Photo: The42.ie (James Crombie/Inpho)
The County Board have a short time ago confirmed the news that Evan Regan broke his collar bone in training on Tuesday night. In the statement they’ve just issued (here) the Board have confirmed that the injury is a re-occurrence of the one he suffered against Kerry back in February and that Evan is expected to be out of action “for at least 12 weeks”.
This is desperately bad news for Evan himself – who’d obviously worked so hard to recover from the initial break – and for the county, as it almost certainly rules the promising Stephenites man out of action for most, if not all, of the coming championship campaign. All that can be done is to wish Evan well and to hope that he makes a full and complete recovery from this latest sickening setback.
Damn, damn and damn again.
F**k it!
Absolutely gutted for him and the team. Disaster for Mayo IMO.
Really feel sorry for the lad. He must be absolutely gutted. Training must be full on contact. Shame a real shame.
That is a kick in the teeth. If that was full on contact then crazy. Thought best practice was to yellow bib the lads who have injury risks. Speculation as we dont know details.
Poor thing reminds me of sage with o connor and shoulder he should take the year and rest it.
Jp your right nobody knows what happened I was merely guessing. He could have just as easily fallen on it. Either way we are at the loss of a potentially good corner forward.
It is obviously devastating for Evan, and it will be a long road back for him. It is far from a disaster for Mayo. He has only played a handful of competitve games for the Seniors and has yet to nail down a starting place. Kerry lost one of the greatest forwards of his or any other generation last year and still won an All Ireland.
Evan would obviously be an addition to our panel, but his loss at this stage of his career will not have a hugely detrimental effect on our progress. Hope Evan, recovers quickly and gets back into a Ballina Jersey before the end of the year.
Yes RedCol and others, if there is any plus side, it is that it has happened now rather than in the early part of a championship match.
And, there is later in the season.
So sorry for Evan, a great prospect but would have been hard to fit him in this year. No easy games to experiment.
Our County Board must be aiming to beat world record for statements. Don’t know why we need to rush to have something out for everything that happens. Other counties are low key. Sad as the news is at least there are no lies in this one
I agree totally with RedCol. Lets stop moaning and get on with it. Such a fuss about an a player yet to make his first championship start. Good wishes to him in his recovery.
Unbelievably hard luck on Evan and the team. I wish him well in his recovery.
I would really like to see Niall Douglas now given the chance he deserves. It’s baffling he wasn’t given a run in one of the last few League games (assuming he was fit). From what I have seen of him, he has that ability to change the play with a clever pass, switching it laterally/diagonally as needs be and he clearly has the vision needed for this. There has been very little of this on display from anyone in the League. In fact our foot-passing has been very poor. And it’s needless to say, this is a very important skill to combat the blanket defence. Obviously intercounty is a big step-up for him but I think he would do well. He also has a bit of metal and gets on with it and is a decent scorer.
Best wishes to Evan, get well soon.
Desperately unlucky for Evan and I know while it is a huge blow for Mayo as a Stephnites man myself this could be a mortal blow for us in the upcoming club championship. While Mayo will have to and should be able to compensate for this loss , I fear Ballina will struggle with a mixture of average and promising but very raw forwards. Jeeze this really makes our home game with Claremorris a relegation six pointer!!!!!
Hopefully Evan doesn’t rush back and gets his shoulder perfect because he will be a great asset for Mayo in the years to come and will continue to be Ballina’s main man also!!
On the flip side it could be a chance for a bolter like Conor Loftus to step up ala Cillian in 2011!! Time for Mikey Sweeney and Mark Ronaldson to take the lead inside for us now!!
Also there is definitely a kick left in Alan and Andy yet!!!
That’s devastating for this young player, having to go through once again the whole recovery process he and us all hoped was over. Wishing him the very best and a welcome return when ready.
MaighEo Abu
Time to give Mort a ring.He’s still the best left foot in Mayo!
Fuck it anyway….exactly what I said when I heard the news. Funnily I was in Dublin today and had just passed Croke Park minutes earlier. Evan was a name I had down this year that could make an IMPACT in this Mayo team. That won’t happen now but the biggest dissappintment is on the lad himself. Really gutted for him and wish him well in recovery.
