The dates, times and venues for next weekend’s quarter-finals and relegation play-offs in the Senior, Intermediate and Junior football Championships have now been confirmed by Mayo GAA. Here they are.
SFC:
IFC:
JFC A:
JFC B:
Mayo GAA have also confirmed tonight that both of the Senior quarter-finals that are being played on Saturday at the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence – Westport/Ballina Stephenites at 3pm and Knockmore/Ballintubber at 5pm – will be broadcast live on RTÉ. Mayo GAA TV will also be streaming games next weekend but there are no details as yet on which ones these will be.
All great games to look forward too
I would fancy Parke to be at the top table next season. As for the seniors,
Not much daylight between any of them but maybe Knockmore/Westport.
Interesting interview on Midwest with James Horan just finished.. James and his backroom team seems to be intending on sticking around for next year..reminds me of Simon Coveney recent interviews about the Katherine Zapone job!
Ummm I thought his tone was slightly different in a positive sense , he wanted to be crystal clear in everything he said . He must feel like he can still pull it off ,so fook it , row in behind him , no choice.
https://soundcloud.com/user-962236350/exclusive-james-horan-speaking-to-tommy-marren-midwest-radio?utm_source=www.midwestradio.ie&utm_campaign=wtshare&utm_medium=widget&utm_content=https%253A%252F%252Fsoundcloud.com%252Fuser-962236350%252Fexclusive-james-horan-speaking-to-tommy-marren-midwest-radio
This is the link to the interview – if it works.
JH very bullish – fairly put the selectorial ‘row’ to bed. I liked the positive tone all through.
Would have liked Tommy Marren to press on what exact lessons have been learnt, and what might be done differently, though James did acknowledge that 35 minute performances were a problem all season.
Any info on tickets for next weekends matches.
What will capacity of COE for these games
Leantimes. Everyone is entitled to their opinion has you are. But i feel you were probably looking for the negative in the conversation to come up with that comparison. I thought it was a honest and frank interview and puts to bed all the bullshit that contributors to blogs social media and newspapers surrounding the management fall out on the day and beyond. most contributors understand that the players and management always try their best and give 100% in each training session and match. Been at a lot of club games over the past 4 weeks id be very enthusiastic about the young players on the panel. Lets all stick together and stop giving so called journalists outside and inside the county a stick to beat us with and enjoy the club championship. James and his squad will be back stronger with cillian in toe next year and i believe will have their day in the next few years.
I think it’s a fair interview. He was never going to say too much but it’s still more than I expected. Key point being an acknowledgement that there’s always extra pressure on Mayo players, and players can “tighten up”. He particularly mentioned younger players in this context. However, he needs to acknowledge that it pertains just as much to the older players. For instance, Ryan is one of our youngest players and he was our best performer (along with Lee) in the final. Some of our older players continue to get a free pass.
@Catcol, on the big screen in Hill 16, Croke Park on All Ireland day, focused a few times on the interaction, between a few members of the Mayo management ..It didn’t look good.. nothing to do with any video clip on social media, I didn’t even see any video clip as regards the interaction between members of the Mayo management team at all.. Tactics on the field didn’t look good either, ..I taught it was a very easy interview.. Anyhow, the review with the County Board is over, but I don’t think the Club’s who submitted questions are any the wiser, whoever came up with that idea, nor the general public, but that’s the way it had to be…James Horan and the same backroom team will be there for 2022, and the best of luck to them….No need for any further speculation about any other potential Management team’s.. Can James Horan and his management team really convince what will be a very similar panel of players as he had in 2021 that they can win an All Ireland final?..Big question,
I never thought there was any row with selectors, but on a technical level not operating with the ear piece like other managers I think is fair critique. Especially when as James brings up selectors are supposed to be in their allocated seating not on the sideline. It just strikes me as shortcutting to get decisions in quicker. “James we’re way down in sprint speed in the middle third, we need two subs to lift it”. Maybe that gets organised 2 mins quicker if can just speak that rather than the logistics of needing to physically speak it to the manager.
