County most likely to break into the top 4

[GalwayBayBoy]

Derry are awful and will get relegated from Div 1 this year. They wod appear to be going no-where fast under McIvor. For me the team to watch for in Ulster is Monaghan. Tyrone, Donegal on the slide and Armagh and Cavan on the up.

In Connacht Mayo are miles ahead with Galway makes some gains but well behind.

Leinster, after the dubs you have Meath and Kildare and that's it.

Munster, Kerry on their own with Cork stuttering and Tipp very much on the rise.

Top 4
1. Dublin
2. Kerry
3. Mayo
4. Monaghan

What will be different about Monaghan this year that will elevate them to top four? They've been playing at the limit of their potential over the last two years in my view and that hasn't been good enough to get there. They're a handy top 8 team but no more, and we saw what happened when they met Dublin. They just don't have the strength in depth.

Galway are lurking. I don't think they're nearly as far behind Mayo as people think and could well turn them over in Connacht this year. Wouldn't surprise me at all to see them mount a serious All-Ireland challenge over the next 2 or 3 years.

I have my doubts to be honest. You would imagine Galway v Mayo could be a lot closer this year but realistically I think Mayo might have at least one more year of Connacht dominance left in them. Both Galway and Roscommon still have some ground to make up. I mean both sides have looked decent so far but they are not playing division 1 opposition like Mayo are.

In the right hands Mayo could be dominant for some time and probably indefinitely with a good board and good underage structures.

To say Mayo could dominate indefinitely is probably slightly presumptuous at best and arrogant at worst. Nobody has ever dominated indefinitely in the past and likely never will in the future. The fortunes of teams tend to ebb and flow like the tide with rare periods when they are all quite good at the same time such as the late 90's early 00's or all quite poor at the same time such as the late 80's early 90's. More often than not only one team is of the required standard to challenge nationally at any given time. And certainly for the past 5 years or so that side has been Mayo.

Ultimately better for Connacht if Galway and Roscommon can improve to try and reach Mayo's level rather than Mayo regressing to come down to Galway and Roscommon's level.

[Blowitupref]

Better Galway,Roscommon sides will naturally make the Connacht championship more competitive and tougher to win.  Not sure where this current Mayo panel are the summer will tell more however when a side has peaked not even good management will prevent a slide.

[Syferus]

In fairness I think the dominance is over. If Mayo win Connacht this year it will be after being tested, indeed we did that last year too. Connacht rarely stays in a anyone's hands for very long.

You're not hearing me Sy' pal
Connacht changes hands when Mayo screw up - usually when we have a management not up to it. Pateen is getting a second chance at not being up to it or not
If we re caught in Connacht this year it is not a case as Gal. and Ros. catching up; it s a case of Mayo f**king up. Like we did in '98 and 2001  e.g.

That's probably the most arrogant thing I've seen you type Moy. I think Horan may have squeezed as much as could be gotten from this group of players, barring the few brain farts in the big games that kept the 'ould curse alive. It may be a case that they are so mentally and physically depleted that it doesn't matter who was managing them and they'd still be beatable. People talk about some of the key pieces not being over the hill but I look at how long teams last at the top and the effort put in to stay on the top is what burns players out rather than simply age.

I think H&C have been handed the most thankless task in Mayo football in quite some time, and the nature of their selection has only given supporters an alternative with which to beat them with if one of two up-and-coming teams leave Mayo facing into the Qualifiers.

The climb is always better than the downward journey.

[moysider]

I don't think Mayo's goose is cooked yet. They won't have any fear about playing in Salthill against Galway. Galway have new management, but what else is new. On the field, who will Galway have this year that they didn't have last year?. Themselves and Roscommon are improving, but i have my doubts about whether either will be good enough to stop Mayo's 5 in a row in Connacht this year... Mayo could find it tougher in Croke Park this year if there's any slippage in them, but i believe it will take better than Galway or Ros to floor them for this year.

Galway or Ros could floor us. Margins have been close enough most years. London nearly floored us in '11.
There s a bigger picture. What happens when a team gets into last 8. Different universe.

I suspect most Mayo fans are not too worried about 5 in-a-row. If the management is right we can do 5 and maybe the grail. If the management is not up to it this team is young enough to have a gap year and come back better. One thing we cant afford though is the scenario where Johnno was given 4 years to destroy us. James Horan s achievements, after what went before, must be one of the best managerial careers of them all.

[Shrewdness]

Moysider, i take your point about Mayo people and the 5 in a row. But failure to win that 5 in a row would see Mayo having to take the back door qualifier route. That is alien territory to this Mayo team and would examine their mental fortitude. The qualifier route is a minefield littered with unexploded mines, as Mayo found to their cost in Longford. Much safer to take the 5 in a row route.

[seafoid]

Mayo could win 10 in a row but would any of it count without Sam?

[Put Up That Flag]

It is obviously going to be Roscommon, in fact they are likely to pull away from every other team in the country,  of course that is provided they wear the correct studs

[moysider]

Moysider, i take your point about Mayo people and the 5 in a row. But failure to win that 5 in a row would see Mayo having to take the back door qualifier route. That is alien territory to this Mayo team and would examine their mental fortitude. The qualifier route is a minefield littered with unexploded mines, as Mayo found to their cost in Longford. Much safer to take the 5 in a row route.

Failure in Connacht would probably mean an early exit on the road, yeah. That would provoke a lot of soul searching in the county.
For Roscommon and Galway beating us would be the easy part. To get to last 4/2 you have to beat a Dublin, Cork, Donegal or Kerry in CP - or Limerick!

