The extent of the injury suffered by Jason Doherty has yet to be confirmed but it appears all but certain that the damage he did at MacHale Park on Saturday night will rule him out for the semi-final and beyond.
RTÉ reported on their 7.30am sports bulletin that the results of the scan should be known today but added that there were rising concerns about the extent of the injury, amid speculation that it could be a dreaded cruciate one.
In this week’s Mayo News (paper and digital variants), Mike Finnerty describes the injury as a “suspected knee ligament” problem and says that Doc looks set to miss out on the Dublin game. It’s not looking good for the under-rated but hugely committed Burrishoole player.
Mike has, though, better news on other players ahead of Saturday. He says that it’s hoped David Clarke, Donal Vaughan and long-term absentee Diarmuid O’Connor could all be in contention for the big one.
There’s loads more, of course, in the Mayo News ahead of Saturday’s semi-final. The compressed nature of the Championship means that all the excitement from the win over Donegal has had to be wedged into this week’s edition alongside the cool-headed preview pieces on the upcoming semi-final, with the county’s ladies’ team and the Minors also getting mentions in there too.
The paper is in the shops this morning and it’s online already. I’ve just perused it over breakfast myself, providing the perfect kick-start to the day.
Worst fears confirmed so? Typical, DOC is such a big game performer he will be sorely missed on Saturday evening as he also has the temperament and physicality to deal with the Dubs.
There is nothing we can do around that now only plan to be without him.
Hon Mayo.
Prob one of the biggest losses to date, our unsung hero, and not afraid to kick points from 40m out,
Hopefully Ruane can start??
Sounds like terrible news for Jason and Mayo. What a game he had on Saturday last. Speedy recovery to him! Up Mayo!
Disaster. So weird too. Looked more like an impact injury.
It could be a medial ligament not an ACL. Fingers crossed for him. Jesus we have been fucking decimated by injury this season.
Jason’s presence will be missed on the 40, possibly Aido could go in there with Mattie coming into midfield but then we lose Aido’s best attributes which are his defensive abilities. I expect mcloughlin will go in and while he’s an able replacement he doesn’t have Jason’s size. Would be great to see Diarmuid back.
Watching Jason FIGHT for every single ball is just amazing.
The way he claimed kick outs V Donegal gave us the platform to win that game.
That quick darting run he made to lose his man and score from the 45 was a pleasure to watch.
He is one of my favourite all time players.
Never stops! and this won’t stop him either. He will be back stronger than ever.
What’s going on with tickets, SuperValu saying not on sale until 10am.
Jason, very best wishes to you. We miss you already. I hope you heal and recuperate very well in the days and weeks ahead. You’ve made a huge contribution to Mayo’s success this season and your score from distance in the first half versus Donegal was a whopper. Super Doc. You’ll be with us on Saturday. Thank you for everything.
Hugely under-rated player who was outstanding on Saturday. Will be huge loss if he does not make it.
Very tough break for him on a personal level but its not fatal for Mayo
Ruane/Kev/Diarmuid all ready made replacements.
Dare i say it, i believe we have a stronger bench than the dubs this saturday. There is a good reason Connolly was dragged back in at such a late stage, their bench hasnt been performing.Really hope JH holds his nerve and starts Andy on bench again
Really gives me hope for saturday when you consider that in 2016/2017 we got absolutely nothing off our bench in those close games
If Clarke is back there is a big decision to be made !
Tickets on Ticketmaster at 10am
Thanks TH, was announced yesterday for 9am. Looks like some manipulation going on. Expect they will sell out quickly.
Wishing Jason good news this morning, and a speedy recovery.
Brilliant player, and the reason we so ahead at half time Sat last. That kick to Cillian that ended in goal was something to behold.
Thank you Jason for all your hard work in Mayo jersey and you’ll be back better than ever before.
https://www.ticketmaster.ie/gaa-football-all-ireland-semi-final-dublin-v-mayo-dublin-10-08-2019/event/180056BF958071D5
Big loss, DOC covers every blade of grass for us and is an excellent ball winner. He was very unlucky not to get an All Star in 2017 in my view.
Hopefully the prognosis does not yield a long-term rehab process.
We have been very unlucky with injuries these past two seasons in particular, I’m not sure whether it comes down to the age profile of our squad, a tough training regime or whatever. I do think perhaps the long runs through the qualifiers we’ve had since 2016 may be contributing to it though. Mayo must have played significantly more games than any of the top teams since then due to our failure to win Connacht and then the long trek through the back door, with so many replays and games going to extra time. It must take its toll eventually.
Guys, for your info, tickets on sale on Supervalu here in Dublin, big queue, some guys getting a max of 6 tickets but not online.
Online now
In queue 1 hour
Not sure if id start Kevin Mc, he has done well as a sub in the last few days and its the last 20 when we need to be at our strongest
In 2016 final , Dublin subs scored 6 points (from play) in both final and replay, while the starting forwards only scored 6 as well
In 2017 final , Dublin subs scored 2 points (from play), while the starting forwards scored 1-7. In that final Dublin scored 6 times in the first half and 12 in the 2nd so we need to try to freshen things up later on, which we do seem to be in a position to do so this year.
Agree MayoMark. Very strange. I would have said it was an impact injury as well! A massive loss for us if he is ruled out
Huge demand for tickets. If not sorted then get to Centra and Super Valu. Prob better chance of getting tickets without the online queue.
Get into your clubs as well.
This one is huge.
Get online now if looking for tickets. I am placed 5;867 in the queue!!!!
Tickets.ie has a huge queue, but if ye go to ticketmaster.ie and keep retrying, it will say there are no tickets available, they will come up a lot sooner. More bodies there Saturday, the better!
