Mayo v London Sunday July 21st, 2013 Connacht Final

[criostlinn]

Have to say, I like the look of the starting team. Looking forward to Higgins at CHB. Interesting day out on Sunday!

Me too. And the amazing thing about it is only 7 starters from last years all-ireland. Who said Mayo dont have strength and depth in the panel

[sans pessimism]

Have to say, I like the look of the starting team. Looking forward to Higgins at CHB. Interesting day out on Sunday!

Me too. And the amazing thing about it is only 7 starters from last years all-ireland. Who said Mayo dont have strenght and depht in the panel

Throw in strength and depth and we'll go far!!

[sans pessimism]

I see over on wjs site that the sub goalkeeper  is Tubber
stopper Brendan Walsh-great reward for a super keeper

[sans pessimism]

Not Sheringham either.

Is it Solskjaer in for the Sligo rovers match?

daawh

[oneoftheseyears]

Good program on Showcase ch 191 on Sky now

[Syferus]

Good program on Showcase ch 191 on Sky now

What's happened? The Achill man was just about to belt a few lines out and it cut off. Did they only buy the one hour for a two hour show? Don't have Setanta so I can't watch it on that but did the presenter say something about TG4?

[From the Bunker]

Good program on Showcase ch 191 on Sky now

What's happened? The Achill man was just about to belt a few lines out and it cut off. Did they only buy the one hour for a two hour show? Don't have Setanta so I can't watch it on that but did the presenter say something about TG4?

Poor James Kilbane. Travelling all the way to London for one line of a song. Some exposure?

[Rossfan]

Good enough for him 
Syfín still absorbed in all things rhubarb I see.

[Farrandeelin]

Haha Rossfan, sure what's the harm in that!

[Lar Naparka]

I like that team. That's all we can say for now really. Damned if we do, damned if we don't. If we hammer the shit into them, we won't have got any test, if we scrape by we're shite, and if London win, we're well and truly shite. Hopefully it'll be one of the first two though.

Arra fair play, Farr, ya haven't lost it yet!
I was waiting for your prenostifications of doom, as me oul' granny would put it, and begorrah, you delivered.
But to be serious, you are dead right; damned if we do and damned if we don't. I'd say my chances of being the next pope are slightly better than London's chances of batin' Mayo but I still won't get carried away until the ref blows the long whistle.
I think this is the best Mayo side I have ever seen; there are serious players from 1 to 15 and there and there are adequate replacements if any of the first fifteen leaves the field. I could never say that before. I think what horsed us last year was the lack of quality in the reserves.
As Criost Linn says, there are only 7 starters from last year's  AI side on Sunday and it's still a very formidable side. That's been a feature since the game in Salthill and there's going to be a helluva dogfight for places if all of those who have been sidelined by injuries were fit to return.
I think it's fair to say that the results of the games so far can't be put down to Galway and Roscommon being useless.
Okay, they were but they played as well as they were let by a Mayo side with a good number of key players absent. I expect Galway to make it to round four and the Rossies gave Tyrone a good run for their money.
So I wouldn't expect London to stand in the way but I feel Horan & Co. will be taken it one game t a time. There's no point in going flat out unless they have to at any stage and risking injuries to any more players.
As long as we win, I wouldn't give a damn about the margin or the way they play. I will be keeping my fingers crossed that we don't have any additions to the injured list.

[moysider]

I like that team. That's all we can say for now really. Damned if we do, damned if we don't. If we hammer the shit into them, we won't have got any test, if we scrape by we're shite, and if London win, we're well and truly shite. Hopefully it'll be one of the first two though.

Arra fair play, Farr, ya haven't lost it yet!
I was waiting for your prenostifications of doom, as me oul' granny would put it, and begorrah, you delivered.
But to be serious, you are dead right; damned if we do and damned if we don't. I'd say my chances of being the next pope are slightly better than London's chances of batin' Mayo but I still won't get carried away until the ref blows the long whistle.
I think this is the best Mayo side I have ever seen; there are serious players from 1 to 15 and there and there are adequate replacements if any of the first fifteen leaves the field. I could never say that before. I think what horsed us last year was the lack of quality in the reserves.As Criost Linn says, there are only 7 starters from last year's  AI side on Sunday and it's still a very formidable side. That's been a feature since the game in Salthill and there's going to be a helluva dogfight for places if all of those who have been sidelined by injuries were fit to return.
I think it's fair to say that the results of the games so far can't be put down to Galway and Roscommon being useless.
Okay, they were but they played as well as they were let by a Mayo side with a good number of key players absent. I expect Galway to make it to round four and the Rossies gave Tyrone a good run for their money.
So I wouldn't expect London to stand in the way but I feel Horan & Co. will be taken it one game t a time. There's no point in going flat out unless they have to at any stage and risking injuries to any more players.
As long as we win, I wouldn't give a damn about the margin or the way they play. I will be keeping my fingers crossed that we don't have any additions to the injured list.

