National Forum

Mayo GAA Thread

(Oldest Posts First) - Go To The Latest Post


Replying To yew_tree:  "Thought we was solid for us all last year. One of our better performers in the final. Former all Ireland winning captain at minor and u21 level…is it really that odd he was made captain?

I'll tell you what is odd…Conor O Se coming on."
Conor O'Shea is there because we have very few midfield options and Conor is one of the best club midfielders in Mayo. Even less now with Flynn's injury.

It was always a risk naming Stephen Coen captain as we've so many options in the half back line, he's not a guaranteed starter.

MayoDan (Mayo) - Posts: 448 - 05/04/2022 11:07:37    2409703

Link

Good win for the under 20s tonight in shocking conditions. One wonders why they didn't use the Dome given the extreme wind outside?

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 06/04/2022 22:03:33    2410056

Link

Congrats to Mayo but why on earth didn't they use the dome? Football was the biggest loser last night. You'd be as well off trying to play football on the deck of a trawler near rockall as playing in that storm last night.

togoutlads (Galway) - Posts: 1045 - 07/04/2022 10:09:08    2410075

Link

Replying To Gleebo:  "Good win for the under 20s tonight in shocking conditions. One wonders why they didn't use the Dome given the extreme wind outside?"
I would think that the amount of tickets sold couldn't be accommodated in the Dome.

ponga (Mayo) - Posts: 658 - 07/04/2022 10:21:17    2410076

Link

Apparently the excuse is it's either all games or none that can be played indoor for the Connacht u20 championship. Seems like a cop out to me. Only in Ireland would a game be played in hurricane like conditions while the only indoor GAA pitch in the country lies empty next door.

Obviously I'm glad Mayo won and they were the better team but you'd feel sorry for the Galway lads as there is no back door in this competition. Neither team were able to show what they can really do yesterday. You literally couldn't kick the ball. It looked like the posts were going to get ripped up.

The GAA have shown total disregard for the u20 championship anyway so maybe they should just scrap it altogether and not throw a half hearted attempt at it.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11543 - 07/04/2022 19:16:09    2410194

Link

The Mayo senior squad trained for the first time on the new MacHale Park surface during the week. That should put to bed any doubts over it being ready for the 24th.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11543 - 08/04/2022 21:50:12    2410319

Link

Replying To yew_tree:  "The Mayo senior squad trained for the first time on the new MacHale Park surface during the week. That should put to bed any doubts over it being ready for the 24th."
Is the pitch a bit bigger now, Yew Tree? I seem to remember that there were plans to take out some rows of terracing behind one of the goals (Bacon Factory end?). I'm guessing it would further diminish the capacity of MacHale Park.

I personally wouldn't have minded going back to HQ as the narrow pitch doesn't tend to suit Mayo's style, although maybe it's different for locally-based fans.

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 09/04/2022 07:05:52    2410326

Link

Replying To Gleebo:  "Is the pitch a bit bigger now, Yew Tree? I seem to remember that there were plans to take out some rows of terracing behind one of the goals (Bacon Factory end?). I'm guessing it would further diminish the capacity of MacHale Park.

I personally wouldn't have minded going back to HQ as the narrow pitch doesn't tend to suit Mayo's style, although maybe it's different for locally-based fans."
Connacht games should be played in Connacht. Last year was different due to covid and capacity. It's not just the game but the spin off towns like Castlebar, Roscommon and Sligo get from hosting big championship games.

As for the size of the pitch, I have not been in but looking at the drone footage from a few weeks ago I can't see any rows taken out of the "Albany" end. So I don't know where the extra meters have been found.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11543 - 09/04/2022 12:23:06    2410355

Link

How are people feeling about Sunday's tie? Next to no news coming out of the Mayo camp ahead of the game, although perhaps Horan and co. are waiting on news of injuries etc.

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 20/04/2022 10:34:44    2411719

Link

Replying To Gleebo:  "How are people feeling about Sunday's tie? Next to no news coming out of the Mayo camp ahead of the game, although perhaps Horan and co. are waiting on news of injuries etc."
I feel about it the same way I felt about yesterday's Liverpool/United game,, traditionally a great fixture but Im finding it hard to get excited about. Only going to be one winner.

