Mayo 3-11 Sligo 0-7 Champions Dethroned

[the Deel Rover]

The way i feel about o' mahony is that i'll give him till this year before i judge him however what i will say is that he has not done a lot to inhance his repuation since he came back . I don't like the way he puts his spin on different events like for e.g last year he said that he inheritated a team and that he was going to give the older players a chance yet if you look at the team that started against Derry in the Qualifiers last june a high percentage of that team will most likely start against Derry.Last year for e.g he played Kilcullen in the full back position for most of the league yet come championship he was no where to be seen and as of today we are still none the wiser as to who will play there.
Also with regards the closed panel ( lar has asked this before) does any other county operate this system or is it just mayo and if so is the reason for this the players grants? Have the county board requested this or is it JOMS decesion.  With all the injuries the past few weeks have we been operating with a smaller panel of 25 to 26 if so this seems crazy coming up to championship you want lads to be tearing into each other at training especially in A v's B games and this can't be done on a reduced panel.
Barney asked does he have the passion any more i would have been more convinced  had he took the mayo job straight after maugan left however he is there now so lets see what happens.

[kevmy]

I wouldn't be overconfident myself this year. Having said that I wouldn't be surprised if we won Connacht and got to an AI semi

Bejapers Kevmy if that's what you're like when the head is down you must be a quare man for bulling once you are feeling confident. 

I don't expect us to get to a semi final but I wouldn't be surprised by it. I'd be fairly confident of a Connacht title if we had Howley and Mort on the pitch in Castelbar

[Lar Naparka]

Lar, I don't really think omitting McDonald from the panel is that major an issue. He would no doubt have been an addition but when all is said and done it is two years since he played for Mayo. Now the whole issue was dealt with shabbily but I think more people are concerned about the apparent lack of any coherent plan over the past two years -

That’s an excellent post, Barney, and I’m 101% with you on all your points, especially the last sentence quoted above..
I wasn’t really referring to McDonald being dropped but to the way in which it was done. It was O’Mahony’s call to include him or not but it was also his responsibility to absolutely certain of how he stood with the player before assuming that Mac had decided to depart.

Deel Rover makes this point and it does concern me greatly as well:

Also with regards the closed panel ( lar has asked this before) does any other county operate this system or is it just mayo and if so is the reason for this the players grants? Have the county board requested this or is it JOMS decesion.  With all the injuries the past few weeks have we been operating with a smaller panel of 25 to 26 if so this seems crazy coming up to championship you want lads to be tearing into each other at training especially in A v's B games and this can't be done on a reduced panel.

What if O’Mahony decides to introduce new players to the panel? Will it mean having to drop some already there? Won’t some of the less-established lads feel under pressure at the possibility being dropped and also at losing their grant entitlements? I don’t know of any other county naming and closing of fits panel in this way.
I am genuinely reluctant to say this but could it have been a trap to snare McDonald? Could O’Mahony have been relying on Mac to not reply to his text message before the panel was announced and then using the latter’s silence to get rid of him?
In any event he subsequently stated that the way was still open for others to join the squad. 

I’m beginning to think the same as R&GS, unfortunately.

I personally think the three boys input may be minimal - that its Johnno's gig and he is calling the shots. Its just a hunch

[moysider]

Johnno has had issues about choosing selectors in the past. The word is that he had problems getting his preferred selections onto the pictch 1987-91 and switches took ages being preceeded by a lenghtly consultation process involving not only selectors but heavyweight countyboard men as well. This may well be a bit exaggerated but you can understand why he would have wanted his own selectors. However I felt this time the arrangement was a bit cosy. The least noticable lad from the last regime and a club manager that brought Johnno in to help out in preparing for a shot at an All Ireland. I would be concerned that both Johnno and Tommy would be too similar in approach to handling players. As well as the Mac case there is the absence of Ger Brady, Enda Devenney and the Kilcullens to be considered. These were all players that Johnno worked with at club levell [ school as well in the case of the Kilcullens] before they joined the county panel but he seems to have had problems with them. All had some potential at county level in some role or other. Tommy Lyons worked with the Ballina lads yet they dont seem to have responded well to the new set up. Devenney never brought on his great club form - and I m aware of his injury problems. Clarke in fairness is flying now and his approach to training and playing has always been exemplary. Brady had some great moments in 06 and should now be at his peak but he s gone. Neither Harte or McGarrity have played as well as they did for M and M and they need to now if we re to make anything out of the summer. My gut feeling is that they will.

On a different matter. Would Brian Maloney not have been a useful man to have in the panel? Never one of his greatest admirers but he looked better this Spring than he did when he was a Mayo regular. If Mort does nt make it he would have been a better bet to work the corner than some in the panel.