40+ peeps queing at Super Valu in Castlebar and I’m told the system has crashed.
there is enough evidence here and elsewhere that people understand the majority of lads will be too tired on Saturday to play their most successful dynamic forceful game. If he is fit enough for the limited job an alternative that should be considered is to put TP at 14 in the heart of their weakspot and have Ruane and perhaps other fresh legs out the field. If this freed up AOS for front-line duty – maybe that as well. I also think that the kickout strategy from last weekend cannot be changed. Many teams fail because they actually go to games without a win-focused strategy and all things considered this is a real option
Update on tickets.
No tickets in Supervalu or ticketmaster for Hill 16.
John Horan must be distributing them personally.
@Mayo88 got Hill tickets on Ticketmaster this morning.
Thanks goinwellintrain. Went on ticketmaster as per your directions and after 20 attempts got tickets. Had to subscribe and all that but kept place in the queue. Worth the extra 3.50
Keep trying on ticketmaster, they come eventually
If Jason is out Kevin mc must start. May I wish Jason a speedy recovery and hope he is back for the final
This is crazy. Qing in SuperValu. Taking 15-20 mins per person to get their tickets. Two people online too. Nuts.
There will be a massive push just as tickets went live. There will be also a lot of rubber neckers online from other counties just to see how bad the queues are, clogging things up online. At the expense of good tickets, but to save on stress it might actually ease off after 2.00 or 3.00 and try then.
Awful news on Jason. Don’t think people realise how important he is for us. A strong physical presence in the half forward line who does loads of dirty work, able to win his own ball and a ferocious tackler. He always plays well against the Dubs too, as he’s well equipped to deal with their fitness and physicality. He is a huge loss for us, bigger than Matthew Ruane or Diarmuid O’Connor.
Cannot wait for Durcan v McCaffrey this weekend, that dual will be worth the admission fee alone
McCaffrey has become dublins most important player
Waiting on tickets.ie queue for the last hour and a half and its still telling me the expected arrival time more than 1 hour!!
The same here Chris. Total farce.
I don’t think that anything is CONFIRMED yet as regards the Jason Doc knee Injury….looked like impact to my untrained eye…. Best wishes to Jason for the best News ‘possible and a very speedy recovery… and all our other warriors almost back!
He caught his studs in the ground
Liked like cruciate from the minute it happened sadly
Was on at 10 on the dot. Over 700 ahead of me and still in the queue. Tried logging in else where and over 14000 in the queue game will be over by then. Can’t see anything on ticketmaster? Expecting this to crash when they get to my number. How do they sell out like 50000 for a concert in 10 mins??
Mary, I was same as you. Got to site & it crashed.
I got on at 10am and there are 2709 ahead of me. I was number 3441 that queued. Madness.
Will be a great occasion on Saturday that both teams are playing in the semi finals, tickets got with a struggle, now let’s do the business.
Me too. I could cry over 2 hours and nothing
Injuries every week, hassle getting tickets, how do we beat the Dubs. Its all part of the journey, manys a county would love to have our worries. I always think back to Billy Fitz on Mid West after shock loss to Galway in 2016. He spoke of how younger people dont understand how bleak things were from 1955 to 1981, 2 Connaught titles. He almost was suggesting the journey was coming to an end that night and were still here.
Best wishes to Jason for a speedy recovery he was having a great game and heading for man of the match he will be a huge loss against Dublin. We are absolutely cursed with injuries this year imagine if we ever get a bit of good luck in a match wouldn’t that be something? Tickets are selling out fast the queues in my local
Centra are unreal I’d say it’s going to be a full house
Was in Super value in Maynooth at 10 and seventh in a queue of about forty. Only two people had got tickets at 11/30. I left then as my daughter in law got them in Celbridge. There must be a better way. Btw all Mayo in both places.
Getting overtaken by this ticket frenzy, Jason out is huge, seems to come good in the big games, very good in 1st half last Saturday, kicked two brillant long range points to beat Donegal’s blanket also has done very well v Dubs in 2016 and 2017 finals.
This is why the GAA want Mayo in the latter stages of the race for Sam, crazy scenes for tickets here in Dublin this morning.
I may have 1 spare ticktet for the Davin lower, will let people know for sure as the week moves along, I have a contact looking for that all important Hill ticket, need to match the Dubs with their flares.
my tickets are in davin low, shittest seats in croker, might as well watch on the telly will see more
People waiting over 3 hours in SV Cbar….and nothing happening
Was fed up in Q on tickets.ie so went to local centra in Limerick and fair dues to lady in shop who had great patience got my tickets in upper cusack… if you have friends\family outside county get them to get your tickets in their local centra\supervalu.. €50 stand tickets….just an idea & hope this helps
The more i think.. the more i think we’ll beat them… time to talk of only “drive for five” and hoping to not get disgraced…
I am heartbroken to see that jason is out and know it’s another huge blow for Mayo. Where does this shit come from…really. He’s been huge for us and especially in the big games. He was electric against Donegal and how he held some of those balls was simply amazing. I pray it’s not a cruciate but, no more than Tom P I know he will be back and better than before..which is something to look forward to. It did Andy no harm and I know our team is resilient and powerful.
Supec…yes, shitty tickets but you have a voice and you get there and roar your socks off. The atmosphere in Castlebar was amazing and like I said before, we are the team and supporters connected by an umbilical chord…we feed each other and they need us as much as we love them.
I am gutted to have to try and find a way to see this game in Dublin airport…of all places. Have to collect a young girl with my wife and daughter and was told…I must be there! With or without me I know our team and supporters will be amazing. Give your heart, nothing more required. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity…we’re better than that. Maigheo go deo…glas agus dearg…
We bring Ruane back into the middle and put Aidan at center Forward.