I don’t think so would have the Mac ahead of mort the moment
No Mort or Mac I’d stick with the lads who have been in the winter training programme. Interesting that some posters keep calling for Neil Douglas, as I live outside the county haven’t seen much of him. . thought he was good in business end of last year’s great club run but for me didn’t stand out from the crowd against Ballintubber in this year’s final or the semi either in comparison with say Dillon and Feeney. I did notice Kirby hit some very good cross field kick passes when he came outfield against Donegal the other week.. nothing wrong with his vision. I also, thought a young Garrymore midfielder Nally showed a real football brain in their club semi. Probably too young yet and can’t recall him making league panel but perhaps he was on the winter weights program. A no 11 in the making for the years ahead? Having said that be good to see Douglas like any other lad get a chance to prove himself in the challenge matches and maybe he can make enough of an impression in training to push into the reckoning.
damn it to hell, a complete bastard
condolences to young regan, all that can be said is, take your time and understand that your chance will come when the time and you are right.
Wishing Evan all the best with his recovery. A real pity. ????
The more I think about Evan’s injury the angrier I get at the part that big, awkward bollocks Johnny Buckley played in it. If you look at the video of it (vine here) you can see that Buckley comes steaming in late when Evan is already high in the air. When he fails to get the ball, the Kerryman makes damn sure he gets the player instead. If this hadn’t happened, Evan would have been okay but was this after-the-ball collision that sent him spinning head-first to the ground. It was no thanks to Buckley that Evan didn’t end up paralysed from the incident.
Totally agreed WJ,I was at the game and very close to where it happened.Buckley knew he wasn’t going to get the ball so went all out to take Evan out.My first impression when he hit the ground and the way he hit it was that things were a lot worse,thankfully they were not.It’s a hard blow for the young lad so soon again but hopefully he can come back stronger and confirm the early promise that he has shown
12 weeks from today is the 17th of July.
The championship proper starts August weekend.
Don’t forget that gentlemen like Messrs Dillon and A Moran only really ‘arrived’ into last year’s championship in the quarter-final (in Andy’s case, despite his two fine points against the Rossies, you could argue that it was the semi-final before his full impact was felt).
Regan is a determined young buck. This is a setback but I still think we’ll see him tog in championship 2015.
Have to agree WJ. He made sure he ran into the mayo man in that collision, and with the guy so far up in the air, it was a nasty act. That sums up how the Kerry middle third play these days. Donnacha Walsh is another one who is well adept in the dark arts – watch his role in the Keegan red card last year for example.
But… if mayo had a bit of that in their own middle third, we’d have probably beaten Kerry last year. Walsh in particular is the type of player we are missing. His selflessness, game intelligence and utter pragmatism make him so effective, and he knows how to play a ref. He knows his limits, and when faced with something that is beyond him, he wont go trying to take them on, but spoils instead. That cuteness is something our lads don’t seem to possess, we seem to be too honest for our own good.
I have to say I am gutted for Evan – it’s bad enough being injured like that once but having it happen twice is tough going and it’s hard to relax once you come back for fear of it happening again. A friend of mine broke hers four times playing football – eventually it needed surgery but thankfully she is as right as rain now. I hope for his own sake Evan takes the time to recover and rehabilitate properly, whatever form that recovery might take.
I don’t however buy into the “there’s our big hope gone” for this year or that this is a disaster for Mayo. He is young yet, and you cannot miss what you never had. RedCol is right – look at Kerry last year with no Colm Cooper. And as Crete Boom says above if Conor Loftus is on board for 2015 he has a huge opportunity to stake a claim, so we are not all out of surprises yet.
I hope to see Evan back in a green and red shirt soon – all the very best to him.
Just repeating a post of mine here from the Donegal game, I feel it should help our hopes for this year…. ” In the second half, that was the best defensive performance from a Mayo team in my 70 years of watching Mayo. It was massive. They completely suffocated Donegal. Now before anyone starts screaming about not being able to attack from defence; allowing Mayo 7 wides, enough scoring chances were created to win the game by 1 goal and 4 points.” Remember this was against probably the best defence in the Country.
