With most of today’s coverage focusing on yesterday’s All-Ireland club final, it’s easy enough to forget about the inter-county scene but with our League meeting with Dublin next up for us on Saturday week, the focus of attention will quickly switch back onto the county team before this and then.
The Mayo News today has, in this respect, some information on the injury front, including the extremely unwelcome news about Cathal Carolan’s cruciate injury. The unfortunate Crossmolina man suffered the injury in training on Tuesday night and it’ll keep him out of action for the rest of the year. ACL injuries are truly the curse of the modern day Gaelic footballer and Cathal joins a list of players currently laid low by the injury which includes Kerry’s Colm Cooper and Dublin’s Ciaran Kilkenny. All one can do, I guess, is to wish him all the best for a productive rehab and a speedy return to full fitness.
The same article has more positive news from James Horan about Chris Barrett and Andy Moran, both of whom were named as subs on Sunday’s match programme but neither of whom actually were on the bench at MacHale Park. James says that both players are “very close” to returning while he also confirmed that another long-term absentee – Alan Dillon – is now expected to be ready for a return to the fray “in the next two to three weeks”.
With the Castlebar lads also likely to return to the fold soon enough – I’d say we’re more likely to see them being ready for consideration for the Derry match in early April rather than the Dubs one – it looks as if James will soon have more or less a full strength squad to pick from. Given the good form shown by a number of players over the past three matches, James could face some real team selection dilemmas for this year’s final two League games. That, however, is a high-class kind of problem for us and long may it continue to be.
Chris is back in less than 2 weeks, I have heard, which is great. Be great to have Andy and Alan back too. Tom, Barry and Richie will all be very welcome back and possibly 1 more addition from Castlebar?
Any word, though, on Clarke and O’Malley?
sorry for Cathal Carolan he’s does a lot of graft on the field, very best wishes to him, looking forward to dubs match now, i would like to ask why the dubs continue to play their home league games at Croker, not complaining cause it holds no fear for us just wondering, was there a decree from the powers that be that i missed ?? anyway with the bench at almost full strength it should be a good one so ” to croker and beyond ” MAIGHEO ABÚ
It was very sad to hear about Cathal Carolan’s injury. Speedy recovery to him anyway and hopefully he’ll back sometime in the near future to full fitness and raring to go again. Best wishes to him.
As long as we don’t add to the injury list as the year goes by. Hope to see a few of the injured guys back soon e.g. Clarke and Barrett.
Is anyone else having problems with their attendance not been updated for the Croke Park Season tickets when presenting tickets at Castlebar? When we played Kerry a few of my kids tickets didn’t register as attended and again last Sunday against Cork two didn’t register as attended whilst each time some of ours did. I emailed the Season tickets for the Kerry game and they didn’t want to update them but eventually did but said they can’t do this again? For the away matches our tickets scanned perfect each time.
Cathal Carolan played some very good football last season in the green and red, gives it his all, wish him a speedy recovery.
My lads ticket says not attended for cork game last Sunday but he did scan it for sure.
I hope when Alan Dillon, Andy Moran and a few others are ready to come back, they will have to earn their place the same as everyone else. The team’s performances have moved up a notch or two in recent matches, with some of the new guys especially showing some great form. No player should have a God given right to his place on the team, and I hope when it comes to team selection, James will follow his head and not his heart.
A 930 pm throw in for the minor league game against the Rossies last night (who thought that was good idea) the game was so late that some posted the FT scoreline with 10 mins to go. Mayo won 1-14 to 1-11 team was…
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BjCkOEPIYAEfGTu.jpg:large
Hear hear Mayo McHale.
Reading between the lines of Horans comments at the very start of this year, he appeared to give the impression that all places were now up for grabs and that no-ones place on the team is secure, irrespective of their service or performances in the past. If he is to remain true to his intention then surely Dillion, A. Moran, B. Moran and Cunniffe will have to dislodge the current geansai wearers?
If you were to judge the players at this point in the league on performance alone, I believe Cunniffe is the only one that may get a run-out. And even then I would be looking to relocate Harrison to possibly no.4. When you look at the scores our half forward line is taking and creating it looks like we are begining to see the makings of a proper functioning line of attack and defence. Therefore, it would be considered tough to drop anyone from that line to let Dillion and A. Moran back in. I’m sure that will happen as Horan looks to get both players match fit but I believe their selection should be on current form and performances only. As for B. Moran? Well you couldn’t drop Gibbons on his form so far this year for both county and province.
