Mayo GAA Discussion Thread

Fr Tod Umptious · 01-03-2013 12:05PM

manofwisdom wrote: »

You reckon?

If Mayo win Connacht again and reach another All Ireland semi final they will likely face the Ulster champions probably Tyrone or Donegal to be honest i would fancy both of those sides to defeat Mayo. On the other side of the draw Dublin could end up playing Cork or Kerry and going on last year form they will do well to progress past them and reach a final. (remember Donegal had to at their best to beat both Kerry,Cork.).

Yes I reckon

Firstly you are over rating Tyrone. They had a patch from 2003 to 2008 when they won 3 All Irelands but before and since then have just been like 90% of the teams in the country.
People say they are 'rebuilding', as if they are expecting them to come back and challenge for All Irelands on a regular basis again, but they will do very well to 'rebuild' to that level
They are not like Kerry who go through a bad patch every 15-20 years or so and then come back and sweep all before them
Tyrone may beat Donegal and win Ulster but beyond that they are not challengers for the title.

Donegal will be doing well to reproduce the intensity and focus of 2012. It's only natural for a winner to lay off a bit the next year, so unless they make another superhuman effort I do not see them as being the powerhouse they were in 2012
And anyway Mayo's speciality is beating last years winner

Mayo have been building this team since Horan took over, they have improved each year, and the team are still young, but are gaining experience, so there is no reason to see why they cannot keep improving.
They should win Coannught thus making life easier in the All Ireland Series

On the Dublin side I do not think you can take what happened in 2012 as an indicator of 2013.
There was an all Ireland hangover in 2012, I'd expect them to be back stronger in 2013 and having a new manager to impress also helps.

Kerry are on a down-swing and their league form is showing just how seep that down-swing is, and even though I have written them off for the last few years even I am surprised how poor they are this year.
Yes they will have Gooch, Donaghey, Galvin, Declan O' Sullivan back in the summer but that will not be enough to make them contenders.
They have holes in a lot of positions and Fitzmaurice really has to stick with the young guys and face the consequences because not doing so will only prolong the downward spiral

I really don't know about Cork, but I'm not convinced they would beat Dublin in a semi-final.

Therefore Mayo v Dublin final

keane2097 · 01-03-2013 12:18PM

manofwisdom wrote: »

I would say Keith Higgins,Alan Dillion,Andy Moran,Ger Cafferkey are all better players than AOS currently however, O'Shea is younger than all of them and in the years ahead he could be Mayo's most important player.

Ger Cafferkey is somewhat overrated IMO. He's a very decent player but isn't an elite full back for me.

Dillon is overrated as well, again a very solid, occasionally very good player but - All Stars and all their nonsense notwithstanding - wouldn't be in the best five half forwards in the country IMO. Not even Mayo's best half forward to be honest!

The other two are pretty much elite players in their positions. Certainly Higgins is one of the very best corner backs around and can play anywhere really.

Moran is top class or very close to it as well. O'Shea is similar. Is definitely in any discussion about the best around at the moment.

Fr Tod Umptious · 01-03-2013 12:37PM

keane2097 wrote: »

Ger Cafferkey is somewhat overrated IMO. He's a very decent player but isn't an elite full back for me.

Dillon is overrated as well, again a very solid, occasionally very good player but - All Stars and all their nonsense notwithstanding - wouldn't be in the best five half forwards in the country IMO. Not even Mayo's best half forward to be honest!

The other two are pretty much elite players in their positions. Certainly Higgins is one of the very best corner backs around and can play anywhere really.

Moran is top class or very close to it as well. O'Shea is similar. Is definitely in any discussion about the best around at the moment.

Totally agree with you on Dillion, had a great game v Dublin which upped his stock I think, but other than that has been good rather than outstanding.
McLoughlin is the star of the half forward line

keane2097 · 01-03-2013 12:42PM

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Totally agree with you on Dillion, had a great game v Dublin which upped his stock I think, but other than that has been good rather than outstanding.
McLoughlin is the star of the half forward line

McLoughlin is about as underrated as Dillion is over rated by some, I think each of their abilities matches the other's reputation.

