Mayo GAA Discussion Thread

MaroonAndGreen · 22-09-2012 01:00PM

Good Luck Mayo..

This is the time.

naughto · 22-09-2012 01:43PM

any 1 hear any more on the o shea sage??got my hands on 1 ticket this morning need 1 more and ill be happy

IrishAm · 22-09-2012 02:32PM

Enjoy the day tomorrow, lads. Best of luck. Not the biggest Mayo fan by any means(2006 semi still seems like yesterday!). But I shall be cheering you lot on tomorrow. Seeing my beloved Dubs lift Sam last September was one of the greatest moments of my life.

I sincerely hope you get the pleasure of seeing your boys lift it tomorrow evening. And if you do, enjoy every foooking second of it. Its special.

df1985 · 22-09-2012 11:07PM

Kildare man wishing Mayo all the best tomorrow, if a county deserves it you certainly do.

navigator · 23-09-2012 08:40AM

up Mayo!!!... from Genoa, Italy

picture.php?albumid=2254&pictureid=13998

cgpg5 · 23-09-2012 11:39PM

Still so proud of the lads. Showed great fighting spirit after conceding two early goals. No problems losing to a better team. Truly believe Mayo will land sam in the next three years. Getting closer

Good times ahead I hope

Very enjoyable day in Croker either way tbh

Fr Tod Umptious · 24-09-2012 11:58AM

Ok, well that is another championship season down, and still no All Ireland

This time last year I would have been happy with an All Ireland Final appearance.

Now that I am over the depression of yesterday afternoon I still think that the step up from Semi to final was a good year.

The team are still relatively young, and the final can only help them when it comes to experience.

Andy Moran will hopefully be fit again next year and baring any other injuries they should again be legitimate contenders.

And there are not a hell of a lot of good teams out there, Donegal will not retain the title, Kerry will still be re-building, Cork are slipping down also, Dublin may re-group under a new manager, and Tyrone may be improved but still not real contenders.

Mayo need to sort out their forward though, Doherty, Varley and Freeman are much of a muchness and they either need to develop or new options need to be found.

Looking forward to 2013.

keane2097 · 24-09-2012 12:18PM

Wouldn't be too despondent if I was a Mayo fan this morning. After the semi-final last year ye looked a team still a long way from the top table but the performances in league and championship this year have proven that ye're up there with the best in a very real way now. That's savage progress considering how long James Horan has been at the helm.

Nerves leading to handling errors for the first 15 minutes ultimately cost ye yesterday but in the long term it might not be a bad thing. Dublin completely fell apart this year after winning an AI I think a year or two ahead of schedule for them, the Mayo team are still very much in the early stages of a cycle rather than the late stages and should be galvanised from this year to push on and step up another gear again over the next year or two.

Syferus · 24-09-2012 12:47PM

Horan and Jimmy took over at the same time, this idea that they're at different stages is an illusion. If anything both teams are at exactly the same point of development in terms of their progression and age profile of the teams. Donegal just were the better team yesterday, and by not very much.

The reality is it's very hard to stay at or near the top of the hill for three seasons and I'd be prepared to see a less stellar championship next year if I was a Mayo supporter, if there's a cycle here it's that you may need to go down before you go up again. Depending on the Connacht draw there could be plenty of local rivals very motivated to take their pound of flesh long before August.

keane2097 · 24-09-2012 12:49PM

Syferus wrote: »

Horan and Jimmy took over at the same time, this idea that they're at different stages is an illusion. If anything both teams are at exactly the same point of development in terms of their progression and age profile of the teams. Donegal just were the better team yesterday, and by not very much.

The reality is it's very hard to stay at or near the top of the hill for three seasons and I'd be prepared to see a less stellar championship next year if I was a Mayo supporter, if there's a cycle here it's that you may need to go down before you go up again. Depending on the Connacht draw there could be plenty of local rivals very motivated to take their pound of flesh long before August.

Roscommon for Connacht again next year obv.

24-09-2012 12:54PM

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Mayo need to sort out their forward though, Doherty, Varley and Freeman are much of a muchness and they either need to develop or new options need to be found.

Looking forward to 2013.

Definitely need more forward options, Varley can't be relied upon for frees, Conroy while good at getting frees from his marker is inaccurate from any real distance. O'connor shoud be urged to go for some of these frees from the left.

Horan has to take a lot of blame for yesterday, standing in the Nally stand the size mismatch between Keane and Murphy was clearly visible and was been commented on by a lot of supporters before the match started, Donegal were practicing this exact goal move in the warm up...:eek: And as Martin McCugh said last night they had practiced it all week in training. Game over

Switching O'shea into full forward took the midfielder who was then dominating the game out of play, Moran who has played that position before should of gone there instead with his extra height, with O'shea been used to deliver the ball and remove Doherty who did not contribute. Feeney was excellent in the last two games as sub, its really our full forward line that we are too small and inaccurate from play.

