conor mortimer

[Lar Naparka]

Still the only dealing Horan has had that's belied his inexperience. Mostly excellent work but he let a time bomb develop by not playing Mort at times when he clearly deserved to and would have given the team a better chance, he essentially strung him along.

Mort is Mort so if he wasn't fond of him or his attitude he should have dropped him after the league when Mayo had a big stretch of time before the Leitrim game and cause the minimal level of disruption to the panel.

Ah, the Mortimer saga is finished and it's time to move on. I'd agree with what FTB has to say. I used to have great time, and still have, for the little bugger; love him or hate him, you could rely on him to provide entertainment. 
But I don't think Horan left him off for any reason other that he wasn't fitting in to the general game plan. Damned if I know what that was but it was plain that he was getting his preferred 15 together as the summer approached.
As the championship began, it was obvious that he still hadn't decided on his corner forward players.
Mort was in the running along with O'Connor, Freeman, Varley, Doherty and possibly one or two more. Horan was looking for lads who would fit into his game plan and I felt Conoreen was at a disadvantage here vis a vis the rest in the running.
He was in his late 20s and obviously his ability to adapt to the changed conditions was limited.
The others were all years younger and probably have their best years to come, while Mort had to make an immediate impact if he was to get a regular place. Now, he put in some mighty displays for the county and could never be faulted for his devotion but Horan wasn't  prepared to re-jig his plans just to accommodate him.

[Itchy]

Still the only dealing Horan has had that's belied his inexperience. Mostly excellent work but he let a time bomb develop by not playing Mort at times when he clearly deserved to and would have given the team a better chance, he essentially strung him along.

Mort is Mort so if he wasn't fond of him or his attitude he should have dropped him after the league when Mayo had a big stretch of time before the Leitrim game and cause the minimal level of disruption to the panel.

Ah, the Mortimer saga is finished and it's time to move on. I'd agree with what FTB has to say. I used to have great time, and still have, for the little bugger; love him or hate him, you could rely on him to provide entertainment. 
But I don't think Horan left him off for any reason other that he wasn't fitting in to the general game plan. Damned if I know what that was but it was plain that he was getting his preferred 15 together as the summer approached.
As the championship began, it was obvious that he still hadn't decided on his corner forward players.
Mort was in the running along with O'Connor, Freeman, Varley, Doherty and possibly one or two more. Horan was looking for lads who would fit into his game plan and I felt Conoreen was at a disadvantage here vis a vis the rest in the running.
He was in his late 20s and obviously his ability to adapt to the changed conditions was limited.
The others were all years younger and probably have their best years to come, while Mort had to make an immediate impact if he was to get a regular place. Now, he put in some mighty displays for the county and could never be faulted for his devotion but Horan wasn't  prepared to re-jig his plans just to accommodate him.

I think in modern football there is no place for the player that thinks its all about him. The only possible exception is where the player is off huge talent - I'm talking a Canavan, a Gooch etc (neither of which were anything but team players btw). I think this is what happened to Mortimor and I  think his reaction to not being played justified the managers decision. Mayo will be better for it in the long run.

[spuds]

Still the only dealing Horan has had that's belied his inexperience. Mostly excellent work but he let a time bomb develop by not playing Mort at times when he clearly deserved to and would have given the team a better chance, he essentially strung him along.

Mort is Mort so if he wasn't fond of him or his attitude he should have dropped him after the league when Mayo had a big stretch of time before the Leitrim game and cause the minimal level of disruption to the panel.

Ah, the Mortimer saga is finished and it's time to move on. I'd agree with what FTB has to say. I used to have great time, and still have, for the little bugger; love him or hate him, you could rely on him to provide entertainment. 
But I don't think Horan left him off for any reason other that he wasn't fitting in to the general game plan. Damned if I know what that was but it was plain that he was getting his preferred 15 together as the summer approached.
As the championship began, it was obvious that he still hadn't decided on his corner forward players.
Mort was in the running along with O'Connor, Freeman, Varley, Doherty and possibly one or two more. Horan was looking for lads who would fit into his game plan and I felt Conoreen was at a disadvantage here vis a vis the rest in the running.
He was in his late 20s and obviously his ability to adapt to the changed conditions was limited.
The others were all years younger and probably have their best years to come, while Mort had to make an immediate impact if he was to get a regular place. Now, he put in some mighty displays for the county and could never be faulted for his devotion but Horan wasn't  prepared to re-jig his plans just to accommodate him.

