He hasn’t had much to say in public since the immediate aftermath of last September’s All-Ireland final but this morning James Horan has made up for lost time. In an interview with the Irish Examiner’s Terry Reilly (here), James takes a strong – and fully deserved – cut at RTÉ and the antics they got up to ahead of the All-Ireland final before going on to concentrate on the challenges facing his team in the year ahead.
In finally breaking his silence on this issue, James goes about it the right way. He doesn’t (like a previous Mayo manager I could name) put on the poor mouth about it but instead simply calls the so-called national broadcaster out for their “unwarranted and incorrect” coverage of us – which, of course, stretches right back to the league final last year – and states that as time passes “we’re changing minds and changing attitudes”.
He also has plenty of interesting things to say about the All-Ireland itself, in particular those pivotal opening moments. Quite correctly, he rubbishes the over-simplistic conclusion that we got our match-ups wrong at the start and points instead to errors that occurred in the lead-up to those key scores for Donegal, such Karl Lacey’s ability to swam thirty yards downfield without encountering any challenges and those early balls we pumped inside that came straight back out again.
What’s really positive about the interview is how James speaks about the experience of being in an All-Ireland and how it’ll stand to the players, whom he says “just can’t wait to get back on the field again”. He also reveals that the panel is being strengthened – “we’ve already some strong additions to the group and we’re not finished yet” – and, perhaps slightly tongue-in-cheek, he reckons that the squad have some way to go to reach their potential when he says “we did okay in 2012, but compared to what this team is capable of, we didn’t perform to 60% of our true potential”. That’s one for the Celtic-bound Messiah to suck on.
All in all, I think this is exactly the kind of talk we want to be hearing from our man right now. We all know – and he knows better than any of us – that we should have won last September but no amount of moaning now about what we left behind then is going to turn us into the All-Ireland champions of 2012. The only thing that counts now is how we do in 2013 and it’s great to see James so focused on the challenges that lie ahead.
There is, I know, a longer interview with James in this week’s Western People which I guess will be hitting the shelves later on and which I suppose will cover much of this same ground in more detail. I’m away again at the minute but I’ll try to pick up a copy later in the week to see if there are any further nuggets in that one.
What a lovely start to my day … Thanks as always Willie Joe … 🙂
With respect WJ, Horans dialogue with Terry Reilly was total chit talk. By talking up the opposition the media and rte in general gave Mayo an advantage if anything. The evidence of this was Dublins lame performance for the first 50 mins in the semi final. Let the football do the talking. Our new man Evans appears to be at the same carry on too. I utterely fail to see what point Horan is trying to make. Copying the Donegal managers statement of been only at 60%, awful rubish. Happy new year.
i see what you are saying james joyce , i prefer it when the media write us off as well.
right lads , who are the new additions to the panel james is talking about ?
Mayo DID let the football do the talking, James (Joyce). That’s why they got to the All-Ireland final and put in a much better show than they are given credit for. Mayo reached the League final too. Those two achievements demand respect, but Mayo don’t get respect from RTE in general. Think back to the godawful ‘Championship Matters’ preview of the quarter-final against Down when ‘Banty’ McEneaney tipped Down to win because, well, because Ulster is a better championship than Connacht and because Mayo hadn’t been too impressive against Galway!
Needless to say Marty Morrissey declined to point out that Mayo hadn’t even played Galway (I’m guessing that’s because he didn’t know). And we don’t need to mention that ‘respect’ shown by Michael Lyster’s three amigos towards Mayo over the years. James Horan is not asking for Donegal-style levels of hype for Mayo; just a balanced, infofrmed discussion of BOTH teams’ chances in a championship match. That’s a brief which should not be beyond a ‘national’ broadcaster.
davyj you would be sick to the teeth if you let that kind of thing let you down ,
a couple of things i remember over the last while was splillanes “junk status” after we beat galway and the rossies in 2 tough games in terrible conditions , we then came up to croke park and bet cork , did he eat his words ? did he feck , they just move on to the next spoof.
or what about kildare the 4th best team in the country earlier this year hahahahah feckin classic that was, none of his colleagues call him out on it , why would they , they dont want to be called out on their own spoofing .
anyway bottom line is they will like us when we win and they better not be hanging around the team hotel the night we do or they will be sick listening to mayo fans who will want to remind them of all the muck they have spouted down through the years.
