Maigh Eo V Muineachán 28/3/2010

[moysider]

if fit 5 will be Gardiner for the championship i dont think there is much point in debating that. he is central to the way mayo play with his lightning quick breaks from the half back line. Vaughn is pressing him hard but peader is one of the stone cold certainties .
If you say McG and Parspmd ar definite for midfied that involves moving Dillion frim CHF if you want to accommodate S oSé .
Personally i would prefer if JOM nailed his colours to the mast and picked 2 from 3 and on balance id say head pick Oé and Mcgarrity, don't for get how peripheral a figure parsons was last summer. hes had a very good league and brought himself right back fair play but. JOM is a stubborn man  and I feel Parsons couls be Joining CMort on the bench against his fellow countymen(are you reading  sligonian :})

Hmmmm. Not into debate eh? Or maybe not when it does nt suit your agenda. Lightening quick breaks are great but if they end up in a silly turnover they're worse than useless. To be honest I dont think Peadar would have got 1-1 from Vaughan s opportunities the last day - more likely 1 fisted point.  I m not going to debate your Peadar Gardiner stance, but nobody is beyond debate.  I ve the height of respect for him and I ve no doubt that he ll be started if fit. Johnno clearly sees him as a leader, like Trevor, and will be first choice.
Dillon should be chf regardless of who is surplus in midfield. It would bring us on to another level with his vision and passing ability and the rest. Let the big lads out on the wing running through the channels.
  No chance of Parsons being on the bench - management should get tarred and feathered if he has another glugger year. If Kerry had him he would be with Declan O Sullivan as their game breaker. After Keith H and Dillon he is the class act on the team. And if management could tune him in he could be the most important footballer in the country this year. Delighted with him so far. Showing he is a special talent but nobody is noticing, thank God.  Imagine if anybody else had scored that goal v Kerry, caught that mark v Monaghan while yawning at the same time, put Vaughan through for that goal and faded over that last point as well.... Keith and Dillon only rank above Parsons because they ve consistancy as well as class. Parsons can be the most important Mayo player in 6 decades. I think management should get him on as much go forward ball as possible come championship- not battering around kick-outs and stuff. O Sé and MCG in midfield and Parsons in the hf line.

[mannix]

Light hearted enough stuff, Conor is a cheeky bucko and has made lots of people talk, some good and some not so good. If he keeps the head down and does his best he may end up leaving Kenneth jealous.

[Foreverhopeful]

Ya parsons is like Declan O'Sullivan with his direct running at speed through defences. Mayo were never able to cope with Dec in the All-irelands. Not many can. Parsons is doing well and hopefully will get better. He isn't a scrapper in the middle. it's just not him. Notice how he has improved with the addition of Seamie in there. His best form underage was beside S O'Shea. Would love to see James kilcullen as back-up for Seamie as our grafter now.

Foreverhopeful
Did Mikey Sweeney tackle your sister or something? You have been going on about him since you came to the board. He is just out of U21's and is still developing, has pace to burn, a good eye for goal but needs to fill out. Knowing the stock he comes from that will happen and in my biased view he is well worth his place in the squad where he could be used in certain games , maybe not all. You dont live up to your name in contantly dismissing the lad.

Pace to burn . I'm sick of mayo footballers being picked on their physical attributes rather than their footballing ability. Has happened far too much underage and has stalled mayo's progress. Players with real ability losing out to the quick lad or the strong lad. There is a lot of good footballers who have massive ability but are not spotted because selectors, managers etc. are so blinkered in their views on what a good footballer is.
Finally JOM has seen the light and has players like Enda Varley in his team. He is a proper good footballer. Mikey Sweeney is a speed merchant undoubtedly.  But he reminds me of Theo walcott in soccer. Pace is his only game and when thats stopped there's not much else.
I know i'm coming across harsh on Mikey Sweeney but i'm gonna call it as i see it. I'd love if he went out and proved me wrong.

[Puckoon]

Very much enjoyed that piece on the mort.

[macdanger2]

Great to see SO'S doing well this year, his workrate and physicality has made a huge difference to us this year, hope he can continue it on into the summer.....