So, to me, if they continue to defend like that, a bit blanket but effective, they will be a diifficult proposition for any team. Then, if the forwards spend all this training time to sharpen their shooting, kick passing, and a fast release of the ball, well now, we could raise eyebrows and one can dream !!! 😉
I would agree with that analysis of Kerry and the standards they employ. If you don’t get the ball make damn sure that you slow down or get the man. People call it “awkward” or “slightly late”. That’s a load of rubbish. These guys know exactly what they’re doing. I have been watching it in club football in Kerry for years.
Also I remember back in 2011 when I think Trevor Mort stood off Cooper who was in the air getting a ball. Too feiceann nice! Its one of the reasons also Tyrone put it up to Kerry so much. They didn’t back done from taking any leeway they could.
Shame about Evan Reagn but it’s long past the time we face up that teams have no problem doing these things to our guys .
Jeez poor lad, really feel for him, awful year so far for him on the injury front 🙁
“I don’t however buy into the “there’s our big hope gone” for this year or that this is a disaster for Mayo. He is young yet, and you cannot miss what you never had. RedCol is right – look at Kerry last year with no Colm Cooper. And as Crete Boom says above if Conor Loftus is on board for 2015 he has a huge opportunity to stake a claim, so we are not all out of surprises yet.”
Anne-Marie speaking great sense. “Disaster” ah now c’mon lads, has he even played a Championship game yet (I know he was on bench in 2012 final)?
I’ve no doubt he’ll be a big star for the future and it’s a huge loss to himself but he wouldn’t have started anyway this year lets be honest
People really are dramatic
Anyhow as I say wish him a very speedy and non-eventful recovery
Terrible to see a repeat injury like this on a young promising player like Evan. I hope his recovery is speedy and complete but it would be hard for him to get the ball time and fitness levels required to allow him a realistic chance of making any impact in this years Cahmpionship.
Very tough luck and disappointing for Evan, hope he has a speedy recovery.
But to say our hopes are severely dashed because of this is crazy – the lad has only started 2 league games for mayo and a handful of late appearances as a sub, never started a championship! Nothing proven yet at all. I think he has potential, and would have been a viable option, but that’s all that could be expected. Would be way worse if similar happened to say Andy Moran or Dillon to be honest. And to expect Conor Loftus, who is only 19-20 and has never played for the senior team and has just returned from a long layoff, to seriously challenge for a starting place is ridiculous in fairness. Douglas was around before and never broke in. Has one good game v NUIG in the FBD – ye can hardly expect him to make a big difference in the championship. Sometimes the less you play, the bigger your reputation becomes in Mayo!!
The way I see it is we are really working with the same team as the last few years with Diarmuid O’C, Durkin and Coen and Kirby bolstering the squad, with DOC and Kirby having some chance of starting, depending on tactics. Regan would have been in that bracket too realistically. The thing with Regan I suppose is that we just don’t know what he might offer, there is that kinda thing about him, but that’s only being hopeful really. But not something to base championship hopes on!
Regan will be back in time when championship really matters. Gives a good chance for Conroy to nail down a position, as the forward area is somewhere we need to improve on. Onward and upwards.
Achillmanindublin Conroy has had 11 years to nail down a position. He ain’t the answer unfortunately.
We are picking from a limited bunch and Ronaldson is the man that started 7 league games and will start with Cillian and somebody else in the top line.
KL, you may of course be right, but I wouldn’t be even slightly surprised if I were to refer back to this post next August. A certain Cillian O’Connor springs to mind. We’ll see!
Willie Joe, I am in total agreement. Buckley knew he was never getting the ball. He could and should have pulled out, but didn’t. I am in no position to determine intention, but in rugby intention is not the determining factor. The act and its potential consequences are what matter. Buckley should have had a straight red and a ban.
Yeah I’d agree with you there Ann-Marie, we have been very close the last 4 years but for whatever reason we have not sealed the deal. So this year we will need something or someone different to get us over the line. Last year we seen a player like Paul Murphy for Kerry who ended up the year with an All-Ireland medal, a MOTM award in the All-Ireland final and with an All-Star, yet it was only his first full championship season. Maybe one of our players will take the same route, who knows but we will need something from left field to get us to the promised land!
