Dublin v Mayo - SF Semi Final - Sun 2nd Sept 15:30 - RTE 2 HD

Fr Tod Umptious

Ok now that the hurling semi finals are over I think it's time to get talking about this football semi final.

I just can't wait.

And the problem is I cannot figure out how it is going to go.

I do not know that much about how Dublin match up against Mayo so I will only talk about it from a Mayo POV for now.

The Positives
Mayo are coming into it on the back of a very good display v Down
Their backs are strong
Horan and most of the team were here last year so they should have learned something form it.
Aidan o Shea has 70 mins under his belt so he should be match fit.

The neither positive nor negative
Barry Moran has played well at midfield, but this is a bigger occasion once again, so he again has to step up.
Even though the team have been here before three of their backs are in their first full championship season, Keane, Keegan and Boyle, hopefully the occasion will not be too much for them.
The forwards have been poor but played well against Down.
Dublin have failed to spark so far this year.
Mayo will be underdogs, actuality 2/1 on PP is a great price in a two horse race.

The Negatives
No Andy Moran
Forwards are poor
Mayo find it hard to put back to back performances in Croke Park.
Dublin might just wake up.

Overall I cannot call it, as a Mayo fan I am hopeful rather than optimistic

threebeards

I'm very much looking forward to this too. As a Mayo man, I have to take issue with a few points you make.

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

The Positives
Horan and most of the team were here last year so they should have learned something form it.

Mayo have been to Croke Park several times over the past 15 or 16 years so the days of being frightened by HQ in my opinion are gone.

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Aidan o Shea has 70 mins under his belt so he should be match fit.

He's also been playing club football and is in great shape

The neither positive nor negative

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Barry Moran has played well at midfield, but this is a bigger occasion once again, so he again has to step up.

Barry Moran has the ability to command midfield and has done on a few occasions already this year - that said, I saw him playing for Castlebar Mitchels last weekend, and Danny Geraghty and Jason Gibbons had him in their pockets. He was very poor. Barry Moran of old really.

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Even though the team have been here before three of their backs are in their first full championship season, Keane, Keegan and Boyle, hopefully the occasion will not be too much for them.

They've already played in a league final and a All Ireland QF so I don't believe they'll be overawed by the occasion.

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

The forwards have been poor but played well against Down.

Seriously? We've scored 7-50 in 3 games, an average of nearly 2-18 per game? Every single forward has been scoring - Cillian 16pts; Dillon 9pts; McLoughlin 1-4; Conroy 2-2. Not alone that, but as subs are appearing, they're chipping in with a few points too. If that's poor, I'd like to hear what sort of scoring level would impress you.

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Dublin have failed to spark so far this year.

That may well be the case, but an All Ireland SF is an All Ireland SF and rest assured that Dublin will see the game against us as the opportunity to avenge big losses in recent years.

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Mayo will be underdogs, actuality 2/1 on PP is a great price in a two horse race.

Not trying to be pedantic but there are 3 possible results in any football match. The draw no bet prices are Dublin 2/5 Mayo 7/4 and the handicap is 2pts. There will only be the kick of a ball between these two teams.

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

No Andy Moran

Agreed. In previous years this would have been a fatal blow but I think we may be able to cope with it this year.

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Forwards are poor

I've already addressed that.

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Mayo find it hard to put back to back performances in Croke Park.

The Mayo of old may well have, but this is a far more balanced side.

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Dublin might just wake up.

Make no mistake about this, the Dublin that play on Sept 2nd will be a completely different prospect to the Dublin that played Laois, Meath & Wexford. If Alan Brogan plays, and if they sort out midfield, Bernard Brogan will get supply that he hasn't seen this year and that could hurt us badly.

I think any honest Mayo or Dublin fan would say that this is a game that could go either way. Andy is a huge loss, in the same way as Alan Brogan will be if he's not fit. In any case, I'll be there, I'll be shouting for Mayo and I really hope we win. If we do win and subsequently win a final, I don't think there will be anybody in the country that will begrudge us an All Ireland. If Dublin win, I'll be hurt (again) but I'll applaud them and wish them well in the final.

