If I managed Dublin or Mayo, they would win the All-Ireland

[Zulu]

What I give above are facts that can't be gainsaid

Outside of quoting statistics about All Irelands won, he has provided no facts. It's very easy to predict X, Y and Z from the comfort of his armchair, what did he achieve in Clare? Now there is an underachieving county and he would only have had to get them to division 2 and produce some decent championship performances to be regarded as a success. Instead the wheels came off entirely under his stewardship, so he is in no position to make any claims.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Paidi is at it again, he is definetly setting seeds in my opinion.

Páidí ó Sé: It's a fact, John -- Mayo are great underachievers
By Páidí ó Sé


Sunday January 10 2010

I HAVE no intention, even for the entertainment of my many thousands of loyal Sunday Independent readers, of getting into a lowdown slugging match with Mayo manager John O'Mahony.


In my new year column on these pages, I ranged over counties that I felt had the potential to win the All-Ireland if their talents were properly harnessed. I said that, if I were to go back to management, there are only two counties in the country that would excite me -- Mayo and Dublin. However, it seems John O'Mahony has taken serious exception to my remarks.


Presumably, John O'Mahony is doing a good job in Mayo and he is quite entitled to his opinions. But, then, so am I. I would have thought, however, that John, having become a Fine Gael TD, would have acquired a thicker skin and become a more hardened street fighter.

He has my respect as a football manager, but I still believe that I have my own abilities to bring to the table -- things that Mayo desperately need at the moment.
I heard his broadcast on RTE radio with Marty Morrissey as I was driving home to Ventry and, as far as I can recall, O'Mahony claimed that he could have led Kerry to more success than I achieved during my time as manager of the county.

O'Mahony subsequently added in the Irish Examiner: "I'd like to think that, if I managed Kerry for eight years, I'd have won more than the two All-Irelands he did with them, especially considering they subsequently won four when he left.

"Our championship last season was defined in people's minds and in our own disappointment by the final 15 minutes against Meath, but, in general terms, what we want to do is retain the Connacht championship and build on it from there."

O'Mahony, who in fairness to him, won the Sam Maguire with Galway in 1998 and 2001, hit back at me by saying: "Unfortunately, unlike Páidí ó Sé, I can't predict or guarantee Mayo an All-Ireland."

Well, John, I stick to my guns: Mayo are an underachieving county, there's buckets of football ability there and I would certainly fancy my chances of winning the All-Ireland if they were in my charge.

The facts speak for themselves: Mayo haven't won an All-Ireland since their two-in-a-row in 1950/'51, both teams captained by Sean Flanagan.

Mayo have a serious tradition and have a huge reservoir of natural footballing ability. By that I mean, at its simplest, the ability to go up in the air, catch the ball, land with it and kick it accurately.

In many parts of the country, you will find players doing all sorts of tricky things, switching the ball from A to B to C to D and back to A again, but getting nowhere at the end of it all. They just don't have the natural football ability and know-how that is in the blood and nature of players from counties like Mayo and Kerry.

As CP Scott said, facts are sacred, comment is free. What I give above are facts that can't be gainsaid and my opinions are my entitlement. Good luck to you John in 2010 and if Mayo pull it off, I hope to be first in the queue to congratulate you.

But let's stick to fair shoulders from now on!

- Páidí ó Sé

Sunday Independent

FFS isn't thats whats wrong with Mayo football, we need to learn how to knee a man in the back and get away with it.

[ludermor]

I love the way Orangeman highlights everything so we dont miss the very important points

[INDIANA]

O' Se and Barry Moran should be tried.

Neither are within an asses roar of being a top notch IC midfielder and I know both of them well so I don't like saying that. I agree with what macdanger2 says, it's all fine and good to criticize the manager but what else could he have done? He stuck with some of the old guard in his first year, I wouldn't have done this from the comfort of my computer but I can well understand why JOM did. Since then he has sought answers to the problems that are there, he dropped Conor Mort, brought Andy Moran back to the half back line, got a good year out of Kilcoyne (who remember got injured along with Aiden O'Se against Meath) and brought O'Se successfully into senior IC football, tried Trevor at center forward and won Connacht.

I could understand criticizing a manager who makes crazy positional changes or is blatantly playing the wrong team but JOM has done neither, yes some might play a slightly different team both positionally and personel-wise but that is true of all teams. Outside of McD there are few genuine alternatives and none that would change things significantly.

I think Barney makes a very good point about how willing the players are to go that extra yard. The players that do benefit in two ways, first they are physically superior to most opponents and secondly they've shown a mental attitude that should stand them well in big games. Players like Conor Mort and Keith Higgins need to make decisions about what they want, Conor needs to dedicate himself to football and mature a bit and Higgins needs to jack in the hurling, if Mayo were strong in both it would be one thing but they aren't, you don't see Galvin playing hurling for Kerry do you?

