This week’s editions of the Mayo News and the Connaught Telegraph have both hit the proverbial pavement and both have plenty of new online content on Sunday’s win and all that. I’m sure the Western also has plenty in its paper version today but with no fresh online content up yet and, in the knowledge that most of it will be planked behind their paywall when it does, there’s little more I can say about what they have to say this week.
Both the Mayo News and the Connaught Telegraph have match reports on Sunday’s senior and minor games. Here are the ones in the Connaught Telegraph (senior and minor) and here are the ones in the Mayo News (senior and minor). The former also has post-match quotes from James Horan and Leitrim’s George Dugdale while the latter has quotes from Sunday’s MOTM Barry Moran.
Incidentally, it’s interesting to see George Dugdale talking about the possibility of a properly-run second tier football competition (which would need to be run differently than the ill-fated Tommy Murphy Cup). One of the main arguments for retaining the current structure is that it gives the likes of Leitrim, Sligo, Louth, Limerick, Fermanagh and counties like them a shot at provincial glory but, as we saw last Sunday, more often than not all it gives them is the painful experience of being shot to pieces. As I said in Sunday’s match report, I doubt if too many Mayo fans took much delight in what we did to Leitrim last Sunday and this short article from the excellent Leitrim GAA site shows just how tough and unrewarding it is to be on the wrong side of such a scutching.
Back to the Mayo News, meanwhile, where Mike Finnerty reports that the O’Shea brothers are on the mend and that both could feature for Breaffy at the weekend. It’d be great to have both back in contention for a place on the team to face Sligo, even if it means wrecking James Horan’s head as he tries to pick a starting fifteen for the final.
That piece also deals with what is appears to be turning into a rather tortured decision about where the Connacht final should be held. It now seems that some doubts are surfacing over whether or not Hyde Park or Pearse Stadium have the required capacity to host the decider, in which case the only option would seem to be our place with our grand big stand and our lovely inflatable elephant. Unless, of course, we try to do what the Ulster lads did some years ago by decamping to Croker. According to @MayoGAA, a decision on the venue won’t now be taken until Thursday evening.
It’s also good to hear Andy Moran (in that same article) saying “we’ve a lot of hurt from 2010” that needs to be exorcised. As I said earlier in the comments, if this were the Kerrymen they’d still be crying themselves to sleep at the anguish they’d be holding onto from such a defeat and furthermore they’d be prepping themselves to knock their opponents into outer space in order to even the score. It’s nice to think that we’ve begun to think along similar lines and we need to ramp this up a bit between now and July 15th.
Last reference to that article above – Danny Kirby has, apparently, been released from the panel. No more Four Goal exploits from the young Mitchels man this year, then, but let’s hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen of him.
If you haven’t yet seen it, please do take the time to read John Cuffe’s eloquent tribute in the Mayo News to the late Michael Gannon, a member of the All-Ireland winning minor team of 1971 who died recently in America.
Finally, for those of you interested in such activity, the Cairde Mhaigheo Mayo GAA Golf Classic is set to be held on the 13th and 14th of July (does it really take two whole days – and in summer too – to play a round of that game?): further details here.
missed the match due to a funeral so I watched Sunday Game. Leitrims Colm O Rourke and Spillane were on with Lyster. Mayo’s input was left to Spillane who saw them dismissively as a tenth or eleventh ranked team. O Rourke enjoyed that. He then (Spillane) did a Brehony on it and referred to Mayo’s gimme out of Connacht. Lister as a token to balance added with a whimper “well that’s not Mayo’s fault” before they went on to discuss real football.
Now I have a number of issues with this. The first being why it is left to this blog and its contributors to fight against this bile and biased kicking we seem to get. If for example Sligo were playing Leitrim last week would the same thing be said? You cannot have it both ways. Either Mayo is a top rated team with a reasonable draw in Connacht this year or else there is an agenda against them. How come no one said Galway got a handy draw this year? Or that Sligo did, no it seems that Mayo should not get what anybody else is entitled to.
