'Mayo will win nothing without me' - Mortimer

[JMohan]

Mayo will win nothing without me - Mortimer


27 August 2008

Mayo's Conor Mortimer has hit out at his critics within the Western County in a local newspaper over suggestions that the county will never win anything as long as the Shrule/Glencorrib forward is in their front line.

The Mayo News newspaper put it to Mortimer this week that some supporters in Mayo believe that they will never land a national title as long as he is in the side, to which the player responded: "They'll win nothing without me either."



Mortimer has been top-scorer for Mayo on their journeys to the All-Ireland SFC finals of 2004 and 2006, where they were both drubbed by Kerry. This year saw them beaten in the Connacht final by Galway and eventually ousted from the Championship by Tyrone in the qualifiers.

However the DCU student believes that he has proven himself to the fans in Mayo, saying: "(The criticism) doesn't bother me. What do they expect?

"Since I started playing with Mayo I've been the top scorer every year. I'm in and around the end of most moves."



*************************************************************



Talking points


With Mayo finished for 2008, two players pause to reflect

The Interview
Mike Finnerty

THEY couldn't be more different. One arrives early, the other is running late. One answers every question instinctively without fear or favour while the other is eloquent and considered. One keeps his head down and just gets on with it while the other  courts the spotlight with his hair, boots and attitude.
Meet Conor Mortimer and Andy Moran, Mayo footballers and 2008 Vhi Cúl Camp ambassadors. An hour in their company teaches you that they are two very different young men with one shared ambition. Football has brought them together and winning an All-Ireland medal is why they do what they do.
But with Mayo now out of the championship for another year, they are only too happy to talk about past experiences, their present mood, and their plans for the future.


MF How did you feel after Mayo lost to Tyrone in the Qualifiers?
AM I think the major thing we have to get right is our attitude. If anyone is going to tell me that Monaghan or Fermanagh or Kildare or any of these boys are better than us, I'm just not going to buy that. You should see us at training when things come off. It's phenomenal. When we get on the field at the minute it's just not happening and that's down to the players.
CM I think when you lose a few big games you start to wonder, 'Are we good enough to be there?' We haven't beaten the teams that were put in front  of us. We haven't won a big championship match in two years. We have the players, there's no doubt about that, we've worked hard, but we're not getting the results.

MF How would you assess the 2008 season?
CM Even though we didn't win anything I wouldn't write off our season. I think we improved from last year. And Connacht medals don't mean anything to me anymore. The one I want to win is an All-Ireland.
We did okay in the league and we could have beaten Galway and Tyrone. But we didn't. I don't know to be honest if Tyrone won that game or we lost it. I think we lost it.
We had a game-plan that we stuck to for 40 minutes and then we got dragged back, defending our own goal, and ended up with one forward. You can't do that.

MF In hindsight, would Ciaran McDonald have made a difference?
AM Talent-wise, I don't think there's any question about Ciaran Mac's ability. But the 29 lads that were there wanted to be there, really wanted to play for Mayo. It's hard to know...
I think, if he was playing against Tyrone, we probably would have won. But we had got to the stage where we were being over-reliant on Ciaran McDonald and it wasn't working.

MF What would he have brought against Tyrone?
CM He can lay ball all day long. The supply was coming against Tyrone but in fits and starts.
AM But the problem is when MacD gets shut down.

MF What about people that say Mayo are not good enough?
AM No way. We lost so many this season by a point or two. The Galway games, the Kerry game, Derry, Tyrone... Psychologically, we have to get stronger. Next year I'm going to be 25 and it's time for me now to step up.
It's unfair to pick out the likes of Alan Dillon and Conor Mortimer because these are the guys that are doing it consistently for us. It's the likes of myself that have to grow up and perform. Mayo has to be number one next year for me, not Sigerson, not club. Mayo.

