I’ve been out of the jurisdiction over the last twenty-four hours and a bit and, in the meantime, there’s been a noticeable gear-change in relation to media focus on Sunday’s upcoming All-Ireland semi-final clash with Tyrone. Some of this coverage glut has been discussed here already (and apologies to those of you who posted comments containing links to this kind of content only to see them languishing in moderation limbo for a while – anything with a link in it automatically gets snared in moderation for anti-spam reasons and I wasn’t networked all the time while I was away) but, as much for my own catching-up purposes as anything else, here’s a selection of what’s been said by whom over the last day or so.
The nationals, having moved on at last from Sunday’s hurling semi-final, had a fair bit of stuff to wade through. Pride of place in this respect, for my money, goes to Darragh Ó Sé’s weekly column in today’s Irish Times, which he devotes mainly to talking about us and where he concludes that we’re perfectly primed to ‘do a number’ on Tyrone this Sunday. In my more optimistic moments, I’d tend to agree with the Kerryman, and would dearly love to see this number turning out to be another double-digit one.
The same paper has an interview piece with Keith Higgins and a piece where Mickey Harte talks a load of old balls about not sending out his teams to play in a cynical fashion. Sorry, Mickey, the cynic in me isn’t buying the line you’re peddling there.
The Irish Independent has a similar Mickey Harte piece (I like their headline on that one) and it also has an interview piece with Andy Moran, who points to David Clarke’s save from Colm McFadden in the first half of last year’s All-Ireland final – an intervention that prevented a third Donegal goal after only ten minutes of the game – as being the key turning point that has set the team on the road to where they now are.
Over at the Irish Examiner, meanwhile, John Fogarty has an article on the brothers-in-arms situation at midfield next Sunday, where our two O’Shea siblings come face-to-face with their two Cavanaghs.
RTÉ have some quotes from an interview piece they did with James Horan, an article that also has a Soundcloud thingy with a podcast from where I assume the quotes emanate. NewsTalk have a similar article cum podcast containing quotes from James, with their audio content culled from yesterday Evening’s Off The Ball radio show.
Speaking of audio, the Mayo News pre-match podcast is also available, this one featuring Pat Holmes and Sean Rice, as well as regulars Mike Finnerty, Danny Carey and host Rob Murphy (Ed’s on his holliers but will, I’m reliably informed, be jetting back in time for throw-in next Sunday).
The Mayo News also has interview pieces with Andy Moran and Keith Higgins (which cover much of the same ground as the articles featuring the players mentioned above), a feature on minor star Diarmuid O’Connor (Cillian’s kid brother) and Sean Rice’s column. There’s loads more in the paper itself, which is available either in hard copy or in digital format.
That’s about it in terms of making up for lost ground. Both teams are due to be announced at some stage tomorrow so I guess the build-up to Sunday will take on further momentum at that stage.
It’s gonna be a tight one!! I can feel it in me bones!!! Get ready for a battle Mayo, but we can do it.
Just a heads up WJ, the Newstalk link goes to the same RTE page as the RTE link
Isn’t it wonderful to have another O’Connor coming through. Let us hope that in a few short years we will have them both turning out for Mayo.
WJ, I read the articles/interviews with Mickey Harte. I appreciate that he is caught between a rock and a hard place. He cannot publicly condemn Cavanagh for what he did. However, it also sits uneasy (I’m sure) for him to cloud the issue by drawing comparison with other offences that take place in games. Two wrongs, as they say, don’t make a right. I said in an earlier blog that I bow to the knowledge of other contributors, when it comes to football. Having said that, and from what I have read, I fear this proposed introduction of a black card, but with a substitute coming on, is no deterrent.
I read the links contributors gave to James Horan’s piece and that of Keith Higgins, they were excellent. See you all at the weekend.
Oh Lord Martin Brehany at it again what is his problem with us I’m fuming don’t read his article in the indo today 🙁
Thanks, Mike, I’ve sorted that link to the NewsTalk interview now.
Just seen it, Livenhope – if anyone else wants to read it, it’s here. The level of ‘analysis’ undertaken is shockingly juvenile – typical Breheny in other words.
waste of time for my employer this week , cannot do a thing , have been busted reading this site on a few occasions since monday 🙂
Breheny’s ‘statistical’ articles are the work of a man who has long since run out of anything interesting to say. I don’t think he really understands modern day football so resorts to this kind of writing without ever looking beyond the numbers to the reasoning for the figures.
