Yes, it’s Croke Park and yes, our one is the curtain-raiser at 2pm. All very predictable, all very Dubs-centric and all so very GAA, you’d have to say. And then to cap it off, there’s the crazy decision to appoint Armagh’s Padraig Hughes (that’d be Armagh in the same province as Derry, in case you’re wondering) to ref the game. But then again this is a refereeing body being run by Pat McEnaney, whom I recently heard on radio taking umbrage when it was put to him that refs might not be able to differentiate between accidental and deliberate challenges when implementing the black card rule.
The latest in a litany of 2 v 1’s in terms of mayo v _ + a neighbouring ref!.No one available in Munster or Leinster seemingly!
Oh well. The GAA are just full of surprises, aren’t they? At least it’ll work for people travelling during the day.
i am gobsmacked!!! 🙂
Mayo, Derry and Cork are among counties with the furthest distance to travel to Dublin but again as WJ states it’s to suit Dublin. I suppose you couldn’t make them play two weeks in a row outside Dublin.
Disgraceful decision. I know that JH is probably glad of another run out in Croke Park, but there seems to be zero consideration for the supporters of 3 of the counties involved.
So all the trumpeting from the GAA about Croke Park being debt free was bullshit! Bring 3 of the remotest counties in the country up to Dublin just to accommodate the Dubs. God forbid would there be any “outside the box” thinking and maybe have the Div 3 final between Cavan and Roscommon as a curtain raiser for Derry v Mayo in maybe Carrick, or Westmeath?? No, we can’t have that.
The roads and the trains come OUT of Dublin as well as going up to Dublin don’t they?
At least we can leave and head west by 3.30 – 4.00.
I fancy Mayo to win this game even against a full strength Derry, ( 25-1 to win the allireland). And I really hope the dubs win too, just so we can get another shot at them in our second home. Hopefully, somebody in the upper tier of Mayo county board will ask the refs appointer why it wasn’t a ref from Leinster or Munster in the name of fairness. And who’s riffing the other game?
I see a new type flag with mayo club 51 gang, is it going to be available to others? I think a shakeup in that type stuff would be nice, a few new t shirts designed for kids and adults with a bit of life to them rather than the usual stuff for example.
Does the season ticket cover for admittance to the semi-finals?
Absolutely crazy stuff from Croke Park as usual. Whilst this might suit our Dublin based support it is crazy to bring people from Derry and Mayo to Croke Park. Have they no consideration for the hard strapped GAA supporter? Do they care at all? This year we have had to travel to Newbridge, Dublin, Omagh, and Mullingar let alone FBD and challenge games. Even for a lunatic such as myself I think this latest decision is a step too far. As a devoted GAA supporter I am finding it harder to defend some of the decisions made recently. It really does appear that the Association is very well managed from a monetary point of view but other factors are more important. Try selling club lotto tickets now and you will see the huge damage these decisions are causing at a ground level.
Not sure if I can say names but place in ballyhaunis will put mayo crests on jackets jumpers etc.. got elsewhere they also print names and numbers on t-shirts great for kids stuff and doesn’t cost a fortune. I’m not affiliated in anyway just got stuff done there before.
Going to be great fun watching the first match when our urban friends start turning up near the end of our game and looking for their seats and blocking the view. Another Dublin home game. Do their supporters in any way feel that there achievements are a bit devalued due to the huge advantages handed to them at every turn by the GAA hierarchy?
Jasus, I don’t know what a bunch of ye would do to let off an aul moan without this place.
A few weeks back we were a Jack McCaffery wide away from having to all sit on our holes at home next weekend.
The more games in Croker for the lads the better. We need to play there as much as possible.
