NFL Division 1 2025

[Manning18]

Mayo..god that has to be a bit dispiriting for them I'd say? Or was Sligo game in forefront of minds too much?

Mayo are no longer the circa 2011-2017 team. They fell into this final trying to avoid relegation. The focus is on the Championship in 7 days you'd imagine.

Was the team of 2011-2017 that hectic either.

They could compete with the dubs when no one else could but they had some questionable results in them years too.

Ah now, they took the best team of all to extra time and replays in their own patch. When nobody else was getting close. They'll always be put down for not sealing the deal, but you could not fault their determination in always coming back. Them Championships would have been a worse place without them.

 

It's just patently untrue to say nobody else was getting close. Kerry were level with them going into injury time in both 2013 and 2016, and ahead of them going in injury time in 2019

There seems to be an automatic assumption that Mayo were the second best team of that period for playing Dublin close in 3 games that Dublin ultimately won. People forget getting dumped out of Connacht 3 times in a row, draws against Roscommon, Derry and Cork (latter two were a shambles back then) and a dive to beat Fermanagh at home. There was also a couple of hidings by Dublin in there in 2015 and later on in 2019.

Kerry actually won an All Ireland in that period, played Dublin close a similar number of times while never receiving a 2019 style hiding, always walked their province and regularly put 15 points on the type of teams Mayo were drawing with. Basically every year in that period Kerry went into the All Ireland race as 4/1 shots while Mayo were 8/1+, which tells you how the two teams were ranked at that time

We beat them in 2017 and got robbed in 2014 . We were better than Kerry circa 2012 -2017 in the overall context , most people's  power rankings for them years would have it that way but unfortunately they smash and grabbed one and winners dictate the narrative oh and anti mayo Galway WANs like you of course .

Absolutely nobody had Mayo power ranked over Kerry in those years, as was evidenced as I said by the odds of that time. Kerry went off slight favorites to beat Dublin in the 2015 final. Mayo were never sub 3/1 to beat Dublin in any game throughout that period

You've cherrypicked 2012 there. Kerry hammered Mayo by 9 points in 2011, beat them in 2014 (after replay), Mayo won in 17 (again after replay) and Kerry absolutely devoured Mayo in 2019. So the head to head for that decade feels fairly conclusive in one direction. It's also 1 All Ireland to zero

Kerry were walking provincials and winning league titles while Mayo were staving off relegation, getting beaten by a very average Galway in Connacht in 3 consecutive years, and piddling through the easiest draw possible to get back to a final

It's hilarious you mention referee robbery when Aidan O'Shea had one of the most blatant dives of the decade to rob Fermanagh in a qualifier, while Mayo needed some very questionable decisions to bring Roscommon to ET a year later. Had either of those games been ref'd correctly Mayo wouldn't be even be in this conversation as they'd never have had the opportunity to have their moral victories (losses) against Dublin in the final

2012 to 2017 (hardly cherrypicking ) it was the era when when we won our semi final for the first time since 06 , we won five nestors on the bounce , we contested four all Ireland finals and competed in every single semi final in that said era , 12 beat dubs, 13 beat Tyrone , 14 lost to Cormac Reilly , 15 lost to dubs after a replay, 16 beat tipp , 17 beat Kerry .

All stars in said era .

2012: Ger Cafferkey (Full Back), Keith Higgins (Left-Corner Back), Lee Keegan (Right-Half Back), Alan Dillon (Centre-Half Forward).

2013: Keith Higgins (Left-Corner Back), Lee Keegan (Right-Half Back), Colm Boyle (Left-Half Back), Aiden O'Shea (Midfield).

2014: Keith Higgins (Left-Corner Back), Colm Boyle (Left-Half Back), Cillian O'Connor (Right-Corner Forward).

2015: Lee Keegan (Right-Half Back), Aiden O'Shea (Full Forward).

2016: David Clarke (Goalkeeper), Brendan Harrison (Right-Corner Back) Lee Keegan (Right-Half Back), Colm Boyle (Centre Half Back).

2017: David Clarke (Goalkeeper), Chris Barrett (Right-Corner Back), Keith Higgins (Left-Corner Back), Colm Boyle (Right-Half Back), Aidan O'Shea (Centre-Half Forward), Andy Moran (Left-Corner Forward).

