Mayo GAA Discussion Thread

NabyLadistheman

Seems to me Aiden O'Shea is taking a hell of a lot of flack. Id love to know the stats on how many possessions he had during the match as Id say it was the highest of our players. His defensive work was second to none (I can think of at least 2 great tackles & numorous hits) If this match was in Croke Park we'd have battered Roscommon.

We played Tyrone last year in the league in Castlebar and they played 13 men behind the ball. We spent 65 minutes trying to figure out how to break them down. We were clueless and kept hitting hopeful balls into a full-forward line which was swamped. Eventually Zippy made a line break and he got a goal. Last Sunday was very similar. We could not figure out how to break them down. Our shooting was off and tied in with the conditions we nearly blew it.

But that's the crux in all of this. We didn't. We dug it out and got the win and in all my years following Mayo there are many a time we would not have got there in the finish. Keegan had in his worst game in a Mayo shirt. McLoughlin seems to be putting last year behind him and is getting back into form. We have Gibbons to come back. I believe there are a lot of positives for us to take from this game.

Tactically I would like management to come up with some sort of plan to counter the blanket defence. You can be sure Sligo / Galway will take the same approach

ultrapercy

ColeTrain wrote: »

You're as optimistic as ever purse.

Aidan O'Shea received an All-Star last year.

As for the forwards only being capable of reaching a final with"a favorable draw", haven't Mayo knocked out the winners 3 years straight? I wouldn't call playing the holders on route to the final as being "favourable".

Drawing the defending Champions at the QF stage IS a favourable draw, as that seems to be the point when second season syndrome takes a fatal hold. Everyone got carried away last year with a facile win over Donegal, who were a hollowed out shell of the team that won the AI. Im not critical of the players, of course you need quality to reach the final twice in a row but its a major step up to win it. Mayo work twice as hard for every score than other teams of the same level do.Lack of a free scoring forward has cost Mayo for decades now, the county doesnt seem to produce them. As for AOS it seems to me it would be very easy to get him to the fitness level required.He is an athletic lad, its just he isnt conditioned to run or jump and keep ticking over for 70 mins.

NabyLadistheman

ultrapercy wrote: »

Drawing the defending Champions at the QF stage IS a favourable draw, as that seems to be the point when second season syndrome takes a fatal hold. Everyone got carried away last year with a facile win over Donegal, who were a hollowed out shell of the team that won the AI. Im not critical of the players, of course you need quality to reach the final twice in a row but its a major step up to win it. Mayo work twice as hard for every score than other teams of the same level do.Lack of a free scoring forward has cost Mayo for decades now, the county doesnt seem to produce them. As for AOS it seems to me it would be very easy to get him to the fitness level required.He is an athletic lad, its just he isnt conditioned to run or jump and keep ticking over for 70 mins.

So reaching the All-Ireland 2 years on the trot is down to a 'favourable draw'? Come off it

GBXI

lorenzo87 wrote: »

I didn't see too many leaders on the pitch in the All-Ireland final last year where Mayo were clearly the better team and completely bottled it.

I assume your on the wind-up but I'm not sure because it's not that clever. But 90% of your posts are horse-****e.

ultrapercy

Suarezistheman wrote: »

So reaching the All-Ireland 2 years on the trot is down to a 'favourable draw'? Come off it

A favourable draw is a huge factor for sure. If Mayo had to compete in any of the other 3 provinces it would without any doubt be more difficult for them. Mayo were sluggish and off form in the Connaught final last year against London but got away with it easily because the opposition was not worthy of that stage. Had that been a final in another province they may not have been so fortunate. Having a cake walk tru the province to a seeded QF draw is a definite advantage. Raching 2 finals in a row from Ulster Munster or Lienster would be a much more difficult feat.

ultrapercy

GBXI wrote: »

I assume your on the wind-up but I'm not sure because it's not that clever. But 90% of your posts are horse-****e.

Seems more lie an astute observation than a wind up, to me. Reality does not seem to sit well with many Mayo supporters but thats the nature of support I suppose, eternal optimism.

GBXI

ultrapercy wrote: »

Seems more lie an astute observation than a wind up, to me. Reality does not seem to sit well with many Mayo supporters but thats the nature of support I suppose, eternal optimism.

What reality is that you speak of? Lack of leaders? No decent commentator worth their salt has ever accused this Mayo team of lacking leaders, it's packed full of leaders. Bottling an AI? Nope, same again. Widely agreed that the better team on the day won and that Mayo lacked scores from play, the likes of which Dublin got the little bit easier. But that would actually be sensible analysis, rather than clichéd, inaccurate rubbish.

