The "Mayo have not been tested" superthread

Fr Tod Umptious

It has been discussed all over this GAA board so I thought it should get it's own thread

Mayo have not been tested
Galway - Well they were terrible weren’t they , they got hammered at home, and struggled v Tipp and Waterford, at home too. No test for Mayo here

Roscommon - In Castlebar, there was only going to be one winner. No test for Mayo here, no gaol either.

London - No test for Mayo here, but Mayo did only score 11 points and had 100 million wides.

Donegal - Well they were injured and tired after playing three games in a row. No test for Mayo here

Tyrone - Well Mayo did struggle for 30 odd mins, but they were not tested in the second half, and Tryone lost Stephen O' Neill and Harte

Mayo have been tested
Galway - Three RTE pundits picked Galway to win this, and I'd say others in the media did also. Was it a case taht Gakway ware really bad or that Mayo made them look really bad. Remember Galway did go on to the 4th round of the qualifiers and run Cork close enough on the day

Roscommon - Yea that was no test

London - Damned if you do, damned if you don't. if you beat them by 16pts it's only London, if you beat them by 6 the there is something wrong. It was always a weird game and Mayo's wides really meant feck all at the end of teh day and they knew that at the time

Donegal - True Donegal were injured and not the same as they were in 2012, and it was another one that some pundits picked would go against Mayo, and many expected it to be close , but at one stage Mayo were 7 goals, count them, 1234567, goals up on the defending All Ireland Champions.

Tyrone - Yes Mayo struggled early on but once they figured it out they won at a cabnter, and they did loose a POTY candidate and their top scorer in the first 12 mins too by the way.

Personally I don't think Mayo ever needed a test.
The idea that a team needs a test comes mainly whne a team have a good run against lower opposition and no one is really sure how good they are.
Armagh were the prefect example of this in 2013, lost to Cavan but then hammered two Div 4 taems, by the time they arrived in Salthill as a unknown quantity, no one was really sure if they were good or bad, and Galway ended up beating them
Mayo aere different, Mayo were a known quantity all year, and that quantityu was potential champions, they had got to the final in 2012 and the semi in 2011 with more or less the same squad, so they never really needed a test to prove their credentials.

One could argue that Mayo would have beaten the likes of Meath and Cork by much more than Dublin did and would have seen Kerry off long before the 69th minute.

dermot1979

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

It has been discussed all over this GAA board so I thought it should get it's own thread

Mayo have not been tested
Galway - Well they were terrible weren’t they , they got hammered at home, and struggled v Tipp and Waterford, at home too. No test for Mayo here

Roscommon - In Castlebar, there was only going to be one winner. No test for Mayo here, no gaol either.

London - No test for Mayo here, but Mayo did only score 11 points and had 100 million wides.

Donegal - Well they were injured and tired after playing three games in a row. No test for Mayo here

Tyrone - Well Mayo did struggle for 30 odd mins, but they were not tested in the second half, and Tryone lost Stephen O' Neill and Harte

Mayo have been tested
Galway - Three RTE pundits picked Galway to win this, and I'd say others in the media did also. Was it a case taht Gakway ware really bad or that Mayo made them look really bad. Remember Galway did go on to the 4th round of the qualifiers and run Cork close enough on the day

Roscommon - Yea that was no test

London - Damned if you do, damned if you don't. if you beat them by 16pts it's only London, if you beat them by 6 the there is something wrong. It was always a weird game and Mayo's wides really meant feck all at the end of teh day and they knew that at the time

Donegal - True Donegal were injured and not the same as they were in 2012, and it was another one that some pundits picked would go against Mayo, and many expected it to be close , but at one stage Mayo were 7 goals, count them, 1234567, goals up on the defending All Ireland Champions.

Tyrone - Yes Mayo struggled early on but once they figured it out they won at a cabnter, and they did loose a POTY candidate and their top scorer in the first 12 mins too by the way.

