Mayo Vs Meath - All-Ireland Quarter Finals

[INDIANA]

Where's the joy in being in 2nd best Stephenite? I mean has anyone ever used getting to a final and being beaten as part of a badge of honour? Is that not part of the problem

[stephenite]

can anyone tell me why every year Mayo get hyped out of all proportion

I don't think it was hype to expect to beat this Meath team after beating Galway in a close provincial decider in Salthill?

That's this year out of the way...... don't think we were hyped in 07 and 08?

2006 no hype either, in fact we boxed above our weight and in hindsight beating the Dubs that year wasn't as good an acheievement as it appeared at the time (no taking away from the great game it was).

2004 - per 2006.

From 2000 to 2003 i can't remeber any hype?

Mayo were the second best team in the country in both those summers. Who do you think was the second best team in the country those summers if not Mayo?

Mayo may have got to the final in 2004 and 2006 but are you seriously suggesting that there wasnt another team in the country that wouldnt have given Kerry a bit more of a game. They got raped FFS.

That's exactly what I'm seriously suggesting. If there was a better team, why didn't they beat Mayo along the way? I mean, that's how the competition works, isn't it? You think Dublin would have done better against Kerry in 2006? When they couldn't sit out a seven point lead against Mayou with fifteen minutes to go? Fermanagh in 2004?

So Tyrone or Armagh would have got killed by Kerry as well in 2004 and 2006, somehow i doubt it.

Tyrone got beaten by Mayo in 2004, Armagh weren't good enough to make an All Ireland final in 2004 and 2006 - kind of makes a mockery of your argument

Ok keep believing Mayo were the 2nd best team in those years. Ye lot seem comfortable in that role.

Answer me this - if Mayo weren't the second best team in 2004 and 2006, who was?

There's no honour or joy Indiana, I'm not trying to claim second to salvage some sort of pride, I'm just trying to figure out the logic is saying others wouldn't have got beaten by the same margin in the final, when those teams couldn't beat us? It just makes no sense - and I don't buy into the whole because "it's Mayo"

[JMohan]

Come second
Hold it as a badge of honour
Moan about being hard done by
When it's pointed out attack the messenger

[kevmy]

so the dust has settled a little today so I'll put in my 2 cents.

To get the controversial out of the way first. The officials had a big hand in this game. The 45 the first score Meath got wasn't one, the ref was 40 yards away and overturned his umpire. Bad call. That sideline was a Mayo ball and the penalty itself was very soft.
These were vital calls at vital times at both of these times if we had tacked on another couple of scores we may have won the match.

Also the injuries were bad luck Kilcoyne and O'Shea had scored something like 1-4 from play between them before they went off and looked our most threatening players.

The call to replace Moran with Parsons wasn't the right one and I hope this puts an end to the Parsons as a forward brigade. He's a good prospect at midfield and thats it. I think this was the worst call Johnno made all year.

The full back line was a little dodgy and there is a need for proper corner backs but it's not like there's too many lads with their hand up looking to be picked.

I was a bit disappointed with the way our heads dropped for 5 mins towards the end.

typical mayo whining.................

How is that whining. I said our full back line was dodgy, we shouldn't have played Parsons at FF and that we dropped our heads. None of that is whining - rather they are in my view the main reasons, allied with injuries picked up during the game, why we lost.

But I don't think you can avoid the big decisions most people - including neutrals - think went against us.

Fair play to Meath when they had their chances they took them and pushed on to victory in the final quarter much better than we did in the first quarter. I don't think there is much between the two teams though. Some luck and that final bit of belief that Meath had took them over the line

[stephenite]

Come second
Hold it as a badge of honour
Moan about being hard done by
When it's pointed out attack the messenger

Who's holding it as a badge of honour?
Who's moaning about being hard gone by?
Who's attacking the messanger?

[shakermaker]

I see some of the fans from other Counties are putting the boot in now after yesterdays defeat.  Brolly did it as well yesterday.  I don't think there is anything wrong with fans wanting success but that does not translate into EVERY Mayo fan expecting success.  I didn't think we had a team to win Sam but I was hopeful we could turn over Meath.  How is that cocky?  Connacht champions against a team struggling to find form.  Ok on the day Meath got the better of us but they didn't shame us and on another day we might have won.  That is football.

Once again we have to go back to the drawing board and hope that some of the youngsters coming through can make the step up.  Success breeds success and those lads that are used to winning in the other set ups need to be introduced to the senior panel next season.  Fingers crossed we can shake this losers tag once and for all.  

Things we need to improve on:

1:  Strength and aggression.  We are still too lightweight and for a County that produces many a giant I'm baffled as to why we can't send out a team full of monsters.  Mayo need to lose the nice guy image and get aggressive.  

2:  Mental attitude.  If we do lose a 4 point lead in a matter of seconds don't lose the head.  The game is not over.  Finish teams off when we have the chances.  Meath should have been buried after 20 minutes but we let them right back into the game.  We seem to switch off when in front and I'm a sure sport psychologist could do something about it.

[Zulu]

Looking at the greater picture, we have become so used to being hit by bad luck, poor referees and shots fated to always hit the post on the wrong side. Yesterday was just another day for me in a long, long list of what might have beens.
It seems the feeling that we are always going to get knocked off the rails somehow is deeply ingrained in our collective psyche and this resignation seems to affect our players as well.
I was worried about Keith Duggan's book when it was published because it provided proof for many that we are indeed condemned to go on and on, always being denied our just desserts by forces outside our control.

