James Horan Appointed Mayo Manager 2011

[JMohan]

With Micko in the running how are the Mayo board gonna say no to him?...

1.Sorry your to old
2. Sorry your looking for too much expenses
3. Sorry that CV isn't good enough for us

True!
Ha ha

I'm just amazed there is no other very good option there that would blow Micko out of the water!

[Shrewdness]

Tubberman, i agree with you. Appointing Micko would not be a very forward thinking option.

Looking in from the outside, i think Mayo need to appoint a manager for a 2 or 3 year term.
Preferably it would be someone from within the county who would come in with an open mind, with no axe to grind against players from certain clubs etc. None of that inter club bitterness etc.
He needs to be allowed to appoint his own back room staff with no county board interference of any kind. He needs to tell the Co.Board what he will require to put all of this in place, and it is then up to them to supply it.
The next managerial appointment in Mayo must provide a 3 year plan to regenerate the Mayo Senior team's fortunes.
It would be a massive help if the new manager is someone whose name immediately commands the respect of the Mayo players, because if he can't get them to buy into his project straight away, he's beaten before he starts.In Roscommon, the players adore Fergal O'Donnell. The Mayo Co.Board need to see if there is a similar figure in Mayo interested in putting his name forward.

Micko is yesterday's man, trading on past glories. There is no way he will come to Mayo for the 3
years needed to implement a medium to long term plan.
Mayo don't need a celebrity appointment at this stage. They don't need a Joe Kernan scenario, where after a few dodgy results, they will be looking for another new manager this time next year.

Re the underage talent of the last 3-4 years, unfortunately that never guarantees anything at senior level.
Many a good minor has disappeared into the cracks between minor and under 21 and senior.
About eleven of Roscommon's 2006 All Ireland minors were togged for this years Senior Final, but that is generally regarded as an exception because many analysts will tell you that you're lucky to get 2 or 3 seniors.

Was it in 1995 that Kerry minors beat Galway, and only Mike Frank Russell from that team made a successful senior?

Watching the Mayo managerial merry go round is getting very interesting. 

[Zulu]

Lads there must be a few managers in Mayo worth taking a punt on. Considering the size of the county, the passion there is for football and the relative success of the club and underage county scene there has to be a few managers there that can do the job as well as anyone from outside. Micko would be a disaster IMO, he might well win a Connacht but he won't help get Mayo over the line against the better teams. I don't think the next manager needs to be a Mayo man but he does need to know the local club scene pretty well and he does need to be able to give the position a huge amount of time.

[Shrewdness]

Lads there must be a few managers in Mayo worth taking a punt on. Considering the size of the county, the passion there is for football and the relative success of the club and underage county scene there has to be a few managers there that can do the job as well as anyone from outside. Micko would be a disaster IMO, he might well win a Connacht but he won't help get Mayo over the line against the better teams. I don't think the next manager needs to be a Mayo man but he does need to know the local club scene pretty well and he does need to be able to give the position a huge amount of time.

Agree with most of what you say Zulu. But if he's not a Mayo man, isn't it then highly unlikely that he would know the club scene in Mayo well.
Re Micko, there's no guarantee that he would win a Connacht title. Whilst Galway and Mayo are very unlikely to as inept next year, i expect to see very strong challenges again next year from both Sligo and Roscommon.

[Zulu]

Agree with most of what you say Zulu. But if he's not a Mayo man, isn't it then highly unlikely that he would know the club scene in Mayo well.

Well I was just thinking that maybe a serious football man from a county close by might be more familiar with the Mayo scene than someone like Micko.

Re Micko, there's no guarantee that he would win a Connacht title.

Oh I agree Shrewdness, just saying that on the law of probability any manager could win a five team competition, especially when he has one of the bigger teams with a good recent underage record. Mayo, like Dublin this year, don't need a Connacht title, they need to close the gap between themselves and the top teams. If a Connacht title comes as well, then all the better but winning that and then being beaten comfortably by a top team will do them no good. I just think Micko might get them a bit of silverware but he won't close the gap to the big boys and would therefore be a pointless appointment.

[An Gaeilgoir]

Please god not Micko, this is not the answer to any of our problems. What has Micko done over the last 5 years except clock up "Milage" and be interviewed by the Indo and Brrrrrian Mc Carthy. This will be a disaster for our proud footballing county.

[Farrandeelin]

While we are all against Micko being appointed, are any of us surprised as to what these shower of gombeen hoors in the county board will do at this stage. Maybe they won't appoint him, but anything is possible with these shower in charge. I believe there was no proper debate on the review, just club delegates voicing their anger towards the top table, then the people at the top table called a halt to the proceedings thereafter. It's not good enough. I don't know how they are still getting away with it.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Two more names added on Friday - The list now stands at:

Mick O Dwyer
James Horan
Denis Kearney
Anthony Mc Garry

County Board may add other candidates if they feel this list is not up to scratch. It looks like Micko is in the buck seat.

By any chance, would that be the same Denis Kearney who is currently manager of Castlerea St Kevins in Roscommon?

Yes. A Carracastle man.

If he got the Mayo job, hypothetically speaking, when would he assume control?

Castlerea have a Quarter Final replay in Ros next weekend. They are probably favourites, with St.Brigid's to progress to the County Final.
Should they win the Co.Title, there will then be a Connacht Club campaign to embark on. Who knows where that would finish up.

