Mayo GAA Discussion

We’re never going to lose thst in a million years but still not great that we can only beat Sligo by 3…

Hame more or less. Slow it down and let them back in then stretch it out again before slowing down once more instead of going for the jugular. A shambles would be too generous. If we are conceding 2-17 to Sligo, better teams will pick us off easily

We’re never as good as we think we are & we’re never as bad as we think we are, they have been on the road a few weeks now…still giving debuts to players who didn’t play at all in the league is very strange

So the plan is that after two games , he’ll be ready for the step up against AI contenders Galway? Rather than seeing what he’s like over 4-5 games in the league …doesn’t make any sense to be honest .

Well if that’s the plan, we are in dire straits. No other team in division one played as fewer players as Mayo in the league . The reality is they got cleaned out against Kerry in midfield after playing seven midfielders , panic has set in & this we end up starting a player who hasn’t played all year. The run outs at the end is just so they can’t be criticised for not trying out new players.

Management did a good job keeping us in division one but at the end of the day stuff like this smacks of desperation. Like what other team in division one is holding back players because they’re afraid they won’t cut it in the league?

Just watching highlights of Cork Tipp league final. Capacity crowd in P. Ui Chaoimh and wonderful atmosphere. What the hell are the GAA at dragging Kerry and Mayo to Croke Park resulting in a quarter full ground.

I do agree that this team is lacking in quality. It's just they put in some big performances like Kerry in Killarney, Galway in Salthill, and Dublin in the Hyde that made us think they have this high bar. Realistically, while they can beat any team on their day, it's really hard to see them do it more than once this year.

In midfield we are so weak. Carney so rarely influences a game and is very one paced, I'm convinced he is a squad player. At least Ruane can come up with 2+ points from play p/game while doing all the work that Carney does. Our keeper is much worse at kickouts than Hennelly was and has less options out the field than both Clarke or Hennelly had over the years. We have 6 decent backs to choose from but the balance hasn't been found and they desperately miss Paddy Durcan. It seems an unpopular opinion but they will win nothing without Eoghan McLaughlin starting. He's the best tackler on the team after O'Shea, one of the few physically dominant players on the team, and he's a huge asset going forward because of his pace. I reckon he has scored 4-16 in league and championship since his debut against Kerry at the start of Covid compared to for example, Enda Hession who scored his first ever championship score yesterday! On the topic of backs, how bad has McBrien been? Everyone just wanted to him to have a run of fitness and now that he has he has had zero influence on games.

McHale seems to have had a strong performance yesterday and has nailed his spot down for the game v Leitrim which means he will likely start centre forward v Galway/Ross in the Connacht final. Again though, like Carney, he is a squad player if we were to have any All Ireland ambitions. I hope they persist with Neary and Flynn in the wing forward positions because Nearly brings much needed pace to that line compared to last year.

In the full forward line, O'Shea is a must start because of his physicality and ball winning ability. Ryan is our best forward obviously but he is very up and down. Yesterday for example, he lost the ball in contact a number of times and his free taking from outside 40m is poor. I think we really should be looking at another inside forward against Leitrim and can't believe we didn't do it yesterday when we had the chance - they obviously don't fancy Towey - but they will regret it if O'Shea or Ryan are out for a game.

I think a connacht final with Galway in Castlebar could be a cracker and one of the largest attendances in a number of years. The heavy league defeat should give Mayo plenty of motivation. But it will take a huge performance to beat them.

Those saying "we can beat anyone on our day" isnt a great boast and is really an admission that we aren't a top team. Supporters of teams in the top 4 arent saying that.

Beating anyone on their day is what we did against Tyrone in 04, Dublin in 06, Cork in 11, Dublin in 21 and Kerry in killarney a few years back. i.e. we found one peak performance to take down a big hitter but what followed was an anticlimax. This may be what happens this year against Galway but hopefully we can maintain levels after that.

Indeed it appears to be my post that is in the firing line here…the league is generally accepted as the place for trying out new players and new tactics since basically its inception …it's not that 'out there' to question a reluctance to do that. Putting a positive spin on everything is just as toxic as being negative about everything at the end of the day.

I would also say…the attitude of 'we don't have the players' is a slippery slope to Division 3 football. Did we have the players in January 1996 after being dumped out of Connaught in 1995? Did Donegal have the players when they finished bottom of D1 in 2023? I understand that we don't want to be totally negative, afterall management did well to keep the team in Division 1…but whatever players you have…you are looking for signs of improvement and if I was to look at the team now and the team last year…I don't see much sign of that. But i hope I am proven wrong and they win Connaught this year because at the end of the day…when we were riding in the last decade…Galway still managed to beat us in 16 and 17.

Yeah. We're due a home final against either Roscommon or Galway, so it'll be a MacHale Park final as long as we're part of it.

10-12k for a Mayo Galway connaught final in Castlebar? Your contempt for McStay has really gone off the rails. It's getting tiresome tbh. Perhaps you'll apply for the position when he finishes up? You seem to have all the answers.

2-20 racked up yesterday, a good spread of scorers, plenty of direct play particularly with the wind, 6 championship debutants got game time. Some people can only see a glass half full no matter what.

Sligo game had a poor attendance because it was way overpriced and the result was never in doubt.

League attendances for the home games were fairly good with the exception of the Tyrone one. when we started to become watchable again the crowds returned.

Should be a decent attendance (over 18k)for Connaught final whether it's Galway or Rossies.

It's hard to know. There is a lot of negativity around Mayo football. I've heard a fair few people trot out the auld reliable - "wouldn't cross the road to see them". Of course, the same prlcks will out looking for All-Ireland tickets if in the unlikely event Mayo got there.

I just now got around to seeing the highlights of the Sligo game.

How was the last Sligo score a two pointer ?

He was at least a yard inside the arc.

I was right in line with it,couldn't believe that was given.

It wasn't even close,he was 6 feet inside the arc.