Mayo were the better team for large parts of the game, a small bit of luck or better tactics from Horan and we would have Sam in Castlebar this evening.

tacofries · 24-09-2012 01:09PM

Great match. Very Proud of the lads.

when the hills of donegal came on, i looked up at the sky and cried, thinkin if i only that could be the green and red of mayo.. Will we ever see sam. i hope so next year.

cgpg5 · 24-09-2012 01:11PM

Was it Martin McHugh who thought that Higgins would be more effective for Mayo wearing 6 in a role like Lacey. Hard to know. I'd like to see Vaughan tried at 11 for the league.

10 McL 11 Vaughan 12 Dillon
13 Mort 14 Moran 15 COC

I'd like to see that. Reason for Mort is that he's still probably better than Varley all round and is certainly better at frees which can be crucial. He needs to cop on though definitely but I'd be prepared to give him a chance

24-09-2012 01:20PM

cgpg5 wrote: »

Was it Martin McHugh who thought that Higgins would be more effective for Mayo wearing 6 in a role like Lacey. Hard to know. I'd like to see Vaughan tried at 11 for the league.

10 McL 11 Vaughan 12 Dillon
13 Mort 14 Moran 15 COC

I'd like to see that. Reason for Mort is that he's still probably better than Varley all round and is certainly better at frees which can be crucial. He needs to cop on though definitely but I'd be prepared to give him a chance

Looks a like a forward line with more potential and skill. Excellent point by Gibbons from distance yesterday, Feeney would also be an option for number 11. Could have O'Shea going to number 11 playing as a third midfielder with Gibbons and Moran. We do need to get some height and strength into our full forward line.

McLoughlin has to be Mayo's player of the year. Excellent skills, tackles, shoots, gets the scraps/

Fr Tod Umptious · 24-09-2012 01:22PM

cgpg5 wrote: »

Was it Martin McHugh who thought that Higgins would be more effective for Mayo wearing 6 in a role like Lacey. Hard to know. I'd like to see Vaughan tried at 11 for the league.

10 McL 11 Vaughan 12 Dillon
13 Mort 14 Moran 15 COC

I'd like to see that. Reason for Mort is that he's still probably better than Varley all round and is certainly better at frees which can be crucial. He needs to cop on though definitely but I'd be prepared to give him a chance

Now that the season is over I would hope that Horan and Mortimer could have some sort of coming together on Mortimer's participation in the squad.

Mortimer has to understand that there is only one boss and that is Horan, and Horan has to make it clear to Mortimer what has to be done to get on the team, and Horan has to keep his word on that.
If Mortimer does the work he deserves his place, if not then it's the bench.

I hope they have a meeting of the minds on this, Mortimer is an asset there is no doubt.

Mayo could do with Mortimer and this could be a great chance for Mortimer to claim that elusive winners medal.

cgpg5 · 24-09-2012 01:30PM

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Now that the season is over I would hope that Horan and Mortimer could have some sort of coming together on Mortimer's participation in the squad.

Mortimer has to understand that there is only one boss and that is Horan, and Horan has to make it clear to Mortimer what has to be done to get on the team, and Horan has to keep his word on that.
If Mortimer does the work he deserves his place, if not then it's the bench.

I hope they have a meeting of the minds on this, Mortimer is an asset there is no doubt.

Mayo could do with Mortimer and this could be a great chance for Mortimer to claim that elusive winners medal.

Agree completely. Looking forward to next year already ha. I wouldn't worry too much about the league. It should be used to try new systems/tactics which can be used for champ. Be nice to win it but it shouldn't be too much of a priority.

Connacht is crucial. Mayo are the best team in Connacht by a distance and should win it with little difficulty. No silly slip ups hopefully. A good Connacht and you're in an AI qf against a qualifier. So really and truly Mayo should be making the semis anyway next year and who knows from there

naughto · 24-09-2012 01:36PM

cgpg5 wrote: »

Was it Martin McHugh who thought that Higgins would be more effective for Mayo wearing 6 in a role like Lacey. Hard to know. I'd like to see Vaughan tried at 11 for the league.

