Mayo GAA Discussion Part 2

seligehgit

Opinions on the likelihood of the backroom team staying on?Donie Buckley,Tony McEntee,Sean Carey...Maurice Horan,Barry Solan.Donie has been on board for 5 years plus,long trips from Ennis.McEntee has a nice round trip from Crossmaglen.

PressRun

Wouldn't be surprised if Donie left. Would prefer if he stayed though.

seligehgit

Padkir wrote: »

Are those confirmed? I know that fixtures were announced a couple of weeks back as provisional.

Presuming they are provisional but I can't imagine they'll change.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057647269

LeoB

Well the dust is settling now on what must have been a few torturous days.

Had an interesting chat with a fairly level headed reader of the game this morning. One thing he said which I found interesting was. He met a lot of Mayo people before the game and there was not much buzz about them, they seemed a little flat. Apart from when Keegan scored the goal when the roof near came off Croke park he felt there was a tension, a nervousness among the fans. He felt this could have effected Mayo players. I could understand that feeling and the possibility of how it could effect players. I know from 30+ years being involved with teams tensions or negativity elsewhere can creep in to a group no matter how hard we try to protect them. Any views?

The other thing he said was interesting. He felt that Cluxton had his most important game for Dublin in years. His kick outs were superb be they short or Long. Dublin only lost 2 long kick outs iirc? Nobody expected his kickouts that went long to be so accurate. Because the talk was on the opposite #1 his contribution was somewhat overlooked.

The other points lads made at work were the goalkeeping switch lads got but it just didnt work. But they felt Mayo should have put Boyle or Harrison on Connolly. Keegan had far more to offer to the team by attacking as opposed to defending. What Keegan brings to the overall game very few other do and going forward when Mayo needed it he was or would have been better option.

As time has moved on I feel very sorry for both Keepers. Some of the stuff said about Hennelly is totally wrong. Lads like him are going back to their families, and clubs, back to try and earn a living. Clarke I can understand if he walks away. He got some kick in rocks.

At the end of the day all these lads off both sides are ordinary fellas not getting paid who put their lives on hold for us all to go and see to laud if they win and criticise if they lose. But each and every one of them are great sportsmen, great men every GAA supporter can be proud of them all.

Best of luck to all in the club Championship and roll on 2017

TCDStudent1

LeoB wrote: »

Well the dust is settling now on what must have been a few torturous days.

Had an interesting chat with a fairly level headed reader of the game this morning. One thing he said which I found interesting was. He met a lot of Mayo people before the game and there was not much buzz about them, they seemed a little flat. Apart from when Keegan scored the goal when the roof near came off Croke park he felt there was a tension, a nervousness among the fans. He felt this could have effected Mayo players. I could understand that feeling and the possibility of how it could effect players. I know from 30+ years being involved with teams tensions or negativity elsewhere can creep in to a group no matter how hard we try to protect them. Any views?

The other thing he said was interesting. He felt that Cluxton had his most important game for Dublin in years. His kick outs were superb be they short or Long. Dublin only lost 2 long kick outs iirc? Nobody expected his kickouts that went long to be so accurate. Because the talk was on the opposite #1 his contribution was somewhat overlooked.

The other points lads made at work were the goalkeeping switch lads got but it just didnt work. But they felt Mayo should have put Boyle or Harrison on Connolly. Keegan had far more to offer to the team by attacking as opposed to defending. What Keegan brings to the overall game very few other do and going forward when Mayo needed it he was or would have been better option.

As time has moved on I feel very sorry for both Keepers. Some of the stuff said about Hennelly is totally wrong. Lads like him are going back to their families, and clubs, back to try and earn a living. Clarke I can understand if he walks away. He got some kick in rocks.

At the end of the day all these lads off both sides are ordinary fellas not getting paid who put their lives on hold for us all to go and see to laud if they win and criticise if they lose. But each and every one of them are great sportsmen, great men every GAA supporter can be proud of them all.

