Mayo v Billie Joe, 13th March 2011 McHale Park

[ross4life]

Armagh guys have taken over this thread after todays good win, Question for the Mayo lads.. do you think Horan is doing to much chopping & changing? i suppose he doesn't see the league as a high priority but your not going to strike the right balance with all these changes game after game.

[moysider]

Armagh guys have taken over this thread after todays good win, Question for the Mayo lads.. do you think Horan is doing to much chopping & changing? i suppose he doesn't see the league as a high priority but your not going to strike the right balance with all these changes game after game.

I suppose he has had to try things because he was left without any foundation. I have been a little disappointed successes like the Feeneys and Burke have not been given more time to consolidate. On the other hand Campbell has prospered with matches. I believe todays game was winnnable with a different selection but maybe winning was not the be all.

On a different note it was good to see Billy Joe give such an assured performance today. i thought he did very well at centre back and as a sweeper as well.

[Farrandeelin]

Am I the only one who thinks Gardiner had a stinker? F'in hell the amount of ball he gave away and the fact the armagh forward seemed to run through him for their first goal seems to me that he's not as good as he was anyway. As well as that, having 3 45 kickers and none of them really able to say for sure I'm the main one leaves us with a lot to ponder next week in Croke Park.

Armagh guys have taken over this thread after todays good win, Question for the Mayo lads.. do you think Horan is doing to much chopping & changing? i suppose he doesn't see the league as a high priority but your not going to strike the right balance with all these changes game after game.

If there's any more lots of chopping and changing, I will be getting worried. We need the team that played against Galway going full tilt next week and it still probably won't be enough. Fair enough there was the U-21 match yesterday but we're out of that now as well so we can concentrate on this now I suppose.

[mackers]

Nice to get the win, still have it all to do with kerry and cork last two games

We have Galway in between those matches, if we win that one we'd have a good chance of staying up which would be fine achievement missing 3/4 important players to us.
Not long home, long journey but well worth it. We were good value for our win.
Vernon and Dyas went very well. Charlie's ability to carry the ball into the wind was a real saver in the second half. Thought Kevin Dyas defended well and carried the ball out of defence to good effect also.
We conceded another softish goal with McEvoy beat at his near post. Both Duffy and B Mallon took their goals really well. There was a bit more movement in the forward line which was encouraging and the substitutions worked well. Nippy and B Mallon couldn't complain about being called ashore when they were. Murtagh took his point well and Grugan looked sharp and was unlucky with a great effort into the wind.

[moysider]

Am I the only one who thinks Gardiner had a stinker? F'in hell the amount of ball he gave away and the fact the armagh forward seemed to run through him for their first goal seems to me that he's not as good as he was anyway. As well as that, having 3 45 kickers and none of them really able to say for sure I'm the main one leaves us with a lot to ponder next week in Croke Park.

Armagh guys have taken over this thread after todays good win, Question for the Mayo lads.. do you think Horan is doing to much chopping & changing? i suppose he doesn't see the league as a high priority but your not going to strike the right balance with all these changes game after game.

If there's any more lots of chopping and changing, I will be getting worried. We need the team that played against Galway going full tilt next week and it still probably won't be enough. Fair enough there was the U-21 match yesterday but we're out of that now as well so we can concentrate on this now I suppose.

You re probably not if opinion around me today was anything to go by. The thing that surprised me was that Horan changed the wing men from the Galway game.

[IolarCoisCuain]

Am I the only one who thinks Gardiner had a stinker? F'in hell the amount of ball he gave away and the fact the armagh forward seemed to run through him for their first goal seems to me that he's not as good as he was anyway. As well as that, having 3 45 kickers and none of them really able to say for sure I'm the main one leaves us with a lot to ponder next week in Croke Park.

Armagh guys have taken over this thread after todays good win, Question for the Mayo lads.. do you think Horan is doing to much chopping & changing? i suppose he doesn't see the league as a high priority but your not going to strike the right balance with all these changes game after game.

If there's any more lots of chopping and changing, I will be getting worried. We need the team that played against Galway going full tilt next week and it still probably won't be enough. Fair enough there was the U-21 match yesterday but we're out of that now as well so we can concentrate on this now I suppose.

I'd let him chop and change to his heart's content. This is Horan's chance to look at players when losses don't mean anything. If Mayo get relegated to Division 2 what of it? Derry, Donegal, Meath, Kildare and Tyrone are all in Division 2. Doesn't seem that much like falling off a cliff to me.

Horan has to look at different men in different positions. More luck to him. Besides, there are plenty of teams near enough the drop. I wouldn't worry about it at all. The real bullets aren't fired for months yet.