10 McL 11 Vaughan 12 Dillon
13 Mort 14 Moran 15 COC

I'd like to see that. Reason for Mort is that he's still probably better than Varley all round and is certainly better at frees which can be crucial. He needs to cop on though definitely but I'd be prepared to give him a chance

i dont want to ever see mort in a mayo shirt again he is not a team player and walked away when he ws not starting so he can stay gone.
the better team won yesterday the game was lost in the first 10mins just like it was in 2006 against kerry.
when i was at the connaught final i though that we would never be in a final let alone have a chance of bringing sam home.
every mayo person is dissapointed to day but we will get over it and build again next yr cos thats what we do.

i see there is a home coming in machale park in the evening i dont no if this is a good idea i think the players should be allowed to spend time with there famailes and friends and no praded around so people can see the.
we are all hurting but not as much as the players are at this point in time

cgpg5 · 24-09-2012 01:43PM

naughto wrote: »

i dont want to ever see mort in a mayo shirt again he is not a team player and walked away when he ws not starting so he can stay gone.
the better team won yesterday the game was lost in the first 10mins just like it was in 2006 against kerry.
when i was at the connaught final i though that we would never be in a final let alone have a chance of bringing sam home.
every mayo person is dissapointed to day but we will get over it and build again next yr cos thats what we do.

i see there is a home coming in machale park in the evening i dont no if this is a good idea i think the players should be allowed to spend time with there famailes and friends and no praded around so people can see the.
we are all hurting but not as much as the players are at this point in time

Yeah, there is no doubt opinions will differ on this! Everyone is entitled to theirs

At the end of the day it is up to Horan and I respect whichever decision he makes

Still, my one issue would be with the left footed free-taker. We could do with Mort for these big time if I'm honest. Varley is a left footed player taking frees, I wouldn't rate him at all as a freetaker. In games like yesterday missing kickable frees is just not an option. Donegal were oh so clinical here. Thought Varley showed poorly yesterday, Mort is much better than him all round anyway imo

Was right behind the Donegal goal in the first half and it was interesting to see Conroy's willingness to make runs and he was very lively. He's a very crucial and underrated player for Mayo imo. O'Connor wasn't showing at all, I was disappointed in him big time

24-09-2012 01:46PM

naughto wrote: »

i see there is a home coming in machale park in the evening i dont no if this is a good idea i think the players should be allowed to spend time with there famailes and friends and no praded around so people can see the.
time

This team did play well for most of the game, are very young, and didn't collapse like teams of the past, they deserve some appreciation for their efforts. It will likely only be from a few hundred children anyway.

naughto wrote: »

i dont want to ever see mort in a mayo shirt again he is not a team player and walked away when he ws not starting so he can stay gone.
time

I can't stand him either, rarely performs on the big day,and has an ego the size of croke park. However i wouldn't mind the devil himself paying for us at this stage if we won an All Ireland. He is probably still better than 3 of our starting forwards yesterday, even if it is only for frees from the left. Give him another chance to redeem himself but if he disrupts the team or management chuck him for good.

24-09-2012 01:48PM

cgpg5 wrote: »

O'Connor wasn't showing at all, I was disappointed in him big time

Only for his frees he would not be playing, he's not contributing anything else. But is still young and has to bulk up yet.

cgpg5 · 24-09-2012 01:50PM

I'd like to see Evan Regan get some game time in the league too, great young player.

Yesterday Mayo were crying out for a ball winner in FF. O'Connor was seriously lacking. I'dve put S. O'Shea in for the day that was in it. However it'll be great to have Andy back next year with the help of God.

If Mayo can take some good lessons from yesterday we can hope for exciting times in the not so distant future

cgpg5 · 24-09-2012 01:52PM

Doherty's capable of the odd great score but drifts out of games too much.

Was very impressed with backs overall. Although I've made my opinions on Vaughan known plenty, he leaves too much space

Will club be on this sat or the following week?

DDC1990 · 24-09-2012 02:04PM

mayomaffia wrote: »

cgpg5 wrote: »

O'Connor wasn't showing at all, I was disappointed in him big time

Only for his frees he would not be playing, he's not contributing anything else. But is still young and has to bulk up yet.

A bit of perspective. Gooch, Donaghy, Donnacha O'Connor, Colm O'Neill were all cleaned out by the McGee brothers.

O'Connor had a great Semi-Final, don't judge him on his performance against the best Fullback pairing in the country. Ball in was shocking also.

I think ye are harsh on the poor lad. He was physically dominated by bigger men on the day.

ChippingSodbury · 24-09-2012 02:07PM

My wife's from Donegal so I had to side with Donegal yesterday. I was really disappointed for Mayo but for the first time in as long as I can remember, they have lots of positives to take from an AI final loss and the experience will only stand to them in the next couple of years.
On the Mortimer issue, looking as an outsider, he's not bad but no player is bigger than the team: anybody willing to leave the panel because he's not starting should never be allowed to come back. It sends the wrong signal to all of the guys who but blood, sweat and tears into their training over the last while if he's brought back in. How big will his head be if he comes back with the attitude "They couldn't win without me last year: if I was there it would have been different".
I know who I'd like on my team when the going gets tough (like it did yesterday) and it's the guys who gave their all in your forward line who will eventually win Sam. Cillian O'Connor is still only a young lad and will improve on the free-taking, Andy Moran would walk onto any team in the country, I don't think you have room for any prima donnas...