There will be many debates on why and how with all sorts of opinions but yours is just nonsense. It won't ever be what they wanted to be remembered by but that era will never be equalled in the context of the greatest era for a county that didn't collect one . Unbelievable characters of true sporting resilience and we will always be very proud of their efforts in Mayo . 

 

You've gone off on a complete tangent to something nobody is talking about. The argument was who is the second best team of that decade, a long long way behind Dublin in first. The common narrative is that it was Mayo. Ive pointed out how the results of that decade simply don't stack up that argument, having had countless times when Mayo were bang average. Playing Dublin close a few times doesn't automatically grant you that spot, when Kerry also played Dublin close a few times, never lost or drew to the bad teams Mayo did, and actually won an All Ireland

Your dates are cherrypicked because they convieniently ignore a year previous when Kerry hammered a Mayo who'd the same players and management team as the years after, and ignores the same team in 2019 who got annihilated by Kerry and Dublin. Those two counties don't tend to need to cherrypick years.

Even if we stick with 2012-2017, im sure some Donegal man could come along and claim they were better than Mayo for that period, given that they beat Mayo comfortably in a final and stopped what wouldve been an eventual 8 in a row in 2014. There's a very far cry from Gilroys Dublin in 2012 who were beating Laois, Wexford and Meath by 3 points each and Jim Gavins version in 2014 who were beating those teams by 20

Lastly, seriously give up the Cormac Reilly stuff. Kerry won that extra time by 3 full points. Is it any wonder McStay gets humiliated online for having basic comments about Clifford. It goes back to Mayo fans whinging about every final loss, Pat McEneaney getting death threats after 1996, Mayo Mick in Limerick in 2014, the abuse Joe McQuillan got after a final with the Dubs. It's a terrible look thats given Mayo fans a bad name

[larryin89]

Mayo..god that has to be a bit dispiriting for them I'd say? Or was Sligo game in forefront of minds too much?

Mayo are no longer the circa 2011-2017 team. They fell into this final trying to avoid relegation. The focus is on the Championship in 7 days you'd imagine.

Was the team of 2011-2017 that hectic either.

They could compete with the dubs when no one else could but they had some questionable results in them years too.

Ah now, they took the best team of all to extra time and replays in their own patch. When nobody else was getting close. They'll always be put down for not sealing the deal, but you could not fault their determination in always coming back. Them Championships would have been a worse place without them.

 

It's just patently untrue to say nobody else was getting close. Kerry were level with them going into injury time in both 2013 and 2016, and ahead of them going in injury time in 2019

There seems to be an automatic assumption that Mayo were the second best team of that period for playing Dublin close in 3 games that Dublin ultimately won. People forget getting dumped out of Connacht 3 times in a row, draws against Roscommon, Derry and Cork (latter two were a shambles back then) and a dive to beat Fermanagh at home. There was also a couple of hidings by Dublin in there in 2015 and later on in 2019.

Kerry actually won an All Ireland in that period, played Dublin close a similar number of times while never receiving a 2019 style hiding, always walked their province and regularly put 15 points on the type of teams Mayo were drawing with. Basically every year in that period Kerry went into the All Ireland race as 4/1 shots while Mayo were 8/1+, which tells you how the two teams were ranked at that time

We beat them in 2017 and got robbed in 2014 . We were better than Kerry circa 2012 -2017 in the overall context , most people's  power rankings for them years would have it that way but unfortunately they smash and grabbed one and winners dictate the narrative oh and anti mayo Galway WANs like you of course .

Absolutely nobody had Mayo power ranked over Kerry in those years, as was evidenced as I said by the odds of that time. Kerry went off slight favorites to beat Dublin in the 2015 final. Mayo were never sub 3/1 to beat Dublin in any game throughout that period

You've cherrypicked 2012 there. Kerry hammered Mayo by 9 points in 2011, beat them in 2014 (after replay), Mayo won in 17 (again after replay) and Kerry absolutely devoured Mayo in 2019. So the head to head for that decade feels fairly conclusive in one direction. It's also 1 All Ireland to zero

Kerry were walking provincials and winning league titles while Mayo were staving off relegation, getting beaten by a very average Galway in Connacht in 3 consecutive years, and piddling through the easiest draw possible to get back to a final

