Mayo GAA Discussion Part 2

yop

Oldtree wrote: »

Fermanagh forced a lot of the positioning in the first half imo thus the sweeper idea not really showing and their no. 14 (+ one other) had a very quick spin round that caught us unawares more than once easily allowed him off up field.

Some lovely ball catching in mid air at full stretch by mayo and with great defending overall. Enjoyed seeing Donal Vaughn back on, I think he ads an extra dynamic to play with his versatility (but i may be biased ).

Would also like to see 2 X OS in the front but 1 OS down back too.

Worthy of note, they looked much fitter towards the end than earlier in the year.

You must be! He loses much too much ball and gets turned over too easy!

What is OS?

They are probably still only running at 80%, the whole plan was thrown out the window and they are now doing heavy fitness sessions to get them up to speed.

If we survive next Saturday then we will be edging closer to peak timing. With game practise on top.

Ascii

OS = O Shea I am guessing Yop

PARlance

Ascii wrote: »

OS = O Shea I am guessing Yop

2 of them in front and 1 down the back though...

Is Oldtree talking about who sits where, in the car on the way to the game? Get in the back Seamie.

Oldtree

Ascii wrote: »

Ah your welcome to the forum Donal...have you them Ecco's in a size ten please :-)

Just live in the south of the county and I like the way he dosn't give up, sets a good example, see

Yes OS is O'Shea, thank you Ascii (didn't realise my cryptic shorthand would be so difficult Yop :P)

We need bulk at the back!

yop

Oldtree wrote: »

Just live in the south of the county and I like the way he dosn't give up, sets a good example, see

Yes OS is O'Shea, thank you Ascii (didn't realise my cryptic shorthand would be so difficult Yop :P)

We need bulk at the back!

Agree his desire is 2nd to none.

Ah I'm blonde for feck sake! 1+1 = 11

Oldtree

yop wrote: »

Ah I'm blonde for feck sake! 1+1 = 11

All is forgiven so

seligehgit

Penalty saga is ‘perfect storm’ for critics of O’Shea and Mayo

Billy Joe Padden in the Mayo News,great read.

DESPITE what some people might have you believe, it’s not Aidan O’Shea’s responsibility to protect the integrity and the good name of Gaelic football. That’s the responsibility of the officials and the administrators.

Aidan O’Shea’s responsibility is to his make sure that he does whatever he can for his team, his team-mates, and Mayo.

If Aidan felt contact from the Fermanagh full-back last Saturday and went to ground, then it’s the job of the referee and the umpires to adjudicate on it.
I personally didn’t think it was a penalty, but it was Joe McQuillan’s decision to make. His mistake.

Aidan O’Shea tried to get an advantage for his team from a defender making contact with him inside the large parallelogram.

When somebody in that area of the field makes contact with you, and you’re both travelling at pace, then there’s always the chance of a referee awarding a free out or a penalty.

The word ‘diving’ has been bandied about over the last few days in relation to the incident, but I don’t buy into that.

Things like holding an arm and going to ground, feeling a slight nudge when you’re running down a blind alley and winning a free, they are things that are generally applauded when it’s your team that are getting the benefit of the doubt.

And the reality is that they’re part and parcel of the GAA.
To be honest, they’ve been part and parcel of it for as long as I’ve been playing. Making the most of a late hit, feeling a nudge in your back jumping for a ball and making a song and dance about it.

The likes of Aidan O’Shea, Michael Murphy and Conor McManus are dealing with being held and being fouled all the time. So when they get a chance to get some retribution, what do we expect them to do?

How frustrating must it be for them to be constantly pulled and dragged and abused?

The furore about this incident is the perfect storm for some people.
It involves one of the highest profile footballers in the country in Aidan O’Shea, who’s also one of the biggest and strongest footballers in the game going to ground easily; and a Mayo team not playing well at the moment.
Plus, after what happened with the Mayo management last year there are people out there who want to vilify this Mayo team at every opportunity.
I feel very strongly about the word ‘cheat’ being used by certain pundits and analysts in relation to Aidan O’Shea and the penalty. Calling somebody a ‘cheat’ for something like this is an outrageous statement to make.
What’s the difference between what Aidan did, and somebody winning a free out the field when they’re pushed over after bending down to pick up a ball?
Neither of them is cheating as far as I’m concerned. Taking performance-enhancing drugs is cheating.

For the rest of the championship, Aidan O’Shea needs to be ready for two things. Firstly, starting next weekend, he’s going to get plenty of abuse from opponents about what’s happened. And he’s going to have to deal with that.
Plus, he’s going to get a backlash from referees.