[Chimley]

Mayo could win 10 in a row but would any of it count without Sam?

No, it wouldn't.
One of the legacies of James Horan's tenure as Mayo manager may ironically turn out to be that he increased the level of performance of both Roscommon and Galway in the long run.
2013 was an eyeopener, in that the others saw how far they were from being contenders on a national stage. Both seem to have taken those harsh lessons on board and the province may benefit at Mayos expense. It wouldn't be the first time we tee'd it up for Galway if that does come to pass.

[Nihilist]

Moysider, i take your point about Mayo people and the 5 in a row. But failure to win that 5 in a row would see Mayo having to take the back door qualifier route. That is alien territory to this Mayo team and would examine their mental fortitude. The qualifier route is a minefield littered with unexploded mines, as Mayo found to their cost in Longford. Much safer to take the 5 in a row route.

Failure in Connacht would probably mean an early exit on the road, yeah. That would provoke a lot of soul searching in the county.
For Roscommon and Galway beating us would be the easy part. To get to last 4/2 you have to beat a Dublin, Cork, Donegal or Kerry in CP - or Limerick!

Maybe it wouldn't do any harm to dampen expectations a little. The gist of the thread here towards Mayo is that it's all or nothing. Quite a load to carry into the championship under new management. Ok you could say the same about Dublin but remember Dublin have completely different resources at their behest not to mention that they will be playing all their games on their home patch in Croker which is undoubtedly a massive advantage.

Furthermore Mayo teams of the past 2 years have been trying to peak for the late Summer. This year they will have to peak all the way through. Galway will not simply roll over especially in Pearse stadium because Mayo lads need to conserve energy. Never mind Ros.
Kerry and Cork have a much easier run of it because of the seeding system.

Overall it's not difficult to see Mayo slipping back as the workload increases in Connacht before even getting to a possible final four.

[seafoid]

Mayo could win 10 in a row but would any of it count without Sam?

No, it wouldn't.
One of the legacies of James Horan's tenure as Mayo manager may ironically turn out to be that he increased the level of performance of both Roscommon and Galway in the long run.
2013 was an eyeopener, in that the others saw how far they were from being contenders on a national stage. Both seem to have taken those harsh lessons on board and the province may benefit at Mayos expense. It wouldn't be the first time we tee'd it up for Galway if that does come to pass.

I would not like to see that happen again. We need mayo to win the effin thing.

[muppet]

Moysider, i take your point about Mayo people and the 5 in a row. But failure to win that 5 in a row would see Mayo having to take the back door qualifier route. That is alien territory to this Mayo team and would examine their mental fortitude. The qualifier route is a minefield littered with unexploded mines, as Mayo found to their cost in Longford. Much safer to take the 5 in a row route.

Failure in Connacht would probably mean an early exit on the road, yeah. That would provoke a lot of soul searching in the county.
For Roscommon and Galway beating us would be the easy part. To get to last 4/2 you have to beat a Dublin, Cork, Donegal or Kerry in CP - or Limerick!

Maybe it wouldn't do any harm to dampen expectations a little. The gist of the thread here towards Mayo is that it's all or nothing. Quite a load to carry into the championship under new management. Ok you could say the same about Dublin but remember Dublin have completely different resources at their behest not to mention that they will be playing all their games on their home patch in Croker which is undoubtedly a massive advantage.

Furthermore Mayo teams of the past 2 years have been trying to peak for the late Summer. This year they will have to peak all the way through. Galway will not simply roll over especially in Pearse stadium because Mayo lads need to conserve energy. Never mind Ros.
Kerry and Cork have a much easier run of it because of the seeding system.

Overall it's not difficult to see Mayo slipping back as the workload increases in Connacht before even getting to a possible final four.

Peaking later, maybe. But I don't really think they will be trying to conserve energy. Look at the Rugby World Cup and how quickly high intensity games will come around. They need to conserve energy, our Championship is so drawn out that imho energy isn't a problem.

[giveballaghback]

If the top 4 were picked after last years leagues it would have read as follows, 1 Dubs a mile ahead of the rest and a shoe in for the all-ire. 2 Mayo because they have been in the last 2 all-ire finals and have no contest in connacht only a div 2 galway that should have been relegated and a div 3 team ros. 3. Cork they destroyed a poor Kerry team in killarney and will have learned a good lesson against the unbeatable dubs in the semi. 4 Monaghan, they easily beat a Donegal team in decline and look the best of the rest.
How many made the last 4, more importantly how many made the all ire?
This is all a load of crap and most of the crap is coming from moysider and the very aptly named muppet.

[Farrandeelin]

If the top 4 were picked after last years leagues it would have read as follows, 1 Dubs a mile ahead of the rest and a shoe in for the all-ire. 2 Mayo because they have been in the last 2 all-ire finals and have no contest in connacht only a div 2 galway that should have been relegated and a div 3 team ros. 3. Cork they destroyed a poor Kerry team in killarney and will have learned a good lesson against the unbeatable dubs in the semi. 4 Monaghan, they easily beat a Donegal team in decline and look the best of the rest.
How many made the last 4, more importantly how many made the all ire?
This is all a load of crap and most of the crap is coming from moysider and the very aptly named muppet.

What, the thread or your post??

[giveballaghback]

Farrandeelan, more rhubarb crap, it can do that to you, be careful, Mayoforsam 2525,if man is still alive