This malaise doesn't seem to exist at u21 level and yesterday we had lots of lads with medals to prove it. Even a manager with a proven track record made no difference either. For me, the result yesterday will reinforce the "Oh woe is me" mentality and we will now find it even harder to ever get to the Promised Land.
Yep, we sure had our quota of hard luck yesterday and that's for sure but a team with a tougher mindset would never have let Meath back into the game.  

No offence intended but Mayo need to stop this shite talk about bad luck, if the ball hits the post it's because you weren't good enough to hit it through the rather large space between the posts. If the ref makes a bad decision you dust yourself down and win the next ball, luck had nothing to do with Heaney, who couldn't score from 21 yards, trying to score from 41 yards or Kenneth O'Malley punching a ball he should have caught, Andy Moran waiting for a ball that he should have attacked etc.

I read Duggan's book and it's a great read but other counties have had hard luck stories too, not least Tyrone but they got their house in order and decided they weren't going to let a bit of bad luck hold them back from winning AI's. Mayo need to stop blaming managers, refs, hoodoo's or whatever and get down to doing what's necessary to win AI's.

[stephenite]

Looking at the greater picture, we have become so used to being hit by bad luck, poor referees and shots fated to always hit the post on the wrong side. Yesterday was just another day for me in a long, long list of what might have beens.
It seems the feeling that we are always going to get knocked off the rails somehow is deeply ingrained in our collective psyche and this resignation seems to affect our players as well.
I was worried about Keith Duggan's book when it was published because it provided proof for many that we are indeed condemned to go on and on, always being denied our just desserts by forces outside our control.

This malaise doesn't seem to exist at u21 level and yesterday we had lots of lads with medals to prove it. Even a manager with a proven track record made no difference either. For me, the result yesterday will reinforce the "Oh woe is me" mentality and we will now find it even harder to ever get to the Promised Land.
Yep, we sure had our quota of hard luck yesterday and that's for sure but a team with a tougher mindset would never have let Meath back into the game.  

No offence intended but Mayo need to stop this shite talk about bad luck, if the ball hits the post it's because you weren't good enough to hit it through the rather large space between the posts. If the ref makes a bad decision you dust yourself down and win the next ball, luck had nothing to do with Heaney, who couldn't score from 21 yards, trying to score from 41 yards or Kenneth O'Malley punching a ball he should have caught, Andy Moran waiting for a ball that he should have attacked etc.

I read Duggan's book and it's a great read but other counties have had hard luck stories too, not least Tyrone but they got their house in order and decided they weren't going to let a bit of bad luck hold them back from winning AI's. Mayo need to stop blaming managers, refs, hoodoo's or whatever and get down to doing what's necessary to win AI's.

Spot on Zulu

[highorlow]

2:  Mental attitude.  If we do lose a 4 point lead in a matter of seconds don't lose the head.  The game is not over.  Finish teams off when we have the chances.  Meath should have been buried after 20 minutes but we let them right back into the game.  We seem to switch off when in front and I'm a sure sport psychologist could do something about it.

We have one in the backroom team, he is the Irish Boxing Teams Sports Psychologist.........

[Zulu]

In fairness a psychologist can't come in and fix the various issues 30 different lads have in 2 or 3 months. Some lads will get great benefits from using one but they need to be part of teh backroom team on a constant basis and over a number of years for real changes to become appartent.

[highorlow]

In fairness a psychologist can't come in and fix the various issues 30 different lads have in 2 or 3 months. Some lads will get great benefits from using one but they need to be part of teh backroom team on a constant basis and over a number of years for real changes to become appartent.

Your probably correct but I don't really buy into it much for a team sport anyhow. The psychologist isn't the one out on the field kicking the ball over the bar.

[AbbeySider]

1:  Strength and aggression.  We are still too lightweight and for a County that produces many a giant I'm baffled as to why we can't send out a team full of monsters.  Mayo need to lose the nice guy image and get aggressive.  

2:  Mental attitude.  If we do lose a 4 point lead in a matter of seconds don't lose the head.  The game is not over.  Finish teams off when we have the chances.  Meath should have been buried after 20 minutes but we let them right back into the game.  We seem to switch off when in front and I'm a sure sport psychologist could do something about it.

Good points

[JMohan]

Come second
Hold it as a badge of honour
Moan about being hard done by
When it's pointed out attack the messenger

Who's holding it as a badge of honour?
Who's moaning about being hard gone by?
Who's attacking the messanger?

Sadly some of your fellow county men

[Zulu]

Well that's a different argument highorlow, I know some players who find them excellent and others who don't want to use them at all but if you are going to use them, bringing them in in May is pointless. Either have him/her there for the team over a three year period or don't have them at all.

[INDIANA]

In fairness a psychologist can't come in and fix the various issues 30 different lads have in 2 or 3 months. Some lads will get great benefits from using one but they need to be part of teh backroom team on a constant basis and over a number of years for real changes to become appartent.

Your probably correct but I don't really buy into it much for a team sport anyhow. The psychologist isn't the one out on the field kicking the ball over the bar.

No psychologist can put desire to get to a breaking ball into a player. If that fight isn't inherent in somebody they can't do it for them. They can help in relation to other areas but they can't wave a magic wand and eradicate weaknesses like that.
Meath dominated the breaking ball yesterday.