The State We're In (Mayo football)

[Daz]

In 2006, Mayo had reached the All Ireland Final, and yeah, we got whooped, but at least we were one of only two teams that could say we were there.  Mickey Moran was let go as the opportunity to bring in John O'Mahony came, and surely with his experience we could take that final step?  However, since 2006 we've gone backwards.

With a host of young players drafted in, it was obviously going to take time for them to come to fruition, but even after four years we still don't know what the best team is.  Players have been shifted in and out of the starting fifteen, some have been discarded, others have been on the fringes, with the odd diamond found.  But O'Mahony never settled on a regular team, making it impossible for players to gain a rapport with each other and finding that continuity that All Ireland winning teams have.

When O'Mahony was brought back to the county where he started his coaching career, there was no reason not to think that he wasn't the right man for the job.  Unlike many candidates, he could show his medals, especially the two All Irelands with Galway.  And he would be given more time than most managers get, due to many of the veterans coming to the end of their playing days.  The ideal scenario would be to see the blooding of youngsters who would finally end the drought.

But it hasn't happened.  One Connacht title in four years is a poor return, with not even a sniff of being at Croke Park in September.  We thought that last season might be the year, but despite looking in control against Meath in the Quarter Final, a poor last 20 minutes saw us outplayed and eventually lose.  And just like our other losses in this era, it was filled with poor displays and baffling tactical decisions. 

O'Mahony deserved the time.  Much like a Super Bowl winning coach, he earned a window of a couple of years where he could be given the benefit of the doubt.  But that time is up, and O'Mahony recognised it.  Why didn't it work?  People will point to his time consuming day job, as a Fine Gael TD.  There were stories of him rushing to practice a few weeks ago after having to be in Dublin for an important vote.  I'm sure that this wasn't the first time for that situation to occur.

And maybe, was it just a case of not being able to reach the young players?  His former teams were filled with veterans who knew how to prepare themselves.  Maybe he just couldn't pass on his knowledge to up and coming prospects.

What we do know is that much of his tactics during games were questionable.  Strange substitutions and moving players around when they were having success against their marker were all mistakes made that cost us wins.  He was simply outcoached, an accusation that could never be leveled at him in the glory days of the late 1980's and in the 1990's for Galway.  Maybe he was just a man out of his time, and not able to adapt to the new circumstances of the job and the post-millennium GAA.

So what now for Mayo?  There are always two options when selecting a new Bainisteoir: someone from inside the county or from outside?  Most of the candidates from Mayo are former players who are just starting to learn at club level.  On one hand, they lack experience but on the other would be able to relate to the players better.  James Horan and Liam McHale are the best examples here.  There is also talk of Noel Dempsey, the under 21 coach, and due to having worked successfully with the players who are seniors now, obviously has a connection with them.  The question would be:  are these candidates good enough tactically?  They're going to be up against masters like Joe Kiernan and Mickey Harte, and having a rookie against them is like putting a slingshot against an AK47.

The other option is looking further afield, and the Mayo job is an attractive proposition for anyone.  Yes, it's been so long since All Ireland glory, but think of the adulation, the admiration if Sam Maguire is won.  The team and the coach would go down in legend.  Out of the 'foreigners' being mentioned, Paudi O'Se is at the top of the list.  He has the record of success and has a good mix of passion with tactical sharpness.  Yes, he may ruffle feathers, but we need things to be shaken up.  If the County Board can look past their own interests and think about what is our best chance to win, he is the only choice.

There is talent in the Mayo squad, but we need someone to direct it and lead it.  O'Mahony was not that man, but I think if we find the right one now, we may have the team that can finally end the drought.

www.walshsportsblog.com

[lynchbhoy]

i'll be slated for this
but I'd love to see mick odwyer take mayo

this would see if he can prove how good he actually is !

also one of the top men in the game would measure are the mayo players as good as we hear they are (or theythink they are).
I'd love to see micko get the gig and he would be a better bet than paidi imo !

[Duine Eile]

And maybe, was it just a case of not being able to reach the young players?  His former teams were filled with veterans who knew how to prepare themselves.

That's not true really, the Galway team he inherited in 1998 was a mainly young team, sure you had the likes of Tomas Mannion, Kevin Walsh, Sean Óg, Ja Fallon and Niall Finnegan who were there for years but you also had a lot of young new talent coming through at the time like Padraic Joyce, Mikey Donnellan, Derek Savage, John Divilly and Tom Meehan. I think to be honest he wasn't able to move with the times at all, towards the end of his time in Galway we hadn't moved on from the way we played in 98 or 01, I just don't think he's able to complete with the tactical awareness of people like Micky Harte, Jack O'Connor etc.