Same as mine – they might have it in hand but I’ve just dropped them an email to be sure – it’s normally updated on the Monday after the game.
I’ve had to delete a few comments there, one under this post wondering about a player’s status within the panel, which is just gossip-mongering and rumour-spreading and has been canned on this basis (along with a few subsequent ones following on from the original comment). The other one I’ve deleted is under the club final report, which made reference to a court case that I understand is still ongoing and so don’t want to see being mentioned here.
Agree with a lot of both of your comments PS and MM. I think score prevention by the forwards will be important too. We have gone down a few notches in pressurising teams high up the field, while I notice that we are not making our own forays out of defence as fluently as we used to – Rob Hennelly has been caught a few times lately and nearly paid a price.
In other words, all teams are honing the art of pressurising high up and we seem to have fallen back. Alan D and Andy M don’t lack anything in that department though.
What JH will need to do is to settle on a first fifteen and his next six, so that it’s a seamless performance with guys slotting in to the team so regularly that you hardly notice it. We did not do this last year and so you had a situation that three subs in the AIF, B. Moran, Doc, and Mickey C had very little game time. These guys were just as good as the Dublin subs, but Dublin’s were much sharper because they were playing in every game.
I emailed for the Kerry game and whilst they update that time they said they won’t be doing it again! This is terrible as its out of our control to know whether its been scanned properly or not. Its only a problem at Castlebar, the away games are fine.
I think that point about having a seamless 21 is spot-on, Catcol. For much of JH’s era, he’s had a bench full of players he seemed to either have lost faith in or didn’t completely trust and so our use of subs has been more about necessity than any strategic plan. Dublin’s strategic use of replacements last year wasn’t anything new – Kerry, Tyrone and Donegal all did the same with their All-Ireland winning teams – but it underscored yet again that bringing on players who can make a difference in the final quarter is an important weapon to have in your armoury. I’d like to think this is a lesson we’ve learned and if you look at the panel that’s now being assembled we’ve certainly the opportunity to be far more strategic about how and when we deploy our replacements. Indeed, with the fast running game we’re using we’re going to need all 21 to keep that high tempo going at championship pace for the full seventy minutes.
So I’ve been told Truemayo! Not good enough if that’s the case – if you can prove you were there, then you’re entitled to have your attendance logged. I got a response asking me to check back tomorrow as they rely on volunteers to upload them during the week and it might not be completed yet. To be fair, I’ve never had a problem before and have always found them really helpful in HQ when I’ve emailed with ST queries so will keep you posted.
I have had the same problem with both the Kerry and Cork games at McHale Park. All kids tickets were scanned at the juvenile stile by the same guy I think and for the Kerry game 2 of the kids were not registered. For the Cork game my sons ticket is not registered as attended and I made sure that day that they were all scanned. No problems at the away games only in Castlebar.
Still waiting for a proper response from season tickets on both queries but it is obviously a problem with the guys using the scanners in Castlebar.
I had the same problem in Omagh where two of my children’s tickets did not scan,emailed them and they updated them but told me they will not do it again,not good enough when the problem clearly is with their system.Hard look on Cathal,hope he makes a full recovery,great to see JH with a few selection headaches,hope they last till the end of September
No player coming back regardless who they are should get a place on the team unless they are an improvement on the player they replace.If we have any thoughts of winning an all Ireland this year we need our best 15 players on the field,we can’t afford to be carrying anybody
Terrible news as regards Carloans injury, think he gave us a different option in half forwards. Will be missed against the Dubs without his pace and graft . Also had a skill not too many of our current halforwards can do is score at full pace on the run . Wish him all the best.
Dillon should be given a chance at club level first see how he goes.
Moran should try and earn a place in starting team as on current form hard to islodge Doc and Freeman.
As regards Castlebar lads coming in I would like to see E O’Reilly,B Moran,T Cunniffe and Feeney back into squad . T King and Kirby are also in with a shout you would imagine.
Thanks Anne Marie, yes we always found them so helpful too. Seemingly its has happened to loads of people. We wait to see what happens.
I’d love to see Kirby get a run out – have been impressed with him thus far. And surely Tom King is worth a try too – he played in the first FBD game v. NUIG – he didn’t stand out, but not many did that evening 🙂 I’d like to see him get a run out again.
Out of curiosity – is there an upper limit set by the GAA on panel numbers at senior intercounty level?
