All-Ireland Final, September 18th, 2016 - Dublin v Mayo

[Bod Mor]

I'd love to see Mayo win an AI. I don't have the perceived dislike Mayo think we have of them. I think it's be great for the game. The problem  is I just can't see them outscoring Dublin. Their half forwards barely score 0-1 a game outside DOC against top class opposition.

Dublin - S Cluxton; P McMahon (0-1), J Cooper, D Byrne; J McCarthy, C O'Sullivan, J Small; B Fenton (0-1), M D Macauley; P Flynn, K McManamon (0-2), C Kilkenny; D Rock (0-12, 8f, 2'45), D Connolly (0-3), B Brogan (0-2)

As opposed to what? Two points?

In all seriousness. 3 (Flynn, Kilkenny and Brogan) out of Dublin's 6 forwards had poor games by their standards. This is down in most part to their Kerry markers but it still worries me.
It will take a performance of epic proportions for us to outscore ye. Need to be at the same intensity as the Donegal 1\4 final in '13. Especially start the game at that intensity and lay down a mark.

[larryin89]

Kerrys kickouts were shite , dubs must of got most of their first half scores from them. I dont think fitzmaurice is much use on the line .

[Syferus]

McManamon in line for the All-Star his career richly deserves. I think he's in with a great shout for PotY if his form from the last two games carries into the final.

Connolly has had two very down years at his physical peak for a lad some want to label the best player in the country. He's due to rip the hole out of Keegan so I wouldn't be surprised by a MotM performance in the final. Keegan looked at sea on Quinvlan at times the last game and was very lucky not to get sent off, nevermind not picking up a yellow or black.

[bucko]

We need a ref that has to drive home to his house in Kiltane or Burrishoole or somewhere like that.

He can come to Newport for a holiday, he'll get well looked after😜

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Kerrys kickouts were shite , dubs must of got most of their first half scores from them. I dont think fitzmaurice is much use on the line .

FFS Larry, this is an english language forum (for the most part)... anyway, Up feckin' Mayo!

[seafoid]

Kerrys kickouts were shite , dubs must of got most of their first half scores from them. I dont think fitzmaurice is much use on the line .

FFS Larry, this is an english language forum (for the most part)... anyway, Up feckin' Mayo!

Should of is formal English  at this stage, Fear. So it is!

[seafoid]

We need a ref that has to drive home to his house in Kiltane or Burrishoole or somewhere like that.

Nobody fucks with the McManamons

[BennyHarp]

Mayo should have beaten the Dubs last year and the Dubs have lost two of their better defenses since then. Kerry showed today that the Dubs are beatable and for my money Mayo have a management team who are well able to come up with  a gameplan to win the game and experienced players who have been around long enough, to confidently implement it. I hope Mayo can pull it off and I'd be tempted at odds approaching 3/1. Looking forward to a cracking final.

Can you outline for the rest of us where Mayo are going to get a winning score from?

On bad day Dublin average 0-17.

I'd love to see Mayo win an AI. I don't have the perceived dislike Mayo think we have of them. I think it's be great for the game. The problem  is I just can't see them outscoring Dublin. Their half forwards barely score 0-1 a game outside DOC against top class opposition.

If they utilize Aiden O'Se and Cillianno'connor correctly there are goals in the Dublin full back line. I'm not saying hoof every ball in but there will be opportunities in the game to exploit them, I expect O'Se to he positioned around the edge of the D to occupy his marker and the sweeper, like Donaghy did on occasion yesterday. It may be a tough ask but a few goals for Mayo may just be enough. For me Dublin can, at times, be quite indisciplined when under pressure, they shit the bed in a game they were cruising in v Donegal until Manniom came on and steady their ship. They did the same again yesterday before half time. These moments must be exploited by Mayo. Lee Keegan, for me, will tie up Connolly who I wouldn't be surprised to see leave the pitch early a la Cavanagh! Connolly is the one that kicks the massive scores, if Mayo do shut this down then it's another big plus. They must also put pressure on Cluxton, be brave and attack the kick out. I feel Mayo are well capable of dominating midfield if Cluxton is forced to go long. I think the Mayo management are clearly more tactically aware than last year, when they very nearly pulled off the victory - Rory O'Connell and Jack McCaffery were massive on those games and they won't be there. Obviously the Dubs are favourites but if I was a Mayo fan, I would be looking a plenty of areas where they could get a significant foothold in the game....,or maybe the Dubs will win by 20 points.

[Kurtz]

Mayo employed blanket defence in Feb against Dublin and still lost so what will they try this time.

Sorry I meant massed defence its only a blanket when nordies do it

[Never beat the deeler]

Just had a look at the scoring returns of Mayo, Dublin, Kerry and Donegal over the last 5 years.

Donegal have (surprisingly enough) played most games with 30, followed by Mayo's 29 (2 x replays adding to this), Dublin 28 and Kerry 27.

Mayo have scored most goals in the period, with 56 (1.931 / game), followed by Dublin (1.8571), Kerry (1.66) and Donegal (1), however Dublin's 17.46 points / game is way ahead of the rest with Mayo (15.69) slightly ahead of Kerry (15.667) and Donegal trailing on 12.571/game.

In defence, not surprising to see Donegal the most miserly with 0.6 goals / game conceded, better than Dublin's 0.75 with nothing between trailing Kerry (0.8889) and Mayo (0.8966). Points conceded is very tight, again Donegal come out on top with 11.433/game, kerry next on 11.63, Mayo 11.793 and Dublin 12.071.

Overall though, the Dubs have a clearly superior record, with an average winning margin of 8.89 points / game, with the closest challengers Mayo on 7. Kerry average 6.37 with Donegal's 2.4 affected by a couple of heavy losses.

[seafoid]

Mayo need to be an eraser of Dubs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcPbfZ1apSc

Galway County Board are looking into the possibility of applying the 1925 rules should Mayo win
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1925_All-Ireland_Senior_Football_Championship

[yellowcard]

I think this could be one of the most one sided finals in recent memory. The Dubs are on a completely different level to Mayo and I really hope I am wrong but I can see this match being over quite early. There is no embarrassment in that though, the juggernaut will roll on and take another step towards immortality, this Dublin side could well be the best side we've ever seen playing Gaelic football.

[blast05]

I think this could be one of the most one sided finals in recent memory. The Dubs are on a completely different level to Mayo and I really hope I am wrong but I can see this match being over quite early. There is no embarrassment in that though, the juggernaut will roll on and take another step towards immortality, this Dublin side could well be the best side we've ever seen playing Gaelic football.

Come on. Get off the fence. Never mind saying "could be" ... "could well be" ..... just call it. They are the greatest ever

[ballinaman]

I think this could be one of the most one sided finals in recent memory. The Dubs are on a completely different level to Mayo and I really hope I am wrong but I can see this match being over quite early. There is no embarrassment in that though, the juggernaut will roll on and take another step towards immortality, this Dublin side could well be the best side we've ever seen playing Gaelic football.

Juggernaut klaxon!

[Mayo4Sam]

That's it so
Best tactic so far. Can anybody come up with a better one?!

I have one and I don't understand why it's not done in every game given the abuse Connolly gets.

The most mentally fragile player on the Dublin team is Cluxton, we saw again yesterday that when he's pressured he falls to pieces. Kerry pushed up yesterday and he didn't know what he was seeing.

So why not use some of the tactics used on Connolly to upset him. Go in and rough him up. Stand on his little gear bag and smash it to pieces, stand on his toes, squirt water down his leg, anything that will upset the ****. Provoke the f**k out of him and then keep going.