[Hardy]

Ah come on lads, ye'r takin the p*** now!

[GalwayBayBoy]

Jaysus lads there are three threads on the go now full of depressed Mayo men. It's even beginning to get me down.

[spuds]

And maybe, was it just a case of not being able to reach the young players?  His former teams were filled with veterans who knew how to prepare themselves.

That's not true really, the Galway team he inherited in 1998 was a mainly young team, sure you had the likes of Tomas Mannion, Kevin Walsh, Sean Óg, Ja Fallon and Niall Finnegan who were there for years but you also had a lot of young new talent coming through at the time like Padraic Joyce, Mikey Donnellan, Derek Savage, John Divilly and Tom Meehan. I think to be honest he wasn't able to move with the times at all, towards the end of his time in Galway we hadn't moved on from the way we played in 98 or 01, I just don't think he's able to complete with the tactical awareness of people like Micky Harte, Jack O'Connor etc.

or glenn ryan kevin walsh eamon o brien

[the Deel Rover]

Ah come on lads, ye'r takin the p*** now!

lmao. i was waiting for you to make a comment hardy and you didn't let me down, between mayo football threads and soccer threads on the main discussion page you must be pulling your hair out hardy 

[bucko]

Since the County Board announced their 'root and branch' review, I've come to the conclusion that it will just be another load of spoofery that will be quickly forgotten. Two areas where culpability lies completely with the county board are 1) why they let the position of county senior manager be used as a political vehicle and 2)why the player development structures announced in 2004 (which, funnily enough, was the conclusion of a review taken after the 2004 AIF) that at the time had their backing were never pursued? If those structures had been put in place when announced, the potential fruits of such a system would have been coming through at minor level for the last three years, a period in which we contested and lost the last two All Ireland minor finals. The players who played in those finals could have been better developed coming from those structures and who knows there could have been different results in those finals. It is obvious that this county board is currently presiding over a serious decline of standards in both the county senior team and in club football, and need to take very rapid, drastic and positive action to stop this decline, or else we are going to be stuck in a very sticky rut for the next few years.
                    As regards the next senior manager, I woudn't know who to pick from the list of candidates being mooted at the moment. Whoever it is has their work cut out for them, picking the right man for the job has never been so important as it is now.

[Rossfan]

Jaysus lads there are three threads on the go now full of depressed Mayo men. It's even beginning to get me down.

+1.
Will they ever stop batin themselves up in public the eejits.

[ross4life]

Would it not be better for you guys to put the Senior's to the back burner for now & support the talented bunch of minors you have? the Mayo under 18s have another great chance to win some silverware with the added bonus of another trip to Croke park beckons... surely that should lift the depression among the Mayo following

[Farrandeelin]

Would it not be better for you guys to put the Senior's to the back burner for now & support the talented bunch of minors you have? the Mayo under 18s have another great chance to win some silverware with the added bonus of another trip to Croke park beckons... surely that should lift the depression among the Mayo following

+1. I'll be supporting them on Connacht final day with the help of god and the club fixture list.

[spuds]

Would it not be better for you guys to put the Senior's to the back burner for now & support the talented bunch of minors you have? the Mayo under 18s have another great chance to win some silverware with the added bonus of another trip to Croke park beckons... surely that should lift the depression among the Mayo following

should not be a case of either or either, hardly the most consuming thing to be supporting a team
the bigger picture has to be dealt with

[moysider]

Would it not be better for you guys to put the Senior's to the back burner for now & support the talented bunch of minors you have? the Mayo under 18s have another great chance to win some silverware with the added bonus of another trip to Croke park beckons... surely that should lift the depression among the Mayo following

You d expect so but we know we ve been there before. This is a very decent Mayo minor team. The third in as many years. As I ve said on another thread this review will probably go looking in the wrong place. Senior management have had better than most county managers to be getting on with. They blew it. Yet instead of pointing out the elephant in the room it looks like this review may be used to spread the blame among those doing a decent job with a fraction of resources available to the county senior management.

[RedandGreenSniper]

You were going so well Daz until you started backing Paidi! He'd send us back even further.

[Daz]

Good shout on O Dwyer earlier, mcuh like Paudi he knows what it takes to win.  We need experience rather than a young developing coach right now.