Sligeach v Maigh Eo. 5ú Meitheamh 2010

[Foreverhopeful]

Absolutely no football knowledge eh??? I think i'm one of the few with half a clue. Ur some gobshite urself. Only criticism on the aidan o'shea topic... if you actually thought about it or watched good football you might know a thing or two. I have managed many's a team to success so i have far more knowledge than a lot of the clowns on here..

What else have i said that suggests i have no football knowledge or is this purely based on the Aidan O'shea argument? I really do wonder about some of ye guys.

[ballinaman]

Any chance we can get back to some decent discussion lads, hoganstand is better suited for the slagging matches don't you think.

Any word on the proposed challenge match V Dublin this Friday in Hollymount?Is it going ahead?

[moysider]

Don't get me wrong Sligonian as i seem to have upset you (not too difficult) i believe we can win this game. I'm from the same school as Eamon as when we played club together we always believed before we went on pitch together that we were going to win.

Mayo boys on here are doing their best to make us believe we only have to turn up to win. They were missing half their team for that game - all the guys i mentioned earlier. Did you see the league final (you were at the game) Mayo weren't exactly at the races were they? Perhaps they had some heavy training done as their was a lot of heavy legs. All i'm saying is Mayo are not as bad as what they showed in the league final.

In 2000 it was completely different, we hadnt as good a team as we do now, and mayo dont have a FF line of Finneagan, P Joyce(in his prime) and derek savage, they dont have a half forward line of Donnellan, Ja Fallon etc....you'll be spouting the same shite if we beat mayo heading down to galway. I dont want to hear this negative shite.

Fallon wasn't playing - he was injured as was K Walshe and Divilly and O'Mahony made sure everyone knew about it in the build up to the game. We had most of the team which beat Kildare and Tyrone the following 2 years - which i would consider to be a good team.

What a load of rubbish, i guess this is the kinda stuff EOH has had to listen to all his career down south, i remember him criticising sligo fans for having no belief in the team,

You are the clown that wants to leave EOH on the sideline for the Mayo game-shows how much you know

How am i the clown, 3 weeks before the game I state we cant afford to use O Hara as pyschology boost during the game and have to start him at 12 instead...

Honestly the mayo lads are overreacting to the league final loss which there entitled to do given there history, but mano even if they were trying to make us think we had to turn up, how many of us in Sligo are buying it. NONE. Also i know and you know, everyone in mayo is expecting a decent battle and a mayo win but all im saying is i dont give a toss about what mayo think, or what JOM says or what happened in the league final.

Ya i was at the mayo cork game, and yes i know theyll perform better in Markieveicz, and moran, kilcoyne, mcgarrity and harte did all come on in that game. Do you honestly think mayo are going to make 6 changes to league final team? I went to the league final to have a look at mayo for sure but i know Sligo are focusing more on our own performance than mayo. Im sure mayo arent worrying too much about us. If mayo make wholsale changes to the league team, what does it say? Will all just fall into place against us? To me thats going into game hoping things come off rather than having it sorted during the league and knowing it will. As GBB says will it make a huge improvement on what started that day anyway.

We are settled and in as good a shape as can be except, Quinn is a huge injury concern at the minute and starting Phillips is a disaster. These type of things can be costly. As long as we maximise our own potential and performance level i cant ask for more. No guarntees in sport. I think weve got enough lessons in the past to know it will take huge, intensity, workrate and quality to beat mayo.

You d have to be expecting a few changes anyway Sligonian. Its a banker there ll be a new centre half back and a new midfield combination. There ll be a change in every line except keeper imo. Higgins corner back for example. Fully fit I doubt I ll be far wrong with this line up.

                                       Clarke

Barrett                             Cafferkey                        Higgins.

Vaughan/Gardiner          Cuniffe/Vaughan                McLoughlin

                    Parsons                    Mcgarrity


Trevor                             O Sé                               Moran

Varley                              O Se                               Moran.

