created in the early stages of matches and away from home by a team who are in the middle of intensive training for the Championship.

Peoples outlook will change to complete optimism as soon as we beat Kerry out the gate in our own patch.

I'd hate to start a row with you or anybody else but I'm curious to know what "rubbish" you find in my last post. I like to think I give reasons whenever I make statements and this time is no exception.
Maybe you'd oblige me and point out my errors to me.
You can take all the time you like. ;D

Quote from: Farrandeelin on February 11, 2014, 04:23:54 PM
So, if Mayo lose to Kerry is it time to be worried then or what?

Forever the optimist  Farr, less of the 3 in a row talk, people like you who give Mayo supporters a bad name for losing the run of themselves!  ;D

Quote from: highorlow on February 11, 2014, 02:52:01 PM

QuoteI'm not a pessimist by nature but when I try to look into the future, I don't like what I see.

I have to laugh every year during the league at the same sort of rubbish coming from the Mayo support. I remember coming out of the league semi last year and a buck saying to me that Horan has to go.

As an earlier poster said it's snowing outside.

I would look at the positives and what I've seen so far are plenty of goal chances created in the early stages of matches and away from home by a team who are in the middle of intensive training for the Championship.

Peoples outlook will change to complete optimism as soon as we beat Kerry out the gate in our own patch.

How is it rubbish? Mayo have made two All Ireland finals in the past two years but lost both of them fairly comfortably even if the final score lines didn't necessarily indicate that. The discussion is surely not whether Mayo are a good side but if there is evidence they can progress to winning All Irelands and not simply competing in them. People muddying the waters with talk of players missing or early season training are missing the point being made IMO. All teams are roughly in the same both as Mayo now but irrespective of results you can see some shoots of positivity for counties like Tyrone, Monaghan, Kildare even and Kerry. Outside of Gallagher I don't see a lot to suggest Mayo can close the gap and go into this years championship with more confidence than last years.

1 to 9 Mayo can match anyone but I don't think Kerry, Dublin, Cork, Donegal or Tyrone would swop their forwards for Mayo's, that's the problem plain and simple for Mayo IMO.

Would a few of last years Mayo Minor team come into the reckoning after the U-21 campaign is  over? A few classy forwards in that side like Doherty and Conroy, full of confidence. But still a big step up from Minor to Senior in one year, but worth a shot if they perform well with the u21s

Quote from: rodney trotter on February 11, 2014, 04:47:42 PM
Would a few of last years Mayo Minor team come into the reckoning after the U-21 campaign is  over? A few classy forwards in that side like Doherty and Conroy, full of confidence. But still a big step up from Minor to Senior in one year, but worth a shot if they perform well with the u21s

Too soon for them imo. But we may well get something out of the U21 campaign.
I can see Zulu s point about forwards an all but come summer if we get injured players back we will have options. Personally I think we ve kicked too much ball into the ff line fairly aimlessly last 2 finals. We should be running the ball. I select on the basis of gaining primary possession and keeping it. We should play to our strengths, one of which is pace. When we ran at teams last year we got scores from a spread of players.

Quote from: rodney trotter on February 11, 2014, 04:47:42 PM
Would a few of last years Mayo Minor team come into the reckoning after the U-21 campaign is  over? A few classy forwards in that side like Doherty and Conroy, full of confidence. But still a big step up from Minor to Senior in one year, but worth a shot if they perform well with the u21s

None of that minor forward line is likely to start at U21 this year, let alone at senior.

Quote from: Syferus on February 11, 2014, 06:00:04 PM

Quote from: rodney trotter on February 11, 2014, 04:47:42 PM
Would a few of last years Mayo Minor team come into the reckoning after the U-21 campaign is  over? A few classy forwards in that side like Doherty and Conroy, full of confidence. But still a big step up from Minor to Senior in one year, but worth a shot if they perform well with the u21s

None of that minor forward line is likely to start at U21 this year, let alone at senior.

Must be some team then, Adam Gallagher and Regan, who are the other marquee forwards in the line - up?

Quote from: rodney trotter on February 11, 2014, 06:03:27 PM

Quote from: Syferus on February 11, 2014, 06:00:04 PM

Quote from: rodney trotter on February 11, 2014, 04:47:42 PM
Would a few of last years Mayo Minor team come into the reckoning after the U-21 campaign is  over? A few classy forwards in that side like Doherty and Conroy, full of confidence. But still a big step up from Minor to Senior in one year, but worth a shot if they perform well with the u21s

None of that minor forward line is likely to start at U21 this year, let alone at senior.

Must be some team then, Adam Gallagher and Regan, who are the other marquee forwards in the line - up?

Conor O'Shea will be there if he's fit. Curious at least one of the minor full-forwards wasn't featuring in the Hastings. We'll give those minor ladeens the time to concentrate on senior after March 11th.

One for the Mayo boys. Whatever happened to that lad Ronaldson (think that was his name)? Remember him couple of years ago in Omagh and he caused our backs a bit of bother.