I’d suggest that a large part of the reason for those stats is that London were given frees every time someone breathed on them to keep the Connacht final from turning into a massacre. But that doesn’t support his story so we’ll just ignore it…
It was interesting to hear the Mayo News lads comments about Ray Silke saying that ‘only a sadist wouldnt want Mayo to go all the way’ but inferring that it was exactly how he felt. Silke came back to St Geralds where he once taught after Galway won the All Ireland in 1998 and got a great reception from everyone. It is a shame that the likes of him and Breheny, both Galway men, seem to have a strong preference for Mayo not to succeed. Very poor form.
Does Breheny struggle for a story every day of the week? He claims that Tyrone’s case in defending themselves against cynical play received a major boost with his Indo research. Apart from his arrogance, all he did was count cards and frees!
I’d expect more from a Young Scientist project
By its nature cynical play is not solely represented by frees and cards
Watched the QF again last night as an example and under cynical play you could include the pull back which both teams were guilty of but once again:
1. Kavanagh and Bradley (and Rory Galagher running on) with arms out wide crying to the ref to get AOS sent off for the McGlynn shoulder
2. Same again when AOS hardly touched McFadden and fell backwards slipping. This was their main contribution all day. Trying to get players sent off
3. Thompson running in to COC with both hands tackling his face
4. Best of all, Eamon McGee falling down and complaining to the ref whenever he was tackled but meanwhile doing all the sledging, pushing and pulling he could get away with. His real character showed when he stamped on EV to get himself sent off. He couldn’t face the torment for the rest of the game
Donegal have taken cynicism to a new level with their sledging, berating of the ref, trying to get players sent off, fingers in the eye area. But (apart from Murphy and McHugh) they were pathetic in the QF and resorted to those tactics when they were outplayed.
THAT,Martin Breheny, is cynical play and it doesn’t always get seen by the officials
Just read brehonys shite, anyone else get a vibe off it , it was like he was rubbing his hands with sheer delight as he revealed Mayo were top of the table for cynical play ,according to his nonsense that is.
It’s puke journalism. Didn’t realise he’s a Galway man.
For some strange reason any Galway man I know would secretly love to see Mayo lose another final, they were delighted when Donegal beat us. As Declan stated above we were happy to support and congratulate them….
Can’t wait for Sunday, I am praying that Mayo really can perform again half as well as the donegal thing. It’s all very quiete around ballina, no mass of flags and I really think it’ll be the same next week if Mayo win on Sunday. The losses of other years has made any notions take a back seat. A good thing I suppose, the players can just tip away with work and living without any big fuss.
Having said that, I get the sense there’s a massive volcano boiling away beneath mayo, if it erupts in September it would be a sight to behold.
Its laughable really.Call it nit picking.Sounds like he doesn’t have much else to say.Anyway half the frees that Donegal were given against us were on the soft side.What breheny failed to mention was that there is a big problem with inconsistency with referees at the moment some blowing up for everything and others not blowing up when they should.So those statistics dont mean fuck all.I have come across a lot of Galway heads and if they can put us not at any opportunity they will.Like the Galway player who was on championship matters and said Donegal would beat us.Now i didn’t believe for a second that he meant that.He just couldn’t bring himself to saying Mayo would win after the hiding we gave them.No in saying that i do no Galway lads and we have the craic and banter.But that’s all it is and they would like to see us win.And i have mentioned before i managed to get a Galway head to come to game and support us.I have even got him a Mayo cap.But he doesn’t know that yet 🙂
Us Rossies are not like them begruding Galway lads! Slike has a grudge against all things not Galway. For what its worth can’t see Tyrone getting close on Sunday and hope youse win. Aidan O Se is some player, nothing like him before.