MF How would you assess your own performance in 2008?
AM Personally, I'm bitterly disappointed with my championship performances. I didn't look after myself well enough earlier in the year to perform during the summer. I think I've actually done too much over the last couple of years, I've over-trained a bit. I have to re-assess things now for next year.
We're all in it for one reason; to win an All-Ireland. Playing third-level league games and Sigerson weekends doesn't help you realise that goal because you just can't keep peaking. Championship has to be your peak performance but my peak performance happened in March. That's ridiculous. And it's nobody's fault except my own.
CM Mentally and physically I was fine. I was happy with the Sligo and Tyrone games, and I felt I was middlin' against Galway. We only played three championship games.
There's not an awful lot of scoring, 'kick the ball over the bar' forwards in Mayo. You have your workers and your tacklers, and my job is to score. At the end of the day that's what I'm good at. My tackling and my right foot aren't great, but I'll score. I thought I was okay against Tyrone when I got ball. Any ball I got, I won a free or kicked a score.

MF Have you thought much about the Tyrone game since?
AM I've had nightmares about it. I felt as bad as I ever have in my life after that game. I didn't know where to go or what to do. A lot of people make a lot of effort to go and see us and I don't think it's fair on them. I don't think it's fair on Alan [Dillon] and Conor having to kick all the scores every day, and on James Nallen to come back near the end of his career and having to do the business for somebody else.
I just wasn't physically able to play the role I was asked to play. I had done too much work earlier in the year and I wasn't able to cover the ground.
CM I was disappointed but I think, after the years of losing, the hurt doesn't be as bad, especially after the Galway game. Being from Shrule, losing that was like losing an All-Ireland final. Still, walking out of Croke Park, knowing that you should be there the following weekend, is hard to take.
If we had kept playing in low balls against Tyrone, we would have won frees and we would have won the game. A team is like a machine. If one cog isn't working there'll be a problem along the line.

MF What needs to be done to move things on for 2009?
AM The management sat down last year and decided that they were going to build. I think we've definitely got better. Okay, we lost games but look at the way we lost. In 2004 and 2006, against Kerry, as soon as lost went behind we threw in the towel. That didn't happen this year.
We have young fellas like Keith Higgins, leaders and winners, coming through. But psychologically we have to get stronger. You don't lose six or seven games by a point if you're mentally strong. Maybe if you win one of them, the tide will turn.

MF Do the players think that John O'Mahony is the man to manage Mayo next year?
AM Absolutely, there's no doubt at all. I think coming down on the train there the last day – there was about 12 or 13 of us on the train – and I think there was a general consensus ... I don't usually talk about it because I'd be a bit closer to him [John O'Mahony] than most other guys ... but there was a general consensus. There's no doubt about it, they all wanted him to stay.
And I think the way it's working, we could have got to an All-Ireland final again this year, but what good would it have done this? We could have got beaten by 20 points again.
I think what we're trying to work towards here is, and this is the way I'd feel about it, that when we get there the next time, that we're ready for it. That we're not going there and we're coming out with our tails between our legs again. The next time that we get there, that we're ready for it and we're going to win. That'd be my way of [thinking]. I think that's the way a lot of the guys feel, and that's the way the management feel.
But the big disappointment this year is that I actually thought we were ready for it this year. I actually thought when we met in the McWilliam [Park] Hotel, right here, the day after the Galway game, I thought this was going to be the year, because of the way the boys were talking. And we trained awful well in the two weeks prior. The boys in general, there was a great buzz at training, and it was good. We just didn't perform. The thing about it is, there's absolutely no need to panic. We had great times under Mickey [Moran] – in Mickey's year we got there, and we still got flaked.
CM We're the only county that have [had] four managers within five years. There's something going wrong somewhere. There has to be something wrong. Once you go out over that line, it's 15 guys – or 20 guys, because there's five guys coming in. They're the guys who are going to win the game or lose the game. It's nothing to do with the manager or the selectors or whoever else is there.