Personally I don't think Mayo ever needed a test.
The idea that a team needs a test comes mainly whne a team have a good run against lower opposition and no one is really sure how good they are.
Armagh were the prefect example of this in 2013, lost to Cavan but then hammered two Div 4 taems, by the time they arrived in Salthill as a unknown quantity, no one was really sure if they were good or bad, and Galway ended up beating them
Mayo aere different, Mayo were a known quantity all year, and that quantityu was potential champions, they had got to the final in 2012 and the semi in 2011 with more or less the same squad, so they never really needed a test to prove their credentials.

One could argue that Mayo would have beaten the likes of Meath and Cork by much more than Dublin did and would have seen Kerry off long before the 69th minute.

I think the answer is in the name. Mayo. it's because the old Jimmy White of GAA has a history of losing... instead of measuring their players against the dublin side, they take the lazy approach. I think Dublin will win because their forwards are very strong (hope im wrong) Anyway here is a funny mayo video about dreaming of winning it. Includes a fighting monkey ofcourse... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0AOhj5uoTU&feature=youtu.be

Stoner

I still think that beating kerry was better than beating Tyrone.

Which game would you honesty rather have under your belt FTU

yop

Don't think this needed another thread. Its been discussed and posted about to the tip top and it will only be answered come 5pm on Sunday.

Always_Running

yop wrote: »

Don't think this needed another thread. Its been discussed and posted about to the tip top and it will only be answered come 5pm on Sunday.

+1

Stoner wrote: »

I still think that beating kerry was better than beating Tyrone.

Which game would you honesty rather have under your belt FTU

It was and Cork also. Galway,Roscommon,London like Kildare,Westmeath,Meath were never going to win this years All Ireland. The fact is Mayo got their first test v Tyrone and i think they have learnt more about themselves in that one game than in the other four games put together.

Syferus

WHat exactly is the point of this thread? To right some perceived slights?

You're in an AI final. Concentrate on that.

Gerry91

Stoner wrote: »

I still think that beating kerry was better than beating Tyrone.

Which game would you honesty rather have under your belt FTU

I honestly think the Tyrone game went brilliantly for Mayo. Receive a proper "test" in the first half, show some cracks after looking flawless v Donegal and then win pulling up in the second half. Had they beat them out the gate we wouldn't hear the end of the "haven't been tested"..

Similarly if Dublin hammered Kerry it would be hard get their feet back on the ground, understandably. Took some great scores, the bench had a huge impact, while still showing some flaws (particularly) in back line that can be worked on and (hopefully from their persepctive) ironed out

By just looking solely at the semis it's clear both teams have slight causes for concern. Dublin's full back line, Ger Brennan and long kick outs. Mayo's lack of scoring power in the forwards and the really slow start.

Bordering on cliche territory here but I think the Tyrone game is just one Mayo needed to get out of the way by any means possible. Annihilating Donegal had everyone in awe, it was more or less a case of how much they could beat Tyrone by. Not an easy game to go into especially on the back of such a good performance. I don't believe we saw Mayo going at 100% v Tyrone and I'd be pretty sure they'll raise their game no end

Personally, I'm happier going into this final knowing there's things to be worked on while still being in great form. Hammering Tyrone wouldn't have been ideal. The semi was the time to get that slow start out of the way

Similar enough from a Dub persepctive. Plenty of things to work on and cracks to paper over

Anyway I think the semis are now well and truly put aside and all focus is on the 70 minutes on Sunday. What's gone before now is as good as irrelevant at about 5:00 on Sunday..

Gerry91

Always_Running wrote: »

+1




It was and Cork also. Galway,Roscommon,London like Kildare,Westmeath,Meath were never going to win this years All Ireland. The fact is Mayo got their first test v Tyrone and i think they have learnt more about themselves in that one game than in the other four games put together.

Cork? With respect would you get out with that. Dublin beat them in second gear. They could have battered them if they pleased. This is the same Cork team who Galway should have beaten.

On paper Cork and Donegal are "tests", neither came remotely close to providing one however.