Yep we will got our email Wednesday I think to download our tickets from the season ticket website – same as the Dublin game
Highorlow. I think your comments are a small bit insensitive. Do you think that loyal supporters should have nothing to say about stupid decisions that the GAA make that affect supporters time and money? Maybe we should bow down and thank Jack McCaffrey and the GAA for letting us visit their holy grail. There is very little extra to be given to the supporter by having the match in Croke Park than having it anywhere else. A watery cup of tea and a rubbery sandwich is the same in Sligo as it is in Dublin. Extra games in Croke Park will give very little benefit to the Mayo players at this stage. Despite what people in Dublin think there is a deep recession in the country and people have little extra money to work with.
if your referring to the GAA one and not the Chairde Maigheo one it does and the final and it covers first round of championship.
http://www.crokepark.ie/contact-us
I don’t think the men at the top of the GAA give a rats toss about the loyal supporters. They just care more about the colour of the notes in the wallet. The way the deal with Sky was rammed through highlights this as does this latest installment of having to travel to Dublin.
To be honest we can complain all we like here but really they should be made justify their decision in the media. No one there will ask that question it seems.
As for playing in Croker well highorlow does have a point. We are somewhat fortunate to be here. And I don’t think anyone can deny that the more experience fellas get of Croke Park the better. Especially the likes of Harrison, Drake, Sweeney, Coen etc.
Ya it covers it,just got an email,if you want to bring a friend you can purchase them now,adult €15,juvenile €5.If not your ticket will be available to print on Thursday
It’s confusing. We should be glad on the one hand to be in Croker and on the other hand a spin as far as Sligo would suit more Mayo fans than Dublin for a league semi. This is our 5 th trip to Croker since last July/August
It’s madness, travel 150 miles each way to be the curtain raiser for the home team, and especially since our opponents are as remote as we are and Sligo would suit them better as well.
It’s a league semi final FFS-if it’s too much (and for a lot of people I’m sure it is) stay at home and keep the powder dry for the Final.
Thats what the Kerry folks have been doing for years
The more run outs we have in Croke
The more playing time our younger players get in croke park the better and the bigger the crowd the better,of course it will help them deal with the bigger occasions to come in the summer.Just look at the sub keeper Dublin brought on against Mayo,he shit himself.Its much cheaper to make the sandwiches and bring them with you than give the jacks your hard earned euros for rubbery ones.A cooked chicken and a loaf for €8 feeds five of us at every away game
what you think of the section you were allocated ? I have no problem sitting at one end of the cusack or Hogan stand on occasion but this is my 3rd trip up this year and the third time have being allocated ticket seats at the end.I think it should be spread out as in allocate seats a little more central .Still tis good to be up there i guess.
Whitey at my age I don’t accept everything thrown at me with a shrug of the shoulder. If I feel something is wrong I will state it. I think it is wrong to bring 2 teams from as far away in the country as you could probably go to be the support act in what is for the GAA a money fest. Supporters and their children will be denied the semi final for no good reason. I dont think that playing in front of a few thousand people (the dubs fans wont turn up until our game is over and there are no cork fans) in a giant cavernous stadium is any benefit to our players. I dont want to get too hung up on it and I probably will go to the game but for too long we as a people are too accepting of what the so called brains decide. This is a bad decision on all levels. Final comment.
We have the croke park season tickets and we were in 306 for the Dublin game,all games last year we were in either 305 or 306, only time it was different was for this years club final when we were in 310
ya i think that is the one i have . But i have only being allocated section 310 i wonder why that is?
Is this your first year as a season ticket holder,I know two people that have them this year for the first time and they are in 310
Yes this is my first year. Id imagine that will be my section so speak from here on in .
It looks that way,there was a big uptake on them this year,Mayo allocation sold out fairly fast,at least you know you’ll have your ticket for the. All Ireland final????
No offense intended and I did not intend to play down your concerns, but the more run outs we get in Croke Park the better.
Cost of the match entrance fee will be the same, regardless of where the game is held. Only difference in cost will be getting to and from Mayo to the venue.
