Mayo GAA Discussion Thread

yop

SeanJ09 wrote: »

Define Respect.

He's on holidays, don't worry about him

anoh77

I think Sunday could could be a defining game for the Keith Higgins experiment. Firstly, who will get the start at 4, presuming Higgins starts in half forward line? Keane and Harrison have both had indifferent performances in the league, I'm expecting Derry to target our full back line, didnt see their first 15 in action, but i hear they're big and physical. If we come under pressure will Higgins be moved back? I have nothing against Keane or Harrison, but from this league campaign, I just feel that a fit Chris Barrett is a must to allow Higgins play as a forward, otherwise we're weakened too much at the back. Would love one of the other lads to prove me wrong Sunday though.

LadyLucinda

Mayo could easily get to another all Ireland final this year but we won't win it because of the following. We don't have enough out and out forwards.

Keith Higgins- Defender
Andy Moran- Played a lot of his career as a defender, won an all star as a forward but he is a natural defender in my opinion.
Kevin McLoughlin- Not a natural forward
Jason Doherty- A natural forward but can blow hot and cold, like freeman, he is not reliable
Alan Freeman- Plays midfield with his club- Middling at best I think. Very good until he comes up against a quality full back. Rangy but not powerful.
Cillian O Connor- Our main man

GBXI

LadyLucinda wrote: »

Mayo could easily get to another all Ireland final this year but we won't win it because of the following. We don't have enough out and out forwards.

Keith Higgins- Defender
Andy Moran- Played a lot of his career as a defender, won an all star as a forward but he is a natural defender in my opinion.
Kevin McLoughlin- Not a natural forward
Jason Doherty- A natural forward but can blow hot and cold, like freeman, he is not reliable
Alan Freeman- Plays midfield with his club- Middling at best I think. Very good until he comes up against a quality full back. Rangy but not powerful.
Cillian O Connor- Our main man

A prime example of the ****e that crops up on the internet.

Andy Moran - a natural defender? He's a f***ing All Star full forward!

Kevin McLoughlin - not a natural forward? The 1-24 he's scored so far in the league has been very "unnatural" all right

Alan Freeman - middling? He'd start full-forward for nearly every team in the country right now.

LadyLucinda

GBXI wrote: »

A prime example of the ****e that crops up on the internet.

Andy Moran - a natural defender? He's a f***ing All Star full forward!

Kevin McLoughlin - not a natural forward? The 1-24 he's scored so far in the league has been very "unnatural" all right

Alan Freeman - middling? He'd start full-forward for nearly every team in the country right now.

Andy moran played most of his career with Ballagh, Sligo IT and Mayo in defence if my memory serves me correctly. He doesn't have the instinct of a natural forward but can pick a pass which is his best asset at the moment.

Mcloughlin may well have scored that but how much was that from frees? Again doesn't have the natural instinct an inter county forward should possess. A workhorse and very mobile but not a prolific forward by any means.

Freeman plays well when he is given perfect ball and against bad defenses. I hope he proves me wrong but a physical full back would have him in his pocket at ease. We saw this in the Dublin game with Rory O Carroll. No point lumping high ball into this man on a big day in croker against a quality full back.

By the way I hope all these players prove me wrong but I just fear for us in the forward department

GBXI

LadyLucinda wrote: »

Andy moran played most of his career with Ballagh, Sligo IT and Mayo in defence if my memory serves me correctly. He doesn't have the instinct of a natural forward but can pick a pass which is his best asset at the moment.

Mcloughlin may well have scored that but how much was that from frees? Again doesn't have the natural instinct an inter county forward should possess. A workhorse and very mobile but not a prolific forward by any means.

Freeman plays well when he is given perfect ball and against bad defenses. I hope he proves me wrong but a physical full back would have him in his pocket at ease. We saw this in the Dublin game with Rory O Carroll. No point lumping high ball into this man on a big day in croker against a quality full back.

By the way I hope all these players prove me wrong but I just fear for us in the forward department

You're talking ****e. These players have already proved you wrong for many seasons.