Quote from: Syferus on February 11, 2014, 06:25:51 PM

Quote from: rodney trotter on February 11, 2014, 06:03:27 PM

Quote from: Syferus on February 11, 2014, 06:00:04 PM

Quote from: rodney trotter on February 11, 2014, 04:47:42 PM
Would a few of last years Mayo Minor team come into the reckoning after the U-21 campaign is  over? A few classy forwards in that side like Doherty and Conroy, full of confidence. But still a big step up from Minor to Senior in one year, but worth a shot if they perform well with the u21s

None of that minor forward line is likely to start at U21 this year, let alone at senior.

Must be some team then, Adam Gallagher and Regan, who are the other marquee forwards in the line - up?

Conor O'Shea will be there if he's fit. Curious at least one of the minor full-forwards wasn't featuring in the Hastings. We'll give those minor ladeens the time to concentrate on senior after March 11th.

Ahh that's it buck,Rossies celebrating the night before they play Mayo as they seldom get the chance the night after.Yer c**k fuckin sure ye have us in this one, Castlebar will never be handy for your lot,that much i guarantee you.

Quote from: Syferus on February 11, 2014, 06:25:51 PM

Quote from: rodney trotter on February 11, 2014, 06:03:27 PM

Quote from: Syferus on February 11, 2014, 06:00:04 PM

Quote from: rodney trotter on February 11, 2014, 04:47:42 PM
Would a few of last years Mayo Minor team come into the reckoning after the U-21 campaign is  over? A few classy forwards in that side like Doherty and Conroy, full of confidence. But still a big step up from Minor to Senior in one year, but worth a shot if they perform well with the u21s

None of that minor forward line is likely to start at U21 this year, let alone at senior.

Must be some team then, Adam Gallagher and Regan, who are the other marquee forwards in the line - up?

Conor O'Shea will be there if he's fit. Curious at least one of the minor full-forwards wasn't featuring in the Hastings. We'll give those minor ladeens the time to concentrate on senior after March 11th.

Corner forward on the U-21 winning team of 2006 (ahead of Enda Varley) and played senior for a few years. A good player but seemed surplus to requirements of the current set up.

Quote from: rodney trotter on February 11, 2014, 06:03:27 PM

Quote from: Syferus on February 11, 2014, 06:00:04 PM

Quote from: rodney trotter on February 11, 2014, 04:47:42 PM
Would a few of last years Mayo Minor team come into the reckoning after the U-21 campaign is  over? A few classy forwards in that side like Doherty and Conroy, full of confidence. But still a big step up from Minor to Senior in one year, but worth a shot if they perform well with the u21s

None of that minor forward line is likely to start at U21 this year, let alone at senior.

Must be some team then, Adam Gallagher and Regan, who are the other marquee forwards in the line - up?

Tommy 'goals' Conroy was busy with his club Kiltaine and now should join up with U21s. I read it elsewhere that Doherty was injured. Shaughnessy,Jordan who played in hastings cup are two likely starting forwards.

Quote from: moysider on February 11, 2014, 02:50:57 PM

Quote from: Lar Naparka on February 11, 2014, 02:12:34 PM
I had expected Horan and the team to take the league seriously this year and go flat out to win it, same as Gavin and the Dubs last year.
The win set them up nicely for the championships and the rest, as we say, is history.
Coming off the back of two AI final defeats, Mayo badly need a good morale booster to overcome the feelings of self-doubt and indecisiveness that must be affecting them now. Right now, there's a real possibility of relegation and that would knock our hopes of winning Sam for years to come. You can only go to the well for water so many times...
I know its only February and we've a long list of injuries. Many of those we've seen in the first two league games won't be in the reckoning when the championships begin and so on and so forth.
But Kildare and Tyrone are hardly at full strength either and the same goes for Kerry and the Dubs and just about every other team in the land. From what I've seen so far, Adam Gallagher is the only newcomer who seems likely to make it onto the championship side. The same also goes for those who've been on the fringe.
With so many of last year's regulars missing, I'd thought their replacements would fight like mad to force their way onto the championship side. This doesn't seem to be happening. Sure, many of them will improve as the league goes on but right now, Adam seems the only one likely to strengthen the panel in the summertime.
I think Zulu has been right all along when he says that we don't have the forwards to win an AI and I don't blame Horan for all of this. He can only work with what he's got and his options are limited.
If I had to name the top twenty forwards I've seen in recent years, only Andy and Cillian would be on the list and neither is likely to be fully fit when the championships come around. Mayo got half the All Star awards for the backs and not a single one for the forwards. That tells its own tale.

I'm not a pessimist by nature but when I try to look into the future, I don't like what I see.

I don't think Mayo could realistically have gone all out for a league title. For a few reasons.
This panel has already had 3 longish years where incremental progress was made. The priority is to get it right in summer. A sustained slog from Feburary would be difficult. Castlebar s run and the catalogue of injuries also made a league shot highly unlikely. This is division one and few counties have unlimited numbers of players who can perform at this level, let alone go on and win it. Open to contradiction but I reckon Dublin had their championship team, or close to it, for most of the league last year. If we survive in Div one and Adam G continues his form it will be alright under the circumstances. We were never going to find much more anyway. If Pardons recovers and lives up to his ability it will also be an addition. My worry is that our Summer form might level off whereas in fact we need to push and find another 10%.