Both teams got their test in the semi-final

Ideal on both counts IMO

Stoner

It's true, Cork were very disappointing. Imagine if McGuinness got his hands on them, you'd never think they won an all ireland in 2010.
Imagine if Gallagher went to them.

I still think Mayo would rather a Kerry scalp to a Tyrone one. I certainly would anyway.

If Dublin had beaten Tyrone it would have been the third time in four years with no real benefits for the squad IMHO.
It you are right it's all about the next match now, both teams learned a lot.

I won't post here again so since its been covered.

sid waddell

They have been tested, they just haven't played any genuine contenders.

Always_Running

Gerry91 wrote: »

Cork? With respect would you get out with that. Dublin beat them in second gear. They could have battered them if they pleased. This is the same Cork team who Galway should have beaten.

On paper Cork and Donegal are "tests", neither came remotely close to providing one however.

Both teams got their test in the semi-final

Ideal on both counts IMO

In case you need reminding Dublin 1-16 Cork 0-14 a five point. Was only two between the sides at half time the Dubs upped their performance to win, both had plenty of goal opportunities that weren't taken remember.

IMO Dublin got the same type of test in that game as Mayo did v Tyrone and Dublin were also tested v Meath until they stepped it up in the final 20 minutes Mayo on the other hand had their games won by half time.

Fr Tod Umptious

Syferus wrote: »

WHat exactly is the point of this thread? To right some perceived slights?

You're in an AI final. Concentrate on that.

There was a thread about some Dublin football expert and it was being dragged off topic on a "mayo have not been tested" theme so I started this thread for that sort of talk

Gerry91

Always_Running wrote: »

In case you need reminding Dublin 1-16 Cork 0-14 a five point. Was only two between the sides at half time the Dubs upped their performance to win, both had plenty of goal opportunities that weren't taken remember.

IMO Dublin got the same type of test in that game as Mayo did v Tyrone and Dublin were also tested v Meath until they stepped it up in the final 20 minutes Mayo on the other hand had their games won by half time.

I think it's a case of Dublin doing enough to win matches without killing themselves, Mayo making a statement by going flat out against everyone (bar London maybe)

Dublin upped it when they needed to so far- v Kerry. Both teams are in great positions coming into final

Dublin were never losing to Cork and they were in complete control throughout. Just because they didn't put the foot on the gas from the off and pound over scores for fun doesn't make it a "test".

This is the worst Cork team for years. As I said Galway outplayed them for large spells of that game and were probably a bit of naivety away from reaching the quarters

ProudDUB

I'm not going to make a blanket statement such as Mayo have not been tested. Yes, they have. Every game is a test in one way or another. But they have not been tested as much as Dublin have imo.

Dublin have played 5 champo games so far this year. Every single one of the teams that they played, will play Division One football next year, with just one exception, Meath. Mayo have also played 5 games so far this year. In contrast to Dublin, every single one of the teams that they played this year will be outside of Division One next year, with one exception, Tyrone. Bit of a no brainer to me really.

Always_Running

Gerry91 wrote: »

I think it's a case of Dublin doing enough to win matches without killing themselves, Mayo making a statement by going flat out against everyone (bar London maybe)

Dublin upped it when they needed to so far- v Kerry. Both teams are in great positions coming into final

Dublin were never losing to Cork and they were in complete control throughout. Just because they didn't put the foot on the gas from the off and pound over scores for fun doesn't make it a "test".

This is the worst Cork team for years. As I said Galway outplayed them for large spells of that game and were probably a bit of naivety away from reaching the quarters

If only it was true that some teams can take it easy against div one sides and still win.

Mayo didn't go flat out against Galway,Roscommon either watch back the 2nd half in both games again. The opposition had just given up before half time mainly due to some shocking defending making those games along with the one v Donegal not much of a test

As for the worst Cork team for years? if there was another 5mins they would have won the Munster title and have ended up playing Dublin in the semi final.

I'm done posting on thread as said above the rest has been well covered.

dermot1979

sid waddell wrote: »

They have been tested, they just haven't played any genuine contenders.