Defiler Of The Coffin

ultrapercy wrote: »

Seems more lie an astute observation than a wind up, to me. Reality does not seem to sit well with many Mayo supporters but thats the nature of support I suppose, eternal optimism.

I don't know what reality you are occupying but I don't see many people in here saying that Mayo are definitely going to win an All-Ireland. As far as I can tell the commentary is reasonable and Mayo's problems have been well noted. It doesn't take a genius to come in here and declare that Mayo are rubbish and won't win anything. Do you think Mayo should just crawl into a cave and die, would you be happy then?

As for astute observations, I've yet to see anything from you in here that could be labelled as such, your comments about Connacht teams in the league and the remarks about lack of star quality in the midfield and forwards are prime examples.

Defiler Of The Coffin

ultrapercy wrote: »

Raching 2 finals in a row from Ulster Munster or Lienster would be a much more difficult feat.

Dublin have blitzed their way through Leinster since 2005 and no team outside of Cork and Kerry have won Munster since 1992. Yet Connacht has had four different winners since 2007. So it's not as clear cut as Mayo simply strolling into the finals year in year out.

The Championship is what it is, arguing about it is simply straying into 'If my Auntie had balls' territory.

yop

I see we have our usual flood of post Mayo match experts in here again since Sunday. Busy day in the pub going by some of the sh(Te that is been posted here. All be gone by Wednesday like a New Years resolution.

Gary Neville

I think it's great for Mayo to be flying a bit under the radar. No one expects Dublin to be beaten and Mayo are back out to joint 2nd favourites (6/1 with Cork) - P Power.

Cork were in a similar position in 2010 (We'd lost finals in 2007 & 2009 and a semi replay in 2008) There was big ? marks over our mental resolve and we only scraped through a qualifier v Limerick after extra time. Cork only played for 10 minutes in the semi v Dublin and were helped by the latter's implosion. Cork stumbled accross the line winning by a point against an average Div 2 side - Down in the final.

Mayo now have the experience in players and management and it looks perfectly set up for them IMO. Gibbons looks a serious MF'er and Barry Moran can do a job for a half (is he injured too ?) It's whether you consider the glass half empty - Rossies at home had little to lose and it took a lot of character to pull that one out of the fire. Delighted for Andy Moran - he came back from an ACL and is a class act. I still remember the '89 final - Mayo Supporters are, by far, the most decent crowd I've ever met at CP - I hope if we (Cork) don't do it that this will be Mayo's year.

I really can't see Cork/Kerry/Tyrone/Donegal having enough to topple Mayo this season so an AI appearance looks on. They'll probably go into the final as massive underdogs v Dublin and Horan will pull off a shock result.

MayoAreMagic

The issue people have with Aidan O'Shea is obvious. They don't like that he has an unusual haircut, they don't like that he goes himself rather than let the ball go to someone else, they don't like that he likes the sound of his own voice in the papers - fair enough. But stop defining his performances on these criteria. It is the same treatment people gave C Ronaldo for years. Eventually, when he wasn't annoying them so much any longer, they accepted he was a serious footballing talent.
The lad can be frustrating at times, and could do with winding his neck in a bit and putting the team higher up on his agenda, but not everything he does is a disaster. He is a top player who on his day is unmarkable. Every team who come up against mayo this year will have dedicated large parts of their training to stopping him, that says a whole lot about how good he is.

lorenzo87

GBXI wrote: »

I assume your on the wind-up but I'm not sure because it's not that clever. But 90% of your posts are horse-****e.

Ok, fair enough, I was just giving my opinion.
The fact remains that Mayo every year have the easiest passage to the All-ireland semi's through Connaught. They get over-hyped every year, they think they are going to win it every year (I know because I live in Mayo and have to listen to it) and for me last year was probably one of the worst All-Irelands that I can remember and Mayo really did bottle a huge opportunity. Real champions win All-Irelands, that is the bottom line. So when Mayo win an All-Ireland, come back to me and then tell me ye have leaders but I think I'll be waiting.

yop

lorenzo87 wrote: »

Ok, fair enough, I was just giving my opinion.
The fact remains that Mayo every year have the easiest passage to the All-ireland semi's through Connaught. They get over-hyped every year, they think they are going to win it every year (I know because I live in Mayo and have to listen to it) and for me last year was probably one of the worst All-Irelands that I can remember and Mayo really did bottle a huge opportunity. Real champions win All-Irelands, that is the bottom line. So when Mayo win an All-Ireland, come back to me and then tell me ye have leaders but I think I'll be waiting.