MF Would you change anything about this year if you could?
CM We should have won the Connacht final. We didn't because we weren't good enough on the day. We always seem to start sluggishly against Galway...
AM I thought we were going okay until Trevor [Mortimer] went off injured.
CM Galway have quality forwards and once a few them got loose, they were going to score.

MF Tell me about the late free you [Conor] took against Galway?
CM The problem is that nobody else will take it, you're not going to see anybody running over to take it.
AM The way the wind was blowing, from that side of the field, it suited a left-footed kicker. I actually called Conor and told him to go out and take it.
CM I didn't really think of drilling it for a score at the time. I didn't think it was the last kick of the game. I just bounced the ball and kicked it. I'd kicked points from there before and some days they go over and some days they don't. I haven't lost sleep over it.

MF Can you see how people think you don't care about playing for Mayo?
CM I can't really. I do all the training, I enjoy it, and my life revolves around playing football.

MF Some people would feel that Mayo will win nothing with you on the team. That you're not a team player. What would you say to them?
CM They'll win nothing without me either.
AM I agree with Conor. Saying we'll win nothing with him on the team? We'll score about six points.
I think it's unfair on Conor and Alan Dillon. I've been scoring freely for my club and for my college for the last couple of years but then when I go into county football, I'm just not doing it. That's my responsibility.
Ninety per cent of our supporters are the best in the country but there are 10% who would say that about Conor. But they're the 10% that don't know their football and who you won't see at a league game.

MF Do you think the criticism you get is fair?
CM It doesn't bother me. What do people expect? Since I started playing with Mayo I've been the top scorer every year. I'm in and around the end of most moves.

MF When was the last time you felt alive on a football field?
CM In The Tyrone match when we went a few points ahead. Everyone was buzzing around, everyone was in the zone. We were playing to our potential.
AM The last time I felt that I could go out and dominate a game was the second half of the Galway game. I felt that I was going to win every ball. It's a good place to be but I haven't been there for Mayo for a while now.
CM The ball has to be kicked in. If ten balls are kicked in, you'll win five, and you'll get some scores. You look at the top guys, Cooper, McDonnell, these fellas, they'll lose four or five balls in every game but if you keep giving them good ball, they'll score.

MF John O'Mahony has made it clear that he doesn't want any hype or expectation around this Mayo team. What do you think of that?
AM I don't normally disagree with Johnno but I think Mayo need the hype. I think we are the best team in Ireland but we still have to prove that. I think we've been patient for two years. I think within our group we need to think we're the best team in Ireland. And we need to prove it. We are so positive behind closed doors it's unreal but maybe it's part of our psyche that we need a bit of hype too.
CM I thought there was a little bit of a buzz here and there this year but you only get hype if you deserve it. I'd say bar Kerry, to a certain degree, we're as good as any team out there. A bit of confidence is really all we're missing.

MF Have you thought about next year?
CM Of course. I don't enjoy the winter training but I don't mind the league, at least you're playing games.
I'm getting older now too and there a lot more things in my life. I'm finishing college next year and I have to get a job, make ends meet.
But if we improve 10% on this year we'll win Connacht next year. The best way to go is through the front-door and I don't see why we shouldn't.
Personally, I've been doing the same thing for seven or eight years for Mayo now and I don't see any need to change. It doesn't bother me what people think. I train all year around and that's why I'm on the team. I'm not there for the sake of it.
AM The first thing I need to do is get away from it for a while. But if I get the chance to play for Mayo next year, it's a big year for me. I need to prove that I'm good enough to be at that level. In 2009 I hope to prove that I am.

[muppet]

Is the highlighting because you think we cant read or because you really really need to push your own agenda?

I think it's refreshing to see players talking candidly to the media. The tiny minded reaction of some Gaa 'supporters' makes this type of story a rarity.

[orangeman]

He didn't say all of this ! Half of it is made up !

[Hardy]

The context of the quote makes the thread title very misleading.

[JMohan]

Is the highlighting because you think we cant read or because you really really need to push your own agenda?

