Maigh Eo v Ciarrai NFL Div 1 Caislean an Bharraigh Sun 3rd Feb 2pm

[Farrandeelin]

That's right syf, the good old FBD is the barometer... Sure didn't they destroy GMIT from the half forward positions.

[moysider]

10) Lee Keegan - Westport
11) Richie Feeney - Castlebar Mitchels

Have these boys ever played in the forwards in their lives?

Crazy stuff. Modern management eh?

Makes it easier for a weak Kerry half back line when they are marking Mayo half backs.

You do understand the concept of sweepers, right!?

Naming two half-backs and half-forwards is invariably about strengthening defense at the expense of offense.

Mayo do not have a marquee forward in the class of an O'Neill, Cooper or Bernard Brogan.

Playing with four recognised forwards instead of six and further reducing your scoring threat seems like shooting yourself in the foot somewhat.

Donegal managed to win the AI last year with two and a half forwards.

[From the Bunker]

Donegal managed to win the AI last year with two and a half forwards.

+1

[Syferus]

That's right syf, the good old FBD is the barometer... Sure didn't they destroy GMIT from the half forward positions.

Eh? Feeney usually plays as an attacking half-back at the best of times, he even came on against Dublin last September and played HF so it's not like this is something that should worry anyone, Feeney is to my mind clearly one of Mayo's best fifteen players and his play last year was deserving of much more championship time than he got.

With the way the game is played these days there's very little difference in the skill-set of most half-backs and half-forwards unless a certain half-forward happens to be a prolific scorer. They both move the chains, run at opposing backs and try to find a pass that breaks a defence open.

Keegan is a wild card but with the derth of scoring forwards and injuries to Andy and O'Connor it's not a decision that should come out of the blue to anyone.

[Syferus]

10) Lee Keegan - Westport
11) Richie Feeney - Castlebar Mitchels

Have these boys ever played in the forwards in their lives?

Crazy stuff. Modern management eh?

Makes it easier for a weak Kerry half back line when they are marking Mayo half backs.

You do understand the concept of sweepers, right!?

Naming two half-backs and half-forwards is invariably about strengthening defense at the expense of offense.

Mayo do not have a marquee forward in the class of an O'Neill, Cooper or Bernard Brogan.

Playing with four recognised forwards instead of six and further reducing your scoring threat seems like shooting yourself in the foot somewhat.

They do when Andy Moran is fit. I'd rate him above O'Neill and take him above Brogan every time too. Brogan is a flair player but he's not a leader or someone with the vision of Moran, Moran makes everyone around him far better than Brogan does. Moran's ability to score himself has become pretty special in the last few years too - he just isn't as selfish as Brogan and plays others into the game far more. I should say that's not a huge slight on Brogan because most of the time he can be relied on to get the shots he takes, but anyone can tell you that plenty of times they're not the percentage options.

If you meant right now given his injury, sure, but in absolute terms Mayo have a forward every bit deserving of being part of that top-tier.

[Blowitupref]

Andy Moran is one of Mayos best footballers and leaders however, he's not like Brogan,Cooper,McFadden etc that are marquee forwards. Going on that last two years Moran scored 0-7 v London,2-0 v Leitrim however, on average he will score around one or two points a game.

Playing half backs in the half forward line is the way game has gone, management teams is made up of an coach,trainer,selectors and manager too many cooks spoil the broth? teams are more worried about the opposition than themselves in fairness to Mayo they do play strengths and if they can find another forward that can score around 0-5 a game they could end the All Ireland famine.

[muppet]

10) Lee Keegan - Westport
11) Richie Feeney - Castlebar Mitchels

Have these boys ever played in the forwards in their lives?

Crazy stuff. Modern management eh?

Makes it easier for a weak Kerry half back line when they are marking Mayo half backs.

You do understand the concept of sweepers, right!?

Naming two half-backs and half-forwards is invariably about strengthening defense at the expense of offense.

Mayo do not have a marquee forward in the class of an O'Neill, Cooper or Bernard Brogan.

Playing with four recognised forwards instead of six and further reducing your scoring threat seems like shooting yourself in the foot somewhat.

No worries because we would miss.

[Syferus]

Andy Moran is one of Mayos best footballers and leaders however, he's not like Brogan,Cooper,McFadden etc that are marquee forwards. Going on that last two years Moran scored 0-7 v London,2-0 v Leitrim however, on average he will score around one or two points a game.

Playing half backs in the half forward line is the way game has gone, management teams is made up of an coach,trainer,selectors and manager too many cooks spoil the broth? teams are more worried about the opposition than themselves in fairness to Mayo they do play strengths and if they can find another forward that can score around 0-5 a game they could end the All Ireland famine.

Y'see I think this highlights the need for far better stat keeping and reporting by media outlets because popular sentiment always favours the high point-scoring forward regardless of anything else.

One forward could set up a dozen easy chances for others but another forward could score 5 points off as many chances and be hailed as man-of-the-match. We fetishise 'scoring forwards' a little too much in the sport and I know that despite have two (and arguably three) ourselves it's far from the silver bullet it's sometimes presented as.

