Longford v Mayo 26th June

[highorlow]

First off fair play to Longford. I sensed throughout the match that if they pegged us back with an equalizing score then they would go on and win. The Longford Midfield were brilliant in the 2nd half, in particular number 9 (i think he was only brought into the panel lately?).

If Ronaldson had started instead of Conar there would surely have been a goal or two

Agree with the above;

What's left of this team IMO and who I believe are the only natural footballers are as follows (in no particluar order).

K.Higgins
O'Shea's x 2
A.Moran
Freeman
Ronaldson

The rest of the panel are no use, except maybe Gardiner.

We need to find 9 players who are natural footballers  and 13 or 14 for a decent squad.

A good test to see if a guy is a natural footballer would be for him, as a right footed player to be given the ball in training whilst running down the left wing at speed and under pressure from the back. If he fails to score from 21 yards out then he should be dropped.

All 15 inter county footballers including the goalie should be capable of this task, if they arn't then forget it.

[LaurelEye]

Longford people must wonder 2 how things dont quite add up. They are 3 divisions down but both teams looked about the same level. How can a team with players like Paddy Dowd, Kavanagh, Barden and the rest end up ranked 3rd or 4th worst in the country. Surely there is something wrong there too?

Agree completely. TBH as I said on another thread, I had absolutely no expectations going into this one after all that had gone on earlier this year, and went over to Pearse Park out of a sense of duty. Even at half time I was expecting a respectable/heartbreaking loss.

There are a lot of questions to be asked about the set-up, both of the management and of some of the players, but for the moment things seem to have come good. We can only hope for the best in Newry - there should at least be reasonable Longford support there even if it won't be the same as in Pearse Park.

[Shamrock Shore]

How can a team with players like Paddy Dowd, Kavanagh, Barden and the rest end up ranked 3rd or 4th worst in the country. Surely there is something wrong there too?

The League was a mixture of bad luck, bad refeering decisions and bad form.

They lost a few matches by the bare minimum - and then lost a match to Limerick cos the ref forgot the new rules on the ball must be out of play before the final whistle. So the position as second worst senior team on the island was a wee bit of a misnomer. But saying that strong would be unfair and presumptious to the lads above us in the final table.

On our day we can give a good account against most sides (I would dread any visit from some of the major major Northern sides) which we have shown recently. However the money has not gone on us winning Sam this year!

[moysider]

First off fair play to Longford. I sensed throughout the match that if they pegged us back with an equalizing score then they would go on and win. The Longford Midfield were brilliant in the 2nd half, in particular number 9 (i think he was only brought into the panel lately?).

If Ronaldson had started instead of Conar there would surely have been a goal or two

Agree with the above;

What's left of this team IMO and who I believe are the only natural footballers are as follows (in no particluar order).

K.Higgins
O'Shea's x 2
A.Moran
Freeman
Ronaldson
The rest of the panel are no use, except maybe Gardiner.

We need to find 9 players who are natural footballers  and 13 or 14 for a decent squad.

A good test to see if a guy is a natural footballer would be for him, as a right footed player to be given the ball in training whilst running down the left wing at speed and under pressure from the back. If he fails to score from 21 yards out then he should be dropped.

All 15 inter county footballers including the goalie should be capable of this task, if they arn't then forget it.

I was very disappointed with Andy Moran. He has been the link man but enough has not come off him. He s light years off benchmark players like Galvin and Dooher. His failure to get the ball accross the goalmouth to a feeman ( was it Freeman) ended in a goal at the other end. Andy is ponderous at this time of year. Passes are delayed. His hands are heavy.
On the other hand I thought Dillon had a great game. McLoughlin passed that test at least twice in the league game against Galway alone. Ok he was poor the last evening but it cant have been an easy year for him and he has looked tired for some time. Howley is being given positions foreign to him. Parsons is technically a top player.
If we get the right man we have players to give Connacht a good try next year. B Moran, Freeman, Dillon, O Sé should remain in the forwards. Cillian O Connor will replace Conoreen. We need Howley at ten or twelve. Cathal Freeman fit would be thereabouts.  Midfield will eventually settle down with Parsons, O Sé and Barry Moran being the options and Kirby emerging in a few years. The backs require serious work. Keane x2 and  Shane McHale will have to be thrown in there. Higgins, Barrett and McLoughlinhave a lot to offer as wingmen.
By the way why is it that everything Mayo did was at least a second too slow usually. I heard the training sessions were flat and it showed. You play the way you train.

[ross4life]

Ray Dempsey must be a good bet as the next Mayo manager? would the fan's take to him???

[The Forfeit Point]

How can a team with players like Paddy Dowd, Kavanagh, Barden and the rest end up ranked 3rd or 4th worst in the country. Surely there is something wrong there too?

The League was a mixture of bad luck, bad refeering decisions and bad form.

They lost a few matches by the bare minimum - and then lost a match to Limerick cos the ref forgot the new rules on the ball must be out of play before the final whistle. So the position as second worst senior team on the island was a wee bit of a misnomer. But saying that strong would be unfair and presumptious to the lads above us in the final table.

On our day we can give a good account against most sides (I would dread any visit from some of the major major Northern sides) which we have shown recently. However the money has not gone on us winning Sam this year!

i presume you mean tyrone?

the way i see it is outside of the big 3 - cork, kerry and tyrone is that there is sweet FA between a good chunk of the rest of the counties and self belief and confidence can determine more results than skill between these.

[moysider]

Ray Dempsey must be a good bet as the next Mayo manager? would the fan's take to him???

Can't see it this time. Not sure that what the fans think should matter but he might be too independent for the boards liking. 2 good minor campaigns undermined somewhat by a poor u21 performance which wasn't helped by a strange selection.