Andy played wing-back for Mayo for one season. He's played as a forward in every other season. He's is one of the most natural forwards in the county ffs.

McLoughlin scores as much from play as any other half-forward in Ireland, and probably more. He's probably in the top 4 wing-forwards in Ireland for the last 3 years. Did you not manage to see the goal he scored v Dublin this year or Cork in 2011 AIQF?

Nobody plays well without being given the correct ball. Freeman comfortably had the better of O'Carroll in the final last year before he was subbed. Freeman has proven himself against nearly every top team.

LadyLucinda

We have no class forward who will score you a point or a goal from nothing, if you look back at all teams that have won an all ireland, they all have at least one forward who is a class act. We don't have one, never mind two.

We will be waiting for an All Ireland if we are relying on Moran Mc loughlin and freeman.

statto25

LadyLucinda wrote: »

We have no class forward who will score you a point or a goal from nothing, if you look back at all teams that have won an all ireland, they all have at least one forward who is a class act. We don't have one, never mind two.

We will be waiting for an All Ireland if we are relying on Moran Mc loughlin and freeman.

Cillian O'Connor isn't a "Class Forward"? Seriously?

yop

LadyLucinda wrote: »

Mayo could easily get to another all Ireland final this year but we won't win it because of the following. We don't have enough out and out forwards.

Keith Higgins- Defender
Andy Moran- Played a lot of his career as a defender, won an all star as a forward but he is a natural defender in my opinion.
Kevin McLoughlin- Not a natural forward
Jason Doherty- A natural forward but can blow hot and cold, like freeman, he is not reliable
Alan Freeman- Plays midfield with his club- Middling at best I think. Very good until he comes up against a quality full back. Rangy but not powerful.
Cillian O Connor- Our main man

Ah come on!!
Looks at the league stats! No natural forwards..... So we are the highest scorers in the league and have no forwards!

Total Scorers
A Freeman 4-16 (9f) (one ’45)
K McLoughlin 1-24 (10f)
A Gallagher 0-14 (9f)
C O’Connor 1-11 (6f)
J Doherty 2-4
Mikey Sweeney 2-03
L Keegan 1-06
A Moran 1-03

MaroonAndGreen

I agree on one thing, Cillian O Connor is not a class forward. There are lots of games where all hes offered was free taking

WesternZulu

What standards are people judging a good forward on because it seems that if Mayo forwards don't match up to the Coopers and Brogans of this world then they are good for nothing!

Mayo are probably missing one forward in the class of the two I mentioned above but that shouldn't mean that the others are discredited as they'd walk into every team in the country (bar maybe Dublin, who have an exceptional forward line).

LadyLucinda

yop wrote: »

Ah come on!!
Looks at the league stats! No natural forwards..... So we are the highest scorers in the league and have no forwards!

Total Scorers
A Freeman 4-16 (9f) (one ’45)
K McLoughlin 1-24 (10f)
A Gallagher 0-14 (9f)
C O’Connor 1-11 (6f)
J Doherty 2-4
Mikey Sweeney 2-03
L Keegan 1-06
A Moran 1-03

LEAGUE being the big word there, doing it on the biggest stage in a semi AND all ireland final is where a player earns his reputation

LadyLucinda

statto25 wrote: »

Cillian O'Connor isn't a "Class Forward"? Seriously?

He will be regarded as a top forward if he leads the mayo forward line to All Ireland. He has yet failed to do so. At the moment I think he is very mark able

yop

LadyLucinda wrote: »

LEAGUE being the big word there, doing it on the biggest stage in a semi AND all ireland final is where a player earns his reputation

Ok, so who were the star forwards in the last 4 semi finals which Mayo appeared in then.

yop

LadyLucinda wrote: »

He will be regarded as a top forward if he leads the mayo forward line to All Ireland. He has yet failed to do so. At the moment I think he is very mark able

You'd want to tell that to the players who voted him young player of the year in 2011 and 2012 and an award he would have probably won again in 2013 but for injury....