In fairness to Dillon, he's been at a good to very good level for a long time, so deserves most of the praise he gets. McLoughlin is not far off the level of Paul Flynn though IMO, who is the outstanding wing forward in the country.

Dubliner28 · 01-03-2013 01:53PM

manofwisdom wrote: »

If he said right now i'm sure he meant the season ahead and not few league games played in February.

You reckon?

If Mayo win Connacht again and reach another All Ireland semi final they will likely face the Ulster champions probably Tyrone or Donegal to be honest i would fancy both of those sides to defeat Mayo. On the other side of the draw Dublin could end up playing Cork or Kerry and going on last year form they will do well to progress past them and reach a final. (remember Donegal had to at their best to beat both Kerry,Cork.)

Would fancy Dublin to beat either Cork or Kerry, at least they wont use cynical tactics and consistent fouling to win games

Defiler Of The Coffin · 01-03-2013 02:38PM

Dubliner28 wrote: »

Would fancy Dublin to beat either Cork or Kerry, at least they wont use cynical tactics and consistent fouling to win games

Is that supposed to be aimed any team in particular?

yop · 01-03-2013 03:47PM

Dubliner28 wrote: »

Would fancy Dublin to beat either Cork or Kerry, at least they wont use cynical tactics and consistent fouling to win games

And what has Donegal got to do with that point? I know the stats showed from their semi that they had more fouls than any of the other 3 teams in the semis.

Then if you are on about Dublin, I presume you weren't born when Rock and Duff and Mullins and Redmond played? They would have put Donegal to shame with their "fouling".

manofwisdom · 01-03-2013 09:49PM

keane2097 wrote: »

Ger Cafferkey is somewhat overrated IMO. He's a very decent player but isn't an elite full back for me.

Dillon is overrated as well, again a very solid, occasionally very good player but - All Stars and all their nonsense notwithstanding - wouldn't be in the best five half forwards in the country IMO. Not even Mayo's best half forward to be honest!

The other two are pretty much elite players in their positions. Certainly Higgins is one of the very best corner backs around and can play anywhere really.

Moran is top class or very close to it as well. O'Shea is similar. Is definitely in any discussion about the best around at the moment.

Who are the current elite full backs then? clearly Cafferkey is underrated with some. Dillion has been performing well for the best part of decade now for club and county a big leader as well. A O'Shea has bit to go before reaching the consistent level of the players i named but of course that's my opinion and some will reckon he's total package already.

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Yes I reckon

Firstly you are over rating Tyrone. They had a patch from 2003 to 2008 when they won 3 All Irelands but before and since then have just been like 90% of the teams in the country.
People say they are 'rebuilding', as if they are expecting them to come back and challenge for All Irelands on a regular basis again, but they will do very well to 'rebuild' to that level
They are not like Kerry who go through a bad patch every 15-20 years or so and then come back and sweep all before them
Tyrone may beat Donegal and win Ulster but beyond that they are not challengers for the title.

Donegal will be doing well to reproduce the intensity and focus of 2012. It's only natural for a winner to lay off a bit the next year, so unless they make another superhuman effort I do not see them as being the powerhouse they were in 2012
And anyway Mayo's speciality is beating last years winner

Mayo have been building this team since Horan took over, they have improved each year, and the team are still young, but are gaining experience, so there is no reason to see why they cannot keep improving.
They should win Coannught thus making life easier in the All Ireland Series

On the Dublin side I do not think you can take what happened in 2012 as an indicator of 2013.
There was an all Ireland hangover in 2012, I'd expect them to be back stronger in 2013 and having a new manager to impress also helps.

Kerry are on a down-swing and their league form is showing just how seep that down-swing is, and even though I have written them off for the last few years even I am surprised how poor they are this year.
Yes they will have Gooch, Donaghey, Galvin, Declan O' Sullivan back in the summer but that will not be enough to make them contenders.
They have holes in a lot of positions and Fitzmaurice really has to stick with the young guys and face the consequences because not doing so will only prolong the downward spiral

I really don't know about Cork, but I'm not convinced they would beat Dublin in a semi-final.