“James corner back 4 looks injured sprint speed off 18%, monitoring if no improvement we’ll need to change “.
Contrast that to trying to speak that from 4 feet away in front of 40k fans. Physically modem ear piece tech you will hear all nice and calm in your ear.
Actually James stated he could not hear James Burke on one occasion in the final. So, I mean from their own words and review the Mayo manager has to operate with an ear piece next year and I think we were less aware on the fact selectors are not supposed to be on the sideline.
It’s a long road back to an all Ireland final again but we have a serious outfit in fairness who will still believe in themselves to get back to a final . Time is a great healer as they say and you will see the shift in attitude after Congress next weekend with supporters starting to look forward instead of back , no choice either . Have to say I took it as a positive re horans interview albeit it was a biteen soft from marrens perspective but who knows how these things work , like does JH instruct interviewer as to what the content can be ?
Spot on JP regarding Horan and communication. I have made this point many times, unlike other managers he has no direct link to the analysis team. Or he doesn’t want to hear from them? And that’s why his in game management is just so bad when the pressure comes on and he can’t react quick enough. Contrast that with Jim Gavin who for a lot of games was sitting down, talking to whoever was in his ear piece, not even watching what was happening on the pitch. If you have trust in your team in the stands, then you’ll make the big calls quicker, it’s obvious Horan is still operating in the old mode and it has cost us in 4 finals. Will he learn for next year, very unlikely.
I think the interview was a repeat and it happened over a week ago. JH referenced the Ryder cup “at the weekend”. The Ryder Cup took place on the last weekend of September.
I’m not surprised at that though. I’m glad he adrdessed the questions regarding the management setup. It sorta puts it to bed now once and for all unless something appears as a result of this airing.
Also he defended AOS which I though was good. The point about the unseen work he does and it not being promoted on Social Media was a good one.
Horan in general came across reasonably well int eh interview. There is no doubt he is able to handle the high national pressure associated with this profile of a job.
It still does not improve his overall record though. I also would have liked a few more questions regarding what they tried to do to change things on the day when it wasn’t going well for key players.
@JP,.. I actually mentioned the lack of an earpiece and communication with eyes in the sky a few times on this blog. Last September was the third All Ireland final James Horan stood on the side line as Mayo manager with a crowd present. (Last December no such problems as crowd noise) And with James Horan experience on the sidelines so often with Mayo, the crowd noise at All Ireland finals is quite phenomenal, and James more than anyone would have to be fully aware of this, the fact that James has not been yet hooked up with an earpiece at this stage, what does this tell you?..
I’m sure it was intentional that James Horan went on Tommy Marren instead of talking to the sports journalists. Reminds me of when Ireland got knocked out of the last rugby world cup and the only interview Joe Schmidt gave in the aftermath was to Ryan Tubridy on the late late.
Good to have a bit of closure on the season in any case. It’s amazing all the people “in the know” who were proclaiming that McDonald and Burke had walked a few weeks ago.
To give James his credit he touched on the timing of the phone company articles not being ideal. So, he doesn’t blanket defend. Obviously articles/ads get rerun so you can’t control too easily when they are active. He didn’t outright point to those, but there was no other ads with such timing and it was the lead topic in the question.
I thought it was a fair/frank/honest interview by JH. Like ourselves the supporters, the team and management were hugely disappointed as he stated that they did not perform on the day for whatever reason! He said that there was no dissension in the camp and that they are planning a camp on 14th November for players who are not involved in the County championship.
Onwords and upwards for 2022. Lets hope he can get another few players to strengthen the team further. Remember our team are all amateurs and they put a huge amount into it-80 training sessions according to the manager! This is a huge commitment for sure!
I know that we were all gutted leaving Pairc An Chrogaigh but we must now pull together and get behind the team and management agus le cunadh De bheidh Sam ag teacht go Co Mhuigheo an bliain seo cughann!
We are lucky to have such a wonderful blog so that we can air our views. Mile buiochas to WJ.