[saffronandblue]

I feel that Aiden O' Shea needs to be given a run in midfield alongside Ronan Mcgarrity.  His performancefor the under 21's in this position was top class and he seems to be far more at home in the middle than in the forwards.  Mcgarrity would compliment him well as he is more of a defensive type.

I expect to see Horans best team in his opinion from here on in.  Time to settle on a team now with only a few weeks left until championship time. 


How about the two O' Shes in the middle with Mcgarrity at full back.  I reckon Ronan could be a good full back and could be worth a run in position that is of real concern.

[IolarCoisCuain]

I feel that Aiden O' Shea needs to be given a run in midfield alongside Ronan Mcgarrity.  His performancefor the under 21's in this position was top class and he seems to be far more at home in the middle than in the forwards.  Mcgarrity would compliment him well as he is more of a defensive type.

I expect to see Horans best team in his opinion from here on in.  Time to settle on a team now with only a few weeks left until championship time. 


How about the two O' Shes in the middle with Mcgarrity at full back.  I reckon Ronan could be a good full back and could be worth a run in position that is of real concern.

This is it exactly. Look at different men in different positions while you have a chance. Three games left. Time to make the most of them.

[mountainboii]

Important two points, which, allied with the two you'd expected from the Galway game, should keep us up.

Very difficult to evaluate the amount of Armagh improvement today given how absolutely woeful Mayo were. They're easily the poorest team we've faced to date in the league. The conditions also had a strong baring on proceedings, with a combination of the wet conditions and a terrible surface leaving players repeatedly struggling to keep their feet. There were handling errors aplenty on both sides too.

Armagh went back to the sweeper system today, using Padden as an auxiliary CHB. Although a much maligned system, I felt that the extra security at the back gave us much better structure and organisation. Swift went into a two man FF line with McDonnell, with Mallon and O'Rourke dropping out to the HF line.

Didn't think it was McEvoy's finest hour. Seemed to sell himself for the Mayo goal, diving far too early and effectively leaving an open goal for the Mayo lad to trickle the ball into. He also committed the cardinal sin of allowing a point bounce over his bar in the second half.

Thought the defence benefited from the ref's lenient approach. They were their usual handsy selves, but the ref was allowing a fair bit of contact in the tackle, which suited us very well.

In the FB line, Moriarty hadn't much to do. Donaghy got turned once or twice but improved as the match webt on. Mallon seemed to come under the most pressure but I think he did alright on a very lively corner forward.

Thought the two wing backs ha very good games. Duffy was full of running and picked up a pile of ball around the middle. His goal was a screamer too. Big improvement from him. Dyas' ability on the ball got us out of a few sticky situations too. McKeever was a bit of a mixed bag. Great point at the end, but handed Mayo two of their own before that with sloppy handy passes. Padden had a strong game in the sweeper role. Got caught out for pace a bit in our FB line for the Mayo goal, but aside from that he was very effective. Repeatedly well positioned to pick up loose ball around the backline.

In midfield Vernon stole the show. Thought he was excellent, continuing a string of strong displays this year. His running can be aimless and counterproductive at times, but today, especially against the breeze, it was a vital asset, getting us away from midfield rucks and and into the Mayo half. His fielding was very good too. Toner was quiet enough before his HT removal, though he did hit a rare point. Don't think he should be overly concerned about losing his place to Lavery, who wasn't particularly impressive in the second half. Fumbled a few balls and seemed a bit laboured.

Mackin had a solid game in the HF line. Had his usual quota of fumbles but also helped out well around the middle and made a lot of good forward runs. Mallon finished off a good move for his goal. Didn't do much else that was that spectacular, kept a few moves ticking along around the HF line. O'Rourke was disappointing. His pace and height don't do him any favours, so he struggles to gather possession at times. We all know he can take a score, but he just doesn't seemed to be able to work himself into scoring positions. I can't remember him having a single shot today.

Swift had a frustrating day. Looked to have the beating of his man, but struggled more than anyone with his handling. He dropped almost everything.

Saving the best til last: Stevie McDonnell. He was immense. A couple of superb points from play, a few more long range frees, perfectly timed lay off for Duffy's goal, even picking up a couple of breaks around the middle. Simply the difference between the two teams.

Grugan and Murtagh came on for the last 10. Murtagh got himself an important point and Grugan hit a couple of wides, but I felt their main contribution was in offering good running outlets at a time when Mayo were closing in. Watters came on in injury time pretty much just to kill a few seconds.

All in all, a better showing from the players and management today, but nothing to get overly excited by. Better than driving home bate though, even the bleak desolation that is Roscommon couldn't bring me down. Confidence should be boosted a bit, and if Cross do the business on Thursday, tails should be up to give Kerry a good crack next weekend.