Haven't played any genuine contenders???. Tyrone and last years all ireland champions were by all accounts considered 'contenders' before the game. I think most in Mayo wanted Kerry as they looked soft in midfield. Sur we will see on Sunday.

homerjay2005

Kerry were a bigger test than Tyrone.
Cork a much tougher game than Donegal, Donegal came into that game having scored 7 points 2 weeks before that.
Meath ran Dublin close, while mayo played London.
Westmeath are a better team than Roscommon IMO
and Kildare would have beaten Galway the day that Mayo played them.

in relative terms, mayo have had it fairly easy so far this year, they have got to a final avoiding a real test, where as Dublin have had that and each of their games will stand to them more than Mayos imo.

Fr Tod Umptious

Stoner wrote: »

I still think that beating kerry was better than beating Tyrone.

Which game would you honesty rather have under your belt FTU

Honestly I thing it is much of a muchness. I have been quiet dismissive of Kerry since 2012 and nothing I saw from them this year has changed that view.
Tyrone regardless of their league final appearance are no world beaters either

I think the idea of a test for Mayo is a red herring to a certain extent
This squad have been around since 2011, they have been this far in 2012, they know themselves how good they are, they know themselves how much they have to improve, they know themselves how much they have improved.

People are saying that they 'learned' something from the Tyrone game
I'd say instead that they 'taught' us, the public, something about themselves after the Tyrone game
They themselves already knew that they were capable of coming from a poor position after 30mins to go on and win, but it's something the general public were not convinced of.

sid waddell wrote: »

They have been tested, they just haven't played any genuine contenders.

Donegal were considered a genuine contender up to the point that Mayo embarrassed them in CrokePark

aidan24326

homerjay2005 wrote: »

Kerry were a bigger test than Tyrone.
Cork a much tougher game than Donegal, Donegal came into that game having scored 7 points 2 weeks before that.
Meath ran Dublin close, while mayo played London.
Westmeath are a better team than Roscommon IMO
and Kildare would have beaten Galway the day that Mayo played them.

in relative terms, mayo have had it fairly easy so far this year, they have got to a final avoiding a real test, where as Dublin have had that and each of their games will stand to them more than Mayos imo.

None of that will matter on Sunday. Mayo and Dublin are two fairly evenly matched teams and it will all come down to who performs on the day. What went before will count for little. It's a hard one to call as you could argue a strong case for either team. Dublin have a potent forward line and a strong bench, while Mayo have a steely edge about them that sets them apart from previous Mayo teams. It has the makings of a cracker so let's hope that's what we get.

elefant

Always_Running wrote: »

As for the worst Cork team for years? if there was another 5mins they would have won the Munster title and have ended up playing Dublin in the semi final.

If games were 65 minutes and Galway hadn't lost their most dangerous forward all year in the first 10 minutes, Cork wouldn't even have stepped onto the field against Dublin. The same Galway team were annihilated by Mayo.

How does that stack up with your theories?

Dirty Dingus McGee

elefant wrote: »

If games were 65 minutes and Galway hadn't lost their most dangerous forward all year in the first 10 minutes, Cork wouldn't even have stepped onto the field against Dublin. The same Galway team were annihilated by Mayo.

How does that stack up with your theories?

But if all the hypotheticals in the first post happened, then Cork would have been through to an All ireland quarter final against Cavan and would have avoided playing Galway.:D

corny

This thread is completely academic.

smileyj1987

You can only beat whats infront of you and Mayo have done this all year and are in another All Ireland final . So I find this thread abit pointless .

STB

smileyj1987 wrote: »

You can only beat whats infront of you and Mayo have done this all year and are in another All Ireland final . So I find this thread abit pointless .

No they have not. Far be it for me to point out the obvious but Mayo havent beaten all put before them this year. If they did, they would have a National League Title to their name. But they dont. Dublin do.

Reason : Dublin have played 12 games this year. They have lost one game this year in all games (and that was by a point and they subsequently beat that team in the Final). Not one team in Ireland can lay claim to that statistic but Dublin.