Let’s keep supporting our team by buying the lotto etc
Mhuigheo abu Bigi linn!
very pre-framed soft questions, e.g., letting him off the hook re. AOS and sponsorship when its his suitability for a dynamic game is the question. 5-man selection group (not team) and still they had 3 guys on in final who had been taken off leading to turnaround and who were pivotal for the first 3 Tyrone scores to claw them back into the game.
We are going nowhere with this setup. The team will have holes in it every year and rational opposition mgt. will again exploit them better than our non-rational team will bolster them and its been that way for decades.
there is no disagreement internally because this is the culture of the system. Ideally, we need a thinking manager from outside the system and ideally one who has done it before, but the challenge is cultural and a thinking rational manager like e.g., McGuinness knows that.
Does anyone know if RTE are showing the Lacken v Eastern Gaels match? Considering they will have the cameras up in the centre of excellence on the Saturday
@Driveitlong&hard, RTE are on a tight budget so that fare won’t come into it.
A very good interview I thought that when he mentioned sacrifices he should have said that players and management make huge sacrifices which they undoubtedly do,otherwise he explained a lot of things that they do,personally I believe that it is a massive loss that Stephen Rochford is not involved but obviously it will not happen, he has a very good excuse for his team selection in that four nailed on starters were unfit to play,B Harrison,E McLaughlin,J Doherty,and Cillian,I believe that they would have made the difference,I acknowledge that all teams lose players but we have been unfortunate with injuries, I believe that we do need to have a different approach when things are not working because we played exactly the same game as Kerry and it failed hopefully next year will bring success
Every club or county team makes sacrifices so I don’t know why this keeps being brought up. It really doesn’t matter who plays or not, the good teams know how to beat us and know we won’t have a plan B. I’d love to see the stats on some of our forwards in that 2nd half, 3 or 4 in low single digit possessions and stayed on, but you can’t get stats standing on your own on the sideline shouting like a manager at a club league match. As he’d say himself ‘crazy stuff!’
Give James Horan and our management team a break. Also lay off the C B unless you are prepared to put your name forward for their thankless jobs.
Great to see the dome being used, and of course a lot love to give out about Prenty
Jrb – Are those games taking place inside the dome? I have not seen that confirmed anywhere. Likely they take place beside it on pitch 1.
Games can’t take place inside the dome yet with covid afaik.
Well said Jrb.
We had plenty of experts telling us about a big fall out. Back room Team had walked away etc
Plenty of people looking for apologies no less. Others wanting Horan to say what he was going to do going forward
Can anyone with any knowledge of football and management expect a Manager even at Club level to show his hand to the opposition. We should remember that true Fans support Teams through the good and bad times. Of late especially since Horan came along we have had more good Times than Bad, It will be very interesting to see how the Team Support holds up if we were to go through a bad patch. Let the Management manage and the supporters Support
Anyone who thinks they can do a better job go out and manage a underage Team first and see how they get on
That is one thing I admire about Kevin McStay
What impressed me was Horan’s tone. Not sure what I expected, but I had a fear of a defensive, resigned sort of attitude, sounding like he was going through the motions and seeing out his last year. The ‘on to Kieran Mac five times a day’ was a tonic for me. Marren’s questions were sharp enough I felt. He sounded like a guy representing the fans and asking James to account for his performance. It could have been longer and dwelt on areas, specific areas to improve on, beefing up the management team, psychologist on board, video analysis people, how do we compare with the others and so on.
@Catcol..I was actually never in my life that friendly with anyone, on to Ciaran 5 time’s a day, since the All Ireland, what could they possibly be taking about?.Ah Tommy Marren you should have asked James that question…
Yew tree, that’s a pity I was hoping for a pissing wet day and showing off the Dome to my Meath gaa friends
Nothing in that interview really apart from finding out that we still have the L plates on after ten years, “disappointment and learnings”, an all too familiar and tiresome mantra at this stage.
How many finals do you have to lose before the penny drops that better preparation equals better chance of success.
Even the one topic of earpieces proves my long running point about being “insufficiently prepared” when it comes to finals.