It's hilarious you mention referee robbery when Aidan O'Shea had one of the most blatant dives of the decade to rob Fermanagh in a qualifier, while Mayo needed some very questionable decisions to bring Roscommon to ET a year later. Had either of those games been ref'd correctly Mayo wouldn't be even be in this conversation as they'd never have had the opportunity to have their moral victories (losses) against Dublin in the final

2012 to 2017 (hardly cherrypicking ) it was the era when when we won our semi final for the first time since 06 , we won five nestors on the bounce , we contested four all Ireland finals and competed in every single semi final in that said era , 12 beat dubs, 13 beat Tyrone , 14 lost to Cormac Reilly , 15 lost to dubs after a replay, 16 beat tipp , 17 beat Kerry .

All stars in said era .

2012: Ger Cafferkey (Full Back), Keith Higgins (Left-Corner Back), Lee Keegan (Right-Half Back), Alan Dillon (Centre-Half Forward).

2013: Keith Higgins (Left-Corner Back), Lee Keegan (Right-Half Back), Colm Boyle (Left-Half Back), Aiden O'Shea (Midfield).

2014: Keith Higgins (Left-Corner Back), Colm Boyle (Left-Half Back), Cillian O'Connor (Right-Corner Forward).

2015: Lee Keegan (Right-Half Back), Aiden O'Shea (Full Forward).

2016: David Clarke (Goalkeeper), Brendan Harrison (Right-Corner Back) Lee Keegan (Right-Half Back), Colm Boyle (Centre Half Back).

2017: David Clarke (Goalkeeper), Chris Barrett (Right-Corner Back), Keith Higgins (Left-Corner Back), Colm Boyle (Right-Half Back), Aidan O'Shea (Centre-Half Forward), Andy Moran (Left-Corner Forward).

There will be many debates on why and how with all sorts of opinions but yours is just nonsense. It won't ever be what they wanted to be remembered by but that era will never be equalled in the context of the greatest era for a county that didn't collect one . Unbelievable characters of true sporting resilience and we will always be very proud of their efforts in Mayo . 

 

You've gone off on a complete tangent to something nobody is talking about. The argument was who is the second best team of that decade, a long long way behind Dublin in first. The common narrative is that it was Mayo. Ive pointed out how the results of that decade simply don't stack up that argument, having had countless times when Mayo were bang average. Playing Dublin close a few times doesn't automatically grant you that spot, when Kerry also played Dublin close a few times, never lost or drew to the bad teams Mayo did, and actually won an All Ireland

Your dates are cherrypicked because they convieniently ignore a year previous when Kerry hammered a Mayo who'd the same players and management team as the years after, and ignores the same team in 2019 who got annihilated by Kerry and Dublin. Those two counties don't tend to need to cherrypick years.

Even if we stick with 2012-2017, im sure some Donegal man could come along and claim they were better than Mayo for that period, given that they beat Mayo comfortably in a final and stopped what wouldve been an eventual 8 in a row in 2014. There's a very far cry from Gilroys Dublin in 2012 who were beating Laois, Wexford and Meath by 3 points each and Jim Gavins version in 2014 who were beating those teams by 20

Lastly, seriously give up the Cormac Reilly stuff. Kerry won that extra time by 3 full points. Is it any wonder McStay gets humiliated online for having basic comments about Clifford. It goes back to Mayo fans whinging about every final loss, Pat McEneaney getting death threats after 1996, Mayo Mick in Limerick in 2014, the abuse Joe McQuillan got after a final with the Dubs. It's a terrible look thats given Mayo fans a bad name

Ok if you say so .

[Wildweasel74]

Everbody have their opinion, but to me Mayo was the 2nd best team to Dublin over the 2013-18 period. Kerry played Dublin in one of the worst finals ever, and tried to keep the score down scoring only 8pts.

[From the Bunker]

Everbody have their opinion, but to me Mayo was the 2nd best team to Dublin over the 2013-18 period.

I agree with the above. There was never a time we played Dublin and I felt Mayo were going to push on here and win.

Dublin were the best team of a millennia. Sometimes you are just not good enough - but you could never fault that Mayo team for determination and effort.