WesternZulu

LadyLucinda wrote: »

He will be regarded as a top forward if he leads the mayo forward line to All Ireland. He has yet failed to do so. At the moment I think he is very mark able

What young forward would you rate as being better than him?

LadyLucinda

yop wrote: »

Ok, so who were the star forwards in the last 4 semi finals which Mayo appeared in then.

Its all good and well getting to a semi if you don't go on to win them

LadyLucinda

WesternZulu wrote: »

What young forward would you rate as being better than him?

Cillian O Connor is a very good player, I have said that in my first post. However him alone will not win us sam. Has he lost a bit of pace in the last couple of seasons?

yop

LadyLucinda wrote: »

LEAGUE being the big word there, doing it on the biggest stage in a semi AND all ireland final is where a player earns his reputation

LadyLucinda wrote: »

Its all good and well getting to a semi if you don't go on to win them

Ah so you are now contradicting yourself. :rolleyes:

I will ask you again, who were the star forwards in the last 4 semi finals, 2012 and 2013.
Who were the star forwards in the 2012 and 2013 finals.

yop

LadyLucinda wrote: »

Cillian O Connor is a very good player, I have said that in my first post. However him alone will not win us sam. Has he lost a bit of pace in the last couple of seasons?

Well your the expert, you tell us.

I refer again to the league scoring, against the top teams in the country, league or no league. Hence why the teams take it so serious as its a stepping stone to AI success.

WesternZulu

LadyLucinda wrote: »

Its all good and well getting to a semi if you don't go on to win them

What are you on about!
Mayo have a fantastic semi final record...I wouldn't be surprised if it's the best in the country in the last 25 years!

Forwards must be doing something right.

It's like the lazy analysis you always hear on RTE that Mayo have poor forwards.

You'll always hear it before Mayo and Galway games; Galway will always be depicted as having a very good forward line whereas the Mayo lads are typecast as not being able to hit a cows arse with a banjo.

yop

WesternZulu wrote: »

Mayo have a fantastic semi final record...I wouldn't be surprised if it's the best in the country in the last 25 years!

Forwards must be doing something right.

It's like the lazy analysis you always hear on RTE that Mayo have poor forwards.

You'll always hear it before Mayo and Galway games; Galway will be depicted as having a very good forward line whereas the Mayo lads are typecast as not being able to hit a cows arse with a banjo.

And the same as those who use the term bottlers, also know as bar stool pundits.
I think one of them was banned from here this week already.

LadyLucinda

I meant to say that there is no point in winning a semi final if you don't go on and win the final. Listen I'm not here to criticize these players, they are a credit to themselves and us who follow them but I'm just stating the flaws I see in our team. I sure hope I am wrong but this is just how I see the situation at the moment.

On a positive note, I cant see Dublin doing winning it this year and because of this I think its wide open. If we were to get to another final who knows what would happen if we don't give the other team a head start like we have a habit of doing. We are due a bit of luck at this stage so who knows. The players on that mayo panel are gents of the highest caliber and they do truly deserve to get their hands on that elusive medal.

naughto

LadyLucinda wrote: »

I meant to say that there is no point in winning a semi final if you don't go on and win the final. Listen I'm not here to criticize these players, they are a credit to themselves and us who follow them but I'm just stating the flaws I see in our team. I sure hope I am wrong but this is just how I see the situation at the moment.

On a positive note, I cant see Dublin doing winning it this year and because of this I think its wide open. If we were to get to another final who knows what would happen if we don't give the other team a head start like we have a habit of doing. We are due a bit of luck at this stage so who knows. The players on that mayo panel are gents of the highest caliber and they do truly deserve to get their hands on that elusive medal.

Dublin if any thing will be stronger this yr than last.

WesternZulu

LadyLucinda wrote: »

I meant to say that there is no point in winning a semi final if you don't go on and win the final. Listen I'm not here to criticize these players, they are a credit to themselves and us who follow them but I'm just stating the flaws I see in our team. I sure hope I am wrong but this is just how I see the situation at the moment.

