Right, the votes are in and counted in our Player of the Year poll for 2019. We have a clear winner too, with Colm Boyle coming out on top having collected 39% of the vote.
While not ever-present for us in 2019, the Davitts clubman enjoyed a strong Championship at the heart of our defence this year. In and out of the team all during the National League and early in the summer – he didn’t feature in the win over Kerry in Tralee and only appeared off the bench in the final, while taking no part at all in the Connacht semi-final defeat to Roscommon – it was during the qualifiers that Colm really began to motor this year.
Strong performances through that crazy spell of week-after-week matches were capped by an outstanding MOTM display in the Super 8s win over Meath at Croke Park. He was back in the thick of it again two weeks later against Donegal and fought hard and bravely all day long in the All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Dublin.
Part of the famed U21 Class of 2006, Colm first broke into the senior ranks at inter-county level under John O’Mahony in 2008 but wasn’t retained on the panel the following year. Since his recall by James Horan in 2012, however, Boyler has been a permanent fixture on the senior panel as well as a firm favourite with the supporters. He was an All-Star in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017 and he’ll be in with a shout for another one this year.
Congrats to Colm on being voted our Player of the Year for 2019 and well done too to all the players shortlisted for this year’s award. Details of how the voting went are below.
Well done to Colm, Some superb performances this year.
I adore that buck Boyler! I loved after getting the man of match award after Meath match – all the mayo fans in Cusack Stand stood up and applauded up and he gave a punch up in the air to us. What a servant.
Well Done Boyler! So deserved. Great player. Looking forward to 2020. It was a tough summer but what a team to support. Wouldnt have it any other way. MaighEo Abú.??
Warrior. Leader. Inspirational.
Let’s hope his body can keep going for a few more years!!
Congratulations Colm
James Horan could do worse than contact a good plumber in the county – to see can he get a few new “Boylers” for next year. Well done Colm.
It is also important to mention that this was not just a one horse race. Aidan and Paddy, in 2nd and 3rd got really high votes as well.
Fair play Boyler!!. He’s in the shape of his life, definetly has trimmed a bit of bulk making him quicker and more dynamic. People from all counties wrote him off in the last few years, now he’s odds on for an all star….Legend.
https://www.sportsjoe.ie/gaa/dublin-kickout-press-205121
Good insight into Dublin’s press on opposition kickouts and how to potentially counter it.
Well done Boyler and all nominated – warriors!
Who’d have predicted he’d be in with a shout of an all star after not even getting a run against Roscommon. Legend and he has a couple more good years in him too.
Well done Boyler – voted for you!
I’ve said it before, but the young guns will have to be special to dislodge the oldies. The consensus earlier this year was that Boyler was finished, at best 10 or 15 minutes in him, and liable to pick up reds or blacks.
He plays on the edge, but what a stellar, disciplined (take a bow James also for addressing this issue across the whole panel), courageous, skilful array of performances that set our hearts on fire all year.
Fair play Colm Boyle. When the league final was in the melting pot with the last Kerry attack Mayo could breath again with the sight of Boyler emerging from the goalmouth with ball in hand. So many of those moments. And a few yet to come. Mayo legend
Well done to Colm!
On a different note one thing that struck me about Tipp winning was the team that Liam Sheedy assembled on his return, a former AI winning manager and a former top AI winning player with experience in coaching in other counties. When you compare this to Horan”s team it’s men and boys. Horan’s Team has virtually no experience. I think he’s needs to re-think that area. The meltdown against the dubs came And went with no visible action from the line. Compare this to the tactical changes Sheedy made after 20 min which changed the game (and before hogan was sent off). We need more experience on the line.
Think you have a good point there Puckout. This was mentioned when JH’s team was appointed. Remember then the nativist rejoinders from Mike Connelly lauding the Mayoness of the management team, and by implication rubbishing the externs who served us so well. That’s notwithstanding the thoughtful presentation that was made to Donie Buckley prior to the Tralee match.
Cyril Farrell had an interesting article months ago comparing Mayo and Tipp and their returning managers. The gist of it, if I remember was that Horan was well placed to succeed, but he did reference Sheedy’s CV and the fact that he had ‘done it’.
Few tweaks needed for sure to both panels!
Those outside coaches/selectors were involved in the Kildare game last year and the 3 successive championship defeats to Galway. As a football mad county we should have plenty of internal coaches with good ideas. I’m sure Barrett, Forde and Burke have learned plenty from this year as well.