€20 round trip from Swinford to Dublin on Sunday on BusEireann. Bring the sang witches and flask o’ Tay with you and you will be all set
Conversely, with Club 51 now in full flight, surely some carpooling could be organized to maximize attendance and minimize cost
I see we odd on 8/15 to win next Sunday .I don’t know about you lot but i think the match will be a close fought game . Hope our advantage of playing in croke park so many times this last few years will be to our help. I appreciate the cost to many family’s is a added burden but lets hope this year we pull out all the stops and back MIGHTY MAYO to league and championship .
yes for sure Pacar . As long as im there for it ill be a happy man. Only reason i got it anyway . I enjoy touring about for the league as well 🙂
As a supporter who lives closer to Dublin than to Mayo I was personally hoping for a Croker appearance. I understand why some might feel aggrieved but don’t forget there is a significant level of support outside the county, especially with the increased flight of youth to the bigger towns and cities. You can’t keep everyone happy I suppose but Dublin isn’t the epic voyage it used to be, it is afterall the most accessible place on the island.
The semi-finals and final of the league being played in Croke Park doesn’t bother me, it’s the fact that Dublin play all their home league games there aswell that really annoys me. They should be made play them in Parnell Park and at least when it comes to semi finals it will be the Dubs first time playing in croker that year, the same as everyone else. That would probably mean Parnell Park would need extending as it only holds around 11,000, but I’d much prefer if the money for the ‘national’ centre of excellence was used to extend Parnell Park so it could be used as the dubs home venue (for einster champship aswell) and croker strictly as the national stadium and neutral venue. The centre of excellence will benefit the dubs anyway so id much prefer that money being used so all counties would be on an even playing field.
Opt2misteek – I’ve had to delete that comment. This is no place for posting gratuitous personal insults of that kind. I’ll do a David Coldrick on it and only scribble something in the book without waving a card on this occasion but, really, you should know better.
What about my (admittedly a bit bonkers) idea of having the Dubs play ALL their League games away from home every year? Grossly unfair, of course, but then not anything like as unfair as having home advantage for every championship game from here to eternity! And think of the spin-off benefits it would generate around the country having all those Dublin fans travelling for every League match …
I have often commented, here and elsewhere, about the Dubs advantage in having all their home games at Croke Park. I have termed it sponging on the country as it saves them the cost of providing and maintaining a proper home stadium.
Regards Parnell Park I do not think it can be extended to any real extent because it is in a built up residential area. Really what is needed is probably a greenfield site, perhaps in Abbotstown. Really Dublin GAA is only scratching the surface in terms of providing playing opportunities for its young population. Taking into account ladies football and camogie there has to be a potential of 250,000 players and even allowing that half are probably not into sport at all and there are many others will choose some other sport it still leaves a huge potential of probably 50,000 players. Can any Dub say what the registered playing numbers in Dublin are?
We’ll at least we won’t play the dubs again great win last Sunday wonder will cillian be fit for the match on Sunday
So long as Pat McEnaney is in charge of refs, we won’t get too many favourable decisions from HQ. Remember him in 96…his pathetic excuse afterwards ‘I meant to send McDermott off’ FFS lads, we’re being screwed left, right and centre. Any time I’ve seen Hughes, well he’s terrible.
I don’t think even the amount of clubs can tell us about the numbers playing in the city. Neamh mearnog alone are a massive club, Manchester United would be ashamed of where they train if the seen neamh mearnogs facility.
They have a humongous pick in Dublin, nobody can compare to it. Tyrone, Kerry,donegal, mayo and cork combined may approach it but even that’s a stretch.
Prior to famine times Mayo had 400,000 residents, maybe more because there was no real way of getting correct numbers.
Today 130,000 approx residents.
Damn potatoes.
Don’t know why people so surprised that semis are in croker. That’s where they were for last few years. The GAA could have given Cork and Derry home advantage based on the positions in the league and then we would be heading to Celtic Park. Don’t think that would go down too well with Mayo supporters. As for us being the first game on Sunday no surprise there. Whether we like it or not dubs v cork is seen as the bigger game. Cant agree with appointment of Ulster ref for our game though. As for Dubs playing all their home games in croker, well I think we would have been disappointed with having to play them in Parnell Park. there were over 22,000 at that game so some of us would not have had to chance to see game as capacity of Parnell Park is much less than that.