Therefore Mayo v Dublin final

Over rating Tyrone? i don't see them as contender to be honest but if they keep everyone fit their starting 15 is up their with the best. If they can beat Donegal in Ulster i wouldn't put it past them pull off a few wins in Croker. In my opinion Kildare,Mayo,Tyrone are in the same bracket all have good managers,some good players and they can all make themselves difficult to beat however i can't see any of these sides winning the 2013 All Ireland. Life in old dog yet don't rule out Kerry yet and while it hard to judge Cork the same could be said of Dublin. I think most know it best not to judge teams on league form.

Therefore i reckon it's a bold call and we'll see how the season goes..

keane2097 · 01-03-2013 10:04PM

manofwisdom wrote: »

Who are the current elite full backs then? clearly Cafferkey is underrated with some. Dillion has been performing well for the best part of decade now for club and county a big leader as well. A O'Shea has bit to go before reaching the consistent level of the players i named but of course that's my opinion and some will reckon he's total package already.

Kevin Reilly, Neil McGee and of course Mick Foley who is head and shoulders above everyone else in the position.

Cafferkey is a level down with the likes of Rory O'Carroll, Darren Hughes etc. He's a good player.

No complaints about Dillon playing well for a long time, but there's a difference between being consistently good and top class. Dillon isn't top class for me and isn't particularly close to it either.

There's never been any doubt that O'Shea is a super talent. I don't know how much of him you've seen in the Sigerson this year, but for me he has moved his game on to the next level, even while playing a much more defensive game than he's used to for DIT.

When he plays like he played for Mayo in the Connacht final last year he's undeniably first rate, if anything he's been above that level in the Sigerson which is a top quality competition.

manofwisdom wrote: »

Over rating Tyrone? i don't see them as contender to be honest but if they keep everyone fit their starting 15 is up their with the best.

It really isn't!

Defiler Of The Coffin · 01-03-2013 10:32PM

manofwisdom wrote: »

Over rating Tyrone? i don't see them as contender to be honest but if they keep everyone fit their starting 15 is up their with the best. If they can beat Donegal in Ulster i wouldn't put it past them pull off a few wins in Croker. In my opinion Kildare,Mayo,Tyrone are in the same bracket all have good managers,some good players and they can all make themselves difficult to beat however i can't see any of these sides winning the 2013 All Ireland. Life in old dog yet don't rule out Kerry yet and while it hard to judge Cork the same could be said of Dublin. I think most know it best not to judge teams on league form.

Therefore i reckon it's a bold call and we'll see how the season goes..

Donegal rode roughshod over Ulster last year, they made the likes of Tyrone and Down look average although Down didn't help themselves with their tired performance against Mayo in the quarters. I expect Ulster to be a lot more competitive this year with Donegal coming down off the high of last year, even if Tyrone only up their performance slightly on the previous year they will be in with a decent shout of winning Ulster and it's only two games to the final again. They managed to hold it together against Mayo despite going behind so late, Mayo managed a similar feat against Kerry in the league semi-final and being able to sustain that level of intensity was what got them past Dublin last year.

I think you might be a bit premature in ruling out the teams you did above but in fairness the likes of Mayo, Kildare, Tyrone et al will not be seen as serious contenders until they go all the way, in contrast to Dublin who are always seen as contenders no matter what their form is like!

Still, it's shaping up to be one of the most competitive Division 1s in recent times, seriously looking forward to the Mayo match tomorrow!

Fowler87 · 01-03-2013 10:56PM

Agree with keane about O'Shea (who starting to show his undoubted potential to be one of the best midfielders in the country) and Dillon (who is a very good footballer when the team in control but when things aren't going his/team way he can drift out of games too much to become the game changer for his side).

