Okay chaps, this is it – the taxi arrives in a bit over three hours and I’m finally unhitching myself from the laptop, at which I’ve been working my cojones off for the past month or so. It’s finally stopped raining in Italy, I hear, so I reckon it’s now safe to decamp there with Mrs WJ and the Dubeens, which we’ll be doing later on today.
I am a truly sad person in many respects, one of which is due to the fact that the bloody laptop will, I know, somehow find its way to the beach with us and so, like last year, I’ll be keeping one beer-stained eye trained on events back here while we’re away. Once I get back, of course, it’s straight into the maelstrom of the Connacht final and, depending on how that goes, the next match will either be a qualifier the weekend after or an All-Ireland quarter-final two weeks after the Salthill decider. Either way, we’re rapidly approaching shit-or-bust time in the championship. Which is why I definitely need two weeks in the sun to prepare for myself for all that lies ahead. Arrivederci!
Dont want to spoil your holiday but i saw something on the local GAA discussion forum about McGarrity having a jaw injury & having to go to hospital.
It appears he started the row & the xmolina man finished it
Kerry get the jammy draw again I see!!!!
Heard on RTE this afternoon that McGarity had his jaw broken over the weekend, is this true?
Also heard that Mc Garrity got his jaw broke against Cross – what was going on there? Really hope that we haven’t shot ourselves in the foot…
Fractured cheekbone, 1 minute into the game 🙁
Man in question has a long history of these incidents. Time the Mayo County board banned this type of player for life. Second player to have there jaw broken against Crossmolina this year I believe?….both in off the ball incidents and to think that all of the crying their supporters do when one of their own gets a bit of a dig themselves.
Cheekbone, not jaw by local accounts. 3 to 6 weeks depending on severity, out for the Connacht final anyway it seems. Back for the quarters hopefully 😉
If Mc Garrity is out we must just move on.
We should take example from Tyrone & get on with it & stop moaning.
Mc garrity had a very poor league & was cleaned in the first half against Galway in Tuam
This is an opportunity to see what the panel is made of—remember Galway are missing a midfielder as well.
Poor WJ prob didnt need to know this on his holiers…we could have met him at the airport and broke the news to him gently.
Really bad news. I was feeling good about our prospects but not any more. I wonder what will be done now? Parsons will come in but having himself and heaney at MF does not inspire confidence. This is a headache manager could have done without but he has options..just hope he takes the correct ones…
Tough on McGarrity but not a major problem for mayo. A chance for the Barry Moran Seamus O Shea axis to be given the chance. Barry Moran has to step up to the plate Now, a sub in THAT final of 2006 plus an All_ireland U21 winner the same year. Three seasons on he has to be ready for midfield. Nowing conservative O Mahony he will put in the out of sorts Parsons and we are back to square one. I would be more worried about our dodgy half back line. Howley is a wing or corner man. Andy Moran is neither a good back or forward, Cox from Ros gave him a bellyful the last day. Thats where we will leak against a decent outfit.
It’s like a feckin soap opera!
You think that everything is going along nicely and then somebody does something so stupid that you couldn’t believe it would happen in real life and the whole plot changes. Here we were with McGarrity just beginning to answer his critics against Ross when we get shot in the foot by someone from within our own county. I know that there is strong rivalry between neighbouring clubs, but there are ways to stop players being effective without causing serious injury and now he could be out for the season. I have no objection to a county player getting a hard game – it will only bring him on further – but a broken jaw in the first minute???!!! And as for Maughan’s clash of heads theory – come on John, the other one has bells on it!!
Johnno now has the task of putting the jigsaw back together and if I was him I would be livid. But he above all must stand back and have a cold calculated look at the options. He is lucky that he has a strong bench, but what are those options and what is he likely to change?
Starting at the back, I expect Kenneth O’Malley to hold his place. Vaughan was brilliant the last day and deserves another run. Cafferkey is now one of the first names on the team sheet so I expect no change there. I have commented before about Keith Higgins as a corner back and he was caught on the wrong side of his man a few times against Ros (and was lucky that the ball ended up in the side netting as a result) but having said that, he is the man for Meehan.
Regarding the half back line, I don’t think we’ll see a change here either, but I would really like to see Cunniffe coming back in there to strengthen things up. In midfield, Parsons could get the nod, but that leaves us without a high fielder. Barry Moran is a similar player to McGarrity and could fill the slot. I think that would be a better option, but Johnno is conservative and as a result, I would expect he would bring Parsons in as a direct replacement alongside Heaney. I can’t see any change in the half forward line. Harte will wear No 10 but will roam between the two 45 metre lines. Trevor will be the launch pad for the running raids into Galway territory. Dillon and Killer will feed off the big men and hope to pick up the quick scores.
But then the questions begin. Aidan O’Shea will be one of the big men but who will be the other? As a twin towers strategy only works if there is an adequate supply of route one ball from midfield, this raises the issue of Barry Moran again. He was the one most criticised after the Ross game, but his height had caused mayhem in the Roscommon FB line and height under the dropping ball is what we now need in midfield. Maybe another big man could fulfil the No14 role? Parsons would be a good man in front of goal and a few scores might get his confidence back up. Barry Kelly is not as tall but is another option, as is C Mort, but we really need a second ball winner there, so maybe Johnno would consider another set of brothers in the full forward line and bring Seamus O’Shea in from the cold. No more than Barry Moran, he was a great prospect at U21 and it is time for him to step up to the plate. The soap opera continues…..
Food for thought.
Keep the Faith!
I thnk WJ would have found out somehow anyway..
sure you can get the daily indo anywhere in europe that them bastards ryanair or aer lingus fly in to these days..
The Mayo Advertiser seems to have gone global overnight aswell..!
Thanks guys: the wonders of modern communications meant I wasn’t too long out of the loop on this (even if the thought of having the news broken gently to me in Arrivals at Dublin airport is kinda touching)!
I’ve now given my beer-soaked tuppence on what needs to be done to deal with Ronan’s absence.