Mayo GAA Discussion

This is a fantastic post. I'd nearly print it off frame it and hang it on the wall. Thank you, genuinely.

High performance culture...Like Limerick hurlers have, Dublin footballers had and Tyrone have also managed to attain.

It means 3 or 4 players fighting for every position, no sacred cows or undroppable players, if you aren't good enough this year you are dropped to the bench or retired, no matter how many All Stars or All-Ireland medals you have in your back pocket. One of the reasons why Dublin won 8 AIs in ten years and why Limerick won 3 in 4. That kind of culture. Basically if you aren't good enough, you're dropped, no sentiment, no favourites, good luck to you and bring up the next guy.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg from a culture point of view. There is also tactics, match analysis (of which there seems to have been none done on Tyrone and their kickout strategy in particular).

But can you name the players that will take the places of these "undroppable " players once they are dropped. What wonderkid is missing out?

In terms of forwards, Darren Coen should have been on much earlier which means taking off one of the "undroppables".

There was plenty more examples. Our three half forwards never got into the game, it passed them by mostly. Now if they can't make an impact, their legs are gone and they can't score, what on earth are they doing on the field? At most they are impact players if even.

Couldn't take anyone off from midfield because we have no midfielders I know of on the subs bench. Which is damning.

Appreciate the reply! Always struck me as bitterness on the part of former players/pundits when they harp on about players and commercial deals, pure begrudgery that these amateur players are able to make a few quid on the side while playing.

Another thing I heard a few years ago from a Mayo man I used to work with was that there was some outside influences that had massive pull with the county board and also players from certain clubs hadn't a chance of making the county panel, surely this can't be true and the panel is being picked from every available player from every club?

There is a story behind Dublin this year.

They were poor. Ok they lost some of their great players over the last couple of years, but all was definitely not happy in the camp.

I wouldn't call into question the desire, the dedication, the bottle of any of the Mayo team or backroom team.

Horan has created a brilliant ethos, he brought on so many players in his time.

He has reached so many finals over the years so he has to be doing something right.

Maybe he has overachieved in some ways.

But he has also failed and failed big time when it counted.

A lot of people are slagging off AOS, claiming he is more interested in self promotion or whatever.

I don't think that at all, I just think he is too slow, can't kick well at all, hasn't the softhands of someone like Donaghy and sometimes confuses things.

And yes due to his size he never got the referees protection that he should have gotten which also never helps him.

Football has changed a lot, he has gotten older and the miles are showing.

Someone said earlier that maybe he was left on in the hope he might do something.

If that is true then it is bad management.

You can't afford to do that.

A great manager spots when things are going wrong and tries to remedy it, not adopts a wait and see approach and living in hope.

Dublin won 8 AI finals in a row they played in, 9 if you include 95. That's 100% record in 9 straight finals. So yes they definitely can teach us a thing or two about winning.

The poster was talking about "Culture" being key at Dublin and something we don't have.

I disagreed.

Yeah, they know how to win but can you put it all down to "culture" (needs to be defined) - if it's "Culture" that sets us apart why lose to use this year?

This "culture" thing is nonsense.

But this is the thing.

There are so many variables on a match day that the manager or indeed players cannot control.

You simply cannot say we don't have the desire or hunger, or to a point "winning mentality" - we win 90 percent of games we've played in the championship the past two years.

If you cannot define what culture is, how do you change it?

I don't know what the consistent issue we've had with AI finals in my lifetime but it hasn't be the same for every one of those games.

Great teams and players reduce the variables.

Which means they foresee and cut out variables and mistakes before they arise.

That joe Brolly is an awful clown. Got caught out telling a full lie about mdma forgetting his boots on all Ireland final day and pat gilroy having to give him his. Proven to be absolute bullshit story but he’s allowed to continue writing for the sindo. Shows you what makes a barrister himself and Michelle de Bruin,pair of ****

It is obvious from the majority of comments that posters do not understand what "organisational culture" is \ what Joe Brolly is talking about. If you do a search on the internet you will find plenty of articles which explain it and which give a flavour of what it is. Most articles are business related but it applies equally to a sporting organisation whether it be a professional one or an amateur one. The big GAA senior teams are probably more professional than many professional ones in e.g league of ireland soccer with many \ most of backrooom staff now being paid. County Boards also becoming more professsional with many staff \ officers being paid.

Every organisation has a culture, some good some bad. Some suitable to what they are trying to achieve, some not. Good and suitable cultures deliver organisational success continually while bad, unsuitable deliver continual failure. Organisational culture continually evolves, sometimes quickly sometimes slowly sometimes for the better sometimes for the worse. It is always driven by the leaders within an organisation.

As an example Dublin GAA and the Dublin Team were unsuccessful for many years in the 90's 00's. They took a hard look at themselves and changed how they operated. As regards the senior team this process was started by Pat Gilroy and continued \ brought to fruition by Jim Galvin which resulted in 8 AI's in 10 yearsand GAA becoming more successful in Dublin in terms of playing numbers. I don't know the details of what the exact changes were to culture as I am not privy to their internal workings.

Another example is Tyrone who were unsuccessful as regards senior AI's up until 2003. Their culture changed in some way 20 years ago to make them more successful. I don't know exactly what it was. Part of it was undoubtedly appointing Mickey Harte, who was a good leader who put in place a winning \ successful culture. First All Ireland \ 3 in total. They did lose their way a bit at the end of Mickeys reign probably IMO to his not being able to evolve a culture he put in place. Again IMO I expect that Mickey's core culture has remained broadly the same with 2 of his disciples taking charge and freshening things up a little to deliver another AI this year.

James Horan at the start of his reign talked about changing the culture of the Mayo team. Obvious at this point 10 years later (of which 7 were his) that he has not instilled a winning culture in the Mayo Senior Team.

Everything whether it be shooting practice, team selection, tactics, finding better \ more players etc etc are just subsidiary details. A good and apprropriate culture delivers excellence in every facet of the organisation. Without it success in individual facets is hit and miss, while overall success is virtually impossible.

Why?. Is he supposed to skip out on some opportunities because he doesn’t have a medal?. If there are people willing to pay him for this, why should he not take it to supplement his income?.

he gives up enough time and sacrifice - why not make something from it?.

even the examples you give - they’re over 8 or 9 years, one is for the title sponsors for the County team. What exactly is your problem with players doing this, or is your problem just with this particular player?. Also you quoted my earlier post, asking if I was having a laugh. Do you know of anything I wrote that’s untrue?. If so, please do share your knowledge.

Someone mentioned comments about Mayo players and their commercial commitments and you said it was "Horse manure, basically. All of it"

I've shown you that is not horse manure at all. Aidan O'Shea is just one particularly bad example. Cillian O'Connor, Lee Keegan and Paddy Durcan deserve a mention too.

How many GAA players are you aware of take part in such extensive sponsorship deals before they've ever won an all ireland? It suggests that maybe the Mayo players should be focusing on more pressing issues first, no?