I wonder what do Derry think of the Ref appointment? What would they say if our good auld friend, Marty was the ref for the match…
Ah we were six points up with six minutes left in the first game against Meath in the 1996 final, the game was in our own two hands. We can’t just keep on making excuses when we lose the big games. As far as I could see if our forwards put a few more scores on the board we would have won that game rather than trying to hang on for the win. The referee didn’t kick the ball over the ball to equalise against us. Again a week ago we did the same thing, we lose a six point lead against 14 men this time and what do we do, blame the referee. I’d prefer to ask the question why we missed so many chances when we had the Dubs on the ropes? I suppose it’s easier to blame the referee though for our own shortcomings. At some stage we just have to take our destiny into our own hands and just win these games or at least put in our best performances in the big games. Galway played Meath in the 2001 final and were in a similar position to us. What did they do, Padraic Joyce just kept putting the ball over the bar and they beat Meath by nine points. This is what we should have done in 1996, there would have been no need for a replay then.
The odometer on my car is fairly glad the semi finals are in Croker and so is my wallet!! The petrol pump attendant in Kilcock is not so happy! Nor is Durkins pub or Feericks for that matter!! Looking forward to Sunday and Mayo to beat Derry out the gate for showing a lack of respect for basically throwing yesterdays game to line us up in the semi final.
I personally love away matches at least you know you are surrounded by the true mayo supporter not just jump on band wagon or the ones that stroll down to mchale park because it’s near I was unfortunate enough to be near a woman in mchale park who gave 15 mins shouting at mickey c the problem was mickey c wasn’t even on the pitch but she didn’t even know the players ffs.
Dublin used to play league games in Parnell Park and atmosphere there was good. But this Spring Series idea was to get more into Croker and really why would any team give up a chance to play in Croker if that’s the Dublin venue option?
I wonder when a Mayo full forward last scored 2-6?
Freeman is steadily making a name for himself. He is top scorer for Mayo in league with 28 and second is Kevin Mc.with 27.
Add in Cillian, Doherty, Sweeney, Andy, thats not a bad set of forwards.
If defense can steady up a bit it will be a long year yet. But beware Derry, they look like a team peaking early and will be tough opposition.
Dubs v cork rightly is seen as the main game. But if they were playing Waterford they would still be the main game. Everything to suit the dubs and their profile
Freezer was brilliant again yesterday, but I still think the jury is out on him until he puts in that level of performance against the likes of the dubs
They’d be delighted…..he’d give us nothing at all!
Sorry, HopeSpringsEternal but I disagree with your analysis for two reasons.
1. It was in trying to add on more scores that Mayo gave away the ball with 50/50
passes.
2. We didnt have then, nor have we now, a big occasion score-taker as good as
Padaric Joyce
In summary we didnt have a proven score taker but yet played as though we had a Gouch in our forward line – you must cut your cloth.
I have to say this discussion re the venue and where the ref is from is doing my head in. The dogs in the street knew the semi-finals were always going to be a double header in Croke Park, end of story, and James was heard to say sometime ago, that you can’t play often enough at headquarters, so there. If we get to the final, that will be three League games played there this year, and it’s still only April – seems much like home to me.
As for the Ref, lets get on with it, play the ball not the man and we should be all right. Anyway Derry are a top eight team at best, we would like to see ourselves in the top three at worst, and that’s not fools gold talk, so lets go out on Sunday and put Derry back in there box.
One thing I would like to see though, is a bit more intensity by our forwards in closing down defenders and preventing them setting up those marauding runs from deep the reek havoc with defences. After all our lads at the back have been doing more than there share in the scoring department of late, so maybe it’s payback time…..
Freezer himself also got 2-4 against New York three years ago in an FBD (Special) Final.