Well done Colm This Mayo team
Would have won an all ireland or two in any other era than this apart from the late 70’s early 80’s it’s sickeninh that there is a great Dublin team around at the same time as us
While experience around JHs camp is indeed thin on the ground you are not comparing like with like in regard to Tipp and Sheedy. Sheedy already won AI with Tipp and also had major success at underage. He was able to bring in Eamon o Shea who was there in 2010 and who actually managed Tipp for a few years and who is by all accounts a brilliant hurling coach. He also had Tommy Dunne Minor manager last year which won Munster title and who already had won senior A I as a brilliant player. He put in place a backroom team of over 25. He has some of the greatest hurlers in the country on that team, most of whom had at least 2 AI medals before Sunday. In both the final and semi final 4 of the subs introduced scored. And most of all he can call on a group of players and has a fan base who are so confident that it borders on arrogance and who genuinely expect to win an AI title every few years. Contrast that with what JH has at his disposal. A smaller backroom team devoid of any big names. Some fantastically dedicated footballers who despite giving their absolute all have yet to enjoy AI success and the baggage that must bring. A fantastic support base but also one that certainly does not have the arrogance or cockiness that comes with success. A team that has all sorts of obstacles put in its way both from a geographical point of view re training and preparation and those put in their way by an organisation that asks them to play 7 matches in 8 weeks and then on top of all that sharing playing space with probably the greatest team ever to kick a ball. Yet despite that we keep competing at the highest level year on year and provide incredible enjoyment for both their own supporters and all others. Sheedy has done a fantastic job but are you really comparing like with like. By the way well done Boyler. What a warrior. What a man. I wouldn’t swop him for anyone on the Tipp panel.
@Wide Ball… True, what you say… But our performance V Kildare (Which was Kildares best for a decade or more) had plenty of other factors, a Midfield Injury Crisis for Mayo, Newbridge or Nowhere factor, and despite our defeat on the day was a good performance, much better than many of our performance’s this year… The truth about the
Rochford, Buckley, McEntee managnent Team, was that Mayo played their Best ever game’s under them… Best Tatics, Best Match Ups and Best Stragity ,versus Kerry Twice 2017, Draw and Replay Semifinal, and three times in Final’s V Dublin, 2016, Draw and Replay, & 2017 Final… In those Five of the biggest Match’s that Mayo ever played in (Despite one goalkeeper selection mistake in 2016 replay ) are by a long way the best ever by any Mayo Team! . The thing about it is that the Bar has been raised since then, and whoever eventually displaces the Mighty Dub’s’ will need a serious Brain’s Trust!
I agree with Puckout we could do with a bit more experience in our backroom team. The one man I’d break the bank for and bring in would be Peter Canavan it would take a bit of pressure of Horan a proven all Ireland winner coaching forwards the likes of Carr Loftus Liam Irwin Tommy Goals Ryan O Donoghue Diskin And Boland id say he would improve their performance no end. Donegal weren’t afraid to bring in Rochford I would bring in Canavan if he’s available
Leantimes – we had a worse injury crisis in midfield this summer for the Armagh, Galway and Kerry games. Aidan O’Shea and Mattie Ruane were available for the game in Newbridge last year but didn’t play midfield. I don’t think you can say definitively that those 5 are the best ever by a mayo team. We actually played quite poorly in the drawn 2016 game but Dublin were also stuck to the ground for some reason.
Backdoorsam – I’ve said this previously but if Canavan is that good, why isn’t he in with Tyrone? They’re not overflowing with top forwards.
There isn’t one member in JHs management team that has played as a forward in Inter County football, I only think James Burke is the only member to have played at Inter County level at all.If we are serious about challenging the Dubs next season and keeping some of the Older brigade around we should be bringing in at least one star forward that has done it at the top like a Peter Canavan, Graham Geraghty, Oisin McConville or Ciaran McDonald.Good Forward play and shooting is the weakest part of our game. I also think a strong Dublin appointment needs to be made for the Dublin based players and someone who has a good knowledge on the Dublin team,Two names come to mind here Paul Curran former footballer of the year in 1995 and has managed Ballymun Kickhams and Clann Na Gael to Dublin and Roscommon County titles and Mayoman Padraic Monaghan who managed Kevin McManamons club St Judes in Dublin to a Senior County Final last year.