Fr Tod Umptious

threebeards wrote: »

I'm very much looking forward to this too. As a Mayo man, I have to take issue with a few points you make.

Mayo have been to Croke Park several times over the past 15 or 16 years so the days of being frightened by HQ in my opinion are gone.

Well I though inexperience was a big factor in their loss to Kerry last year, not saying that they would have won but I thought that at times their heads dropped.

I walked out of that game happy in the knowledge that Mayo had a great chance to be back at the same position in 2012 and that the loss to Kerry would stand to them

threebeards wrote: »

Barry Moran has the ability to command midfield and has done on a few occasions already this year - that said, I saw him playing for Castlebar Mitchels last weekend, and Danny Geraghty and Jason Gibbons had him in their pockets. He was very poor. Barry Moran of old really.

Exactly my point, it will be a big step up for him

threebeards wrote: »

They've already played in a league final and a All Ireland QF so I don't believe they'll be overawed by the occasion.

Big difference between playing in a half empty stadium that against the Dubs in a semi-final

threebeards wrote: »

Seriously? We've scored 7-50 in 3 games, an average of nearly 2-18 per game? Every single forward has been scoring - Cillian 16pts; Dillon 9pts; McLoughlin 1-4; Conroy 2-2. Not alone that, but as subs are appearing, they're chipping in with a few points too. If that's poor, I'd like to hear what sort of scoring level would impress you.

I have seen them live on four occasion this year, league v Kerry in Tralee, league final, connaught final, and the Down game.

In all but the Down game I found that the forwards were laborious in their play, a lot of hand passing and running into tackles, it was very frustrating.

threebeards

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

I have seen them live on four occasion this year, league v Kerry in Tralee, league final, connaught final, and the Down game.

In all but the Down game I found that the forwards were laborious in their play, a lot of hand passing and running into tackles, it was very frustrating.

But still the facts tell a different story. 71 points in 3 games - an average of just under 24 points per game. That's a great return no matter how you look at it. Mayos problem in the past has been out dependence on 1 or 2 scoring forwards. Now, all of our forwards are scoring

rossie1977

dublin i believe will give their best performance of the year on sunday week, mayo will miss moran

Fr Tod Umptious

threebeards wrote: »

But still the facts tell a different story. 71 points in 3 games - an average of just under 24 points per game. That's a great return no matter how you look at it. Mayos problem in the past has been out dependence on 1 or 2 scoring forwards. Now, all of our forwards are scoring

But the facts fail to tell you that 59 of those points were against opposition that was of a real poor quality

Barlett

There's a big problem in the full forward line, we have nobody there who can kick the ball over the bar from 25-30m out or from an angle. Jason Doherty has 1-0, Michael Conroy 2-2. Cillian O'Connor takes our frees. Now Michael Conroy did well against Down but kicking for points he was inaccurate, the same when he came on against Sligo.

Putting up big scores doesn't necessarily mean we have a great forward line regardless of what the stats say. Dublin in the past have smashed teams in Leinster - but when defences tighten up as they do when you meet the big teams - you need players who can kick the ball over the bar from distance and on the evidence of the league and championship so far I don't think we have enough of those.

That said I'm very impressed with Mayo and I hope the forwards can step up to fill the void left by Andy Moran.

Fr Tod Umptious

Barlett wrote: »

There's a big problem in the full forward line, we have nobody there who can kick the ball over the bar from 25-30m out or from an angle. Jason Doherty has 1-0, Michael Conroy 2-2. Cillian O'Connor takes our frees. Now Michael Conroy did well against Down but kicking for points he was inaccurate, the same when he came on against Sligo.