[Farrandeelin]

To be honest, I'd leave S O'Shea and Parsons at midfield. They've been doing well there and haven't dropped many balls unlike McGarrity does.

[AbbeySider]

Ya parsons is like Declan O'Sullivan with his direct running at speed through defences. Mayo were never able to cope with Dec in the All-irelands. Not many can. Parsons is doing well and hopefully will get better. He isn't a scrapper in the middle. it's just not him. Notice how he has improved with the addition of Seamie in there. His best form underage was beside S O'Shea. Would love to see James kilcullen as back-up for Seamie as our grafter now.

Foreverhopeful
Did Mikey Sweeney tackle your sister or something? You have been going on about him since you came to the board. He is just out of U21's and is still developing, has pace to burn, a good eye for goal but needs to fill out. Knowing the stock he comes from that will happen and in my biased view he is well worth his place in the squad where he could be used in certain games , maybe not all. You dont live up to your name in contantly dismissing the lad.

Pace to burn . I'm sick of mayo footballers being picked on their physical attributes rather than their footballing ability. Has happened far too much underage and has stalled mayo's progress. Players with real ability losing out to the quick lad or the strong lad. There is a lot of good footballers who have massive ability but are not spotted because selectors, managers etc. are so blinkered in their views on what a good footballer is.
Finally JOM has seen the light and has players like Enda Varley in his team. He is a proper good footballer. Mikey Sweeney is a speed merchant undoubtedly.  But he reminds me of Theo walcott in soccer. Pace is his only game and when thats stopped there's not much else.
I know i'm coming across harsh on Mikey Sweeney but i'm gonna call it as i see it. I'd love if he went out and proved me wrong.

Good post Foreverhopeful, I have been harping along the same lines for ages.

[AbbeySider]

Great to see SO'S doing well this year, his workrate and physicality has made a huge difference to us this year, hope he can continue it on into the summer.....

To be honest, I'd leave S O'Shea and Parsons at midfield. They've been doing well there and haven't dropped many balls unlike McGarrity does.

Ya fair play to him. He is very powerful running through the middle and must have drawn and won 4 frees in a row as Monaghan just couldnt deal with him and had to haul him down time and time again.

He is a big addition and brings a new dimension to 11. His workrate is through the roof for a forward and he does a lot of selfless tracking and tackling. Himself, McGarity and Parsons all complement each other, especially for kickouts.

I think a half line of Dillon, S O Se, Andy Moran is very strong. Its classically strong in the middle and fast on the wings. Having O Se imposing himself on the game gives Dillon and Andy Moran a bit more room to do their damage and spade work on the wings. I always said that Dillon would be a better option as a centre forward but that was when we were playing two small men inside or a small full forward line.

Now im thinking that we have better ball winners inside with AOS and Varley so the precision of ball going into them does not have to be as good as it can go in high or low as both can win the 50-50 balls. Even the Mort seems to be winning a bit more than usual although he had a few wides on Sunday.

[Foreverhopeful]

good discussion going on here lads, great to have these options this year. Picking the forwards is going to give JOM a serious headache.
Here's a forward line that didn't start the last day:
Harte           B Kelly      A Freeman/N Douglas
Ronaldson   B Moran     A kilcoyne
Thats very impressive in my eyes.

[AbbeySider]

good discussion going on here lads, great to have these options this year. Picking the forwards is going to give JOM a serious headache.
Here's a forward line that didn't start the last day:
Harte           B Kelly      A Freeman/N Douglas
Ronaldson   B Moran     A kilcoyne
Thats very impressive in my eyes.

Id swap Kilcoyne and Douglas and its a bit more balanced. But yeah, there is a good battle going on there.