Your from Limerick and you call us bottlers..... :rolleyes:

Mayo didn't bottle it last year, ask anyone who knows about football.

Shady Tady

yop wrote: »

Your from Limerick and you call us bottlers..... :rolleyes:

Mayo didn't bottle it last year, ask anyone who knows about football.

Christ yer at it again! Ye never cease to amaze, talking about winning the all Ireland in June and nothing won since 52

yop

Shady Tady wrote: »

Christ yer at it again! Ye never cease to amaze, talking about winning the all Ireland in June and nothing won since 52

Highlight where in any of my posts I mentioned winning an All-Ireland?

Are you telling me the Dublin panel are not aiming to win the All-Ireland this year.

Defiler Of The Coffin

lorenzo87 wrote: »

Ok, fair enough, I was just giving my opinion.
The fact remains that Mayo every year have the easiest passage to the All-ireland semi's through Connaught. They get over-hyped every year, they think they are going to win it every year (I know because I live in Mayo and have to listen to it) and for me last year was probably one of the worst All-Irelands that I can remember and Mayo really did bottle a huge opportunity. Real champions win All-Irelands, that is the bottom line. So when Mayo win an All-Ireland, come back to me and then tell me ye have leaders but I think I'll be waiting.

That's a good straw-man you've built there. I gave you two examples of leadership a few posts above and you chose to ignore them. Leaders don't just appear in teams after all All-Irelands are won.

Anyway, you've hit quite a few of the buzz-words for the usual WUMs that show up in here, so why waste any more time.

Shady Tady

yop wrote: »

Highlight where in any of my posts I mentioned winning an All-Ireland?

Are you telling me the Dublin panel are not aiming to win the All-Ireland this year.

They are double all Ireland champions, they have achieved it, mayo are 6 points short of Dublin

ColeTrain

Shady Tady wrote: »

Christ yer at it again! Ye never cease to amaze, talking about winning the all Ireland in June and nothing won since 52

Who was talking about winning the All-Ireland

All I can see is a few posters giving a little praise to the team.

Playing away to your rival in poor conditions, when you haven't being playing well, with ten minutes left and 3 points down, to come out with a win in that situation does deserve some credit.

ColeTrain

ultrapercy wrote: »

A favourable draw is a huge factor for sure. If Mayo had to compete in any of the other 3 provinces it would without any doubt be more difficult for them. Mayo were sluggish and off form in the Connaught final last year against London but got away with it easily because the opposition was not worthy of that stage. Had that been a final in another province they may not have been so fortunate. Having a cake walk tru the province to a seeded QF draw is a definite advantage. Raching 2 finals in a row from Ulster Munster or Lienster would be a much more difficult feat.

The bit I highlighted shows you up.

The fact we were playing London was the reason we were in second gear ffs. We only won by about 16 points as well.

ultrapercy

ColeTrain wrote: »

The bit I highlighted shows you up.

The fact we were playing London was the reason we were in second gear ffs. We only won by about 16 points as well.

Shows me up??

ColeTrain

ultrapercy wrote: »

Shows me up??

Yes, for talking nonsense.

lorenzo87

yop wrote: »

Your from Limerick and you call us bottlers..... :rolleyes:

Mayo didn't bottle it last year, ask anyone who knows about football.

Erm, I don't quite know what you mean by that as Limerick have over-achieved in the hurling the past 12 months or so and we are in another Munster final, in a provence where you actually meet good teams.

You were watching a different All-ireland final to what I was watching then, as ye should have been out of sight by half time. I remember Kevin McLoughlin missing two or three sitters in front of the posts that Mary Poppins would have put over.

yop

Shady Tady wrote: »

They are double all Ireland champions, they have achieved it, mayo are 6 points short of Dublin

Double....in what regard? Did we lose by 6 points last year...., we beat them the year before.

lorenzo87 wrote: »

Erm, I don't quite know what you mean by that as Limerick have over-achieved in the hurling the past 12 months or so and we are in another Munster final, in a provence where you actually meet good teams.

You were watching a different All-ireland final to what I was watching then, as ye should have been out of sight by half time. I remember Kevin McLoughlin missing two or three sitters in front of the posts that Mary Poppins would have put over.