Putting up big scores doesn't necessarily mean we have a great forward line regardless of what the stats say. Dublin in the past have smashed teams in Leinster - but when defences tighten up as they do when you meet the big teams - you need players who can kick the ball over the bar from distance and on the evidence of the league and championship so far I don't think we have enough of those.

That said I'm very impressed with Mayo and I hope the forwards can step up to fill the void left by Andy Moran.

That is spot on about Mayo's inability to score from distance, and something that has been discussed here a good bit since the league.

Ciaran Whelan said on the RTE analysis of the Down game that Kevin Walsh said that Mayo like to try to score gaols early and it is something that Sligo focused on and defended against very well.

Early goals are great, as we saw from the Down game, but my biggest concern is that if Mayo fail to get early goals they will loose their heads and shape and start making poor shooting decisions.

On Conroy his shooting for points was poor in the league final, v Sligo and v Down, his first half point was a rebound off the post that was dead centre.

I think Aidan O Shea can offer something when it comes to shooting from distance but you will also need Dillion and McLoughlin to be on their game and also have contributions from the backs like Vaughan, Higgins and Boyle.

wp_rathead

Mayo for Sam
Galway for Liam
Connacht for the Heineken Cup

Mon the wesht!!
:P

threebeards

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

But the facts fail to tell you that 59 of those points were against opposition that was of a real poor quality

I'm sorry, but that's just facetious. Leitrim were poor, I'll grant you that. Sligo, aren't nearly as poor as some people make out and went into the Connaught Final very confident of beating us. Down were only beaten in an All Ireland Final 2 years ago by a single point.

The Mayo game now isn't about scoring points from 40 yards. Why do you think Alan Dillon has been playing a free role for 2 years? It's about keeping the ball and working it, with our half backs getting forward at pace. Dillon pulls the strings and is as important to us as Alan Brogan is to Dublin.

Fr Tod Umptious

threebeards wrote: »

I'm sorry, but that's just facetious. Leitrim were poor, I'll grant you that. Sligo, aren't nearly as poor as some people make out and went into the Connaught Final very confident of beating us. Down were only beaten in an All Ireland Final 2 years ago by a single point.

The Mayo game now isn't about scoring points from 40 yards. Why do you think Alan Dillon has been playing a free role for 2 years? It's about keeping the ball and working it, with our half backs getting forward at pace. Dillon pulls the strings and is as important to us as Alan Brogan is to Dublin.

But you cannot just quote the number of points scored without context, and the context is that they ran up the score v Leitrim and Down, two very average teams.

As Pat Spillane said about the Down defence, 'they were buying dummies that even dummies would not buy'

When you meet massed defences like you do now a days you have to be able to adapt and to take scores from out the filed, to kick over the blanket as it were.

Ponderously playing the ball short in the forward line looking for an opening will get you nowhere IMO.

aidan24326

I don't think you can overstate how much of a loss Andy Moran will be. He's been Mayo's best and most consistent player for the past 3 or 4 years and it weakens a forward line that wasn't amazing to begin with.

What James Horan has done is turn Mayo into a solid outfit who are hard to beat and Dublin won't have this all their own way. I just don't think Mayo have the forwards to go all the way but it wouldn't be a shock if they were to beat Dublin. The Dubs have some questions to answer at the moment. It's the more interesting of the two semi finals though, the other one will be a slugfest.

Marty_McFly

Very hard one to call.

blowitupref

Dublin have better forwards and the experience of winning it last year, Mayo should win midfield which could swing the game for them however both defenses are strong and i'm expecting a low scoring encounter the free taking ability of Cluxton,Brogan will probably win it for Dublin.

threebeards

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

But you cannot just quote the number of points scored without context, and the context is that they ran up the score v Leitrim and Down, two very average teams.

As Pat Spillane said about the Down defence, 'they were buying dummies that even dummies would not buy'

When you meet massed defences like you do now a days you have to be able to adapt and to take scores from out the filed, to kick over the blanket as it were.

Ponderously playing the ball short in the forward line looking for an opening will get you nowhere IMO.