They’re human and they’re going to think twice about every single decision involving Aidan for the rest of the summer.

ProudDUB

Pure comedy gold.

He's writing for the Mayo News. What else is he going to say, summon the firing squad?

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

seligehgit

statto25 wrote: »

In fairness to Freeman the way we played in the first half didn't benefit a full forward and it ended up with with him having to come out the field to get on the ball. We only started hitting the full forward when O'Shea went in there. Id like to see him get another chance.

TBH I think Alan Freeman has had an awful lot of chances already.I'd be inclined to agree with Father Tod's commentary and give Conor Loftus an opportunity inside.

TBF to Donal Vaughan and Oldtree he made a difference when introduced...Paddy Durkan will be under pressure after two below par outings by his high standards.What's the story with Shane Nally?

Ascii

seligehgit wrote: »

TBH I think Alan Freeman has had an awful lot of chances already.I'd be inclined to agree with Father Tod's commentary and give Conor Loftus an opportunity inside.

TBF to Donal Vaughan and Oldtree he made a difference when introduced...Paddy Durkan will be under pressure after two below par outings by his high standards.What's the story with Shane Nally?

I think freeman can do the work and cause trouble once he gets the supply of ball. To be fair the supply of ball was so bad in there the last day and marquee forward would have struggled to make hay.

PressRun

seligehgit wrote: »

TBH I think Alan Freeman has had an awful lot of chances already.I'd be inclined to agree with Father Tod's commentary and give Conor Loftus an opportunity inside.

TBF to Donal Vaughan and Oldtree he made a difference when introduced...Paddy Durkan will be under pressure after two below par outings by his high standards.What's the story with Shane Nally?

I sometimes feel that Alan Freeman, while capable of kicking a nice score, doesn't seem as willing to do as much donkey work as others. If Loftus is fit, I'd give him a go next time.

I saw that Chris Barrett is back doing some training and Eoin O'Donoghue has been called up from the U21s. Barrett anyway should give us another option in the back so long as he stays fit.

I think Donal Vaughan will get Paddy Durkan's spot next time. Not sure about Barry Moran. Stephen Coen struggled at midfield last weekend (though it could probably be argued that there are better positions for him), so Barry Moran might get the start. Still think he could be better utilized as an impact sub though.

Stoner

seligehgit wrote:

TBF to Donal Vaughan and Oldtree he made a difference when introduced...Paddy Durkan will be under pressure after two below par outings by his high standards.What's the story with Shane Nally?

I think Vaughan is a decent footballer has a bit of craft about him. I don't know Durkan the way you do but he has not been fantastic when I saw him.

Rawhead

ProudDUB wrote: »

Pure comedy gold.

He's writing for the Mayo News. What else is he going to say, summon the firing squad?

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

With the way some people are reacting, you'd think Aiden tried to gouge out someone's eyes.

seligehgit

PressRun wrote: »

I sometimes feel that Alan Freeman, while capable of kicking a nice score, doesn't seem as willing to do as much donkey work as others. If Loftus is fit, I'd give him a go next time.

I saw that Chris Barrett is back doing some training and Eoin O'Donoghue has been called up from the U21s. Barrett anyway should give us another option in the back so long as he stays fit.

I think Donal Vaughan will get Paddy Durkan's spot next time. Not sure about Barry Moran. Stephen Coen struggled at midfield last weekend (though it could probably be argued that there are better positions for him), so Barry Moran might get the start. Still think he could be better utilized as an impact sub though.

I think it's a positive move that they are calling up Eoin O Donoghue up,there is a recognition that all is not well in the full back line.Although bringing back Keith Higgins into the full back line would be the preferred option(or let him operate in the sweeper role).A role we have not as yet perfected.Barry Moran did a decent job in the role last year v Donegal,albeit against a big man threat Michael Murphy.

Re Alan Freeman,both at the game and on watch back he appeared like a rabbit in headlights,reluctant to gain possession of the ball whilst in open space(rare occasions).Not demanding of the ball like a marquee forward would,he turned the ball over frequently and as has been stated previously again did'nt impose himself physically for a big man.TBF maybe it's a lack of game time and poor service delivery but hey carpe diem...

I don't imagine Stephen Coen will start the next day,whither Barry Moran starts the next day will be dependent on whither he has a good sixty minutes or more in his legs/they decide to start Aidan O Shea in midfield.

PressRun

I don't know if O'Donoghue will get any game time this year, tbh, or if they're just easing him into the fold now with the intention of properly blooding him next year.