DavyJ, Mayo did in deed do very well to reach 2 national finals in 2012. For this they deserve huge credit and they did let their football do the talking. So why deviate from a winning formula in 2013, let them lads in the media talk away, Horan should not feel the need to get involved. Dublins new manager Gavin comes across as a grand quiet fella.
Lads I reckon the reason he has it out for rte is that they obviously called Mayo out for “tactical fouling” against dublin and this definitely influenced decisions with a few early yellows being shown. Something as rte should not have done in my opinion
James Joyce, I hear you, and you have a point – I always prefer the media to be talking up the opposition. And unstoppable, I think you might be on to something, but looking at the final again over Christmas, Mayo were extremely physical, as were Donegal, and I didn’t get the impression we were unduly punished for it.
I guess we’re all grasping at straws until we read the full transcript in the Western. The cherry-picking of quotes in the Examiner might unintentionally give a different slant on this conversation than James Horan intended.
Interesting interview with Horan and thanks W. J. for having it on the doorstep with the milk!
Should have won? Don’t think so – I never felt we got that close to them or had them rattled. Donegal went 6 up a couple of times in the second half; we had to chase them back. And why are we worried about those Sunday Game people? The fact that they don’t like us is what we really need and to our advantage. Horan is cute in targeting the influencing of referees – this is where managerial interventions with the media can count. It was effective in the Joe Mc Quillan case and we have only to look across the water at how Alex Ferguson operates to see how effective this can be. Supporters want Mayo to be liked all the time. Fuck the begrudgers.
I like the fighting talk though and the bullishness about 2013. Can’t wait to see who these new faces might be. One new addition, we should cry out for, and I have said this before, is Pearce Hanley. That power, that pace, that football intelligence, would complement so much of what Mayo are doing right at the moment. We could use him in any position.
What would it take to get him back? Would money sort it? I would start a campaign immediately if there was any possibility. Surely some means could/can be found to defer the contract for a year. All of Mayo should move Heaven and Earth to get him back.
Other possibilities include Aidan Kilcoyne if he is in the right frame of mind for the Horan set up. And finally, one are where the current management has fallen down a bit is in the way Alan Freeman is used. He is a class player, but we haven’t made the best of his talent.
I watched the Jimmy’s Winnin Matches thing on RTE the other night. I heard Brolly say Mayo committed lots of ‘professional fouls’. What is a ‘professional foul’? Seriously, I’ve never heard it only from that little man with a big mouth. Could somebody, anybody point out what they are to me please.
Good work by Mick Gallagher. Interesting that poor old Kevin Cassidy got frozen out over an innocuous interview given to Declan Bogue but our man shoots the breeze totally carefree .
What have we learned from it? Well adieu to any future young Mort might envisage. As regards RTE , The Sunday Game etc, too late now. The league final was the time to put the boot in. Spillane didn’t take long to put Brolly in his box over comments over the Gooch. No point doing it in Janurary .
Old ground here, we blew it in first ten minutes. I don’t buy into the possession stuff or closing gap, they missed two more goals and we were lucky not to be 4 goals down in fifteen minutes.
Surprised he fingered his own players who failed to tackle Lacey not once but a few times. Glad it wasn’t me who named them and wonder how they will react to the managers view.
All in all a very insightful interview but perhaps dry powder and let’s let our football in the summer do the talking . In regards RTE, let’s do a Micky Harte and simply blank them. They hate us anyway. Just sayin …
Well we can post all we want and Horan can say anything he sees fit to say but he has put the ball in Mayo court now. Put up or shut up time, everyone is fed up to the teeth listening to us the last twenty five years, our own kind included.