[RedandGreenSniper]

On a different matter. Would Brian Maloney not have been a useful man to have in the panel? Never one of his greatest admirers but he looked better this Spring than he did when he was a Mayo regular. If Mort does nt make it he would have been a better bet to work the corner than some in the panel.

The shocking thing here is that you're right Moysider. Maloney would be well in the shake up. It tells you all you need to know about our lack of quality inside men.

[moysider]

On a different matter. Would Brian Maloney not have been a useful man to have in the panel? Never one of his greatest admirers but he looked better this Spring than he did when he was a Mayo regular. If Mort does nt make it he would have been a better bet to work the corner than some in the panel.

The shocking thing here is that you're right Moysider. Maloney would be well in the shake up. It tells you all you need to know about our lack of quality inside men.

Jayus Sniper will you give us a break. Surely I get an odd thing right. What's seldom is wonderful I suppose, or in this case, shocking.

[Barney]

Just under 2 weeks to go now lads. We're the last county to tog-out this year. Club games are done and dusted for now. Are we feeling any more positive this week?

[IolarCoisCuain]

Not here Barney. I might cheer up next week once a team is named and there's something to go on, but right now I just get a horrible sense of mounting dread, like a bullock on his way to Ballyhaunis. 

[mannix]

Sligo relegated to division 4, sorry but Mayo should enjoy this game. And by the way there is nothing wrong with ballyhaunis, lots of heifers there for the bullock to look at.

[magpie seanie]

Sligo relegated to division 4, sorry but Mayo should enjoy this game

Jaysus yer right. We won't bother going over so. Even though the ground is now hard, the grass is now cut and practically our whole panel is injury free...

[highorlow]

This is my shot at the possible starting team;

Clarke
Cuniffe
Heaney
Boyle
Gardiner
T.Mort
K.Higgins
Harte
McGarrity
Dillion
Parsons
A.O'Malley
A.Moran
B.Moran / O'Shea
Kilcoyne / C.Mort (if fit)

Is it just me or are we getting stuck for some good forwards?

[moysider]

Sligo relegated to division 4, sorry but Mayo should enjoy this game. And by the way there is nothing wrong with ballyhaunis, lots of heifers there for the bullock to look at.

Unfortunately thats all the poor old bullocks can do is look. Their jumping days a fond memory only. I m hoping we have more potency about us but I would nt bet on it. Have you anything more substantial to go on than relegation to division 4 to be so confident ManniX?. I dont think that ll cut us much slack when ball is thrown in 22 June.

[Tubberman]

This is my shot at the possible starting team;

Clarke
Cuniffe
Heaney
Boyle
Gardiner
T.Mort
K.Higgins
Harte
McGarrity
Dillion
Parsons
A.O'Malley
A.Moran
B.Moran / O'Shea
Kilcoyne / C.Mort (if fit)

Jaysis Highlorlow, I hope you're wrong with that team, I'd be seriously worried if that 15 lined out in those positions 

Cunniffe is not a corner-back, as has been well and truly proven in the league. He does have plenty of potential as a half-back though. Also, I wouldn't give Trevor the CHB spot. He could possibly do a good job there, but he hasn't played there before as far as I can recall.
Same with Parsons, could possibly do a job at CHF but surely Dillon is the better option there. Parsons has only played midfield for the seniors.

I better make an attempt myself after saying all that:

Clarke,
A Higgins
Conroy
Boyle (Nallen to come in if Boyle is getting roasted)
K Hggins
Heaney
T Mort
Parsons
McGarrity
Campbell
Dillon
Gardiner
A Moran
AOM
C Mort (Kilcoyne/Ronaldson if Mort is out)

[IolarCoisCuain]

Unfortunately thats all the poor old bullocks can do is look. Their jumping days a fond memory only.

To be honest lads, it's not the end of the bullock's romantic life that would worry me. I'd worry about getting his throat slit from ear to ear.

If Mayo bite the bullet in Connacht it's the end of a number of eras. I know there's a lot of chat about rebuilding but tomorrow never comes, you know? We live from day to day. If Mayo bite the bullet in Connacht then Johnno's reputation is badly damaged by the McDonald affair and we start the league next year at Year Zero of - what, exactly? We're playing for a big, big pot on Sunday week.

[the Deel Rover]

i was talking to Tommy Jordan on sunday he was very relaxed and really looking forward to the Mayo match he has a lot of good memories in castlebar with cross, actually he was talking to Mc maybe he trying to get him to transfer to sligo