I think thats a pretty good analysis. But the reality is how many Mayo players would Kerry want for example? Very few. Where as they'd pick a lot more tyrone or cork men. People keep harping on about Mickey moran despite the fact they were hockeyed in the final. I think JM is getting a lot of unfair stick. If Conor Mortimer was interested in regaining his place he wouldn't be in Australia at present.

ah now come on Indiana we all know you don't like the mort but in fairness to the lad he has been playing with mayo continally the past 8-9 years including the minors and he is entitled as anyone to take a break from football and recharge the batteries Alan dillon is gone as well you know.  there is more to life than football , the gooch headed to america, galvin went a lot of tryone lads headed to oz as well and didn't do them any harm. whether you like him or not and its obvious with some of your previous posts that you don't he has given a lot of commintment to mayo

He has given commitment. But he could have been a really top player had he pushed himself. Mayo needed him to be a top player and he hasn't delivered consistently enough to merit that . mayo have had too many players like that. Similar to a lot of counties like my own.

[The Konica]

Paidi is right.

So is Johnno.

Mayo are an underachieving county, but they are also never going to win another for a long time to come, with or without JOM

Paidi never really worked his magic anywhere else. In Wmeath he had Liam doing all the work and him giving team talks. JOM would have done a lot better with them too.

I would n't be so harsh on Mortimer ... for Mayo's sake Mortimer is better staying in Oz for a while as it would give them a chance to find a player who can deliver consistently against quality opposition like they face when they get out of Connacht and play within a forward unit or a team player. I think it will be good for Mayo if JOM unearths a new talent.

Mayo just don't have it and sadly I have never seen anything in the past 20 odd years to suggest they'll ever win Sam.

[Tubberman]

Mayo just don't have it and sadly I have never seen anything in the past 20 odd years to suggest they'll ever win Sam.

While it's probably right that Mayo aren't going to win an All-Ireland this year or next, to say that we're never going to win an All-Ireland based on what happened in the last 20 years just makes no sense.
The past 20 years has damn all to do with the next 20 years - there'll be completely different players and management.

Tyrone had never won an All-Ireland prior to 2003. If you said in 1999 that nothing in the previous 20 years suggested they'd ever win an AI you'd be looking a right fool now.

[HowAreYeGettinOn]

Mayo just don't have it and sadly I have never seen anything in the past 20 odd years to suggest they'll ever win Sam.

While it's probably right that Mayo aren't going to win an All-Ireland this year or next, to say that we're never going to win an All-Ireland based on what happened in the last 20 years just makes no sense.
The past 20 years has damn all to do with the next 20 years - there'll be completely different players and management.

Tyrone had never won an All-Ireland prior to 2003. If you said in 1999 that nothing in the previous 20 years suggested they'd ever win an AI you'd be looking a right fool now.

+1

If you'd said after the 1995 Connaught Final that Mayo would make the All-Ireland final the next year you would have been laughed out of Galway.

[INDIANA]

Mayo just don't have it and sadly I have never seen anything in the past 20 odd years to suggest they'll ever win Sam.

While it's probably right that Mayo aren't going to win an All-Ireland this year or next, to say that we're never going to win an All-Ireland based on what happened in the last 20 years just makes no sense.
The past 20 years has damn all to do with the next 20 years - there'll be completely different players and management.

Tyrone had never won an All-Ireland prior to 2003. If you said in 1999 that nothing in the previous 20 years suggested they'd ever win an AI you'd be looking a right fool now.

Totally agree. Watching Tyrone impode against sligo in 2002 in CP. I would have put the mortgage on  Tyrone having as much chance of landing the all-ireland in 2003 as Ireland winning the soccer WC.

There is no reason why mayo can't build like any other county.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Tyrone had never won an All-Ireland prior to 2003. If you said in 1999 that nothing in the previous 20 years suggested they'd ever win an AI you'd be looking a right fool now.

Totally agree. Watching Tyrone impode against sligo in 2002 in CP. I would have put the mortgage on  Tyrone having as much chance of landing the all-ireland in 2003 as Ireland winning the soccer WC.

Fair point but... there was one extremely significant difference between Tyrone 2002 and Tyrone 2003: Mickey Harte.

Could that extremely significant difference for Mayo be the bould Páidí? 

[Hardy]

Tyrone had never won an All-Ireland prior to 2003. If you said in 1999 that nothing in the previous 20 years suggested they'd ever win an AI you'd be looking a right fool now.

Totally agree. Watching Tyrone impode against sligo in 2002 in CP. I would have put the mortgage on  Tyrone having as much chance of landing the all-ireland in 2003 as Ireland winning the soccer WC.

Fair point but... there was one extremely significant difference between Tyrone 2002 and Tyrone 2003: Mickey Harte.