Best of luck to all in the club Championship and roll on 2017

Wouldnt have put Harrisson on Connolly but Boyle v Connolly would be an interesting battle. The thing with Boyle though is that he a little more hot-headed and rash than Keegan. Keegan has that little more control in his defending.

mayo.mick

Padkir wrote: »

Are those confirmed? I know that fixtures were announced a couple of weeks back as provisional.

Those are provisional, usually confirmed around the middle of October. If there are changes its usually switch's from Saturday to Sunday or other way around. I'd say our Kerry match will be on the Sunday in Killarney.

happycoach

Hard luck on Sunday guys. Great game. Keep the heads up for next year. Looking forward to seeing ye back in action.

Ascii

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

It will be in Tralee, no lights in Killarney, unless they plan on putting them in this winter

Ah valentines weekend in Tralee...doesn't get better :-) other than a Mayo win of course. Ireland and Italy on in the six nations that Saturday also in Rome.

PARlance

LeoB wrote: »

Well the dust is settling now on what must have been a few torturous days.

Had an interesting chat with a fairly level headed reader of the game this morning. One thing he said which I found interesting was. He met a lot of Mayo people before the game and there was not much buzz about them, they seemed a little flat. Apart from when Keegan scored the goal when the roof near came off Croke park he felt there was a tension, a nervousness among the fans. He felt this could have effected Mayo players. I could understand that feeling and the possibility of how it could effect players. I know from 30+ years being involved with teams tensions or negativity elsewhere can creep in to a group no matter how hard we try to protect them. Any views?

The other thing he said was interesting. He felt that Cluxton had his most important game for Dublin in years. His kick outs were superb be they short or Long. Dublin only lost 2 long kick outs iirc? Nobody expected his kickouts that went long to be so accurate. Because the talk was on the opposite #1 his contribution was somewhat overlooked.

The other points lads made at work were the goalkeeping switch lads got but it just didnt work. But they felt Mayo should have put Boyle or Harrison on Connolly. Keegan had far more to offer to the team by attacking as opposed to defending. What Keegan brings to the overall game very few other do and going forward when Mayo needed it he was or would have been better option.

As time has moved on I feel very sorry for both Keepers. Some of the stuff said about Hennelly is totally wrong. Lads like him are going back to their families, and clubs, back to try and earn a living. Clarke I can understand if he walks away. He got some kick in rocks.

At the end of the day all these lads off both sides are ordinary fellas not getting paid who put their lives on hold for us all to go and see to laud if they win and criticise if they lose. But each and every one of them are great sportsmen, great men every GAA supporter can be proud of them all.

Best of luck to all in the club Championship and roll on 2017

I think there was indeed a nervousness there, in both fans and players. I think that there was a belief that we could match Dublin but a fear that we mightn't be able to kick on and beat them.

Cluxton was excellent, greatly aided by his team and also helped by the fact that we surrendered a lot of his kick outs. There is a logic to allowing them have them and it nearly worked. There was one time in the second half when he came out and punched the ball and that could have went anywhere but it fell to Dublin.

Keegan was the only man for Connolly imo and your friend's point was kinda disproved by Keegan's goal. He was hard done by with the black card and this had a massive impact on us. I definitely wouldn't have put Boyle on him.

Some of the talk of player's ego's / calling the shots is absolutely rubbish. The fact is that Clarke had a real wobble late on in the first game, Hennelly was being warmed up to replace him. Droping Clarke was the wrong call imo but at the very least, they had some reason to consider it. If the players (Aidan seems to be seen as dictator in chief) were calling the shots then Hennelly would never have been dropped early in the season and Connor O'Shea wouldn't have sat out the first game. It's easy to resurface after a defeat and start kicking people when they're down. And anyway, you don't get to be a county player without having a load of self belief, if that manifests as ego then so be it.

I think every squad has senior players that have their say. The problem with us is that as long as we're "losers" they can be singled out as being a problem. Everything changes with a win, if that happened on Saturday people would have applauded them for doing what needed to be done to get an All Ireland. It's a fine line and we continue to be on the wrong side of it.

