Mayo GAA Discussion

Keegan didnt haul anyone down, he cynically prevented the guy from going forward. A foul, a yellow but no more. Same thing tyrone were doing. He got that yellow by the way...

ohora should have gone alright, but then mccurry is a bigger loss than ohora. His goal also came in the subsequent 10 minutes...

Again i state that im not blaming the ref for losing, im just challenging this narrative that mcquillan done a lot for mayo in the game. Honestly, watch it back, it isnt the case.

As a side note. How a guy can deliberately pick the ball off the ground to prevent a certain goal and not face a sanction beyond a foul shows there is a bigger issue with the rules. I accept that the rules were applied correctly, but bigger picture, that is the sort of thing that black cards should be picking up.

In a previous post you say a Tyrone man shouldve been carded for the O'Hora foul, whereas here you're admitting that he shouldve been off the pitch at the time. Your other point, about someone intentionally stopping a goal by picking the ball off the ground, again that shouldn't have happened at all because it was a square ball due to DOC that wasn't given. It's a set play from a free so he can't enter until after the ball arrives into the square

That's the main two moments of the game from a referee pov, and both wrongly went mayo's way. Obviously you can dispute everything, that's the nature of a subjective refereeing game like Gaelic football. Outside of those incidents though he seemed to do ok

its going to be a long long long week :(

And Horans time is up. If he managed Mayo to another 10 AI finals he'd be given a tactical schooling in each of them. Time to accept he can only bring Mayo so far but will never get them over the line.

"Anyone who didn't perform or "show up" on Saturday needs to be cut from the panel."

Give over, will you.

Should Matthew Ruane be dispensed with for one bad game ?

Should Conor Loftus be thrown on the trash pile ?

Sure get rid of Paddy Durcan too, and that O' Hora fella.

what are you smoking? it must be good

What minute was this McCurry haul down on Keegan you're mentioning? Can't remember it so il go back and take a look

Stating that Donal Vaughan is an all time great is one of the daftest things Ive ever heard. Not even Donal Vaughan thinks that. Lee Keegan is Mayos best ever plalyer by a considerable distance. End of.

What actually is the story with Horan's tenure by the way ?

He has been there 3 season since his return

Was he on a 3 year term ?

Will there be people looking for his head ?

FFS...do you seriously think the guy has a tactical masterclass in him in an AI final?

He's just been undone by two NOVICES at senior managerment level.

How many more sh*tshow finals are you willing to watch from Mayo?

10 more?

People were saying during Horans first tenure he was tactically naive. Against Donegal 2012, Dublin 2013, Kerry 2014. Second tenure hasn't been much better.

We carried about 5 players for most of the final who were left on for most of the game.

We don't have a midfield.

I could outline several more issues but I can tell I'm wasting my time with you.

Clearly you think Horan is God...those who actually understand football know he is not good enough to get Mayo over the line. That has been made clear on numerous occassions.

His time with Mayo football should be done. Time to move on.

If you want Mayo to reach another AI final next year and be embarrassed again, Horan is your man.

If you want something else, then he isn't. Unfortunately some people are content for Mayo to reach and be beaten in finals year in year out because they know no better.

Our performance on Saturday was poor, embarrassingly poor. There is no evidence to point to the fact there is an AI in this manager or the team as it stands.

A mass clearout is required. Can't keep carrying 4 or 5 passengers into a final and hope to win. It won't happen.

I probably should have clarified - anyone with a history of not performing in AI finals should be cut from the panel. We all know who these players are, you could name a few yourself.

Paddy Durcan is a proven performer on the biggest stage, he's always up for the battle, as are nearly all our defenders. There isn't one of our defenders Durcan included I would drop as they are all warriors.

That aside, we had at least 4 luxury players on the field on Saturday, what John O'Mahoney would call "Fancy Dans". They get on the ball a lot, no end product, can't score, can't tackle, no pace or stamina. You can carry 1 luxury player into a final at most, you can't carry 4.

This is basic stuff.

And the buck ALWAYS stops at the manager and selectors.

I can only think of a single player right now that fits your "They get on the ball a lot, no end product, can't score, can't tackle, no pace or stamina."

Just observing here and thought I'd post this comment.

In the lions series when Gatlan dropped O'Driscoll I thought it was a master stroke. It took all the pressure off the team and put it onto the management. He didn't even put O'Driscoll on the bench.

If Horan had to drop O'Shea I think it may have taken a lot of pressure from the players on the field.

They may have felt 'feck this' we have to give it everything or I'm off.

I think that's where Horan wasn't brave enough. Make the tough decision and take the pressure off the team.

Enjoyed the game all the same, just feel mayo need to pull a rabbit out of the hat, WHEN, they get to another final and do something unexpected.

So how you rate our forwards play on Saturday? What do you think forwards should do? Is it acceptable in an AI final that you have at least 3 forwards who can't shoot, score, tackle, or with little vision or composure on front of goals? And that the same players have been the same in every final they played in?