On a positive note, I cant see Dublin doing winning it this year and because of this I think its wide open. If we were to get to another final who knows what would happen if we don't give the other team a head start like we have a habit of doing. We are due a bit of luck at this stage so who knows. The players on that mayo panel are gents of the highest caliber and they do truly deserve to get their hands on that elusive medal.

Wish is could agree with you on Dublin.

I think they're a shoe-in for the league and championship...they are a long way ahead of everyone else.

yop

LadyLucinda wrote: »

I meant to say that there is no point in winning a semi final if you don't go on and win the final. Listen I'm not here to criticize these players, they are a credit to themselves and us who follow them but I'm just stating the flaws I see in our team. I sure hope I am wrong but this is just how I see the situation at the moment.

On a positive note, I cant see Dublin doing winning it this year and because of this I think its wide open. If we were to get to another final who knows what would happen if we don't give the other team a head start like we have a habit of doing. We are due a bit of luck at this stage so who knows. The players on that mayo panel are gents of the highest caliber and they do truly deserve to get their hands on that elusive medal.

Your back tracking because you can't back up the daft statement you made.
If you don't score in an AI final then you are not good based on what you are saying.
If you take the 2012 final, McFadden and Murphy scored 1-4 a piece, you'd probably label them star forwards.
COC scored 5 points, then I would also label that star forward.

One man won it for Dublin, Brogan score 2-3, well deserved the award of star forward, though COC had 8 points and your defender!, Andy Moran 1-2 who did it in a final, very unlucky to be on the losing side are both star forwards.

I'm all for opinions but when someone comes on making fleeting statements as wide of the mark of yours about players who have proven track records as A Moran, COC and McLoughlin over the last 3 years and Freeman over the last year then I'm afraid its very hard to take them serious.

yop

naughto wrote: »

Dublin if any thing will be stronger this yr than last.

Absolutely, have a strong U21 panel and plenty of players off that are senior.

LadyLucinda

Kerry were the last team to win back to back and I just hope the jacks don't have it in them to do it, they have endless amounts of talent but I just can't see them doing it again

LadyLucinda

yop wrote: »

Your back tracking because you can't back up the daft statement you made.
If you don't score in an AI final then you are not good based on what you are saying.
If you take the 2012 final, McFadden and Murphy scored 1-4 a piece, you'd probably label them star forwards.
COC scored 5 points, then I would also label that star forward.

One man won it for Dublin, Brogan score 2-3, well deserved the award of star forward, though COC had 8 points and your defender!, Andy Moran 1-2 who did it in a final, very unlucky to be on the losing side are both star forwards.

I'm all for opinions but when someone comes on making fleeting statements as wide of the mark of yours about players who have proven track records as A Moran, COC and McLoughlin over the last 3 years and Freeman over the last year then I'm afraid its very hard to take them serious.

In 2012 and 2013 finals what did COC score from play in finals? I'm not saying he is not a qualify player but from open play there is a lot better than him in the country.

Andy did get 1-2 but I'm afraid he is past it now

yop

LadyLucinda wrote: »

In 2012 and 2013 finals what did COC score from play in finals? I'm not saying he is not a qualify player but from open play there is a lot better than him in the country.

Andy did get 1-2 but I'm afraid he is past it now

I know what he scored, so you are suggesting that a free taker who scores 5 points in one AI and 8 in another isn't going to help you win an AI and that you can't be a quality player? So in essence if you only have a good free taker then you won't win an AI?