PressRun

Keegan is most definitely the man for Connolly. He has the measure of him and frequently gets away from him to score. Connolly knows this too which is why he was so eager for Deegan to put him off the last day.

Kalyke

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/comment-it-is-simply-ludicrous-to-question-mayos-bottle-35100559.html
Brilliant article. Many things said that the RTE boys should have said.

jmayo

km79 wrote: »

Are people SERIOUSLY even suggesting Rochford should go?
If so this place is gone worse than I thought

There is only one person around here looking for him to be fired.

Granted they are also looking for a chunk of the players and county board to be sent to a gulag in Bangor Erris as well.

PARlance wrote: »

SO'S was hauled off almost immediately.
The 3 or 4 howlers came in the space of about 6 or 7 mins. You can't expect him to take him off after the first one, he had a decent first half. The second sent warnings and he had a substitute waiting on the line. The implosion happened very quickly and Rochford acted quickly on it imo.

I still think the likes of Gavin or Harte would have acted quicker.

Ascii wrote: »

Let's be realistic, if we had won and Hennelly hadn't given the penalty or the three early points away, we would be praising SR on his tactical master stroke. Why when we loose is everyone so much f**ken smarter and talking about what a crazy decision it was and to get the knives out.

Think back to Mickey Harte in 2008 All Ireland final when Canavan came off apparently injured only to come back on a while later unexpectedly. I guarantee if they had lost that day Harte would have been lauded as a fool for bringing back on someone who appeared injured when there were plenty more bodies open the bench, albeit none as influential. Because they won he was a tactical genius.

The thing is I don't think Canavan ever had a bad game.
Even a half fit Canavan was better than most 100% fit players.
So I don't think it is a fair comparison.
Canavan was one of the best ever.

jmayo

Moo Moo Land wrote: »

Ah here, neither Shackleton nor Crean ever got to the South Pole!

Mayo might and should win an All Ireland.

Don't ever dish Shackleton or Crean.

What they did was far more impressive than reaching the fecking pole.
Even today people with modern technology and aids can't recreate their sea voyage from Elephant Island to South Georgia.
Then when they reached South Georgia they crossed 10,000 foot mountains and glaciers that no one had ever mapped with no climbing gear and in the dark.

When on Scott's Terra Nova Expedition Crean walked 35 miles for 18 hours through a blizzard with no tent or survival equipment with just a few biscuits and a bit of chocolate for food so that his two comrades would be rescued.
One of the men he saved ended up a royal Navy Admiral and he and is family still remember Crean as the reason they are here today.

On the Nimrod Expedition Shackleton was the nearest man ever to the Pole only 122 miles away when he made the brave decision to turn back so that his men would survive.
And survive they did even by himing giving his rations to help some of the worst off.
He never lost a man in his company.

Cartman78

Back at work today….already been through 4 in-depth post-mortems with well-meaning GAA boffins in the office…it’s gonna be a long day.

Getting tired of the “ahh poor aul Mayo” stuff at this stage

Genuine question – did anyone think we actually going to win the game at any stage (or the first match)?

I have to admit I didn’t – as well as we played I never felt we had the ability to push on and pull away from Dublin. Whether this came down to mental strength/attitude etc or just the fact that Dublin had that little bit extra to see it out…

Such a shame – a couple of scores/possessions at key times (eg. when we fought back to pull level, or just edged ahead) could have made all the difference but anytime we were in those situations we had sloppy wides and poor turnovers which handed the initiative back to Dublin.

It’s very small margins either way – hopefully the lads can pick themselves up over the winter and recharge for next year.

As heart-breaking as it was (I’ll never forget the scenes in the stands at full time), they’re an amazing team to follow, how they keep coming back year after year is incredible

PARlance

jmayo wrote: »

I still think the likes of Gavin or Harte would have acted quicker.

I can't bring myself to watch it again but I did watch the first final a few times in the week after and I couldn't really fault him for that. My first impression, and I posted it at the time, was that he didn't mess around at all when taking him off. It was the same with Boyle, he was taken off as soon as he got the yellow but we'll have to agree to disagree.