Got 4 tickets in SuperValu Westport this morning
apologies if already shared.. here’s a great interview with James Horan in Sky study after the Donegal match https://www.skysports.com/gaa/pundits/news/32477/11777973/peter-canavan-mayo-must-be-ruthless-to-challenge-dublin
Anybody outside the county .. Go to local county board office and try there for tickets.. Got mine at 10:30 this morning . Worth a try
Has anyone managed to get a ticket online
Very fortunate to have a season ticket but hoping every Mayo person gets sorted for tickets – wherever they are!
Jason a big blow – he really upped his game the last day and was having his best performance of the season. An often underrated player for us over the year but in many ways epitomises the team. Hopefully if it’s ligament damage that it is the medial and not the cruciate.
In terms of replacements I’d see three options. Kev Mc, Diarmuid or Mattie. The ideal for me would be a fit Diarmuid as he is the most similar in build and ball winning and point scoring ability. Kev Mc seems to be doing his best work for us this year off the bench. As suggested Mattie could come in at MF to track Fenton and Aido to CF but Aido his having a huge year and I think sets the tone much more from MF.
1. Like many Mayo supporters and indeed many others all over I’m very disillusioned with the GAA, GPA, RTE. Player welfare is of crucial importance and our brave warriors are being called upon to sacrifice themselves to the goddess Mammon (avarice, greed and ill-gotten gain).
2. Jason Doherty was immense last Sat – he single-handedly solved the kickout problem (MOTM yes agree). Tragically he’s out now but we may have a stronger bench than previous years.
3. Let’s hope we don’t have another let-down in Croker on Saturday after the exertions of last w.e – our players are all too human (despite appearances to the contrary at times!) – we had a number of hard fought wins going down to Killarney game & never got firing – but maybe the easy games and light schedule will work to Dublin’s disadvantage.
4. What about Andy Moran – a real “clutch player” as our US cousins say?
5. Let’s go Mayo!!
No Mary, tickets.ie very slow.
Supervalu is your best bet
Are tickets going through the clubs?
Wishing Jason a speedy recovery. Its a terrible thing to happen to him especially when he has put in so much effort.
I’m sure he’s devastated that he wont be able to join in the battle with the Dubs.
Looking ahead to Saturday, this opens a door for KMac to start and for Fionn McDonagh to step it up another notch. I thought he was immense in the Donegal match. His hitting, tackling and ball handling were outstanding and shows that for ma young fellow, he’s up to championship level. He’ll need to be at his best for Saturday for him and KMac will be patrolling and need to command that middle third.
Btw, I’m # 20,864 in the tickets Q inline. 😉
Queuing on behalf of someone else here in Supervalu Castlebar since 0930. I’ve only moved 20 paces in that time.
Staff informed us Supervalu stores can only print 200 tickets per hour nationwide.
I only hope the game ain’t over after 20 mins on Saturday!
@Kickhamsman ..thats the spirit, sure Dublin are going for the 5 in a row and will want to get it over with as soon as they can!
If you get tickets for Hill 16 / Nally Terrace hold on to them, don’t swap them for stand tickets. We need to dilute the blue on Saturday.
As an aside, the ticket system is a joke. I know people who have travelled from Carrick on Shannon to New York this year and everywhere in between and have been queueing for hours for upper Davin tickets. GAA needs to extend the season ticket scheme. Too many bandwagoners from both sides looking for tickets today, ruining it for the supporters who actually follow their team through the mud and rain in winter.
I queued on Tickets .ie at 10 and got in quick, problem with my card that I went from having tickets to been in a queue of 1 hour wait, very annoying
Got wife to go to centra, went from 708 down to 702 but it sound like that wasn’t to bad considering
That movement, during which Jason popped through at pace to score his great point, is what we need to make part and parcel of our game. The preceding episode of over and back seemed to be executed with much more positivity and intent than usual. We know that our next opposition is finely tuned in this aspect of the game to the degree that they can carry it on through any number of phases until the scoring space as been created. We’ll be hoping that when time comes that we will be able to repeat our composure and confidence moving forward from the middle. The contribution made by the half-forwards and the half-backs in this context was immense and all players did their jobs as effectively as I’ve seen for a long time.
No word on Jason’s injury yet?…didn’t look good…wishing him the best. Incidentally, it looks to me like McDonagh is a chip off the old Jason block and will go on to give us much joy into the future.
Cheers to all
System now paused. Guess that means all sold out?
To be honest I think Dublin will stick with Mayo for longer than that kickhams man ..i reckon it will be about 60 mins before they capitulate to the green and red nightmare coming their way!
Alan – I googled “The queue is paused” on queue-it (tickets.ie) and it might resume later – best not to close window.. hope this helps
I’d say ground floor section allocation gone and will be more later. I had to leave my SuperValu q leixlip after 2hrs to go on hols to cork. I was 8th in queue and had gotten to 4th. Now in Tipperary and we are gone from 1163 to 136 in online q and q paused. Dropped into SuperValu here in cashel and says ‘not on sale’ in the tickets.ie system.
Crazy.
5 hrs trying to get tickets and was online straight away at 10am.
A bus will be travelling to Croke Park from Garrymore for the Mayo v Dublin match. Places will be filled on a first come first served basis. Contact Pat on (087) 7674556 to book your place or Garrymore gaa twitter
No more tickets available. Super.
Have been online since 10 and barely moved in the queue Now after pausing about half an hour ago am told no more tickets available at this time. Surely in this day and age a more efficient system should be available.
Team for Saturday
1-Hennely
2-barret
3 -harrison
4-Higgins
5-Keegan
6-Boyle
7-durcan
8-ruane
9-AOS
10-Mcdonagh
11-mcloughlin
12-treacy
13-O connor
14
14-Coen
15-Carr
Bench:Andy Moran eoin o donoghue diarmuid o connor Stephen coen David Clarke Conor diskin
For people looking for tickets – most clubs in the county are taking orders for tickets from there members. Get onto your club asap. There are obviously a large number of tickets held back for the club’s in both counties – this is only right. Clubs and club members have to be looked after.
