Paddy its the most open looking All Ireland championship for years .. no real stand-out team. So does that mean Mayo will win Sam....DEFINITELY !!!

(Only Joking)

Cork, Dublin, Donegal look a fraction ahead of the rest of the posse and I really can't see Mayo beating any of THEM in a high stakes shoot-out in Croke park.

So my prediction is, Mayo (if the draw works out for them) to get to the Semi's...but no further :-(

littlevillage (Galway) - Posts: 236 - 18/07/2012 11:49:29    1221265

roundball, in response i would not be putting the house on to beat any of these teams and i include Down in this aswell and i did not suggest anywhere in the post that we would, if you want to talk about the league thats fine...... Donegal beat Mayo by 11 points and we had a man sent off before half time, whilst mayo had a better league than us they finished 2 points ahead of us...................... Im not particulary saying that donegal are better than mayo im only trying to justify where the ratings are coming from..... which i thnik are well and truly justified but that does not mean we will won anything or progress any further than mayo

beenthere (Donegal) - Posts: 37 - 18/07/2012 13:08:30    1221369

Is it april fools day ?

mlcollins (Kerry) - Posts: 440 - 18/07/2012 13:19:46    1221389

Nothing between Sligo and Mayo, if Mayo can make semi's so can Sligo.

allSOran (Sligo) - Posts: 690 - 18/07/2012 13:37:40    1221423

These are the teams I predict to be in the All Ireland Quarter Final

Cork
Dublin
Donegal
Mayo
Kildare
Laois
Down
Tyrone

suncroft_abu (Kildare) - Posts: 298 - 18/07/2012 14:01:25    1221472

allSOran
County: Sligo
Posts: 468

1221423
Nothing between Sligo and Mayo, if Mayo can make semi's so can Sligo.
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Really?? Mayo played unbelievabley poorly and still won! On another day the Mayo forwards would've had their shooting boots on, the ref would've let Andy Moran's goal stand and Mayo would've won with plenty in hand.

killer_88_ (Mayo) - Posts: 2040 - 18/07/2012 14:53:01    1221572

18/07/2012 14:53:01
killer_88_
County: Mayo
Posts: 1303

1221572
allSOran
County: Sligo
Posts: 468

1221423
Nothing between Sligo and Mayo, if Mayo can make semi's so can Sligo.
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Really?? Mayo played unbelievabley poorly and still won! On another day the Mayo forwards would've had their shooting boots on, the ref would've let Andy Moran's goal stand and Mayo would've won with plenty in hand.

___________________________________________________________

Mayo didn't play much better in last year's Connacht final weren't great v London,Galway either. This years league was hit and miss for every decent showing they had poor one some thought they would be relegated only to reach the final. The whole "if they had their shooting boots on" doesn't wash as the like of Freeman, Doherty,Varley, Conroy are more likely to be off target.

Sligo also played poorly on Sunday especially in that 2nd half they were crying out for changes on the touchline however Kevin Walsh was too slow to make them. To summarize Mayo won on Sunday because they had a better system and better manager.

Gaa_lover (USA) - Posts: 3724 - 18/07/2012 15:46:54    1221677

It does wash, Mayo Kicked the ball between the posts 20 times v Leitrim with some sublime scores from out the field.

Mayo won because they are better than Sligo. Looking through both teams here there are a maximum of 3 Sligo players who I would've had on Mayo's starting 15 on Sunday. Ross O'Donovan would push Kev Keane for his place (although if Kev could hold the form he showed on Marren, O'Donovan wouldn't get a look in). Then I would probably have Sligo's 2 corner forwards Kelly and Breheny ahead of Doc and Varley. Apart from those 3, Mayo are better in every other positon, sorry if I sound arrogant but it's the truth.

Oh by the way I nearly forgot about this Gaa_lover, remember this??
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Gaa_lover
County: USA
Posts: 238
1091421
After the Galway thread this one about Mayo just had to be...