That's fair enough. You, as I, are entitled to your opinion - I just don't agree with yours. I hope Mayo win, I think we can win, and in order to win I believe we'll need to put up a big score. That's something we're more than capable of doing.

Yellowblackbird

Mayo hammered dublin in April.

The form of both teams hasn't suggested a variance in that level of standard of either side since.

Provided Mayo don't drastically under- perform they should win this comfortably.

Hammer Archer

Yellowblackbird wrote: »

Mayo hammered dublin in April.

The form of both teams hasn't suggested a variance in that level of standard of either side since.

Provided Mayo don't drastically under- perform they should win this comfortably.

Using a league game as a barometer for a championship semi final is extremely naive. You'll remember that Dublin were well on their way to beating Mayo before the first game was called off. Also, Down beat Mayo relatively easily in Castlebar in the league and look how much good that did them two weeks ago.
Mayo could very well win this but I'd be amazed if they win comfortably.

Always_Running

Yellowblackbird wrote: »

Mayo hammered dublin in April.

The form of both teams hasn't suggested a variance in that level of standard of either side since.

Provided Mayo don't drastically under- perform they should win this comfortably.

Are you seriously judging teams on a league result? Kerry hammered Donegal in league remember.

Dublin have been waiting 6 years for revenge they are a better team than Mayo and it would defy all logic if they didn't win this semi final.

Yellowblackbird

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Using a league game as a barometer for a championship semi final is extremely naive. You'll remember that Dublin were well on their way to beating Mayo before the first game was called off. Also, Down beat Mayo relatively easily in Castlebar in the league and look how much good that did them two weeks ago.
Mayo could very well win this but I'd be amazed if they win comfortably.

It's a better barometer than the provincials. You've the top eight teams in the country playing off instead of also-rans. Times have changed, everyone is doing serious training from after christmas. League form has tended to hold very consistent to championship in the last ten years.

threebeards

Always_Running wrote: »

it would defy all logic if they didn't win this semi final.

That's a daft statement. Logic says this is a 50/50 game and I think most people agree it could go either way

threebeards

Yellowblackbird wrote: »

Mayo hammered dublin in April.

The form of both teams hasn't suggested a variance in that level of standard of either side since.

Provided Mayo don't drastically under- perform they should win this comfortably.

Neither team will win this comfortably

billyhead

threebeards wrote: »

That's a daft statement. Logic says this is a 50/50 game and I think most people agree it could go either way

True. I can see this game being very tight and it may come down to a couple of points difference in the end. I still believe we will have the better of Mayo as there are always goals in this Dublin team. We have a more potent front 6 then Mayo

Always_Running

threebeards wrote: »

That's a daft statement. Logic says this is a 50/50 game and I think most people agree it could go either way

Letting the heart rule the head. If it was a 50/50 game then why isn't the game even money with the bookies?

If Mayo win it will be a shock just like in 2006 TBH i can't see lighting strike twice.

corny

I expect Mayo to perform so the way i see it the result depends on what Dublin side show up.

If they recapture some of the form from last year they'll win convincingly enough for me. If they don't, they can be a very average good side (if that makes sense) and Mayo might do enough.

Tough one to call with any certainty.

Sunnyisland

Here are my positives of imo why Dublin will win,

Sign of a good team is winning whilst playing badly.

Dublin are the reigning AI champions and retained Leinster the last seven out of eight years,

Dublin will gain a class forward and their best player in Alan Brogan while Mayo are loosing Andy Moran

Dublin have not played well but have still won all their games without really having to dig deep.

The weight of expectation in the capital is certainly down in Dublin now,It will almost be as low-key as the build up for the Tyrone game last year.

Mayo are overwhelming favorites for this, they are playing well and hammered us in the league.:D

:D:D:D:D


Back to reality, Its that this will be the toughest game of the year to date for both teams - both are quality div 1 outfits, both are top 4 in the country and deserve to be in the semis... yet both are beatable - it has all the hall marks for a great game and both sets of fans have good reason to be optimistic and worried at the same time! Up the Dubs :)

threebeards

Always_Running wrote: »

Letting the heart rule the head. If it was a 50/50 game then why isn't the game even money with the bookies?