Sad thing is with public sale of tickets- nothing to stop touts buying up large numbers of tickets.
Super value in Castlebar just posted that the servers are down, so doesn’t look like it’s sold out or anything.
Keep plugging away
Elverys stores in Castlebar, Claremorris, Ballina and Westport all selling tickets without problems.
Got Hill tickets this morning, Luckily. This reminds me it would be great to get as many in early into the hill to create a hole in the middle of the dubs. To often we have ended up in the sides of the hill and this is not good enough. Let us get in there at 2:30 and show our colours!
County board ticket requests are being finalised today (I’m getting mine through wicklow). If you know a club secretary outside the county it’s worth a call.
The issue is not that the match is a sellout, it’s that there is only 6 days to sell all tickets and the system isn’t built to cope with 130,000+ ticket sales for the two semis in such a short burst of demand. Have patience….
guys get over to Instagram and vote for Paddy as player of the week on the officialgaa story
I’d hazard a guess that very few Hill tickets made it to Mayo
When I got onto tickets.ie I was 1600 in queue. 5.5hours later there was 600 ahead of me then they closed up shop. By my calculations that means he maximum they could have sold if everyone bought the 6 ticket limit was 6,000 tickets in 5.5 hours. That’s a joke.
A singular data point here but almost all the locals in the queue in my inner city Supervalu were looking for Hill tickets at 10 am this morning. I’d almost consider seeking a hill ticket on a swap because I think it’s an important point. If we could dilute that wall of blue noise and colour it would actually help things I believe. If the Dubs get a foothold and a string of points or a goal at any stage it can be very demoralising and as a crowd we go into our shells a bit in Croker – be good to disrupt this. Not sure if it’s realistic though.
Back to the match. I want to see Eoin O’Donoghue and Stephen Coen again.
The word I think with those two is diligent. When you have that tuned in diligence it just reduces the amount of defensive errors. The other thing is, are we transitioning or not? Comes a time when we have to back our youth if u23 and u24 is even all that young.
Looking at whose hopefully available, I think the matchday 26 will be:
Goalkeepers
Clarke, Hennelly
Full Back Line
Higgins, Harrison, Barrett, O’Donuhue
Half Back Line
Durcan, Boyle, Keegan, Coen, Vaughan
Midfielders
Seamie, Aido, Ruane, Parsons
Half Forward Line
McDonagh, Diarmuid, McLoughlin, Boland
Full Forward Line
Carr, Coen, Cillian, Andy
That leaves two places out of Treacy, McCormack, Loftus, Plunkett, Diskin, Drake, Regan
It quite a strong panel but only 20 can play. Some big decisions ahead for Horan.
JP, a serious question here and I’m not as knowledgeable as you are on this – are Dublin transitioning? How are they managing their transition?
I don’t think Saturday is a day for transitioning I think Horan has got the blend perfect up to this so I’m sure he will be ok making big decisions. I’d like to see Treacy and Loftus on the match day 26 and maybe as a wildcard I’d have Diskin in there ahead of Regan who in my opinion is too easily dispossessed and turned over and doesn’t trouble the scoreboard often enough but whoever is on the panel the best of luck to them and wewill support them all the way
@Swallow Scoops, In my view Dublin have been succesfully transitioning on a yearly basis.
– Con O’Callaghan
– Brian Howard
– Davey Byrne
– Cormac Costelloe
– Niall Scully
The last new addition was Brian Howard. Likely next year Ciaran Archer.
Ciaran Archer is Under 20 again next year. He will unlikely be moved up to senior until 2021.
Speedy recovery DOC. Great bit of stuff in fairness to him
I have 1 additional u16 ticket for the Lower Davin, but am also trying to locate 2 Hill tickets, if successful I will have 1 adult and 2 u16 for sale at face value, will know more later this week.
I see Horan starting to complain on Google news due to the quick turnaround between the 2 games.
Have st holders their tickets to print out yet?
Is there likely to be only the one forced change to the starting 15 Saturday?
4 big calls for Saturday to start:
Clarke or Hennelly
O’ Donoghue or Higgins
SOS or Ruane
Andy or Darren Coen
Biggest call there for me is whether to start Andy or not.
Horan will play Hennelly. Kickouts will be more important than shot stopping because dublin will do a full press.
I would play O’Donoghue ahead of Higgins. He did well against Donegal and honestly if Keith had stayed on the pitch I fear he might have lost his battle. The black card was indicative of where that was going and o’donoghue did his job well when he came on, more than held his own.
And I would play Ruane ahead of seamie. He might be able to somewhat match the mobility of fenton, but I can’t see seamie being able to do that job. Another option is go with our midfield of aidan and seamie and save Ruane for when Maculay is inevitably introduced, but I dont know if that’s the right thing to do either cos fenton could run them ragged too
All those calls are very interesting, South Mayo. For me the most important of the lot is in the full forward line. Especially given our poor conversion rate this season. Coen has been whipped off before the 2nd half in his last two matches (Kerry also?) and the difference when Andy has come on has been stark. I think we have to keep Andy on the bench, he’s such a good impact sub. So who starts with Cillian and Carr then? I haven’t a clue! Diarmuid? Drifting out to half forward is probably what i’d go for.
Why is it that when Clarke hits 81% of his kickouts we want him dropped but when Hennelly his 63% then he must be kept in goal?
Why the double standard?
We absolutely got away with Robbie’s bad kickout in the first half that, after absolutely dominating the game, would have put us 1 behind.
Clarke must start. History tells us that Robbie does not do well against Dublin. He hasn’t done and has madr massive mistakes in all of his championship appearances against them. This will cost us massively on Saturday and we will not survive these mistakes.
