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Extra time I think, I dont think DB is fit.

As a Mayo man it pains me to say this but I would ahve to make Donegal favourites. They have been far and away the best team in the league and we have only really gotten to the knock outs by nature of the fact that tyrone and Kerry cancelled eachother out in tralee and Dublin inexplicably couldnt score in a whole 35 mins of football. They are bigger in most departments and have arguably better forwards.
A positive for Mayo is that this team seems to be gaining a reputation as sticky f**kers, theres been quiet a few games in this campaign where we were bested but we still managed to win. Might be the same on Sunday.

That is fundamentally what is wrong with Mayo, afraid to go and f#cking win and admit to wanting to!! We should go out and win the bloody league, put it in a box, forget about it and then get on with the championship. I would rather win the league than get to the AI final and get hammered.
Jees, the way some of ye are talking ye will accept loosing another national final (providing the performance is good!). When will the penny drop with Mayo people that ALL that matters is winning.
In fairness we only won the league in 2001 because Tyrone could not take part!!

Your not getting my point, of course I want Mayo to win the league, they've got this far might as well win the bloody thing and the last thing I want to hear is every man and his dog going on about how Mayo "always choke in finals". I live in Cork so trust me its not fecken easy listening to da boys who rattle off an All Ireland in some grade whenever they feel like it. What I'm saying is that win lose or draw I want to come out of there reasonably confident that we know where we are going for the championship.  A win alone with a shite performance with lots of questions hanging over the team will not be filling me with the joys of spring. Sam is all that matters. Louth have won the f**king thing more recently than us for Gods sake (no offence Louthmen)

In fairness lads, feck the performance, the result is everything on Sunday. Our last two managers got us to AI Finals and we were badly beaten and we all blamed the management for it. Now the man the majority of us wanted has us in another final, can he do any different? Please dont say 'its only the league' because that is bull. If Mayo arnt good enough or arnt motivated enough to go out and beat Donegal with all the stuff that has been, then we may as well admit we will not do it under this group of players. We have beaten Tyrones, Dublins, Galways in big matches over the years, now its time we started doing it in finals. All due respect to Donegal, but they are not yet Kerry, Tyrone, Armagh or even Dublin. I am surprised the media have not made more of 'Mayo - another final - can they do it' thing, but behind the facade I imagine the management and the players know Sunday is a mini watershed for them and I expect the performance to match that.
Expecting that, I expect a win.

I dont agree with you Maradonna, we won the league in 2001, and Cross and Ballina have won All Ireland finals in Croker so that removes the hoodoo of Mayo teams not being able to win finals. The reason an good performance is required as this is what will tell us where we potentially stand for the championship, as that is what the real goal has to be. I dont know about you, but I wont be too happy if "all" we win is the league and have a dismal championship. Lets be honest here about how important the performance is versus the result, in both Laois games and the Dublin game we allowed the result to paper over the performance. In all 3 games our backs were complete shite and we all know what happened versus Kerry.
I'd be perfectly happy to win the league but would have serious concerns if the performance is not up to par given its only 4 weeks till the championship and the big one versus the Tribesmen. Donegal will be mad to win this one as the press are blowing shite about them not being able to win a final since 91. I'd gladly swtich places with them if we had won Sam that recently.

All I want from Sunday is a good solid performance, especially from the key number 3 and 6 positions. I dont expect any miracles in midfield because I think we all know we only making the best of what we have there until some of the missing men return. We're still winning a fair share of breaking ball which is encouraging. Thats no knock on Heaney who is doing a fine job under the circumstances, I think we all just know its a stop gap and if DB or RMCG return then he'll be in the 6 jersey. I dont know where BJ goes then, but hes good enough to deserve a spot in the team. thats not sentiment, hes one of the few players you can be guaranteed will always give 100% and it was a testemant to him that he didnt go missing last September in Croker. I dont know why he was subbed that day.
Anyway, hoping for a solid performance, I dont really care about the result that much, more the performance although granted if the win is there for the taking in the last 5 minutes we would be very glad of it.
One thing I'm starting to like about this team is that we are becoming stickey f**kers who dont really know when they are beating. The victory over Galway was a Meath under Sean Boylan type situation. To be fair Galway should have had the game wrapped up but we hung in there and snuck it. The same thing has happened this year against Cork, Dublin and you could even argue Tyrone. Thats the most encourgaging thing I've seen so far under Johno's reign.

You can be rightly sure Galway were v dissapointed to loose yesterday

I'm sure they were disappointed and they would have liked to win but I doubt they woke up today in the depths of despair about it. Padraig Joyce was smiling after he put one wide at the death. I doubt he'd be grinning if he misses a chance to level a game come the Summer. The league is nice to win but I could barely tell you who won it two years ago. Or the year before that. That's just the way it is.

We had no Paul Clancy, Sean Armstrong, Paul Geraghty and Niall Coleman was only fit enough to come in near the end. Likely that two or three of those will be in the team come May.

