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Mayo GAA Discussion Thread
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So a great year but again just fell short
2014
For league I hope to God we go hell for leather (whoever is managing) in it and absolutely all out to win. A league title would be super. Don't mind this afraid to peak early stuff, didn't affect Dublin who tore us apart in April.
Anyway I hope it is used better than this year and not for daft experiments like Keegan 10, McL 13 and AOS 11.
Goalkeeper- Hennelly deputised admirably and was great yesterday but he's nowhere near as reliable as Clarke for me. He's enigmatic- he's prone to errors (goal yesterday case in point) and Clarke is in the top 3 keepers in Ireland for sure so I'd definitely reinstate him
FB and HB line pick themselves. Keane, McHale, Burke are very capable understudies.
Mid- the same. Barry for impact
HF line- KH needs to continue here. Probably Horan's best move all year. McL has been so flaky all year. Does unseen stuff brilliantly and is a great tackler, ball winner but gives daft passes and kicks far too many silly wides. Dillon needs to go sadly. Richie Feeney is criminally underrated by Horan. I'd never leave him out he can be a huge addition to the 15 next year for me.
COC and Freeman are certs for inside. Conroy, Doherty, Varley, Moran, Coen, regan- there's plenty of competition for the other. Andy still kicks great scores so he'd be my preferred option, hopefully plenty options looked at in league though
Anyhow its not all doom and gloom. We'll win Connacht with the team we have and a possible semi v either an unpredictable Cork and ageing Kerry. Long way ahead but it's potentially a decent route- quarter team could be tricky but should be beating any team who loses in province0 -
realweirdo wrote: »Every year there are only 3 or 4 teams with a genuine chance of winning. It so happens Mayo have been in that bracket the last two years. We have the quality in the county but we didn't have the quality on the field. I litterly could spend hours detailing Horan's shortcomings but if you feel like it, you could read back over my previous posts. I'm not alone in feeling this way or that he has brought the team as far as he can.
There is no AI in this team with Horan as manager, fullstop. Steamrolling divison 4 teams or teams who play like division 4 teams is no longer the standard. Galway and Donegal were very poor this year. Tyrone are in transition and lost key players. They will be back next year though. There was never a better chance for a Mayo team to win an AI. It was practically handed on a plate to us yesterday and then Horan made a complete balls of it as did most of the forwards.
They aren't children, they need to stop making excuses and man up about their own failures. Anyone who thinks Horan did well yesterday or the forwards did well weren't watching the same game. They need to stop burying their heads in the sand, for the good of Mayo football.
Horan is a poor tactician, that's fairly obvious and like I said there is no AI in this team while he's around. There may well be AI finals which may keep the likes of you happy.
And what manager has done or will get us closer (i.e. over the line)?
He has for me developed the best Mayo squad the county has ever produced. He has beaten every team that he was expected to beat. Lost to three teams (Kerry, Donegal, Dublin) with better sets of forwards. He might have made some mistakes (as has every manager) but he isn't a poor tactician and the job is his as long as he keeps Mayo performing so well.0 -
And what manager has done or will get us closer (i.e. over the line)?
He has for me developed the best Mayo squad the county has ever produced. He has beaten every team that he was expected to beat. Lost to three teams (Kerry, Donegal, Dublin) with better sets of forwards. He might have made some mistakes (as has every manager) but he isn't a poor tactician and the job is his as long as he keeps Mayo performing so well.
Kevin McStay in my opinion has far better tactical awareness than Horan. He won a club title with an average club side, and the team he beat in the final had many intercounty Dublin players including the likes of Dean Rock. He's proven in AI finals, Horan is not.
And how you can say the current team is better than the 50/51 team is bizarre.0 -
starskey77 wrote: »why didnt oshea go full forward for the last ten mins
Freeman is a serious target man. When he went off we'd no outlet at the edge of the square. Same as last year, when Freeman wasn't half the player he is now.