The impact of an Andy Moran, his assists, his link play and his attitude as a leader for me make him a better player than a Bernard Brogan or a Colm O'Neill (who, although very good and likely to improve, really shouldn't mentioned be in this sort of rarefied company right now). Brogan can lift a team by scoring spectacular points alone but Moran can lift a team buy playing others into the form and chances that make an entire attack far more dangerous and hard to stop. His ability to win high ball is special to boot, and the best backs in the country have all tried and failed to contain him when it really matters.

Likewise he's scored some beautiful points too in the last few seasons - facing away from goal against Down and pivoting from around 40m out on the wing and scoring springs to mind-  and his ability to convert chances himself have reached very high levels themselves. Maybe not as 'natural' a scorer as Brogan but very much a more complete player.

I think Andy Moran is the very definition of a marquee forward but that the fact he's grew into that role over the course of many years means too few are able to properly appreciate that fact. Flair catches peoples' eyes but consistent excellence and improvement seems to be a tougher sell.

[ballinaman]

Been looking forward to today. Looking forward to seeing Cathal Freeman, great footballing brain to pick a pass. Mayo by 2.

[From the Bunker]

Andy Moran is one of Mayos best footballers and leaders however, he's not like Brogan,Cooper,McFadden etc that are marquee forwards. Going on that last two years Moran scored 0-7 v London,2-0 v Leitrim however, on average he will score around one or two points a game.

Playing half backs in the half forward line is the way game has gone, management teams is made up of an coach,trainer,selectors and manager too many cooks spoil the broth? teams are more worried about the opposition than themselves in fairness to Mayo they do play strengths and if they can find another forward that can score around 0-5 a game they could end the All Ireland famine.

Y'see I think this highlights the need for far better stat keeping and reporting by media outlets because popular sentiment always favours the high point-scoring forward regardless of anything else.

One forward could set up a dozen easy chances for others but another forward could score 5 points off as many chances and be hailed as man-of-the-match. We fetishise 'scoring forwards' a little too much in the sport and I know that despite have two (and arguably three) ourselves it's far from the silver bullet it's sometimes presented as.

The impact of an Andy Moran, his assists, his link play and his attitude as a leader for me make him a better player than a Bernard Brogan or a Colm O'Neill (who, although very good and likely to improve, really shouldn't mentioned be in this sort of rarefied company right now). Brogan can lift a team by scoring spectacular points alone but Moran can lift a team buy playing others into the form and chances that make an entire attack far more dangerous and hard to stop. His ability to win high ball is special to boot, and the best backs in the country have all tried and failed to contain him when it really matters.

Likewise he's scored some beautiful points too in the last few seasons - facing away from goal against Down and pivoting from around 40m out on the wing and scoring springs to mind-  and his ability to convert chances himself have reached very high levels themselves. Maybe not as 'natural' a scorer as Brogan but very much a more complete player.

I think Andy Moran is the very definition of a marquee forward but that the fact he's grew into that role over the course of many years means too few are able to properly appreciate that fact. Flair catches peoples' eyes but consistent excellence and improvement seems to be a tougher sell.

I'd add Kevin McLoughlin to that, naturally over a shorter period.

[criostlinn]

Good to have proper football back again. A good league for Mayo would be to avoid relegation find another decent forward and maybe someone else for the fullback line. Aiden O'Shea and Barry Moran to move up another level from last year and maybe a third midfielder to add some serious competition for places and maybe give the opportunity to Aiden O'Shea to move into a more forward position if the need arises.

Looking at the line up I would have liked to see Conor O'Shea playing and Keith Higgins in the half back line. I like the idea of trying Keegan and Feeney in the  forwards. I think come championship we need one of them to be able to slot into this role and I reckon it will be Feeney . He definitely has not got the playing time he has deserved over the last 12 months but despite this was well able to step up whenever called on. 

Backed Mayo in my accumulator so have probably put the jinx on it. Need them to win for a €200 win. Still to this day I dont know why I let my heart rule my head when it come to Mayo. They have fecked up so many bets fro me in the past. Although would definitely make beating the kingdom a whole lot sweeter

[Farrandeelin]

Been looking forward to today. Looking forward to seeing Cathal Freeman, great footballing brain to pick a pass. Mayo by 2.

Wasn't really looking forward to the game itself, but now the day's here, frig it there's nothing like the day of a match. Agree with regards to Cathal Freeman. I also would like to see Conor O'Shea playing, but I'm sure he will get a run out at some stage during the league campaign.

Hopefully the O'Shea brothers who are playing can step up and dominate the midfield sector, be it by catching or sweeping up ball. I also think this has to be last chance saloon for Doherty, not today as such, but the whole league. He needs to get a few goals or else it could be bye bye for him.

[maigheo]

jason doc with the first 3 points for mayo.0.03 to 0.01 for Mayo

[maigheo]

very fast paced game ,Mayo 0.07  kerry 1.06

[From the Bunker]

Even enough match, typical league fare. Mayo's half back line looks a bit outta sorts. Jason Doherty enjoying fee taking responsibilities.