Fr Tod Umptious

LeoB wrote: »

Well the dust is settling now on what must have been a few torturous days.

Had an interesting chat with a fairly level headed reader of the game this morning. One thing he said which I found interesting was. He met a lot of Mayo people before the game and there was not much buzz about them, they seemed a little flat. Apart from when Keegan scored the goal when the roof near came off Croke park he felt there was a tension, a nervousness among the fans. He felt this could have effected Mayo players. I could understand that feeling and the possibility of how it could effect players. I know from 30+ years being involved with teams tensions or negativity elsewhere can creep in to a group no matter how hard we try to protect them. Any views?

The other thing he said was interesting. He felt that Cluxton had his most important game for Dublin in years. His kick outs were superb be they short or Long. Dublin only lost 2 long kick outs iirc? Nobody expected his kickouts that went long to be so accurate. Because the talk was on the opposite #1 his contribution was somewhat overlooked.

The other points lads made at work were the goalkeeping switch lads got but it just didnt work. But they felt Mayo should have put Boyle or Harrison on Connolly. Keegan had far more to offer to the team by attacking as opposed to defending. What Keegan brings to the overall game very few other do and going forward when Mayo needed it he was or would have been better option.

As time has moved on I feel very sorry for both Keepers. Some of the stuff said about Hennelly is totally wrong. Lads like him are going back to their families, and clubs, back to try and earn a living. Clarke I can understand if he walks away. He got some kick in rocks.

At the end of the day all these lads off both sides are ordinary fellas not getting paid who put their lives on hold for us all to go and see to laud if they win and criticise if they lose. But each and every one of them are great sportsmen, great men every GAA supporter can be proud of them all.

Best of luck to all in the club Championship and roll on 2017

Any views ?
Yes, this is total and utter BS

I’d bet your fairly level headed reader of the game would have told you that too much hype effected the team if there was a buzz around the Mayo fans before the game.

MaroonAndGreen

Galway v Mayo will be a cracker next season

km79

Any update Clarke
No news is good news I hope

Shurimgreat

On the one hand I'm hearing Rochford is a genius for reorganising the team. On the other people are saying a clique among the players are running the show. It would be nice to get to the bottom of it so we don't have a future final where the players are dictating who plays and who doesn't.

Is player power still a big issue? If so we can forget about winning AIs anytime soon.

Westernyelp

The Player Clique thing is utter nonsense

PressRun

Player clique thing seems to be coming primarily from people who have an issue with the players going back to the vote of no confidence and are now using it as a stick to beat them with. If they'd won the final, you wouldn't hear a peep out of this lot. They're coming out of the woodwork now because they think they've somehow been proved right despite there being no evidence to suggest they are.

As for Rochford, I hope he isn't disheartened by one mistake. The only situation in which I would be OK with him not continuing with the job is if he feels like he needs to put his family first right now, which would be understandable. As for players, I would hate to lose Clarke and I would hope he wouldn't make a rash decision while things are still very raw. Everyone should at least take the Christmas before making any big decisions.

The Talking Bread

Shurimgreat wrote: »

On the one hand I'm hearing Rochford is a genius for reorganising the team. On the other people are saying a clique among the players are running the show. It would be nice to get to the bottom of it so we don't have a future final where the players are dictating who plays and who doesn't.

Is player power still a big issue? If so we can forget about winning AIs anytime soon.

The only thing I don't hope is this doesn't apprehend him somewhat taking what seem like big risks or making controversial changes in the future, as the backlash he will get if the next one backfires spectacularly could cost him his job. Hopefully he can take the error on board but not be afraid to weigh things up in the future if he is assured it would be a positive change.
He is a very confident manager and in a county that the management are under a lot of close eyes, hopefully he won't try to be a people pleaser too much to avoid anywhere near the controversy.

The team will need some tweaking next year and if Moran stays on, he probably won't have that full starting season in him. Evan Reagan needs to step up big time next year, they need a forward who can hit 3 or 4, like a Jamie Clarke, from play (Diarmuid O Connor has potential to be that player at 21) and they need to find a solution for Aidan O Shea. Maybe its time for him to play full forward. and not scarter around.