Maybe we should get our revenge in first against Kerry in future.
As for Donnacha Walsh one of our lads should have sorted him out after his carry on with Keegan in the first game. First time I’ve ever seen a Kerry player at that shite trying to get someone sent off like a soccer player
Look it’s very simple. Kerry are Kerry. I’d rather shout for England. Simple
Sure it might not be as bad as was first thought, he might be away to the best surgeon in the land and could be fighting fit in time for August.
Very hard luck on the poor lad. Wishing him a full and speedy recovery. Those on here who regularly attend club games at both senior and U21 level will have seen that Evan is a good footballer with potential – but no more than that. He most certainly is not the next Shane Walsh or Diarmuid Murtagh or Enda Smith. Therefore, while his absence will limit our options up front, I am not so sure it will necessarily impact on our championship campaign.
Ger Bohan I’m on about tommy conroy
I hope Evan Regan recovery quickly and fully. He will be a big loss to Ballina in the championship. They could struggle this year yet again. The Mayo team are not dependent on a young man yet to make his debut in Championship as some followers think. Evan should look to the National League 2016 to establish himself on the team. It was most unfortunate for him to have only played a few minutes of league football in 2015. It is important that a player is pitted against top opposition first before decisions about ability, ambition, and all the attributes that go to make up a player in the top flight football. Durkan, DOC, Coen, Hall, Ronaldson , and Kirby are somewhere down that road at present. Whether they make the step up is still an open question but for now they have a foot on that ladder. This is a difficult team to break into as they have held on to one of the leading positions in the country for a long time.
Very disappointing to hear about Evans injury recurring, goes to show broken bones need a long time to heal properly he will probably need a plate in that area to fix it permently
It does limit our forward options corner forwards we are lacking in,if we are going for a more defensively approach should we not be looking to get the likes of Richie Feeney
back playing and maybe more game time for Conor Oshea,i don’t hold much hope for
Ronalson & Sweeney too small.How ever Conor Loftus is a good prospect could be a good
impact sub for the last 15mins when games have opened up.
However have to agree with KL more of the same with just, Doc, Coen Durkan & Kirby
as our new additions.
Galway are heading off to new York next weekend will be intresting to see how they line up, now they have some quality forwards & wont have 13 men in their own half,they will be a very dangerous opponent & then we will get to see them play Leitrim however might be an advantage to us as we could have our homework done before we meet them in Salthill.
Looking forward to it all hopefully no more injuries go easy lads in training save your energy for the real stuff in June
Hon Mayo
Completely off topic but has anyone heard of any challenge matches?
I agree hopefully conor loftus makes the màyo panal but what position would put him full forward or centre forward I don’t care as long as màyo beat kerry this season nice to take out one of the big guns
“He most certainly is not the next Shane Walsh or Diarmuid Murtagh or Enda Smith.”
Shane Walsh has played a couple of good games and looks the part.
When have the other two bucks performed to say they are in an elite bracket. I’m not going to get into it too much , the quicker this championship gets underway the better and then we can see all these top players in action .
@ann Marie
Cillian has turned into one of the top forwards in the country, but in fairness in his first year it was our desperation for a reliable free taker that kept him on the team, he only scored 2 points from play the whole championship. Thankfully we are not seeking a reliable free taker this year
No, KL, we’re seeking a full-forward who can score from play.
Anyway, this is all speculation at this point when we don’t even have a finalised panel. Seven more interminable weeks ….
Just as regards TV coverage, our Connacht Semi Final match, most likely against Galway, will be on RTE, as will the Connacht Final. If we won through Connacht though, our Quarter Final would be on Sky Sports only.