Win Sam Maguire or get ta fook .
I’m surprised with that Horan interview, i thought he was level headed guy that gave little way? Mayo must go and win the All Ireland, no point in wasting time complaining about it. To say Mayo didn’t perform to 60% of their true potential is only adding extra pressure on the team remember the expectations on Mayo this year haven’t been as high since the mid 90s. Been talked down has helped Horan’s side they were given little chance v Cork,Dublin etc & went out in those games to prove the critics wrong.
Reading between the lines of that interview it seems Horan won’t be sticking around for too long. He’s brought Mayo along way in two years gonna take a good manager to replace him.
“We all know – and he knows better than any of us – that we should have won last September”
Have watched back the final over a dozen times every viewing is painful but TBH while we gave a great account of ourselves after the shocking start we never looked like winning the game. Donegal had us at arm’s length they never panicked we really needed a goal to swing the game but their defence held firm and at no point did i think we should have won that game unlike the 1996 All Ireland final that was certainly one should have won.
Fight talk from James Horan or more fuel for the media fire?
I think James was right to highlight the shocking amateur coverage that comes from our national broadcaster. Was totally biased, cruel in how bad it was and I totally agree with the poster above re. the annoying one kidney being from the occupied territory and his “professional foul” nonsense. Is it any wonder I won’t pay a tv license to such an organisation…..
Never a fan of building siege mentality but seein as the special one and the Scottish one have faith in it it may lead to the result that will shut the patronisers up.
Curious to see what additions
Perhaps the time it took to settle was due to a lack of concentration – too much time for the mind to wander during the old style kick around as donegal did the hokey pokey again and again
I can see both points of view here. I too have been fond of how we get written off by media in big games allowing us to do our own thing. This has been the case for years but at the end no SAM.
I’m thinking if we keep changing minds and attitudes by getting out there and consistently beating the top teams (in league and c’ship) we will start getting respect from all quarters.
This could then lead to a greater inner self belief among every member of the team/panel and get us over the line in an AI final. Who knows??!! It worked for Donegal who were written off even more than Mayo a few years back #partyanimals etc.
Lastly, I cannot wait for Mayo 2013 season to get underway. Mayo Forever.
PS Hope all the lads are enjoying Miami.
I am surprised James has gotten into this. I don’t see the benefits of it.
He makes valid points re. the first ten minutes of the final and of there being more to come from this team etc. (though the 60% thing is just silly). But why he is kicking up such a fuss over RTE, I really don’t know.
Whether or not it was biased is irrelevant. As many have pointed out previously, it suits Mayo down to the ground to be underdogs. Mayo never do well as favourites – the minute Mayo teams think they are an exceptional team, they always get beaten and well beaten in the next outing. Let RTE run them down – it suits Mayo just fine.
i presume there is a purpose to this – there usually is with James (maybe the tactical fouling slur, as pointed out above) – but I would prefer him to keep quiet and under the radar as much as possible. Getting involved in media spats is not good for Mayo, in my opinion.
Its no good convincing everybody else that we are underdogs if that makes us believe it too
t hopefully mayo beat Kerry this year would love mayo to beat kerry this year, the Kerry s would be happy that we took their trainer from them
I think everyone has missed the point of the aritcle, or maybe I am the only one reading between the lines.
The unwarranted and incorrect stuff in the media that Horan seems to be on about is the crap Brolly was spouting before the All Ireland final regarding Mayo being cynical team, in a blatant attempt to swing referees against Mayo – and that is by Brollys own admission.
He constantly and wrongly harped on about Mayo being cynical fouling team, and was let away with it.
People have short memories.
In fairness Horan was right to say something. Maurice deegan booked Mayo players after only a few minutes in the all Ireland final. There is no doubt that brolly & co with all their talk about cynical & professional fouling influenced the ref in the build up to the game.
As well as that RTE messed very recently by saying that cork & Donegal contested the all Ireland final. It’s very annoying being from Mayo and putting up with amateurish lazy mistakes by our national broadcaster.