Well done boyler.
It seems obvious now that boyler put the ‘rest’ since Newbridge to very good use. Whatever he did should be written down and given to players to show how you recharge the batteries and come back fitter and stronger than ever. It’s a fantastic achievement for a player with so much hard milage on the clock.
Good point Ah Now. You can add Chris Barrett and Séamie O’Shea to that list. They looked fitter and faster than last year too. Hopefully the S&C guys can write up whatever programme those 3 had and pass it around!
@Wide Ball, I would say that the drawn All Ireland Final of 2016 was easily Mayo’s best ever performance…We conceded Two Own Goals, so freaky it’s still barly believable that such a thing happened… Dublin were even then being hailed as the Greatest Ever Gaelic football team, even gifting Dublin Two Goals, they still didn’t beat us, twice coming back from 5 point’s down at half time, and from 3 point’s down going into Injury Time..had the Ref seen, Dennis Bastic handling on the ground 25 Meter’s from Goal, (after Cillian’s Greatest Ever Point, one of the Greatest Point’s ever in the history of Gaelic football to equalise) Cillian would no doubt have scored the winner… Dublin’s Kevin MacMenamum came into the Match favorite to lift the PotY award…Paddy Durcan held him scoreless , but Paddy scored himself, Paddy D repeated the dose on Kevin Mac in the Replay only this time he scored twice… Andy Moran probably also played his best ever game for Mayo, same could be said for Cillian O Connor, Lee Keegan, Donal Vaughan, Tom Parsons and Paddy Durcan…in my mind easily the best ever performance by a Mayo Team, even if they also experienced?the worst ever Bad Luck on the same day!
Well done Colm Boyle. An absolutely outstanding year. More of the same again next year hopefully.
Have to agree with Leantimes, that some of Mayo’s best ever performances came under Rochford’s reign.
If your going to call Dublin the greatest team of all time, then there is no question about the level of high performance in those finals in 16 and 17, where Dublin eventually ended up as champions, with a fair amount of luck on their side which eventually just about got them over the line.
16 and 17 are part of this drive for 5 which will be historic in that it has not been done before. It has to be said then, that Rochford led Mayo against Dublin at their peak (although, I would say they are still at this high level).
We picked up 10 all stars I believe in these 2 years, 4 in 2016 and 6 in 2017. Unbelievable really, for a poor auld Mayo team who were battling against supposedly the greatest team of all time.
Taking everything people hate hearing about in to consideration,
Home Venue,
Funding,
Population,
Dublin Joe’s,
Luck,
It can be easily argued that Mayo were the better team in these finals of 16 and 17, if, the above are thrown in to the equation.
Would everyone try and get out and support there local Gaa club in the Senior and Intermediate championships the weekend, the weather is promised good. With such big interest in the County team we forget the work that goes into the club scene in the County and thats where County players are made.
When I attend Mayo games it annoys me when I talk to some Mayo supporters and they havn’t a clue about the club scene in Mayo or rarely attend club matches!!
Good MAN Boyler. What a player. Mayo’s best ever half back. Just keep it going.
Pity you weren’t fit for Roscommon..( I presume you were not!!!)…there would be no scenic route then.
And thank you all respondents above. Great knowledge and points.
And WJ, what would we do without you?? Thank you for a really great service..
Is mayogaatv showing any club games tomorrow?
Well done boyler truly deserved
I myself was at the Ted Webb tonight and I am delighted to say the mayo way is looking forward to the future and it’s a bright one plenty of talent tonight
Mayo east west beat sligo and mayo north south beat roscommon then the 2 played eachother and north and south won by 2 points with no love lost between the 2 sides a cracker of an evening
Club Championship preview shows
https://m.mixcloud.com/paullawless/mayogaaclubchampionship/
Listen to 9. The Ah Ref and Enda Mac Show by BCRFM on #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.com/bcrfm/the-ah-ref-and-enda-mac-show
Charlestown v Ballaghadareen is been broadcast live on Charlestown Sarsfields Gaa facebook page at 5pm.Looking forward to seeing Tom P making his return to club football.
Chris Kelly, well said. Without the clubs there would be no mayo teams. Often forgotten. Some great games at club level this weekend.