I wish Evan Regan a speedy recovery it must be so disappointing for him. Reading through the posts here it illustrates how concerned we are about lack of forward fire power when we are so concerned about the loss of a talented but as yet unproven at championship level player. That anxiety about our lack of scores is very genuine and while COC will improve matters and could deliver an extra 4 or 5 scores a game possibly I think lack of firepower will be our downfall this year. Personally I think Alan Freeman is the one player who could rack up big scores if he was given a vote of confidence and a consistent run in the team. He would be able to hold ball in the full forward line which was a major issue in the last few games. I think Jason Doc is a good example of a player who took time to establish himself in the team but the management kept faith in him until he started to deliver. I would like to see freeman get a similar opportunity.
In relation to Evans injury against Kerry could it have been a retribution by kerry for Cooper getting injured against the mitchels last year….paranoia I know!
Only reason to get loftus on the panal if can score points then that’s a bonus bitoptimistic this year I just what to see màyo take down a top team and that’s kerry.
@ Sean Burke My point is that these guys have been outstanding at U21 level and have also broken into the Senior panel within their respective counties where they also have been scoring for fun. While Evan has been unfortunate in the extreme this year, he has not stood out sufficiently at either club of county level at any grade over the past couple of years IMO.
Wondering if Cillian is back in full time training yet ?
45 , that’s sound as two pound pal ,sure it’s all about opinions .
I just feel a lot of these players albeit they’re showing promise have a lot to prove yet .its gets to me a bit lately how Roscommon are being blown up , tbh I bought into it myself for a while but what have they done in fairness . Armagh knocked them out last year in their own backyard , year before we destroyed them in Castlebar .
Yes they’re improving and they have a bit of momentum with gaining promotion but bloody Nora they’re not world beaters. The Harlem globetrotter 21s were comprehensively beaten by a well drilled Tyrone side after all the noise they were making too.
Mayos odds for Connacht started off at 8/13 when they opened the market , they are now into even money . Moving in fractionally last Sunday from 5/6 , for some reason pp thought that Galway drawing with Dublin warranted a move in for Galway and out for Mayo.
That’s hilarious actually i wonder howI they get on today.
pp keeps it very tight. You have to get up early to catch him out. Galway at 2 is probably their tightest price for a long time. Hard to know about Mayo yet but I think the team to come out of Salthill will win Connacht in 2015. I am not ruling Galway out of that. They have a lot at stake this year.
Well he’s enticed me in by going evens, I’ll be throwing a few quid in every week now till the championship starts on Mayo to retain the Nestor cup.
Championship is all about hunger and putting that extra shift to be first to those 50-50 balls and breakdowns.
We need to see if the new management bring anything new that will be of use.
Never mind the league, the real work starts now. They need to have a plan B to beat the defensive walls. And the pull and drag of Roscommon. They’ll win Connaught as long as they move the ball fast with enough width.
Galway I think have more talented players than Roscommon, but Rosommon will try to break down good play to be able to compete.
If Roscommon win Connaught, it will only prove football is going down a very dark road – as Spillane said “puke football”!
As long as the new management keep the tempo of the game right we should have a least another Nester cup and God only knows………!
????
The initial injury was sustained on Feb 1st. You’d have to question the wisdom of having the lad back in full contact training just 11 weeks after a collar bone break like that? That particular injury in very prone to reoccurrence in the early stages of recovery. He may still play a role in August I guess, but it will be tough for him. Disappointing.
Just watching Colm O’Neill from Cork talking about his free taking, all the practice he puts in on his own, thinks taking from the ground is much more reliable , etc, etc. Players can learn from that.
@ achillmanindublin
Forget about Tommy this year,he’s had an operation on his hip and i out for at least 4-5 months.
Tommy just one of the 10 players from the 2013 minor panel who required major surgery in the last two years along with another 4 who sustained injuries keeping them out of action for over a year. That’s 14 players from the 2013 minor panel who required major surgery or extensive recovery periods.
Might be contributing to our poor performance at U21 over the last two years. Little surprise there’s an inquiry underway into the training practices used that year.
Just back from Croker. Dublin destroyed Cork. Pace, pace, pace. Plus intensity in tackling.
If Dublin have a negative, it’s that they look at peak fitness. Can they keep this up until September, or August if Mayo and themselves come through?
The Rossies? Big and strong. Killer’s points very good, but Down always chasing it after their red card. Down about half the size of Rossies, so they really struggled with 14.