They just never seem to have that killer goalscorer like a McManamon or a JOD or Daragh o Sullivan

Cartman78

The Talking Bread wrote: »

....and they need to find a solution for Aidan O Shea. Maybe its time for him to play full forward. and not scarter around.

They just never seem to have that killer goalscorer like a McManamon or a JOD or Daragh o Sullivan

This has been the problem with Mayo for the last 30 years imho....we've never have the right blend of forwards to put teams to the sword.

re: AOS - I heard a piece of analysis somewhere last week (possibly Oisin McConville on Second Captains) where he said that AOS is playing like a fella who is big for his age at U-16's...taking the ball into contact every time and bulldozing through defenders. I'm sure this worked for him at underage level and maybe even against inferior senior opposition but it simply doesn't work against top teams.

Haileunlikely

Put the goalkeeping issue aside

for me the problem is at the other end of the pitch, we need to be scoring more from play to win these big games
3 points from play is not enough to win this type of game

Fr Tod Umptious

Cartman78 wrote: »

This has been the problem with Mayo for the last 30 years imho....we've never have the right blend of forwards to put teams to the sword.

re: AOS - I heard a piece of analysis somewhere last week (possibly Oisin McConville on Second Captains) where he said that AOS is playing like a fella who is big for his age at U-16's...taking the ball into contact every time and bulldozing through defenders. I'm sure this worked for him at underage level and maybe even against inferior senior opposition but it simply doesn't work against top teams.

Been saying that for years about AOS.

As a minor in 2008 that's what he was doing, ploughing forward with four or five lads hanging off him.

Has never worked at senior.

The Talking Bread

Cartman78 wrote: »

This has been the problem with Mayo for the last 30 years imho....we've never have the right blend of forwards to put teams to the sword.

re: AOS - I heard a piece of analysis somewhere last week (possibly Oisin McConville on Second Captains) where he said that AOS is playing like a fella who is big for his age at U-16's...taking the ball into contact every time and bulldozing through defenders. I'm sure this worked for him at underage level and maybe even against inferior senior opposition but it simply doesn't work against top teams.

Yeah, thats what it was on. McConville got it bang on in his description.


Off topic, Ken Early's Fair View slot is excellent isn't it! Gave me a great uplift yesterday! The man is a legend! He actually has no time for GAA but he has got that dialogue bang on!

Haileunlikely

Got my 20/20 vision now with hindsight

Do you think SR could have freshened it up a bit like Gavin
left Andy Moran, AOS, DOC? on bench to start and come on second half to impact and push us over the line

PhoneMain

Who would have started? Coen? Regan? Conor O'Shea?

Cartman78

Haileunlikely wrote: »

Got my 20/20 vision now with hindsight

Do you think SR could have freshened it up a bit like Gavin
left Andy Moran, AOS, DOC? on bench to start and come on second half to impact and push us over the line

With hindsight, I think you could make a very strong argument for using AOS as an impact sub against a tiring defence - his static bulldozing technique likely to have more affect in that scenario.

Stoner

Cartman78 wrote:

With hindsight, I think you could make a very strong argument for using AOS as an impact sub against a tiring defence - his static bulldozing technique likely to have more affect in that scenario.

It's true, it's been my thinking for him for some time, i was one of the ones that thought he'd be a good 14 but I think I was wrong, he's more MDMA than Michael Murphy.