Nope, he was on the left hand side and he tried to hit off the outside of his left foot and it fell short, the 2nd was around 30 yards out on the right using his weak right foot.


I leave the discussion until some lads come on who know the games and what they are on about, think you 2 boys are just in for a laugh, and are giving us a great one

lorenzo87

yop wrote: »

Double....in what regard? Did we lose by 6 points last year...., we beat them the year before.



Nope, he was on the left hand side and he tried to hit off the outside of his left foot and it fell short, the 2nd was around 30 yards out on the right using his weak right foot.


I leave the discussion until some lads come on who know the games and what they are on about, think you 2 boys are just in for a laugh, and are giving us a great one

The only thing worth laughing about in here are the blurry eyed Mayo fans.
Mayo For Sam.

yop

lorenzo87 wrote: »

The only thing worth laughing about in here are the blurry eyed Mayo fans.
Mayo For Sam.

Nah, we have you figured out. Limerick for... well leaving as in your case Have a nice day in Mayo.

Rawhead

Shady Tady wrote: »

They are double all Ireland champions, they have achieved it, mayo are 6 points short of Dublin

A dub gloating about being a mighty team shows how stupid he really is.
The Dubs are good because;
1. The GAA pumped untold millions into Dublin in the 90's to counteract the growth of soccer and rugby.
2. Dublin has a population 10 times bigger than Mayo.
3. 14 full time coaches
4. Croke Park as home pitch. Come down to the Hyde and see how ye play on that, I can 100% guartantee you won't be scoring double figures on them. Playing all games in Croker is a HUGE advantage.
5. All the players live at home or with in 10 miles of training. None of them travelling up from Blacksod or Macroom for training on a Wednesday.
6. 15 cars from Toyota for the senior panel to use.
7. A bottomless pit of money.

DESPITE ALL THOSE ADVANTAGES YE ONLY BEAT US BY A SINGLE POINT LAST YEAR, DREW WITH US IN THE LEAGUE AND GOT BEATEN BY US IN THE SEMI FINAL THE YEAR BEFORE.

So in reality Dublin are the first professional team in Gaelic games. What Kerry and Kilkenny achieved in the sport is remarkable with their populations and resources, Dublin are just the product of money. The players are a nice bunch of lads and I don't begrudge them anything, but "supporters" ignoring the myriad advantages ye have is ignorance of the highest order.

ColeTrain

Rawhead wrote: »

A dub gloating about being a mighty team shows how stupid he really is.
The Dubs are good because;
1. The GAA pumped untold millions into Dublin in the 90's to counteract the growth of soccer and rugby.
2. Dublin has a population 10 times bigger than Mayo.
3. 14 full time coaches
4. Croke Park as home pitch. Come down to the Hyde and see how ye play on that, I can 100% guartantee you won't be scoring double figures on them. Playing all games in Croker is a HUGE advantage.
5. All the players live at home or with in 10 miles of training. None of them travelling up from Blacksod or Macroom for training on a Wednesday.
6. 15 cars from Toyota for the senior panel to use.
7. A bottomless pit of money.

DESPITE ALL THOSE ADVANTAGES YE ONLY BEAT US BY A SINGLE POINT LAST YEAR, DREW WITH US IN THE LEAGUE AND GOT BEATEN BY US IN THE SEMI FINAL THE YEAR BEFORE.

So in reality Dublin are the first professional team in Gaelic games. What Kerry and Kilkenny achieved in the sport is remarkable with their populations and resources, Dublin are just the product of money. The players are a nice bunch of lads and I don't begrudge them anything, but "supporters" ignoring the myriad advantages ye have is ignorance of the highest order.

A can of worms opened with that post but it's hard to disagree with the facts.

lorenzo87

Rawhead wrote: »

A dub gloating about being a mighty team shows how stupid he really is.
The Dubs are good because;
1. The GAA pumped untold millions into Dublin in the 90's to counteract the growth of soccer and rugby.
2. Dublin has a population 10 times bigger than Mayo.
3. 14 full time coaches
4. Croke Park as home pitch. Come down to the Hyde and see how ye play on that, I can 100% guartantee you won't be scoring double figures on them. Playing all games in Croker is a HUGE advantage.
5. All the players live at home or with in 10 miles of training. None of them travelling up from Blacksod or Macroom for training on a Wednesday.
6. 15 cars from Toyota for the senior panel to use.
7. A bottomless pit of money.