[AbbeySider]

First off fair play to Longford. I sensed throughout the match that if they pegged us back with an equalizing score then they would go on and win. The Longford Midfield were brilliant in the 2nd half, in particular number 9 (i think he was only brought into the panel lately?).

If Ronaldson had started instead of Conar there would surely have been a goal or two

Agree with the above;

What's left of this team IMO and who I believe are the only natural footballers are as follows (in no particluar order).

K.Higgins
O'Shea's x 2
A.Moran
Freeman
Ronaldson

The rest of the panel are no use, except maybe Gardiner.

We need to find 9 players who are natural footballers  and 13 or 14 for a decent squad.

A good test to see if a guy is a natural footballer would be for him, as a right footed player to be given the ball in training whilst running down the left wing at speed and under pressure from the back. If he fails to score from 21 yards out then he should be dropped.

All 15 inter county footballers including the goalie should be capable of this task, if they arn't then forget it.

I have seen some shite written on this board but that takes the biscuit.

How is Dillon not on you list of "natural footballers" and how can you describe him as "no use"?

[muppet]

Yes i am following the thread, so you think if longford swapped places with Mayo they would have won as many Connacht title's?

You are not following anything. I never said anything about swapping places. I was commenting on the success of the qualifiers and that it has exposed tradition on two fronts. Firstly those 'big' counties who pick up provincial titles with relative ease might do so in their province but it seems to be a poor form guide outside the province and secondly those 'lowly' counties who don't win their provinces regularly (or win games within the province) seem to play well away from the traditional burden of playing the dominant local teams.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Congrats to Longford on their win at the weekend, they where the only team that seemed to bother their arse.

But I will say that ref. from Galway was a disgrace a 16'th man against us, then he reduces us down to 14.

[spectator]

If Ronaldson had started instead of Conar there would surely have been a goal or two. Conor is a lone assassin all his career and is not going to play off any target man ever.

From those of ye who've watched Mayo throughout this year - how is it that ye did so well when Mort & Dillon were off travelling & only seemed to go backwards after they returned? I know Mort kicked points in the league final against Cork, but is it the case that their return cramped the teams style, or did their inclusion not go down well with the newer lads who'd been there for the league, or what? Maybe I'm well off the mark here?

[highorlow]

From those of ye who've watched Mayo throughout this year - how is it that ye did so well when Mort & Dillon were off travelling & only seemed to go backwards after they returned? I know Mort kicked points in the league final against Cork, but is it the case that their return cramped the teams style, or did their inclusion not go down well with the newer lads who'd been there for the league, or what? Maybe I'm well off the mark here

Your bang on with that alright. Since that pair landed back from thier travels down under the Mayo team have gone down hill, i.e. since the Monaghan league game.

Dillion the last day was useless, he is incapable of scoring long range points and refused to pass the ball to Freeman on 3 occasions in the 2nd half on Sat night when Freeman was looking for and winning ball.

[highorlow]

was very disappointed with Andy Moran. He has been the link man but enough has not come off him.

You weren't at the Sligo game then? Himself and Freeman were the only 2 lads who could hold there heads high after that game. Fair enough he didn't do well the last day... but who did? Come to think of it the last day he still popped a 45 and scored a long range point from play just before half time.

[moysider]

If Ronaldson had started instead of Conar there would surely have been a goal or two. Conor is a lone assassin all his career and is not going to play off any target man ever.

From those of ye who've watched Mayo throughout this year - how is it that ye did so well when Mort & Dillon were off travelling & only seemed to go backwards after they returned? I know Mort kicked points in the league final against Cork, but is it the case that their return cramped the teams style, or did their inclusion not go down well with the newer lads who'd been there for the league, or what? Maybe I'm well off the mark here?

To be honest I don t think it had anything to do with it. With respect I think a lot of people outside Mayo and quite a few in the county couldn't get their head around the problem. It wasn't as good a story as the one they prefered to believe. If ever there was a case of a emperor without any clothes this was it.

The 2 players you mentioned. Dillon was our best player v Longford and if Barry Moran had fed him late on instead of kicking into the block we wouldn't be in this place now. Similarly if Freeman had fed an unmarked Moran in front of the posts early on we may well have kicked on also. But this stuff is happening in games which would indicate that training is poor. But Dillon is class and 4 of his best years have been wasted. Conor is Conor and to be honest he was fortunate to survive Sligo. The next guy might well move on without him as he is difficult to include  in a tactical formation as he has always been into his own thing. Ronaldson would have done better the last day and O Connor is the future. Andy Moran unlikely to find the next man as admiring of his abilities either.

[moysider]

was very disappointed with Andy Moran. He has been the link man but enough has not come off him.

You weren't at the Sligo game then? Himself and Freeman were the only 2 lads who could hold there heads high after that game. Fair enough he didn't do well the last day... but who did? Come to think of it the last day he still popped a 45 and scored a long range point from play just before half time.

I was at the Sligo game. The best that can be said about Andy was that he tried hard which is fair enough but Johnny Davey got the better of him. He just doesn't have the gas for championship football. V Longford he was far too ponderous on the ball when he should have been aware of being urgent and and maximising space/time advantage we could have got when Longford were begining to tire - as they did to an alarming extent last 15. Higgins getting sent off nullified our fitness advantage and we would have surely won if Higgins had held his discipline. Frustrating as Kinneavey is there is no excuse for what Higgins did. A one point win aet would have been enough, get on the bus, go home and we would be preparing for Down in Newry now. And we would be fancying that.
Dillon had a fine game v Longford. Dunno about long range points but at times he ( and Freeman) looked like the only one that could pick a defense and he slotted a few tidy points.