FatherTed · 24-09-2012 02:18PM

Commiserations to the Mayo fans on here, ye got off to a bad start but still plugged away. I wonder what would have happened if the referee had given that free instead of letting Donegal get away with it and they go up and score their second goal. Might have been a point for Mayo instead, add that and take away the goal and it's 1-11 to 0-14. As for Conor Mortimor, if he doesn't want to toe the line, let him go. Anthony Cunningham got rid of a few high profile hurlers like Ger Farragher etc, rebuilt the team using younger players and prospects look good. Sometimes you just have to let go of some of these "stars" and start over with players who can get with the plan.

Fr Tod Umptious · 24-09-2012 02:23PM

cgpg5 wrote: »

Agree completely. Looking forward to next year already ha. I wouldn't worry too much about the league. It should be used to try new systems/tactics which can be used for champ. Be nice to win it but it shouldn't be too much of a priority.

Connacht is crucial. Mayo are the best team in Connacht by a distance and should win it with little difficulty. No silly slip ups hopefully. A good Connacht and you're in an AI qf against a qualifier. So really and truly Mayo should be making the semis anyway next year and who knows from there

A good league performance and a place in the league semi-finals (if they still exist) would help in getting game time against better teams.
This year it helped as the Coannught championship had Mayo starting in a SF v Leitrim on 24/06.

I think Mayo will win Coannught again this year, apart from a possible resurgence in Galway the quality is not there.

naughto wrote: »

i see there is a home coming in machale park in the evening i dont no if this is a good idea i think the players should be allowed to spend time with there famailes and friends and no praded around so people can see the.
we are all hurting but not as much as the players are at this point in time

The homecoming is really no harm, the kids will like it and I'd imagine it would be fairly low key.

cgpg5 wrote: »

Was right behind the Donegal goal in the first half and it was interesting to see Conroy's willingness to make runs and he was very lively. He's a very crucial and underrated player for Mayo imo. O'Connor wasn't showing at all, I was disappointed in him big time

Conroy has improved as the season has gone on
He was a real prospect back in '04 but faded in the interim.
I'd love to see him step it up even further for 2013, he is still only 27.
He has to improve his accuracy though.

Himself and Boyle have now lost three national finals in Croke Park in the space of 7 months, that's what it's like when you are from Mayo.

Fowler87 · 24-09-2012 02:23PM

Fantastic year lads even if old wounds are being felt again. We're quick healers at this stage. Positives outweigh the negatives and we've improved immensely in 2 year Horan tenure. So much potential in this Mayo set

LeoB · 24-09-2012 10:00PM

Agree with post above, take the positives out of this game.

I stated a while ago this is the best Mayo team Id seen in over 20 years and nothing has changed my mind. So many outstanding young players who will be around for a while to come and I feel they are definatley good enough to win All-Ireland. A supberb all round team. I was sick when Dublin were knocked at but Mayo were awsome for long spells of each game they played this year. One big decision which saw a 4 point turn around cost them dearly. But that aside this team are well equipped to come back even better than this year. And as a G.A.A supporter I sincerley hope they do.

cgpg5 · 24-09-2012 11:26PM

Just rewatched the game in full. The intensity levels were incredible from the lads. At times, Donegal looked clueless out there on the ball, which was amazing to see after they used it so brilliantly v Kerry and Cork. The lads deserve so much credit for that. The problem was mayo couldn't win quality ball in the forwards and the two McGee's sweeped up brilliantly. Donegal were marginally the better team overall but there are so much positives to take from this.

If the team can keep up this level of intensity they'll be grand. No-one will beat us easy and that is a contrast to a few years ago when we lied down at times. Looking forward to 2013 big time. Early doors but I wouldn't bet against a Mayo-Donegal semi

Audioslaven · 24-09-2012 11:28PM

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Now that the season is over I would hope that Horan and Mortimer could have some sort of coming together on Mortimer's participation in the squad.

Mortimer has to understand that there is only one boss and that is Horan, and Horan has to make it clear to Mortimer what has to be done to get on the team, and Horan has to keep his word on that.
If Mortimer does the work he deserves his place, if not then it's the bench.

I hope they have a meeting of the minds on this, Mortimer is an asset there is no doubt.

Mayo could do with Mortimer and this could be a great chance for Mortimer to claim that elusive winners medal.

Complete rubbish. Mayo do not need mortimer and the media crap around him. He is the big man for the small day and the small man for the big day. He does not give a flying dog b***** about mayo and his team mates. He only cares about himself. Mayo are a better team without him and don't need his type around. I am sure there will be new guys we can bring in to strengthen the team and not revert to his nonsense again.

Mayo GAA Discussion Thread

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