Silly comment Revelino. That kind of attitude is rampant throughout our county. Those lads dont want to hear they “deserved to win” or “were the better team”. Simply put we had it in our grasp and threw both away. We only have ourselves to blame. Its an incredible Dublin team. But trust me if they get the 5 in a row I have it on good authority a vast chunk will be stepping away – cluxton (who as we’ve seen with rob and david is so crucial. And comerford is nowhere near his level), brogan, cooper, fitzsimons, o carroll, mc mahon, o sullivan, mc cauley, connolly, mc maneman, andrews. This is the last All Ireland theyll win for a while. Imagine if we hadnt folded in our kickouts we lost by the finest of margins. Again I love ur contributions but I dont think a pity win is what our lads need. We go again n build on this year. A league title n semi is not half bad at all. Plenty of young players blooded. The futures bright…the futured green n red!
I have to admit i had sort of wrote Boyler off after 2018, I thought he might be more of an impact sub. Delighted to be proved wrong, well done Boyler!!
Chris Kelly and Rober – I agree. There is a bandwagon element in Mayo support that don’t know anything about their local clubs and don’t support them.
So get out to a game or 2 this weekend if you can…there are some tasty games on offer this weekend.
I enjoyed watching as a neutral Charlestown v Ballagh. Great to see Tom lasting the entire match. Unreal Tipp winning 2 all irelands in 6 days..how we crave that kind of success. (I am engrossed in the Galway senior hurling fiasco – they are always the hurling team I support). Anyone at other games – can you let us know how players got on.
Colm boyle kept Brian reape very quiet in davitts unexpected win in foxford. Both went off with blood head injuries in injury time, no pun intended. Davitts played some great football and were 1-6 to no score up in 15mins. Moy davitts never recovered from that and could only get back to within 4pts a few times but no closer. Ft 2-12 to 0-9. Evan ronayne for davitts looks a prospect with 3 or 4 classy points from play.
Was at Tubber/Kmore. Cillian played well – showed well and laid off some good ball. Shooting still a bit off by his standards. Diarmuid quiet enough. Kevin Mac in sweeper role for Kmore – would have been more effective further forward. Disappointed with Kmore forwards – Naughton, McHale and Orme – they had been scoring well in league so I thought they might be potential county standard. Plunkett held centre of Tubber defence well and got forward to score nice point. Tubber better team overall.
Is there a better forward in Mayo club football at present than Neil Douglas?? Simply outstanding for Mitchels against Westport tonite.When James Durcan makes the Mayo Senior squad you have to wonder why Dougie doesn’t.I know hes not the biggest but surely he could have went on a S and C programme and bulked up like Con O’Callaghan has for Dublin.He was a pleasure to watch this evening ,as was the tussle between Leeroy and Paddy Durcan.2 Rolls Royces of footballers, Durcan was slightly better on the night and looks to be at the top of his game rite now.
I thought Diarmuid did well in midfield. Broke a lot of kickouts and scored a great point in the 1st half. Would like to see Michael Plunkett get another run with Mayo during the league next year.
Brian O’Malley did well in midfield for Westport. He looks much more comfortable there than full back. Ben Doyle did well corner back, I can see why Horan has him in the county squad. The negative for Westport is how wasteful they were up front. They could have won the game otherwise. Fionn McDonagh shipped a heavy knock and didn’t reappear after half time.
As usual for Mitchels it was Paddy Durcan and Neil Douglas that stood out most.
Hard luck to the Mayo ladies. We haven’t an ounce of luck in big games in Croke Park it’s gone beyond a joke at this stage
Ryan o Donoghue and Gary Boylan very impressive for Belmullet today v claremorris.
Backdoorsam- lack of luck did not cost us this game. Poor shot selection. I didn’t understand Sarah Rowes role today or why she was left on so long. Carnacon players are badly missed.
Good to see that Carriage Dubh. I have my eye on both of those players. Jordan Flynn is another that I’m keen on, and should have put the U20 final behind him at this stage.
Carnacon players made themselves unavailable so can’t really say they were missed The ladies who played put in a fantastic effort and to get to an AI semifinals and perform like that is some achievement They really could have won but for some poor shot selection Hopefully going forward all our best players will make themselves available but credit must go to the present players and management for their efforts in 3019
The 4 best scoring forwards in the County not in the Mayo Senior panel at present
Ryan O’Donoghue Belmullet
Liam Irwin Breaffy
Enda Varley St Vincents/ Garrymore
Neil Douglas Castlebar Mitchels
Interesting there TH. Feel though that Dougie is too light – just doesn’t seem to have the physique for the county scene. Delighted to be proved wrong though.
