Mayo GAA Discussion

II'll hold out hope until the Connacht final, but it's hard to keep the faith after that. Absolutely pathetic, and I'd blame the sideline mainly, the way they have the team playing is just infuriating.

The predictable teeth gnashing here again but little point to it as we have an average team who were expected to cruise to a connaught final. Inevitable complacency. We haven't a single player in the top 20 players in Ireland and no manager will change that. The writing was on the wall at the end of Horans tenure. In contrast our U20s have a number of technically superior offensive okayers who can catch, kick and score.

Having said that the one big performance this year may come from this team against Galway. I expect us to push them all the way. If we win a false sense of expectation will reappear before we exit tamely and anger will show itself here again.

No mystery to McBrien at CHB. He isn't a man marker and has therefore been moved away from goal. Being tall and strong does not make him a FB.

Darren McH has proved little or nothing in a Mayo shirt bar a few tap overs against Sligo under no pressure. Sam Callinan has not lived up to the early hype and is another player who can't kick an accurate ball into forwards so he just carries it. We haven't the players...especially for these new rules.

who

Who is that ? Foley?

yep, take a solo, run horizontally across the top of the arc, and look for a man behind you to hand pass it to.

I know and it’s just as well

Good god , give me a break …the players aren’t there …spare me your nonsense. All those managers mentioned were excellent… I mean Mayo were in Division 3 when Maughan brought them to an All Ireland, I suppose you figured they didn’t have the players when they were beaten out the gate the previous season by Galway in 95?

It’s not about winning an All Ireland , it’s about putting together a team that can play decent football and get people behind them. I’ve said this now multiple times on this thread with still no answer… why were Donegal so abject for the last few years but now with a change of manager they’re AI contenders . Did they find 15 new players last year? Or was it a case that maybe a new manager was able to make decent players better & good ones excellent.

To take your own quote , it’s almost certain that in 3 or 4 years people like you will be saying we ‘don’t have the players’ when we’re playing Division 3 football and handpassing over and back across the D.

All fair points, but who ousted McDonald, Holmes and Connolly? It certainly wasn’t the supporters …

No one was looking for Mickey Moran to leave only the county board..:this idea that supporters are never satisfied just isn’t true if you look at those three managers alone

The players ousted McDonald with the blessing of the supporters. The poor man was ridiculed for one silly car pushing event which was just one isolated idea that didn't go well when pitches were unavailable/unplayable. I remember meeting the players outside the dressing room after the broken crossbar connaught final and my father remarking how fit the players looked and how their clothes were almost falling off them. We comprehensively beat a fancied Roscommon side and an extremely fit team faced Donegal. But our team was too busy squabbling with the manager to notice a glorious chance to win an AI to overcome a very nervous Donegal side and a very beatable Dublin side. Of course Jacko the messiah was installed and got cheers for just running up the sideline but we saw what happened later that year. 'Sack OShea' being the standout chant at one of his last games.

Similarly the majority of supporters I spoke to backed getting rid of H&C but I was not one of them. The general view I heard was that they were not up to date with modern training methods despite bringing Dublin to a replay.

The common theme of both McDonald and H&C postings was that both managements were trying to coach an extra bit of steel out of the players and challenging them to get to another level.

Not true that only the county board wanted mickey moran gone. Not a peep of resistance from supporters who wanted Johnno to lead us to the promised land. Johnno reluctantly took the job under pressure when he had a full election workload (too much in hindsight according to the man himself) . The pressure of 2 all consuming roles may eventually have contributed his ill health.

Let's all look forward to the inevitable McStay exit and the inevitable supporter anguish when the recruitment process fails to get the standard of manager that people want. God help him whoever he is.

Apart from the fact that we scored zero two pointers yesterday I also counted 4 infringements of the new rules from us again (1 for 3 back , 3 for dissent/not handing ball back)

Game after game it’s happening .

But that’s not down to coaching .

Zero kick out strategy.

But that’s not down to coaching .

Absolutely no semblance of an attacking strategy. Not taking on long range scores but also not kicking the ball into Aido.

But that’s not down to coaching.

What exactly is being coached ?

I was with McStay all the way bit I can’t defend it anymore.
Hopefully we can nick a Connacht so that he can at least have that to his name as our manager

I'd never say management don't matter. They can add the extra few percent needed. I just think supporters expect them to work miracles with average talent. Who do you think would do a better job with Mayo right now and what level should we be reaching? We are barely inside the top 8 as far as I can see. Who will bring us to top 4?

James Carrs goal may be colouring your view of him. Between injuries and inconsistency I can't remember him nailing down a place under Horan. He has been almost continuously injured since McStay took over and that's my understanding for him not being on the panel. We can't carry an injured player at the expense of another fit player so we can't even judge his confidence levels in that situation.

