Monaghan v Mayo - Inniskeen, 10th April 2011

[GrandMasterFlash]

What kind of team do monaghan have available? Is hughes, lennon, finlay back?

Hughes and possibly Finlay will be back, Lennon is out. Moral is not good in our camp but our backs are to the wall big time.. The fact that we need Galway to beat the Dubs and Cork to beat Armagh make it a lot harder but all our boys can do is go out and win the game.. The Galway game was a false dawn for us and then our shooting let us down big time in the subsequent games. We *should* be home and dry at this stage but that don't mean nothin!

[Lar Naparka]

Maybe i was picked up wrong? Horan has used the league to test out new players as result the strength in depth Mayo have now is near impossible to pick a first 15 for the Championship.

On the other hand we'll be doing well to field a decent 15 come the championship.

Picked you up wrong?? Nah, I don't think us ever-patient and level-headed Mayo heads would  ever think of it!
But, with regards to Horan's dilemmas, having too many possibles and not enough certs can be a problem too. He's bringing his side along nicely- same as O'Donnell did for ye last year, if you recall.
It took Pat Gilroy a couple of seasons to get a settled side together and the same happened with Conor Counihan. James H is ticking a lot of boxes at the mo but only the championships will tell if hed has got the mix right yet.

BTW; WTF is happening with ye sheepophiles this year? Ye won Connacht fair and square last year and I thought Fergie would build on that. I figured Ross would be the team to beat for the rest of us in Connacht for a few years to come- he has a fine crop from the  u21s over the last few years and he should be making shapes with them by now but the form in the league has been anything but impressive.
Any idea what the reason is?

[ross4life]

BTW; WTF is happening with ye sheepophiles this year? Ye won Connacht fair and square last year and I thought Fergie would build on that. I figured Ross would be the team to beat for the rest of us in Connacht for a few years to come- he has a fine crop from the  u21s over the last few years and he should be making shapes with them by now but the form in the league has been anything but impressive.
Any idea what the reason is?

You do know we got relegated last year losing 6 of our 7 league games prior to the Championship? this year has been a improvement but playing in Div 4 is not easy it's like trying to eat 3/4 rhubarb pies after a feed of drink!

Yes we had decent U21 teams over the years but we didn't win 4 Connacht titles in a row like ye did & 3 in row in Minor

It's Mayo's connacht title to lose this year! while we hope you don't have to wait another 9/10 years for another title.

[AbbeySider]

There is a lot of talk on Mayo threads about "finding our best 15" and "knowing our best 15" for championship.

Im not sure do I agree with that idea.

Instead of knowing our best 15, I would be happy with knowing our best 23, 25 or even 30 guys that could do the job or simply know what position they play best in. 

We are in a much better situation, with a serious battle for every position on the team, than knowing exactly how we will line of for championship and thus being easy to read tactically and counteract. 

Maybe in the past we have been too afraid experiment early in the league and FBD and we have been found out later in the season where we used to play Howley at CB or play Andy Moran and Parsons in the FF line etc.

Under JOM and previous managers we seem to have waisted time getting to league finals and even the later stages of the AI series without actually knowing our own strengths and weaknesses, and without blooding enough new players.

At least now we have a selection nightmare where everyone is fighting for their chance and pushing each other on.

I would much rather this current situation, that in the past where you had certainties for championship with nobody seriously pushing for places.

Instead of a settled team, we could be going towards a system where potentially the selection could interchange throughout the year where we would use a horses for courses approach.

There are days, pitches and conditions that would suit AOS and Kilcullen in the middle, as there are days that would suit McGarrity and perhaps Jayo Gibbons.

Why write players off for a season ?
A settled 15 does not always have to be the best 15

[moysider]

I would be inclined to agree with the above.

I also can t see the sense in fellas pickin players for the championship who have n t kicked a ball in some time. I m sure they ll get a chance to stake a claim but their form the last time they played championship left something to be desired - ach sin scéal eile.

I d just like to point out as well that my selection earlier post was just for the Inniskeen game - nothing more. It was based on lads being injured, possibly rested and others that could do with a start. As abbeysider points out its about developing as many players as possible tp do a job later on.

[muppet]

I tell ye lads. If there is ever a GAA version of Championship Manager the Mayo lads on here would walk it.

You'd want a new one every year!

[GrandMasterFlash]

http://hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=145742

Jaysus.. I wish it was easter weekend and we could then expect a few miracles...