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And we had no David Brady, Ronan McGarritty, Trevor Mortimer, Ciaran MacDonald, Austin O'Malley

Really, well let me refresh your memory, two outta the last three years the League champions became the All Ireland champions a few months later. Theres no guarantees but it certainly is relevant.
people talk about Mayos supposed poor record in Croke Park, it dosent hold a candle to Galways in recent times if we look at the facts. Granted the last time ye won there was winning Sam, something we clearly havent been able to do. But are Galway people not the slightest bit worried about not being able to win in Croker in the last 6 years? Contrast that to Mayo who, notwithstanding the two massive well documented capitulations to the Kingdom have a fine recent record in croker, beating Tyrone (reigning All Ireland champs), Fermanagh, Laois and of course most famously the Dubs all in Croker. granted its clear from the genius analysis here that the match in Pearse Stadium is a foregone conclusion and Galway will be capturing the Connacht Championship this year, but how are ye going to deal with whats now becoming the Croker issue?

Mayos goals were soft, maybe so, but we still scored them. Are no Galway men worried that it there was 3 Mayo players quicker to the saved penalty than the Galway backs? Of the two teams it looked to me like Galway were playing closer to a championship type pace, yet Mayo were the team that won.
Lads ye're completed entitled to analyis the match and ye're team any way ye want, but the overriding attitude seems to be that Mayo have no chance in Pearse Stadium. I find that incredibly arrogant given that two teams went to play in Croker and Mayo won.

It has started 

A leading GAA figure in Mayo has called for an end to what he has labelled "downtown black pudding" debate about the county's senior football team and management.

After a trying close to 2006, when the county board and the Mickey Moran-led senior team management parted ways after just one season, county board secretary Seán Feeney has criticised what he described as uninformed discussion on the county team set-up.

Feeney, who was critical of Moran's regime during a season that saw Mayo battle their way to an All-Ireland final only to lose heavily to Kerry, made his comments in his report to the board's annual convention.

"The appointment of Mickey Moran and John Morrison did not meet with universal approval, and was debated ad nauseam on local radio," said Feeney.

"It was again debated ad nauseam when the partnership broke up and the officers of the board shook hands and decided to move on, as was in the agreement.

"We have too much of the downtown black pudding stuff and a little more enlightened debate would lift the tone rather than feeding fodder to the vulgar who are always willing to bite."

Well if theres a bit of black pudding going I'm always willing to bite.

Good point, we should be at least discussing the first round of the NL in a new thread by now.
So the lads will be well able to vault over the sideline hordings in Croker during their goal celebrations

I just read this on the hoganstand message board, best laugh i've had in ages


Mayo football
Clubs should be amalgamated in Mayo. Too many rubbish clubs. For example, Kiltane should join Belmullet to be known as Kilmullet. Burrishoole, Louisburg, Kilmeena and Westport should be amalgamated and called Westburkilburg. Knockmore should team up with Moy Davitts and become Knockmoy. Ballintubber, Mayo Gaels and Hollymount will become Ballinmount Gaels. Claremorris, Garrymore and Davitts will become Claregarry Davitts. Ballyhaunis, Aughamore and Eastern Gaels will dovetail nicely under the name Aughahaunis Gaels. Breaffy, Balla and Castlebar Mitchells will be called Ballaffy Mitchells. Kilmaine, The Neale, Shrule-Glencorrib and Ballinrobe will be The Ballinshrule Killers. Charlestown, Swinford and Kiltimagh could be called Kilchainford and finally Ballina Stephenites, Ardnaree and Bonniconlon will be called Ballina Stephenites. Alot of the other clubs should be disbanded, with one or two of their better players joining one of the new amalgamated clubs. This would mean more competitive football with fewer games and fewer spectators, and a bigger effort could be made with the county team in its quest for Sam. What do ye think?
Real Istic , Ballina Ireland , 18/11/2006 at 13:23

I can just see the draw for next years chmapionship
I wonder would the cross lads join ballina or knockmoy, possibly some of them could see a future with Kilmullet

Kilmullet isnt a bad suggestion for a name, coz if it ever happened club members would be killing eachother

Abbeysider while there is some validity to your questions over some of the players named (I definitely think you are being unfair on Colm Lyons (give the lad a run out at least before making a decision), and Trevor Howley) there is only reason to drop them if you have somebody better lined up. So who would you have brought in as replacements?

Everybody deserves a chance, and a fair chance Barney. And by all means Howley and Lyons deserve a chance before anyone.

Who would I bring in and give a chance to?

For Starters as regards backs from Ballaghadreen;
Stephen Drake, David Kilcullen and Tomás Regan deserve a shot

From Ballina I would be looking at:
Ger Cafferkey
Enda Devaney

from Mitchles maybe:
Tom Cunniffe

Others in other positions (the list could be endless but two spring to mind that could cut the mustard)
Barry Kelly - Ballaghaderreen
Brian Benson - Crossmolina

There is talent in the county and im sure that at least some of the players I mentioned will get a chance instead of what we currently have on the panel.

Dont forget John Shevlin from Belmullet, a very nippy corner foward well able to take a score.