Messages

Mayo
Tyrone
Donegal
Armagh

Derry
Clare
Louth
Dublin

Down
Cavan
Westmeath
Tipperary

Wicklow
Sligo
Laois
Leitrim

I understand why it's a bone of contention but why is this a forbidden discussion amongst mayo fans? I raised the question with privately and got shot down in the same manner.

Why does it keep happening to mayo? Or why doesn't it happen to Kerry or Dublin?

On 67 minutes reape is brought up and kicks a score to put us 5 up. It being from a free, surely there is no better signal to say no is the time to do everything to slow the game down - that's fall over with any contact, foul around the middle, take ages on our own frees, retain possession over taking on needless shots, put 15 men behind the ball. It just doesn't seem to be the mayo way and it feels like something we just can't seem to learn.

Kerry
Galway
Donegal
Armagh

Meath
Kildare v Cork - Draw
Derry
Dublin

Down
Cavan
Offaly
Westmeath

Carlow
Leitrim
Sligo
Laois

Armagh
Mayo
Tyrone
Donegal

Derry
Dublin
Cork
Clare

Fermanagh
Down
Westmeath
Offaly

Wicklow
Wexford
Leitrim
Sligo

Just two weeks away.

To win the Div 1 title

Kerry 11/8
Dublin 13/8
Tyrone 15/2
Mayo 8/1
Donegal 12/1
Monaghan 25/1
Armagh 25/1
Kildare 80/1

Round 1 fixtures

Saturday 29th
Dublin v Armagh

Sunday 30th
Kildare v Kerry
Mayo v Donegal
Tyrone v Monaghan

Bookies probably have it about right. Any of the bottom 5 could potentially get relegated, Though I fancy Armagh to stay up and Monaghan have been there so long you'd be a fool to bet against them. Sadly Kildare likely to yoyo but any of the other 4 could equally be relegated in my eyes.

Insanely tough div 2 this year, glad mayo got out last year.

You'd be brave to pick the two for promotion before it starts.

At the other end, I think Clare stand a better chance at staving off relegation than down and offaly, especially with down missing the kilcoo lads.

At present, It looks like theres really only 2-3 positions up for grabs/undecided really on the mayo team.

In the half back line - 4 players battling for 3 positions - Durcan nailed on - mclaughlin/coen/plunkett for the other 2

Corner Back - In an injury free world Harrison slots in, Enda Hession/Ben Doyle/Eoin O donoghue the three men given a shot during the league, very hard to say who is the front runner there. Looks like O Hora has gone back in the pecking order altogether. Without Harrison Id be trying to put Coen back there. We'll probably know more after Sunday on who is the frontrunner here.

HF line - Anyone's guess - Bryan Walsh the man who put his hand up most in the league. Definitely the most unsettled line - By virtue of not disrupting a FF line of ROD/COC/Tommy Conroy, I think Aidan o shea will probably come in at 11 or else Aidan at midfield and Diarmuid moves to HF, this would leave one spot in HF line - could be Jordan Flynn/Jason Doherty/Fionn McDonagh/Kevin McLoughlin/Boland/Loftus etc etc - you'd be brave to predict who takes that shirt at present.

Armagh vs Ros is a huge game. Big for both teams but absolutely huge for us. It's been a long road back to here.

We know that Dublin and Kerry are way ahead of us. Depressingly it is difficult to conceive of how those respective gaps could be closed.

We have to admit that Donegal, Tyrone and Mayo are ahead of us. Not by as much but definitively ahead. Bottom 3 in Division 1 looks like a ceiling for us in the near term. On that basis you will suffer relegation at some point. Roscommon are in that yo-yo territory already. Relegation is not a disaster but it makes everything this group of players is trying to achieve that bit more difficult

A case to be made that Division 1 should become a 10 team group.

As Mayo found out last year the trap door is too easy to fall through in the current format and the likes of Armagh, Roscommon, Meath need consecutive years in Div 1 to develop.

No matter where you make the cut there will always be winners and losers. Can't see any reason for interfering with 4 tiers of 8

Personally I think if league has an influence on championship it should be division 1a/1b for top 16 and D 2a/2b for the next 16 to allow the chance for the bottom 16 to play for the Sam in any 2 year period.

It would be better for the game in that current D2 teams would have better exposure to the top tier teams and allow the Roscommons/armaghs/meaths to develop without the constant threat/pressure of relegation/promotion.

On top of that it would allow teams to not always have to play close to their best 15s every week, giving us a chance to see other players play.

Monaghan originally had 1 game to be played at home, Galway had 2. Monaghan therefore should be drawn to play at home, has nothing to do with Monaghan flouting the Covid training rules.

Amazing (or not) how that bit of rationale has escaped most people.
Joyce was talking through his hole.

It would seem an amazing coincidence to me that the 4 teams who broke covid regulations Monaghan/Down/Cork/Dublin were all randomly selected to only have 1 home game. If it had been fixed where any of these teams had a second home game in the group stages there'd have been uproar about that too. Its just extremely poor planning. should have been 1 home 1 away 1 neutral in group and home advantage to 1st v 2nd in semis/relegation

Are Dublin fans not bored waltzing through Leinster so easily?

