Kerry v Mayo, February 11, Austin Stack Park, Tralee

[IolarCoisCuain]

Hard to see anything other than a Kerry victory here.

Kerry won their opening game in the League for the first time since God was a boy last weekend in Donegal, and won pulling up by all accounts. By contrast, Mayo had their lunch money taken and their heads dunked in the toilet boil by the Farneymen in not-quite-Fortress Elvery's.

Paddy Power has Kerry priced at 2/1 on, and you'd have to say that's your nap for the weekend. Kerry's young guns were blooded against Donegal while the biggest cheer of the night in Castlebar came when the venerable Andy Moran came in the last ten minutes. Rochford ought to give youth its fling in Tralee. What's he got to lose?

[Jinxy]

Is Aidan O'Shea still injured?

[Farrandeelin]

Don't know Jinxy. Hard to know if he would make that big a difference if he returned on Saturday night. If Mayo don't get anything from their next 2 games, it'll be a tough ending to the league I reckon. True, Mayo are not relegated yet or anything but we can't rely on other results to go our way on the last day yet again. Bar the first game of the final last year, Mayo have (in my opinion) sleepwalked their way through games under Rochford. Time to step up to the plate.

[Il Bomber Destro]

The basis for Mayo's success (relative in that there's no AI yet) is that they have the ability to dominate sides in the middle of the pitch. I think they have completely dominated this sector against all the top teams in the majority of their games in the past 4/5 years.

Against Monaghan, without their first 4 or 5 first choice midfielders, they looked a really average outfit. Unless they have a few of them back for this trip, I can't look past a Kerry victory.

[Jinxy]

Any promising forwards coming out of the last couple of u-21 teams?
Time for Regan to step up this year, looks good in flashes.

[From the Bunker]

Mayo will more than likely be without (with) the same face as versus Monaghan. Kerry are usually a mess this time of year but this year they look to be flying. They certainly weren't just fulfilling the fixture in Letterkenny. Can't see anything more than a Kerry win under lights in a home venue. The League for us since 2010 has been a sort of hindrance. Our form sways from good to bad to terrible. We always seem to just want to stay in the Division with the least effort. In fairness, this attitude has not hindered us come Championship.

We are now getting to the rhetorical question of this team getting too old. Well the easy answer is yes! But a closer look will show that each year players have been added and let go since 2011. Aido, Leeroy, Dock, Vaughan, Parsons, Cillian, McLoughlin,  are in their prime. Harrison, Coen, Paddy Durcan and Diarmuid are only starting out. So there's a while longer in this group yet!

[Farrandeelin]

Any promising forwards coming out of the last couple of u-21 teams?
Time for Regan to step up this year, looks good in flashes.

Conor Loftus is injured.

[twohands!!!]

The basis for Mayo's success (relative in that there's no AI yet) is that they have the ability to dominate sides in the middle of the pitch. I think they have completely dominated this sector against all the top teams in the majority of their games in the past 4/5 years.

Against Monaghan, without their first 4 or 5 first choice midfielders, they looked a really average outfit. Unless they have a few of them back for this trip, I can't look past a Kerry victory.

The thing is Kerry have Maher, Buckley, Sheehan and Donaghy all missing next weekend, so hardly over-stocked in terms of midfield options either. They had Morley starting there but he was moved to the half-back line after some rejigging when Enright got injured and a lad named Barry came on - he seemed ok enough but Moran was definitely the lad doing the heavy lifting and I think him tiring in the 2nd half was part of what left Donegal get some respectability on the score-board later on.

Donegal's midfield looked very ropey against Kerry - don't be surprised to see Murphy spending a huge amount of game-time in this sector this year as whenever he wasn't in the area, they just got destroyed. Defensively they looked nothing like they did under McGuinness - Kerry had to do very little work to create scoring chances. For me Donegal looked nailed on to be battling to avoid relegation and I'd say there main hope is in just staying up ahead of Cavan and Roscommon

Parsons will surely start for Mayo which should improve things in the midfield sector.

[macdanger2]

Yeah, I'd say Parsons will start at MF with Kirby with Vaughan dropping back (possibly to FB). You'd hope Mayo will be a bit sharper this week, there was a serious amount of balls that didn't stick in the forward line last Saturday which meant the ball was coming back out far too quick. It'd be great to see a bit of consistency from Regan & Freeman, both show flashes of quality followed by long stretches of anonymity.

Keith Higgins will probably be on JOD and I think he could be in bother, he's lost a half yard of pace since their battle in 2014 and I think he'd be best used further out the field. With our injuries in the FB line though, he'll probably have to stick it out there for another couple of matches. Eoin O'Donoghue might get a couple of games there later in the league, he looked very good for the U21s last year.

Doc will do well to hold his place, (I think he comes in for a lot of undue criticism from some Mayo supporters - he was our second top scorer from play last year) he was very poor the last day. DO'C might come in if he's fit although it'd be better to rest him if he's not

[rosnarun]

is DO'C for Doc not a bit lik'e for like?

[Jinxy]

I'll say what I have been saying for the last while.
You are overloaded with talented attacking half-backs.
Take a couple of them and see if you can convert them into inside forwards.
There are plenty of precedents for this down through the years where lads who have played nearly all of their football up to u-21 and even senior level as defenders, subsequently turn out to be lethal forwards.
Pace and athleticism are more important than ever for the inside line in the modern game and yet this is where Mayo are the slowest and most ponderous.
Take that young fella Akram and stick him in the corner.
Has to be worth a try.

[joemamas]

Any promising forwards coming out of the last couple of u-21 teams?
Time for Regan to step up this year, looks good in flashes.

Jinxy,

That is the core issue with Mayo, which I believe will come back to haunt us when this wonderful crop of physically dominant midfielders are put out to pasture.

Mayo won a minor in 2013 and U21 in 2016 ( the latter TBH had a lot to do with luck, we were due) Score line Mayo 5-7 Cork 1-13.
Mayo forwards scored 2pts from play that day. A midfielder scored one, other four from frees or a 50. Weather was good btw.
2015 Mayo Minors scored 1-3 V Galway in Connacht minor semi-final.
2016 Mayo minors scored 0-6 V Galway in Connacht final of 2016, (weather a factor).

Where am I going with this, IMO, our coaching of underage skills and I mean from U14 U16 upwards has been sub par at best. Somebody has to be responsible.
Compare us to Tyrone and Kerry just to mention two counties are in the upper tier of senior football at the moment.
We have done a horrible job of developing individual forward skills over past 7 to 8 years. The only true natural forward to come through from the minor ranks to senior in that period was Cillian O Connor. Not joking.
Check the teams for confirmation of this. His brother Diarmuid while an incredible footballer will most likely end up playing midfield.

[rosnarun]

I think part of the issue is mayo GAA people Supporters officials and fans alike don't trust natural forwards . look at her amount of abuse
C motimer, AOM and Ciaran Mcdonald got over the years and to a lesser extent more lately Varley, Sweeney Ronaldson Conroy and now regan is becoming the boy we love to boo. next in line will be connor Loftus .

[Jinxy]

If you could give Andy Moran a double leg transplant you'd be halfway there.

[Brapbrap]

If you could give Andy Moran a double leg transplant you'd be halfway there.

What you mean?