Just drifting away from headquarters after watching the Dubs and the Rossies.
Kinda glad we were not there today. That kind of drubbing is no good for any
team`s confidence. And I`m glad we have a chance to step back and re-set.
Having said that I saw nothing to be overly concerned about. If I was one of
the seventy five Cork supporters I would go straight for the worrying stone.
This site would turn blue if that was us. Thank the Lord.
Only saw the Dublin Cork game as was at a club game here in Mayo. I was not impressed with Cork when they beat us and could not understand the hype around them…and so it was proved today. Dublin were class but Cork made it easy for them…much football to be played between now and August. Some interesting results in club league games in Mayo today too.
Dublin different class today, although two got in to the onion bag. Dubs very fit, Cork were never in it,first score from play forty eight minute. Dean Rock 100% accurate again. I wonder would he transfer west.
.
Don’t know where the 45% vote for Cork to beat Dublin came for ? Coming into this match they had in my opinion very little chance, and after 20min’s in was done and dusted. How anyone can say, they saw nothing on show today to be concerned about, makes me wonder am I completely underestimating Mayo.
Wouldn’t insult Galway by even thinking of Roscommon at this stage, but those Dubs are something else, looks like there on a mission to erase the memories of last years shock defeat by Donegal. It will take some team to stop them.
Well done to the rossies today . Lets all applaud their winning 2 cups in croker in the last 2 years ..But its up to us NOW to make sure they dont win anything more this year .
We said that last year about the dubs and look what happened to them last year they can be beaten.
Interesting to see Pat and Joe preview the championship there….both said Kerry and Dublin way ahead but that there may be a kick in Mayo yet.
Darren Coen scored 1-12 today against Knockmore, with injuries to Cillian, Mickey C and Evan would it be worth another look.
Aido scored 2-2. Donie scored 1-5. Mickey Sweeney 0-5 from play. Mark Ronaldson 0-9. Good to see some players hitting form.
Cait says;
“We said that last year about the dubs and look what happened to them last year they can be beaten.”
Hi Cait…we can be beaten again this year as any team can but I have to be honest we learned so much from last year. I was impressed today with the Dubs display and have to say the Cork no 5 should be ashamed of himself tonight for what he did on Connolly. I believe the panel on League Sunday say Mayo are still there for 2015 well I know you will be there in August at least cheers.
Kind Regards
Martin the Dub
This has to be the only league, at any sport, in the world, where the runners up in all divisions became league champions !!!! A league is not a championship, good old GAA.
@ RedCol, thanks for that update, its good to see players hitting form alright. I see that Conor Loftus scored 2-2 as well, so thats good to see.
Agree totally Joe Mac, a bit of a farce and furthermore to think you have semi finals in div one with an eight team league , it’s just madness.
That was a sneaky challenge on connolly too bit dirty would love to meet the dubs again.
Cork, Kerry and Donegal are masters of the dark arts. Should be no surprises there. With Monaghan not far behind, only without the players to back it up.. so they just look like clowns.
With all due respect to our Dublin posters (Martin – a gent it seems) , I am glad the shadow boxing of the league is over now. Champion starts in about 3 weeks, that’s when teams show their hands. I was not panicking all winter and spring when the blog was exploding in rage… hope I was right,,, and its not a case of “if you can keep your head when all others around you are losing their’s,,,, you have clearly underestimated the seriousness of the situation” 🙂
Either way.. can’t wait for June 14th…..support the players, support the managers and if we get a chance, show the sheep stealers who are the High Kings of Connaught…
You echo my sentiments Paul, and congrats to Martin the dub on your team’s performance today
I think we are a long way behind the others at this moment in time, we just have not got the scoring forwards to trouble the big 2 Dublin and Kerry. We have a job on our hands as everyone knows to get the better of Galway and the Rossies, think it’s time for a reality check and admit we have no chance of winning this years championship, We need to find some forwards from somewhere,as if God forbid Cillian is out for any game we are in serious trouble.
@HopeSpringsEternal
I was at the Cross V Davitts game today and Conor Loftus really impressed me at times, had great vision to score both those points from tight angles way out the field. The goals were some poor defending from Davitts but Loftus still did well to finish them off.