The bookies are well able to get it wrong as they did with how they had priced up Donegal against Kerry.

Hammer Archer

Yellowblackbird wrote: »

It's a better barometer than the provincials. You've the top eight teams in the country playing off instead of also-rans. Times have changed, everyone is doing serious training from after christmas. League form has tended to hold very consistent to championship in the last ten years.

So then how do you explain Down comfortably beating Mayo away in the league only to be annihilated by the same team two weeks ago? Similar stories with Meath beating Kildare, Wexford beating Longford, Donegal beating both Down and Kerry, Cork beating Kerry etc. And that's just this year.
If you really think that a Saturday night game 5 months ago in Castlebar will have any bearing on the game on Sunday, then that's plain daft.

JoannaJay

Excited for this

ShamoBuc

Should be a good game. Mayo will be up for this one. Moran will be a huge loss. Dublin need to improve a bit and I think they will. Dublin by a few I reckon. I would prefer for Mayo to go through as I think cork would have it easier against them than dublin - were we to get there of course.

LeoB

This could be the game of the year, it certainly has the potential.

This is the best Mayo side I have since mid 80s. They are good all over the pitch, bigger, stronger, faster and appear more confident. Mayo will relish this game. I think Dublin will need to be at full tilt to win this game. Dublin may have the experience of last year but they are just not playing well which some might say is not a bad complaint when you are winning but Mayo will be the best side Dublin have played since last September and a sluggish performance will be punished.

If Dublin get a decent start it will be much harder for Mayo to come back as the one thing this Dublin squad have is a little more backbone. The Moran/Brogan swing (if Alan Brogan plays) could be the difference.

I hope for a Dublin win but its very hard to call

MaroonAndGreen

Id be confident of a Mayo win if we had Moran.. hes irreplaceable..

Mayo losing Moran and Dublin regaining Alan Brogan is a 5 or 6 point swing already IMO.

Add to that, it is unlikely that Bernard will have as poor a game as he did against Laois.

Mayo need goals. The Dubs are favourites and 2/1 is the right price for Mayo I think.

Hope we could pull it off, cant see it though.

cgpg5

Very tough to call. What Dublin will turn up? Many saying they'll be a new team etc but they've been dreadful three games in a row now. laois offered nothing and if they were any use would have beaten them.

However Andy Moran is just a massive loss. Kind of intriguing that we don't know what to expect from either side. Think the other semi is far more straight forward to call. I can easily see this being a 1/2 point game

cgpg5

And the 2006 game will have a bearing? LOL

Off the top of my head Mayo will have 2 outfield players starting from 06 (Higgins, Dillon), while Dublin have about 2 outfield players also(Cullen and A.Brogan). Do indeed correct me if I'm wrong.

Two completely different sides. Also the league game this year will have zero bearing. It just depends on how both teams perform I guess. Dublin have been so unconvincing and Mayo will have learnt a lot from losing at this stage last year...

Neeson

The other semi doesn't even have a thread yet does it?

Defiler Of The Coffin

Always_Running wrote: »

Are you seriously judging teams on a league result? Kerry hammered Donegal in league remember.

Dublin have been waiting 6 years for revenge they are a better team than Mayo and it would defy all logic if they didn't win this semi final.

Mayo to win by 3/4 points. There won't be any great comeback by Mayo in this game because they won't let Dublin get ahead by anywhere the same margin as '06.

Dublin will seriously need to step their game up if they are to have any chance of beating Mayo, they haven't impressed this year at all. Their forwards were anaemic against Laois. Mayo will be the first real test they've had this year, interesting to see how they respond

Padkir

MaroonAndGreen wrote: »

Id be confident of a Mayo win if we had Moran.. hes irreplaceable..

