Mayo GAA Discussion

Fr Tod Umptious · 18-03-2024 9:25pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121910176#Comment_121910176

I'd add the "Joe Brolly" factor to that statement.

spakman · 18-03-2024 9:38pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121910233#Comment_121910233

I think he's disliked in Derry almost as much as he is in Mayo

Westernview · 18-03-2024 11:17pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121910296#Comment_121910296

I've listened to his podcast with Dion Fanning. It's interesting in terms of the insights it gives into Northern Ireland. But of course it's Joe speaking 95% of the time and poor Dion getting shut down anytime he tries to express a different point of view.

PARlance · 19-03-2024 11:03am

Wouldn't want to be overly negative, but I left the game deflated. I know it wasn't a must win, and it's not the result that matters, I just can't see the style or system we're playing working / being good enough.

I lost count of how many times, either Tommy or Ryan were our deepest defenders in the first half. Surely, if we're going to put 15 men behind the ball at times, we could work out some system that would see Tommy and Ryan be ready for the break.

It looks like some work is going into trying to improve attacking patterns, but it all seems extremely predictable.

MacDanger · 19-03-2024 11:07am

The biggest problem I saw in attack was that when players (AOS, Tommy, ROD, Towey) won the ball in the FF line, there was nobody making a run from the HF/MF area for them to pop it to so they either had to come all the way out to the HF line and start again or they tried to turn and got bottled up. It shouldn't be that hard to fix IMO. Overall though, I thought the forward play was better than it was in previous matches.

I also thought we did okay around the middle in that we managed to cover off a lot of options to the extent that we were able to get two hop balls from their keeper delaying his kickout and probably should have gotten a third one.

TsuDhoNimh · 19-03-2024 11:31am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121911877#Comment_121911877

Think it was Colm Boyle that pointed out he felt Sam looked a bit leggy at times. I thought a good few of the lads did (runs even in the first half were leaving us fairly gassed, even the likes of Hession who's normally a 70 minute dynamo) so wouldn't be shocked if they'd run them hard during the 'break' and in full Championship mode for the Hyde already.

Possibly just wishful thinking but would help explain the lack of support runners most of the time and hopefully be part of the reason for the 3 silly errors (Rory, Colm and Enda/Jordan) leading to very soft Derry goals.

Along with the 2 hops for slow play Lynch ended up kicking another straight out of play, something you'd very rarely see from Derry. He was just back from a few weeks off with injury but very uncharacteristic and a positive sign of how well we were doing around the middle.

flasher0030 · 19-03-2024 3:05pm

I just saw the match on TV. Couldn't go to it. But it appeared that Paul Towey made a very effective contribution when he was subbed on. Everything he touched turned to gold. Got his goal, and couple of lovely passes in to

He's a bit unreliable though. I think he has great skills, and getting more composed on the ball. But for too many games, he goes missing for too long.

TsuDhoNimh · 19-03-2024 9:50pm

https://twitter.com/MayoGAA/status/1770106739410559407

Details of our 20s panel, starting their campaign tomorrow against Roscommon (also has the match day 24), shared earlier today.

A few recognisable names that might have been involved missing (Ronan Clarke, James Maheady, Dara Hurley, Cathal Corless, Adam Beirne, Luke Feeney, Jack Reilly, Brian Donovan; with a couple of long term injuries among them) but plenty of amazing talent among the lads named to get excited about. The inside forward line in particular will be electric when they hit form.

Pretty young side named. 5 of the minors from last year/u18 lads (Yousif Coghill, Darragh Beirne, Tom Lydon, Dylan O'Brien & Eoin McGreal) and 12 of them eligible for or involved with the '22 minor side/u19s (David Dolan, David Slattery, John MacMonagle, Lorcan Silke, Jack Mulchrone, Paul Gilmore, Diarmuid Duffy, Cathal Keaveney, Niall Hurley, Oisín Cronin, Liam Maloney and Liam Moore) all making the 24 for the Roscommon game. That said, absolutely packed with potential for future seniors there. Some really exciting prospects.

howdo1992 · 19-03-2024 10:59pm

I thought Brickenden had a mare was caught out badly for 3 of the goals. He should have gone to the man with the ball both times but instead kept backtracking and ended up not marking anyone. He was also very loose on his man afor the first palmed goal from the high ball.

Hopefully management can flag it with him and he will learn but may be worth trying different options. The ballinrobe lad looked like he could be decent.

Would like to see Towey get a run of games. Hard for a lad to get confidence when he’s in and out the team and might do him the world of good as he definitely has potential.

ROD at 11 is definitely worth a look also for his creativity and passing ability. His ball winning would be missed inside but If he was feeding a firing Tommy and Towey/Carr, it would be lethal. I feel like ROD would make better use of O’Shea inside also.

MacDanger · 20-03-2024 7:59pm

U20s draw with Roscommon, 3-7 to 1-13

Westernview · 21-03-2024 3:42pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121919019#Comment_121919019

Good early scoring by Mayo and good comeback from Roscommon by all accounts.

One thing from the game that frustrates me is hearing that the Roscommon midfield overpowered us again. How is it that with our population twice the size of the Roscommon that we are failing to produce big athletic ball-winning midfielders. Seems to be an issue all the way down from senior.

Is it a result of underage coaches focusing on smaller ball players?

TsuDhoNimh · 21-03-2024 5:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121922363#Comment_121922363

Certainly an area we've commonly been short on size for a number of years, at nearly all grades. Notable that neither of the two starting in the middle yesterday (both fantastic players) are what you'd consider natural midfielders playing most of their football there either.