I think it's refreshing to see players talking candidly to the media. The tiny minded reaction of some Gaa 'supporters' makes this type of story a rarity.

I've no agenda. I have views but no agenda.

I highlighted it so clowns like you who jump too quick to conclusions could read the key parts easier and faster - and see the way the questions were asked - rather than having to wade through a few thousand words.

It's important too that you read the whole interview to see if the 'headline' comments were taken out of context.

[JMohan]

The context of the quote makes the thread title very misleading.

Exactly - I got it from the Hoganstand and that's why I went to get and post the full article to see if it was a stitch up job

[ríochtciarraí]

Hed have to score points for being honest alright. I do think sometimes its wiser to hold your own council. What must the rest of the players in the Mayo squad make of this I wonder? I'd say the Mort will have every journalist in the country ringing him for an interview during the winter. One can only speculate as to what else he might come out with if asked the right questions. Anyone betting on him having been the first man on the moon instead of Neil Armstrong before the new year?

[orangeman]

Anyone hear a rumour he's transferring to Dublin ?

[muppet]

Over the years we have had disgraceful posts on the likes of Padraig Brogan, Frank McGuigan, Graham Geraghty, Aiden O'Mahoney and many more. Even Martin Clarke is getting some abuse here for recent media comments. Talking to the media will be in his contract, he has to do it. If you don't like what he says tough, it's for a different audience, not our inflated feelings of importance.

All Gaa players are amateurs. Their time is given up for the benefit of the sport of our choice. The media work they do, with the notable exceptions of pundits, is all done for no reward.

Interviews such as the one above enhance our appreciation of the game and give us an view into the mindset of the players involved. This is an accepted norm in sports throughout the world and should be encouraged, but not here it seems. If you don't like some of what is said fine.

Some Gaa supporters have ludicrous expectations of players.

Some of us seem to want them to be:
* All Ireland Champions regularly
* Mensa like thinkers under pressure
* Tiger Woods like composure under pressure
* Decathletes of a high standard
* Blair like charm with the media
* Able to smile at someone who punches them
* Able to listen to every so called supporters' opinion of what he does wrong
* Available for autographs/charity as demanded by anyone
* To live a completely virtuous life outside football
* Able to put their lives on hold from 18 to 30
* Back to work every Monday

The incredible thing is most players achieve a lot of the list above. But it's not enough for some.

This site frequently manages to convey genuine respect for the sacrifices made for our national sport but all to often it descends into cheap shots and lazy criticism.

We frequently castigate journalists (I put my hand up here)  for what they write but all to often they have little to go on as most players wont talk to them, but when they do.....well look at the title of this thread.

[Zapatista]

MF Some people would feel that Mayo will win nothing with you on the team. That you're not a team player. What would you say to them?
CM They'll win nothing without me either.

It is the other side of the argument. If you ask this question of the people of Mayo I'd say this would be a common answer.

[JMohan]

Over the years we have had disgraceful posts on the likes of Padraig Brogan, Frank McGuigan, Graham Geraghty, Aiden O'Mahoney and many more. Even Martin Clarke is getting some abuse here for recent media comments. Talking to the media will be in his contract, he has to do it. If you don't like what he says tough, it's for a different audience, not our inflated feelings of importance.

All Gaa players are amateurs. Their time is given up for the benefit of the sport of our choice. The media work they do, with the notable exceptions of pundits, is all done for no reward.

Interviews such as the one above enhance our appreciation of the game and give us an view into the mindset of the players involved. This is an accepted norm in sports throughout the world and should be encouraged, but not here it seems. If you don't like some of what is said fine.

Some Gaa supporters have ludicrous expectations of players.