DESPITE ALL THOSE ADVANTAGES YE ONLY BEAT US BY A SINGLE POINT LAST YEAR, DREW WITH US IN THE LEAGUE AND GOT BEATEN BY US IN THE SEMI FINAL THE YEAR BEFORE.

So in reality Dublin are the first professional team in Gaelic games. What Kerry and Kilkenny achieved in the sport is remarkable with their populations and resources, Dublin are just the product of money. The players are a nice bunch of lads and I don't begrudge them anything, but "supporters" ignoring the myriad advantages ye have is ignorance of the highest order.

I agree with every word of that.

Rawhead

ColeTrain wrote: »

A can of worms opened with that post but it's hard to disagree with the facts.

It's the elephant in the room and you can't mention it as your accused of begrudging Dublin or jealousy. They've created a monster in the football and the hurling won't be long behind it. A new piece of exercise kit came out earlier this year costing a few hundred euros, Mayo bought 6/7, Galway, Ross and the other counties bought similar numbers. Dublin bought 200.
People saying Kilkenny dominated the hurling are forgetting that they have a population of 80,000, so it was always going to be a relatively short based thing. Dublin have the population, finances and structures now in place to dominate for years and years. The senior championship in Dublin would be Div 3 level in the national league.

padd b1975

Rawhead wrote: »

People saying Kilkenny dominated the hurling are forgetting that they have a population of 80,000, so it was always going to be a relatively short based thing. Dublin have the population, finances and structures now in place to dominate for years and years. The senior championship in Dublin would be Div 3 level in the national league.

I wouldn't be quite so quick to play the population argument if you look at it a bit closer.

The south side of Dublin have three senior clubs of note,Kilmacud, Thomas Davies and Ballyboden St. Endas.

All three would have a large number of teams but only one (Kilmacud) would be consistently competitive at the highest level.

Northside only have Ballymun and Vincent's who could be described as competitive on a national stage.

In my opinion Dublin's recent dominance has come off the back of well run elite development squads right up along the age groups.
For this to be successful you need money to throw at coaches, facilities and equipment.

Population comes a distant second as a contributing factor.

lorenzo87

I must say the Croke Park argument is a really strong opinion of mine too.
Take Dublin out of Croke Park and let's see how good they are, but the GAA will lose money if they move a game to Hyde or Semple Stadium. The sooner the GAA lose their greed, the better it will be for the game.
I also personally think the Championship layout is terrible for both hurling and football. I would love to see a provincial championship separate to the All-Ireland and then have an open draw for the All-Ireland, with every game up until the Q-F's played at a neutral venue... I love the idea of a first round knockout match between Mayo and Kerry in Semple Stadium and it would also give the smaller counties a chance of getting a string of wins. If they didn't like the open draw idea, they could also do an open seeded structure but for me the layout at the moment is very boring and the back door system detracts from the championship.

ultrapercy

ColeTrain wrote: »

Yes, for talking nonsense.

What nonsense?

Rawhead

padd b1975 wrote: »

I wouldn't be quite so quick to play the population argument if you look at it a bit closer.

The south side of Dublin have three senior clubs of note,Kilmacud, Thomas Davies and Ballyboden St. Endas.

All three would have a large number of teams but only one (Kilmacud) would be consistently competitive at the highest level.

Northside only have Ballymun and Vincent's who could be described as competitive on a national stage.

In my opinion Dublin's recent dominance has come off the back of well run elite development squads right up along the age groups.
For this to be successful you need money to throw at coaches, facilities and equipment.

Population comes a distant second as a contributing factor.

If population matters so little then Ireland should be genuine world cup contenders and in with the USA and China for Olympic medals.
Of course the structures in place in Dublin are massively important , but its the massive populations around these clubs that increase your chances of finding quality players. This isn't the fault of anyone particularly, we are moving from a rural to an urban society, but the fact remains that St Bridget's in Castleknock has a bigger population base than 80% of the counties in Ireland.
What the GAA can change though is giving the dubs home advantage for every game, although with the recent Sky deal I think it's clear that money is now the sole thought in all decisions made in HQ.

SeanJ09

Rawhead wrote: »

A dub gloating about being a mighty team shows how stupid he really is.
The Dubs are good because;
1. The GAA pumped untold millions into Dublin in the 90's to counteract the growth of soccer and rugby.
2. Dublin has a population 10 times bigger than Mayo.
3. 14 full time coaches
4. Croke Park as home pitch. Come down to the Hyde and see how ye play on that, I can 100% guartantee you won't be scoring double figures on them. Playing all games in Croker is a HUGE advantage.
5. All the players live at home or with in 10 miles of training. None of them travelling up from Blacksod or Macroom for training on a Wednesday.
6. 15 cars from Toyota for the senior panel to use.
7. A bottomless pit of money.