[Lar Naparka]

Can any of the Monaghan lads tell me why the game is being played in Inishkeen?
It seems to be a very isolated spot and hard enough to get to?

[GrandMasterFlash]

Can any of the Monaghan lads tell me why the game is being played in Inishkeen?
It seems to be a very isolated spot and hard enough to get to?

It is. There seems to be this notion that Monaghan like playing teams in Inniskeen, maybe after the Tyrone game there last year. Clones is the allocated county ground but Inniskeen seems to overrule that decision. It's a great setup,don't get me wrong. Maybe the county board feel (and arguably rightly so) that it deserves reward for it's investment. It's my understanding though that the money made from selling the original ground in Inniskeen more than paid for the new development.

I'm a Monahan man living in Belfast and it's handier for me to get to Inniskeen than folk from North Monaghan, so I'm not compaining.. It's a lovely part of the drumlin countryside too..

[Main Street]

Monaghan is a lovely part of Ireland.

I see Damien Freeman has retired, that's a real pity, he's been a great player for Monaghan. I suppose we have Dessie Mone there now, but the older Freeman will be a loss to the team.

[mattockranger]

As a Louth man I'm delighted Monaghan play their games in Inniskeen top class football on our doorstep!

pleasure to bring the young lads to see Star and the boys last week long may it continue!

[haranguerer]

Dessie Mone is a very poor replacement for D Freeman imho.

Also, with regard to Iniskeen, isnt it a hangover from Bantys policy of 'bringing the football to the people'  ? Which sceptics suggested was closer to 'we could be exposed in the wide open spaces of clones, so lets play somewhere else'

[GrandMasterFlash]

Also, with regard to Iniskeen, isnt it a hangover from Bantys policy of 'bringing the football to the people'  ? Which sceptics suggested was closer to 'we could be exposed in the wide open spaces of clones, so lets play somewhere else'

  Maybe.. but I never bought into that notion. The smaller venues are and advantage from a support point of view i.e. closer to the action giving more enouragement to the players but a team like Monaghan with smaller faster players suits the 'wide open spaces' of Clones better IMHO..

[Main Street]

As a Louth man I'm delighted Monaghan play their games in Inniskeen top class football on our doorstep!

pleasure to bring the young lads to see Star and the boys last week long may it continue!

No doubt, the closer one gets to Louth, the windier it gets.

[RedandGreenSniper]

There is a lot of talk on Mayo threads about "finding our best 15" and "knowing our best 15" for championship.

Im not sure do I agree with that idea.

Instead of knowing our best 15, I would be happy with knowing our best 23, 25 or even 30 guys that could do the job or simply know what position they play best in. 

We are in a much better situation, with a serious battle for every position on the team, than knowing exactly how we will line of for championship and thus being easy to read tactically and counteract. 

Maybe in the past we have been too afraid experiment early in the league and FBD and we have been found out later in the season where we used to play Howley at CB or play Andy Moran and Parsons in the FF line etc.

Under JOM and previous managers we seem to have waisted time getting to league finals and even the later stages of the AI series without actually knowing our own strengths and weaknesses, and without blooding enough new players.

At least now we have a selection nightmare where everyone is fighting for their chance and pushing each other on.

I would much rather this current situation, that in the past where you had certainties for championship with nobody seriously pushing for places.

Instead of a settled team, we could be going towards a system where potentially the selection could interchange throughout the year where we would use a horses for courses approach.

There are days, pitches and conditions that would suit AOS and Kilcullen in the middle, as there are days that would suit McGarrity and perhaps Jayo Gibbons.

Why write players off for a season ?
A settled 15 does not always have to be the best 15

Ah don't ruin it for us AbbeySider, we'd be lost without the bit of fun of picking the championship team. I must have picked a team at ten different stages now since November and I would hate to be reminded of some of the selections!

I would agree with you in the sense that we are certainly not served having our strongest fifteen nailed at any particular stage, like what happened last year. Options, competition etc will keep everyone on their toes. No doubt Ronan McGarrity can't wait to get back now after seeing how the midfield did the last day. After the Dublin game he was probably thinking he had number 8 in the bag. The current outcome is much more desirable. I'm not sure how far I would take the horses for courses approach though. Generally we ought to have a reasonably settled team with the knowledge that if a guy is starting is playing poorly, that there is proven quality there to replace him with. But, that aside, we would need a certain amount of continuity in our championship team in my opinion.