Mattie is a great lad but being honest I think he got found out a bit after 21. Tyrone had him sussed in the final by blocking his straight line running. Up in Derry in the league he shot the lights out but had acres of space. Didn't get a look in against Kerry in league final.

It's fair to ask questions if it seems a lot 9f players have opted out but who has opted out other than Cillian? Oisin Mullin lost 2 finals with Mayo and then had a family tragedy. I think his decision to go to Oz was hard to turn down after all that. Keegan was 32 and has a young family and indicated he wanted to move on with life.

A lot of other players naturally retired due to age and milage I'd think. But Aidan, Diauid and Durcan are still involved. Hardly a sign of player unrest. But these narratives and rumours develop when supporters aren't happy

I kinda agree about Buckley but mcstay came through a rigorous recruitment process and it was his call.

I'd have no problem with us not kicking 2 pointers if we were able to win kickouts and move the ball inside quickly

"It's fair to ask questions if it seems a lot 9f players have opted out but who has opted out other than Cillian?"

Cillian O'Connor, Padraig O'Hora, Rory Byrne, James Carr, Aaron McDonnell, Conor McStay & Michael Plunkett (Robbie Hennelly an iffy inclusion there given how hard to tried to remain with the squad & just couldn't quite make it work between travel/work/family) were the lads to opt out this year. Fair debate on if a couple might have made it with form or injury, but they opted out before they had a chance to be considered.

With Aidan Orme & Fionn McDonagh lads who opted out the year before.

Many of those are really valid reasons you might as a manager drop a player. Slightly less so explanations for them opting out - though I'm not for a second looking for explanations, simply providing the answer to the question.

Every player (or coach/selector) will have their own reasons and all will be pretty unique, whether they might love or loath a specific management team or setup.

James Carr did a fantastic interview with Cahair O'Kane that touched on his a little, from the horrific injuries he has been plagued with (it's a tough read - https://www.irishnews.com/gaa/theres-probably-a-narrative-out-there-that-that-goal-went-to-that-fellas-head-hes-never-the-same-since-but-you-dont-realise-how-little-that-impacted-mayos-james-carr-on-football-family-and-farming-7HXLNVIOZRCJRN3SWJKZ64DUEM/ - the poor lad has been through the wringer on multiple occasions) to just not enjoying his football any more (where the injuries possibly a part of that or stuff like the negativity from frustrated fans/social which can never be easy in the limelight the way they are. It got horrid at times post '21. Potentially way more a factor than any management).

I'd be one of those that'd never question any player making the right choice for themselves, their health, their family or their happiness. With the likes of James or Cillian it's just great we have so many wonderful memories of them on the grass to look back on, and hopefully plenty more to be made. Whether that's with Mayo, Ardagh, Ballintubber or in the future for them on the line.

was Joe brolly right?

Pat Spillane on Mayo v Sligo

 "For the second weekend in a row, I wasn’t impressed by them.

And to be brutally honest, if there isn’t major improvement, there will be no Sam Maguire heading to Mayo this year.

So what did I see as the issues? Defensively, they are very passive at times and not getting tackles in. They conceded 1-18 to Kerry in the league final, but last weekend they conceded 2-17 against a Sligo team from Division 3. Even though Sligo have a very capable forward line, that’s not pretty reading for Mayo.

Matthew Ruane, a revelation for much of the league, has been very poor in the last two games. Ryan O’Donoghue is one of the game’s top forwards and a real threat. But when he struggles, Mayo struggle. One point from play against Kerry. And last Sunday, after scoring a goal after six minutes, he failed to score from play again.

But it’s the forward play that is the Achilles heel. I don’t see a plan or a pattern to their play. There is no tempo to their game, no energy. And a lot of the play is individualistic.

I reckon they had six or seven goal chances last Sunday and should have scored more.

Everything good I wrote about Donegal, the support running and quick hands, there was none of that with Mayo."

Eamon Fitzmaurice very impressed with Galway,the variety in their play really impressed him. Peter Canavan "Galway ticked all the boxes,the most impressive team last weekend" "Mike Quirke

A statement win. Galway cruised to a nine-point triumph in the Connacht semi-final against Roscommon.

For former Kerry footballer and coach Mike Quirke, there were so many signs of strength in Salthill.

“Galway to me looked so impressive,” he said, speaking on the Irish Examiner’s Gaelic football podcast.

“If you are looking at potential All-Ireland winners, obviously they have been in the mix for the last number of years, I just thought they just looked so impressive yesterday." Mayo have a mountain to climb on Sunday week.