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I am not surprised at the bucket's comment that Galway won't help Mayo to develop its hurling

In fairness if the Mayo CB are doing feck all why should Galway CB make an effort?? Changes have to start with the CB and Connacht Council

An intriguing aspect of this match is the continued perceived divide between the Crokes lads and the South Kerry lads on the Kerry panel. Gooch never went to South Kerry with Sam on the traditional march to the home captain's club. Gooch stayed in Killarney rather than hitting Dromid, and that has raised eyebrows down there.

Are ye feckers from Kerry starting the "there's divsions in the camp" rumours already in the month of November??!!! Cute Kerry hoooors...........

Needless to say the Galway v Mayo game will have a big bearing on who takes Connacht and the winners of that game will be favourites but the Rossies should be better in the 2nd year under Maughan and will be bouyed by their minor victory this year. Tough draw for Leitrim and it's hard to see sligo doing much, they seem to a team who only starts to play once they hit the qualifiers.

Hard to see past Kerry in Munster although Cork should give them a good run for it they lack a couple of quality forwards. Limerick seem to have missed their chance of winning a Munster title and the rest don't seem to be up to much.

In Leinster, the Dubs will be favorites but have a tough draw which might well stand to them later in the championship. Other than that it's pretty even with a lot of improving "weaker" teams; whether any of them will make the breakthrough this year remains to be seen.

In Ulster Derry look to have been pulled in the easier side of the draw and would hope to make the final while on the other side getting knocked out early might be a blessing in disguise with a trip through the qualifiers maybe easier than a slog through Ulster. Awful hard to predict.

There are still the "big three" in football and with Kerry losing two backs and a manager they could struggle to retain it. Armagh will be hard beat but high mileage could catch up with them if they go all the way to the Ulster final. I'd expect Tyrone to be fresh after last years early exit and I find it hard to see past them for Sam next year. The "open draw" from the Q/F's on will change things this year as well.

Dublin and Cork are a forward or two short; Laois and Galway won't be far off but hard to see them doing it. Donegal don't seem to have the temperment/discipline and you'd expect Mayo to have the same old failings unless JO'M can sort that out in a few months......

Decent bet to be had on Wicklow winning Leinster in the next two years at 20/1 which is not bad considering Micko's recent record in Leinster. 

From a Mayo point of view 14/1 for the all ireland is poor odds at the moment but hopefully they'll have a mediocre league (due to all the weights training!!) and push that price out a bit and might make a good e/w bet. Fermanagh could be a good e/w bet at 16/1 to win Ulster. As always there's short odds on the Jacks, no value to be had at 5/1 for the all ireland but Tyrone aren't bad odds at 9/2.

From a small ball side of things, I really fancy Galway this year with Loughnane at the helm (a poor league will see them move out from 6/1). Doesn't seem to be much other value in the Hurling but Clare might fancy their chances of catching Cork on the hop first day out which would be a good chance for a new winner in Munster.

Apologies for the long post, that's all from my crystal ball for now............

Bit of a shock to see Cross out, 3 games in 3 weeks caught up with them i guess.

Shite for Knockmore not getting promoted, another year of Div 2 football awaits. Any word on the U-21 semi final??

would you consider putting Ger Brady into CHB. He is mobile, foot passing is good, creative, strong and reads the game well. Dublin managed it with Cullen and has paid off dividends for them. He is a talented footballer.

I wouldn't go near that idea, Brady would be great against weaker teams driving forward but he would be found out for not being able to defend when he comes up against a good centre forward. Don't agree with converting defenders to forwards and vice versa at all.

I reckon JO'M will probably take the job, he's just playing the waiting game with the county board so that he gets the job on his terms rather than theirs and rightly so IMO.

As regards taking the job for the wrong reasons, I don't think O'Mahoney is the kind of fella to do that for the sake of a Dail seat; it would tarnish his reputation too much; and indeed the risk of people thinking like that might well be a reason why he might not take the job.

In terms of time available to manage the team, it should be no problem considering the Dail only sits 3 days a week and must surely get more holidays than any other job in Ireland.

If he decides against taking the position, we are left in the unfortunate position of it being mid/late November and managerless which isn't exactly ideal. The new man would also be painfully aware that he wasn't the first choice. On the other hand, the expectation level would be v low with a different manager whereas people will expect Johnno to deliver immediately.