Fionan Duffy also looked very good in the first half for Cross.
Boyler looked his usaul self for Davitts and was there best player by far. Conroy was there but did not tog out.
I actually cant really believe half of what I read on here. Why are so many people passing comment on Galway and Roscommon. Perhaps if we concentrated on Mayo we might be better off. Many comments on here come across as fairly bitter. Im sure the other counties would get some laugh if they saw how much we talk about them .
I watched the games today with a rossie friend of mine, who, would always have been pessimistic about their chances in the last few years. But today was a different story, he’s in full beleif they’ll come out of connacht this year…..i personally think he has himself set up for a big fall, they will saunter into the final alright but i think we’ll be a different animal come June. Our bhoys are well experienced now and i fully beileve our intensity will be in 6th gear in salthill as opposed to barely getting into 3rd gear all spring. Their’ll be no repeat of two years ago but we will definetly win in salthill and soften the cough of the increasingly cocky rossies in mchale park. What happens in august is anyones guess, but we deserve alot more respect in connacht from our rivals than we are getting at the moment and i think the lads will unleash absolute hell on them this year!!!!…and i cannot wait.
I believe that will be the case too Juan , Mayo are going to explode out of the traps in Connacht this year , mostly because they will have to.
Does anyone know the definite arrangements for Connacht final this year if we were to beat Galway and Ros came through the other side. It all seems very vague as to what the exact situation is but surely it’s up to Roscommon and I believe they will opt for neutral venue rather than Castlebar.
[Deleted].
Sean burke – we have a home and away agreement with Roscommon. We last played them in Hyde Park and indeed the last Connacht final we played them in was in their patch so as far as I can see IF we get over Galway we will play Roscommon at home in Castlebar.
Mayo Madness – I’ve deleted that second comment from you from last night, which was essentially a repeat of the point made in your first one. Although I don’t like comments that criticise the broader community who contribute here, I let the first one fly but once is enough to be making a point like this. House rules 3 and 8 refer.
My biggest fear in Connacht this year is that Sligo will rob us of the pleasure of hammering the Rossies out the gates of McHale.
Still think it’s good for us to be tipping away at the moment with heads down. The psychological damage to Cork will be huge. I had fancied them to take Kerry, now it will be a really big hill for them to climb.
Interesting to see our ‘guns’ scoring in club games including Darren Coen; hope this kind of form is maintained. Far too early to be talking of 5 in a row. Leave that kind of stuff to the Rossies. I’m sure they are thinking All Irelands at this stage.
Good to see Conor Loftus getting two goals. I’v felt we have shone a light a little too strongly on tackling ability and turnovers in terms of rating our forwards.
I’d personally retain a lad who gives me a goal every second game. Alan Freeman we know has been inconsistent. But his goalscoring has been underrated so much that we haven’t developed the thinking to be trying to get him open with simpler layoffs close to goal. Similar young Reape with the U21’s, he gets one chance versus Galway and actually no suprise at all he rattles a goal which was disallowed (harshly given the huge push in the back Galway had for their goal at the other end).
The point I’m making is to separate out goal getting ability as something to be thinking about from a coaching, forward play tactics and selection point of view.
The skill of shooting accurately while having little time and defenders closing in on you is a rare skill that only a few forwards have developed. We should be opening up opportunities for such lads.
Similar to basketball where you have 3 pt specialists. Perfect example would be Alan Dillon is decent on mid range efforts for points, but is not great in goal scoring. Freeman is not so strong in point taking but is lethal when in posession close to goal for goal scoring.
I dont think that’s the case Steve granted it was the case till the Hyde was deemed unfit to hold finals .
Let’s say for the sake of an example Mayo were to play Ross in the final this year and next year , the Hyde wouldn’t be able to facilitate the final in 16 as it won’t be finished till 17 .
Anyway it’s not an issue at the moment as we have a massive task of trying to beat Galway first . But I have said we will play in salthill twice this year since the draw was made but nobody seems to think that’s possible, I hope I’m wrong about the venue arrangement.