DESPITE ALL THOSE ADVANTAGES YE ONLY BEAT US BY A SINGLE POINT LAST YEAR, DREW WITH US IN THE LEAGUE AND GOT BEATEN BY US IN THE SEMI FINAL THE YEAR BEFORE.

So in reality Dublin are the first professional team in Gaelic games. What Kerry and Kilkenny achieved in the sport is remarkable with their populations and resources, Dublin are just the product of money. The players are a nice bunch of lads and I don't begrudge them anything, but "supporters" ignoring the myriad advantages ye have is ignorance of the highest order.

This whole argument about Dublin having an advantage because of a higher population, playing in Croke Park , having greater funding etc is getting tiresome really. No one was complaining about Dublin having all these things when they weren't winning All Irelands. Maybe its the case that long term planning and investment has come to fruition now, and the result is arguably the finest panel of footballers we have seen in a long time. Get over it.

Kalyke

http://www.irishpost.co.uk/sport/why-james-horan-is-this-centurys-best-football-manager

Just noticed its a bit out of date.

seligehgit

lorenzo87 wrote: »

Ok, fair enough, I was just giving my opinion.
The fact remains that Mayo every year have the easiest passage to the All-ireland semi's through Connaught. They get over-hyped every year, they think they are going to win it every year (I know because I live in Mayo and have to listen to it) and for me last year was probably one of the worst All-Irelands that I can remember and Mayo really did bottle a huge opportunity. Real champions win All-Irelands, that is the bottom line. So when Mayo win an All-Ireland, come back to me and then tell me ye have leaders but I think I'll be waiting.

I really do not know where you are coming from,the vast,vast majority of Mayo supporters have entirely realistic expectations re our ability to win an All Ireland on an annual basis.This thread readily illustrates same.We're on the road long enough in our quest to win an All Ireland after such a prolonged famine.

As has been mentioned,what do you outsiders expect us to do?Give up on the quest to win an All Ireland,wave the white flag.Within reason any of the top teams should have winning an All Ireland as an objective.

Detest the gloating and rubbing one's nose in it that some posters appear to relish in.Constructive criticism is always welcomed and many non Mayo posters offer same and fair comment that hurts Mayo supporters to hear.Let's not lose sight of the fact that these lads are amateur players and do not deserve derision.Real supporters will support them through thick and thin.

Rawhead

SeanJ09 wrote: »

This whole argument about Dublin having an advantage because of a higher population, playing in Croke Park , having greater funding etc is getting tiresome really. No one was complaining about Dublin having all these things when they weren't winning All Irelands. Maybe its the case that long term planning and investment has come to fruition now, and the result is arguably the finest panel of footballers we have seen in a long time. Get over it.

So what do we do? Ignore that one team has an outrageous advantage over everyone else and just listen to ignorant bandwagon jumpers of fans who wouldn't know where Parnell park is rave on about having the finest panel of footballers in the history of Gaelic games because of the water from the Liffey.

This wasn't an issue 20 years ago because Dublin wasn't getting a hugely disproportionate amount of money from HQ. The seeds of this problem where sown in the late 80's and early 90's with the success of big Jack and the boys and panic investment by Croke Park.

Croke Park know this is a problem but they are just trying to milk another couple of seasons out of Dublin before people just stop going to see Dublin hammer their team. Watch the attendance figures this year in the Leinster championship, it's already happening. It's one of the most used statements going, but the fact that one of the greatest forwards of our generation has never played championship football outside HQ is truly awful.

GBXI

Rawhead wrote: »

So what do we do? Ignore that one team has an outrageous advantage over everyone else and just listen to ignorant bandwagon jumpers of fans who wouldn't know where Parnell park is rave on about having the finest panel of footballers in the history of Gaelic games because of the water from the Liffey.

This wasn't an issue 20 years ago because Dublin wasn't getting a hugely disproportionate amount of money from HQ. The seeds of this problem where sown in the late 80's and early 90's with the success of big Jack and the boys and panic investment by Croke Park.