Plus Martin mchugh was on the Sunday game commentating on the outcome of the all Ireland final after we beat the dubs. With his son playing for Donegal he shouldn’t have been near a camera giving his opinions which included his rant about cynical fouling.
It’s not good enough. Mayo will be challenging this year for top honours. I don’t always agree with Horan however. I feel he could add better players in defence & the forward line to the panel, but he has brought us a long long way from where we were. He will defend Mayo to the last and that’s better than a brown noser who only has his own interests at heart. We have put up enough with the likes of that in the past.
The two points I took from the article in the examiner are
1- Horan is/was referring to the pundits pre- match commentary regarding Mayo’s perceived cynical fouling. Clearly, this influenced the referee and officials for the AI, yet this style of play is employed by all successful teams, some more than others. JH I think was somewhat irritated by that specific commentary. Brolly particularly never shut up about it and played it up continuously. Others latched onto it, and before you knew it, we became the most cynical team ever to play the game.
2- Judging by his comments on the personal commitment required to manage, I’ll be very surprised if JH returns, success or not, after this next campaign. Like myself, he has a young family, a wife, a demanding career, and despite his love for Mayo and desire to bring Sam to Mayo, it may simply be too much to ask.
That’s what I got from it anyway.
If Mayo had someone with access to RTE at the right level , the cynical fouling issue could have been highlighted and put to bed in a minute by using a few clips of the Mayo Kerry league semi final. Every time Kerry scored one of their players went down “injured” to break up continuity. In particular look at the aftermath of their goal when O Donoghue scored it. He turned around to celebrate it, in ran an experienced Kerry colleague and got him to collapse on the ground, hence the trainer is on, play is stopped and Mayo cannot restart.
That is but one example from a single game of sick cynicism from Kerry. Now I am no guru but I assume that within the Mayo set there exists someone whose job is to monitor this and highlight it. I actually laugh and weep at the mere suggestion that of all teams in the country Mayo wound up being labelled as cynical.
In the issue regarding Deegan the referee. I assume the Mayo board put in writing a complaint of his handling of the league final. Two issues spring to mind. One the treatment meted out to Vaughan and second the call regarding Keegan when he was fouled and the free not given. They scored a goal from the turn over. Mayo should not have agreed with Deegan being the referee for the All Ireland final.
We actually have the solution to most of the problems that have confronted this county since being robbed of the 1925 final, the 39 semi final and the 48 final but we don’t have the balls to go and do something about it. So, Horan actually does a great job at his level. Its time others got the fingers out and stuck up for the county and stop trying to second guess what might happen if they say boo. Or better, get out and let in people that might stand up for Mayo in a meaningful way.
I agree with most of the comments posted so far.
I think James was right to point out that the ball in for the Murphy goal could have been stopped as they tried it four times in the first 5 minutes.
I beleive he was also trying to exonerate Kevin Keane from taking all of the blame as he has done for both goals from some quarters
As per the RTE stuff, I agree with the call for Martin McHugh to be excluded where he had a vested interest and my feeling was that there was definitely a momentum for Donegal to win it this year within RTE and some other media and that fed the approach of some of the coverage (i.e., they’ve beaten Kerry and Cork so they deserve it,etc)
Brolly is a waste of space when it comes to objective analysis where Ulster teams are involved but he did credit Mayo after the Dublin game
Some of the crowing about cynical tackling came from the Dublin-based media after the semi-final. Caffrey had them on courses in sledging 5 years ago!
When Mayo lose, they’re too nice and soft, when they win, they’re too cynical
Only one way to shut them all up
>john cuffe says:
>January 9, 2013 at 10:27 am
>If Mayo had someone with access to RTE at the right level , the cynical fouling issue >could have been highlighted and put to bed in a minute by using a few clips of the ?>Mayo Kerry league semi final.
What I want to know is why Kevin McStay, Tommy Lyons and Martin Carney didnt fight out corner and defend Mayo instead of jumping on the band wagon and agreeing with the cynical argument (McStay especially). As a Mayo person I felt a bit betrayed by them in the studio when this was happening.