Unfortunately we re not seeing eye to eye lately Lar and it looks like continuing

It wasn t the lack of quality reserves that 'horsed' us last year Lar. I d go more like this.

The Andy injury was a wheel coming off. That was huge.

But we got to final without Andy and literally handed them the match in first skirmishes. That was down to poor selection and poorer tactics rather than a weak bench. The bench did not cost us that game! Don t forget we nearly blew an unlosable lead in semi because lack of practicality on sideline. Apologies if I appear critical of current management. I reckon they have got most things right but unless you get the end game right you don t win, no matter how well you do the rest of it. Great foreplay with no hard-on to back it up!

I don t believe in dogfight for places being any good either. And I dont believe it exists either in Horan's mind. He d not be a serious manager if it did. And if current form really counted, likes of Regan would be startin, instead of being dropped off the panel. Jaysus we ve been over this before. It is pretty obvious that Horan liked the team that started last year v Down was his A team. But injuries are part and parcel of the team. Our conservative nature in these things will mean that likes of Chris Barrett and Tom Cuniffe will always be selected before likes of Burke and Walsh - probably because of longevity rather than quality/ form etc.

Higgins is named at 6. Will he play there? If he doesn t he never will under Horan! But I m not sure he will. Don t get me wrong. Horan has ticked so many boxes it puts previous managers to shame. I believe he has a chance to do something unreal but he needs to take a chance. Mayo people love a regular starting 15 and gasp if if there s changes or somebody is dropped. If a manager is even suspected of changing things, it s called 'experimentation' and nobody cares for that type of thing. But the reality is that the 15 and tactics that smashed a team in June in an open game is not going to get the job done in Autumn v Donegal and others. Adjustements need to be made when required and we did not do that in semi last year ( when we were in trouble) or in selection/tactics for final. Quality of bench and dogfights have nothing to do with it. Likes of Burke and Walsh have fought like dogs for places without any realistic chance of being selected. Even though they are as effective - and maybe more so - than those ahead of them. It doesn t work like that. But that s ok, because this gig is this managements time and these are their calls. And they ve done so much well. But I think McGuinness did a lot more from a poorer base with fewer player resources. Tactically in last years AI final we were a spirited border collie v biggest cutest wolf on the lot.

[ross4life]

I think it’s fair to say that the results of the games so far can’t be put down to Galway and Roscommon being useless.
Okay, they were but they played as well as they were let by a Mayo side with a good number of key players absent. I expect Galway to make it to round four and the Rossies gave Tyrone a good run for their money.

A great line that.

Lets be honest Galway were atrocious against Mayo, we were only slightly better and i say slightly because we lost by 12pts away, it was 7-4 after 24 mins and we didn't help ourselves by kicking 14 wides.

Trust me Tyrone would have beaten us by at least 12 points if we played like we did in MacHale park. We have been hammered by some average Mayo sides over the years at least this current Mayo side are well above average.

[moysider]

I think it's fair to say that the results of the games so far can't be put down to Galway and Roscommon being useless.
Okay, they were but they played as well as they were let by a Mayo side with a good number of key players absent. I expect Galway to make it to round four and the Rossies gave Tyrone a good run for their money.

A great line that.

Lets be honest Galway were atrocious against Mayo, we were only slightly better and i say slightly because we lost by 12pts away, it was 7-4 after 24 mins and we didn't help ourselves by kicking 14 wides.

Trust me Tyrone would have beaten us by at least 12 points if we played like we did in MacHale park. We have been hammered by some average Mayo sides over the years at least this current Mayo side are well above average.

Hmmmmm. Really? Like which ones?

[ross4life]

Like the 2002 side or 2009 side that struggled past Galway & lost to Meath. We have the ability of making sides looks better than they are, Galway found that out last year.

[larryin89]

I think you need to think about where ye were at yourselves in 2009, Ross.
We actually had a far better team in 08-10 than a lot of people think.

SEMI-FINAL: Mayo 3-18 Roscommon 0-7 (McHale Park, 20/6/2009).  MAYO: Kenneth O'Malley; Donal Vaughan, Ger Cafferkey, Keith Higgins; Peadar Gardiner (0-2), Trevor Howley, Andy Moran (0-1); David Heaney, Ronan McGarrity (0-2); Pat Harte (1-1, goal a penalty), Trevor Mortimer (0-2), Alan Dillon (0-6, three frees); Aidan Kilcoyne (1-3, 0-2 '45s'), Barry Moran, Aidan O'Shea (1-0

Glowing ones starting sunday, bold one should be  and five all stars (i make it) six if you include the Mort who came on , hardly an average side.