If you were below in Cork last year in the last game of the season where COC scored 2 of the best points out of his hands you will see. If that isn't quality then I'm afraid.

davegrohl48

LadyLucinda wrote: »

Kerry were the last team to win back to back and I just hope the jacks don't have it in them to do it, they have endless amounts of talent but I just can't see them doing it again

The current Dublin forward line pick. The best pick of forwards in the country by a mile:
Likely first 6:
10. Diarmuid Connolly (All star, in form in league)
11. Alan Brogan (All star, in form in league)
12. Paul Flynn (All star, finding form yet)
13. Bernard Brogan (All star, starting back)
14. Kevin McManamon (In best form of his career in league)
15. Cormac Costello (Pacey U21, in form in league)

First 4 Subs:
Eoin OGara (In best form of his career in league)
Dean Rock (Accurate physical player)
Paul Mannion (Pacey good player)
Paddy Andrews (Experienced good player)

Finally they are at the top end of fitness and have a smart coach.

Playing Dublin your only hope is to beat them at midfield and get advantageous ball to your full forward. When we played them we achieved the first part and failed terribly on the second part.

They're far too fit to beat in a running game and you'd be too open at the back to their forwards.

LadyLucinda

yop wrote: »

I know what he scored, so you are suggesting that a free taker who scores 5 points in one AI and 8 in another isn't going to help you win an AI and that you can't be a quality player? So in essence if you only have a good free taker then you won't win an AI?

If you were below in Cork last year in the last game of the season where COC scored 2 of the best points out of his hands you will see. If that isn't quality then I'm afraid.

I never said he isn't a quality player or wasn't going to help win an all ireland. All I'm saying is that he's not going to do it on his own. Its all well and good doing it BELOW in Cork but HQ in September is the place to be doing it

WesternZulu

LadyLucinda wrote: »

I never said he isn't a quality player or wasn't going to help win an all ireland. All I'm saying is that he's not going to do it on his own. Its all well and good doing it BELOW in Cork but HQ in September is the place to be doing it

It's like the line peddled about at Messi in jest sometimes of ''yes he's good but would he be able to do it on a cold and wet Tuesday night in Stoke''

Hard to please some people.

yop

LadyLucinda wrote: »

I never said he isn't a quality player or wasn't going to help win an all ireland. All I'm saying is that he's not going to do it on his own. Its all well and good doing it BELOW in Cork but HQ in September is the place to be doing it

Well he has done it in HQ, scored 13 points over 2 AI finals. Free takers are just as important as those from play. There are few who can say they have achieved that.
Top scorer in the 2011 AI final was Stephen Cluxton, 6 scores, all from placed balls.

SeanJ09

LadyLucinda wrote: »

Cillian O Connor is a very good player, I have said that in my first post. However him alone will not win us sam. Has he lost a bit of pace in the last couple of seasons?

Has he lost his pace in the last couple of seasons? The guy only made his debut in 2011.

harpsman

yop wrote: »

Your back tracking because you can't back up the daft statement you made.
If you don't score in an AI final then you are not good based on what you are saying.
If you take the 2012 final, McFadden and Murphy scored 1-4 a piece, you'd probably label them star forwards.
COC scored 5 points, then I would also label that star forward.

One man won it for Dublin, Brogan score 2-3, well deserved the award of star forward, though COC had 8 points and your defender!, Andy Moran 1-2 who did it in a final, very unlucky to be on the losing side are both star forwards.

I'm all for opinions but when someone comes on making fleeting statements as wide of the mark of yours about players who have proven track records as A Moran, COC and McLoughlin over the last 3 years and Freeman over the last year then I'm afraid its very hard to take them serious.

COCs points were all from frees-hes played in 2 AIFs and failed to score from play in both,and his impact from general play was negligible,and he missed a few very scorable frees, and he took about 6 minutes to kick 2 13 yd frees when you were running out of time,and hes a TOP CLASS forward according to you.
But hes still young and has potential and is generally good from dead balls, but I dont think he ll ever be a top class forward.
Somebody asked what young player is better-for me james o donohue, kilkenny and mannion, maybe paddy mc brearty to name a few.

harpsman

yop wrote: »

Ah come on!!
Looks at the league stats! No natural forwards..... So we are the highest scorers in the league and have no forwards!