Really Mayo are not in a Donaghy / Murphy here do we deploy this lad type position. AOS is definitely better running the ball he helped win out the field into others. He'll win more frees further out too.

lukin

An amazing statistic in an article in the Irish Examiner today:http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/columnists/kieran-shannon/the-hard-questions-mayo-must-ask-to-reach-the-summit-424069.html
Until this year's AI final, you had to go back to when James Horan himself was playing in 1996 for the last Mayo starting forward to score a point from play in the second-half of an All-Ireland final. That means in the finals Mayo played in 1997, 2004, 2006, 2012 and 2013 not one of their starting forwards scored a point from play in the second-half. They must have scored a goal (or goals) and one or more of their backs must have scored in the second half and subs might have scored but no starting forward did. I'm not putting it up just to annoy the Mayo people, I just thought it was a remarkable stat.

tacofries

Cartman78 wrote: »

With hindsight, I think you could make a very strong argument for using AOS as an impact sub against a tiring defence - his static bulldozing technique likely to have more affect in that scenario.

I said the before the match and everyone else disagreed! He would have been such a good impact sub in the replay especially since the Dubs would never have expected it!!!

The Talking Bread

tacofries wrote: »

I said the before the match and everyone else disagreed! He would have been such a good impact sub in the replay especially since the Dubs would never have expected it!!!

but what difference would it be if they didn't expect it? Against a team like Dublin, you can't use one of your best players as an impact sub. AOS plays from pillar to post with the same steam and pace and strength. Its not as if he tires late on?

As much as I don't think he is as good as many were expecting him to be, and he hasn't kicked on much in last few seasons, he is not a player you leave on the bench.

Best option is to have him as a runner in the first half and then stick him in full forward in second. Thats the way I'd handle him.

tacofries

The Talking Bread wrote: »

Its not as if he tires late on?


Best option is to have him as a runner in the first half and then stick him in full forward in second. Thats the way I'd handle him.

He may not tire (debatable) but he definitely isn't as energetic as compared to the start of a match.

Either way, he has played basically 70 minutes in every single match and what do we have to show for it? Not one person can say that any of his performances of late have being remarkable although everyone does agree that his potential is huge. Something needs to be changed. For sure if he was brought on as a sub he would have more energy than as if he played the full game. It would also give him a chance to analyse how he could be most effective and not to mention it would mean that mid-match the Dubs would have had to change how they lined out.

charlie14

The Talking Bread wrote: »

but what difference would it be if they didn't expect it? Against a team like Dublin, you can't use one of your best players as an impact sub. AOS plays from pillar to post with the same steam and pace and strength. Its not as if he tires late on?

As much as I don't think he is as good as many were expecting him to be, and he hasn't kicked on much in last few seasons, he is not a player you leave on the bench.

Best option is to have him as a runner in the first half and then stick him in full forward in second. Thats the way I'd handle him.

I`ve felt for some time now that the problem playing AOS at full forward is that he plays the position as if he was in midfield.
In midfield a player winning a ball can charge through players and not be blown up for doing so. At full refs will blow for charging.

Stoner

charlie14 wrote:

I`ve felt for some time now that the problem playing AOS at full forward is that he plays the position as if he was in midfield. In midfield a player winning a ball can charge through players and not be blown up for doing so. At full refs will blow for charging.

Martin McHugh said something similar, said AOS and MDMA were really half forwards attacking midfielders. It's his only position imo. He set up a nice goal from there on Sunday.

The Talking Bread

tacofries wrote: »

He may not tire (debatable) but he definitely isn't as energetic as compared to the start of a match.

Either way, he has played basically 70 minutes in every single match and what do we have to show for it? Not one person can say that any of his performances of late have being remarkable although everyone does agree that his potential is huge. Something needs to be changed. For sure if he was brought on as a sub he would have more energy than as if he played the full game. It would also give him a chance to analyse how he could be most effective and not to mention it would mean that mid-match the Dubs would have had to change how they lined out.

fair points. I still can't envisage him ever being benched in next few seasons, injury/fitness bar, so my line of thinking would be to concentrate on what they can do with him.

LeoB

PARlance wrote: »

I think there was indeed a nervousness there, in both fans and players. I think that there was a belief that we could match Dublin but a fear that we mightn't be able to kick on and beat them.

Cluxton was excellent, greatly aided by his team and also helped by the fact that we surrendered a lot of his kick outs. There is a logic to allowing them have them and it nearly worked. There was one time in the second half when he came out and punched the ball and that could have went anywhere but it fell to Dublin.