Words mean absolutely nothing, it’s action people want and rapidly and if that’s not the focus then it won’t be long before the flag waving convoys are heading East again like unprepared lambs to the slaughter, having forgotten once again how to prepare sufficiently.
There’s an innocence there that needs to be eradicated completely, already after one interview some are falling into the trap of “we’ll be back” softness.
It’s time now to be staying off radio shows and out of the media spotlight and knuckle down and start formulating plans to get this team over the line in 2022 before we lose another generation of players through insufficient preparation.
I’d like to see how committed the players really are if they were asked to stay the hell away from the cesspit of the likes of twitter for 12 months.
How can it not be damaging to the psyche to be constantly reading negative and insulting comments about yourself, your team and your county, the quickest solution to that is don’t bloody read the stuff.
This manager and team can win the All-Ireland in 2022 if the will to change is there, let’s see do they really want it or not.
James spoke very well.You could tell he is exasperated by the bullshit but sounded defiant,bullish and confident.
A lot of people need to take a look at themselves for the shite they were spreading about bust ups in the management team etc.We don’t help ourselves with that stuff,let James manage the team while he is there and let supporters support.
I’m glad James Horan gave an interview and put to bed the speculation about a bust up with selectors. He probably should have done it sooner.
However, I was disappointed with the interview itself. Tommy Marren is not a sports reporter / journalist and I thought a different interviewer could have got more out of James. Somebody above pointed out that it was a shortish interview and that was a bit disappointing also.
However, JH succeeded in drawing a line under 2021 and shifting the focus to 22. And that was needed.
There are exciting possibilities for sure but also for sure he and his selectors need to figure out how we organise our attack so as to get a better return of scores from possession.
By the way, I kind of resent some posters here preaching about ‘getting out there and managing underage teams instead of criticising JH or his management team’. I might be wrong but I’d say a good few posters here know their stuff by doing exactly that and for many many years. Anything I’ve learned about football is the result of countless hours coaching / managing young teams and mostly from making every mistake in the book. And when it comes to criticism it’s easy to tell those who are genuine and have real experience from a small handful of spoofers.
@FW, I’d say he’s not half as exasperated as the supporters somehow.
Those rumours are nothing stories in the overall context.
I couldn’t care less if the selectors and manager beat the heads off each other on the sideline once they made the right calls that helped to win the game, and clearly that didn’t happen.
Fair play to James Horan. Looking back and putting things into perspective, I had thought that this year was a bit early for our young players. Amazing to think that one bounce of a ball our way, players might have loosened up and we possibly could have got over the line so soon.
I haven’t watched the game back or dwelled on it too much, but knowing that sport is sport, you always have to take the rough with the smooth and nothing is ever a done deal.
The main thing that stood out in my mind was Ryan O’Donoghue taking frees from his wrong side. He did very well, but pressure was increasing with every free. More pressure on top of that with the penalty. Fair play to him for going for it though. Would be a massive addition to have another left footed player like him.
Does anyone truly believe that things are going to change in how Horan operates in 2022 ?
No 45, I’m afraid not. We will still have no defensive plan and no offensive plan. 7/8 years of man on man, with zero other discernable strategy. It’s not going to change now, why would it.
Well 45 things will probably change when he retires. For example we probably won’t win Connacht and will no longer be consistently competitive each year. O for the good old pre James days. Sligo and Longford anyone.
There’s another few managers with decent county teams that didn’t come an ass s Roar near lifting the Sam this year. Time to move on for everyone.. Everyone wanted o mahoney back and we all remember the Longford day. Give jh a break.
Great to see RTE covering two games from the COE on Saturday Hope they are good quality matches and the day is dry. The crew will need to be well wrapped up its going to be cold. Wouldn’t fancy being a cameraman for a whole day at a height in Bekan even on a good day.
Mayo GAA TV are streaming the Belmullet/Breaffy and Garrymore/Castlebar games. Feast of football for the long weekend.
I cannot see tickets for sale for Belmullet Breaffy on ticket website. Is it me or am I just not seeing it.