I think in modern football there is no place for the player that thinks its all about him. The only possible exception is where the player is off huge talent - I'm talking a Canavan, a Gooch etc (neither of which were anything but team players btw). I think this is what happened to Mortimor and I  think his reaction to not being played justified the managers decision. Mayo will be better for it in the long run.

Agree with that Itchy in the main but what probably annoyed Mort most was the selection of others before him. Not saying he was right or wrong but for example, he scored 0-8 against Dublin (5 frees) in league game, was dropped next day getting sub run out. In league semi scored 0-7 (4 frees), top point scorer again from play and only member of full forward line to score incl. subs. In final only scored 1 free but problems lay farther out the field. He came on and scored 0-2 (1 free) in championship opener v Leitrim being preferred to by Freeman who had not played a competitive game for Mayo since March.

Am not making excuses for him at all but just to show that he was in form after bursting a gut to get back to this level of football after his season out after knee surgery. The circus that followed his departure leaves the door firmly shut on any return during the Horan years, but maybe Horan should not go entirely blameless ??

[From the Bunker]

Agree with that Itchy in the main but what probably annoyed Mort most was the selection of others before him. Not saying he was right or wrong but for example, he scored 0-8 against Dublin (5 frees) in league game, was dropped next day getting sub run out. In league semi scored 0-7 (4 frees), top point scorer again from play and only member of full forward line to score incl. subs. In final only scored 1 free but problems lay farther out the field. He came on and scored 0-2 (1 free) in championship opener v Leitrim being preferred to by Freeman who had not played a competitive game for Mayo since March.

Am not making excuses for him at all but just to show that he was in form after bursting a gut to get back to this level of football after his season out after knee surgery. The circus that followed his departure leaves the door firmly shut on any return during the Horan years, but maybe Horan should not go entirely blameless ??

Horan is not blameless, but as a Manager you live and die by you're decisions. Looking at your summary, Mortimer was probably getting messed about. Remember this was Mortimers first season with Horan. So he would have missed out on the loyalty thing built up with players from the year before, Players who were into stage 2 of Horans ethics and strategies.

[spuds]

Agree with that Itchy in the main but what probably annoyed Mort most was the selection of others before him. Not saying he was right or wrong but for example, he scored 0-8 against Dublin (5 frees) in league game, was dropped next day getting sub run out. In league semi scored 0-7 (4 frees), top point scorer again from play and only member of full forward line to score incl. subs. In final only scored 1 free but problems lay farther out the field. He came on and scored 0-2 (1 free) in championship opener v Leitrim being preferred to by Freeman who had not played a competitive game for Mayo since March.

Am not making excuses for him at all but just to show that he was in form after bursting a gut to get back to this level of football after his season out after knee surgery. The circus that followed his departure leaves the door firmly shut on any return during the Horan years, but maybe Horan should not go entirely blameless ??

Horan is not blameless, but as a Manager you live and die by you're decisions. Looking at your summary, Mortimer was probably getting messed about. Remember this was Mortimers first season with Horan. So he would have missed out on the loyalty thing built up with players from the year before, Players who were into stage 2 of Horans ethics and strategies.

Loyalty and work ethic are important but should not preclude new/old blood being introduced. I have no inside knowledge of what happened but would hope that Horan had talked to Mort about him not starting etc. Not selecting a forward in form who has a decade done with Mayo will only lead one way. Coming into the new setup and being given the role of impact sub while not his preference could be more palatable if explained to him. He would of got game time against Down, Dublin and Donegal. We are still searching for finishers.

[RMDrive]

Agree with that Itchy in the main but what probably annoyed Mort most was the selection of others before him. Not saying he was right or wrong but for example, he scored 0-8 against Dublin (5 frees) in league game, was dropped next day getting sub run out. In league semi scored 0-7 (4 frees), top point scorer again from play and only member of full forward line to score incl. subs. In final only scored 1 free but problems lay farther out the field. He came on and scored 0-2 (1 free) in championship opener v Leitrim being preferred to by Freeman who had not played a competitive game for Mayo since March.