Clarke must play
Ok so can I take it tickets are all gone or what’s happening. A huge crowd standing around in super valu earlier. Was told by a few that system had crashed and by others that they are all sold?
I’d go with Clarke, I think it should be easier to get off the short kick out on the bigger pitch but we’ll need a long kick out strategy for the hard press, not to mention how physically tiring it is to constantly having to working the ball all the way up pitch from our own full back line.
O’Donuhue did well but it wasn’t mcbrearty he was marking, Barrett went on him when Higgins went off. I’d start Higgins, he should be fresh with o’donuhue to come on, it may not even be Higgins he comes on for. Keegan on Kilkenny unless he’s in full forward, Coen or Barret on him if he goes in there. Durcan in the half forward line on McCaffrey.
Leave midfield as it is, Ruane to come on if we’re struggling for mobility, hopefully
Diarmuid can start in the half forward line otherwise mcloughlin. Start coen, give him his chance in croke Park, we need Andy to finish the game.
Pullhard, the GAA have said more tickets will go on sale after the clubs have got their allocation.
Game is not sold out, first release of general sale tickets are gone. No one knows how many. Remaining tickets will now go to clubs. If any left over they will go back on general sale. If your club hasn’t taken names by now I doubt they will get any. I dont think all clubs took orders for tickets. It should have gone through clubs first of all, and a 2 week lead up to game, but those ships have sailed. A lot of tickets will turn up as the week goes one, it’s just very disrespectful to have had people queuing for 6 hours to leave empty handed.
@mAYOmARK – I think you summed it up nicely. ‘got away with Robbie’s bad kickout’ …. That one single kickout … wow! The much talked aobut Shaun Patton on the other end made a worse error but you won’t see Donegal supports up in arms calling for his head (even with them having all star goalkeeper in reserves ).
When it comes to being fair and honest its exactly the double standards being applied by a certain cohort of pro Clarkes that makes this debate tedious (imo). Without question and everyone has acknowledged Hennelly gives the better kickout over Clarke. He put us on the front foot and to add he is a massive shot saver. Come push to shove would you say Clarke is better (hell yeah .. super keeper in himself) but he is only marginally better at shot saving over Hennelly (and that with a push).
It’s Hennelly for me … no question. I dread to think back to Killarney and at being pinned back on our own restarts.
If you are talking about a Dublin transition, the add the name Sean Bugler to the list.
His first Championship start, and he scores three from play. He is one to watch. Archer is a couple of years away yet.
Saturday is all about matchups, and how to win enough of them to make it count on the scoreboard.
Keegan on Kilkenny.
Durkan on McCaffery.
O’Shea Bros Vs Fenton and McCarthy? Ruane and MDMA may feature here.
Philly on Andy.
If Rory O’Carroll and Keith Higgins both start, they’ll be targeted. Both have looked vulnerable of late.
Chasing the game to get one or two late points to win won’t work against the Dubs, didn’t work in 13, 16 or 17, I’m hoping a lead can be built up by half time, in the form of one or two goals, Cork could have got in for a few in their Super 8 game in July.
If Clarke has recovered from his injury than this will be brilliant, what better way to keep Jim Gavin guessing than to call upon two goalies with contrasting styles.
I am happy with the choice of referee.
Definitely need goals to win.
Okay, if the Hennelly/Clarke debate is going to kick off again, can those leading the discussion make some effort to be even-handed about what they have to say? I’m not sure yet another re-run of the same old Clarke-good-Hennelly-bad-Hennelly-good-Clarke-bad Punch and Judy show is going to serve any useful purpose. Would it be scandalous to suggest leaving the decision where it belongs and trust James and his selectors to make the right call on this one? I know I’m happy for it to rest there.
Good idea wj
Anybody got the season ticket office email address? First time I have an issue with it. Missed a few games due to illness early in the year too.
Thanks in advance.
Does anyone know the nature of David Clarke’s injury ?
@WillieJoe – I absolutely agree it doesn’t serve a useful purpose (& i have been pipped in on numerous occasions). At the end of the day, the best choice possible will be taken.
In Horan we trust!
@justinmorgan its seasonticket@gaa.ie
Id say Hennelly will keep his place. He actually played a blinder in the league against the dubs saving a rake of goal chances that night. The problem is that he makes at one near fatal mistake per game but his performance v Donegal was generally solid and that should give him confidence. Horan will also go with experience in Higgins at the back and Seamus O’Shea in midfield but don’t be surprised to see Darren Coen dropped. I don’t think Andy will start though and that’s where Horan has a decision to make and could well spring a surprise. It’s an utter disgrace that there’s only a week between these games and I’m amazed that all the county boards most likely to have been effected didn’t lose the plot with the GAA when that scenario first emerged. After Saturday night’s great result the Mayo County Board should have done all they could (and maybe they did!) to get this game moved out to 2 weeks. What happens if there’s a replay? It feels like we are taking on the fastest gunslinger in their own town with a gammy gun and one hand tied behind our backs. It just ain’t right.
All it will take Saturday is a single kickout. And we know that is common place in Robbie’s game. That is an unfortunate truth. History doesn’t lie and the numbers clearly don’t lie.
I find this whole debate to be grossly unfair on by far our greatest ever goalkeeper, and that is why it grates on me. I have nothing against Robbie and when he plays for Mayo, I want him to have his best day ever. But he is nowhere near Clarke’s level.
That’s my 2 cents.
Apologies I had that posted on Hennelly before I saw WJs interjection. I also agree that a debate on the keeper serves no benefit
Observer 2. I am nearly sure that James Horan said David Clarke had ‘Damaged Ribs’ from the Meath Match.
I’m not overly concerned about the turnaround time to be honest because I think we are well conditioned for it at this stage, more by accident than design.
What has been giving me some encouragement is that, compared to 15,16 and 17,our bench is far more influential. Their bench has been incredibly effective and we haven’t been able to match it.