[GBXII]

if fit 5 will be Gardiner for the championship i don't think there is much point in debating that. he is central to the way mayo play with his lightning quick breaks from the half back line. Vaughn is pressing him hard but peader is one of the stone cold certainties .
If you say McG and Parspmd ar definite for midfied that involves moving Dillion frim CHF if you want to accommodate S oSé .
Personally i would prefer if JOM nailed his colours to the mast and picked 2 from 3 and on balance id say head pick Oé and Mcgarrity, don't for get how peripheral a figure parsons was last summer. hes had a very good league and brought himself right back fair play but. JOM is a stubborn man  and I feel Parsons couls be Joining CMort on the bench against his fellow countymen(are you reading  sligonian :})

Hmmmm. Not into debate eh? Or maybe not when it does nt suit your agenda. Lightening quick breaks are great but if they end up in a silly turnover they're worse than useless. To be honest I dont think Peadar would have got 1-1 from Vaughan s opportunities the last day - more likely 1 fisted point.  I m not going to debate your Peadar Gardiner stance, but nobody is beyond debate.  I ve the height of respect for him and I ve no doubt that he ll be started if fit. Johnno clearly sees him as a leader, like Trevor, and will be first choice.
Dillon should be chf regardless of who is surplus in midfield. It would bring us on to another level with his vision and passing ability and the rest. Let the big lads out on the wing running through the channels.
  No chance of Parsons being on the bench - management should get tarred and feathered if he has another glugger year. If Kerry had him he would be with Declan O Sullivan as their game breaker. After Keith H and Dillon he is the class act on the team. And if management could tune him in he could be the most important footballer in the country this year. Delighted with him so far. Showing he is a special talent but nobody is noticing, thank God.  Imagine if anybody else had scored that goal v Kerry, caught that mark v Monaghan while yawning at the same time, put Vaughan through for that goal and faded over that last point as well.... Keith and Dillon only rank above Parsons because they ve consistancy as well as class. Parsons can be the most important Mayo player in 6 decades. I think management should get him on as much go forward ball as possible come championship- not battering around kick-outs and stuff. O Sé and MCG in midfield and Parsons in the hf line.

One of the best posts I've read in a while there Moysider. Parsons is the most naturally talented footballer on the team and Keith Higgins/Alan Dillon a close second. Higgins is absolutely vital though because of our lack of quality corner backs. Shows how good Higgins is that his better position would be wing back but he's still, by far, our best corner back. Also, Dillon is crucial to the forwards and has become the main man in that area of the field, his free taking was badly missed when he went off against Monaghan.

However, I would say that come Championship it will be Parsons and McGarrity midfield with S O'Shea wearing number 11 but playing around the middle also, giving Parsons the freedom to make his runs forward. Dillon would wear 12 but probably play 11 and that would leave space on the wings for the wing backs to attack into. Parsons could be a good 11 but you're missing out on some incredible fielding ability if he plays 11.

I would leave Ger Caff at FB even though it seems he had a couple of poor games. He's the best FB in the squad and he hasn't played much senior football so with time I think he will turn out to be a good FB  and an important player. I think if Tom Cunniffe gets back from injury soon he should start 6 and Trevor start in the corner. I think Cunniffes distribution is better and he's more mobile and would be more suited to CFs like Pierce O'Neill and Declan O'Sullivan.

[Mayo4Sam]

Moysider, I wouldn't normally agree with you but in an argument with Ros..............

I like the idea of Parsons in the half forwards & I agree Dillon has to be CHF, he is our one true class forward.
I dont think it'll happen, mainly because we have enough problems selecting the forwards, given that AOS, TM, A Moran & Dillon are given we have to get 2 more from:
Harte
Conor
Killer
Varley
Ronny
B Moran
A Moran

Tough choices, Varley on form is a shoo in, i think based on last years form Killer was our best forward, B moran is a good option

[Mayo4Sam]