Ah now lads still 5 league games to be played & Mayo have 3 at home plus Westmeath away that Mayo will be expected to win. 6,7 points was enough for Mayo to reach the semi finals the last two years & for a team that reached back to back All Ireland finals that shouldn't be a problem to achieve?

Mayo haven't the best home record in the league though. I just want to point that out. It should count as something but over the years, the conundrum of winning all our home matches hasn't happened. Maybe this year we will breeze through them all.

Quote from: Wee Roddy on February 11, 2014, 08:26:29 AM

Quote from: God14 on February 10, 2014, 03:34:09 PM

Quote from: Wee Roddy on February 10, 2014, 03:22:25 PM
Conor Gormley to me would be the natural centre half back for Tyrone. He can hold the centre, is a big physical presence and his distribution is top drawer.

Yeah id agree with that. Id like to see Conor at 6 & Pete Harte switched to 7.

Any word about Carrickmore Roddy when he is likely to be back? Read somewhere a while back that his wife was due to give birth to twins in Feb? I noticed at the Derry match nearly all the injured players were present (even longer term injured players like AIdan Cass) - but no sign of SON or Conor... Maybe I read too much into these things!

His wife had twins last week so he has three children under 3. He was at club training last Sunday Morning I believe but I don't think him or indeed Penrose have been back at collective county training yet.
I like the look of a half back line of McGinley Conor and Harte but we will concede scores.

SoN was in the stand watching the Derry game

Quote from: Fuzzman on February 11, 2014, 02:15:45 PM
As usual ye Mayo lads have taken over this thread and with 2 more weeks to the next game ye'll probably stay on here for another 5-10 pages.

Oi, get off our thread!!!

It's early days yet to be getting too worried, one or two new starters plus a fit / in-form Andy, CO'C, Dillon, B Moran would have us pretty close

Quote from: red hander on February 11, 2014, 07:02:23 PM
One for the Mayo boys. Whatever happened to that lad Ronaldson (think that was his name)? Remember him couple of years ago in Omagh and he caused our backs a bit of bother.

I was at that game. Ronaldson played great, and stood his ground well. By which I mean, if someone threw a slap, Ronaldson made a point of slapping back, which is as it should be. Some people thought him a bit on the small side but I always liked the cut of him.

Quote from: IolarCoisCuain on February 11, 2014, 09:42:39 PM

Quote from: red hander on February 11, 2014, 07:02:23 PM
One for the Mayo boys. Whatever happened to that lad Ronaldson (think that was his name)? Remember him couple of years ago in Omagh and he caused our backs a bit of bother.

I was at that game. Ronaldson played great, and stood his ground well. By which I mean, if someone threw a slap, Ronaldson made a point of slapping back, which is as it should be. Some people thought him a bit on the small side but I always liked the cut of him.

Was this the day Conor Mortimer scored 3 goals and killed Tyrone? Whatever happened to him?

Quote from: moysider on February 11, 2014, 02:50:57 PM

Quote from: Lar Naparka on February 11, 2014, 02:12:34 PM
I had expected Horan and the team to take the league seriously this year and go flat out to win it, same as Gavin and the Dubs last year.
The win set them up nicely for the championships and the rest, as we say, is history.
Coming off the back of two AI final defeats, Mayo badly need a good morale booster to overcome the feelings of self-doubt and indecisiveness that must be affecting them now. Right now, there's a real possibility of relegation and that would knock our hopes of winning Sam for years to come. You can only go to the well for water so many times...
I know its only February and we've a long list of injuries. Many of those we've seen in the first two league games won't be in the reckoning when the championships begin and so on and so forth.
But Kildare and Tyrone are hardly at full strength either and the same goes for Kerry and the Dubs and just about every other team in the land. From what I've seen so far, Adam Gallagher is the only newcomer who seems likely to make it onto the championship side. The same also goes for those who've been on the fringe.
With so many of last year's regulars missing, I'd thought their replacements would fight like mad to force their way onto the championship side. This doesn't seem to be happening. Sure, many of them will improve as the league goes on but right now, Adam seems the only one likely to strengthen the panel in the summertime.
I think Zulu has been right all along when he says that we don't have the forwards to win an AI and I don't blame Horan for all of this. He can only work with what he's got and his options are limited.
If I had to name the top twenty forwards I've seen in recent years, only Andy and Cillian would be on the list and neither is likely to be fully fit when the championships come around. Mayo got half the All Star awards for the backs and not a single one for the forwards. That tells its own tale.

I'm not a pessimist by nature but when I try to look into the future, I don't like what I see.

I don't think Mayo could realistically have gone all out for a league title. For a few reasons.
This panel has already had 3 longish years where incremental progress was made. The priority is to get it right in summer. A sustained slog from Feburary would be difficult. Castlebar s run and the catalogue of injuries also made a league shot highly unlikely. This is division one and few counties have unlimited numbers of players who can perform at this level, let alone go on and win it. Open to contradiction but I reckon Dublin had their championship team, or close to it, for most of the league last year. If we survive in Div one and Adam G continues his form it will be alright under the circumstances. We were never going to find much more anyway. If Pardons recovers and lives up to his ability it will also be an addition. My worry is that our Summer form might level off whereas in fact we need to push and find another 10%.