Freeman really is a key player I think, we need to look at other options at 14 in league in case Freeman gets injured/ loses form during year0 -
Excellent post Father,delighted to see a ray of positivity among the last few posters.Without hope there is nothing.I sincerely think that if the lads can maintain their self belief that the core of the team is good enough to win an All Ireland,with the welcome addition of a couple of new forwards we get our revenge against the Dubs in next year's final.They are still a relatively young team,I would be concerned re the physical and mental toll the last 3 years efforts have taken though.Pretty hard to go to the well so often.Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »I have realised that I have built up some strange immunity to this
I walked out of that place straight after the final whistle without looking back, and it seemed no different to any other time, be it a single point loss or a hammering.
What saddens me most though is the stream of Mayo folk walking back from the ground, no talking, no smiling, no happiness, in such glorious sunshine.
All year I have said that if they do not win it now they will not be back for 6 or 7 years, they will not be able to reproduce the intensity etc for yet another year.
But in the hours since the game I have started to question that, it's mainly because 2014 is all we have look forward to now and I'm rather be optimistic about it than anything else
2014 is not going to be a vintage year for football
There is not a whole lot of quality out there
Munster - both Cork and Kerry or no longer real challengers and a number of retirements will hurt Kerry
Ulster - You may see the emergence of Cavan or Monaghan, Donegal may be in turmoil over the Gallagher stuff and Jimmy spending more time in Glasgow.
Tyrone will improve but not to the extent that they will be a real contender
Leinster - Dublin obviously, but back to back All Irelands is a huge ask and even more so with the same manager
Apart from them may be Meath or a young Kildare with a new manager will be dark horses
In Connaught I believe that Mayo have to travel to NY therefore the earliest they could meet Galway will be in the SF and that will be in Castlebar.
And I don't think there is anyone to really challenge them yet in Connaught
Connaught play Munster in the SF so that could very well be Mayo v God knows who.
What they need for the immediate future is the belief that they are still a top team that are still real contenders and with a bit more work they can win it, they are hardly miles away from it, they just need to keep improving.
And they also need a slice of luck, in the sense that 20 odd minutes in you do not loose the MOTM of the SF to injury (I assume Freeman was injured cos he was not playing bad) and you have to replace him with a guy who has hardly seen the field all season
You need the luck of staying injury free, not have you top scorer playing with one arm, or an All Star midfielder out for the season
And you need to have the luck of having an opponent that has fallen arse backwards into the final, I'm talking Mayo '04 and '06 or Down '10, teams that are good but not top two, Mayo need to get to a final where the opposition are not some juggernaut like Dublin, Donegal 2012, or Kerry in the '00s
If Horan and co can convince them that they are close, and if he believes it himself, and if they can keep the likes of Buckley on board, then I think there may just be a chance again for 2014
Well done to the minors by the way, at least a cup is on it's way to Mayo after 6 final defeats.
I looked despondently at my flag fluttering in the wind outside the house when i got home to Kerry last night, and then a smile came to my face when I remembered that it was representing the All Ireland Minor Champions 20130 -
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realweirdo wrote: »Every year there are only 3 or 4 teams with a genuine chance of winning. It so happens Mayo have been in that bracket the last two years.
It doesn't "so happen", Horan so happened it.0 -
Goalkeeper- Hennelly deputised admirably and was great yesterday but he's nowhere near as reliable as Clarke for me. He's enigmatic- he's prone to errors (goal yesterday case in point) and Clarke is in the top 3 keepers in Ireland for sure so I'd definitely reinstate him
That keeper jersey is Hennelly's for the next 5 years as far as I'm concerned. A better shot-stopper, miles better distributor from his hands, and better from the tee. More youthful and agile. Both are equally mistake-prone, see Clarke's error v Donegal last year where luckily Murphy punched over rather than under the bar.
Also, the two best keepers in Ireland this year were Cluxton and Hennelly.0 -
realweirdo wrote: »Kevin McStay in my opinion has far better tactical awareness than Horan. He won a club title with an average club side, and the team he beat in the final had many intercounty Dublin players including the likes of Dean Rock. He's proven in AI finals, Horan is not.