Am not making excuses for him at all but just to show that he was in form after bursting a gut to get back to this level of football after his season out after knee surgery. The circus that followed his departure leaves the door firmly shut on any return during the Horan years, but maybe Horan should not go entirely blameless ??

And how did the Mort react to not be picked? Went on twitter saying something along the lines of ... When you see who is being picked in front of you, all you can do is laugh. That kind of selfishness is poison for a team.

[Itchy]

Agree with that Itchy in the main but what probably annoyed Mort most was the selection of others before him. Not saying he was right or wrong but for example, he scored 0-8 against Dublin (5 frees) in league game, was dropped next day getting sub run out. In league semi scored 0-7 (4 frees), top point scorer again from play and only member of full forward line to score incl. subs. In final only scored 1 free but problems lay farther out the field. He came on and scored 0-2 (1 free) in championship opener v Leitrim being preferred to by Freeman who had not played a competitive game for Mayo since March.

Am not making excuses for him at all but just to show that he was in form after bursting a gut to get back to this level of football after his season out after knee surgery. The circus that followed his departure leaves the door firmly shut on any return during the Horan years, but maybe Horan should not go entirely blameless ??

And how did the Mort react to not be picked? Went on twitter saying something along the lines of ... When you see who is being picked in front of you, all you can do is laugh. That kind of selfishness is poison for a team.

Exactly. That's what I meant by saying his reaction to being dropped was the justification for doing it.

[From the Bunker]

Agree with that Itchy in the main but what probably annoyed Mort most was the selection of others before him. Not saying he was right or wrong but for example, he scored 0-8 against Dublin (5 frees) in league game, was dropped next day getting sub run out. In league semi scored 0-7 (4 frees), top point scorer again from play and only member of full forward line to score incl. subs. In final only scored 1 free but problems lay farther out the field. He came on and scored 0-2 (1 free) in championship opener v Leitrim being preferred to by Freeman who had not played a competitive game for Mayo since March.

Am not making excuses for him at all but just to show that he was in form after bursting a gut to get back to this level of football after his season out after knee surgery. The circus that followed his departure leaves the door firmly shut on any return during the Horan years, but maybe Horan should not go entirely blameless ??

And how did the Mort react to not be picked? Went on twitter saying something along the lines of ... When you see who is being picked in front of you, all you can do is laugh. That kind of selfishness is poison for a team.

He did not say anything on twitter and he did not go running to the Media. He was unfortunate his family got involved.  He made a bad (not thought out) decision. One I'm sure he regrets in hindsight.

[Rossfan]

He would of got game time

This is getting beyond a joke.
Time to bring in bans Mods 

[saffronandblue]

Managers are there to get the best out of the players that are at their disposal.  Horan decided that Mayo could/can do without our 2 best corner forwards in Mortimer and Kilcoyne.  The hoof the high ball in to A. O'Shea in the All Ireland final only highlighted this.  Another season on and we are still no better off.  Apart from young lads like Conor O'Shea and Regan from Ballina we have nothing else to add to the forward division.

Not ringing lads that get injured has not helped Horans case among lads on the panel.  It would appear that Horan has many fine qualities as a manager but like everyone else he is not perfect.  Man management been one skill that could be improved upon.  Looking forward to the GAA starting up again but no matter how organised and well coached Mayo might be this year, we will win nothing without a couple of lads that can kick the ball over the bar.

McLoughlin to full forward might be a good place to start.

[RMDrive]

Agree with that Itchy in the main but what probably annoyed Mort most was the selection of others before him. Not saying he was right or wrong but for example, he scored 0-8 against Dublin (5 frees) in league game, was dropped next day getting sub run out. In league semi scored 0-7 (4 frees), top point scorer again from play and only member of full forward line to score incl. subs. In final only scored 1 free but problems lay farther out the field. He came on and scored 0-2 (1 free) in championship opener v Leitrim being preferred to by Freeman who had not played a competitive game for Mayo since March.

Am not making excuses for him at all but just to show that he was in form after bursting a gut to get back to this level of football after his season out after knee surgery. The circus that followed his departure leaves the door firmly shut on any return during the Horan years, but maybe Horan should not go entirely blameless ??

And how did the Mort react to not be picked? Went on twitter saying something along the lines of ... When you see who is being picked in front of you, all you can do is laugh. That kind of selfishness is poison for a team.