Galway9801 (Galway) - Posts: 1942 - 20/04/2022 12:11:18    2411769

Link

If didn't it very hard to get excited about this game. I don't k ow is it a hangover from last years final, the league final collapse or the injury list. Maybe it's a combination of all three.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11543 - 20/04/2022 12:32:44    2411774

Link

Replying To yew_tree:  "Connacht games should be played in Connacht. Last year was different due to covid and capacity. It's not just the game but the spin off towns like Castlebar, Roscommon and Sligo get from hosting big championship games.

As for the size of the pitch, I have not been in but looking at the drone footage from a few weeks ago I can't see any rows taken out of the "Albany" end. So I don't know where the extra meters have been found."
.

They appear to have moved the posts back (5 or 6 m) at the 'Albany' end - there was some space there - and perhaps gained a metre at the other end. The white dots in the drone footage seem closer to the south terrace behind the goal.
All should be clear on Sunday - perhaps they just moved the 65's closer to the goals to give the appearance of a bigger pitch!

timmyhogan (UK) - Posts: 290 - 20/04/2022 14:10:25    2411830

Link

Replying To yew_tree:  "If didn't it very hard to get excited about this game. I don't k ow is it a hangover from last years final, the league final collapse or the injury list. Maybe it's a combination of all three."
Would be of a similar mind, the various stuff that happened last autumn and winter deflated many Mayo supporters as far as I can see.

As much as James Horan has done for Mayo football, perhaps it wouldn't be the worst thing to have a new broom. The other top teams have figured out Horanball and he doesn't seem inclined to change the way we play, which has become kinda predictable in my view. The refusal to play a sweeper in particular has cost us big time in some crunch games.

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 20/04/2022 14:18:57    2411832

Link

link

Good preview from Kevin Walsh and Pat Fallon on Ah Ref.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7927 - 21/04/2022 17:10:33    2412137

Link

Replying To Gleebo:  "Would be of a similar mind, the various stuff that happened last autumn and winter deflated many Mayo supporters as far as I can see.

As much as James Horan has done for Mayo football, perhaps it wouldn't be the worst thing to have a new broom. The other top teams have figured out Horanball and he doesn't seem inclined to change the way we play, which has become kinda predictable in my view. The refusal to play a sweeper in particular has cost us big time in some crunch games."
I hear what you're saying Gleebo and feel somewhat the same however, and I could be deluding myself, time will tell, I think that Mayo will have a plan B for Sunday and the "learnings", some of them painfully received, and some repeatedly, will at last be visible tactically.
After watching an alternative model of the game as imposed on our U20s these last 2 years, which seems to be based on the fantasy that if you have nearly all of the ball the opposition can't hurt you, I dread to think where some regimes could take our primary team. For certain our seniors have played with no fear over the last decade+ and caution is what undid us in '96 (going into our shell) with Horan on that team, when all we had to do was keep going for another 15 mins. This experience seems to have been formative in Horan's views concerning what will achieve the best outcome most of the time. I think our recent league final panto was just that and dismissible... a determination to give nothing away and letting Kerry express themselves, although the margin in the end was probably a higher price than had been budgeted for. Hopefully what we'll see going forward is pragmatism... there's a time when keeping going is the thing to do, but not to be as stubborn about it as in 2014 the first day out, where our FB was out on his feet but was left exposed to a monster ball winner fresh off the bench.

I don't know if we'll win on Sunday... I'm on the fence, which I think is in keeping with most Mayo/Galway games over time. But whatever way the result goes, from Mayo we'll hopefully see effective cover being applied at the back when needed, the ball being moved quickly by foot when a long pass is on, and players backing themselves to try for a score when the chance has already been made. If Galway beat us despite that, then good luck to them, because they'll have proven the better team on the day. We've tended to beat them recently whenever it's knockout and Sunday isn't our last chance. The alternative route (now that there is one again) might suit Mayo this year.