I don't know how shaky or not the full-back line is (I'd be more concerned about the lack of scores from the forwards honestly), but it's just a concern that we're down to the bare bones of the squad in those positions. If Kevin Keane were to get injured or black-carded, what are our options there? It's good to see Barrett starting to make some kind of comeback anyway.

seligehgit

Mayo News podcast

Mayo Fermanagh review

http://www.mayonews.ie/sports/listen/football-podcast/28176-audio-football-podcast-8-mayo-v-fermanagh-review

NabyLadistheman

I saw O'Donoghue knocking around with Parsons on Sunday alright before the game, was a bit shocked to see him kitted out. Great stuff though. Not sure how he would cope physically but no harm to get him in around the squad training and see if he can be an option

Bunny Colvin

€15 was deducted from the account there! Thankfully it's not a double header with the Connacht Final. I wouldn't have been too happy paying extra for that :pac:

Ascii

Bunny Colvin wrote: »

€15 was deducted from the account there! Thankfully it's not a double header with the Connacht Final. I wouldn't have been too happy paying extra for that :pac:

Bad enough paying to see the fecken Rossies when we are playing them but paying and us not playing them....different story :-)

puma90

Can u sit anywhere the day of the match???

gigantic09

puma90 wrote: »

Can u sit anywhere the day of the match???

Ya,seating is unreserved.Prob want to be there early enough (before 6.30) to get a decent seat though.

km79

puma90 wrote: »

Can u sit anywhere the day of the match???

Yes but not on the pitch

MaroonAndGreen

Late to the show here as due to being away I only got to watch the full game today! I don't think it was a bad bounce back by the lads from the poor performance against Galway. Of course we went in 6 points down at half time, but for 30 minutes in the first half we held them to 1-5 with them having a huge wind, I know they then proceeded to hit 5 points between the 30th and 35th minute but as a whole I wasn't terribly disappointed with the first half considering the big breeze in Fermanagh's favour (I also think a lot in this thread have underestimated Fermanagh who showed last year they are a decent side, getting to the Quarter Finals and giving Dublin a decent game).

As for the second half, I think it was plain to see within 2-3 minutes that Mayo were going to win the game, we came out with a lot more fire and pace to our play and actually played some nice stuff and were deserving winners. A lot has been made of us getting a soft penalty but lets be honest there was only one winner at that stage of the game, Fermanagh were dead, gone, being completely and utterly dominated in the middle of the park.

It was great to see Diarmuid O' Connor back and playing well, he has become an important player for us. Both O' Sheas had better games than against Galway and I think Aidan actually did quite well but his performance has been overshadowed by his act that won us the penalty. Seeing Lee Keegan getting up to kick two trademark points was fantastic to see also.

All in all a good day out and a good win versus a tough opponent who would have known they were playing us at a time when we were maybe at our most vulnerable since 2010. I would expect improvements next Saturday against Kildare and hopefully in further games should we win that.

Interestingly taking a different route to the latter stages of competition may actually be something this group could benefit from, almost getting freshened up by going a different way and facing different challenges at different times. This qualifying campaign is a great chance for this team to actually grow and improve. Onwards and upwards.

puma90

km79 wrote: »

Yes but not on the pitch

Aww damn

PressRun

Anyone feel Kildare will have a big game in them for this? I'd like (and expect) to see more improvement from Mayo for this match, but I still feel that Kildare might be dodgy enough. Might be just the cut-throat nature of the qualifiers putting me on edge and making me see banana skins everywhere, but this could be a close one! Don't imagine we'll get a whole lot in the way of frees after all the whinging this week, so the ff line are going to have to up their game considerably.

washman3

ProudDUB wrote: »

Pure comedy gold.

He's writing for the Mayo News. What else is he going to say, summon the firing squad?

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Is he the same guy that ran off and played with Armagh a few years back when he saw the opportunity of a soft medal.??

washman3

Rawhead wrote: »

With the way some people are reacting, you'd think Aiden tried to gouge out someone's eyes.

If he thought it would gain him extra publicity and his photo on the front page of the sports section he probably would.!!

mayo.mick

washman3 wrote: »

If he thought it would gain him extra publicity and his photo on the front page of the sports section he probably would.!!

Don't remember this getting much coverage in any sports sections,

themandan6611

mayo.mick wrote: »

Don't remember this getting much coverage in any sports sections,

maybe cause he did not dive that time

Barlett

washman3 wrote: »

Is he the same guy that ran off and played with Armagh a few years back when he saw the opportunity of a soft medal.??

You obviously don't know much about gaelic football. He was and is living and working in Armagh...not exactly an easy place to get to and from if you want to be training in Mayo on a Tuesday evening :rolleyes::rolleyes: