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Sad to hear about Trevor will always remember those late lung busting couple of points he got against Fermanagh in the semi final replay in 2004 , they summed up the character of the man. I think I read somewhere that his retirement was forced a bit on him due to work commitments overseas although I'm not sure.
Agree with you 100% on the tactics for Sunday Moysider.We just don't have the players available to us to play fast and loose but if we plug up the middle and break fast through a combination of our running game and or smart quick low balls into Mort Jr and Conroy we could profit with the space left inside. Also we'll need our wing forwards and wing backs to support what should be a two man full forward line. Again I think Andy and Kevin Mac played correctly could do serious damage, Kevin Mac with his pace running from deep and Andy with his ability to win breaks , pick out a pass and take a long range score. Also I'd like to see Dillion let the ball in quick and support from deep as he got a great score in the Kerry game after backing up a play he instigated from halfway (also a good man to pick off long range points). This is the kind of smart slick football I think we are capable of when we concentrate and if  sustained for long periods I think it would keep us in the match while not necessarily winning clean primary possession at midfield.

You're some man for one man Farrandeelin, keep up the good work it's much appreciated.

There is no chance imo of dublin winning this easy, roscommon dont concede much. The dub/cork game was very open and loose, roscommon will not afford dublin near the same space. I could see roscommon frustrating dublin to the point of making it a close game. Not sure if roscommon can get enough ball to their inside line though. Should be interesting.

think we'll win 0-13 to 0-9. Something along those lines. Certainly wont be high scoring. Having watched the videos Ros put  a lot of lads behind the ball so I'd expect it to be tight for about 45 mins or so.

Dineen was a a very good player and he's proven to be an astute manager.

Jaysus, you must really rate us if you think we can stick with the All-Stars for three quarters of an hour. 

Ah sure he's only being kind to you. How could a team from the junk status province be expected to do any thing but keep the ball kicked out. Mind you you'll probably have to steal a couple of those balls to sell for some spuds on the way home to west of the Shannon!!

(Make sure you get enough spuds for us too)

From the Bunker as you alluded to the cup on offer on Sunday isn't the be all and end all even for Mayo. The key for us is to match the work rate ,effort and intensity of our performance against Kerry. If we do this and get beaten then so be it, we'll have been beaten by a better team and made sure they worked for the victory. My two main concerns are our shortage of midfielders and the amount of cheap turnovers we have coughed up through the league in every game bar the Dublin game. The first concern is out of our hands but the second is easily fixable and I would be disappointed if this isn't addressed by Sunday. The reason this bugs me so much is in the context of the new high intensity pressure game Horan has tried to introduce , there is probably nothing more soul destroying than winning some dirty breaking ball or disposessing a player with good disciplined tackling than to see the ball coming straight back at you due to a loose pass or (my pet hate) a player running down a blind alley instead of keeping the ball moving. Our midfield problem is probably going to see us playing a running game which will be energy sapping and makes using and converting possession in to scores vital.

Freeman wasn t togged for semi and when he has played lately he has not looked the player he was until he got injured in the league last year. SOS clearly tore his hamstring v Cork a few weeks ago and rushing him back now wouldn t be wise. Hamstrings are tricky things, especially on big men.

We re defo short of options midfield and forwards for this. If we need to have Andy around the hf line for breaks and stuff ( And I see the sense in that), then we might as well go with 2 inside and get another body around the middle for this one. We ll be absorbing pressure and stopping runners and any ball we get we won t be able to afford to just kick it into a fullforward that hasn t a hope of winning it. It s pointless playing Barry Moran in ff again until his form comes right. There s no point hoping for the best for this one. The corner men have to be Mort and Conroy and there is no point weakening the team by taking either off after 50 mins. COC has been struggling, even at U21 level, and it may be summer before he s back to his best. I d go with an xtra defender in the team for this one and play a running game all the way with a few dinky passes into the corner men to run onto.

Having Harte available would be a bonus but expecting him to go toe to toe as a midfielder has never been a runner imo. Geraghty and Gibbons with Harte as a link player and carrier could be the way to go.

From what I m hearing Trevor will not be back the year.

Maybe Kevin Mac could play the extra defender role and with his pace running from deep he could cause problems for Cork's defence  and a half forward line of Harte, Andy , Dillion with Conoreen and Conroy inside. With this setup I'd expect Donie/ Geraghty/ Gibbons to do the heavy lifting around the middle, with Kevin Mac and Andy cleaning up any breaks and counter attacking and Harte and Dillion providing the guile/any long range scoring/ distribution to the inside line. This puts a heavy workload on Kevin Mac and Andy but I think it's the best way to tackle Cork and paper over the cracks left by our injuries at midfield.

Mort'd have a seizure with excitement just putting that jersey on.

