Enjoy!!
Old thread here......
https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2057962937/mayo-gaa-discussion-part-4#latest
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seri Respect for lee keegan. With a goalie like David Clarke behind you. It’s a waste of a trip to Croker 😁😁😁
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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 😔
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!!
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!
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 .
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.
Hugely disappointing news. Genuinely think he had another year, maybe two in him. Also a bit surprising given the word going around was that he was staying on, McStay even put his neck out and said publicly that he was confident he would stay. Seems like there might have been a u-turn.
We were on the Hill in 2017 when he scored the goal to put us a point up with around 15 to go, genuinely thought we would win it that day
Ah no.
Probably my favourite ever player, and definitely in the top echelon of players never to win an AI in history (best of my lifetime).
I'd go as far to say he was one of the clutchest players ever, some scoring record in All-Ireland finals and routinely shut-down opponents too.
An all-time great
Mayo GAA on Twitter: "Lee Keegan has announced his retirement from Inter County football. All at Mayo GAA wish Lee the best of luck in his retirement. Read More Below 🔽🔽 https://t.co/i33LJQ1dR2 #mayogaa https://t.co/X1twCQX5ZT" / Twitter
Yet another stalwart retires without claiming the big prize.
Class player (maybe our GOAT?), owes us nothing, enjoy the retirement Lee
Leeroy has officially retired,Mayo GAA have tweeted it.
The greatest ever to play for Mayo and still on top of his game.
This is a sad day for Mayo,thanks for the memories,he couldn't have done any more.
Inevitably but still sad to see it officially announced
It will be interesting to see if McStay goes with alot of newer guys like above in the league instead of guys who have been floating in and out of the match day teams. If he is serious about having a proper go, he will have to do that otherwise deja vu. We have tried so long with guys like Boland, Carr, Loftus who really have not progressed into what we need and who at different times showed really top performances but lack this consistency.
He has calls on who is captain, what he does or doesnt do with AOS, who will be on the frees, will conroy return to his old self, where is COC at, will Keegan come back, so interesting times ahead for McStay.... he has his chance that he alway felt he never got.... so lets see what he is made of.
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