Could that extremely significant difference for Mayo be the bould Páidí? 

Emmm ... no!

[diehard]

I have great respect for JOM but I think he is tired.  He has been managing IC team for 27+ years.  How long can a manager stay sharp and creative?  I know Mick O' is an example .....but a very rare one.  As well JOM has other interests now.
I think he has reached the end of the line even if he himself doesnt realise it.

[muppet]

I have great respect for JOM but I think he is tired.  He has been managing IC team for 27+ years.  How long can a manager stay sharp and creative?  I know Mick O' is an example .....but a very rare one.  As well JOM has other interests now.
I think he has reached the end of the line even if he himself doesnt realise it.

Welcome to the board John, Barney has been waiting.

[southsidejohnny]

 Cabin Fever


First we had the snow, then the big freeze, followed by the thaw, the slush and the slubber. The first flakes fell in Dunboyne around the 17th of December and since then we have lived the life of a frontiersman. Stock up on the milk and the bread. Keep the fire burning and venture out only when necessary. All made worse by living in suburbia with four growing teenagers eating up the precious heat and space, not mentioning the food.
Put bluntly, I am suffering from cabin fever, a malady that once affected those intrepid expeditionary driven men like Shackelton, Lewis and Clarke. I devour every newspaper I can lay hands on. I trawl the various football sites looking for arguments and fight. The television is safe from me because I now firmly believe in the old adage "more is less". We have about 900 channels on ours of which 898 are pure and utter junk.
So when I read Paidi O Se's piece in the first Sunday Independent of the New Year I immediately recognized the symptoms. The genial Kerry man was suffering withdrawal symptoms allied to a bad dose of cabin fever. He missed the football and its associated banter. He was penned into his home village in Ventry. I sympathized, football especially the GAA version is a drug. That's why I am writing this piece in an effort to keep sane!
Paidi was bored and missed the cut and thrust of what made his fame and name. He missed the bite of being head capo, the planning, the scheming, the phone calls, the conspiracies and thwarted heaves. Politics is only a poor substitute for a man who drove the engine of the great Kerry team. Politics is a poor substitute for the man who walked the line in those awful looking runners, as he strode beside his equals.
No more smile's and in jokes with the greatest, his old mentor that old fox Dwyer. No chance to get one over the new kid on the block, young Harte from Tyrone. As he looked out his window he saw most avenues of escape blocked off. A season of backing everybody against Kerry and Jack O Conner last year backfired. Jack said nothing; the All-Ireland garnered in 2009 said it all. Paidi had to dream.
No chance in Kerry, no hope in Cork, and not wanted in Tyrone. Not a lot left. Armagh had broken into the field next door and put Paddy O Rourke in the saddle. The man whom most Armagh folk wanted back on the pony was now domiciled in Galway. Jeez what was left? Westmeath? Tried that once, thanks but no thanks. Then he smiled for the first time in weeks, Dublin and Mayo. Why not? That's all that's left when you really think about it. It doesn't say a lot for the state of football nationwide does it.
So suffering from cabin fever and boredom, in effect just like the rest of us, Paidi chanced a little mischief. Two throw away lines about promising an All-Ireland to Mayo or Dublin if only he had the chance. I smiled and caught the significance of his mischief. I waited and watched the web sites. They were slow to bite, then a trickle with the usual guff. Dublin and its manager had their Blue Stars v the Dubs match and merrily ignored Paidi as the blizzard passed over. And then the volcano rumbled. What was seen by some as a riposte of high merit towards Paidi , the Mayo manager opinioned that had he been in charge of the Kerry team for the length of Paidi was, the return in All-Irelands might be somewhat higher.
Whoosh!, a bit like a row developing in the school yard where the two protagonists are sounding off at each other. One gets a sore retort in, the other replies, upping the ante. Meanwhile the mob of onlookers that circle the two warring boys up the temperature with whoops of oohs and aahhs. So I waited outside the Eurospar last Sunday morning from 6a.m just to get the Sunday Independent and read Paidi's reply!. No I didn't, I just bought it after 11:30 Mass.
In the war about nothing Paidi came across as wounded and miffed. He closed with a plea of asking the Mayo man to use the shoulder fairly next time out. Now that to me is ominous. Kerry men don't like to be ambushed as we know. The future promises to be interesting. A perceived slight that was best to be ignored, has caught a thread on a briar. One man felt the heat from another who was confined to his cabin. Our winter was shortened by the crossfire. Oh for the Mayo man to take that fire into the forth coming frays, then Paidi might have to look at a different county to add to the Dublin one. If not, then on the other hand, that bit of hand bagging in early January might be revisited early this coming summer.

[Hardy]

Good man Johnny.

[Lar Naparka]

Well done, Johnny; that's mighty without a doubt !