[spuds]

You d have to be expecting a few changes anyway Sligonian. Its a banker there ll be a new centre half back and a new midfield combination. There ll be a change in every line except keeper imo. Higgins corner back for example. Fully fit I doubt I ll be far wrong with this line up.

                                       Clarke

Barrett                             Cafferkey                        Higgins.

Vaughan/Gardiner          Cuniffe/Vaughan                McLoughlin

                    Parsons                    Mcgarrity


Trevor                             O Sé                               Moran

Varley                              O Se                               Moran.

hard to see us line out without dillon has to start when fit. varley after good league could lose out to top gun mort after his league final display. never been convinced by cunniffe less so now as hardly kicked ball till few weeks ago wouldnt be surprised howley at 6 as brehony for sligo not the biggest centreforward about

[moysider]

True. Cant see us start without a fit Dillon. Hard to see him leave out Andy or Trevor either. But i think he has to go with the twin towers.

[Lar Naparka]

                                       Clarke

Barrett                             Cafferkey                        Higgins.

Vaughan/Gardiner          Cuniffe/Vaughan                McLoughlin

                    Parsons                    Mcgarrity


Trevor                             O Sé                               Moran

Varley                              O Se                               Moran.

That's a very interesting line out, moysider and I doubt you will be far out when Johnno announces his side. I see you have omitted Alan Dillon. You are far closer to the scene than I am and you could well be right on this call but I would have imagined that he'd start all of the half forwards we had in the league final.
All of them were off their oats in that game but their problem seems to be connected to Croke Park and big days there. I feel Trevor would be the one most under pressure as he tends to get very frustrated and rattled when things aren't going his way. However, time will tell and I'm certain all who are picked will be going all-out to redeem themselves and get the memories of the Cork game out of their systems.

BTW, I agree with ballinaman; there's nothing to be gained by analysing the pros and cons of Tom or Aidan as if they were prize bulls at a spring show.
It's very hard for any of the younger lads to play his best when the older players around them keep losing the plot. The Sligo game should give us a fair idea of the team's potential and I'd expect to see both in action and the pair of them silencing a lot of critics in the process.

[moysider]

Leaving out Dillon was an oversight to be honest. If fit he will start. Unless injuries make it simpler he has a couple of big calls in the forwards.

[SLIGONIAN]

From Hoganstand

Dessie Dolan made his first appearance for Westmeath in almost a year last night, but he couldn't stop Mayo from handing the Lake County a five-point defeat in a senior football challenge at Tarmonbarry, Co. Roscommon.

Mayo 1-13
Westmeath 0-11

Returning from his self-imposed exile, the former All-Star scored two points from frees after coming on as a second half substitute, but Mayo never looked in any danger of losing after taking a 0-8 to 0-1 lead into the break. During that opening half, Ronan McGarrity was utterly dominant at midfield, while the Morans, Andy and Barry, caused all sorts of problems for the Westmeath rearguard.

Pat Flanagan's charges, who were without the injured Denis Glennon, mounted a comeback of sorts in the second half with Ian Coffey, dual star Paul Greville and Dolan all finding the target. But Mayo were full value for their five-point winning margin.

Both Mayo and Westmeath have further challenge matches lined up against Dublin on Friday and Saturday next in Hollymount and Glasnevin respectively.

It was also confirmed last night that Fergal Wilson will miss Westmeath's Leinster SFC quarter-final against Wicklow on June 6 after his broken finger became septic, while Garrycastle clubman Seanie O'Donoghue has been forced to leave the panel due to work commitments.

[SLIGONIAN]

From Hoganstand

Donal Vaughan, Tom Parsons and captain Trevor Mortimer are among Mayo's walking wounded at present.

Vaughan and Parsons picked up groin injuries in the Westerners' 0-13 to 0-4 senior football challenge win over Cavan in Belmullet last Saturday, while Mortimer missed the game with a 'dead leg'. Alan Feeney was another notable absentee due to an ankle problem, while Alan Freeman was substituted shortly after his introduction after picking up a knock.

Meanwhile, Aidan Kilcoyne left the field during the second half of Knockmore's league victory over Charlestown on Sunday after picking up a nasty cut on his knee, while Alan Dillon was substituted during Ballintubber's league game with a hamstring problem.