Agree Peter, he needs to be more consistent on the big days, but no doubt he has all the attributes. Perhaps a bit more aggression against those full-back that love body contact. He a big strong lad, and should be well capable of imposing himself on those kind of players. Thrives more on good intelligent passes from the like of Andy and Mikey Sweeney than the Hail Mary Garryowens in to the square.
I suppose my main point Mayo Exile, is that we cannot continue to blame others for our losses i.e. referees etc. Referees will always make mistakes like players, managers etc. Whatever the reason is, we didn’t win the game but we shouldn’t blame the referee for that. At some stage we just need to put in our best performances in the big games. We have to grab these games by the scruff of the neck and just get over the line. We had John Casey up front that day who kicked four super points against Kerry in the semi-final, a game he was man of the match in but he just didn’t produce that form in the final against Meath, for whatever reason. Kevin O’Neill also was brought on when the game was pretty much over as far as I can remember, I could be wrong there. When we played Galway in Connacht during those years we were just as good or probably better than them. Yet they won two All-Ireland titles in that time and we won none. Why, that’s the big question? I don’t think we should blame referees, venues etc. for our shortcomings. We are good enough but just can’t close the deal when it’s there for us. That’s in the past, we now have the opportunity to grab our chance with this team, heres hoping that the future is bright for us and that we will have no need any more for excuses about referees or venues etc.
Agree on everything except I’d currently rate Derry’s fitness as more advanced and they’re more aggressiveness than us, plus their league form is ahead of ours at this stage (considering they also gave us the game last Sunday).
The McKenna Cup puts the FBD in the shade and they have to peak earlier because of the very competitive a Ulster a Championship. Underestimate them at your peril! And McIver is a super manager.
Despite effectively conceding last weekend, their league score difference is two points better than ours, and we’re still leaking goals !!
All that said, I think we will win but it will be close, very close!
If you have your tickets got already you must be availing of the bring a friend option which always means your seat will be moved. Was moved from 304 to 310 the last day because of this.
Have no problem with the ref for Sunday he not going to lose us the game croke park is the place you want to play your football plenty of counties would love to be there and as for the moaning bout Dublin there the team to beat and it s croke park were goin to have to beat them for silverware
Agree in general with your post about always blaming the ref, but to be fair we were not 6 points up with 6 minutes left in 1996. That’s a big exaggeration. We had a 6 point lead with 15-20 minutes left from memory and Meath slowly chipped away to level it. We also went 6 clear in the replay first half I think, but it only lasted a minute and Meath goaled immediately from a Giles penalty.
Incidentally the habit of conceding a goal immediately after scoring is a sign of weakness in my view, and an extremely irritating habit of ours which has not gone away in the intervening 18 years (see b brogan 2013 after morans goal).
In the 64th minute we were six points up against Meath in 1996, I’m almost sure about that, I wouldn’t put my house on it though! I must check it out actually. Same against Dublin over a week ago we were five points up against 14 players, with 5 minutes left and when we end up drawing the match, we again try to blame the referee rather than examining our own shortcomings. Yes I’d agree with you there, the habit of giving away goals just after we score is a real killer in the big matches, now thats a much bigger reason as to why we lose the big games.
Exactly, who knows in a few years time we might be delighted to get a game in Croke Park. I’m sure James Horan and all of the players are delighted to be going to Croke Park this week-end, as James Horan said (This is where we want to be.) As far as I can see, at the moment Dublin have the best players and in general do most things right in the big games and that is the reason why they are winning most of the silverware. This is where we want to get to and we are well capable of getting there. Donegal were the best team in Ireland in 2012, Dublin in 2013, we now have the chance to be the best team in 2014. Now is the time to grab this chance with both of our hands.
It’s a rare (practically non existent) occasion that a Mayo supporter praises a referee to the same extent that he/she regularly berates a referee. That should really tell us something. The blame game seems to be the cocktail of choice when disappointing results and performances manifest themselves. Horan is tactically inept, the ref screwed us, Aido went missing when we needed him most, Freeman can do it now but until he does it against the Dubs…. There tends to be little depth to this type of analysis and it should be written off just as quickly.