Martin Breheny is a trash journalist and always loves to write against Mayo. I suppose Tyrone wont be able to claim anti-southern media bias now.
martin breheny . the man who made a book about one of ireland most succesful sportsmen into a more boring read than peig sayers , in fact peig actually had a few interesting bits in it unlike “cody” ! i will never get back the time i wasted reading that book , so i wont be stung again by reading any more of brehenys muck.
most galway people i know happy for us to win , i tend to fast forward any podcast when Way Siwke comes on as well , cant be listening to him
As I have said before, not only do I not buy the Indo, I wouldn’t read it if it was handed to me. And that is all because of McGee and Breheny. If they pass as football journalists then every single contributor to this site is also one, because the comments on here are more knowledgable and unbiased (which is amazing as it’s a Mayo fan based site) than the shite those two scribe and sell as journalism. The Times and The Examiner are the places for unbiased, and that’s all we want!, informative and modern football journalism. Not the 1970’s and Maroon-tinted opinions of those two.
Thanks for the free link WJ but I will pass on clicking it. There is only one way to shut those pair up and that is to win this fucking thing.
And win it we will.
Roger Milla, very funny on both comments. I too have been caught red-handed at work on this site and if they ask for a server report for the last 2 weeks I can expect the P45 with the wages!
Fuck it. There was Mayo football before I ever worked a day.
Hon Mayo
Jeez we are blazing a trail and taking no prisoners on this run. Nobody will ever accuse us of being “nice” or “soft” again. We better win and keep winning because we have handed out a whacking to anybody that doesn’t buy into the script.
Donegal got a verbal and physical hammering. We have a shot at the usual suspects ranging from Breheny to Hayes. Funnily enough the old soft underbelly we have has been exposed with Joe Brolly. This was a man who fingered us going into last years All Ireland final. A man who couldn’t bear to say our name and a man who ridiculed us. Then he says a few nice things about us this season and we are tripping over each other crawling up his butt. Twitter would make you vomit at the amount of Mayos creeping behind Joe.
We have now lit on Galway and Silke, yesterday it was one of our own , a man who won an All Ireland medal as a sub in 1951 Micky Loftus and who has done more and achieved more in his little finger than i would in a life time. I have had differences with Brehony but I emailed him and put our side of the argument. I found him an affable chap.Likewise I emailed RTE about Brolly only to be met with a standard answer. Silke I always found to be a realist and more than fair to Mayo.
I actually believe that we should fear nobody. Always believed that. Yet, and I caused a row here last year, I am amazed at the way Galway spook us. To me they are another Connacht team. To a Mayo delegate nine years ago they were “the benchmark” and beating them made his season. By the way I am after seeing the ultimate kick in my rocks. A guy from Roscommon telling us how they love us! Now that’s taking the piss, a county that you could not hammer enough times often enough. This has been a bad week for me… a very bad week.
Hey bloggers – could we focus on what people have to say rather than those who say it.
Do we require all reporters to doff their cap to Mayo? We need critics not lapdogs – people who proclaim from the rooftops how Mayo ‘deserve’ an All Ireland. These people are no help.
What Breheny says is actually true. We have conceded more frees. And James Horan alluded to it in some of the interviews, saying to the effect, that the team needed further work on turnovers. I noted against Donegal – and this is carping, but important for the long run – that we struggled a bit when Donegal broke from defence and fouling in the full forward line was obviously a tactical ploy.
There is also the question that what Joe Mc Quillan might pass, Deegan might fail – or vice versa. In other words, we need cleaner tackles that concede less frees.
Haha good man JC. I also cannot understand for the life of me the love in with Brolly, he absolutely crucified us last year even in the aftermath of the final, can’t remember his exact line but it was something like we shouldn’t be allowed participate in finals.Ill never forget his “Cork will wipe the floor with Mayo” that type of language is disrespectful for a man in his position .
I’ll never be in the Brolly camp no matter what, even if he buys a holiday home in Achill and starts attending Mayo training sessions and becomes pals with James Horan.
There’s lies, damned lies and then there’s statistics
3 reds and 27 yellows in 6 games for Tyrone tells me all I need to know
From my own point of view, even last year when he was ribbing us, I had time for Brolly. He was the gaelic football equivalent of Eamon Dunphy, someone there to “stir it up” and provide the controversy. Spillane and O’Rourke were then to provide the more balanced opinion.
At the end of the day, columinists, pundits and journos do not know any more than we do. Look at their match predictions and then see the actual match outcomes and the two will very rarely match. Look it, Aiden Henry in The Connaught said there was a very real and present danger that we would lose to Galway!!!
They can all talk the talk but our lads on Sunday have to walk the walk and that is all that counts.