Maybe this time…
What makes you think Clarke won’t make a similar mistake? He couldn’t keep the ball kicked out to Kerry down in Killarney and in the same game nearly had the same short kickout disaster that Robbie gets hung out to dry on. In your words, he “got away with it”.
Sorry WJ, agreed on parking the goalkeeper debate. I’ve said what I believe will happen, that’s all
Tickets were on sale in Croke Park ticket office in Dorset st this evening so if you know anyone in Dublin that’s an option. I expect it will be open again tomorrow. Upper Hogan, Upper Cusack and Lower Davin
MayoMark – here’s a few numbers back for you so. From David Clarke’s long kickouts in Killarney we won 11 out of 26, from Robbie Hennelly’s long ones the last day we won 21 from 24. As I said, if there’s going to be a debate, let it be even-handed and facts-based (those stats, by the way, are from the analysis on The Sunday Game). I’m sick and tired of the blind-eyed cheerleading for one player over another and I have to say that you’re one of the worst transgressors in this respect.
Just saw an article saying more tickets being released tomorrow. Said the majority of tickets going to clubs. And with 7k season tickets, that doesn’t leave a massive amount for general sale
Expect another panic tomorrow
The Sunday game is wrong, because we won 63% of our kickouts on Saturday. Absolutely nowhere near 21 from 24.
I find that unfair Willie Joe, I never mention Clarke until it’s brought up first. I do my absolute best to argue back with facts and I did so above, I did so last week. Clarke got slaughtered for converting 81% v Meath, that is a fact. I don’t do blind eyed cheerleading and I think that’s unfair.
Anyways, I’m done with it now.
@mayomark did the article definitely say tickets go on sale tomorrow?
I saw an article on news talk saying ‘press release fron gaa ‘we hope to have more ticket available for general sale when clubs have been allocated tickets’ Didn’t say when though.
I think the stat from the SG was that out of 24 kick outs, 21 went long.
Hmmm, not sure Jason. It was Irish Times I think if you wanted to Google it!
You’re correct Castlebarred. The stat on the Sunday game was more a reflection of the kick-strategy on the day, ie for various reasons (keeper being one of them) we ended up going long for a higher proportion. It’s a complicated picture.
Okay, The Sunday Game isn’t wrong. I’ve gone back and checked it again, I’m wrong. Mea culpa. Castlebarred is right – the point was that the strategy was to go long at every opportunity, which was at odds with what we’d done before. The stats they presented were that for Roscommon (Hennelly) we’d gone long 11 out of 26 times, for Galway (Clarke) 7 from 20, Kerry (Clarke) 11 from 26 and Donegal (Hennelly) 21 from 24. The approach the last evening obviously paid huge dividends for us.
I stand by what I said about your contribution to this debate, though, Mark. It’s simply not the case that you’ve responded on the issue on every occasion with facts. You’ve repeatedly dissed Robbie Hennelly and rarely if ever have you said anything about his positive qualities as a player. Robbie did hugely well for us on Saturday night but the one thing you said about his display was the one kickout that went astray. You analysed David Clarke’s stats v Meath but curiously never did the same for the Kerry match when our kickout strategy went into utter meltdown, including one short kickout sent straight to Geaney who ballooned it over the bar. That’s not being even-handed and it’s not helping to create a healthy debate by being so one-sided on the issue.
The weather will play a bit part on Saturday, I hope the boots won’t be too slippy on the Croker surface.
If I was putting a plan in place to beat the Dubs then I would do the following
Early on in the match old fashioned long ball for the kickout, try and move the ball ad fast as possible form defending goal to attacking goal, none of this shite in sitting back and allowing all 14 Dublin outfield players to take the ball into the Mayo half uncontested.
I will make a call at halftime on the result, got all big games right this year, league final, Meath and Donegal games also.
Courtesy of Mayomick I watched the YouTube highlights, Murphy was doing his best to injure as many Mayo players as possible, Murphy actually looked sagged at times this game was too physical for him. Jason’s injury looked like ankle, ie pulled or torn ligaments, the Donegal player caught Jason’s foot in the air, looked like a sliding tackle.
McLoughlin covered a huge amount of ground when he came on.
We are all more experienced now from the close battles with the Dubs since 2013, time to turn the tables.
This has been a funny year for Mayo, surely they are going to give us an almost complete performance, I am hoping for a Mayo v Tyrone final. The bookies and the so called experts probably don’t agree, McStay doesn’t hold much hope, whether that is an attempt at reverse Psychology, I don’t know.
Jackeen…”Jaiysus, we’d beat the pick of the three, ya know wha I mean.”
Hay Machine ( a fhaca tu mo Seamusin)… “Aye. but would ye bate Mayo?”
Even if retention is high with short kickouts the ball still has to be carried up the field. That takes a lot of energy. It also risks turnovers. What is the effort put into using the short kickouts stately? A straight comparison of percentages of successful short and long kickouts may not be fair. The question is what is the *value* of a predominately short kickout strategy over a long one.
Long kickouts, even if less efficient, may lead to scoring chances – I may be wrong but at least one point on Saturday came from a very long Robbie kickout that was collected past midfield and with one or two moves went over the bar.
I was behind our goal in Killarney when Kerry were pressing Clarke’s kickouts and clogging the space and it’s a sight I truly would not like to see again. It was extremely unpleasant to say the least – to feel hemmed in, not to be able to get shots away. It was them holding all the aces and us holding none. That’s just a statement of what I saw.
It just invited someone to be able to kick over that wall of bodies and catch them out. Whatever goalkeeper you go with you need flexibility on managing your own kickout – you need some control, however you do that. Naivety does not work when the stakes are high. I do not understand the emphasis on Robbie’s one or two mistakes. Stellar percentages of success on short kickouts is not necessarily better than a lower rate of winning our long kickouts.