Ah, there's nothing there I disagree with. It's a case of Hobson's choice for Horan-damned if he does and double damned if he doesn't. BTW, I've no desire to knock Horan or his team. When you consider where Mayo football is now with where it was when he took over, the transformation has been nothing short of miraculous.  Of course, a sustained effort in the league would be difficult but it would beat a drop into Div 2 any day.
My main point here has been that it's gonna be hard to get the team moving again when the championship begins and there's no basis for groundless optimism.
Losing an AI final must be hard on anyone but losing two in succession must be far worse. I think tiredness for a fit athlete is more mental than physical and a bit of silverware at the end of the league campaign or indeed a sustained run would work wonders for the team's morale. The last thing that's needed now is a drop into Div 2. That's not a certainty of course but from what I've seen to date, it's certainly a possibility.
Horan badly needs to find a good forward or two if Mayo are to have any chance of going the full way this year.  Adam Gallagher is looking good and Kevin Mac is showing some signs of a return to form although he seems uncomfortable in his new position. I think Tom Parsons would be a massive addition if he finds his old form and remains injury free. That's two big "ifs." Same goes for Andy and Cillian- both are vital to the cause if Mayo are to go the distance.
That's another pair of them little friggers. "If" is a small word but it carries more clout than any other word of its size.
Look, I'm not saying we're bunched before we begin but I can see no reason for complacency on anybody's part. We'll never get the extra 10% you speak of if the team continues playing the way it had been doing of late.

I think as we stand , we are in a far worse place than people in the main are thinking. It's all well and dandy saying things like it's only league or  sure didn't we lose league  games last year. I have an awful feeling this year is going to be a disaster (probably the year we'll win it) .

I think we've been found out, we don't have the footballers to mix it up a bit.

Going to have a tenner on both Ross and Galway to win Connacht out of me dole every week till it starts up.

Start the minors. All of them. They know how to win All-Ireland finals. That'll sort it.

Haha that's mad , just put a hundred yoyos on Ross to win Connacht about an hour ago as I won a few quid today and fak me they've gone from 14s to 11s since I out it on.

Quote from: moysider on February 11, 2014, 05:03:37 PM

Quote from: rodney trotter on February 11, 2014, 04:47:42 PM
Would a few of last years Mayo Minor team come into the reckoning after the U-21 campaign is  over? A few classy forwards in that side like Doherty and Conroy, full of confidence. But still a big step up from Minor to Senior in one year, but worth a shot if they perform well with the u21s

Too soon for them imo. But we may well get something out of the U21 campaign.
I can see Zulu s point about forwards an all but come summer if we get injured players back we will have options. Personally I think we ve kicked too much ball into the ff line fairly aimlessly last 2 finals. We should be running the ball. I select on the basis of gaining primary possession and keeping it. We should play to our strengths, one of which is pace. When we ran at teams last year we got scores from a spread of players.

eh...look back and see how Andy's goal came about, Also look at Brogan's sucker punch in the first half for that matter!

That goal in the final came from a long ball in, one of the few we kicked all day! What let us down was our failure to move away from our traditional style of play, i.e. short passing up the field. We had more than enough possession to win that match yet time after time we attempted to walk the ball from one end of the pitch to the other. The final once again proved that you cant win an all Ireland with this method and its high time we move away from it.

I see the old soundbites about Mayo having no marquee forwards are alive and well. In actual fact Andy, Freeman and Cillian are inside forwards as good as what's out there, the problem is we don't kick early ball into them. By the time any of them usually get the ball, the area is congested, they've no space and they're trying to beat around 6 opposition defenders. The other problem with 'running the ball' is that our half back line gets caught in the opposition half far too often, this leads to an acre of space in front of our full back line. How many times was poor Ger Caff left isolated one on one against Brogan in our three games against the Dubs last year. Brogans goal in the first half of the final being the perfect example of what im on about.

Historically, ourselves and Donegal were renowned for this short passing style of play. I believe its no coincidence that the first Donegal team to fundamentally alter their style also went on to win an all Ireland!

Quoteid hate to start a row with you or anybody else but I'm curious to know what "rubbish" you find in my last post.

You mention feelings of self-doubt and indecisiveness.

You mention relegation after two tough away league games which are our first 2 competitive matches of the year (you have to disregard the FBD nonsense). You say if relegation would happen it would knock our hopes of winning Sam for years to come. (we must have been relegated in '52.....)

My post response was not just targeted at the above subjective statements but also meant to be including the other doom merchants who take an over the top view of the league form.

Horan is the best manager we have had in decades, keep the faith, and anyhow shur we can only improve from now once the cobwebs have been shaken off.