But Ger Caff over the last couple years (since he got his place back in 2011) has the making of becoming the best full back Mayo have had since Cahill. And ok, maybe its too soon to put him in the same bracket as some top full backs around but in another way he deserves the recognition, as Mayo have made the latter stages of AI championship last two years with him as 3. You only have to look at the effect it had on Michael Murphy (who was beasting it) once the (late:() switch was made to mark him in last years final to see the top defender he is. Very consistent and has started this year for county very well too.

blowitupref · 01-03-2013 11:03PM

keane2097 wrote: »

There's never been any doubt that O'Shea is a super talent. I don't know how much of him you've seen in the Sigerson this year, but for me he has moved his game on to the next level, even while playing a much more defensive game than he's used to for DIT.

When he plays like he played for Mayo in the Connacht final last year he's undeniably first rate, if anything he's been above that level in the Sigerson which is a top quality competition.

In fairness while the Sigerson cup is a good competition it's played mostly by players under the age of 23 and guy like O'Shea who has played in All Ireland final will stand out. It think Connacht final is somewhat overstated 21 year old Geraghty was struggling O'Shea steadied the ship along side a very impressive Barry Moran.

seligehgit · 01-03-2013 11:45PM

I can't agree with the general consensus regarding Ger Cafferkey's qualities.He is without doubt one of the best full backs in the country,his general reading of the game and positional sense is very good.Yeah without a doubt he is our best full back since Kevin Cahill.
Keith Higgins is in my opinion our finest footballer although Aidan O Shea is our most important to the team,Kevin McLaughlin a close second.
Re the All Ireland I am shocked at how dismissive people are of The Kingdom's prospects,ditto the Rebels.It is going to a very long and hard road back to the All Ireland final for ourselves.There is the core of a very fine team,young Keane needs to become more secure under the high ball,the half back line with young Keegan back in his best position can prosper.Although Donal Vaughan lack of pace is a big worry.
Our midfield is excellent at ball winning although lacking in pace,wish O Shea would take less out of the ball,quicker delivery required.The real problems continue to lie in the forwards,lacking in depth.Heaven forbid Cillian o Connor,Andy Moran,McLaughlin or Dillon get injured.

MaroonAndGreen · 02-03-2013 10:46AM

Mayo v Dublin tonight..

We have 12 of our 15 that started the All-Ireland final playing tonight.

Dublin missing MacCauley and Bastick so could be light at midfield.

Im predicting a Mayo win tonight.

2/1 is great odds on Mayo!

Fr Tod Umptious · 02-03-2013 01:14PM

MaroonAndGreen wrote: »

Mayo v Dublin tonight..

We have 12 of our 15 that started the All-Ireland final playing tonight.

Dublin missing MacCauley and Bastick so could be light at midfield.

Im predicting a Mayo win tonight.

2/1 is great odds on Mayo!

Two pints would be handy alright after dropping two at home last time.

Seans_Username · 02-03-2013 01:45PM

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Two pints would be handy alright after dropping two at home last time.

Dropping one pint is bad enough, but two??! Another 2 pints would be the last thing you'd need by the sounds of it :pac:

Barlett · 02-03-2013 09:31PM

I think ye cursed Cafferkey tonight lads

ColeTrain · 02-03-2013 09:50PM

Barlett wrote: »

I think ye cursed Cafferkey tonight lads

Cafferkey is usually solid but struggled with Brogans strength and pace tonight.

Right after they got the man sent off it seemed to change the game in their favour. We kicked far too many aimless balls into the forward line instead of trying to use our extra man to work it in. Dublin were very good in the 2nd half, very physical team who will be hard to beat come summer. We passed up some chances at the end too that might have seen us take something but Dublin deserved it tbf.

Doherty, Keegan and Conroy were our best I thought.

MaroonAndGreen · 02-03-2013 09:56PM

Sickened.

Really need a win in our next game

Barlett · 02-03-2013 10:21PM

Well I didn't expect a win tonight anyway although against 14 men it was disappointing the way Mayo faded. Dublin are further along the curve though for the year ahead so I think alot of the problems will be ironed out. Things that weren't present in the game last September were there tonight and that's to be expected in a league game. But I think the two O'Shea's should now be given a run in midfield. Mayo were cleared out at the centre in the first half and I don't think the full backs were given a chance to settle into the game at all.