And how you can say the current team is better than the 50/51 team is bizarre.
lol0 -
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realweirdo wrote: »Kevin McStay in my opinion has far better tactical awareness than Horan. He won a club title with an average club side, and the team he beat in the final had many intercounty Dublin players including the likes of Dean Rock. He's proven in AI finals, Horan is not.
And how you can say the current team is better than the 50/51 team is bizarre.
Ok, I should have said best Mayo team of last 20 years. Comparing generations is daft.
I don't know an awful lot about McStay's managerial abilities other than this year with Brigid's. However, Brigid's were a very experienced team who had been challenging at provincial level (with Corofin) for the last 5+ years. Not an average team in my view.
This 'AI proven' stuff is rubbish though. As if Jim Gavin is a better manager than Horan because his team won on the day. Switch B Brogan for M Conroy or P Flynn for A Dillon and Horan would have won it for Mayo. It came down to the better forwards yesterday for me.0 -
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realweirdo wrote: »what exactly is funny about saying the 50/51 team are better than the current one?
The bit in bold about St. Brigid's being an average team is what I was referring to. Your posts since last night have been really clueless.0 -
Tactically naive my bum! You don't get to an AI semi and 2 final's being tactically naive.
As has been said by many (obviously more balanced viewers) Horan, Gavin, and McGuinness are the 3 best managers in Ireland. Look at what they have done with their teams.
Oh FFS.
Did you ever hear of that fellow Mickey Harte ?
You know the lad you won three senior All Irelands, beating a fantastic Kerry team as well as a tough Armagh along the ways.
He also has two under 21 titles, a minor title, a National League, two All Ireland Vocational Schools and an ulster club title.
Don't forget even this year with not a great team he had the measure of Mayo forward line for a large chunk of the semi final.
And you include mcguinnes ???
So far he has been a one year fooking wonder.
There would be no jim mcguinness without Harte.
He was the guy who perfected a blanket defense while mcguinnes was still scratching his ass playing for Donegal.
I might not like some of Harte's footballing style, but by christ the guy knows how to manage and how to lift teams and players off the floor after experiencing huge tragedies.
His team lost the captain they had, the guy who had captained most of them to under 21 successes and they lost a minor colleage as well.
BTW you do know that football existed before 2012 ?I am not allowed discuss …
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Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »With that in mind would you do the following going forward in 2014
Keep Higgins at 11
Keep Barrett at 4,
Drop McLoughlin to the half backs, he is originally from there I believe
Bring Keegan to half forward line, that was tried in the league
Start Carolan instead of Dillion
McLoughlin was not great this year, a move back may help him, and Keegan loves to go forward, why use a back to do that when he could do it as a forward
Just seeing this now!
Yes definitely agree Higgins 11 is the way forward. This time last year I was saying 6 was where we should try him.
I'd still keep Keegan HB I think. McL had a disappointing year indeed, he's still one of the younger ones so hopefully next year he reaches 2012 heights
On another note, the black card worries me a slight bit with Lee. He commits an odd silly foul, you wouldn't know how refs would interpret it. Aidan too..
Excellent previous post and I feel the same actually. Said that it was this year or nothing but when I actually sit down and think rationally after walking out of Croker disappointed again, I'm certain we're easily in the top 2 and if we play anything like this year again I'd be very confident we'll be invading Dublin on the third sunday in sept again
As you say, no one in Connacht can beat us at this level, we'll be playing a losing provincial team in a quarter, and maybe Kerry in a semi- a year older no less.
Obviously ages to go but have to be optimistic. Hope we give the league a huge lash though and go all out to win it0 -
Dublin lost Mannion and Cooper to injury.
O'Carroll and O'Gara were on the field for the last ten minutes but couldn't run and would have been taken off if there had still been subs available.
McMahon and O'Sullivan both spent time of the pitch being treated for injury.
So six players for Dublin with various injuries versus one for Mayo. If anything the injury luck was with Mayo.