Pericles (Mayo) - Posts: 2521 - 21/04/2022 19:06:43    2412156

Link

Replying To Pericles:  "I hear what you're saying Gleebo and feel somewhat the same however, and I could be deluding myself, time will tell, I think that Mayo will have a plan B for Sunday and the "learnings", some of them painfully received, and some repeatedly, will at last be visible tactically.
After watching an alternative model of the game as imposed on our U20s these last 2 years, which seems to be based on the fantasy that if you have nearly all of the ball the opposition can't hurt you, I dread to think where some regimes could take our primary team. For certain our seniors have played with no fear over the last decade+ and caution is what undid us in '96 (going into our shell) with Horan on that team, when all we had to do was keep going for another 15 mins. This experience seems to have been formative in Horan's views concerning what will achieve the best outcome most of the time. I think our recent league final panto was just that and dismissible... a determination to give nothing away and letting Kerry express themselves, although the margin in the end was probably a higher price than had been budgeted for. Hopefully what we'll see going forward is pragmatism... there's a time when keeping going is the thing to do, but not to be as stubborn about it as in 2014 the first day out, where our FB was out on his feet but was left exposed to a monster ball winner fresh off the bench.

I don't know if we'll win on Sunday... I'm on the fence, which I think is in keeping with most Mayo/Galway games over time. But whatever way the result goes, from Mayo we'll hopefully see effective cover being applied at the back when needed, the ball being moved quickly by foot when a long pass is on, and players backing themselves to try for a score when the chance has already been made. If Galway beat us despite that, then good luck to them, because they'll have proven the better team on the day. We've tended to beat them recently whenever it's knockout and Sunday isn't our last chance. The alternative route (now that there is one again) might suit Mayo this year."
I don't see it as a binary choice though, Pericles. I don't think we can realistically play like some of the Ulster counties have in the last few decades, fourteen men behind the ball and breaking in unison (Aido would probably collapse!), but at the same time, a bit of flexibility wouldn't be a bad thing. We have become too predictable, in my view, and in the last four games against the league and All-Ireland champions, both sides have done a very good job of preventing our runners/ point scorers between the 40s from doing their stuff.

After 20 minutes of last year's All-Ireland final, two things were obvious:

1. Niall Morgan was having a lot of joy kicking over the top of our forward press;

2.Tyrone were making a lot of hay by targeting the space in front of our back line through rapid ball.

McDonald and Horan did nothing to counteract this tactic, which probably accounted for 2-5 of Tyrone's total. Sometimes, as the great Paul Scholes has said, you have to sit tight and stem the opposition's flow for 10 minutes, hang in there. You mention 2014, but again, that was a situation which was crying out for a sweeper to prevent the concession of a goal at all costs.

Certainly, I don't see the style implemented by Sheridan as the answer, it's far too static for my liking. Chaos brought structure to the brink three weeks running and conquered it in the Connacht final! For me, if there was a change in management, we'd be foolish not to approach Stephen Rochford, but then again, given the shoddy way he was treated first time, maybe he wouldn't be interested. Remember that Rochford has gone closer than any Mayo manager in recent times by employing sweepers against that great Dublin side.

Galway may well beat us on Sunday, given that we have struggled in MacHale Park in recent years and as we are potentially missing seven starting players. I wouldn't be as confident as you that Mayo would go far through the qualifiers, given that we might have five games in seven weeks in that scenario.

Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 22/04/2022 15:45:27    2412317

Link

link

I can't see this 15 starting.

Would have McBrien at 3, Hession 5,Mullin 6, Diarmuid 10, Kevin Mc pulling the strings at 11. Loftus to lose out. Start Diarmuid if he's fit enough to be a sub.
Plunkett's done well this year in an attacking sense but not a great defender. On league form would Stephen Coen even be in the squad if he isn't captain? Very good on form, could even do a job in midfield, but form hasn't been good. We have to mix in some kicking game but need Mullin near midfield to launch some attacks and give Galway defense something to think about. I think we gain a lot more from his attacking play and involvement turning over ball around midfield than having him hemmed in to the square. Not convinced that Eoghan McLoughlin is experienced enough yet at this level. Still learning, looks good in Sigerson but tends not to look up and see where he's kicking ball and prone to a few mistakes. Could also swap Hession for Loftus and play him as sweeper. Who knows what will happen on Sunday. Just hope we have a few plans and aren't so cautious against a good but beatable Galway team.

