James Horan Appointed Mayo Manager 2011

[spuds]

brehony loses credibility in his piece from irish independent
makin out we were all expecting allireland with o mahonys return

O'Mahony's record stands up to scrutiny
Wednesday June 30 2010

IT started in Charlestown with a win over Leitrim and ended (for now anyway) in a defeat against Longford in Pearse Park 22 years later. In between, John O'Mahony's senior championship managerial career yielded two All-Ireland and four Connacht titles with Galway, three Connacht titles (in two separate stints) with Mayo, plus a Connacht title with Leitrim, their first since 1927.

It's an impressive haul and while his second coming with Mayo didn't produce the happy ending the whole county anticipated rather presumptuously, he's still in a very exclusive club of managers who've won two All-Irelands, albeit outside his native heath.

Inevitably, he has come in for criticism for Mayo's erratic performances over the last few years, but how fair is that? Could it be that Mayo just didn't have the players to deliver to the level that Galway had under O'Mahony in 1998-2001?

John Maughan was blamed for not ending the Mayo famine during his two stints -- which included four All-Ireland final appearances -- but history suggests that was unfair too.

O'Mahony helped win prizes that had eluded Leitrim for 67 years (Connacht title) and Galway for 32 years (All-Ireland title) so there can be no doubting his pedigree.

Suffice to say that if O'Mahony ever wants to return to management, he won't be short of options.

[blast05]

brehony loses credibility in his piece from irish independent

I didn't know he had any left ... seriously

[diehard]

I think most of these Mayo players are far better than what we saw in Longford.  Strange things can happen to a team when it gets into a tailspin like what happened to us recently.  Things can easily go pear-shaped.
I remember Tyrone walloping Kerry in a semifinal and making them look silly.  And yet these same Kerry players came back and won several all ireland medals. Mayo in 1995 were a shambles and yet a year later they nearly pulled it off.  You never can tell. 

[rosnarun]

i thought i had read stupid things on these pages in defense of O mahony over the last few years ( you know who you are) but Breheny piece takes the Biscuit pie and cake. is he a blueshirt fellow traveler? that the only excuse i can see for him. yes it was very unfair the treatment Maughan  as it was with  Mickey moran . but they got to AIFs, Omahony lost to fricking longford with a very talented bunch of players. wheres the comparison
. on e if the most common critiques of morans time in charge was that the team overperformed with him and this is giving as a negative !!!!!!!
we should go down on our hands and knees and ask him to come back with or without morrison

[An Gaeilgoir]

i thought i had read stupid things on these pages in defense of O mahony over the last few years ( you know who you are) but Breheny piece takes the Biscuit pie and cake. is he a blueshirt fellow traveler? that the only excuse i can see for him. yes it was very unfair the treatment Maughan  as it was with  Mickey moran . but they got to AIFs, Omahony lost to fricking longford with a very talented bunch of players. wheres the comparison
. on e if the most common critiques of morans time in charge was that the team overperformed with him and this is giving as a negative !!!!!!!
we should go down on our hands and knees and ask him to come back with or without morrison

No fear of him coming back ,our county board don't like strong, talented individuals. What we are going to get is a "patsy" from within our own county, most likely some one with all the usual failings and disapointments and normal service will resume.

[Lar Naparka]

i thought i had read stupid things on these pages in defense of O mahony over the last few years ( you know who you are) but Breheny piece takes the Biscuit pie and cake. is he a blueshirt fellow traveler? that the only excuse i can see for him. yes it was very unfair the treatment Maughan  as it was with  Mickey moran . but they got to AIFs, Omahony lost to fricking longford with a very talented bunch of players. wheres the comparison
. on e if the most common critiques of morans time in charge was that the team overperformed with him and this is giving as a negative !!!!!!!
we should go down on our hands and knees and ask him to come back with or without morrison

No fear of him coming back ,our county board don't like strong, talented individuals. What we are going to get is a "patsy" from within our own county, most likely some one with all the usual failings and disapointments and normal service will resume.