I have the same problem, ticket was scanned and shows up as not attended, I emailed season tickets and am waiting for their response. This isn’t the first time that this has happened in castlebar, it happened me last year also.
What about Alan feeney? I thought he played well last day
He did indeed, now that you mention it. I kinda wish we had another six rounds of league games to experiment some more 😉
I think Anne-Marie you might be on to something there – lets play Kildare and Tyrone again, sure what the hell:)
All due respect to Alan Feeney he got a fair run previous . E O reilly has pace positional sense and determined lad like the look of him
Its tough on Carolan…it wil be a long road to recovery and then to get back to intercounty fitness. Wishing him a speedy recovery.
Looking ahead, Dillon, Andy, Barry, Seamie, Feeney will all have to fight tooth and nail for a starting spot. Cuniffe should IMO be a starter though.
I’d like a roving four man midfield though…so it wil be a matter of Horan selecting players based on the oppositions posture, and then being capable of adjusting as the match progress’s. I think his eyes have been opened when he views proceedings from the stands.
I think Kirby is deserving of an extended run at No. 11 as we are well covered at midfield. He was the stand-out minor from the crop of Hennelly, O’Connor,Coen and the only U21 player who turned up in last year’s brief campaign. He has all the attributes to be a success in the position. He can win primary possession,secure secondary possession, link the play well and chip in with regular scores. He is also wel ldeveloped physically and very mobile for a big lad. On the down side he can be yellow carded and gives in to frustration. Those could be ironed out with coaching and maturity. Of the others only Cunniffe could be considered a certainty for a first team place. I would have him as my No 6 to seal of the direct route to goal. Barry is too static in an era when mobility is a sine qua non but he should make the panel, Tom King didn’t do any thing to cause the other pnellists sleepless nights ,Alan Feeney is a top class defender and must be very close to the scene ,his brother didn’t endear himself to many supporters but still has a lot to offer and of the rest Padraig Durcan in both games looked as if he could cover for either of the wing back positions.
Incidentally, anybody considering Andy Moran or Alan Dillon as capable of dislodging Freeman from the No. 14 spot its talking poppycock.
Kirby definately worth a try–he is big and strong with a bit of diverment in him. Durkan also worth his place on the panel.
I’m not convinced Tom King can make the step up to county. Again on Monday his impact was negligible. Is he any better than Varley, Conroy, Doherty?
Been saying that about midfield for a long time. It could just pose the kind of problem that no other team can cope with given the players we have available.
Its March over 10 weeks to Ros match and 6 months away from AIF if we get there. Good to see lads putting in strong performances now but that’s no guarantee of anything for Summer. Once any of those lads have a blip in form there will be calls for replacements straight away. Andy and A Dillon have shown themselves to be excellent in the past and hopefully have still lots to offer. The important thing is that James continues to build up his squad to cover the inevitable injuries and temporary loss of form that’s sure to occur. Wouldn’t write anybody out of panel at this early stage
Surprised at some of the comments here..Despite the goals I thought Kirby was poor enough..I always feel he takes the wrong option on the ball( witness the 3 on 1 in the first half where he went for glory himself)..The physical advantages he has at club level just would not exist at IC level..
Durcan is a different case..great going forward but his defending is really poor..For Vincents first point he just ran forward from the hop left his man wide open when Vins won the hop for a point..
Alan Feeney I think would be a far better option and could provide cover for the full back line
My apologises WJ. Anything that I have alluded too has already been published in detail through various national and local newspapers along with other media outlets. I would have zero tolerance for thuggery on and especially off the pitch. I hope that in anycase justice prevails. You run a brilliant site and I hope that any muck that I would throw down would add and not take away from that.
No worries, Joe – you’re right that the facts are all in the public domain at this stage but the case hasn’t formally concluded yet, which is why I felt it best not to give it an airing here. Thanks for the kind words about the site.
Mid West Radio apparently airing an update on the season ticket situation round about now (thanks NM for the tip-off elsewhere!)
Tom king is going to Dubai as far as I know and won’t be around for mayo. Looking at the Castlebar players performance in the all Ireland final, outside of Cunniffe, Barry Moran and Ritchie Feeney, the only players who put their hands up were Kirby, Neil Lydon and Patrick Durcan. O Reilly got the run around from Diarmaid Connolly and id say his chances of a call up aren’t good…. I don’t blame the lad totally as pat Holmes should have made a switch but that’s life. Alan Feeney deserves another shot IMO. He’s had a great year.