Mayo IMO will be beaten by Galway in Salthill in the Connacht final & they will be knocked out of the championship the following game. Mayo fans like paddy,Longago,Killer will call for Horan's head.
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Great shout, top notch prediction. Horan out! lolololol

Isn't hindsight great Killer? i'll admit i overrated Galway i thought they would turn things around under Mullaholland. My point was once the results change you,Longago,Paddy etc will be looking for change you will be talking about another "lowest ebb" for Mayo remember you got rid of All Ireland winning manager in 2010 and Horan could have been gone if the London lad didn't miss that easy late free.


It's easy to pop over points with no pressure like the Leitrim game however when pressure is put on Mayo forwards they are more off target than not. Finally your debate about how many Sligo players would get on the Mayo team is silly... ask yourself how many Mayo players would get on the Cork,Kerry,Dublin teams? however with less quality Mayo were still able to beat them recently.

Gaa_lover (USA) - Posts: 3724 - 18/07/2012 16:26:04    1221727

Mayo wont win anything with that full forward line. They do need The Mort back if only as an inpact sub, someone should make the peace.

culmore (None) - Posts: 1398 - 18/07/2012 16:48:31    1221764

Mayo wont win anything with that full forward line. They do need The Mort back if only as an inpact sub, someone should make the peace.


Back to the back of the class and pay more attention, Mayo won something on Sunday, the Nestor cup. (impact) /\

51longago (Mayo) - Posts: 2981 - 18/07/2012 17:00:25    1221780

51 yea they won the Nester Cuyp but it was easy won this year. The game itself was like a childrens party where a few sweets was thrown on the ground and all the kids rushed in to get one, it was not GaelicFootball of any kind, must raise the question about what these teams were going at all the training sessions and get together weeks away etc. If u got 30 men from the north pole who never palyed the game before and were given one hours instructions on playing the game they would have done better,

culmore (None) - Posts: 1398 - 18/07/2012 18:20:31    1221882

Nothing to do with hindsight gaa_lover, I warned you at the time it was a ridiculous prediction and it would would come back to bite you, and so it has come to pass.

O'Mahony was hired for political reasons, the supporters never really bought into it with him at the helm. Still, he was given 3 years (fairly standard no?) and achieved nothing of significance except another embarrassing loss to Meath. Horan in his first year brought us to the last 4. He has already made great strides and the supporters are fully behind him. You are trying to make out that if we lose a game I will be calling for his head. That is simply not the case. Horan will be given time like he should be. Has has already achieved more than O'Mahony could with a lot of the same players. Managers get worse as players do as they get older. Just look at Trap. O'Mahony's reign was a disaster.

killer_88_ (Mayo) - Posts: 2040 - 18/07/2012 21:17:26    1222102

On your other point gaa_lover, my initial debate was with another poster who claimed there was nothing between Mayo and Sligo. I was merely using the "player for player" argument to show that there is indeed quite a bit between Mayo and Sligo.

killer_88_ (Mayo) - Posts: 2040 - 18/07/2012 21:20:39    1222108

Killer, warned me about what exactly? it wasn't prediction so it couldn't be ridiculous. As i pointed out already hoganstand Mayo fans would be calling for his head If they lost(that doesn't mean the Mayo county board would pay any attention to those fans) and it's all well and good coming back now when they won.

Had Mayo lost to London do you think Horan would still be around would that defeat be lower ebb than 2010 under O'Mahony? remember there's a thin line between success and failure...... for example in 2010 a 14 man Mayo only lost by one point to Longford.

On another note quite a bit between Mayo - Kerry,Donegal,Cork,Kerry,Dublin etc

Gaa_lover (USA) - Posts: 3724 - 18/07/2012 21:55:37    1222156

Gaa_lover
County: USA
Posts: 810

1222156
Killer, warned me about what exactly? it wasn't prediction so it couldn't be ridiculous. As i pointed out already hoganstand Mayo fans would be calling for his head If they lost(that doesn't mean the Mayo county board would pay any attention to those fans) and it's all well and good coming back now when they won.

Had Mayo lost to London do you think Horan would still be around would that defeat be lower ebb than 2010 under O'Mahony? remember there's a thin line between success and failure...... for example in 2010 a 14 man Mayo only lost by one point to Longford.