Injuries had a fair impact there yesterday, looking ahead for this specific panel with a little more hope. Jack Melvin (midfield) and Sean Morahan (from 2 to 7) (both part of the UL side that won the Fresher's A) would have made a difference for options & physicality in that middle third if they'd been fit to start. Others there in the panel like Mulroy or Armstrong that can offer a bit more size too so it'll be interesting to see how they set up for Galway next week, a side with plenty of powerful runners around the middle.

(And in the more long term view getting lads like Feeney, Clarke, D Hurley, Corless or Maheady back available would make a significant difference where you'd expect a minimum 3 or 4 of those to be starting)

Westernview · 21-03-2024 5:44pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121922743#Comment_121922743

Perhaps some of those players will add some physicality as you say.

Apart from the Clifford phase of minor all-irelands Kerry usually focus on developing players for senior rather than winning underage titles. I don't think we are as commited to that priority somehow.

It's been noticeable that for some time we have been playing midfield-type half forwards to compensate for limitations at 8 and 9. That works up to a point but against the top teams forwards priority should be on getting breaks, setting up attacks and scoring, not primary possession. The big teams have midfielders that dont require as much assistance and their forwards benefit as a result.

TsuDhoNimh · 21-03-2024 6:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121922923#Comment_121922923

A lot to be said for focusing on the long term development rather than the short term games/gains alright... but once a ball throws in I tend to forget it completely (I'd try and justify it with saying it's good psychology to be in the habit of winning and know the lads can beat the Tyrones/Derrys/Dublins/Kerrys/etc but always just that competitive streak I'm sure). With that in mind was great to see the young lads like Darragh Beirne, Yousif Coghill and Eoin McGreal making a solid showing already just out of minor.

We've not done too badly ourselves in terms of developing lads for senior. Despite the lack of even Connacht successes at 20s we've had a conveyor belt of talent coming through from underage, with 14 of the current panel 24 or younger (and missing Oisín who'd be the pick of the bunch & Diarmuid Duffy who already went back to the 20s), the average age of the panel used so far this year down well below 26 & it likely to get lower as more of these 20s break through.

Some notable successes for local young basketball and rugby sides this year too, so fingers crossed (entirely selfishly) some footballing talent among the bigger of those. If not we've still young lads in Jack, Bob, Donnacha and Conor that seem to be moving in the right directions and could still gain that bit more physicality we'd hope for.

MacDanger · 22-03-2024 3:19pm

Bit of a balls up in the ladies this weekend - last round of matches but Galway v Waterford has yet to be played from the previous round. You'd think they could have found an alternative venue for it last weekend, esp with it being a BH

Edit: I see the final round of games aren't even all being played at the same time, that's pretty strange

Always_Running · 22-03-2024 7:40pm

Sad news on Ger Brady, only 44. Horrible Disease is Motor Neurone. RIP

PARlance · 22-03-2024 8:18pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121922363#Comment_121922363

Ah Ref spoke about this on this week's podcast. The vast majority of our team is u19, iirc, the Rossies had 10 or so in their final year. A year being a long time in terms of S&C at that age.

Our focus on this u19 group / forgetting about the guys a year ahead of them was the discussion. We have a u19 development squad but for this year anyway, our u19s are basically the u20 team.

blowitupref · 22-03-2024 8:41pm

Wouldn't agree with that point. Mayo's minors in 2022/23 was clearly better than 2021 group and only natural the U20 panel was selected in that way. At U20 level you are picking from three U17 groups and you pick the best 30 plus from the 90 to 100 players. Sligo last year the majority of their U20 team was 18,19 year olds starting they reached the All Ireland final beating Roscommon,Mayo,Galway and Kerry on route.

MacDanger · 22-03-2024 10:41pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121927734#Comment_121927734

Very sad. RIP Ger

TsuDhoNimh · 22-03-2024 11:21pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121928014#Comment_121928014

The conversation was mostly Enda wondering why they were having (was mostly him just thinking out load, so I'd imagine a better framing would be "if it's the best possible use of resources") an u19 development team with some top coaching staff (Boyler manager, I think Mickey Conroy in there, they mentioned a few of the coaches too but I'm blanking on them now) when so many of the top u19 talent is already involved in the 20s squad (think it's 12 of the '22 panel & 2 more eligible for that one involved, though one of those is Rio from '23 too).

He was suggesting it might have been more constructive to pick up some of the u20 lads unfortunate not to make the 20s cut this year due to the explosion of that younger talent (e.g. Adam Beirne, Darragh's older brother, or Jack O'Reilly exceptional u20 talents with potential to make big progress in the future despite not being involved in this panel), combine it with the better of the 19s not involved with the 20s and use that as a development squad where lots of lads aren't falling through the cracks due to a specific DOB (can't remember the exact wording... he might have extended it out to some of last years 20s too, but I'd imagine you're getting the gist of it).

Hard to fault the basic idea, moves the coaching time to the upper picks from 2 different age groups rather than going deeper on a single group... but pros and cons either way (that's assuming there's another seperate u18 development squad for all but the 5 that made the 20s. Not entirely sure if that's the case).

MacDanger · 23-03-2024 12:03am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121928870#Comment_121928870

Yeah, it wasn't a bad point but I think he missed the fact that those U20s are the lads who would have been in that U19 training group last year so they've already had a decent amount of training. Maybe a few from both groups would have been an option