That’s because I know he and we had a disastrous day in Kerry. There was no need for stats. The comments were fair. The criticisms across the board were, generally, fair and I agreed at the time. The comments after the Meath game were completely unfair in my view which is why I did the stats as a rebuttle to the comments. I have done similar after Ger Caff got dogs abuse after a Cork game in 2014 because of a Colm Orourke comment.
I have countered comments about Clarke being a liability, and being compared to a 10 year old. His track record is excellent and I find those sorts of comments grossly unfair. I get ducked into it often when maybe I shouldn’t.
But there’s nothing I can do if you see it as blind cheerleading. I also disagree that I have disrespected any player in the past on this forum. It has always been game related and I call it as I see it in the same way every player is critiqued by others on here.
Mark – can you seriously say you haven’t disrespected Robbie Hennelly? Or given him an ounce of credit?
@Mick I agree analysis of the kick out is very complicated. Something else to consider in the Killarney game was the maor foirne entered the pitch in s dark blue top for the majority of Clarke kickouts in the manner Eamon Fitzmaurice was complaining about our maor foirne. That constant press was very well planned and executed. Another difference between that game and the Donegal game was our middle eight was far more effective against Donegal.
I think focusing all the blame for poor restarts on the keeper is unfair and doesn’t take account of the other complications and the responsibilities of the middle 8 to fight for clean catch or forage for a breaking ball.
Having said all that I think this is a debate that is going around in circles. Both keepers bring their strengths and their weaknesses. I have learnt from work that different people can go about their jobs in different ways but as long as they are committed the job will get done, perhaps not exactly the way you want it to be done but it will get done.
I think we have to trust Horan and who he selects in goal and let him at it. There is a strong possibility either might give us palpitations at some stage but there is also a certainty that both will give it their all. In Horan we trust
I don’t believe I have ever disrespected any player on this forum in any personal capacity. I wouldnt do it here or on any other platform. When he plays I roar for him like I do for anyone else. I bare absolutely no ill will towards him and if that is perceived then I want to put a pin in it now, because it would bother me immensely if that were the case.
I gave him credit after the league final. After Dublin in the league. And, barring the blip I mentioned above, did fine on Saturday. He hasn’t played very much apart from that in the past 12 months. I just don’t think he should be in goal when Clarke is available. I would give my left arm for him to play on Saturday and put on an exhibition.
Why is it the media and here always have to say mayo need to get the match ups right why is we always have to sacrifice or best player keegan duarcán. Need a better game plane and get theses guys on weaker players and let the opposition worry about match ups.
Willie joe I have to say Mark comes down as a team Clarke man of which I am also a member. He hardly needs to be defending every good performance by Hennelly !!! Personally I think Hennelly is an excellent second choice but not first choice . He has has made some terrible gaffes . As soon as Clarke takes a slow run up for a kick out lads are roaring for hennelly back regardless of a succession of mistakes which have cost us huge games . I cannot fathom it ! I haven’t the time that Mark has to be arguing with lads over this but I am flummoxed every time I read lads calling for Clarke to be dropped . Hennelly did a great job Saturday but once Clarke is fit then he should be in . In my humble opinion .
We’re going to have to agree to disagree on this one, Mark. From my constant monitoring of the comments I don’t believe you’ve been fair or even-handed in what you’ve posted on the goalkeeping issue and have been one of Robbie’s most trenchant critics over the last number of months. I know people have different opinions and that’s okay but at the end of the days these lads are all Mayo players and we need to get behind the players, including keepers, who are selected to play for the county.
WJ and MayoMark .. Both good keepers .Ya both obviously have your preferred options . Most supporters worried about themselves or family members getting those last tickets for Sat . Always have great faith in Clarke , especially under the high ball but thought Robbie did really well the last day .. Hope you all get sorted for tickets soon .
Lads, I don’t think it was a preferred tactic for Hennelly to go long for 21 out of 24 kick outs last Saturday. This was something he was forced to do because of (i) the very high press from donegal for the whole game (ii) a wet night with a greasy ball and (iii) the tight pitch in Castlebar.
I think hennelly had an overall success rate of 65% or thereabouts, which is excellent given the conditions and the fact that he was forced to go long most of the time. The 3 kickouts that he pinged into Doherty’s basket were exceptional and that is exactly the type of kick out that was needed in the 1st half in Killarney. Unfortunately, despite all his other amazing qualities, it’s a skill that DC just doesn’t have in his locker.
Best of luck to whichever of them gets the start on Sunday.
Roger – there should be no talk of Team Clarke (or, indeed, Team Hennelly) on here. The only team I’m interested in is Team Mayo.
I believe the weather will be similar on Sat evening as it was in Castlebar last Saturday. In the drawn All Ireland 2016 conditions were very similar and we played Dublin off the park. We were dogged and seemed to relish the conditions similar to last weekend. And, I think Conor Lane was ref that day too. If we stop Mc Caffrey and Mannion we will go a long in beating them, easier said than done, I know. I know their players have had a 3 week rest and it’s asking a lot from our lads to stay with them, but if we get in their faces and show them no respect you would never know, we might do it. If Conor Lane doesn’t give a free to the Dubs everytime one of their players charges at their opponent with the ball I think we can do it. This is how they get a lot of their scores. Up Mayo
That’s fine Willie Joe but there is a big difference between criticism and disrespect. I really want to reiterate that because, as I said, I would never set out to disrespect any Mayo player.
I always, always get behind this team and always have done from day dot. And always will do. Regardless of who is playing, when they cross the white line I am with them all the way.
I also think I have been fair and consistent in my views and have backed up why I hold those views. Like everyone here, I am obsessed with Mayo football and all I want is for us to succeed. I don’t want to prove anyone right, wrong or indifferent. I want us to win and I don’t care who is on the team when we do it.