The majority of the comments above sum up, in my view, the stereotypical Mayo Gaa fan. We are so insecure about our football team, far more than Kerry, Dublin, Cork or Tyrone fans. It can all be attributed to the inability of our team to close the deal out in the last 25 years. Supporters of the aforementioned teams have experienced success on the national stage and their fans are not as obsessed with winning it again as our fans are of winning the AI for the first time in most of our lifetimes.
This mentality is all very natural of course, for supporters who have never experienced ultimate success. Its almost like we need reassurance from outsiders that we really are as good as everyone says, that we are a serious footballing county, that we are “rightful” favourites for the All Ireland. The evidence of this is everywhere. When a Mayo fan talks about football with a fella from Kerry or Cork, for example, we crave acceptance. We even fish for compliments. I’ve done it myself. We want the Kerryman to say “ye have the best team in Ireland”, “Aidan O Shea is the best player in the country” etc, etc. It feels good when someone from Sligo or Leitrim compliments our team, but it feels so much better when a Kerryman or a Dub says it.
Take Joe Brolly. Everyone on this site detested him last year after his comments about us, and we all ranted angrily on this forum about the nasty things big bad Joe said about us. But as John Cuffe pointed out above, our soft underbelly is being exposed. He is now compulsive listening for Mayo fans, even more so after last year. We hang onto his every word, and when he praises us now it feels so much better than when Ciaran Whelan or someone who has always praised us does it. Brolly himself is a very clever fella, and I think he realises this. His praise for us has been off the scale this year, way overboard, but if we lose he will hammer us, mark my words, and gain great amusement from our subsequent reactions…But we thought you liked us Joe..
Its a massive inferiority complex we have, and it will always be there until we win Sam. Its why we get so excited when irrelevant national media personalities criticise us.
Thankfully what I have described above is the mentality of Mayo supporters. The current players however, are a different kettle of fish. They believe they are the best team in Ireland, and for this James Horan deserves so much credit. He has overcome this inferiority complex that is the default setting for every Mayo footballer since 1951, and has take this panel of players and “rewired” them, for want of a better expression, to think that they belong in Croke Park EVERY August/September, not just once every ten years. This is why I believe they will win Sunday, because the mindset of this team is so different to previous Mayo teams. The team’s mindset is now the same as the other 3 contenders left. Just win and move on to the next game. No big deal.
Didn’t realise every one was in love with Brolly?! I cannot bear him, absolutely despise him. His antics before the final last year were bad, his newspaper article after the final worse. How he’s let on national television is a mystery. He tries only to be sensationalist and hasn’t a clue a lot of the time. His ‘analysis’ of games is juvenile at best and his bias towards certain teams is sickening. If he turns up before Sunday wearing a Mayo jersey, with a tattoo on his face saying ‘ Mayo for Sam’ and hair dyed green and red, it still won’t matter a jot to me. He’s an asshole who has laughed at Mayo teams for years and should not be acknowledged as any kind of as football analyst by any GAA fan, Mayo or not.
Aussie exile, I agree with your sentiments in the final paragraph but do not, for one minute, include me in the “we” you speak about in the previous 4 paragraphs. I am not insecure about this current squad, or last years squad either, and I certainly do not crave assurances and compliments from outsiders. I couldn’t give a shite what a Kerry man or a Cork man think about us. Not two shites actually. I have a fair idea about football, I know what I see and I believe what I see. I do have a bit of time for Brolly but only for the fire he stirs up and I have long ago given up paying too much heed to what the pundits say. We know as much ourselves. I couldn’t care less who thinks we “deserve” to win the bloody think because, as William Munny said in Unforgiven, “deserve’s got nuthing to do with it”. We will win it because we are good enough on the day or we won’t.
Really Aussie exile, have you thought about that , Tyrone don’t even speak to RTE, they never stop lashing out at all media, free state bias etc.
I have also heard on several occasion different counties give out hell about media and journalism.
James Horan in his interview the other night pointed out that analysis is done to death with social media and forums etc nowadays and it’s just completely overdone , even though he was alluding to tactics it also comes into play here on the points you’re making, it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, it’s done to death and you say Mayo people are inferior et
Aussie Exile .You make us sound like soft cuddly teddy bears that just need a good hug 🙂 But i take your point and wouldn’t disagree that Brolly thinks that he can grill us one year and the next year be all nice and the he fans will just roll over to have our bellys rubbed and everything is rosey. I think we do like getting complaments from other counties that bit of reassurance.There is not many football managers i would look up to but i do Horan.I never really had time for o mahony or maughan or homes i did like Mickey Moran .Have i forgotten any manager since 96? Look how McGuinness got the whole county never mind the team to believe he could bring Sam back to Donegal.I believe in Horan and lads in the same way.Its a first for me.