Still and all, best of luck next year.
I was talking in the overall context of the year, not necessarily the game
Freeman's injury was the straw that broke the camels back when it came to the health of the 2013 Mayo team
Mayo have been crippled by injuries in the places were they can least afford them.
A Moran has not been 100% since his knee injury last year
Conroy had little game time due to an a injury
B Moran also has been out long term
Cillian played with one arm yesterday and has really need surgery since last winter
Doherty who I though was improving all through the league was also unavailable all championship
That's just terrible bad luck, and you need some portion of good luck to win championships0 -
Oh FFS.
Did you ever hear of that fellow Mickey Harte ?
You know the lad you won three senior All Irelands, beating a fantastic Kerry team as well as a tough Armagh along the ways.
He also has two under 21 titles, a minor title, a National League, two All Ireland Vocational Schools and an ulster club title.
Don't forget even this year with not a great team he had the measure of Mayo forward line for a large chunk of the semi final.
And you include mcguinnes ???
So far he has been a one year fooking wonder.
There would be no jim mcguinness without Harte.
He was the guy who perfected a blanket defense while mcguinnes was still scratching his ass playing for Donegal.
I might not like some of Harte's footballing style, but by christ the guy knows how to manage and how to lift teams and players off the floor after experiencing huge tragedies.
His team lost the captain they had, the guy who had captained most of them to under 21 successes and they lost a minor colleage as well.
BTW you do know that football existed before 2012 ?
Woah man, don't have panic attack! You sound like some sort of Mickey Harte apologist.
Harte is one of the best managers ever, no doubt.
I mentioned the 3 managers above because they have been the best the last 3 years, and especially Horan and Gavin this year.
Here's a thought, Harte took football to another level, McGuinness improved it further with Donegal last year, and Gavin and Horan brought it on again this year. Harte probably doesn't have the footballers Mayo and Dublin have (or maybe he does given all they've won at underage in recent years) so possibly he needs to catch up again and get with times. Just a thought.0 -
i dont no where you came out of realweirdo but would u ever piss off back tothe hole that you came out off.realweirdo wrote: »I'd be deeply pessimistic if Horan stays on for many of the reasons mentioned before. He's tactically naive. That won't change overnight and it probably won't change ever. You can't win an AI if the manager keeps screwing things up as much as Horan has. I'd love to be proved wrong but I've been playing and following GAA too long to know a poor tactician when I see one.
every post that you have made since the defeat has be negative to wards mayo/horan any one envolved.
we are all hurting here there is no need to keep say how bad this player was or what horan should have done we cannot change what happened nor will you typing all that crap0 -
Dubs fan here, sending my genuine commiserations to ye all.
Mayo play a great brand of football and are always entertaining to watch. I'm fairly certain that team has an All Ireland in them, and with some extra talent and experience in the forwards, Mayo will get across the line.
I was in Croker yesterday, and it's hard to be dispassionate, and analyse critically, when you're watching your own team play, but I felt that Mayo burnt themselves out in the first twenty five minutes. They worked so hard to keep possession, disrupt Dublin's kick out and push up on the Dublin defenders in that first period. I just felt that they squeezed the life out of themselves in that first third of the match. Watching the highlights last night, I didn't get the same impression, but I find that the highlights don't always tally with the real thing.
Anyhow, that's just my thoughts. Best of luck next year.0 -
So a great year but again just fell short
2014
For league I hope to God we go hell for leather (whoever is managing) in it and absolutely all out to win. A league title would be super. Don't mind this afraid to peak early stuff, didn't affect Dublin who tore us apart in April.
Anyway I hope it is used better than this year and not for daft experiments like Keegan 10, McL 13 and AOS 11.
Goalkeeper- Hennelly deputised admirably and was great yesterday but he's nowhere near as reliable as Clarke for me. He's enigmatic- he's prone to errors (goal yesterday case in point) and Clarke is in the top 3 keepers in Ireland for sure so I'd definitely reinstate him
FB and HB line pick themselves. Keane, McHale, Burke are very capable understudies.