Total Scorers
A Freeman 4-16 (9f) (one ’45)
K McLoughlin 1-24 (10f)
A Gallagher 0-14 (9f)
C O’Connor 1-11 (6f)
J Doherty 2-4
Mikey Sweeney 2-03
L Keegan 1-06
A Moran 1-03

Thats all well and good but in the 2nd half of the alll ireland final last year the attack was clueless,what maybe one score from play?

Defiler Of The Coffin

harpsman wrote: »

Thats all well and good but in the 2nd half of the alll ireland final last year the attack was clueless,what maybe one score from play?

Last year's AIF is history. Mayo are in a far better position now than they were this time last year. I expect a win against Derry on Sunday but it will require a complete performance and not the patchiness we've seen in every game so far. The league is a realistic goal with Mayo's championship not beginning in earnest until June. The team have a major few weeks ahead of them and injuries aside they should be well able to put in a good showing.

Fr Tod Umptious

harpsman wrote: »

Thats all well and good but in the 2nd half of the alll ireland final last year the attack was clueless,what maybe one score from play?

I'm not sure how much any of the stats matter either.
This time last year Mayo were entering the championship having scored only two goals since the quarter final the previous year, and one of them was from a back.
By the end of the championship they had scored 15.

Fr Tod Umptious

Defiler Of The Coffin wrote: »

Last year's AIF is history. Mayo are in a far better position now than they were this time last year. I expect a win against Derry on Sunday but it will require a complete performance and not the patchiness we've seen in every game so far. The league is a realistic goal with Mayo's championship not beginning in earnest until June. The team have a major few weeks ahead of them and injuries aside they should be well able to put in a good showing.

Anything other than complete performances in this and the possible final will keep myself, and others no doubt, wondering if Mayo are physically and mentally ready for another crack at an All Ireland in 2014

harpsman

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

I'm not sure how much any of the stats matter either.
This time last year Mayo were entering the championship having scored only two goals since the quarter final the previous year, and one of them was from a back.
By the end of the championship they had scored 15.

I suppose my concern would be can they improve as an attacking unit, because while their athleticism will allow them to rack up big scores when theyre completely dominant do they have the skills to engineer the scores when they come up against a form team in the latter stages of the championship? They didnt in the finals of 12 and 13.

harpsman

harpsman wrote: »

I suppose my concern would be can they improve as an attacking unit, because while their athleticism will allow them to rack up big scores when theyre completely dominant do they have the skills to engineer the scores when they come up against a form team in the latter stages of the championship? They didnt in the finals of 12 and 13.

I suppose my concern would be can they improve as an attacking unit, because while their athleticism will allow them to rack up big scores when theyre completely dominant do they have the skills to engineer the scores when they come up against a form team in the latter stages of the championship? They didnt in the finals of 12 and 13.

yop

harpsman wrote: »

COCs points were all from frees-hes played in 2 AIFs and failed to score from play in both,and his impact from general play was negligible,and he missed a few very scorable frees, and he took about 6 minutes to kick 2 13 yd frees when you were running out of time,and hes a TOP CLASS forward according to you.
But hes still young and has potential and is generally good from dead balls, but I dont think he ll ever be a top class forward.
Somebody asked what young player is better-for me james o donohue, kilkenny and mannion, maybe paddy mc brearty to name a few.

Not just by me no, note his young player of the year awards in 2011 and 12, voted by his peers, I suppose they are wrong also.
Is that same kilkenny who didn't even score in this year's ai final and was subbed.
Also again mc brearty who didn't score in the 2012 ai final and was subbed.
That would be the same mc brearty who didn't score against us last year while cillian whipped in 3 goals and 4 points.....

Ask meath men who they rate as top class players. I'm sure brian stafford is up there. A man who probably had most his scores from play.
If mayo had won the ai finals in 12 and/or 13 cillian would have got mom in both.
It's short sighted to say just because he didn't score from play he isn't a top class player.
Ask his fellow GAA players, they've already answered that.

Stoner

IMHO while I think that maybe Kilkenny might offer more from play/playmaking than Cillian, other than that I'd rate him very highly, certainly higher than mannion, James O'D is the most dangerous and exciting of the young lads, I think cillians free taking skills are excellent, he was fantastic against Donegal last year. I'd say he'd be pushing for second spot in the young player ranking at the moment, behind the kerryman.