Some of us seem to want them to be:
* All Ireland Champions regularly
* Mensa like thinkers under pressure
* Tiger Woods like composure under pressure
* Decathletes of a high standard
* Blair like charm with the media
* Able to smile at someone who punches them
* Able to listen to every so called supporters' opinion of what he does wrong
* Available for autographs/charity as demanded by anyone
* To live a completely virtuous life outside football
* Able to put their lives on hold from 18 to 30
* Back to work every Monday

The incredible thing is most players achieve a lot of the list above. But it's not enough for some.

This site frequently manages to convey genuine respect for the sacrifices made for our national sport but all to often it descends into cheap shots and lazy criticism.

We frequently castigate journalists (I put my hand up here)  for what they write but all to often they have little to go on as most players wont talk to them, but when they do.....well look at the title of this thread.

That's another case of ill-informed comment.

Do you know that to be a fact?

That is almost certainly incorrect. Professional players are never contracted to speak to the media.
It may be suggested and they are usually oblidged to represent the club in a respectful manner that will not bring disrepute on the club - but that is not the same as having to speak to the media.

The only case where a player has to speak to the media is with regard to private deals cut with sponsorship contracts.

**********

In any case this whole thing has nothing to do with freedom of expression. It's what the player says that is the issue - not whether or not they say anything at all.
Mortimer expressed a view - the headline takes one comment out of context to sell the story.
There are 2 things here -
1. Journalist expolits the comment (a little unfairly to his benefit - my opinion)
2. It gives an insight into Mortimers mindset/attitude (which is a deluded opinion of his worth - my opinion)

All in all it's an interesting article and interesting interview - including the references to Moran's time

[stephenite]

Re pros not being contracted to the media.

Rubbish - almost every player in every sport is obliged to give an interview after the match when asked.
Match of the Day interviews are compulsory for players and managers for example, if you win the man of the match of award after a premiership game you have to be interviewed live to accept your gong.
Ditto Pro golfers on the US PGA tour
Ditto Rugby players in the Super 14 with Aussie Fox Tv
Ditto Tennis players after every grand slam match.

The TV companies provide the bulk of the money for these tournaments and leagues - of course they're obliged to speak to them.

The list goes on and on.......

As for Conor Mort - a nothing story from the Mayo news - no big deal

[muppet]

Re pros not being contracted to the media.

Rubbish - almost every player in every sport is obliged to give an interview after the match when asked.
Match of the Day interviews are compulsory for players and managers for example, if you win the man of the match of award after a premiership game you have to be interviewed live to accept your gong.
Ditto Pro golfers on the US PGA tour
Ditto Rugby players in the Super 14 with Aussie Fox Tv
Ditto Tennis players after every grand slam match.

The TV companies provide the bulk of the money for these tournaments and leagues - of course they're obliged to speak to them.

The list goes on and on.......

As for Conor Mort - a nothing story from the Mayo news - no big deal

Add to that list the fact the the media had priority over the drugs testers at Bejing.

But that is besides the point.

What JMohan completely ignores his his highlighting of certain comments to give a particular impression of one of the players interviewed. If his opinion is that Mort has a higher value of his importance to the team then that is fair enough, but just say it and leave it at that. That would be be fair comment, one I would disagree with but that would fair enough.

[full back]

It was certainly taken out of context but he is spot on
Take Mortimer out & the scores & scorable frees drop dramatically

[JMohan]

Re pros not being contracted to the media.

Rubbish - almost every player in every sport is obliged to give an interview after the match when asked.
Match of the Day interviews are compulsory for players and managers for example, if you win the man of the match of award after a premiership game you have to be interviewed live to accept your gong.
Ditto Pro golfers on the US PGA tour
Ditto Rugby players in the Super 14 with Aussie Fox Tv
Ditto Tennis players after every grand slam match.

The TV companies provide the bulk of the money for these tournaments and leagues - of course they're obliged to speak to them.

The list goes on and on.......

As for Conor Mort - a nothing story from the Mayo news - no big deal

Show's how much you know about sport - When did Ferguson ever give an interview to the BBC?
There is no obligation to speak - that's fact.

You don't have to speak if you don't want to.