Mid- the same. Barry for impact
HF line- KH needs to continue here. Probably Horan's best move all year. McL has been so flaky all year. Does unseen stuff brilliantly and is a great tackler, ball winner but gives daft passes and kicks far too many silly wides. Dillon needs to go sadly. Richie Feeney is criminally underrated by Horan. I'd never leave him out he can be a huge addition to the 15 next year for me.
COC and Freeman are certs for inside. Conroy, Doherty, Varley, Moran, Coen, regan- there's plenty of competition for the other. Andy still kicks great scores so he'd be my preferred option, hopefully plenty options looked at in league though
Anyhow its not all doom and gloom. We'll win Connacht with the team we have and a possible semi v either an unpredictable Cork and ageing Kerry. Long way ahead but it's potentially a decent route- quarter team could be tricky but should be beating any team who loses in province
That's a good point about the league.
I think they play NY this year, that usually happens in early May and then there is a long gap to late June before the next Connaught match, so a league win would give them some extra game time before the trip to NY and would be a great confidence booster.0 -
Considering Mayo were beat by Longford in 2010 , its crazy to say horan should leave . If mayo can find 2-3 forwards for next season they could win but it will be very difficult to keep the players motivated for another season.0
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i dont no where you came out of realweirdo but would u ever piss off back tothe hole that you came out off.
every post that you have made since the defeat has be negative to wards mayo/horan any one envolved.
we are all hurting here there is no need to keep say how bad this player was or what horan should have done we cannot change what happened nor will you typing all that crap
God it hurts so damn much.......:(0 -
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Another final kicked away. We're never going to make it over the line until we seriously beef up the forwards. The backs have been carrying the team all year. Thought Caff and Boyle were brilliant yesterday. McLoughlin and Dillon had poor days at the office. Hard decisions need to be made for next year. Still think Horan is the man for the job though but he was too late making changes yesterday, it was obvious from early on in the second half that we were in serious trouble. Dublin are too adept at moving up and creating goal chances, you need to have a good cushion of points going into the final quarter, plus they as usual they had their super-subs all lined up ready for deployment. Mayo were totally out-ran and closed out towards the end.
I dunno lads, we have to keep picking ourselves off the ground but it's hard to fathom losing seven finals in a row. That's a shocking statistic whichever way you look at it.0 -
Considering Mayo were beat by Longford in 2010 , its crazy to say horan should leave . If mayo can find 2-3 forwards for next season they could win but it will be very difficult to keep the players motivated for another season.
The ability to motivate themselves will be the key to next year.0 -
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Woah man, don't have panic attack! You sound like some sort of Mickey Harte apologist.
Didn't I say I wasn't a big fan of some of his style of play ?
Not everyone can play like a Kerry side.
What sets him aside is that he was able to beat the likes of the great Kerry side.
He tactically out maneovered two Kerry managers.
But for Tyrone and Harte that Kerry team would have won 4 in a row.
And deservedly so.
So to me that shows good management and tactical awareness.Harte is one of the best managers ever, no doubt.
I mentioned the 3 managers above because they have been the best the last 3 years, and especially Horan and Gavin this year.
Here's a thought, Harte took football to another level, McGuinness improved it further with Donegal last year, and Gavin and Horan brought it on again this year. Harte probably doesn't have the footballers Mayo and Dublin have (or maybe he does given all they've won at underage in recent years) so possibly he needs to catch up again and get with times. Just a thought.
I have never been able to understand the sycophancy concerning mcguinness.
When push came to shove this year against Mayo he was found out.
If he brings them back to win another title then we can start talking about how great he is.
So far he has won one All Ireland (against Mayo who have a trully terrible record in finals and gave him a head start) and got to one semi final where dear God they dragged the game of football to new lows.
Granted he did improve their style last year.
His biggest achivement is convincing Donegal players to follow orders.
Tyrone don't have the players and they are rebuilding.