Now as the apostle said to the Sunday Game , take a look at the mote in your own eye. Kerry won the 1997 All Ireland. They beat Tipp, Clare , Cavan and Mayo for Sam. Not much heavy lifting there. Last year only for us upsetting the consensus they would have gotten to an All Ireland final by not leaving Munster. Heaven forbid that a fate like that would bless Mayo. Cork and Kerry have had dance hall pass outs to the latter stages of the All Ireland series for yonks but mega gobs Spillane, Brolly, O Rourke and their ringmaster Lyster stay stum. Wouldn’t want to upset Jacko or Paidi or Micko would we?
Dublin won last years All Ireland without leaving Croke park and with the same ref for most of the competition. Greed and avarice by the bag boys in Croke park has seen Dublin get all home games. Disgraceful. The fffiing mantra goes “Yerra a succesful Dublin is good for the GAA”, how is that, wouldn’t a successful Leitrim , Longford, Louth, Clare be equally as good. No, a successful Dublin illicit s two things (A) Cash and (B) the national press can sit at home and get the Dart to town.
The Connacht council should tell RTE to shut the f up and give balance to their bile. The Mayo county board should tell them likewise. Further they should inform the Sunday Game that any more snide remarks about Mayo and its team will see RTE barred from the proceedings. I never hear laughter from smirking Joe about Tyrone or Kildare who are as false as snake oil. The very word Mayo seems to give Brolly a fit of the giggles and a knowing smirk from the Aughavas man to his right. Time we got treated the same as everbody else, no less no more.
And time we grew a set of balls at county board level. I nearly puked when I read comments from the Dublin county board about the great relationship they had with Mayo when they tried to get a match rearranged last year. They have short memories, I recall back in 1985 when the relationship wasn’t as warm or as open . Time for us to stop thinking everbody loves us and that those that dont are bold. Meet the begrudgers head on and as with all bullies once confronted they tend to slink away. What brought that on at all….ah its the weather.
Jesus John, relax. The whole world is not against us. I’m sure every county has something to complain about. What about Leitrim with their intercounty team being decimated by emigration. So let’s stop moaning and do our talking on the pitch.
If the boys in RTE is all we have to worry about then we are not in a bad place.
One our main worries should be that Doherty and Freeman do not seem to be pushing on at senior inter county. That is a massive blow I think. Imagine if they were able to bring their league form from 2011 into the championship. It does not seem to be happening. Freeman looked totally out of his depth last year against Kerry in croker.
Reverting back to Conroy and Mort is not the answer. The are not going to pull you through when the going gets tough in croker later in the year( as I think we will beat sligo). They have not done it in the past when the heat is on.
Looks like 2 corner forward spots still up for grabs. Not sure what the answer is.
Speaking of local coverage, I was wondering did Mayo Co. Council and Castlebar Council members pay for their special tickets last Sunday? Also, why was the N5 closed after the match and not a word about it in the stadium or on the radio or anything? Also, why did Mayo GAA insist, according to Twitter, that they had scanners at the match for season tickets when all they had were pen and paper? Rhetorically, why does Mr Mulroy think he can fleece us for parking come championship time? Why when we have such a fine new press box was there a radio commentator sitting behind me on an improvised bench shouting into my ear all match? How can spending 19m on a stadium with restricted view be justifiable to those who lauded it’s opening? Why was there seats installed on the McHale Road side terrace? Just some things I wanted to get off my chest!
“missed the match due to a funeral so I watched Sunday Game. Leitrims Colm O Rourke and Spillane were on with Lyster. Mayo’s input was left to Spillane who saw them dismissively as a tenth or eleventh ranked team. O Rourke enjoyed that. He then (Spillane) did a Brehony on it and referred to Mayo’s gimme out of Connacht. Lister as a token to balance added with a whimper “well that’s not Mayo’s fault” before they went on to discuss real football.”
Was the match live on tv?
No, read on, they went on to discuss the “real” teams. It was Ulster murder ball between Monaghan and Down and the younger Duffy.