The GAA fraternity don't hold much weight for failed contenders and their media revel in the ridicule.

[larryin89]

Everbody have their opinion, but to me Mayo was the 2nd best team to Dublin over the 2013-18 period.

I agree with the above. There was never a time we played Dublin and I felt Mayo were going to push on here and win.

Dublin were the best team of a millennia. Sometimes you are just not good enough - but you could never fault that Mayo team for determination and effort.

The GAA fraternity don't hold much weight for failed contenders and their media revel in the ridicule.

When keegan hit the net in 2017 into the hill , i genuinely believed we were going to win the all Ireland . Anyway it's all done now

[JoG2]

Everbody have their opinion, but to me Mayo was the 2nd best team to Dublin over the 2013-18 period. Kerry played Dublin in one of the worst finals ever, and tried to keep the score down scoring only 8pts.

Agreed... Manning18, hope you're better craic on a night out 

[Manning18]

Everbody have their opinion, but to me Mayo was the 2nd best team to Dublin over the 2013-18 period. Kerry played Dublin in one of the worst finals ever, and tried to keep the score down scoring only 8pts.

Agreed... Manning18, hope you're better craic on a night out 

Ah I get get vexed about the odd false narrative! Better than sitting in sheets of tinfoil complaining about old referees

I was at that 2015 final, suitably pissed. Shite game but probably the worst conditions for any final in memory

[JoG2]

Everbody have their opinion, but to me Mayo was the 2nd best team to Dublin over the 2013-18 period. Kerry played Dublin in one of the worst finals ever, and tried to keep the score down scoring only 8pts.

Agreed... Manning18, hope you're better craic on a night out 

Ah I get get vexed about the odd false narrative! Better than sitting in sheets of tinfoil complaining about old referees

I was at that 2015 final, suitably pissed. Shite game but probably the worst conditions for any final in memory

 .. We absolutely do!

[Lamh Dhearg Alba]

Only Mayo and Donegal had beat Dubljn in that period, Kerry and Tyrone won all-Irelands cause Mayo knocked Dublin out, you should be thankful for them.

Agree 100% not a hope Tyrone would have beaten Dublin in the 2021 All Ireland if Mayo hadn't have beaten them.

Ultimately we will never know if Tyrone would have beaten Dublin in 2021 as they didn't get to play them. However, the Dubs of 2021 were miles off the level of previous years. They were extremely unconvincing in Leinster and Meath - who weren't a vintage team at all - would have beaten them if they had realised earlier they were playing a much reduced Dublin side. Mayo eventually clocked that themselves in the semi and got the win, but that was a Dublin side asking to be put out of it's misery.

Mayo I suspect got a little carried away themselves - plenty of their fans did (and you can see why given their struggles against much better Dublin sides in previous years) and read too much into a win against a side not near firing on all cylinders. Even sub consciously they mistakenly thought the hard work was done. In the end they didn't have enough for a Tyrone side who had taken a tougher route to the final.

[Tubberman]

Only Mayo and Donegal had beat Dubljn in that period, Kerry and Tyrone won all-Irelands cause Mayo knocked Dublin out, you should be thankful for them.

Agree 100% not a hope Tyrone would have beaten Dublin in the 2021 All Ireland if Mayo hadn't have beaten them.

Ultimately we will never know if Tyrone would have beaten Dublin in 2021 as they didn't get to play them. However, the Dubs of 2021 were miles off the level of previous years. They were extremely unconvincing in Leinster and Meath - who weren't a vintage team at all - would have beaten them if they had realised earlier they were playing a much reduced Dublin side. Mayo eventually clocked that themselves in the semi and got the win, but that was a Dublin side asking to be put out of it's misery.

Mayo I suspect got a little carried away themselves - plenty of their fans did (and you can see why given their struggles against much better Dublin sides in previous years) and read too much into a win against a side not near firing on all cylinders. Even sub consciously they mistakenly thought the hard work was done. In the end they didn't have enough for a Tyrone side who had taken a tougher route to the final.

Possibly some people got a bit carried away after beating Dublin, but the reality is Mayo never reached a consistent level that year.
They were poor in first half v Galway and first half v Dublin but upped it significantly in second half of both games to win.
Against Tyrone, they never really had a purple patch - and missed too many easy chances when they came along.