Mickey and his sidekick were treated disgracefully by the county board, Feeney in particular. He had them marked as dead men walking from the outset because of the expense involved as Moran demanded that the players be treated with more respect.
Fair play to the Odd Couple, the brought some "Northern steel into the Mayo psyche," as Joe Brolly put it.
I don't accept that they got lucky along the way and that Mayo played above themelves on the way to the final. They had to battle every inch of the way against Galway, Laois (X2) and Dublin to get there; Mayo could be lucky and win one game but didn't get to the final by flukes every step of the way.
The problem I'd have with M&M returning is that the senior players had lost confidence in their training methods as the campaign progressed. Remember the kick about incident in front of the Hill before the Dubs game?
The lads didn't tell M&M of their intentions to take over the Dubs traditional patch.
There were strong rumours of rows in the camp in the lead up to the final and all in all, the team were off the boil for the game.
I'm not begrudging Kerry their win in any way but I think that Mayo team could have given a far better account of themselves if they had any belief in their management.
So unless M&M have come up with better training skills since they departed, I doubt if they would have any better luck if they were to return.
I doubt that they have as we haven't heard much of them since they departed.
No, we gotta look elsewhere.
Like you, I am afraid a lackey will be appointed and the county board will have their way per usual. I think the new appointment should be rushed through as the incomer, whoever that may be, will suspected of complicity with the board.
Look at what we got when Moran got shafted and his successor was shooed in!

[Barney]

All of this in the Western is suspicious to me of a Paidi coup? I wonder what the result of the meeting was -

Board to waste no time in search for Johnno's successor

THE race to become the next Mayo senior football manager gets underway in earnest later this week when the executive committee of Mayo County Board meets in McHale Park, writes Michael Gallagher.

John O'Mahony's reign as Mayo bainisteoir came to an end on Saturday night following the disappointing defeat to Longford in the first round of the All-Ireland qualifiers and already the identity of his successor is the main conversation sweeping the county.

Mayo's shocking defeat to Longford plunged fans of the Green and Red to new depths of despair and O'Mahony brought his four-year tenure to an end shortly after the final whistle.

Now attention turns towards the vacant position and who will be the next man charged with trying to restore Mayo's football fortunes.

Mayo county secretary, Sean Feeney told the Western People yesterday (Monday) that the task of finding a new manager will begin immediately following a meeting of the executive on Wednesday night.

"A statement will be issued after that meeting. The wheels will be put in motion, we can't hang around," explained Feeney.

Whether the new man comes from inside or outside the county is one of the questions that has already divided many commentators and already Kerry's legendary football figure Páidí Ó Sé has refused to rule himself out of the running.

When contacted yesterday at his home in Ventry the former All-Star and All-Ireland winning manager explained that he wasn't going to make his position known until later in the week.

"John has only left the job a few hours and now isn't the time for me or anyone else to be talking about taking his job. When things settle down later in the week it'll be easier to see where everyone stands," he added.

Earlier this year Ó Sé said that along with Dublin, Mayo was one of the teams he would love to manage. "These are two underachieving counties and if I was in charge of either I could almost guarantee an All-Ireland," he stated in a newspaper column in January.

Other names expected to be in the frame when the position is being filled are current Mayo U21 boss Ray Dempsey, Peter Ford, Noel Connelly, Pat Holmes, James Horan, John Maughan, Liam McHale and David Brady.

Dempsey has already guided Mayo to two All-Ireland minor finals and impressed many with his style of play and organisational skills. Ford managed Sligo to within a kick of a ball of an All-Ireland semi-final when Armagh beat them in a quarterfinal replay in Navan. He succeeded O'Mahony as Galway manager and famously went on to guide the Maroon and White to a Connacht championship win over Mayo in Salthill during the Ballaghaderreen man's first season back in charge of his native county.



Connelly and Holmes brought an All-Ireland U-21 title to the county in 2006 and annexed four Connacht titles in succession before handing over the reins at the end of last season. Holmes has already had a stint in the senior job, winning the National League with Mayo in 2001.

Horan has been making great strides in club management with Ballintubber and the two-time All-Star is known for his meticulous preparation and coaching ability.

Maughan has already been in the job on two previous occasions, famously guiding Mayo to the All-Ireland final in 1996 and again a year later. He has also been in charge of Clare, Fermanagh and Roscommon and is currently making great strides with Crossmolina after previously guiding them to an All-Ireland club final.

McHale is currently part of the Clare management team and the former midfield star has already worked with the Mayo seniors when he was a selector during John Maughan's second tenure in charge of the county team. He stated on national radio over the weekend that he would love to coach Mayo in the future.

Brady is recently retired from the inter-county scene and the current media pundit is admired widely for his straight-talking style. He stated earlier this year that he would like to be Mayo manager one day and last Sunday he was very forthright when asked about Mayo's demise against Longford.