You should be able to find it on the RTE Player, Sean – they briefly spoke about our game prior to throw-in in the Down v Monaghan match. Two things were interesting in this discussion. The first was Leitrim man O’Rourke, with his big long serious face on him, intoning about how awful it was the way Leitrim had lost so many of their players (well, he’d know all about that, wouldn’t he?). The second was when they were talking about our anticipated easy run to Croke Park dish ear where Spillane never once brought Kerry into the discussion (and, of course, Lyster – the big dummy – never pulled him up on it when he could so easily have brought up Kerry’s perennial procession to the last eight). I think it’s the first time I’ve ever heard Spillane talk about anything without getting a Kerry reference into it.
As regards what they think of us, I’m with facetheball – we have to do our talking on the pitch. If we do they’ll come around quick enough.
when we win it then they will lick our holes from that day until the day we eventually go out of the championship after that , and even then they will no longer be able to resort to the lazy punditry of dismissing us as they do right now… i cant feckin wait !
First of all I can understand people gettin hit up about certain comments made about the Mayo team and where they do or don’t rate us.. BUt to me I couldn’t care less what they say.. DO you think Jim MCGuiness gives a flyin fuck what Pat Spillane thinks of his style of management. THese boys are PAid to offend people … IF these so called pundits are so up with the modern game .. how come most of them have never being approached to manage a inter county team… they no where the quick buck lies’. And secondly I don’t think we will get much in the line of coverage from RTE .. I’m only guessin but I’d say the relationship between them and our County board is a tod strainned
God help brolly if he’s ever seen around some parts of mayo!
About the saga of where the final will be, the independant has a piece here;
http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/mayo-poised-to-receive-machale-park-final-boost-3151568.html
Facetheball is spot on, serious problem with corner forwards. Mort & Conroy have been around the block a while, doc and freeman not doing the business either. I’d say Dillon will be moved in the next day. With Seamus o shea on the wing. Andy could also move over to corner with a big target man at full possible Aiden O’sheas.
If Seamus and Aiden o Shea had been fit in the league I’d love to have seen a forward six like the following :
Pat Hart S O’ Shea Kevin Mac
Dillion Andy C O’ C.
The reason I’d have Semaus at centre rather than wing would be the Hart has more pace to deal with a raidng wing back ala Paudie Kissane and the woudl be some beef with a midfield diamond of Donie, Aidan , Moran/ Mcgarrity/Geraghty and Seamus (shades of 89)!!!!!!
SOS played No. 11 against Sligo two years ago and was dreadful.
Let’s not go there again.
I dunno, there seems to be way too much talk about positional and personnel changes since Sunday. We’ve just won our first championship game of the year by 22 points, irrespective of the opposition.
Donie Vaughan was nominated as an all-star centre back last year, do we move him because of a dodgy 15 mins? Now we want A O’Shea in at full forward, just as he was beginning to flourish as a top class midfielder.
The only positions I think are a real concern are in the full forward line, we really need to get these nailed down, but we seem even more unsure after the Leitrim game.
I wouldn’t like to see Dillon moved from the half forward line though, he wins too much ball and dictates too much of our play.
Corner forward is a difficult position to fill, almost as difficult as Corner back. If you get a good corner forward (or corner back) generally they will win that position. But an awful lot depends on the ball played into them.
E.g. if you play Mort, Conroy, Dillon etc. at corner fowrard then it’s completely pointless putting in any type of high ball as the likelihood of them winning it and getting space is minimal. They need low, accuurate quick ball into them to have any chance of progress.
Similarly if you had a big corner forward who is not as mobile then really its the high ball option. But they will still have to be able to turn and shoot. Generally corner backs are tenacious and tight by nature making it more difficult for a big corner forward to get his shot off and on target.
That’s why the Gooch is so good. He’s fast, accurate and mobile but he’s also a big enough guy who can mix it and take the hits as well. Similarly Benny Coulter of Down and probably Colm McFadden of Donegal. Closest we have to a bigger corner forward is Doherty and Freeman but neither has totally convinced to date.
Its a toss up for JH and the team. Personally I would go for option A and work on getting better delivery into them.