Posted that before I was finished, ffs.
Anyways the inferior thing, I don’t buy into it all, this set up under Horan has believe it or not developed a new attitude with supporters too. We believe, we believe in this squad and management, everyone is united in their effort, there is no agendas , no personalities, it s just maximise your ability and play to win the game, you see nobody can ask for anymore if it fails its nobody’s fault it’s just tough shit.
Don’t show the white feather because we’re goin all the way.
And just to be straight about it as pebblesmeller pointed out we don’t all need reassurance from other counties.
Interesting to see Peter Canavan’s opinion in the Mayo News. Tyrone have thrived on the siege mentality for a long time and are masters at using it to their benefit. They will have been brewing up this siege mentality to the extreme since Brolly’s outburst followed by elements of the national media critcising them. In Tyrone they will have viewed this as a complete and utter assault on them, as a team, their county etc. Meanwhile the national and local press talk of Mayo as the team of the year, this is Mayo’s year blah blah blah.. It has all played perfectly into Mickey Harte’s hands and if we are not careful Mayo will get a rude awakening..and this bubble of ours that has been expanding rapidly over the past few weeks might suddenly be burst by Sunday evening. Kevin McStay too points to us having to be fully prepared for a Tyrone backlash.
Alot of Sunday’s battle will be our hunger/pain of last years defeat and drive to avenge that V’s their feeling of being damned, ridiculed and insulted. Added to this they will be using our crazy 2/7 bookies status as another ‘insult’ to them. I know Tyrone people…this is how they will be thinking. And they believe O’Neill has a big game in him!
I also dont like what im reading in Mayo press about us having a far better team than them. What is this based on? What have we really done to merit such remarks. Theyve all ireland medals jingling in their pockets from minor, to u21 to senior..they beat us in castlebar this year in the league…we’ve won one competitive game out of our past 5 with them…and they got to a league final. I can understand that our performances so far merit us being slight favourites but donegal(no matter what ppl think) were gone and totally out of juice when they met us. We only played OK v Roscommon and London.
Also talk of just stopping Cavanagh and O’neill being enough to stop Tyrone is utter lunacy. Conor Clarke, Peter Harte, Martin, Mattie Donnelly….class players who should only be underestimated at your peril…and do we even need to mention Kyle Coney in Mayo….and he cant even make their starting team!
I’m telling ye, if we approach this game anyway short of fully mentally prepared we will be in touble. Im not trying to dampen spirits or trying to rain on the parade but like many of you Ive followed mayo religiously for decades and ive seen too many times our team lose when they are ‘supposed’ to win and vice versa. This is the best Mayo team ive ever seen since i started going to watch Mayo as a kid in the early 80’s, but they have to go and do it when it counts…and that’s this Sunday.
This Mayo team have more to prove than Tyrone.
Aussie Exile, “He has overcome this inferiority complex that is the default setting for every Mayo footballer since 1951” Does that group of footballers you speak about also include the players from 1964 to 1966? That is the group of players that narrowly lost 3 Connaught finals to Galway who then went on to win 3 All Ireland titles on the bounce? The same group of players that even Ger Colleran, the Galway captain, said were every bit as good, if not better on occasions, as them?
That point about Mayo in the Sixties is a bit of a myth, Pebblesmeller, and it appears to be based on the close run we gave them in the 1966 Connacht final, where they only beat us by a point (though it took us two matches to get past Sligo in the semi-final that year). In 1964 they beat us handily in the final (2-12 to 1-5) and in 1965 we didn’t even play them, as we lost the semi-final to Sligo by 2-11 to 2-8.
Pebblesmeller – if they were that good, why didn’t they prove it in 1967 and 1969?
Mayonaze – finally, someone talking some sense. The expectations have got out of control on this blog in the last two weeks. So we hammer the losing Ulster finalists in a quarter-final – so what? We did the same last year too. And for a long time it looked like we would do the same to Dublin in the semi-final.