The memories of 1996 are still startlingly clear for me – as Mac’s Left Boot has said, we were six up with 15 minutes to go and from then to the end the lead was whittled away. In the replay, we were only six up for a few minutes.
I’m not sure if anyone is blaming the ref for what happened us against Dublin the other week. I actually thought Reilly did reasonably okay on the night and Dublin’s comeback certainly had nothing to do with him.
On the Croke Park issue – sure, it’s good for us to get as much exposure there as possible. The problem I have is that Dublin get to have home advantage for every single game of importance that they play, every bloody year. Imagine if every other team in Connacht had to come to MacHale Park every year without exception to play us or, say, France got to play all their Six Nations matches at home every year or the likes of Real Madrid never had to stir from the Bernabeu for their Champions League ties. It’s an enormous advantage to have and it’s little wonder that the Leinster championship has become a one-horse race in recent years, with the real danger that the All-Ireland might soon follow suit.
Hear, hear! The referee comments are embarrassing. As if the province where the ref hails from will have a bearing on how he refs the game. None of them have bias based on where a team comes from – but some are more competent than others.
Freeman is by far, the best full forward in Mayo. Give him the right ball and he will do a lot of damage – no different to Bernard Brogan in Dublin, or Brian Hurley in Cork.
Piece on GAA website. The ‘Easter Series’, an annual AFL trial, takes place in London this week with 11 Irish players taking part, including three current Kildare senior footballers.
Aside from Kildare, there are also players from Mayo, Tyrone, Galway, Kerry, Armagh and Tipperary taking part.
Mayo pair Stephen Coen (Hollymount/Carramore) and Shehroz Akram (Ballaghaderreen) are both involved. Coen captained the Mayo minors to the All-Ireland title last year while Akram, a Mayo U16 in 2013 and described by Mayo senior captain Andy Moran as a “truly outstanding” prospect in an interview with GAA.ie last summer, will be looking to follow his fellow clubman Pearce Hanley in making the grade at AFL level.
Yeah I was actually thinking about that WJ, imagine trying to explain to someone from Sky Sports about how our competitions are run. We have one team with the biggest population, who get to play most of their games at home. We have a kinda league competition, that finishes with semi-finals and a final, with no advantage for the top two teams after the group stage. Some teams have four home games while other teams have three. We have a back-door system where teams get a second chance, although some teams don’t get a second chance i.e. provincial winners. We have provincial competitions, with some made up of 12 and 9 teams, then others where we throw a few teams in to make up the numbers etc. etc. I’d say the Sky Reporter would have most of his hair pulled out at that stage trying to figure this out!
Got a text from The Cairde lads this morning telling me they had a “Free” ticket for me for the semi final ,all I have to do is call over and pick it up ..now isn’t that grand and there’s
me thinking I had to have prepaid for said ticket last year when I joined up!!
At the League game there were loads of spare tickets. I was offered something like 5 on the evening. People are trying to use up their allowance but can’t make the trip. I think it will be the same the next day as well. There should be an opportunity to get a spare fro people I think if you need one.
Does anyone else have issues with people not attending the matches giving there ticket to be scanned by someone else to make up their allowance. 60% attendance surely isn’t that difficult to achieve and if they can’t make up that surely they don’t deserve a seat in Croke Park for AIF if we get there (fingers crossed). Season tickets are done to reward dedicated fans not ones that couldn’t be bothered to attend the games.
All this talk of referees is enough to put me in the madhouse
We have had bagloads of chances to win most of the recent AIFs weve contested but have failed to take them. When the game is on the line, do we have the player who is willing to stand up and do something magical?
Do we have a Kevin McManamon or a Bernard Brogan a Colm Cooper or a Stephen O Neill. Its one things scoring goals against GMIT in the FBD Series, but in the white hot heat of a September Final, up against the best defenders in the land, do we have the bottle?