   

Quote from: Dubhaltach on February 12, 2014, 08:03:15 PM

Quote from: moysider on February 11, 2014, 05:03:37 PM

Quote from: rodney trotter on February 11, 2014, 04:47:42 PM
Would a few of last years Mayo Minor team come into the reckoning after the U-21 campaign is  over? A few classy forwards in that side like Doherty and Conroy, full of confidence. But still a big step up from Minor to Senior in one year, but worth a shot if they perform well with the u21s

Too soon for them imo. But we may well get something out of the U21 campaign.
I can see Zulu s point about forwards an all but come summer if we get injured players back we will have options. Personally I think we ve kicked too much ball into the ff line fairly aimlessly last 2 finals. We should be running the ball. I select on the basis of gaining primary possession and keeping it. We should play to our strengths, one of which is pace. When we ran at teams last year we got scores from a spread of players.

eh...look back and see how Andy's goal came about, Also look at Brogan's sucker punch in the first half for that matter!

That goal in the final came from a long ball in, one of the few we kicked all day! What let us down was our failure to move away from our traditional style of play, i.e. short passing up the field. We had more than enough possession to win that match yet time after time we attempted to walk the ball from one end of the pitch to the other. The final once again proved that you cant win an all Ireland with this method and its high time we move away from it.

I see the old soundbites about Mayo having no marquee forwards are alive and well. In actual fact Andy, Freeman and Cillian are inside forwards as good as what's out there, the problem is we don't kick early ball into them. By the time any of them usually get the ball, the area is congested, they've no space and they're trying to beat around 6 opposition defenders. The other problem with 'running the ball' is that our half back line gets caught in the opposition half far too often, this leads to an acre of space in front of our full back line. How many times was poor Ger Caff left isolated one on one against Brogan in our three games against the Dubs last year. Brogans goal in the first half of the final being the perfect example of what im on about.

Historically, ourselves and Donegal were renowned for this short passing style of play. I believe its no coincidence that the first Donegal team to fundamentally alter their style also went on to win an all Ireland!

Good debate but I ll stick to my guns.

There was a horrendous stat out there ( some other poster might remember it exactly) that Donegal in 2012 scored something like 2-6 from Mayo kicking ball into a ff line that could not win it and Donegal counter-attacking. Played into Donegal's hands.

We scored a heap of goals and points last year from our running game.

Freeman was the only ff in final last year that looked like he could win early ball but was hauled off for some reason.

I m all for early ball into ff line but we dont win enough of it. If we had a Murphy or a Sheehan or Brogan or Cooper that would be the way to go. In our squad we dont have that go-to unmarkable forward yet. But there s more than one way to win at football.

Quote from: highorlow on February 12, 2014, 08:21:59 PM

Quoteid hate to start a row with you or anybody else but I'm curious to know what "rubbish" you find in my last post.

You mention feelings of self-doubt and indecisiveness.

You mention relegation after two tough away league games which are our first 2 competitive matches of the year (you have to disregard the FBD nonsense). You say if relegation would happen it would knock our hopes of winning Sam for years to come. (we must have been relegated in '52.....)

My post response was not just targeted at the above subjective statements but also meant to be including the other doom merchants who take an over the top view of the league form.

Horan is the best manager we have had in decades, keep the faith, and anyhow shur we can only improve from now once the cobwebs have been shaken off.

If you read Zulu's last post (#224) you'll find that he has pinpointed Mayo's problems in a concise and coherent manner. That's something I have been unable to do- so far at any rate.
I agree 100% with what he has to say and I think there's no point in rehashing his argument here. IMO, they stand up to criticism and can't be refuted.
However, I have referred to a few other issues and I'll raise them again as I think you've missed my meaning.
James Horan is the best Mayo manager I have seen and I've been following Mayo for more than 50 years.  If he can't land an AI, I don't see anyone who could take over when he retires and go on to win one; not in the near future anyway.
I said relegation was a possibility and it's the last thing Mayo needs right now. Losing two AIs in succession must put tremendous pressure on the players but losing their premier division would add to their problems. After all, Mayo were never relegated since the present league format was adopted, not even under John O'Mahony.
Coupled with two AI defeats, losing first division status is hardly the ideal way to set of in search of Sam once again.
IMO, the rubbish you speak off is coming from those who feel there's no need to worry and everything will click into place once the championship begins.
Moysider said Mayo will need a 10% improvement if they are to have a realistic chance of winning this year and I totally agree with that. But where will than elusive 10% come from?
It is unlikely to come from the forwards unless Horan can work some miracle. To paraphrase Zulu, would Mickey Harte, Eamonn Fitzgerald, Jim Gavin or any other manager for that matter, swop his forwards for James Horan's?
It's time for a reality check and shake off the complacency; there will be no fairytale ending to this year's campaign unless Horan somehow manages to get that elusive 10%

QuoteI see the old soundbites about Mayo having no marquee forwards are alive and well. In actual fact Andy, Freeman and Cillian are inside forwards as good as what's out there, the problem is we don't kick early ball into them. By the time any of them usually get the ball, the area is congested, they've no space and they're trying to beat around 6 opposition defenders. The other problem with 'running the ball' is that our half back line gets caught in the opposition half far too often, this leads to an acre of space in front of our full back line. How many times was poor Ger Caff left isolated one on one against Brogan in our three games against the Dubs last year. Brogans goal in the first half of the final being the perfect example of what im on about.

Good first post Dubhaltach. I mentioned a similar thing on another forum. We need to mix direct football with our blitz running game. As we all know the blitz tactic only works if you take your chances during the phase of possession and then force the opposition half forwards into a defensive role.

