conor mortimer

[heffo]

Agree with that Itchy in the main but what probably annoyed Mort most was the selection of others before him. Not saying he was right or wrong but for example, he scored 0-8 against Dublin (5 frees) in league game, was dropped next day getting sub run out. In league semi scored 0-7 (4 frees), top point scorer again from play and only member of full forward line to score incl. subs. In final only scored 1 free but problems lay farther out the field. He came on and scored 0-2 (1 free) in championship opener v Leitrim being preferred to by Freeman who had not played a competitive game for Mayo since March.

Am not making excuses for him at all but just to show that he was in form after bursting a gut to get back to this level of football after his season out after knee surgery. The circus that followed his departure leaves the door firmly shut on any return during the Horan years, but maybe Horan should not go entirely blameless ??

And how did the Mort react to not be picked? Went on twitter saying something along the lines of ... When you see who is being picked in front of you, all you can do is laugh. That kind of selfishness is poison for a team.

He did not say anything on twitter and he did not go running to the Media. He was unfortunate his family got involved.  He made a bad (not thought out) decision. One I'm sure he regrets in hindsight.

Legend has it he let it be known amongst certain journalist acquaintances the weekend prior to team selection for Connacht final that if not selected to start he would walk. And he walked.

No legend about it. I knew the week before he was walking if not starting in that game.

[ck]

I've met Mort on a few occasions. He is a decent skin, good craic and just wants to play football however he is a selfish little git without a shadow of a doubt. When the whole thing blew up last year I wasnt surprised at all. It's no coincience that Mayos fortunes have changed since the likes of Mort have been sidelined with a new regime under Horan. Mort is not a team player, never was. Weak managers accomodate these players, strong managers get rid of them.

[Canalman]

I've met Mort on a few occasions. He is a decent skin, good craic and just wants to play football however he is a selfish little git without a shadow of a doubt. When the whole thing blew up last year I wasnt surprised at all. It's no coincience that Mayos fortunes have changed since the likes of Mort have been sidelined with a new regime under Horan. Mort is not a team player, never was. Weak managers accomodate these players, strong managers get rid of them.

And exceptional/brilliant managers get these type of players to adapt their ways (temporarily anyways) to play for the team.

[Itchy]

I've met Mort on a few occasions. He is a decent skin, good craic and just wants to play football however he is a selfish little git without a shadow of a doubt. When the whole thing blew up last year I wasnt surprised at all. It's no coincience that Mayos fortunes have changed since the likes of Mort have been sidelined with a new regime under Horan. Mort is not a team player, never was. Weak managers accomodate these players, strong managers get rid of them.

And exceptional/brilliant managers get these type of players to adapt their ways (temporarily anyways) to play for the team.

So you think that it is possible to get the best out of any troublesome player without having an effect on the rest of the team? That might be possible in some cases but not in all. Some times the manager has to make a call whether a player is more hassle than hes worth. I don't think making a strong call one way or the other is somehow a sign of a weak manager. Pandering to egos is more likely to piss of the rest of the team and personally i would not allow that to happen.

[RMDrive]

Agree with that Itchy in the main but what probably annoyed Mort most was the selection of others before him. Not saying he was right or wrong but for example, he scored 0-8 against Dublin (5 frees) in league game, was dropped next day getting sub run out. In league semi scored 0-7 (4 frees), top point scorer again from play and only member of full forward line to score incl. subs. In final only scored 1 free but problems lay farther out the field. He came on and scored 0-2 (1 free) in championship opener v Leitrim being preferred to by Freeman who had not played a competitive game for Mayo since March.

Am not making excuses for him at all but just to show that he was in form after bursting a gut to get back to this level of football after his season out after knee surgery. The circus that followed his departure leaves the door firmly shut on any return during the Horan years, but maybe Horan should not go entirely blameless ??