All that said if he gets even better I'd say a cornerback will test his shoulder, hopefully I'm wrong but it does look like a dodgy situation, maybe it is corrected now but for such as young man he's missed a lot of football as a result .

Fr Tod Umptious

harpsman wrote: »

I suppose my concern would be can they improve as an attacking unit, because while their athleticism will allow them to rack up big scores when theyre completely dominant do they have the skills to engineer the scores when they come up against a form team in the latter stages of the championship? They didnt in the finals of 12 and 13.

As I said I'm not sure how much the stats matter, they do not tell the whole story.
For example in the 2013 final the Mayo MOTM from the semi final was off after 20mins replaced by a guy who had seen only a few mins game time all year, and Cillian O Connor was playing with one arm.

From a Mayo POV I'm more concerned with what they have let in during the league, and I hope the return of Cuniffe and hopefully Barrett will sort that out.

Defiler Of The Coffin

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

As I said I'm not sure how much the stats matter, they do not tell the whole story.
For example in the 2013 final the Mayo MOTM from the semi final was off after 20mins replaced by a guy who had seen only a few mins game time all year, and Cillian O Connor was playing with one arm.

From a Mayo POV I'm more concerned with what they have let in during the league, and I hope the return of Cuniffe and hopefully Barrett will sort that out.

I'm seeing a lot of 'when Chris Barrett gets back...' type of posts in Mayo GAA forums, the lad will be under a lot of pressure to perform when he returns. Horan needs to keep his options open at the back. Cunniffe is back already yes?

yop

Defiler Of The Coffin wrote: »

I'm seeing a lot of 'when Chris Barrett gets back...' type of posts in Mayo GAA forums, the lad will be under a lot of pressure to perform when he returns. Horan needs to keep his options open at the back. Cunniffe is back already yes?

Cunniffe played last Sunday. If Horan stops dicking around and plays Higgins where he is meant to it will also tighten us up.

Defiler Of The Coffin

yop wrote: »

Cunniffe played last Sunday. If Horan stops dicking around and plays Higgins where he is meant to it will also tighten us up.

I was trying to avoid mentioning the 'H' word but it always comes up eventually! The backs have been very porous this year, I would say Zippy is needed back now more than ever

Fr Tod Umptious

Defiler Of The Coffin wrote: »

I'm seeing a lot of 'when Chris Barrett gets back...' type of posts in Mayo GAA forums, the lad will be under a lot of pressure to perform when he returns. Horan needs to keep his options open at the back. Cunniffe is back already yes?

yop wrote: »

Cunniffe played last Sunday. If Horan stops dicking around and plays Higgins where he is meant to it will also tighten us up.

I have no idea about what Barrett's status is, I'm just taking the best case scenario that he does recover and will be back to his 2013 form or better.
Of course the return of Higgins to the corner back position fixes that problem instantly, but leaves a hole in the half forward line.
It will be interesting to see where Horan plays Higgins on Sunday.
Yes Cunniffe played last week but a few more games will certainly help his re-integration into the team.

Defiler Of The Coffin

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

I have no idea about what Barrett's status is, I'm just taking the best case scenario that he does recover and will be back to his 2013 form or better.
Of course the return of Higgins to the corner back position fixes that problem instantly, but leaves a hole in the half forward line.
It will be interesting to see where Horan plays Higgins on Sunday.
Yes Cunniffe played last week but a few more games will certainly help his re-integration into the team.

How many more big scores are we to concede though before we accept the experiment hasn't worked? Is Horan banking on Barrett filling the hole left by Higgins? All I'm saying is it's a big ask of the lad and perhaps we need a more imaginative approach to fixing the half forwards e.g. playing Barry Moran up front. I realise that leaves us with a lack of pace there but surely it's better than playing one of the best corner backs in the county out of position, especially one that tends to cover the entirety of the field anyway?