We started off well in the 1st two league games but without taking our goal chances, the opposition backs are getting wise to us in relation to our style. In any case the level of fitness for that running game needs to be at its peak, so I wouldn't be too concerned until later in the league. It's probably a blessing in disguise that those early goal chances were missed in these first few games as the cracks would be papered over otherwise.

I would be confident this weakness is now obvious to the management and we should expect a more direct style or more of a mix against Kerry. Anyhow the black card will play right into our hands during the summer as I believe it will benefit naturally running teams like us.

Quote from: highorlow on February 13, 2014, 09:18:52 AM

I would be confident this weakness is now obvious to the management and we should expect a more direct style or more of a mix against Kerry. Anyhow the black card will play right into our hands during the summer as I believe it will benefit naturally running teams like us.

It might play into our hands but you have to take into account we could be affected by the black card as well. There was an emphasis last year on the tackle and on turning the ball over, something which Donie Buckley was passionate about. You'd wonder if that good work done last year would have to be re-assessed this year with the black card brought in.
Discipline will be key this year. I'd like to see this team tried out in a few league games:

Hennelly
Cunniffe
Cafferkey
Barrett
Drake
Boyle
Keegan
B Moran
S O'Shea
R Feeney
Higgins
A Gallagher
E Regan (if possible) or M Sweeney
Freeman
A Moran

I know I'm leaving Clarke, Vaughan, McHale, Gibbons, O'Shea, Dillon, Carolan, McLoughlin, C O'Connor, D Coen, Conroy, Varley, Doherty out there as well.
At least we would be able to see who from this bunch can step up to the mark.
I think we need to seriously look a Centre back and I don't think any of our forward spots are really nailed down.
What about this forward line come championship:
Carolan/R Feeney Higgins A.Gallagher
E Regan Freeman A.Moran

Quote from: Bod Mor on February 13, 2014, 10:29:14 AM

Quote from: highorlow on February 13, 2014, 09:18:52 AM

I would be confident this weakness is now obvious to the management and we should expect a more direct style or more of a mix against Kerry. Anyhow the black card will play right into our hands during the summer as I believe it will benefit naturally running teams like us.

It might play into our hands but you have to take into account we could be affected by the black card as well. There was an emphasis last year on the tackle and on turning the ball over, something which Donie Buckley was passionate about. You'd wonder if that good work done last year would have to be re-assessed this year with the black card brought in.
Discipline will be key this year. I'd like to see this team tried out in a few league games:

Hennelly
Cunniffe
Cafferkey
Barrett
Drake
Boyle
Keegan
B Moran
S O'Shea
R Feeney
Higgins
A Gallagher
E Regan (if possible) or M Sweeney
Feeney
A Moran

I know I'm leaving Clarke, Vaughan, McHale, Gibbons, O'Shea, Dillon, Carolan, McLoughlin, C O'Connor, D Coen, Conroy, Varley, Doherty out there as well.
At least we would be able to see who from this bunch can step up to the mark.
I think we need to seriously look a Centre back and I don't think any of our forward spots are really nailed down.
What about this forward line come championship:
Carolan Higgins A.Gallagher
E Regan Feeney A.Moran

You are leaving out Cillian O'Connor from the championship starting 15. Sorry, but that's just madness.

Quote from: Tubberman on February 13, 2014, 10:34:21 AM

Quote from: Bod Mor on February 13, 2014, 10:29:14 AM

Quote from: highorlow on February 13, 2014, 09:18:52 AM

I would be confident this weakness is now obvious to the management and we should expect a more direct style or more of a mix against Kerry. Anyhow the black card will play right into our hands during the summer as I believe it will benefit naturally running teams like us.

It might play into our hands but you have to take into account we could be affected by the black card as well. There was an emphasis last year on the tackle and on turning the ball over, something which Donie Buckley was passionate about. You'd wonder if that good work done last year would have to be re-assessed this year with the black card brought in.
Discipline will be key this year. I'd like to see this team tried out in a few league games:

Hennelly
Cunniffe
Cafferkey
Barrett
Drake
Boyle
Keegan
B Moran
S O'Shea
R Feeney
Higgins
A Gallagher
E Regan (if possible) or M Sweeney
Feeney
A Moran

I know I'm leaving Clarke, Vaughan, McHale, Gibbons, O'Shea, Dillon, Carolan, McLoughlin, C O'Connor, D Coen, Conroy, Varley, Doherty out there as well.
At least we would be able to see who from this bunch can step up to the mark.
I think we need to seriously look a Centre back and I don't think any of our forward spots are really nailed down.
What about this forward line come championship:
Carolan Higgins A.Gallagher
E Regan Feeney A.Moran

You are leaving out Cillian O'Connor from the championship starting 15. Sorry, but that's just madness.

Sorry, i had assumed he was injured! Swap him with Regan so.