Look at that young O ‘ Donnell from Clare and what he accomplished in the replayed AIHF last year. Can any of our lads pull that off and lead us to history?
People buy the season ticket at the start of the season with the best intentions in the World. However it’s not always possible to get to the games to meet he quota.
I have no problem with scanning someone elses ticket if it got me free into the game. To be honest the only time it matters is at the final when both parties are looking for tickets.
Then the person who forked out in the first place should have priority. they paid the money.
ye that lad from achill that was in mayo news last week!:)
Like you said there were loads of “spare tickets” you say it’s “not always possible to get to games to meet the quota” They can’t attend 60% of the matches but I’m sure come Semi or AIF they are able to attend. It’s completely unfair on the rest of us who make the effort and attend every match come hail rain or shine.
On a side note, I have 3 free tickets for the semis on Sunday, haha! Not my own you understand, but from the other half’s season ticket from another county.
Wecandothis, how is it completely unfair on the rest of us . I go to well over 60% of the matches. I will get my ticket God willing if we reach AIF. What’s the problem if someone who went 50% of the matches gets an AIF ticket because he let his friend use his ticket for two matches. It does not effect me and it is better someone who went to half the matches and is interested gets a ticket , rather than let it disappear into some non transparent procedure.
Digits sorry I’ll have to pass on them after my rant!!!! perhaps JPM would be interested.
The whole idea behind season tickets is that dedicated fans who attend are rewarded for there attendance all year why should people who don’t attend be rewarded if it’s too much effort to attend 60% they should get cairde ticket where attendance isn’t necessary.
Well said Robert!
Wecandothis,agree with you 100%,I know someone who has a croke park season ticket yet he rarely attends a game,instead he opts to give his ticket away for most games bar the final of course,in my opinion people like this shouldn’t have them
Unfortunately right now I don’t know if I can make this weekend. However I do know fellas who are living in Dublin from Mayo who I think would appreciate the tickets.
Firstly the wway I see it after Dublin getting through the match has been fixed for Croker. But why should the GAA HQ get more money off Mayo fans? This game could have been in Markievicz Park or Ballybofey with the proceeds going more locally and probably far more fairly.
As far as the season ticket goes well the fat is that any supporter can buy it at the start of the season. I don’t see your logic on some true supporter being denied a ticket. The fact is that if they were a true supporter then they probably would/should also have the season ticket in the first place.
Finally lots of people buy family tickets so that kids can also go to games. But it just isn’t always possible with a family to get away, especially week after week. I think it makes complete sense to try and get them used (and not wasted). I see it as a win/win situation for both sides. 1 person gets a free ticket and the other is happy that his money spent at the start of the year is not being wasted.
Bottom line , tickets are transferable , so C P created the problem, if people think it is one.
Apologies JPM I didn’t realise tickets were transferable as far as I was concerned they were for use only by the person named on them.
Thanks Nephin for pointing that out honestly didn’t know apologies.
Yes, the ticket office confirmed with me the week before last that season tickets are fully transferable. I’ve no issue with anyone transferring their season ticket to someone else to use if I’m honest. I’ve had years in the past where I wouldn’t have been able to meet the 60% quota (had it existed) due to other commitments, but I don’t think that would make me any less of a supporter. Sometimes more important things (yes, they do exist!) get in the way.
Totally agree Whitey. Go there and win the game and forget about referees.
Imagine being in Derry’s shoes, having to travel to play in Croke Park knowing that regardless of what happens in the League they will have a very tough provincial championship ahead. I am sure they would gladly swap places with Mayo and play NY first round and then at most have two games against two of the powerhouses of Connaught. Then again they may have to play the team representing one of the largest cities on the planet in the Connaught Final, having already played one in the first round, on seconds thoughts it is probably better for them to stay with the softer route in Ulster.
I’m with you Mayo McHale our manager said you can’t play often enough in Croker. This just confirms the advantage the GAA is handing to Dublin.