The ability to score would be the first on my list. Composure next. Vision. pace, movement, and in the modern game the ability to tackle and stop your opponents defenders coming out with the ball.

How many of our forwards ticked most of those boxes?

For most of the game I saw Tyrone half backs in particular waltzing out with barely a hand laid on them because certain (older) players dont have the physicality or pace to do anything about it.

How many players were we carrying on Saturday?

Do you think selection was all over the place? And Tyrone had a field day against our tactics.

And we tried to go through a championship season with only one recognised midfielder and no-one to come off the bench in that crucial area.

Our final performance was a mess.

It passed a lot of them by in fairness.

A lot of the old failings that has cost Mayo dear over the years.

Some people both on the pitch and the sideline didn't show up.

Tyrone were simply the better team and the better led team.

Once again the old reliables showed up like they have in every past All Ireland they have played.

Keegan, Durcan deserve better no more that Barrett, Boyler, Higgins, Clarke did from their years of service.

Other younger lads like Coen, Conroy and O'Donoghue did their bit, but there were way too many passengers.

The supposed new best midfield pairing in the country looking hopeless, one couldn't even properly punch someone and the other took every wrong option available.

Saturday kinda puts the Galway and Dublin's teams' displays in perspective.

Galway were terrible in second half and so were Dublin, who will be back next yesterday once they have stopped fighting with each other.

Horan simply does not have the ability to win and sadly saturday proved it once again.

At times it looked clueless.

I have defended O'Shea and no one can fault his effort and dedication for the cause, but seriously as a forward/midfielder of his supposed stature to have played in 7 All Irelands (including replay) and to have never scored is a damming indictment. Boyler, Higgins, Vaughan, Leroy have scored more than him.

How he remained on the pitch is one of the mysteries of the year.

To dispatch Dublin, who granted weren't great, but still a hugely psychological monkey to get off the back and then go out and play like they did in the final to a team with no associated baggage is gut wrenching.

The greatest agrees.

See O'Shea is coming in for the predictable enough criticism. There are people who would be giving out about him no matter what way he played.

Like I said, he wasn't our worst player on the day. Not by a long shot. That title is split between Conor Loftus and Matthew Ruane, I'm afraid.

The problem O'Shea has is that the game has steadily moved away from the type of player he is over the last few years. Pace and pure athleticism has replaced stature and even strength in some ways. Look at young Murchan for Dublin - he's a wee slip of a thing, but he can burn anyone you like for pace all day. Or Brian Fenton - this man is a pure athlete. O'Shea is unfortunately not an athlete like Brian Fenton, and pace has always been a problem for him. It didnt matter so much a few years back, because the big stocky midfielder was still somewhat the order of the day, but things have been moving away from that as far back as even 2016.

It's very unfortunate and I think he has been a great player for us over the years and dug us out of many holes. I don't actually think he owes anyone an explanation or an apology or whatever it is people want from him. I think he has been probably had an unfair level of expectation placed on him by people who saw him as a minor and think for some reason that he needed to be the greatest player of all time.

The game is moving away from his type of player though. That is unfortunately a fact. I find it sad as I feel he has always tried very hard, and I've never agreed with the level of criticism he gets, especially from people who have never kicked a ball let alone played consistently at the top level. But it's difficult to see where he fits into the game now.

At the risk of sounding like a certain pundit who I don't always agree with, there just isn't a high performance culture at the moment in Mayo.

You have half the team who are playing high performance and the other half are not. No hope of an AI while this continues. Mayo seems to be stuck in a rut which they can't get out of, good enough to get to finals but don't have that X factor to get them over the line. I don't see next year being any different.

I wouldn't be surprised if 3 of those 4 you listed retired now. No 1 priority must be unearthing and developing a keeper, It's been a huge weakness for over a decade.

Clarke was a fine keeper but his kicking at times was not at the required level. Hennely is a better kicker but his decision making has cost Mayo goals in 3 finals.

you and gaelic football is like you and plumbing, you are out of your depth.

Conor Mortimer was a fart of a player. a strong breeze would turn him over. Insanely accurate. nothing more

Donal Vaughan, red card, all ireland final,

Andy moran, one of the best. His best days came when he was well north of 30. a very intelligent player.

Liam mchale, the self confessed greatest coach in the country. cant remember who else you mentioned. but yes, Lee is the best EVER for MAYO

Are we talking early rounds in Connacht when every Mayo player looks like the GAA equivalent of Messi, or All-Ireland finals such as last Saturday when a large number of players did next to nothing and yes couldn't shoot, pass, tackle, with no pace or stamina?

Because at this stage, no one gives a damn about how good some players are in the Connacht championship.

The curse is in the players heads. They always find a way to lose in AI Finals.

Tyrone won in 2nd gear.