Not surprisingly, manager John O'Mahony is hoping all the injuries will have cleared up before Mayo's Connacht SFC quarter-final against Sligo on June 5.

[AbbeySider]

Kilconye only has a cut on his knee? Or is it more serious?

[SLIGONIAN]

Hard to believe any of the injury concerns tbh. Theyll all be fit for June 5th.

On the amount of changes to mayo team, I did say previously i seen 7 problems in the team against cork, but I was speaking to someone in the know and they said there wont be as many changes as that but sure we'll see. Most of the players who underperformed wont play as bad again and maybe that needs to be taken into account.

Yer going well in challenge games so it must make ye hot favourites now.

[ballinaman]

Hard to believe any of the injury concerns tbh. Theyll all be fit for June 5th.

On the amount of changes to mayo team, I did say previously i seen 7 problems in the team against cork, but I was speaking to someone in the know and they said there wont be as many changes as that but sure we'll see. Most of the players who underperformed wont play as bad again and maybe that needs to be taken into account.

Yer going well in challenge games so it must make ye hot favourites now.

Conceding 11 points to Westmeath is hardly going well considering how muck they are....hot favourites,nice one sligonian

[Barney]

I am confident that we will beat Sligo.

If we do lose, I expect Galway will beat Sligo.

It would take an exceptional Sligo team to beat Galway and Mayo in one year. Most of us can only ever remember Mayo losing once to Sligo, and once to Galway in championship. It is very rare. If they do go on to win Connacht I think with the draw presented to them I think they can stand proud, take a bow, and think seriously about giving the All Ireland series a right rattle.

Anyway given the challenge matches it looks like either the management haven't a clue who they're best XV are or else they are going for a very different line-up. It appears that Liam O'Malley and possibly Trevor Mortimer are going to be the big casualties and we will probably see something along the lines of moysider's team. I would guess at the following

Clarke

Howley
Cafferkey
Higgins
(I still think JOM has more trust in Howley and will find a place for him in a re-united of the All Ireland u21 winning full-back line)

Gardiner/Vaughan
Cunniffe
O'Loughlin
(If Trevor doesn't play I think Gardiner will - the manager is not going to highlight his abysmal record for selecting captains by not playing both the captain and vice-captain. Otherwise there is no contest - Vaughan has done nothing to lose the jersey)

Seamus O'Se
Ronan McGarrity
(Parsons seems to be a big favourite but I think there is too much competition for places and he will lose out)

Andy Moran
Aidan O'Se
Alan Dillon
(Personally I would rather see Kilcoyne there especially as freetaker. Andy is a big favourite though. It looks like the move of AOS is going to go ahead)

Conor Mort
Barry Moran
Varley
(Big Barry looks nailed on now for the number 14 jersies)

4 starting changes from the League Final. 2 positional changes.

The joker in the pack - is Billie Joe being lined up to start? He is another favourite of the manager.

[GBXII]

Pretty much agree with that team, although I would start Parsons and the two boys at mid-field. Also, I would start A O'Shea with Barry in the FF line because I think they bring a fair bit of panic to opposition defences in there (Why do you think A O'Shea will start at 11?). I'd probably start Kilcoyne (if fit obviously) instead of Varley as well because Kilcoyne, I feel, offers a lot more. 

[magpie seanie]

Barney, you may well be right but I don't get this worry (wrong word - expectation of them being very good) about Galway that I'm detecting from some of the Mayo posters. I see no evidence to suggest they'll be better than last year. Personally I reckon there is not much between Sligo, Mayo and Galway at present. galway and Mayo are Div 1 sides due to better depth in their panels. I think Mayo have the best squad all told and if they get it bang on they could contend for an All-Ireland. I don't believe Galway or Sligo are in that bracket though they could upset more fancied outfits.

We will be up against it to beat Mayo for starters but it is possible. If that happened a similar situation would be the case with Galway, especially having to travel to bloody Salthill, but not impossible.