When do Mayo want the new man in place?

If that where to happen, I see no reason he couldn't do both until Castlerea got eliminated.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Outside of the county everyone seems to be saying it will be Micko, have yet to hear one inside the county to have him as first choice.

[Orangemac]

Don't know much about the club scene in Mayo in terms of possible managers but looking at it from the outside.

1) Micko would probably be a retrograde step. This would just be a circus when a low key overhaul is what is called for. This was Dublins quietist buildup in years and Gilroy took them as close to the final as they have been in 15 years.

2) According to Newstalk Maughan is the favourite with a local bookies. Is this based upon his previous spell?
Has football moved on from Maughans methods of the 1990s?

3) Talent wise you would put Mayo in the top eight in the country. Every team they seem to have a decent minor or U21 team yet players who looked good at underage level like Parsons and O'Shea have yet to break through as they promised.

If Mayo could add a bit of steel and cynicism to their team, not neccesarily the best footballers and find the right man to harness this they could be back in business next year.

[rosnarun]

Banty anyone ?
we could do worse , and he has great passion and from his interview still has the appetite just rightly did not like being messed about

[rosnarun]

betting is (paddy power)
odwyer 8/11
maughan 7/4
horan 5/1
kearmey 11/2
mcgarry 14/1

[joemamas]

While we are all against Micko being appointed, are any of us surprised as to what these shower of gombeen hoors in the county board will do at this stage. Maybe they won't appoint him, but anything is possible with these shower in charge. I believe there was no proper debate on the review, just club delegates voicing their anger towards the top table, then the people at the top table called a halt to the proceedings thereafter. It's not good enough. I don't know how they are still getting away with it.

Could not agree more, what a bunch of tools, I would tell the "supporters club" from wherever that are pushing Micko thanks but no thanks, good God, this is the future of Mayo football, and it is being turned into a fffinn media circus. The rest of the country must be laughing their arse off at us. Is that not the same group that gave us the wonderful Jacko back in the early nineties.

For what its worth, I just came back form being home for a week or so and a very high ranking GAA official who would be in the know, has said that Maughan will be the next manager. He is 7/4 with Paddy Power for all of you gamblers, tempted to have a few bob on him, cannot see Micko being appointed, even by our incompetant standards.

If I had my way, I would give Denis Kearney a two year shot, he has put in a lot of time in management over the past ten years, he has won county titles with both Curry and Castlerea. James Horan is unproven. Maughan may have a job finding a back room team, as decisions by committee do not appear to be his forte. I personally lost a fair amount of respect for him after his escapades with both Fermanagh and Roscommon, if he had laid low for a while he may have been better served. However as the expectations are so low, managing Mayo at the current time could be considered to be a low risk job.

Bottom line, it is a pathetic situation we are currently in.

[moysider]

While we are all against Micko being appointed, are any of us surprised as to what these shower of gombeen hoors in the county board will do at this stage. Maybe they won't appoint him, but anything is possible with these shower in charge. I believe there was no proper debate on the review, just club delegates voicing their anger towards the top table, then the people at the top table called a halt to the proceedings thereafter. It's not good enough. I don't know how they are still getting away with it.

Hmmm. There's another way to look at it. It s an old chestnut that a people get the government they deserve. Maybe we have the County Board we deserve. Sorry, that s not right. Let me put it another way. People who stay in the game after playing and know a bit usually stay involved as coaches or managers at various levels. The club reps on the board is often a different animal altogether. He may be a great GAA /club man but footballing astute.... ? well I dunno. Often they are fond of blazers and meetings. They love meetings and the allliances and intrigue that goes with politics, at whatever base the level.
I also suspect that they are going about Micko because they believe that he would be popular among the masses. They ll figure that Mayo needs a bit of a boost after the dumbing down of the Johnno years proved a disaster both from a football and a financial point of view. I m not talking about the posters on here, but the man on the street who wouldn't recognise many other names and  the people who bother to ring up Midwest radio. Sorry, but James Horan even, doesn't mean lot to the average Mayo person. Sad, but true.
  Basically we re talking about the cohort that the board wheeled out the last Messiah to, even though anybody that was clued in would know it would end in grief. They ll go with the populist choice and they ll give us who they think we want and as a result put a few more arses on seats next spring. Improving or winning I suspect has little got to do with it.
If the executive were honorable then they should appoint from the nominees that satisfied their criteria and produced a letter. I suspect that letter ploy was designed to eliminate a few. I mean, ffs, this day and age, a f**king letter. As if likes Peter Forde or Maughan would produce a letter. I suspect those that did write to Santa now regret doing so, as all kinds of horse-trading will be going on behind the scenes and their letters might not be taking up much time. Makes them look a bit exposed.
A fella that knows a bit about managing Mayo told me weeks ago that the last thing you would do is make it known you were interested in the job. They call you, you don't call them. Those that call them or apply through the channels that they outlined I think we ll find were wasting their time. The only qualification I would volunteer here is that the minor management appointment was very transparent and I think Duffy's fellow club-man may yet  get the nod - but this is a bigger fish. If a sugar Daddy comes in with the bucks the lads that applied through the proper channels will be hung out I suspect. 

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Jacko back in the early nineties.

Anyone else remember the league game against Kerry where he wore the Kerry socks up to his knees over the Mayo training gear in Ballina I think it was.

Made me as angry as a bull in a field that day and still does now