Mayo GAA Discussion

Green Peter

Great footballer, always left everything on the field, deserved an all Ireland but that's not the way it works. I wish him the best.

maximus15

Mayo legend simple as . Slight fear now that mcstay said he detailed his plan to leroy to try convince him to stay and it didnt work, so what does that say about his plan ? Hopefully lee just had his mind made up but just doesn't look good for mcstay when has was so confident he would convince him to stay , that confidence could only be based on his plan. Time will tell i suppose .

muddle84

I don't think this decision has any bearing on McStay what so ever. McStay saying that publicly could have been trying to convince him to stay!

All the best to Lee, favourite player to watch!! Big boots to fill!

Audioslaven

You really have to admire a guy like Keegan when you look back over his time playing for Mayo, what he delivered, what he was asked to do, how he conducted himself on and off the pitch, his scoring record as a half back, his unique sense to know when a score was required and when we were under pressure, our go to man for the key players. It is hard to replace guys like him when he was just outstanding.

Mullen and Keegan gone...two nailed on positions that McStay thought were there when he took over... more questions for McStay to ponder....had Keegan more to offer if he waited than McLoughlin, Doherty and AOS!!

Cartman78

Sad news to see a legend moving on....I think we all knew it was coming though, all the interviews he did late last year were flagging retirement as the most likely outcome.

Himself, Higgins and Boyle missing out on the ultimate prize is a travesty 😔

padd b1975

Guys like Keegan don't come around to often. It was a privilege to watch him in his prime.

Probably the right call for his body at this stage.

km79

Shocked and deflated by the news . I honestly thought he was gonna come back for tail end of league and then give it one more good go for an AI. He prob weighed it all up with Oisin gone as well and decided it wasn’t gonna happen.

A true legend of the game .

Best of luck Leeroy

My hopes and expectations have now been lowered to league survival and trying to win Connacht

Such a shame our FF line weren’t all fit together for the last two years . We will now have a formidable FF line but no defence :D

km79

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120085267#Comment_120085267

I do wonder if he will regret going in a couple of years. He absolutely had at least one more season of top level performance in him

Be-Jaysus

Enjoy your retirement lee and your future

No point committing for an All Ireland that won't be coming anytime soon.

McStay will need 3 years to make a push for Sam.

PressRun

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120087292#Comment_120087292

It feels a little premature to me, but I also don't know what's going on in his family and that seems to have been the major factor in this decision. I'm sure it wasn't easy for him and I really hope it turns out to be the right decision at the right time.

blowitupref

Lee Keegan regularly marked the opposition best forwards and would outscore them while doing so.

Scored 2-4 from play in All-Ireland finals to put that into perspective Cillian O'Connor scored 0-7 from play in AI finals.

RedDevil55

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120087426#Comment_120087426

Massive shame to see Lee retire. He's going out at the top of his game pretty much, which is unusual. Definitely had another 2 seasons minimum if he wanted to continue.

Sidenote, but I've seen a few people say that it's a rebuilding job now and McStay needs 2, 3, 4 years to challenge for Sam. What will change in that time? We're going to have more retirements in the coming years and the likes of Diarmuid O'Connor and others will be past his best then. Mayo had a much greater turnover of players during 2020 and 21 (between injuries and retirements), yet made an All Ireland final both years. Winning Sam still has to be the aim this year.

Audioslaven

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120087604#Comment_120087604

I think he must have judged the talent that is there and decided it wasn't at the required level to win the main prize. He is leaving on a high. McStay put a positive spin on him coming back, which looks a bit odd in hindsight.

We are gradually declining on the quality of players we have at our disposal unless McStay pulls some serious players over the league. I think a few more should depart as well and we start fresh and see where the cards fall as I don't see what AOS, McLoughlin and Doherty offer anymore. They just have too much mileage on the clock and don't have the legs for CP.

PressRun

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120088159#Comment_120088159

Going by his own comments, it's about family. I get the sense he would have liked to continue but can no longer justify it with young kids to look after now.

Bass Reeves

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120088104#Comment_120088104

He is 33 years old which is on the older side for GAA players. The level he played at is a factor as well. Watched him last year in the league in Killarney and his pace was gone.

Great footballer in his day but his best days were behind him. Probably considers it will take 3+ years to overtake Galway again and for Mayo to become an effective force.

RedDevil55

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120088325#Comment_120088325

Funny how Paudi Clifford couldn't get away from him last summer despite his pace being gone?! His best days were probably behind him, yet he was still one of the top defenders in the country last year.

Why would it take 3+ years to overtake Galway when we only lost to them by a point last year?

HBC08

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120088325#Comment_120088325

You don't rate leeroy off league games.

Plenty of years I thought he was past his best watching him in feb/mar only for him to come back and be Mayos best player that summer.That includes this year where Mayo were nowhere in the championship and only got one all-star nomination, guess who that was?

He's a very fit 33 and as others have said he had at least 2 season left at elite level,he retired for other reasons.

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120088357#Comment_120088357

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120088459#Comment_120088459

I'd ignore him.

He's from Kerry but doesn't even remember that the league game was in Tralee, I don't even recall Mayo ever playing a league game in Killarney in the last 20 years at least, could be much longer.

Plus Keegan had a great run up the wing and a shot that just drifted wide to draw that league game in Tralee in 2022.

Fr Tod Umptious

The last time I saw Keegan he was pushing a buggy up the street in Westport.