The cynical football argument is the most pathetic thing to come into football to date. There is checked runs, niggling and battles for space off the ball in every sport from hockey to basketball. Its all a media spin because the majority of them havnt the skill and expertise to talk about tactics and stats, and to analyse teams and matches rather than the rules of the game. Makes me sick.
James is a sucker for punisment. Off to a ‘Jedward’ concert….had he not enough nightmares from blondes????
I have to say I’m a bit unsure about James Horan’s approach here. While i don’t disagree with anything he says, Im not sure if there was any benefit to saying it at this stage of the year, particularly the part about RTE bias.
Even the most ardent national critic of Mayo will admit that Joe Brolly has a personal vendetta against Mayo, but its always explained away by GAA people that I talk to outside Mayo as a case of “Sure no one listens to that fella anyway”, or “He says that about everyone”. What’s so frustrating from our point of view is that this is simply not true. In particular his comments about us being very cynical before the Donegal game were given massive exposure by the national media and RTE, and were totally biased against us. To say that no one listened to this tirade from Brolly just days before the biggest game of the year is total rubbish. Referees do not live in bubbles, and I have no doubt that Deegan was influenced by the comments, which is wrong.
In fairness, I would also have to add in the interests of balance that in my view we were given a soft enough ride (for once) by our old mate Joe Mc Quillan in the Dublin game. I have no doubt that Horans comments about Mc Quillan before the game influenced his handling of that semi final in our favour. He really should have played an extra 4 minutes or so of injury time in the second half, though we obviously weren’t complaining.
While I hate the idea that managers can influence referees in the media before big games, the reality is that it happens and has been for years in high level sport. Brian Cody is a pro at it, like wise Alex Ferguson. Therefore one of the key skills in managing a serious all ireland contender is to manipulate the media to your advantage. Its particularly important in Mayo’s case. Like it or not there is a reputation out there now that Mayo are a dirty cynical side. It doesn’t matter if its true or not. What matters is that Horan makes sure it doesn’t negatively affect us throughout the season. Thats why I’m surprised at his timing in early January, coming out with this stuff.
I think he’s only added to the pressure we are already under, for the first time since 1997, the Mayo public expect an all ireland victory. Horan will need to ensure there are no stones unturned this season, and the way he handles the media and our new found cynical tag will be crucial. We simply cannot afford to be punished and have the marginal calls go against us in big games because we have a reputation for being a dirty side. We will get no help from RTE or the national media either so don’t expect it. Its going to be a fascinating season, I can’t wait for it to start!
It’s about time we got a reputation as being a dirty team.
Hopefully we will see Keith Higgins moved to centre back this year and Horan
has to be much faster at making the changes on the sidelines. Very poor on this front last year.
anyone know who the new additions are ?
I Liked the interview, liked the agression and bullishness – good to see for a change, and also having a pop at the RTE guys
maybe their biased commentry did influence the referee… who knows ??? maybe these remarks will help us.
Another aspect to the interview, is thats its the first week in Jan, No one will remember it in 6 months so I don’t think its
going to ruffle any feathers or make us hot favourites against any other big times out there.
Good to see the positive attitude though.
Oh yeah also here’s martin brehenys take on it – http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/martin-breheny-a-month-for-hope-not-glory-3347184.html
Agree with the interview forming part of James’ review of 2012 and in that regard not coming across as sour grapes etc..Fair play to him for having a pop only wish he was more pointed in referring to the umbrella.
In referring to team being at only 60% is he psyching us all up for 2013 ? which raises the stakes, the pressure, the lot, but hey its all duck or no dinner for us now so he may as let fly with the kitchen sink.
what have we got to loose?