But then – collapse. We just about make it out of that semi-final alive, and we all know how the final went, despite the manly and honourable fightback.
Yes, Mayo have shown a very welcome ruthlessness in all games in 2013. But the championship isn’t over yet, lads. Tyrone have pulled themselves through tight matches in the qualifiers, something Mayo have not yet had to do. I know that’s because of Mayo’s great starts, but the point is that nobody here knows how the 2013 team will react to going four, five, six points down.
No team coasts to an All-Ireland any more. Mayo still have tough questions to answer, and this Sunday’s set of questions might well be a lot tougher than many people think.
I think ye are picking me up slightly wrong lads, I wasn’t saying every single fan in Mayo is like that. But outside the county, we actually are seen as cuddly teddy bears by many. Take Dara O Se for example. I’ve read his column for the last 2 seasons in the times every week, and his autobiography and EVERY single time he discusses Mayo, he says the usual condescending clichés “lovely people in mayo” “football mad”, and then: “we would have seen them as a soft touch mentally” etc. Now even he thinks this current team is different.
What I’m trying to say is supporters of counties tend to mirror the personality displayed by their teams on the pitch over a long number of years. Kerry people genuinely believe that the best footballers in Ireland have been born in Kerry since the GAA was founded. Its rubbish of course, but that’s what they believe because they have been so successful. Fans of Kerry grow up with an inherent natural arrogance about their team and football within the county. They expect to be in the AI final every year. Dublin likewise. Cork also (Eddie Brennan on sunday game last weekend said Cork people have a natural cockiness, and they will expect to beat Clare). Even Galway, more so than Mayo anyway, expect to win an all Ireland every few years. This has been the case for us in the modern era of the GAA, like it or not. Every year we don’t win it makes the mental baggage heavier the following season. The only way to change it is to win, then win again and again. Tyrone before 2003 were just like us. Leinster Rugby prior to 2009 also. Padraig Harrington in the Majors. They all made the breakthrough after years of being a soft touch and built a dynasty by winning 3 or 4 times afterwards. If we can get over the line once, then a whole new dawn opens for mayo football. For now though its just about getting over the line.
That’s why Horan has been so impressive with this team, psychologically he has broken down barriers and made this team believe they have just as much right to expect to win an all Ireland as Kerry or Dublin. Psychologically he has made it a level playing field between Mayo and counties far more successful than us. In fairness Mc Guinness did the same last year with Donegal. I actually think Horan has achieved more, because mentally Mayo people are even more scarred by the past than Donegal were. It then comes down to who has the best footballers at that moment in time. I feel we have this year that why I think we can win the AI, provided we stay mentally strong as the finish line gets nearer.
I kinda agree with you Mayonaze, Tyrones first objective will be to keep it tight as hell but the question still remains will they have the ability to do so. A lot of concerns seem to be about Tyrone s siege mentality and this will galvanise them etc , that’s all well and good but what are Mayo going to do just step aside for the first 20mins because of Tyrones determination.
I’m sure we can all agree this Mayo team are not shy about any aspect of the game and all we can do is analyse what’s happened so far and imo Tyrone have not been all that impressive, they certainly don’t look as pacey as Mayo.They were very lucky to get out of the Hyde with a win and Mayo beat Ross with a fair bit of ease in reality.Now that’s simplistic way at looking at it I know but it’s what the bookies and followers have to go by,current form.
Is there a big game in O Neill, maybe there is but to me he looks a dampened soul this year tbh, he looks beat, his body language is not right , he almost looks depressed
Point taken WJ. But it is far too great a generalisation to state that every man that has played football for Mayo since 1951 suffered from an inferiority complex and hence that is the sole erason we have not won Sam Maguire since. They may not have been good enough, committed enough, prepared enough, supported enough (by the county board), developed enough or even have enough good players around them. But I cannot imagine men like Collins, Forde, Padden, Maher, Cahill, McMenamon, Kilgallon, McDonald, Flanagan feeling inferior to anyone.
If O’Neill is depressed I hope no-one produces the Prozac until Monday morning.
Personally, I don’t agree with this inferiority complex idea at all though I do think we’ll all walk that bit taller the day we finally claim our fourth All-Ireland title!
Personally I don’t give a shit what people outside the county think about Mayo. I want us to do well for us, not for anyone else. If someone has a valid point, which is rare enough, take it on board, and ignore the rest. They don’t know as much about Mayo football as you do.