Mayo have played Dublin twice this year. They lost both games by 4 and 6 points respectively.

A sharp dose of reality. I was in Mayo during the week and the frenzy that is going on is beyond idiotic, no wonder Mayo have lost 10 of the 13 finals they have contested if the team carried that weight of expectation into every final. This type of over hype is getting out of hand and the facts are overwhelmingly in Dublin's favour.

I hope its a good final either way and that we dont have the same old name calling going on afterwards that involves bottling games etc.

seligehgit

Gerry91 wrote: »

I honestly think the Tyrone game went brilliantly for Mayo. Receive a proper "test" in the first half, show some cracks after looking flawless v Donegal and then win pulling up in the second half. Had they beat them out the gate we wouldn't hear the end of the "haven't been tested"..

Similarly if Dublin hammered Kerry it would be hard get their feet back on the ground, understandably. Took some great scores, the bench had a huge impact, while still showing some flaws (particularly) in back line that can be worked on and (hopefully from their persepctive) ironed out

By just looking solely at the semis it's clear both teams have slight causes for concern. Dublin's full back line, Ger Brennan and long kick outs. Mayo's lack of scoring power in the forwards and the really slow start.

Bordering on cliche territory here but I think the Tyrone game is just one Mayo needed to get out of the way by any means possible. Annihilating Donegal had everyone in awe, it was more or less a case of how much they could beat Tyrone by. Not an easy game to go into especially on the back of such a good performance. I don't believe we saw Mayo going at 100% v Tyrone and I'd be pretty sure they'll raise their game no end

Personally, I'm happier going into this final knowing there's things to be worked on while still being in great form. Hammering Tyrone wouldn't have been ideal. The semi was the time to get that slow start out of the way

Similar enough from a Dub persepctive. Plenty of things to work on and cracks to paper over

Anyway I think the semis are now well and truly put aside and all focus is on the 70 minutes on Sunday. What's gone before now is as good as irrelevant at about 5:00 on Sunday..

Excellent post.

seligehgit

STB wrote: »

No they have not. Far be it for me to point out the obvious but Mayo havent beaten all put before them this year. If they did, they would have a National League Title to their name. But they dont. Dublin do.

Reason : Dublin have played 12 games this year. They have lost one game this year in all games (and that was by a point and they subsequently beat that team in the Final). Not one team in Ireland can lay claim to that statistic but Dublin.

Mayo have played Dublin twice this year. They lost both games by 4 and 6 points respectively.

A sharp dose of reality. I was in Mayo during the week and the frenzy that is going on is beyond idiotic, no wonder Mayo have lost 10 of the 13 finals they have contested if the team carried that weight of expectation into every final. This type of over hype is getting out of hand and the facts are overwhelmingly in Dublin's favour.

I hope its a good final either way and that we dont have the same old name calling going on afterwards that involves bottling games etc.

I don't know what part of Mayo you've visited but I believe the hype in the county has been relatively low key from my day to day observation.

smileyj1987

STB wrote: »

No they have not. Far be it for me to point out the obvious but Mayo havent beaten all put before them this year. If they did, they would have a National League Title to their name. But they dont. Dublin do.

Reason : Dublin have played 12 games this year. They have lost one game this year in all games (and that was by a point and they subsequently beat that team in the Final). Not one team in Ireland can lay claim to that statistic but Dublin.

Mayo have played Dublin twice this year. They lost both games by 4 and 6 points respectively.

A sharp dose of reality. I was in Mayo during the week and the frenzy that is going on is beyond idiotic, no wonder Mayo have lost 10 of the 13 finals they have contested if the team carried that weight of expectation into every final. This type of over hype is getting out of hand and the facts are overwhelmingly in Dublin's favour.

I hope its a good final either way and that we dont have the same old name calling going on afterwards that involves bottling games etc.