While I have made the point that JH is right to mark cards right from the off this year, most of the commentary here assumes that Mayo laboured under huge disadvantages going in to the final. In fact Donegal were the team at a disadvantage:
*Very strong favourites going in to the match
* Huge hype and expectation within the county – homecoming talk and all of that (which Mayo folk shaking their heads at such naivety)
* They had to peak for each match from the Ulster quarter final on. Mayo by contrast had the opportunity to build up steam gradually
* None of their players had played in an All-Ireland. Mayo had at least 6 panel members from the 2006 final and some from both 04 and 06. Mayo also had U21 medal winners from 2006
*Even the 7 point lead could have undermined the confidence of inexperienced teams. They showed no fear of winning and their composure through the match was – to a Mayo fan – annoyingly noticeable
Headline in the Indo online today: Horan off the mark with media “allegations”
Breheny thinks because we have a couple of unobtrusive pundits we should be happy with ourselves and our “privileged” position.
“RTE can fight their own battles, but it’s worth pointing out that Mayo have a much higher representation on the station’s GAA panels than most other counties. Kevin McStay and Martin Carney are long-standing fixtures on TV, while John Maughan has been a regular on RTE radio. Could the many counties who have much less – or maybe no – representation on RTE complain about Mayo’s privileged position among the pundit classes?”
Delighted with Horan and his interview! Fu** the béal bocht, contrived humility and the endemic modesty that has characterised the Mayo outlook for far too long! The great Muhamad Ali didnt say ” Im not bad and if I have a bit of luck and everything works out i might win a couple of rounds and you’d never know what might happen then!” He said “I am the greatest!” and then went onto prove it. C’mmon Mayo and show the feckers what you are capable of!’ And if it all goes pear shape what the feck about.
Forget about what the experts say as long as mayo have long season I will be happy up mayo
diehard says:
January 9, 2013 at 7:23 pm
Delighted with Horan and his interview! Fu** the béal bocht, contrived humility and the endemic modesty that has characterised the Mayo outlook for far too long! The great Muhamad Ali didnt say ” Im not bad and if I have a bit of luck and everything works out i might win a couple of rounds and you’d never know what might happen then!” He said “I am the greatest!” and then went onto prove it. C’mmon Mayo and show the feckers what you are capable of!’ And if it all goes pear shape what the feck about
Well said. You need belief for something to happen.
Well for January there is quite a lot of shite talk that wont mean anything come September. At the end of the day the RTE pundits are there to be controversial and get ratings and isnt it great when we prove them wrong but we havent done to on the big day….YET! Lets hope we can go that one step further.
Plenty of comments way off the mark here. Regarding getting Pearse Hanley back, the guy obviously wont be coming back just yet. AFL stars get 6 figure sums so I cant see him quitting that wage,the sun, the lifestyle and everything else that goes with it. Hopefully in the next few years (or If Lions win next season) he might follow the likes of Kennelly and come back.
Facetheball your comment about its about time we got a reputation as a dirty team is the biggest load of shite and the worst I have heard in a while. What good is that going to do? At the end of the day if you have that reputation the cards will follow and what shagging use is it if we cant outscore the opponent?????
We can however be a physical team going in hard but fairly for the ball and tackle like the likes Tyrone have done for years and not be dirty or cynical. Cork, Kerry have been doing it for years and are Kerry known as dirty?
And I dont know why people are going fair play James etc. What other managers talk in January? Keep the head down for now, talk up the opponents as last year and do the talking on the pitch as some of our players did this year. And YES the panel does need to be stronger. We are at least 2 forwards short and need a few more to have a very strong 20 to take on the best in the country. In the two finals (Connacht and All Ireland) we failed to convert easy frees and scoring chances so maybe we need lads who can pop over the frees when needed or take a chance when it comes because that will win matches. Im sure we will see changes in the league and lets hope we have that strong panel as he talks about because after last year we need to go that one step further and changes will make that happen, whether the changes are in training, tactics or panel. Maigh Eo abu
I must agree wholeheartedly with what diehard says, while I didn’t here JH’s interview I have a fair idea from reading the comments above and I say fair play to him and if that means heaping more pressure on the team, well so be it, the softly softly approach hasn’t brought us much success.