Croke Park know this is a problem but they are just trying to milk another couple of seasons out of Dublin before people just stop going to see Dublin hammer their team. Watch the attendance figures this year in the Leinster championship, it's already happening. It's one of the most used statements going, but the fact that one of the greatest forwards of our generation has never played championship football outside HQ is truly awful.

From a Mayo-man, would you give over with the Dublin ranting and raving. It's very questionable as to them getting to play all their Leinster matches in Croke Park but other than that they are the best team because they have an incredible group of players and a good manager at the one time. It's cyclical, like it is in every other single county. In time they will be back down the ladder and someone else will be at the top.

davegrohl48

Thoughts on game looking at what went well and the work ons.
Goalkeeping - kickouts just seemed long n random. Kevin Mc being an aerial option at 5'11"??? Won that ball but strange option.
Full backline - played well n were left unaided for the goal. Left wing unforgiveably wide open.
Half backline - only Boyle performed. As the pace of the All Ireland series moves on each year Vaughans cross country background leaves him short of horse power from a standing start. He is missing a yard of pace surely noticeable in fitness testing at this stage if we're trying to compete with the Dubs, pace over 20 m needs to be top of the list of changes for 2014.
Midfield - AOS should have a 55 min role. Getting sports science on it he's 95kg n has speed n power. What gives though is his ability to sustain that over a full game. He was born for power not endurance. MDMA who he is often measured against is lighter n less powerful. Similar Cian OSullivan/Sean Cavanagh.
Half forward line - Too early for Diarmuid OConnor ... yet again poor physical preparedness by mgmt. He is not physically ready yet so why is he starting? No blame on the player he's being asked too much too early. (Note 19 year old Murtagh of Ros is same age but is naturally more of a beasht of a young fella. He competed with Tom Cunniffe n that tells you all)
COS - won plenty ball but was not playing calm.His debut tthough so thought was decent for a debut. Kicking technique needs work tends to get under the ball rather than kick through it. Skyed one 60m into the air twice.
Jason Doherty was okayish seemed to win some ball but had one innacurate kickpass that was poor.
Full forward line - suffered from lax refereeing. Collins foot trip was an easy black card to spot given that he just missed the ball with first attempt n the ball was well away from him on the blatant and potential to injure trip.
Overall too much sideways n backwards passing. Too inexperienced a half forward line. Far too much attacking into coverage by the half backline. On a note had to be a record for amount of high tackles on one player. Referee did not protect Colm Boyle after the third one it was time to issue a warning. Will watch it again but must have been 7 high tackles? He was on the ground tired from them at the end.

ultrapercy

davegrohl48 wrote: »

Thoughts on game looking at what went well and the work ons.
Goalkeeping - kickouts just seemed long n random. Kevin Mc being an aerial option at 5'11"??? Won that ball but strange option.
Full backline - played well n were left unaided for the goal. Left wing unforgiveably wide open.
Half backline - only Boyle performed. As the pace of the All Ireland series moves on each year Vaughans cross country background leaves him short of horse power from a standing start. He is missing a yard of pace surely noticeable in fitness testing at this stage if we're trying to compete with the Dubs, pace over 20 m needs to be top of the list of changes for 2014.
Midfield - AOS should have a 55 min role. Getting sports science on it he's 95kg n has speed n power. What gives though is his ability to sustain that over a full game. He was born for power not endurance. MDMA who he is often measured against is lighter n less powerful. Similar Cian OSullivan/Sean Cavanagh.
Half forward line - Too early for Diarmuid OConnor ... yet again poor physical preparedness by mgmt. He is not physically ready yet so why is he starting? No blame on the player he's being asked too much too early. (Note 19 year old Murtagh of Ros is same age but is naturally more of a beasht of a young fella. He competed with Tom Cunniffe n that tells you all)
COS - won plenty ball but was not playing calm.His debut tthough so thought was decent for a debut. Kicking technique needs work tends to get under the ball rather than kick through it. Skyed one 60m into the air twice.
Jason Doherty was okayish seemed to win some ball but had one innacurate kickpass that was poor.
Full forward line - suffered from lax refereeing. Collins foot trip was an easy black card to spot given that he just missed the ball with first attempt n the ball was well away from him on the blatant and potential to injure trip.
Overall too much sideways n backwards passing. Too inexperienced a half forward line. Far too much attacking into coverage by the half backline. On a note had to be a record for amount of high tackles on one player. Referee did not protect Colm Boyle after the third one it was time to issue a warning. Will watch it again but must have been 7 high tackles? He was on the ground tired from them at the end.