On another note quite a bit between Mayo - Kerry,Donegal,Cork,Kerry,Dublin etc
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You predicted that Galway would beat us in the Connacht final and we'd lose the next game and I'd be calling for Horan's head. I told you at the time it was a silly prediction and that I'd remind you of how silly it was when the time came.

Of course Horan would still be in charge had we lost to London. Now I'm not saying a loss like that would've just been accepted no questions asked (Christ it would have been horrible). However what sense would it have made to sack Horan at that stage? It was his first championship match for goodness sake! It'd be an awful managerial merry-go-round if every county sacked their boss after one defeat!


"On another note quite a bit between Mayo - Kerry,Donegal,Cork,Kerry,Dublin etc"

What's your point?? I've never denied we're a good bit off the likes of Dublin. Cork are a better team than us but still beatable. It's hard to know where Kerry are right now but yeah they've got better individuals than us in most parts of the field. Donegal? I don't see how there's much or anything really between us??? I point out to another poster that Mayo are quite a bit better than Sligo and you feel the need to come in with "yeah well the Dubs are way better than Mayo" nonsense. What's the point? That was quite childish.

I think it's fairly obvious at this stage that you're a Connacht man/woman with a dislike for Mayo. So come on, Roscommon or Galway????? There is no such thing as a neutral in GAA. Everyone is connected to one of the 32 counties (or London or New York). Off the fence with ya, no-one's buying the "neutral" nonsense.

killer_88_ (Mayo) - Posts: 2040 - 19/07/2012 12:59:51    1222453

why would anyone who has watched GAA in the last 15 years believe this to be a possibility

switec (Kildare) - Posts: 525 - 19/07/2012 13:05:10    1222460

Why is it a possibility , someone asks.

Of course it is a possibility as Mayo are in the last eight, Mayo have improved under Horan, Mayo will be a hard nut to crack because of our solid defense, we have an edge about us.

Do we have classy, scoring forwards.......no, we don't ( they don't play county anymore, one is the best forward in Mayo , scoring nine points for Cross last championship outing and the other decided to walk last week prior to the CF) but we have a unit that will go the distance, Mayo are going to surprise a few again this year, that Sligo game was a lot tougher than it looked, i promise you that.

Serious contenders.....yes, i believe so and so should Mayo people start to believe, not back to our "sam is comin home " days , but no harm in starting to give this team the encouragement it deserves and belief.....disappointing turnout again the weekend, lets have you all their bank holiday weekend, green and red flying in hq, where we belong

51longago (Mayo) - Posts: 2981 - 19/07/2012 13:17:56    1222472

51longago
good reply to a potentially inflammatory post, nicely done.

switec (Kildare) - Posts: 525 - 19/07/2012 13:32:35    1222491

Hi Folks,

Been a long time since I posted here but have been a very busy bee myself in the past few years.

Great to see the Dubs win Sam last year and they are the team to beat this year with Cork and Kerry next.

I think Mayo have a good chance to win the AI this year but I didn't think they looked all that impressive against Sligo. As before most of the optimism is based upon strong League performances ... and the problem with that is that a lot of the counties like Dublin, Cork and Kerry use the League to blood new players, allowing the more established championship players to take a break while the next generation are developed and new tactics explored.

Plus you get the conditioning work going on during the winter which makes teams sluggish during the League ... the key point being that you can't put too much store by the League in terms of how well you do against some of the top teams in the country.

It seems to me that this is a perennial trap people from Mayo fall into. They mistake strong League runs as being indicative of their standing whenever it comes to the Championship season.

Mayo have some good players but I don't think they could beat Cork, Dublin or Kerry at the moment ... maybe they could beat one of them (any one of them) but I can't see them having the ability to knock two of them out on the bounce plus having the mental strength needed to overcome all of the baggage they are carrying.

Yes they could win it ... but the odds have got to be really against them coming out on top I would say.

Beacaire Gorm (Dublin) - Posts: 597 - 19/07/2012 13:50:24    1222516