That 10% is easily found by getting more out of each player and playing players in theior correct positions .

heres another reason not to be too worried  without pulling any names out of left field this one i think would beat the team that played last sonday
                  Clarke
cuinneffe  A feeney      barrett
Riche feeney vaughan k rodgers
S ose Barry moran
Dillon c connor J doherty
M conroy D Kirby Freeman

Quote from: Bod Mor on February 13, 2014, 10:37:28 AM

Quote from: Tubberman on February 13, 2014, 10:34:21 AM

Quote from: Bod Mor on February 13, 2014, 10:29:14 AM

Quote from: highorlow on February 13, 2014, 09:18:52 AM

I would be confident this weakness is now obvious to the management and we should expect a more direct style or more of a mix against Kerry. Anyhow the black card will play right into our hands during the summer as I believe it will benefit naturally running teams like us.

It might play into our hands but you have to take into account we could be affected by the black card as well. There was an emphasis last year on the tackle and on turning the ball over, something which Donie Buckley was passionate about. You'd wonder if that good work done last year would have to be re-assessed this year with the black card brought in.
Discipline will be key this year. I'd like to see this team tried out in a few league games:

Hennelly
Cunniffe
Cafferkey
Barrett
Drake
Boyle
Keegan
B Moran
S O'Shea
R Feeney
Higgins
A Gallagher
E Regan (if possible) or M Sweeney
Feeney
A Moran

I know I'm leaving Clarke, Vaughan, McHale, Gibbons, O'Shea, Dillon, Carolan, McLoughlin, C O'Connor, D Coen, Conroy, Varley, Doherty out there as well.
At least we would be able to see who from this bunch can step up to the mark.
I think we need to seriously look a Centre back and I don't think any of our forward spots are really nailed down.
What about this forward line come championship:
Carolan Higgins A.Gallagher
E Regan Feeney A.Moran

You are leaving out Cillian O'Connor from the championship starting 15. Sorry, but that's just madness.

Sorry, i had assumed he was injured! Swap him with Regan so.

whose the feeney at full forward alan? or is richie going to double up?

Picking teams is a bit of crack but it will be months yet before we know where we stand. But a few interesting scenario ahead.

Everybody fit can both O Shea and Big Barry be started? Or do we go with more mobility if gibbons and parsons are playing well?

Will there be cover for Barrett and Cunniffe?

If fully recovered and on form do Andy, Dillon, McLoughlin and Cillian start? I think they do.

Quote from: rosnarun on February 13, 2014, 11:02:26 AM

Quote from: Bod Mor on February 13, 2014, 10:37:28 AM

Quote from: Tubberman on February 13, 2014, 10:34:21 AM

Quote from: Bod Mor on February 13, 2014, 10:29:14 AM

Quote from: highorlow on February 13, 2014, 09:18:52 AM

I would be confident this weakness is now obvious to the management and we should expect a more direct style or more of a mix against Kerry. Anyhow the black card will play right into our hands during the summer as I believe it will benefit naturally running teams like us.

It might play into our hands but you have to take into account we could be affected by the black card as well. There was an emphasis last year on the tackle and on turning the ball over, something which Donie Buckley was passionate about. You'd wonder if that good work done last year would have to be re-assessed this year with the black card brought in.
Discipline will be key this year. I'd like to see this team tried out in a few league games:

Hennelly
Cunniffe
Cafferkey
Barrett
Drake
Boyle
Keegan
B Moran
S O'Shea
R Feeney
Higgins
A Gallagher
E Regan (if possible) or M Sweeney
Feeney
A Moran

I know I'm leaving Clarke, Vaughan, McHale, Gibbons, O'Shea, Dillon, Carolan, McLoughlin, C O'Connor, D Coen, Conroy, Varley, Doherty out there as well.
At least we would be able to see who from this bunch can step up to the mark.
I think we need to seriously look a Centre back and I don't think any of our forward spots are really nailed down.
What about this forward line come championship:
Carolan Higgins A.Gallagher
E Regan Feeney A.Moran

You are leaving out Cillian O'Connor from the championship starting 15. Sorry, but that's just madness.

Sorry, i had assumed he was injured! Swap him with Regan so.

whose the feeney at full forward alan? or is richie going to double up?

I had Feeney on the brain. I edited the original post as it should be, of course, Freeman

A full forward line of Regan Andy and Cillian would do some damage. Moysider was talking about finding an extra 10% well getting Cillian Dillon and Andy fully fit and Kevin Mc Loughlin back on form would go a long way toward achieving this.IMO i dont think Dillon is a guaranteed starter this year id like to see a hf line of Higgins Feeney and Mc Loughlin.I know that Regan is unavailable but id imagine that if he keeps shooting the lights out and we need a man with his skill set the situation will resolve itself.

Quote from: mayoman dan on February 13, 2014, 08:49:44 PM
A full forward line of Regan Andy and Cillian would do some damage. Moysider was talking about finding an extra 10% well getting Cillian Dillon and Andy fully fit and Kevin Mc Loughlin back on form would go a long way toward achieving this.IMO i dont think Dillon is a guaranteed starter this year id like to see a hf line of Higgins Feeney and Mc Loughlin.I know that Regan is unavailable but id imagine that if he keeps shooting the lights out and we need a man with his skill set the situation will resolve itself.

I think Evan has bundles of talent but I think ye are attaching far too much hope to a lad who hasn't really featured at senior at all yet. COC, Freeman and Andy are your best FF line this year, Regan or no Regan.