They have lost a huge chunk of their experienced players.
Maybe he does need to reevaluate his tactics and style, but I think if anyone does have the ability to do it (and the players to work with) then maybe it is him.
I can't believe you have me now defending Tyrone.
Need to go wash my mouth out. :eek:I am not allowed discuss …
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seligehgit wrote: »God it hurts so damn much.......:(
The thing that hurts the most is the pity.
For anyone that works/lives oustide Mayo they will understand how people come up to you and ask how you are.
It is like you have just come back from a funeral.
Hell it even happens at the end of the match where the opposing supporters are being overly nice and wishing you well for next year.
A Dub I know, not a big GAA supporter but a dub none the less, was driving back from Sligo yesterday and stopped off for something to eat and to watch the match.
He said he dared not raise his Dublin credentials as he said every single person in the bar were willing Mayo on.
At this stage even some of the supporters of the team we are playing are nearly willing us on.
When Mayo do finally make it, there will be one hell of a collective sigh of relief from the entire GAA fans in this country.
Until then all anyone can do is believe that some day not too far away on the third sunday in September Croker will be rocking to the Green and Red of Mayo come 5.30.I am not allowed discuss …
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Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »That's a good point about the league.
I think they play NY this year, that usually happens in early May and then there is a long gap to late June before the next Connaught match, so a league win would give them some extra game time before the trip to NY and would be a great confidence booster.
Winning is a great habit to get into. We had some poor showings in league this season. I hope we can go out and bate the likes of Kerry/Cork/Tyrone and make a huge statement ahead of the championship. Given this disappointment, a poor league showing early next year won't help that's for sure.
Grand it didn't matter too much this year but I'd rather get into a winning habit from early on
As you say first real competitive game in June so it'd be lovely get a day or two out in Croker in April!0 -
Guys, Dublin fan here.
First and foremost, my sincerest commiserations following yesterday. It was truly a game that could have swung either way if a ball had broken in a different way to what it did. It was a sickener, of that I can have no doubt. I have a lot of relations in Mayo, and I haven't had the heart to even ring them yet. I can only imagine what it is like. I was on the Hill yesterday, and it was most definitely not "Hill 16 is Dublin only". The Mayo fans on the Hill yesterday were brilliant, urging their team on at all times. There was a Mayo lad next to me and he was in tears at the final whistle. My handshake and consoling words probably meant nothing. I can't imagine it did.
This is a Mayo team that is still pretty young. They will have to be amongst the favourites for next year. Depending upon changes they make between now and the League opening. This squad still has an awful lot to offer. They should have done a lot better yesterday, no doubt. But most of all the post mortems have been done already, so I won't rehash much of it.
Dust yourselves off, pick yourselves up and grit the teeth. It is something that has unfortunately had to happen far too often to Mayo, but it does unfortunately have to be done yet again. If Mayo can just improve a small way for next year, I have a feeling that Sam might make a Westwards voyage. This team are an improvement on last year. And SHOULD only keep getting better (once they don't dwell too much on last year and this year).
Yesterday, after the final whistle, "The Boys Are Back In Town" was blaring out over the P.A. System. Imagine how sweet and what feeling that song would have when the Red and Green ribbons are hung from Sam Maguire. Don't give up and don't lose faith.0 -
We didn't get tickets to this years final and were gutted especially as we had been to quiet a few matches. One thing this years loss has taught me is that when they do win, I am going to do everything in my power to be there it will be the celebration to end all celebrations.
Let's not forget the many great moments mayo gave us and let's look forward to more and be sure in the knowledge that the best is yet to come. (Sounds soppy but I mean every word).0 -
Keith Higgins is going to receive his 3rd All Star award.
And as far as I know, he will be the 1st Mayo player to have won 3 All Stars.
Edit:
He will be receiving his 2nd, he has also won Young Player of the Year. Thats where I was being confused0 -
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Anyone else checked out Eircom Fanpic yet? Quality seems a lot poorer than the semi, for me anyway...0
This discussion has been closed.
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