Maigh Eo Abú!

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7927 - 22/04/2022 20:36:21    2412366

Link

Replying To Gleebo:  "I don't see it as a binary choice though, Pericles. I don't think we can realistically play like some of the Ulster counties have in the last few decades, fourteen men behind the ball and breaking in unison (Aido would probably collapse!), but at the same time, a bit of flexibility wouldn't be a bad thing. We have become too predictable, in my view, and in the last four games against the league and All-Ireland champions, both sides have done a very good job of preventing our runners/ point scorers between the 40s from doing their stuff.

After 20 minutes of last year's All-Ireland final, two things were obvious:

1. Niall Morgan was having a lot of joy kicking over the top of our forward press;

2.Tyrone were making a lot of hay by targeting the space in front of our back line through rapid ball.

McDonald and Horan did nothing to counteract this tactic, which probably accounted for 2-5 of Tyrone's total. Sometimes, as the great Paul Scholes has said, you have to sit tight and stem the opposition's flow for 10 minutes, hang in there. You mention 2014, but again, that was a situation which was crying out for a sweeper to prevent the concession of a goal at all costs.

Certainly, I don't see the style implemented by Sheridan as the answer, it's far too static for my liking. Chaos brought structure to the brink three weeks running and conquered it in the Connacht final! For me, if there was a change in management, we'd be foolish not to approach Stephen Rochford, but then again, given the shoddy way he was treated first time, maybe he wouldn't be interested. Remember that Rochford has gone closer than any Mayo manager in recent times by employing sweepers against that great Dublin side.

Galway may well beat us on Sunday, given that we have struggled in MacHale Park in recent years and as we are potentially missing seven starting players. I wouldn't be as confident as you that Mayo would go far through the qualifiers, given that we might have five games in seven weeks in that scenario."
Rochford may have got close to Dublin, but Horan actually beat them in 2012 and 2021. Rochford also failed to beat Galway 3 years in a row. Each one of them games followed the same pattern too i.e. failing to break down Kevin Walsh's blanket defense.

MayoDan (Mayo) - Posts: 448 - 22/04/2022 20:36:32    2412367

Link

Good win for Mayo Minors against Leitrim. They will obviously learn more when they meet the other 3 counties who will probably all be stronger than Leitrim. Having said that they at least tried to play the right way which was a total contrast to the u20s on Wednesday night.
Goalkeeper looked very sound. Young Mortimer at corner back would remind you of his dad Kenneth. McMonigal at full back was very good too. Both midfielders got through a lot of work and caught good ball. Some good forwards on show in particular Hurley and Clarke. Whether they are that good or were made to look good we have to wait to find out but watching football being played properly made it an enjoyable watch.

ponga (Mayo) - Posts: 658 - 22/04/2022 20:40:58    2412368

Link

Replying To MayoDan:  "Rochford may have got close to Dublin, but Horan actually beat them in 2012 and 2021. Rochford also failed to beat Galway 3 years in a row. Each one of them games followed the same pattern too i.e. failing to break down Kevin Walsh's blanket defense."
Genuinely would take Horan over Ros in a heart beat but wouldn't touch Rochford. Most will disagree but Horan has built two different sides now for Mayo and made them not far off it. Has his faults no doubt. Rochford came close but imo by excellent players. Failed win even a Connacht. Used Holmes and Connellys tactic off dropping player back like duo did with Barry Moran. Made a keeper change that cost use. The team was so good I believe they dragged him to finals. He's done nothing since involved with Donegal they've regressed since his involvement. I would take Horan in a heartbeat

sourmilk93 (Roscommon) - Posts: 1205 - 22/04/2022 20:50:57    2412370

Link