If hes a bit light surely a good diet and Strength programme can change that, look at Con O ‘Callaghan and hes only 5″10.
Dougies performance in the 1st half against Westport was exceptional and not only can he score from play he can score longe range frees and 45s from the ground which Cillian has struggled with in the last few seasons .In Mayo our Achilles heel every year is not putting the ball over the bar, simple fact.17 wides v Roscommon, 13 against Donegal, Why not just give the likes of Douglas,Irwin, Varley, Orme, Tommy Conroy and Ryan O’Donoghue a chance and see how they fair in next years National League and give the olders heads the League off.In fairness to James he took a chance on Darren Coen and he delivered, when Pat Holmes and Rochford thought he wasn’t good enough.
Dougie is actually well able physically. Can take tackles well, is sturdy, low centre of gravity.
Liam Irwin immense today. 6 from play, most of them belters. Brilliant vision and footpassing. Great movement also. Makes it look simple which it isn’t. It’s all there for him if he wants it.
Best wishes to the Kiltane player for what must be a shocking injury given the 30min delay.
There’s a massive overreaction to a picture of con o Callahan looking buff. If was 19 or 20 when he started playing for the seniors and with good diet and training he filled out. The days of the likes of Paul Galvin or Kieran mcgeeney bursting out of their jersey are gone. Every player has a sweet spot in terms of their power to weight ratio and the lower the weight the better in terms of conditioning. Even big looking guys like aido or Michael Murphy are incredibly lean in reality. In a round about way I’m saying that Neil Douglas is in as good as shape as he can be in terms of weight, power and athleticism. I think unfortunately for him he’s just a bit off the level required, I’m saying this from what I’ve seen him play in the couple of games he’s played for mayo over the years. And before anyone jumps down my throat I’m in no way criticizing dougie; I’m a huge fan and he’s one of the best club players in the county. Would love to see Liam Irwin line out for mayo but I think if he really committed it would take 18 months for him to really get up to speed. Was a the ballintubber knockmore game, bit disappointed with orme and naughton as they had been talked up a lot.
Yeah best wishes to Tony Gaughan, looked a bad injury. I believe he was on the London team that we played in the 2013 Connacht final.
Neil Douglas works in Andy’s gym, and yes, he’s well put together.
Great result for Belmullet to make the quarter finals.
Was at Garry-Holly-Carra. Not a great standard of football. Stephen Coen played well at chb. Caolan Crowe marked D Coen – broke even I would say. Crowe deserves 3-4 league games next spring to see what he is like. If he deemed not good enough then- tell him and bring some other player into the panel. No other player at game today looked near county standard.
Ivwin really has forwards instinct- hope he gets a chance and commits to the cause.
Just a thought I hear what your saying about
Luck and that but when I think back to John Small picking the ball off the ground in the all ireland final and getting away with it and today we got punished for a double hop we never seem to get a break I know rules are rules so we can have no complaints. Not going in to the Carnacon debate well done to the ladies that made themselves available onwards and upwards
By virtue of the their sheer population, Dublin have a wealth of athletic and skillful players to chose from. Of course, money is crucial to build and maintain the structures that are there to further develop these players. Also, constant winning means more and more interest is generated and youngsters want to take up the sport or stick with the sport (for those who may be undecided or involved in multiple sports) so it’s a real snowball effect. Its likely that 10 years ago a good number of those athletic players in Dublin may have gone on to do other sports, whereas now its attractive for the elite to want to be a part of what they’ve now got in the capital. A monster! It’s the perfect scenario.
We’ll never have that same pool so we’ll have to work with what we have, and we came damn close several times to getting over the line. It’s tough for management and development squads in Mayo to decide do we go for the full-on athlete or the lad who is more of a natural forward? No easy answers and Dublin for the foreseeable will always be the bar.
Unfortunately, though, we might not always be lucky enough to be at the business end, especially given how this year ended. However, it should follow that the club players showing the consistently best form should be given a meaningful chance with the county. To be fair, more often than not I think that happens.
As always, it will be interesting to see who’s brought in next year. Whatever about chasing Dublin or trying to match them, you’d think the focus for 2020 will most definitely be on winning Connaught and not thinking beyond that.