Agreed, I will be 9 foot tall if it comes true.
I know Willie joe you are not too keen on player updates, but for those of us who are not based in Mayo, accurate news is welcomed. I know A O Shea had a mild strain but is seemingly okay, any updates on Andy Moran and Tom Cuniffe. Also there are reports that Michael is near full fitness, which is great news.
Anyone know when the team is going to be named?
I’m fine with updates, Joe, it’s rumours and leaked tactical formations and so forth that I’m less keen on! I know the Mayo News had that story about Aidan O’Shea earlier in the week (as you say, he seems to be okay) and it also reported that Tom Cunniffe was okay too. As far as I know, Andy is good to go as well and that Mayo News report also said that Mickey Conroy is fit and available for selection too.
Horan’s Brigade:
You said exactly what I feel about Brolly and very well too.
I dont rate Mr.Brolly as an analyst and people who just speak over other people do nothing for me at all.
For fear that is not bad enough he has been ultra critical of Mayo in the past even suggesting at one time that Mayo should never be let play in an All Ireland again!
And suggesting that Donegal were cynical and he respected but did not admire them is verbal garbage. How do you not admire someone you respect?
People have short memories.
John Cuffe and others:
No one is questioning what Micky Loftus has done but his suggestion was mad. I love the reek,love my faith but suggesting publicly to bring players up before Sunday is ludicrous and it is FAIR comment to call it so. And more importantly the kind of analysis needed does not include this.
Inferiority Complex: We love our football in Mayo. We are decent people. We have had great teams before, teams like 96 where they were professional. It was other peoples professionalism that cost us that All Ireland. But there has to be a little niggling doubt til we win the All Ireland.
Mayomen have succeeded all over the world and Mayo supporters as evidenced by this site are the best we will ever see. We keep coming back. Ar Aghaidh linn go deo.
Well said making progress, the countdown is on, Come on Mayo!!!!!
2 very interesting articles in The Irish Examiner. Gives an insight into some of what goes on behind the scenes. Worth a read.
Team just named for Sunday.
http://www.mayogaa.com/news/277555/Mayo_Senior_Football_Team_V_s_Tyrone
Have you the link pebblesmeller?
Here they are. One is about the medical side of things (here) and the other is an interview piece with Cillian O’Connor about his recuperation from injury (here).
Happy with team.
That simple.
Thanks for putting that up WJ. I am afraid I am not that technologically advanced mayomaningalway. No real surprises with the team but Feeney can consider himself a little unlucky. However, the modern game is a 20 man game and everyone has their part to play.
Really looking forward to this.
Hon Mayo.
Lads, call it the scars of losing over the years, I dont know, but I’m actually not too bothered about Sunday. Naturally if we are two points up in injury time and Tyrone are battering our goals I’ll be going mental, but I genuinely feel that at this stage we’ll win it when we we’re good enough to win it and the Gods deem it fit that we finally get a bit of luck.
Till then I’ll support them but I wont agonize over it because when its to be its to be.
Personally I think this year theres as good a chance as what has gone before, if we lose of course I’ll be disappointed, but I know we’ll keep coming back and will eventually win
Poor Breheny mustn’t ye realise that the new editor of the Independent is now a Westport woman and I assume she will bring him to task on his crap journalism pretty soon about her native county. He hates to see Mayo footballers do well and its so evident in his writing all along and today he tries to sow seeds of doubt about our play to the public. I hope he has to write about us again in September! Up Mayo.
As supporters we are obsessed about how our team is viewed in the media–i personally could not give a sh!!e. the less the media like us the better we play.
Ah lads who gives 3 fuc.. about brolly, mcgee, breheny or indeed that little shite up there from donegal mchugh, who came out with his own tripe in the star 2 weeks ago about the oshea brothers and how did kerry miss out on them, this from an asshole who 3 of his county men last year had mayo fathers. The media from dublin cant get enouigh of mayo this past week, radio, tv and newspapers in ballina , castlebar and even ole ballyhaunis, i,d take them c….. with a grain of salt for they will be the first to boot in if we lose tomorrow or the all ireland final. ….As for the herring chokers and sheepstealers cheering for us, they,ll be a small minority, a very small minority, prob. the ones that have connections with the county.