Mayo recover from poor start to win fifth game of campaign

Division 1
Mayo 2-12
Monaghan 0-15

Mike Finnerty
Castlebar

THESE are the days that remind us why Mayo football can be as frustrating as it can be intoxicating. Why? Because this group of young men is capable of mixing it with any team in the country when the mood takes them. And, of course, they can just as easily lose their way and struggle with the basics on any given Sunday.
Last weekend we were treated to the full gamut of emotions as the homeside allowed Monaghan build up a six-point lead, twice, before recovering their composure in the final quarter to shoot a goal and eight points to save the day. Confused? Well, you should be.
"I would say that we dominated that game for twenty minutes but managed to win it," Mayo manager John O'Mahony reckoned afterwards. "Monaghan dominated for the other fifty-five minutes."
His assessment was as accurate as it was honest. Mayo mixed the good, bad and mediocre at McHale Park but still came away with their fifth win from six matches and they remain on course for their second NFL final in four years.
The story of the game itself is easily told. A fired-up, highly-motivated Monaghan were full value for their 0-9 to 0-3 lead after 36 minutes. Playing with the aid of the breeze, they were dominant in most sectors and picked off some eye-catching scores.
They outmuscled Mayo around the middle as Darren Hughes, Dick Clerkin and Paul Finlay set the tone while Conor McManus was a revelation at full-forward, causing Kieran Conroy problems with his pace.
After 42 minutes, the visitors were ahead by 0-13 to 1-4. They had taken Donal Vaughan's goal four minutes into first-half injury-time on the chin, and replied with the first four points of the second half. Paul Finlay (who ended the afternoon with eight points) and the aforementioned McManus doing the damage.
It was at this stage that Mayo decided to get down to work and the tide started to turn when Aidan O'Shea drilled in his first goal of the season on 48 minutes after he had claimed Andy Moran's 'garryowen' in behind his marker.
That score opened the floodgates and Monaghan were outscored by 0-7 to 0-2 from there to the finish. "Monaghan tend to push up a lot," explained O'Mahony afterwards. "They're really in your face but they tend to leave some space at the back if you can exploit it. It took us a while to do that but the goals were crucial."
That second goal proved a decisive moment and, all over the field, Mayo were transformed. Liam O'Malley was outstanding in the full-back line, the half-back line of Vaughan, Howley and McLoughlin pushed forward, and Seamus O'Shea and Tom Parsons started to come into their own.
Points rained over from Conor Mortimer (free) and Kevin McLoughlin to level the match for the first time before Mark Ronaldson edged Mayo ahead in the 58th minute. Further long-range points from Enda Varley and Chris Barrett gave them breathing space.
Monaghan's place-kicker Paul Finlay kept things interesting with a brace of late frees but the game was closed out when Andy Moran and Tom Parsons nailed scores in stoppage-time.
It had been a much different story for the vast majority of the first half. Three frees from Paul Finlay and a couple of booming place-kicks from Darren Hughes were supplemented by well-taken points from Conor McManus (2), Stephen Gollogly and Tommy Freeman as Monaghan set the tone.
However, in hindsight, Donal Vaughan's goal in the 39th minute (with the last kick of the first half) hauled Mayo back from the brink and instead of being dead and buried, they only trailed by 1-4 to 0-9.
And the moral of the story according to John O'Mahony? "That we can battle. Whatever criticisms one might have about the display, we wore them down and stayed in the game until we got the chances. Then we closed it out. I'd regard that as progress."

Mayo
D Clarke; L O'Malley, K Conroy, K Higgins; D Vaughan (1-1), T Howley, K McLoughlin (0-1); T Parsons (0-1), S O'Shea; A Moran (0-1), A O'Shea (1-0), T Mortimer; E Varley (0-2, 1f), A Dillon (0-2, 1f), C Mortimer (0-1, f).Subs used: M Ronaldson (0-2) for Dillon (inj); C Barrett (0-1) for Higgins (inj); G Cafferkey for Howley.

Monaghan
S Duffy; D McArdle, N McAdam, C Greenan; C Walshe, D Hughes (0-2, 1f, '45), D Mone; D Clerkin, P Finlay (0-8, 7fs); S Gollogly (0-1), H McElroy, K Hughes; D Malone, C McManus (0-3), T Freeman (0-1).
Subs used: C Hanratty for McElroy; V Corey for McArdle; JP Mone for Gollogly; R Woods for Malone.