"The defeat was an all-time low for Mayo, no disrespect to Longford, they played very well and deserved to win but they're a team who only won two games in Division 4 this year. Where does that leave Mayo?

"John O'Mahony has held his hand up and has taken responsibility but I think a lot of other people have to hold up their hands within and outside the dressingroon and take responsibility too.

"Mayo are a proud people and to see that happening, to lose to a team the standard of Longford, it was a sad night. It's hard to know where they're going to look for a new manager. The last man who came from outside the county was a Derry man who brought us all the way to an All-Ireland final in 2006 and he lasted nine months so it doesn't seem to sit very well with the County Board and officials. I think a lot of restoration work has to go into the pride of Mayo and it's going to come from a man within the county, I think," said the Balliina man.

[An Gaeilgoir]

Lived in Westmeath during the Paidi tenure. I played football with one or two of the county lads, according to them at the time Paidi was great for about 8 months and then the "social side " of his character took over and o Flaherta had to do more and more. As a mayo man i don't want Paidi in charge of the team, he is out of managmenet for a while now i.e. a bit like JOM and the media attention that would come with it, some of "star" players wouldn't have time to train with all the media requests about how things have changed, team ethic,  new spirit etc.    Would the county board have to "take the soup" from the F Failers, if Paidi took over? They would bring forks to eat it!!!!!

[AZOffaly]

re. Paidi.

I was in Dingle for a few days over an August Bank holiday weekend back in 2005 I think. Went out to Ventry to the pub, and of course he walked in. Drinking coffee though, so this wasn't 'craic' Paidi, this was 'scowling' Paidi.

Anyhow, texted the cousin who was on the Westmeath panel and told him where I was. Joked did he want me to say hello to the great man.

He texted me back. 'You'll probably see more of that crazy f**ker than we did all year'.

[IolarCoisCuain]

Here's an idea that might work also.
Now that we have an empty calendar for the summer, we could run a new competition (to fit around the club championship) with four teams, one from each of the championship regions (North, South, East and West). You could get them managed by prospective county managers and stipulate in the rules that there must be x number of players from non-senior clubs, y number of players u21 or 23 etc. There could be a series of games run as double headers on a league basis to give more players a shot.

This would give some focus to the county players (that are interested in the future) and give an invauluable chance for any players that are just below the radar also. It could give the county board the chance to evaluate the working methods of some managerial prospects and get feedback from some senior players too. 

I realise that everyone would need to buy into the idea but hopefully we will never have a longer summer (or need) to try something this radical again and everyone is saying that we need to start out with new thinking.

Do you know Chimley, the more I think about that idea the more I like it.

A lot of prospective candidates will get on their high horse about having to do a trial but then, as the official reason Ciarán McDonald was dropped from the panel three years was that he was on his high horse about trials, we have a sauce for goose and ganders situation, don't we?

I don't think it'll ever happen though. Managers are notoriously disinclined to have to put their faith in players. I heard a hilarious story once about an outside manager who was brought in to manage a club team. Things did not go well and when what happened to Mayo against Longford happened to this club team he gathered the players together for a final valedictory address.

"I used to have a reputation in this country," said your man, "and now you c**** have gone and f******* ruined it!"

Gas. Nobody will fancy placing his reputation in the hands of players. And the last thing the Board wants to hear is what bolshie players think. The only hope for Chimley's plan would be if the Board thought they could turn some shillings at the gate. But otherwise, not a hope. It's a pity.

We'll see Maughan back yet, you know....

[Mayo GAA]

Statement on the future of Mayo Gaelic football now on www.mayogaa.com

[Zulu]

Although my faith in JOM seems to have been misplaced I don't think he deserves as much of the blame as being apportioned by some. I didn't think the Cork performance was quite as bad as people were making out but his response to that performance was questionable to say the least and it is clear he wasn't building anything but reacting to situations as they arose. It also seems that the chemistry in the panel wasn't right but whether that was his fault or not is open to debate.

At the end of the day he is now gone and if Mayo want to really progress they need to reevaluate everything. I believe that you are not critical enough of your players and the priority should be looking at your underage development systems as you are producing plenty of decent players but hardly any very good to outstanding players.

You need to get far more demanding and critical, the next time a Mayo school or underage team achieves something, whether it is a provincial or AI title, pat them on the back on Sunday evening and get them back out on the training pitch on Tuesday and tell them if you hear one word about their win you'll throw them off the panel. The guy who scores 2-4 in an AI final but all of it with his right shouldn't be built up as a star but should be told he needs to develop his left if he wants to play for Mayo, they guy who is a bit on the slow side should be given a program to improve his 5 & 10m speed and if he doesn't follow it he is dropped.