So fair play to him I say, get out at a time that suits you and those closest to you.

It has been a pleasure to see him play for so long and he owes us mere mortals nothing.

As for Mayo in the shorter term they have a lot of fixing to do at the back.

If, and it a big if, they can get the fully forward line back in decent shape it takes some of the pressure off the backs, in that the backs can concentrate on defending and not be relied on as much to do the scoring, but the full back line needs work.

I don't think there is any great gulf in class between Kerry and the rest.

Galway had Kerry on the rack, Dublin had Kerry on the rack, Galway scraped passed Armagh and Mayo, Dublin are coming from Div 2, plus the new system gives plenty of scope for making mistakes and fixing them.

An All Ireland must certainly be the goal for Mayo in 2023, no reason why it should not be.

TagoMago

Really disappointing to see him retire, the best Mayo player I've had the pleasure of seeing play, his goals in the '16 and '17 finals were the most exhilarating scores I've experienced as a Mayo fan. That '17 final performance was incredible.

TBH I had thought he was past his peak after the 2019 semi but the way he performed in 2021 showed what an irrepressible force he was. Hoped he would have given it one more go after a disappointing year last year but don't thin anyone can begrudge him a happy retirement after everything he has given.

muddle84

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120089317#Comment_120089317

I think the last two years he was absolutely wasted being played in the back line, as was Oisín!

In McStays time as a pundit, he often said Connacht is not the goal for this Mayo team and it hasn't been for years. So I don't see why that would change with his Mayo team. The goal has to be an All Ireland, McStay isn't giving it a go to try and win Connacht championships, nor is his wider team. Although i'm sure Rochford would like to bury that hatchet!

flasher0030

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120088459#Comment_120088459

Ya, that happended over and over again. It was like he was just pacing himself, never getting excited, and then bang - he would perform in the big Championship games when many of the other Mayo players would go into their shells. He seemed to thrive on the big day pressure and the responsibility.

Maybe time has blurred my memory bank, but I think Higgins was the same towards the end of his career. He wouldn't be up to too much until the stakes got big. But then he would shine and become a leader.

2018na

seri Respect for lee keegan. With a goalie like David Clarke behind you. It’s a waste of a trip to Croker 😁😁😁

Coillte_Bhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120088325#Comment_120088325

Considering the new chsip format, we really need to get over this mindset of measuring ourselves against Galway Winning a Connacht would be nice and would see us seeded but tbh, im more concerned how we measure up to other rivals, Kerry, Dublin, Tyrone, Armagh etc becuse it will be games against these teams that will make or break us later in the summer, regardless of what happens in Connacht

MacDanger

I think we need at least 3-4 lads who have "potential" to really make progress this year towards being consistently good / very good. If you think back to Horan's first year or so in charge, the likes of Boyle, Keegan, McLoughlin, Cillian, AOS all nailed down starting positions.

In the last 2 seasons, it's only really Jordan Flynn who has made progress in terms of being a definite starter, maybe McLaughlin also? Even at that, McLaughlin needs to add a few scores to his game. I think the likes of Plunkett, Brickendon, Walsh, Orme, McHale, McDonagh, Carr, Hession, Carney and others have a massive opportunity now to grab one of several starting places that are available

PressRun

Tbh, I think the jury is still out on Tommy Conroy. He was only starting to show a bit when he got the injury. Maybe he would have kicked on last year and really came into his own if not for the injury, but it was by no means a guarantee and who knows if he'll be able to recapture the spark that was beginning to show before. There is a lot of expectation around him but I think people need to rein that in a bit.

McLaughlin has great pace but as an actual footballer, he needs to improve his skillset imo.

Carney has potential, but again, who knows.

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120086072#Comment_120086072

Throwing a GPS at an opposition player who was attempting to take a free at a crucial stage of an All Ireland final is about as far from class as you can get. His pathetic excuses to explain it away, to justify it to the media and the public in the aftermath of his and Mayo’s defeat were suitably embarrassing…both for him and his county..a talented footballer certainly… but his conduct on and off the pitch…neutrals would have more respect if he just came out, apologised, “heat of the moment, lost the head” type of stuff. He admitted he was in the wrong but only when pressed much later.

that said, I think he’s the only player in the history of Gaelic Football to win 5 All Stars without winning an All Ireland, so let him look back fondly in his retirement (at the All Stars), and that GPS ( if he kept it )….

PressRun

Still whinging about a GPS.

Audioslaven

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120092316#Comment_120092316

Me and you bucko have different views on this. We as in mayo have been far too soft for many a year and when I see a guy doing all he can to succeed and I also remember him on his knees with the jersey over his head in tears, I see a complete mayo man who gave it all he had, showed his passion and drive. He is the perfect mayo player... Truly brilliant on the pitch and very modest off it. No flaws in him in my eyes ...best mayo player in my 40 odd years watching mayo. Every mayo kid should look to him as the perfect Mayo Gaa role model as nobody is perfect but he is the closest Mayo player I have witnessed

Green Peter

Mayo have paid a huge price for not having a regular decent fullback during Keegan's period. He was wasted trying to fill that roll and especially in the latter years, also mullen and O Hora the same, not fullbacks. All being played out of position. The GPS was not his finest moment but you couldnt really blame him with what was facing him again if the kick went over as it did. I think maybe midfield may have been his position given all the halfbacks mayo produce.and his ability to get scores. Instead he was back trying to cover a gap that was never really addressed by mayo managers during that period.