Mayo losing Moran and Dublin regaining Alan Brogan is a 5 or 6 point swing already IMO.

Add to that, it is unlikely that Bernard will have as poor a game as he did against Laois.

Mayo need goals. The Dubs are favourites and 2/1 is the right price for Mayo I think.

Hope we could pull it off, cant see it though.

Andy is a massive loss but I think there's a big game in the likes of Freeman, Doherty, Conroy (he scored 2 goals the last day but still didn't have his shooting boots on). If even 1 of those could hit the form they're capable of it will lift everyone and after 15 mins it will be forgotten that Andy isn't there.

Bernard has been shocking all year, even with decent service against relatively poor opposition. Cafferkey will relish the task and I'm not sure if Brogan is up for it. In saying that he has the quality to turn it on, I just think (and am hoping) that he won't be able or let!

Really looking forward to midfield battle, think Moran has been an All Star candidate all year but that will mean nothing if he plays poorly in this game.

Overall I think no more than 3 will separate the teams. I think Mayo can't afford to let Dublin more than 6 ahead of them at any time, or they won't come back. Dublin have a lot more bottle and cool heads than 6 years ago.

Will hope for a Mayo win but it should be an epic either way!:D Neither team will let the others steamroll them so a one-sided affair IMO is out of the question.

cgpg5

Will it be a straight swap Freeman for Moran? Think that'll be the named side but can see S.O'Shea or Gibbons actually starting with COC moved inside with Conroy and Doherty

Syferus

cgpg5 wrote: »

Will it be a straight swap Freeman for Moran? Think that'll be the named side but can see S.O'Shea or Gibbons actually starting with COC moved inside with Conroy and Doherty

Cillian really should have been playing 14 all along, he's not active enough to play 11 and indeed 11 is Andy's best position. It speaks to just how talented and important he is that James Horan felt the need to play him at 14 to ignite that forward line. O'Connor has big-match temperament so I won't be surprised if he's the winning of the game, even if only from dead balls.

Always_Running

Always_Running wrote: »

Letting the heart rule the head. If it was a 50/50 game then why isn't the game even money with the bookies?.

The above poster:

[ ] Understands how bookies price up markets
[x] Is the reason bookies price up markets the way they do

Dublin with both Brogans should have enough to win this. Andy Moran is a spectacular loss to Mayo for reasons nobody here should need spelling out. Dublin by 3.

Stoner

to be honest I don't know why people are so confident that Mayo would win if they had Moran. I think with or without him it will be a close call. The other Mayo forwards do create and score without him and are decent players, as discussed previously they created and finished some nice scores while Moran was on the field but not "involved" in the play (obviously he was on the field drawing attention). Either way the whole "if only Mayo had Moran" thing is starting to get tired IMHO.

WhatNowForUs?

ShamoBuc wrote: »

Should be a good game. Mayo will be up for this one. Moran will be a huge loss. Dublin need to improve a bit and I think they will. Dublin by a few I reckon. I would prefer for Mayo to go through as I think cork would have it easier against them than dublin - were we to get there of course.

Cork's hardest match will be against Donegal..

Fr Tod Umptious

Neeson wrote: »

The other semi doesn't even have a thread yet does it?

True

Donegal crowd are probably too busy watching stupid videos about how great they are after winning a quarter final, and the Cork crowd are waiting for the final.

Sunnyisland

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

True

Donegal crowd are probably too busy watching stupid videos about how great they are after winning a quarter final, and the Cork crowd are waiting for the final.

Neeson wrote: »

The other semi doesn't even have a thread yet does it?

It does now.

Fr Tod Umptious

Stoner wrote: »

to be honest I don't know why people are so confident that Mayo would win if they had Moran. I think with or without him it will be a close call. The other Mayo forwards do create and score without him and are decent players, as discussed previously they created and finished some nice scores while Moran was on the field but not "involved" in the play (obviously he was on the field drawing attention). Either way the whole "if only Mayo had Moran" thing is starting to get tired IMHO.