He did not say anything on twitter and he did not go running to the Media. He was unfortunate his family got involved.  He made a bad (not thought out) decision. One I'm sure he regrets in hindsight.

Uh, yes he did.

[From the Bunker]

Agree with that Itchy in the main but what probably annoyed Mort most was the selection of others before him. Not saying he was right or wrong but for example, he scored 0-8 against Dublin (5 frees) in league game, was dropped next day getting sub run out. In league semi scored 0-7 (4 frees), top point scorer again from play and only member of full forward line to score incl. subs. In final only scored 1 free but problems lay farther out the field. He came on and scored 0-2 (1 free) in championship opener v Leitrim being preferred to by Freeman who had not played a competitive game for Mayo since March.

Am not making excuses for him at all but just to show that he was in form after bursting a gut to get back to this level of football after his season out after knee surgery. The circus that followed his departure leaves the door firmly shut on any return during the Horan years, but maybe Horan should not go entirely blameless ??

And how did the Mort react to not be picked? Went on twitter saying something along the lines of ... When you see who is being picked in front of you, all you can do is laugh. That kind of selfishness is poison for a team.

He did not say anything on twitter and he did not go running to the Media. He was unfortunate his family got involved.  He made a bad (not thought out) decision. One I'm sure he regrets in hindsight.

Uh, yes he did.

Are you sure? Can't recall seeing it originally and checked earlier. Nothing there!

[rodney trotter]

Agree with that Itchy in the main but what probably annoyed Mort most was the selection of others before him. Not saying he was right or wrong but for example, he scored 0-8 against Dublin (5 frees) in league game, was dropped next day getting sub run out. In league semi scored 0-7 (4 frees), top point scorer again from play and only member of full forward line to score incl. subs. In final only scored 1 free but problems lay farther out the field. He came on and scored 0-2 (1 free) in championship opener v Leitrim being preferred to by Freeman who had not played a competitive game for Mayo since March.

Am not making excuses for him at all but just to show that he was in form after bursting a gut to get back to this level of football after his season out after knee surgery. The circus that followed his departure leaves the door firmly shut on any return during the Horan years, but maybe Horan should not go entirely blameless ??

And how did the Mort react to not be picked? Went on twitter saying something along the lines of ... When you see who is being picked in front of you, all you can do is laugh. That kind of selfishness is poison for a team.

He did not say anything on twitter and he did not go running to the Media. He was unfortunate his family got involved.  He made a bad (not thought out) decision. One I'm sure he regrets in hindsight.

Uh, yes he did.

Are you sure? Can't recall seeing it originally and checked earlier. Nothing there!

I'd say he has probaly removed the tweet by now.

[From the Bunker]

I gone through a sh1t load of articles at the time and none of them refer to tweets about fellow players.

[spuds]

Agree with that Itchy in the main but what probably annoyed Mort most was the selection of others before him. Not saying he was right or wrong but for example, he scored 0-8 against Dublin (5 frees) in league game, was dropped next day getting sub run out. In league semi scored 0-7 (4 frees), top point scorer again from play and only member of full forward line to score incl. subs. In final only scored 1 free but problems lay farther out the field. He came on and scored 0-2 (1 free) in championship opener v Leitrim being preferred to by Freeman who had not played a competitive game for Mayo since March.

Am not making excuses for him at all but just to show that he was in form after bursting a gut to get back to this level of football after his season out after knee surgery. The circus that followed his departure leaves the door firmly shut on any return during the Horan years, but maybe Horan should not go entirely blameless ??

And how did the Mort react to not be picked? Went on twitter saying something along the lines of ... When you see who is being picked in front of you, all you can do is laugh. That kind of selfishness is poison for a team.

He did not say anything on twitter and he did not go running to the Media. He was unfortunate his family got involved.  He made a bad (not thought out) decision. One I'm sure he regrets in hindsight.

Legend has it he let it be known amongst certain journalist acquaintances the weekend prior to team selection for Connacht final that if not selected to start he would walk. And he walked. IIRC he tweeted a comment that was soon taken down and tweeted then some line that nobody greater than the team.
Itchy, you are right his reaction speaks volumes but the team management could of played this a biteen cuter. Horan is doing a very good job, hope he can do everything possible to bring us on to the next step.