And how did the Mort react to not be picked? Went on twitter saying something along the lines of ... When you see who is being picked in front of you, all you can do is laugh. That kind of selfishness is poison for a team.

He did not say anything on twitter and he did not go running to the Media. He was unfortunate his family got involved.  He made a bad (not thought out) decision. One I'm sure he regrets in hindsight.

Uh, yes he did.

Are you sure? Can't recall seeing it originally and checked earlier. Nothing there!

Yeah, I remember it from the time. At that stage he was still on the panel and I remember thinking what bad form it was from him.

[sans pessimism]

I've met Mort on a few occasions. He is a decent skin, good craic and just wants to play football however he is a selfish little git without a shadow of a doubt. When the whole thing blew up last year I wasnt surprised at all. It's no coincience that Mayos fortunes have changed since the likes of Mort have been sidelined with a new regime under Horan. Mort is not a team player, never was. Weak managers accomodate these players, strong managers get rid of them.

And exceptional/brilliant managers get these type of players to adapt their ways (temporarily anyways) to play for the team.

Bulllshit solution

[ludermor]

If he said something you can be sure it is on the Gaaboard everything he said was documented in great detail on the board at the time.

[muppet]

Met him a few times (i was usually jarred) and he was sound. Happy enough to chat with any of us which many players are not. He gets a harder time than he should although in fairness he does look like a fella who seeks attention.

[Syferus]

He's already sketched himself into Mayo's All-time greats but I doubt many Mayo supporters will be able to bring themselves to admit that for a very long time, if ever.

[GalwayBayBoy]

He's already sketched himself into Mayo's All-time greats

Really?

I'm not as au fait with Mayo's all-time greats as I would be with our own but Mort wouldn't strike me as an all-time great for either county but I could be mistaken. In fact I doubt he would even make a second string all time great Galway team.

[From the Bunker]

He's already sketched himself into Mayo's All-time greats but I doubt many Mayo supporters will be able to bring themselves to admit that for a very long time, if ever.

Ah, you're playing silly buggers there. As Dunphy would say a good player, but not a great player. A character in the game, that dare i say for youngsters 'made it cool to play Gaelic football'.

[Lar Naparka]

He's already sketched himself into Mayo's All-time greats but I doubt many Mayo supporters will be able to bring themselves to admit that for a very long time, if ever.

Ah, you're playing silly buggers there. As Dunphy would say a good player, but not a great player. A character in the game, that dare i say for youngsters 'made it cool to play Gaelic football'.

Yeah, I'd regard him as good but never great. He was very good at certain things but his range of skills was limited.
IMO, he deserved his All Star in 2006.
He had his best games when the likes of Ciaran Mac and Kevin O'Neill were about and he could latch onto their pinpoint passes; turn and shoot. He could indeed convert a lot of chances but he was also guilty of some wild shooting at times and was never the man to lay off a pass to a better placed colleague.
I'd never rate him as a team player, which seems to be a priority of James Horan.
I thought he got a rough time of it under O'Mahony where he was asked to play in roles that didn't suit him like the AIQ game against Tyrone in 2008.
Here, he was part of a two-man FF line and was being used as a target man when his marker was much taller and heavier.
His unhappiness with Horan's way of doing things began long before he walked out and his omission for the CF was the final straw.
I think it was a straightforward either or decision there. Either he adapted to Horan's way of doing things or Horan changed his tactical approach to accommodate Conoreen.
And Horan had the final say...

[Hardy]

If he said something you can be sure it is on the Gaaboard everything he said was documented in great detail on the board at the time.

Ain't that the truth.

[imtommygunn]

Definitely a good corner forward but to say he was one of mayo's all time greats is a bit OTT.

Good, fast skillful corner forward who could make it count against certain opposition. However when he got marked by the right guy or the ball coming in wasn't as good quality he couldn't win his own ball and that is key.

Good player but almost more of a "luxury" player.

[Denn Forever]

Not a patch on either of his older brothers.