With regard to AOS, its very easy to increase endurance. He could easily drop 5kg without compromising strength or power. I think there is an over emphasis on upper body strength throughout the game at the moment and that may be a factor in the glut of cruciate injuries that are happening. The same thing happened in the early 90s in soccer. Thats off the topic of AOS who really could use some more old fashioned laps and 3/4 paced runs and less benching. He is a good player and athlete but seems to have been conditioned more for rugby than gaa.

Cosmo Kramer

I thought this was a very good article in relation to the game on Sunday and the position of each team going into it. Roscommon played and lost their All Ireland final on Sunday, we have a long way to go yet just to get into ours.


http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/darragh-%C3%B3-s%C3%A9-mayo-need-to-put-this-tough-day-behind-them-1.1827441?page=1

Darragh O'Se wrote: »

I have sympathy for last year’s beaten finalists because there’s nothing worse than playing a team whose year is all about beating you.

We're there to be shot at in the provincial fixtures and as long as you are still standing after each one there shouldn't be too much to complain about.

GBXI

ultrapercy wrote: »

With regard to AOS, its very easy to increase endurance. He could easily drop 5kg without compromising strength or power. I think there is an over emphasis on upper body strength throughout the game at the moment and that may be a factor in the glut of cruciate injuries that are happening. The same thing happened in the early 90s in soccer. Thats off the topic of AOS who really could use some more old fashioned laps and 3/4 paced runs and less benching. He is a good player and athlete but seems to have been conditioned more for rugby than gaa.

Again, Aidan O'Shea is in no way lacking fitness. Himself and Seamus, along with Boyle covered a huge amount of ground and made any number of tackles. His is probably one of the fittest on the team. He's a massive lad naturally, that is not going to change and it doesn't need to.

Syferus

AOS tries but he is a terrible tackler. Everyone knows you can expose him if you have ball in hand.

davegrohl48

GBXI wrote: »

Again, Aidan O'Shea is in no way lacking fitness. Himself and Seamus, along with Boyle covered a huge amount of ground and made any number of tackles. His is probably one of the fittest on the team. He's a massive lad naturally, that is not going to change and it doesn't need to.

I'd say he's as fit as they'll get him. He looks as lean as I'v seen him but I still think he's built for power naturally. Don't think he's overly developed in the arms upper body. Has the power/weight mainly in legs/hips. He is very fit for his size but look close at his running speed late in games. Noticeably dips.

davegrohl48

GBXI wrote: »

Again, Aidan O'Shea is in no way lacking fitness. Himself and Seamus, along with Boyle covered a huge amount of ground and made any number of tackles. His is probably one of the fittest on the team. He's a massive lad naturally, that is not going to change and it doesn't need to.

I'd say he's as fit as they'll get him. He looks as lean as I'v seen him but I still think he's built for power naturally. Don't think he's overly developed in the arms upper body. Has the power/weight mainly in legs/hips. He is very fit for his size but look close at his running speed late in games. Noticeably dips.

GBXI

Syferus wrote: »

AOS tries but he is a terrible tackler. Everyone knows you can expose him if you have ball in hand.

He's widely regarded as a good tackler.

Syferus

GBXI wrote: »

He's widely regarded as a good tackler.

No he is not.

If the man he's on has any sort of pace AOS will usually get a flailing hand in as the man is passing him by. Unless a player is stupid enough to run into AOS it's very easy to slip by him.

His brother is a far better tackler and even he is encumbered by his size too. Large lads and good tackling don't go hand-in-hand.

GBXI

Syferus wrote: »

No he is not.

If the man he's on has any sort of pace AOS will usually get a flailing hand in as the man his passing him by. Unless a player is stupid enough to run into AOS it's very easy to slip by him.

Well we can go back and forth on this but he is a good tackler. The argument of easily going past him if the player has pace is moot because very few players have the pace. Watch how often O'Shea has been tasked with being the more defensive of the two mid-fielders, and also note how good he is at slowing players down with his size.

davegrohl48

GBXI wrote: »

Well we can go back and forth on this but he is a good tackler. The argument of easily going past him if the player has pace is moot because very few players have the pace. Watch how often O'Shea has been tasked with being the more defensive of the two mid-fielders, and also note how good he is at slowing players down with his size.

He had an outstanding tackle arriving at serious pace last day. He has robbed MDMA several times in 2012. AOS is a huge plus for us with his turnovers that he wins that very few other players have the strength to win. Commonly accepted by media pundits his turnover ability.