Yes it's probably great your team is winning, but no matches are in any way competitive. No close games, no hard hitting, no end to end, edge of your seat stuff. You need games to get the excitement going, get the blood pumping

The All Ireland is the same way bar the odd close battle every 3/4 years.

Yes, Dublin are great at what they do, but I am so bored watching any of their matches. There's no point to it anymore.

The majority of Dublin fans just enjoy getting the chance to watch the greatest ever team play. Some of these players will go down as all time greats.

"the greatest ever team" is fine if its the same 15- 20 lads. The team that started today had 6 starters from the team that started the 2015 AI final. Id say if you started with the 2011 team you've probably already got close to 15 all time greats. I don't think anyone has issue with the players - they're class, but when the conveyor belt churns out 2-3 all-timers every year how can any team compete?

Is molloy gone off the boil altogether?
Came on that day in Limerick and made KW look a fool for not starting him.

Mayo team named...

1. Robert Hennelly - Breaffy
2. Padraig O'Hora - Ballina Stephenites
3. James McCormack - Claremorris
4. Brendan Harrison - Aghamore
5. Eoin O'Donoghue - Belmullet
6. Michael Plunkett - Ballintubber
7. Patrick Durcan - Castlebar Mitchels
8. Stephen Coen - Hollymount/Carramore (C)
9. Diarmuid O'Connor - Ballintubber
10. Fergal Boland - Aghamore
11. Ryan O'Donoghue - Belmullet
12. James Durcan - Castlebar Mitchels
13. Tommy Conroy - The Neale
14. James Carr - Ardagh
15. Kevin McLoughlin - Knockmore

I could see Aidan O'Shea replacing Ryan O'Donoghue before throw in.

Eleven changes  I make it from 2017 all ireland final , changing times .

A changing of the Guard! Not as smooth as Dublin's evolution from the team of 2011.

These things don't happen overnight - Ask Tyrone, Donegal and Kerry.

The GAA should be happy. A strong Dublin is badly needed. The rest are there to make up competition and the rest can fade away in tier  2.

Part changing of the gaurd but also part player unavailability. Only 6 named above started the Dublin Semi last year. barrett/keegan/mattie/fionn mc/cillian wont be relinquishing their starting berths come Summer too easily so If even 3 or 4 of the new lads put their hand up for a starting jersey we'll be looking ok.

Galway team for the weekend as per GAA.ie's Cian O'Connell:
C Gleeson
C Murray
G O'Donnell
J Heaney
E Brannigan
J Daly
C McDaid
T Flynn
F O Curraoin
P Kelly
M Daly
M Boyle
A Varley
S Walsh
P Conroy

Experienced line up for a FBD game. I think 11 of that team has played in Connacht senior finals

Two weeks out from the first round of the NFL with no guarantee of a game next week - not sure why anyone would be going with an experimental lineup.

I have a feeling the mayo team will be more experimental, a lot of young forwards theyll be trying to bring through, The likes of Ryan O Donoghue, may be a bit early for Tommy Conroy but we'll see. even plunkett and mccormack in the half back line, interesting to see.

[I've always thought Galway should have been playing more men from the north]

Interesting that 9 of the starting 15 are from north galway (and you could argue its really 11 if Athenry and Monivea are included) Most likely a sign of things to come. I've always thought Galway should have been playing more men from the north, I wonder is this going too far in that direction. Who is Galways last manager from the North, is it Pre Johno?

The North/West Galway football divide is one of the most tiresome and outdated tropes at this stage, it's not the 1960's anymore. Best man for the position regardless of their club should be the aim. If that means 15 North Board players starting I've no issue with that whatsoever once it's on merit but if Galway are to expect great things merely because there are more North Galway players then we should prepare for disappointment.

I Agree! Im not sure that always happened though, the sweeney brothers and even bradshaw come to mind. I think the popular oinion is that Kieran Molloy should have been starting the last 2 years for galway. I have a feeling PJ might go too far the other way though looking at that 15. Its hard not to have bias for your own I suppose. Is that killererin fella any good?

If rumours are to be believed - it seems as if there are a number of players dropped from the panel for 2020. Eoin Kerin, Sean Andy O Ceallaigh and Declan Kyne being three of the more prominent ones in that they have been starters in recent years.
I find this strange personally as all 3 play in the fullback line and we are not known to have much depth/cover in that area.

It looks like PJ has noticed he has about 12 squad players looking to play as half backs and has decided to try square-peg-round-hole them into full back positions. It could work out very well or terribly, time will tell. Liam Silke has one of those spots with his name on it. I don't think anyone is surprised that he has targeted his FB line as an area in need of reform.

Interesting that 9 of the starting 15 are from north galway (and you could argue its really 11 if Athenry and Monivea are included) Most likely a sign of things to come. I've always thought Galway should have been playing more men from the north, I wonder is this going too far in that direction. Who is Galways last manager from the North, is it Pre Johno?