Doherty is looking very promising and Conroy was solid, hopefully Andy Moran will return the same player that left...I think in the end he is going to be the difference.

Staying in the league should be the primary focus because that game against Galway at Pearse Stadium in May is going to be very tight and a stern test.

paddy no 11 · 02-03-2013 10:53PM

Just before the McM goal, the ref seemed to award a free to vaughan and then threw it in and dub went down and scored. Why did he throw it in?

Utopia Parkway · 02-03-2013 10:53PM

Barlett wrote: »

Staying in the league should be the primary focus because that game against Galway at Pearse Stadium in May is going to be very tight and a stern test.

I know they always say that form goes out the window for Galway v Mayo games but the way Galway are looking at present I'd be shocked if they finished within 4 or 5 points of Mayo.

Always_Running · 02-03-2013 11:20PM

Two of Mayo's best defenders (Cafferkey,Higgins) well beaten by Brogan,McManamon and the experiment of AOS at number 11 didn't work, he didn't fare much better against Dublin's 2nd string midfield. It's only early March better for these things to happen now than in August.

InchicoreDude · 02-03-2013 11:59PM

paddy no 11 wrote: »

Just before the McM goal, the ref seemed to award a free to vaughan and then threw it in and dub went down and scored. Why did he throw it in?

I think it was for Mayo taking the free from the wrong spot (if its the same moment I am remembering).

It was a harsh call but in fairness Mayo should be focussing on their 3 missed goal chances after that! Rather than focussing on 1 dubious refereeing decision!

InchicoreDude · 03-03-2013 12:03AM

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

I know they always say that form goes out the window for Galway v Mayo games but the way Galway are looking at present I'd be shocked if they finished within 4 or 5 points of Mayo.

After seeing Mayo live tonight, I fear Galway could get one of their biggest ever defats from them this year. Lets hope history will play a part and we shall only get beaten by a small amount!

Tonight, I found it strange that when Ger Brennan got sent off, James Horan was up barking instructions at the Mayo players changing things around. He should have let Dublin worry about the sending off and let Mayo continue do what they were doing at the time!

Mayo impressed me but I still think ye are just that 2-3 quality players for an all ireland success.

ColeTrain · 03-03-2013 12:16AM

InchicoreDude wrote: »

Mayo impressed me but I still think ye are just that 2-3 quality players for an all ireland success.

Andy Moran, Alan Dillion and Cillain O'Connor were the 3 quality players absent tonight!

paddy no 11 · 03-03-2013 12:17AM

InchicoreDude wrote: »

I think it was for Mayo taking the free from the wrong spot (if its the same moment I am remembering).

It was a harsh call but in fairness Mayo should be focussing on their 3 missed goal chances after that! Rather than focussing on 1 dubious refereeing decision!

Im from limerick was just wondering not looking for excuses

It did have a big bearing on the game

Dub were worth the win

InchicoreDude · 03-03-2013 12:26AM

ColeTrain wrote: »

Andy Moran, Alan Dillion and Cillain O'Connor were the 3 quality players absent tonight!

hmm, not quite the calibre of player I was referring to!

And strangely enough, I think Mayo have more problems in defence than attack!

InchicoreDude · 03-03-2013 12:32AM

paddy no 11 wrote: »

Im from limerick was just wondering not looking for excuses

It did have a big bearing on the game

Dub were worth the win

Yeah, sorry, heard a Mayo fan moaning about it after as I was walking out.

ColeTrain · 03-03-2013 12:36AM

InchicoreDude wrote: »

hmm, not quite the calibre of player I was referring to!

And strangely enough, I think Mayo have more problems in defence than attack!

The defence were overworked tonight partly because we struggled to hold the ball going forward, something the three players above are good at doing. I agree though the defence didn't look great at times even with the extra man.

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