Keegan was the only man for Connolly imo and your friend's point was kinda disproved by Keegan's goal. He was hard done by with the black card and this had a massive impact on us. I definitely wouldn't have put Boyle on him.

Some of the talk of player's ego's / calling the shots is absolutely rubbish. The fact is that Clarke had a real wobble late on in the first game, Hennelly was being warmed up to replace him. Droping Clarke was the wrong call imo but at the very least, they had some reason to consider it. If the players (Aidan seems to be seen as dictator in chief) were calling the shots then Hennelly would never have been dropped early in the season and Connor O'Shea wouldn't have sat out the first game. It's easy to resurface after a defeat and start kicking people when they're down. And anyway, you don't get to be a county player without having a load of self belief, if that manifests as ego then so be it.

I think every squad has senior players that have their say. The problem with us is that as long as we're "losers" they can be singled out as being a problem. Everything changes with a win, if that happened on Saturday people would have applauded them for doing what needed to be done to get an All Ireland. It's a fine line and we continue to be on the wrong side of it.

Every keeper needs his team in tune with him but Cluxton on the short kickouts is fairly predictable what I am saying is his value on Saturday was how accurately he kicked the long ones and the possession Dublin won as a result. It was to me anyway surprising how good they were.

On the Keegan marking job I think Mayo give up to much, he (Keegan) is wasted a bit? Maybe Harrison then?

I think you are right that every squad has senior players who have their say in team meetings but that is as far as that goes. I can see a manager taking "advice" from a senior player as who to play but I could see the likes of Andy Moran, Cian O'Sullivan, Aidan O'Mahony being strong links between players and management, having a conversation around who is doing well, who could be an option. It is some task to keep 30+ lads all happy when you only get to play 20 and maybe 23 in a match.

I do hear a lot at work from country lads that county boards interfere quite a bit instead of letting lads get on with the job. I wouldnt believe it all. It would be my opinion if Stephen Richford or any other guy takes a role for say 3 years leave him at it. I cant say I have heard this happening in Dublin but years ago managers of club sides could go to a selector or manager and say will have a look at this player which is fair enough and Im sure it still goes on but I could see a riot if chairman or secretary tried to get involved or influence a selection.

On AOS. I would play him around midfield 3rd mid fielder type role. He is a good ball winner and accurate enough with his passing. Also a big man to get around and would fill a huge amount of space between both 40s.

seligehgit

lukin wrote: »

An amazing statistic in an article in the Irish Examiner today:http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/columnists/kieran-shannon/the-hard-questions-mayo-must-ask-to-reach-the-summit-424069.html
Until this year's AI final, you had to go back to when James Horan himself was playing in 1996 for the last Mayo starting forward to score a point from play in the second-half of an All-Ireland final. That means in the finals Mayo played in 1997, 2004, 2006, 2012 and 2013 not one of their starting forwards scored a point from play in the second-half. They must have scored a goal (or goals) and one or more of their backs must have scored in the second half and subs might have scored but no starting forward did. I'm not putting it up just to annoy the Mayo people, I just thought it was a remarkable stat.

I recall the late great Enda Colleran state on the Sunday Game many moons ago that from one to nine Mayo are the best team in the country.In truth in many ways plus ca change.

In spite of what the begrudgers and gloaters believe I do not believe we are that far away.We pushed one of the finest team's of all time all the way.As has been stated we really need to get the best out of the talent that is Aidan O Shea.Diarmuid O Connor is such a talent but with our current defensive setup in spite of his obvious scoring threat he is operating too far out the field.

Cillian O Connor is only 24 and has a number of years to hone his talent.We've got to unearth one or possibly two more scoring threats of real quality ala Andy Moran who is sadly in the autumn of his career.Until the likes of Conor Loftus,Evan Regan are given a lot more playtime we won't be in a position to assess their worth.

I've great hope for Stephen Coen who I believe performed quite well when called into the fold on Saturday(still haven't watched the match back).