Referee: R Hickey (Clare)

[RedandGreenSniper]

if fit 5 will be Gardiner for the championship i don't think there is much point in debating that. he is central to the way mayo play with his lightning quick breaks from the half back line. Vaughn is pressing him hard but peader is one of the stone cold certainties .
If you say McG and Parspmd ar definite for midfied that involves moving Dillion frim CHF if you want to accommodate S oSé .
Personally i would prefer if JOM nailed his colours to the mast and picked 2 from 3 and on balance id say head pick Oé and Mcgarrity, don't for get how peripheral a figure parsons was last summer. hes had a very good league and brought himself right back fair play but. JOM is a stubborn man  and I feel Parsons couls be Joining CMort on the bench against his fellow countymen(are you reading  sligonian :})

Hmmmm. Not into debate eh? Or maybe not when it does nt suit your agenda. Lightening quick breaks are great but if they end up in a silly turnover they're worse than useless. To be honest I dont think Peadar would have got 1-1 from Vaughan s opportunities the last day - more likely 1 fisted point.  I m not going to debate your Peadar Gardiner stance, but nobody is beyond debate.  I ve the height of respect for him and I ve no doubt that he ll be started if fit. Johnno clearly sees him as a leader, like Trevor, and will be first choice.
Dillon should be chf regardless of who is surplus in midfield. It would bring us on to another level with his vision and passing ability and the rest. Let the big lads out on the wing running through the channels.
  No chance of Parsons being on the bench - management should get tarred and feathered if he has another glugger year. If Kerry had him he would be with Declan O Sullivan as their game breaker. After Keith H and Dillon he is the class act on the team. And if management could tune him in he could be the most important footballer in the country this year. Delighted with him so far. Showing he is a special talent but nobody is noticing, thank God.  Imagine if anybody else had scored that goal v Kerry, caught that mark v Monaghan while yawning at the same time, put Vaughan through for that goal and faded over that last point as well.... Keith and Dillon only rank above Parsons because they ve consistancy as well as class. Parsons can be the most important Mayo player in 6 decades. I think management should get him on as much go forward ball as possible come championship- not battering around kick-outs and stuff. O Sé and MCG in midfield and Parsons in the hf line.

One of the best posts I've read in a while there Moysider. Parsons is the most naturally talented footballer on the team and Keith Higgins/Alan Dillon a close second. Higgins is absolutely vital though because of our lack of quality corner backs. Shows how good Higgins is that his better position would be wing back but he's still, by far, our best corner back. Also, Dillon is crucial to the forwards and has become the main man in that area of the field, his free taking was badly missed when he went off against Monaghan.

However, I would say that come Championship it will be Parsons and McGarrity midfield with S O'Shea wearing number 11 but playing around the middle also, giving Parsons the freedom to make his runs forward. Dillon would wear 12 but probably play 11 and that would leave space on the wings for the wing backs to attack into. Parsons could be a good 11 but you're missing out on some incredible fielding ability if he plays 11.

I would leave Ger Caff at FB even though it seems he had a couple of poor games. He's the best FB in the squad and he hasn't played much senior football so with time I think he will turn out to be a good FB  and an important player. I think if Tom Cunniffe gets back from injury soon he should start 6 and Trevor start in the corner. I think Cunniffes distribution is better and he's more mobile and would be more suited to CFs like Pierce O'Neill and Declan O'Sullivan.

Jaysus lads ye are fierce excitable about Parsons. I recognise he has ability but to describe him as having the potential to be the most important Mayo player of the last six decades? Well that's stretching it. I know the implication you are making there Moysider but if Mayo win an All-Ireland, Tom Parsons won't be the single greatest driving force.

[mannix]

Still cannot understand how Mayo were so much fitter than monaghan for the last 20 minutes, they say that Monaghan are training hard and Mayo train once a week, likewise that Kerry are training hard. If they are training that hard would they not be fitter?
If I run 3 miles tuesday,wednesday and friday and my opponent runs 3 mile on wednesday only should I expect to be fitter than him for a weekend race?
Andy Moran looked in some games of this league to be a champion sprinter, how can this be if other teams are training hard?
Lots of talk from players and media seem to conflict.And this peaking thing they talk about, does a team really be that much fitter than the other during the summer?