Don't worry Syferus I'm sure the pink jersey along with the normal version will be readily available in all parts of Mayo including Ballaghdreen

The feckers in the sport shop in town have put the new Rossie jersey behind the Ballagh GAA jersey. The nerve.

Hold the line for us Syferus , keep them at bay them Rossies can be dangerous when their blood is up. If needs be we'll send you up the Mort for backup.

Mort'd have a seizure with excitement just putting that jersey on.

Don't worry Syferus I'm sure the pink jersey along with the normal version will be readily available in all parts of Mayo including Ballaghdreen

Lads I think ye're backs are going to have a hard time containing our forwards. Should be tighter than it was two years ago, but we should be better than last August. Looking forward to a good game.

You could well be right Corkman but they're the best we have at the moment as a unit although Richie Feeny and Shane McHale could force their way in before the Leitrim game. I think we'll have to defend from the front really and keep the cheap turnovers of possesion to a minimum which has been a real problem through the league despite our improved performances.

 I think we'll need a start like the last day against Kerry cause we're going to struggle physically in the middle third for periods next Sunday as most teams have this year against Cork. Horan's workrate mantra will really be tested the next day cause Cork like to bully teams into submission using their strength through the spine of their team which creates space for Kerrigan/Sheehan/O' Connor to really punish teams. I don't know what the story is with SO'S but hopefully he's fit because we are really down to the bare bones at midfield. I'd like to see Andy start at full forward for this one and if Seamus isn't fit I'd probably go with the following from 8 to 15:
       Gibbons   Geraghty
Kevin Mac  , Harte , Dillon
Connor , Andy , Conroy.

I'd leave the backs the same as the last day with Keith picking up Kerrigan.

There is no chance imo of dublin winning this easy, roscommon dont concede much. The dub/cork game was very open and loose, roscommon will not afford dublin near the same space. I could see roscommon frustrating dublin to the point of making it a close game. Not sure if roscommon can get enough ball to their inside line though. Should be interesting.

Have to agree with Sligonian (jeez there's an unusual sentence ) , the rossie's defence has impressed me in this championship and if the can isolate Smith and Compton inside supplied with quick accurate ball they'll be right in it. The Dubs will be favorites no doubt but not by much and if the rossies get a early goal it could really set the cat amongst the pigeons. They might have been a few verbals from my fellow county men the last couple of days but come the final we'll all be roaring you on to victory well I'll will be anyway.

Whatever chance our U21s have of bringing further glory to our wonderful County ( and it's probably slim enough realistically) The Senior team will be doing very well to avoid 2 straight defeats in the Championships.
We really were poor v Longford and Wexford , the 2 middlin sides in Div 3 .
We might just catch Galway on the day but it's a big MIGHT and the qualifiers progress will be totally dependent on when we draw a big County.
As for some of the lads on here... easy to get carried a biteen away on the back of winning an All Ireland Semi Final .

I hear what you're saying Rossfan and while I wouldn't agree with the best six forwards in Connacht talk I do think this is a very well balanced team with a few excellent individual talents e.g. Daly, Smith, Compton and while the Dubs seemingly steam rolled their way to the final, finals can do funny things to teams. Also why not get a bit carried away for the final you're a proud passionate football mad county who has made solid progress year on year especially at underage level and you deserve a big date out for your efforts!
Also I think you have a great shot against a relatively young inexperienced Galway side many of whom won't have been in the Hyde in the heat of senior championship football. I wouldn't be overly concerned with your league form either due to the fact you had a new manager , were missing the lads in the club championship and seemed to have a crippling injury list. Mayo nearly went all the way in 96 and we were in Division 3. From the outside looking in the Rossies have been building steadily from the ground up over the last decade and with such a solid foundation in place (and the dark days of Tommy Carr/ John Maughan well and truly erased) life is going to be very interesting here in the west over the next few years. Junk status me whole!!!!

Well done to the Rossies. It wasn't a vintage game but semi finals are there to be won , there's no winner's medals handed out just because one team was more impressive in their semi final victory than the other. I have to say this Rosscommon team were very well set up tactically and stifled/suffocated Cavan from the off just as they have been doing throughout the connacht cahmpionship ( as my own county found out in the semi!). Was really impressed with their workrate all through the game especially in the half backs.
Definitely think Cafferkey , Conor Daly ,Shine ,Compton and Smith are ready for the seniors. An inside line of Donie Smith , Compton and Senan Kilbride could do serious damage against Galway in May.
Those 3 might even scrape onto the Mayo juniors provided ther was a serious injury crisis!

Best of luck to the rossies. pity it's not being shown live on tg4, Will have to make do with online updates.

Tubberman you can watch it live on TG4's website on their live player.

Good luck to the Rossies  hopefully all the good work done at underage over the last few years will pay off today.

I don't like this new found Mayo arrogance.

I'm loving this new found Meath softness.