For to long Mayo have been seen as one of the top football team in the country who play a lovely brand of football and are always good to watch. Well I for one, would have no problem in Mayo loosing this lovely brand image, introduce a bit more physicality and ruthlessness into their game, like the successful teams are already doing and go out and win us that elusive All Ireland. (just one time) !!!!
Easy up there, pk – everyone who comments on here has a right to express their opinions and while everyone else has the right to challenge these opinions this can only be done in civilised terms. Saying that a comment is “the biggest load of shite and the worst I have heard in a while” is way beyond the pale in this respect so please bear in mind for future reference and moderate your language accordingly.
Not a ball kicked and your site is in full flight wj,let’s hope our boys hit the field of play with similar Passion and gusto.can’t wait …cmon mayo
Well its gas, suddenly the yokes in RTE wake up to a tactic that has been employed for the last 20 years and highlight it, by making it sound like what they have long referred to as the softest team in gaelic football, have just invented it (which is it lads? you cant have it both ways).
And now it looks like we might end up changing the rules of the game because of those dirty bastards from Mayo. What were Tyrone doing when “peuke football” came into the vernacular? Was that not this so called “cynical fouling”. What was done? Nothing
Suddenly we start doing what everyone else does and there’s new rules coming in to stop those ruffians from Mayo.
Was it because we beat the beloved Dubs as well? I cant help thinking that we have messed up that script for them once too often and its payback time.
Best thing RTE could do is clean out that panel and bring in lads who have actually kicked a ball in the last 25 years.
I liked the article, very bullish.
I think James Horan could be seeing this as a real make or break year. It’s shit or bust time, looks like he’s ready for the fight anyway – something that can hopefully rub off on the players.
Someone earlier mentioned Aidan Kilcoyne. From what I heard over here he’s signed up with London for the year. Anyone heard the same?
A lot of comments here WJ, you can tell we’ve been starved over the past few months! Think what it’ll be like once the league starts…
Lads, one of you mentioned Kevin McStay. He went on about getting a ‘root and branch review’ after our humiliation to the hands of Longford 2 and a half years ago. He was nowhere to be seen on it, nor near it. Also he got as worked up when Kildare lost in 2011 than I’ve ever heard any co-commentator in my time (which is short in comparison to lots of you guys here).
Remember Jame’s 3 year plan? 😉
I see young Kilkenny has turned his back on Oz and is staying with the Dubs. Bully for them.
Come on Pierce, Australia is not all it’s cracked up to be.
There is a a job waiting for you in Mayo.
IMO JH is right on all counts, right time,right attitude and right on the 60% potential. Am glad the spirit shown at the homecoming is still alive and strong. No one gave us a chance of progressing further than the QF after Andy was carried off and but for 2 missed points early in the second half of the final we nearly reached the ultimate.
As for RTE well we never figure in their thoughts unless they are maligned ones a simple and recent example would be the tribute to the passing of Waterfords Frankie Walsh on RTE.ie last week and no reference whatsoever of the late John Mc Andrew (they were both members of their respective countys’ last AI winning teams)……..We need the likes of JH to speak up for us and positive words influence positive actions.
Willie Joe – is that extended interview in the Western available yet? Their online stuff is useless unless you have a subscription. Also, with the Kieran Kilkenny news, this only underlines my point about getting Pearce Hanley back.
I think you’re right, catcol – that interview is only available unless you have a subscription to the Western (or unless you buy the paper). While I’d sympathise with them in trying to protect their business in an age when the print media is clearly in decline, I’m not sure that hiding everything behind a paywall is the way to go and it seems to me that the Mayo News have taken a far more enlightened approach to making their content available online while at the same time keeping the show on the road.
It’s interesting alright that Ciaran Kilkenny has decided to return home so soon and his return will be a massive boost for Dublin this year. It’d be great for sure to get Pearse Hanley back as well but, unlike Kilkenny, our man clearly decided some time ago that he wanted a career in professional sport out there and you’d have to say he’s making a good fist of it. Sadly, I can’t see him returning back here anytime soon.