Mayo have a few options at midfield, would you ever consider O'Shea as a target man at full forward? At underage he was a very effective forward although admittedly more around the half forward line.

He was tried at full forward before with limited success. If Parsons or Big Barry can make a mf spot there own alongside Seamus O Se i think cf could be the place for him hes very hard to stop when he builds up ahead of steam.

Quote from: moysider on February 12, 2014, 10:27:59 PM

Quote from: Dubhaltach on February 12, 2014, 08:03:15 PM

Quote from: moysider on February 11, 2014, 05:03:37 PM

Quote from: rodney trotter on February 11, 2014, 04:47:42 PM
Would a few of last years Mayo Minor team come into the reckoning after the U-21 campaign is  over? A few classy forwards in that side like Doherty and Conroy, full of confidence. But still a big step up from Minor to Senior in one year, but worth a shot if they perform well with the u21s

Too soon for them imo. But we may well get something out of the U21 campaign.
I can see Zulu s point about forwards an all but come summer if we get injured players back we will have options. Personally I think we ve kicked too much ball into the ff line fairly aimlessly last 2 finals. We should be running the ball. I select on the basis of gaining primary possession and keeping it. We should play to our strengths, one of which is pace. When we ran at teams last year we got scores from a spread of players.

eh...look back and see how Andy's goal came about, Also look at Brogan's sucker punch in the first half for that matter!

That goal in the final came from a long ball in, one of the few we kicked all day! What let us down was our failure to move away from our traditional style of play, i.e. short passing up the field. We had more than enough possession to win that match yet time after time we attempted to walk the ball from one end of the pitch to the other. The final once again proved that you cant win an all Ireland with this method and its high time we move away from it.

I see the old soundbites about Mayo having no marquee forwards are alive and well. In actual fact Andy, Freeman and Cillian are inside forwards as good as what's out there, the problem is we don't kick early ball into them. By the time any of them usually get the ball, the area is congested, they've no space and they're trying to beat around 6 opposition defenders. The other problem with 'running the ball' is that our half back line gets caught in the opposition half far too often, this leads to an acre of space in front of our full back line. How many times was poor Ger Caff left isolated one on one against Brogan in our three games against the Dubs last year. Brogans goal in the first half of the final being the perfect example of what im on about.

Historically, ourselves and Donegal were renowned for this short passing style of play. I believe its no coincidence that the first Donegal team to fundamentally alter their style also went on to win an all Ireland!

Good debate but I ll stick to my guns.

There was a horrendous stat out there ( some other poster might remember it exactly) that Donegal in 2012 scored something like 2-6 from Mayo kicking ball into a ff line that could not win it and Donegal counter-attacking. Played into Donegal's hands.

We scored a heap of goals and points last year from our running game.

Freeman was the only ff in final last year that looked like he could win early ball but was hauled off for some reason.

I m all for early ball into ff line but we dont win enough of it. If we had a Murphy or a Sheehan or Brogan or Cooper that would be the way to go. In our squad we dont have that go-to unmarkable forward yet. But there s more than one way to win at football.

We did kick a bit more in the 2012 final alright but you have to remeber neither Andy or Freeman started that day. It was probably asking a bit much of a 19 year old Cillian to be the go to man. Some of the execution in the kick passing left a lot to be desired too but I dont think the idea in general was that far off the mark. Had the early goals not gone in......

While there may well be more than one way to win a game of football I cant recall any team that won an All Ireland in the last 20 years where one of their inside forwards didnt stand up and kick a few scores from play in the final. Our running game has been quite productive for us but I think all Ireland finals are a different beasht! On average we usually end up having a spread of about 6 or 7 players scoring a point or two from play and I just cant look past the fact that no team has gone the whole way like that. The Cork team that won in 2010 probably came closest but even then Donnacadh O Connor kicked 3 from play in the final. Anyway, Im of the opinion that the full forward line that started in last years final have what it takes, we just need to get a bit smarter with our tactics.

Can t argue with any of that Dubhaltach. Probably pretty much on the same hymnsheet.

I know a lot of people here think it is all about the players and the marquee forwards. It seems like we have players that are good enough to put up scores until the AI final and then someone flicks a switch and these same players are no longer physically or mentally of the stuff required to win an AI. Then we are lectured to go away and unearth a top quality forward or 2 or forget about it.

In my time we have had the players to win 3/4 AIs but tactics and selection issues did for us. We ve raked over those old coals so often and we don t want to go there again.

Besides, a county that plays in Div 1 and appears in the later stages of the championship regularly, its absurd to suggest that there are no quality forwards coming out of the county.

This 10% thing is catching on. I dont know what the effect of the last 2 losses have on these lads. People assume it will be negative but it is not necessarily so. I d suspect that they are raging to get back to the business end of the year. Yeah it s tough going. But if you re  - we ll say - self employed, a packed diary and schedule is tough going. But an empty diary is tougher because you re sitting on yer hole doing nothing. This is also a young team and still learning its craft imo. Most of this team is still in the development/improving phase.

A pre- injury Andy would give that 10% on his own imo.