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Cian O'Neill going to Cork as a coach, decent appointment I'd say

It's being received very positively in Cork. Have to say he always struck me as a spoofer.

Me.

Back then Mayo was a 5 seater and most times it was 3 FF and 2 FG but there never was much in it and a few hundred votes one way or the other could mean one seat changing hands.

I think your memory could be playing tricks with you there Lar.

Mayo was divided into two three-seat constituencies, Mayo West and Mayo East, from 1969 until 1997. Both Mayo East and Mayo West returned two FF, one FG, regularly as clockwork from the mid-seventies on. Any time someone lost a seat, he lost to a party colleague. Sean Flanagan lost to PJ Morley in 1977, Paddy O'Toole lost to Jim Higgins in 1987.

There was a feeling that it was Knock airport that cost O'Toole his seat in 1987, as he was a Minister in that 1982-87 government, but to say that Mayo seats were marginal in the 1980s isn't an accurate statement.

If it's wet and windy who benefits more, Dublin or Mayo?

With all our hot weather training camps and indoor state of the art facilities, our lads can't even remember what wind and rain feels like!

Please let their be sun. And heat.

I suppose a plague of locusts is out of the question?

I'd be pretty positive about Mayo this week.

PP has Dub -5, which, if you follow the patterns of non-biased odds compilers means that Mayo are the first team in with a shout (in a serious game) v Dublin, since they last played Dublin.

Of course it's still a justifiable 5 point swing.

So we have to look for hope.

Here's my hope.

Meath kept Dublin in a game for 40 mins by being utterly aggressive in the tackle. If their forwards had have even half turned up we might have seen a duel. We didn't. Meath's defence couldn't compensate for their forward's ineptitude.

Cork went full gung ho at them and even managed to scare themselves. By running at them at pace, with the potential to switch it up. Then they got nervous. Dublin kept bringing players off the bench who were used to this sort of thing.

Mayo's defence is harder, fitter and more likely to seriously f**k anyone up than Meath.

Mayo are probably no quicker or direct in their running game than Cork. But 10 of them have been working on it together for a decade.

Mayo will most likely be bringing on DOC, Moran, Parsons and Ruane as the game moves into the final quarter. None might have 70 mins in them, but they don't need to have. There's a strong to middling chance they'll be entering a level game. The Dubs aren't used to facing that sort of quality from a bench.

Dublin are rightful favourites. But this one, in my earnest opinion, is going to come down to small margins. Much like their previous meetings. Dubs surely cannot expect to win every coin toss  just because They're Dublin.

Spot-on Wobbler. Dublin put their pants on one leg at a time, just like anybody else. Money has nothing to do with it. Mayo have a great chance on Saturday.

Mayo All-Star goalkeeper David Clarke has been ruled out of the crucial Mayo versus Donegal Super 8s game in Elverys MacHale Park tomorrow evening (Saturday) at 6 p.m.

Clarke picked up an injury in training and his place between the posts will be taken by Robert Hennelly for this winner-takes-all clash.

Donal Vaughan has also picked up an injury and is not in the named starting 15.

While Patrick Durcan, Keith Higgins, Matthew Ruane and Diarmuid O'Connor are not named in the team, it is expected that Durcan, Higgins and Ruane will be on the bench. There is still a slight worry about Diarmuid O'Connor.

The Mayo team is as follows: R. Hennelly, C. Barrett, B. Harrison, E. O'Donoghue, L. Keegan, C. Boyle, S. Coen, S. O'Shea, A. O'Shea, F. McDonagh, J. Doherty, F. Boland, C. O'Connor, D. Coen, J. Carr.

https://www.con-telegraph.ie/sport/roundup/articles/2019/08/02/4177749-clarke-ruled-out-of-donegal-clash/

Would have to wonder who is the mole in the current Mayo senior set up leaking this news to the Con telegraph.?

You'd definitely wonder alright. The meath match was the first one in ages that hadn't been leaked

Doubt that team will start mind you, at least 2 changes

I'd be taking any of those leaked teams with a pinch of salt, myself.

Some people know the price of everything and the value of nothing. There's no real talking to them.

Letting a manager swan off to a rival county so soon after managing the current crop of players is a major f**k up by Mayo it has to be said.