Hoping Liam Irwin,Brian Reape,Shane Nally and Shehroz Akram see some action in the FBD after a strength and conditioning program this winter. It's time to mix it up a bit.

PressRun

Akram is still very young, no? Would he be brought into the fold already?

seligehgit

PressRun wrote: »

Akram is still very young, no? Would he be brought into the fold already?

Yes he is quite young,heck so were Cillian and Diarmuid.:) Even a winter of strength and conditioning and run out in the FBD?

Matthew Ruane warrants a look at too.Great potential.

Although Ger Cafferkey and Jason Gibbons are likely to back next year I'd hope Stephen Rochford would experiment as much as feasible in the FBD and league.

PressRun

Could see him being brought in for S&C next year, most definitely. I believe there were a couple of others from the U21 squad involved with the S&C programme already this year, hopefully being primed for properly getting in the mix next year.

I would like to see experimentation in the league, though I see some people are saying we should have a proper crack at winning the league next year. It won't be possible to do both though, I don't think.

PARlance

Irwin, Ruane & Hall.... jez, I know one or two on here that couldn't handle that. Aido will have questions to answer if he doesn't win Sam after bringing them in.

seligehgit

PARlance wrote: »

Irwin, Ruane & Hall.... jez, I know one or two on here that couldn't handle that. Aido will have questions to answer if he doesn't win Sam after bringing them in.

Forgot about young Michael Hall!

Haileunlikely

PhoneMain wrote: »

Who would have started? Coen? Regan? Conor O'Shea?

Yes exactly, maybe Barry Moran
conor O'Shea looked full of energy

Fr Tod Umptious

Rochforcd eaten alive for one change to the team now there are folks suggesting he did not change it enough, weird.

RobbieRuns

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Rochforcd eaten alive for one change to the team now there are folks suggesting he did not change it enough, weird.

Not weird at all. pretty standard for a team that has lost and being discussed on a board forum. Easy in hindsight for problem solving.

It was a big call, if they lost, which they did Rochford gets lots of stick, if it had gone the other way he was a genius and a master tactician. He knows the score as a manager, comes with the territory.

Haileunlikely

RobbieRuns wrote: »

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Rochforcd eaten alive for one change to the team now there are folks suggesting he did not change it enough, weird.

Not weird at all. pretty standard for a team that has lost and being discussed on a board forum. Easy in hindsight for problem solving.

It was a big call, if they lost, which they did Rochford gets lots of stick, if it had gone the other way he was a genius and a master tactician. He knows the score as a manager, comes with the territory.

Even though Mayo had 2 weeks to recover before the replay, it would have been good to freshen it up
I still think we would have been in the game after 50 mins and this is when you need that final push, big impact
It comes back to squad, we need to have a really competitive squad and use it to the full, hate to compare to the dubs all the time but look who he left on the bench and the impact that made at the end
we need to have someone to challenge in every position, no one's place guaranteed

PARlance

There's an article in The Examiner from Dr. Ed Coughlan with the title: The biggest obstacle between Mayo and glory, their location.

I'm not even going to link the article. The gist of it is that we're at such a disadvantage with our lads working / studing in Dublin as we can't train together as much etc.

The most laughable part is that he highlights Dublin (fair enough to a point) and Kerry (???) as not having that problem. Ideally everyone would be close by, but it's hardly the biggest obstacle ffs. It's not exactly easy or quick to get around Dublin either.

Aren't most of the team fairly close to home anyway?
I don't know all the players jobs / locations but for those that I do, the majority are all well within the county or surrounding counties.

jmayo

PressRun wrote: »

Akram is still very young, no? Would he be brought into the fold already?

This is a bit of a thing often and has also plagued things like the Irish rugby setup.
Talent not age should be the deciding factor.

Look at Waterford hurling senior panel.
They have a rake of under 21s and they have pushed on their development.
Granted a fair few of them are very talented.
Last night the guys on Newstalk were saying it was so noticable how beefed up they were, due to involvement with senior panel, in comparison to the Galway under 21 panel and hence they hammered them.
Clare did it as well.