Alan Freeman, AOS, Tom Parsons, Keith Higgins, Kevin O'Loughlin and others have achieved nothing yet and they all have glaring weaknesses. Tell them they have great talent but unless they are willing to address their weaknesses they can forget about playing for Mayo again. Set the bar far higher because you need to.

[AbbeySider]

Coiste Chontae Mhaigh Eó

Following the decision of John O'Mahony to step down from the position of Mayo Senior football team manager after the defeat to Longford on Saturday last, the Mayo GAA County Committee would like to thank him and the members of his management team for their contribution over the last four years.

At this point in time Coiste Bainisti, Coiste Chontae Mhaigh Eó is taking the opportunity to undertake a review of the state of the game in the county.

To do this in as complete a manner as is possible, a series of meetings will be arranged in the coming weeks and months where our clubs and their delegates, and members of the senior football panel will have the opportunity to express and articulate their views.

We feel that it is important that all those involved in our game in the county get the chance to contribute to this review.

We do not think that it is constructive for the floor to be opened to everyone as has happened on local radio this week. While many of those who have contributed have the best interests of Mayo football at heart, we do not feel that all who have voiced their opinion do. Therefore we believe it would be more prudent and productive if those involved at all levels of our game in the county be given the chance to voice their thoughts through the medium of this review process.

With the review subject to take place in the coming weeks, it has been decided to defer the appointment of the next senior football manager until after this process has been finalised.

We feel that to do otherwise would take some focus and direction away from the matter at hand - namely the overall welfare of the game in our county.

More precise details on this review will follow at a later date.

[Tubberman]

Just moving last posts from the Longford thread over to this so we can let that one finally die off

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote from: AZOffaly on Today at 04:42:53 PM
Not butting in here I hope, but this is the same mistake Offaly have made for years. Get rid of a manager after the Championship, and then wait for months before appointing a new one. Surely the first task a new manager should be given is to have people, and himself, watching club games during the summer to search for players he wants to take a look at when they start back again.

By waiting for 'a few months' then this opportunity passes by, and it's the same players being used by the new managers, and the same mistakes and problems evident.

Possibly, but I think most people are so disillusioned with the way things have been going over the last number of years (including players judging by performances and Alan Dillon's interview), that a review is absolutely necessary to give people confidence that some sort of structure and plan is in place to be followed by all county teams from underage up.
Plus the general consensus is that the next manager will be from within the county (as we're already up to our eyes in debt due to the new stand that hasn't even been half full yet). So the potential managers will be at club games and will already be familiar with most of the players within the county.

[Lar Naparka]

Coiste Chontae Mhaigh Eó

Following the decision of John O'Mahony to step down from the position of Mayo Senior football team manager after the defeat to Longford on Saturday last, the Mayo GAA County Committee would like to thank him and the members of his management team for their contribution over the last four years.

At this point in time Coiste Bainisti, Coiste Chontae Mhaigh Eó is taking the opportunity to undertake a review of the state of the game in the county.

To do this in as complete a manner as is possible, a series of meetings will be arranged in the coming weeks and months where our clubs and their delegates, and members of the senior football panel will have the opportunity to express and articulate their views.

We feel that it is important that all those involved in our game in the county get the chance to contribute to this review.

We do not think that it is constructive for the floor to be opened to everyone as has happened on local radio this week. While many of those who have contributed have the best interests of Mayo football at heart, we do not feel that all who have voiced their opinion do. Therefore we believe it would be more prudent and productive if those involved at all levels of our game in the county be given the chance to voice their thoughts through the medium of this review process.

With the review subject to take place in the coming weeks, it has been decided to defer the appointment of the next senior football manager until after this process has been finalised.

We feel that to do otherwise would take some focus and direction away from the matter at hand - namely the overall welfare of the game in our county.

More precise details on this review will follow at a later date.

"It's an ill wind that blows no good," or so 'tis said.
Much good may yet come out of the O'Mahony years if the county board carries out a comprehensive review of the state of Mayo football. This latest development has caught me on the hop as I wasn't expecting such an initiative to come from our board but fair dues to them if they are true to their word.
I can see the logic of what AZO says about the need to make a quick appointment but this is Mayo after all, where things don't follow in a logical sequence. A quick appointment, IMO, would be the last thing we need as the new man would be seen as a pawn in the hands of the board.