As a matter of interest, what do you think should be done to stop such a situation?

I think a defeat for Galway on Saturday could be the making of them, genuine All Ireland contenders if they get the manager right for next year imo.

I guess if we lose on Saturday, there's a silver lining in that it might prolong Walsh's tenure - not withstanding his good record against us, Galway would be better without him imo

Winning an All-Ireland will prolong Walsh's tenure. Maybe making the final. Anything less and he's toast. Beating Mayo is been there, done that for him.

Who is Eamon Donoghue?

He's Mick Donoghue's second lad. Do you remember, the eldest lad, Michael, went to America and got ran, ended up in Canada. He was a big loss to the club, Michael was. Eamon was more of a chess man, God love him.

I asked earlier have Mayo ever lost a qualifier in MacHale Park? I was greeted with silence so I presume the answer was never.

I think this will likely be the end of the road for Armagh, hard enough to beat one Division 1 team away from home never mind two and Mayo are better than Monaghan.   If Murnin,Grimley and James Morgan are out Armagh's chances of causing an upset will be much slimmer.

We haven't played many qualifiers at McHale Park. The first qualifier game I remember going to at McHale park was Cavan in 2007 which we won although all I remember from that game was Pierce Hanley playing in that game. After that I think we have beaten Fermanagh and Kildare in McHale park in 2016 so my guess would be we have played three and won three qualifiers in McHale park since the back door came in. I am probably forgetting a game or two somewhere!!

Didn't Mayo play Roscommon in a qualifier in the very early days of them in Castlebar?

Yes. Won that one.

That was a very one-sided game. Nigel Dineen got a goal into the Albany end in the second half that really didn't matter one way or the other, as the game was well gone by then. However, the Cake was in goal for the Ros, and when he saw Dineen score the goal, Cake ran towards the stand, tumbled the wildcat, and came up doing pistol salutes.

He was some buckaroo, the Cake. Great days.

Heard the Carlow coach Poacher on Newstalk speaking up Down saying there was a buzz in the county and they'll run Mayo close. I think the buzz will soon end on Saturday as Mayo will hammer them out of sight!
I predict that Mayo will mark their All-Ireland intentions this weekend and show that they haven't gone away.

Poacher always strikes me as a man with a PhD from the Cian O'Neill School of Bullsh!t. Maybe I'm being unfair to the man.

I can't speak for the others, but I'd be in favour of locking the thread because discussing this feels wrong in every way. It's right that it's reported, it's right that people know what happened, but at the same time there's something about speculating on how it'll end up like it was an episode of Murder, She Wrote - no. It's too much for me.

And I know that people don't mean any harm by it and I'm sorry if anyone feels insulted by this. It's just my opinion. All I personally read about this case are the headlines. The details are the last thing I need. God help them all. Everybody loses in this one.

Also, as others have said before me, that was beautiful post by EasyTiger. I don't know who you are, but I wish there were more like you.

As a neighbour and a fellow-Larry, and like they said in the article above, everyone has their own story about the guy.  He was a true eccentric and character - he owned the land across from my family's home, and I would often meet him tramping the fields.  He always had something to say, and it wasn't always what you'd want to hear.  One of the greats, in our own parish, for the club (with his brother), and with a massive impact on the national stage.  RIP Eugene.

Well said Billy.

Horan is rotating the team a lot but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it.

I don't know and Horan won't say but my own guess is that the League ended for Horan once Cavan were beaten and Division One status was ensured. That gave him four games against blue-chip opposition in which to look at players - four games that Stephen Rochford never had because his teams started badly in the League and had to play the veterans, meaning Rochford never got a chance to test the newer players in different positions and different conditions.

I'm not thrilled about the losing streak against Galway or the losing streak against Dublin but if you went to any Mayo fan at the start of the League and offered him or her Division One status guaranteed and four free games to look at players he or she would snap the paw off you. I'd have more faith in the players coming through this year than some of the players who didn't quite come through in recent years. Players like Ruane, Plunkett, McDonagh and one or two others. There are a few whom I'd like to see yet but guess what - two more games to do it!

Last night means nothing in the context of the summer

You know it, baby.