We are talking about the championship and not the league so my point is valid . So if Mayo haven't got a proper test in some peoples eyes well then it's down to the teams they had to play and nothing else . It could help them in the final or go against them .
Any county that gets to the final will have a big weight on their shoulders so I wouldn't have a pop at Mayo fans at all . I'm a Dub and I can honestly say I'm 75% sure they will win on sunday .
So all fans can get abit carried away . To me the last three finals Mayo lost where down to the fact Kerry where unstoppable at times during the 00's and Donegal really looked like they where going to win it last year . So who knows what will happen on sunday I won't write Mayo off because I think this will be the biggest test Dublin have this year .

Grandeeod

STB wrote: »

No they have not. Far be it for me to point out the obvious but Mayo havent beaten all put before them this year. If they did, they would have a National League Title to their name. But they dont. Dublin do.

Reason : Dublin have played 12 games this year. They have lost one game this year in all games (and that was by a point and they subsequently beat that team in the Final). Not one team in Ireland can lay claim to that statistic but Dublin.

Mayo have played Dublin twice this year. They lost both games by 4 and 6 points respectively.

A sharp dose of reality. I was in Mayo during the week and the frenzy that is going on is beyond idiotic, no wonder Mayo have lost 10 of the 13 finals they have contested if the team carried that weight of expectation into every final. This type of over hype is getting out of hand and the facts are overwhelmingly in Dublin's favour.

I hope its a good final either way and that we dont have the same old name calling going on afterwards that involves bottling games etc.

Currently listening to Radio One. Its all full of "this is our time", "we deserve this" etc etc. from Mayo fans in Claremorris. I agree about the Mayo hype. Even in my recent work emails with Mayo people, I got a lot of "this is our year" stuff. Bizarre, unless its some carefully orchestrated county wide positive thinking campaign. From my perspective (Dublin) I can't call this game. Obviously I want a Dublin win, but analysing things is a tough job.

All I can say is may the best team win and if it is Mayo, I won't begrudge it. Its been some famine for them.

seligehgit

Grandeeod wrote: »

Currently listening to Radio One. Its all full of "this is our time", "we deserve this" etc etc. from Mayo fans in Claremorris. I agree about the Mayo hype. Even in my recent work emails with Mayo people, I got a lot of "this is our year" stuff. Bizarre, unless its some carefully orchestrated county wide positive thinking campaign. From my perspective (Dublin) I can't call this game. Obviously I want a Dublin win, but analysing things is a tough job.

All I can say is may the best team win and if it is Mayo, I won't begrudge it. Its been some famine for them.

Most Mayo fans are very circumspect re our prospects,we know how difficult it is going to be.Sure some people will get carried away,especially if a microphone or widespread audience is put in front of them.
Sure what's the point in turning up if we can't relay a modicum of positivity re our prospects?I've noticed a lot of Dublin fans are becoming very bullish re their prospects in the last few days.

blowitupref

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Donegal were considered a genuine contender up to the point that Mayo embarrassed them in CrokePark

In fairness the form of Donegal going into that game wasn't good. Relegated,struggled past Down after their win v Tyrone,Lost to Monaghan by 6 and only managed 0-7. By the time they faced Mayo i think they had gone out to about 11/1.

elefant wrote: »

If games were 65 minutes and Galway hadn't lost their most dangerous forward all year in the first 10 minutes, Cork wouldn't even have stepped onto the field against Dublin. The same Galway team were annihilated by Mayo.

Cork must have missed at least 6 goal chances in that game the Galway goalkeeper got MOTM didn't he? in fairness to Galway they played really well in that game compared to the shocking performance delivered v Mayo.

sid waddell

Donegal were not a genuine contender and bore far more resemblance to the Donegal teams that were annihilated in 2009 and 2010. than last year's team. They threw in the towel pretty much as soon as the ball was thrown in. Their minds were in the pub.

Tyrone are a decent enough team but weren't really a genuine All-Ireland contender, again they're miles off the 2005 and 2008 teams with a very pedestrian attack and style of play. Arguably fifth in the country this year.

Kerry and Cork were well ahead of anything Mayo have met.