[moysider]

Am I the only one who thinks Gardiner had a stinker? F'in hell the amount of ball he gave away and the fact the armagh forward seemed to run through him for their first goal seems to me that he's not as good as he was anyway. As well as that, having 3 45 kickers and none of them really able to say for sure I'm the main one leaves us with a lot to ponder next week in Croke Park.

Armagh guys have taken over this thread after todays good win, Question for the Mayo lads.. do you think Horan is doing to much chopping & changing? i suppose he doesn't see the league as a high priority but your not going to strike the right balance with all these changes game after game.

If there's any more lots of chopping and changing, I will be getting worried. We need the team that played against Galway going full tilt next week and it still probably won't be enough. Fair enough there was the U-21 match yesterday but we're out of that now as well so we can concentrate on this now I suppose.

I'd let him chop and change to his heart's content. This is Horan's chance to look at players when losses don't mean anything. If Mayo get relegated to Division 2 what of it? Derry, Donegal, Meath, Kildare and Tyrone are all in Division 2. Doesn't seem that much like falling off a cliff to me.

Horan has to look at different men in different positions. More luck to him. Besides, there are plenty of teams near enough the drop. I wouldn't worry about it at all. They real bullets aren't fired for months yet.

Hopefully we ll be still standing this year when the real bullets are being fired. Chopping and changing is all very fine but he ll learn very little from it. This team still lacks structure and it begins to look like change for the sake of it. What he needs is a setup with shape where players can knit in and out and the team keeps its shape. Cork and Dublin seem to have achieved this and developed big panels. We still seem to be caught up in the cult of the starter.

A win today was achievable and then there would have been an opportunity to try things. I d prefer to treat these games as test matches. Besides there s the opportunity to use subs during games. Winning is also important in building a team. When you lose nobody is happy, starters or lads in tracksuits

[stephenite]

To be honest I don't quite buy into this mindset of chopping and changing for changes sake. James Horan is a smart man who has been around Mayo football long enough to have a fair idea what his best team is, if he doesn't know it by now, I'd wonder if he ever will.

We in Mayo, are not like the footballers of Tyrone and Kerry that can shite around in the league or the early stages of the championship knowing full well that the real stuff starts after the quarter finals of the championship, we've proven time and time again that we're not built for that sort of road, maybe Horan can miracle our lads into that mindset but I think it runs deeper in us.

We should start by winning the matches we should be winning, and if Horan had his best team out it sounds like we had the winning of that game - otherwise we will be long gone when the rest of the boys are playing with the real bullets. It's the way we are.

[moysider]

I feel that Aiden O' Shea needs to be given a run in midfield alongside Ronan Mcgarrity.  His performancefor the under 21's in this position was top class and he seems to be far more at home in the middle than in the forwards.  Mcgarrity would compliment him well as he is more of a defensive type.

I expect to see Horans best team in his opinion from here on in.  Time to settle on a team now with only a few weeks left until championship time. 


How about the two O' Shes in the middle with Mcgarrity at full back.  I reckon Ronan could be a good full back and could be worth a run in position that is of real concern.

This is it exactly. Look at different men in different positions while you have a chance. Three games left. Time to make the most of them.

I d prefer if a lot of this stuff was thrashed out in training. It s about time frees and 45s were sorted too. Top coaches don t make a call on a selection or a tactic in a test match unless they are pretty sure about it.

[Orangemac]

Great result today. 1 more win should keep us up which would be a great achievement. On paper Galway should be the easier game but no reason why we can't have a good crack at Kerry.

2 wins so far have came from having to dig deep and even the 2 defeats have went to the wire.

Encouraging to hear Charlie Vernon had another good game. Him and Toner seem to have established themsleves as No1 pairing for Championship.

[ross4life]

Better than driving home bate though, even the bleak desolation that is Roscommon couldn't bring me down.

Yeah like Armagh is such a wonderful place 

[moysider]

Great result today. 1 more win should keep us up which would be a great achievement. On paper Galway should be the easier game but no reason why we can't have a good crack at Kerry.

2 wins so far have came from having to dig deep and even the 2 defeats have went to the wire.

Encouraging to hear Charlie Vernon had another good game. Him and Toner seem to have established themsleves as No1 pairing for Championship.

Charlie had a good game. Started and seemed to spend most of the game at wing forward. Maybe management realised he would have too much for Gardiner. Unbelievably, O Malley put an early kick-out down on top of Gardiner. Guess what happened. Charlie also got a bit of criticism from his countymen about me but he did make some seigebursting runs. Billyfitz gave him MOM so who am I to argue.
Not often we have played Armagh so it was a bit of a novelty today. The Armagh fans gave Enda a great reception. Going to the game on my own I ended up sitting beside a very nice man and his family from near Crossmaglen. They and the other Armagh people nearby were the best of company on a raw, disappointing but enjoyable day.