Good point

It's a bit of lazy analysis from most people just to trot out the line 'without Andy Moran....bla bla bla'

As long as it does not become a self fulfilling prophesy and an excuse for failure from within the squad I don't really care, and I doubt it will be.

aidan24326

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Good point

It's a bit of lazy analysis from most people just to trot out the line 'without Andy Moran....bla bla bla'

As long as it does not become a self fulfilling prophesy and an excuse for failure from within the squad I don't really care, and I doubt it will be.

No-one is saying that Moran's loss is the end of Mayo. He's good but he's not that good.

But he has been a key player for Mayo in the way he knits the forward line together, and Mayo don't have another player that can do what he does. It doesn't have to be a mortal blow but it will require other Mayo players to really step up to the mark.

There won't be much in this game either way. If Dublin hit top form they'll win but anything less and Mayo are more than capable of taking them out. This is a good Mayo team, not a team blessed with amazing individuals but a team that's very well organised and hard to beat.

They'll be a serious test for Dublin but I just wonder whether they have the class to go all the way and actually win an All-Ireland. They're a bit short on match-winners imho.

DoctaDee

I was looking for the name of Dublin team psychologist in order to post a reply when I happened upon this article courtesy of our own DCB - sorta covers what I was gonna say (but better)

http://www.hill16.ie/thedubhub/cians-corner/mayo-mastermind.html

kevmy85

Syferus wrote: »

Cillian really should have been playing 14 all along, he's not active enough to play 11 and indeed 11 is Andy's best position. It speaks to just how talented and important he is that James Horan felt the need to play him at 14 to ignite that forward line. O'Connor has big-match temperament so I won't be surprised if he's the winning of the game, even if only from dead balls.

Tbh I'd ideally have Cillian at 15, Andy at 14 and an on-form Freeman at 11. I think Andy prefers 11 but is more effective at 14.

Anyway all that is just talk now cos Andy is out. I think Freeman should be involved as he is a class player, who's just off form, he may spark into life for the semi at FF. Cillian at 15, Conroy at 13 and a toss up for 11. Either a fit SO'S (my preference) of Doherty (going by what Horan has done this year).

Fr Tod Umptious

kevmy85 wrote: »

Tbh I'd ideally have Cillian at 15, Andy at 14 and an on-form Freeman at 11. I think Andy prefers 11 but is more effective at 14.

Anyway all that is just talk now cos Andy is out. I think Freeman should be involved as he is a class player, who's just off form, he may spark into life for the semi at FF. Cillian at 15, Conroy at 13 and a toss up for 11. Either a fit SO'S (my preference) of Doherty (going by what Horan has done this year).

Sheamus O' Shea has played 0 minutes of championship football this year, tis not the time to be bringing him in.

You have to start with Doherty, he is a goal thread at least.

Stoner

I think the the Mayo forwards are a build that Dublin might struggle with, both Down and Mayo in the league caused Dublin problems with the nippy types of forward who move, twist and turn quickly. If Mayo win this I don't think it will be because of their players ability to carry the ball, I think that the Dublin midfield and half back line is well equipped to handle the strongest running game that Mayo have IMHO, but if Mayo move the ball fast as they do very well, Dublin could struggle to contain them.

kevmy85

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Sheamus O' Shea has played 0 minutes of championship football this year, tis not the time to be bringing him in.

You have to start with Doherty, he is a goal thread at least.

That's the problem. Does anyone know if he's played for Breaffy recently? If he has he would at least give us a serious option to change things from the bench.

cgpg5

kevmy85 wrote: »

That's the problem. Does anyone know if he's played for Breaffy recently? If he has he would at least give us a serious option to change things from the bench.

Gibbons is in flying form for Ballintubber anyway. ALthough SOS is an option for CF but if I was looking for a player to come on at mid I'd bring Gibbons in first