Regarding tickets for Saturday, the GAA ticket store on Dorset Street is apparently open from 10am in the morning if you have contacts in Dublin. Not so easy if you’re living in Mayo but we won’t get started on Dublin’s advantages…
Coe/Ovett
Shilton/Clemence
Cascarino/Quinn
Salt ‘n vinegar/cheese ‘n onion
Snickers/Mars
Supermacs/McDonalds
………opinions guys-everyones got one,so PLEASE for the love of god(and Mayo) can we give the goalkeeper thing a well deserved rest and leave the decision to the people that know best- ie the management!
The rain is a major factor. They were truly awful in the first game in 16, the rain is definitely a leveller and we have dirty ball winners. But I fear we will badly miss Doherty on Saturday.
I still find it odd that there has been no official word on his condition, just speculation on RTE.
The biggest factor for me is the strength of our bench in comparison to previous years. We have real weapons at our disposal.
I hope Connolly is on their 26. I think it was a serious mistake bringing him back and starting him Sunday. Poor management in my view and there is no way the whole squad can be happy with a development like that
I have no objection with the goal keeper debate per say and have been involved in manys a discussion on it before because of its importance but when it started to become the whole Clarke Versus Hennelly thing l lost the appetite for it. Both players can’t play at the same time and how one would have done versus the other in a hypothetical situation is wrong. Selection should be based on availability and strategy chosen for the day. The goal keeper will not be chosen in isolation and will form part of an overall plan of action. Horan will have to make that call which I don’t envy him for because it’s a hero or zero call. He knows this but he also knows we have put him there to make these calls. So let him make the call and end the comparisons which serve no purpose.. No doubt we will have a long winter debating whether it was the right one or not
Opt2misteek :
Clemence, Quinn, Cheese and Onion, Mars and Supermacs
And I’ll fight any man to the death who disagrees!
A lot of people on the blog tonight are getting worked up about something we as supporters have absolutely no control over I.e. who the goalie will be. As excellent and all this blog is I doubt James Horan reads it when he sits down to pick the team. He’s got us to a semi final with the bare bones of a panel decimated by injuries I trust him to pick the right keeper on Saturday it would be nice to see the debate on here switching to actually supporting the team not tearing into 2 great servants in Robbie and David
I hope Connolly makes the match day 26 also but I just can’t see it. If you play a championship game on the way to your team winning an All Ireland but you don’t make the match day 26 do you get a medal?
I just can’t fathom why he even played on Sunday though. Imagine telling Bernard Brogan he wasn’t starting but Dermo was? Just seems bizarre to me.
We are 9/2. I’ll have a taste of that.
Glad to see that the suggestion to leave the goalkeeper debate aside for this thread had been taken up :-).
The fact that this debate has been ongoing for so long might suggest there isn’t a convincing argument one way or t’other. Reckon people have their own opinions, that for now, are not going to change no matter what stats people spout or incidents they cite.
Would really like to see if debate/speculation re other aspects of the game. Yeah… speculation re Connolly might be a good place to start. I know a lot saying he’s not up to championship pace. I don’t necessarily buy that. I dreaded to see him coming on in ‘17. He duly confirmed all my fears. Maybe that’s just a ghost that needs to be exorcised in my mind but I think he still had the capability to do a lot of damage if Gavin brings him on and slips him into the right place, especially if our lads a bit out on their feet.
But 2017 is the last game he played, bar an appearance v us in the league last year. 2 years! And with there being no intensity or bite whatsoever to that farce in omagh on Sunday, there’s just no way he could be ready.
The whole country – and half of Dublin- is behind you on Sat. As a Kerryman, I would happily celebrate a Mayo All Ireland win this year, but not next year!
Agree there’s no way he should be ready… but regardless he is arguably still the most talented Dublin forward when he’s in the mood. If he’s in the 26, I just wouldn’t be surprised to see Gavin spring him if they’re in a real bind (which hopefully they will).
Also, I know the likes of McCaffery, Kilkenny, Fenton and the likes are getting mentioned a lot, but for me Mannion is the man to watch this year. So many to keep an eye on I guess, but Mayo of all teams look to have the players for the match ups. They seem to be growing into it again like always as they progress. I guess the real thing for us will be for our forwards to perform. If they can keep the Dublin defence busy, exert some physicality and most importantly, deliver on the scoring success front, then you can’t help feel the rest of the team will deliver.
No I wouldn’t be surprised either. If he is being sprung, like you said, it means they are in bother.
We will need to win a ferocious amount of turnovers and our conversion rate will need to be 60+% up top.
The starting 15 will be interesting. 3 weeks ago we barely had a midfield. Suddenly we have multiple options. Mattie only had a cameo but the conviction he showed when he demanded the ball at a vital time and marched up the pitch was fabulous to see. Seamie looks like a new man, unreal considering his layoff. Aidan is class. And TP is the unknown at the moment. But if he’s in the 26,he must be fit.
I think the whole Connelly/Brogan thing is just a smokescreen set up by Gavin. While the media, and by extension us, are all asking why Connelly was brought back? will it upset the existing squad? will Brogan be pissed that Connelly is ahead of him in the pecking order? why did Gavin smile and congratulate Connelly when he was black carded in Omagh (normally Gavin displays NO emotion and barely acknowledges his subs coming off) etc etc etc, it means the media and the general public are NOT talking about the real elephant in the room. The drive for 5. That’s where we must switch the narrative to because that is where the real pressure is. Because for all the talk of them being the greatest side in history, of them being a unique group of men, blah fucking blah, the facts are they are NOT. Not yet anyway. They have not yet done anything that hasn’t been done before. Kerry won 4 in a row. So have Dublin. The history books at present have them on a par with Kerry in that regard, but not ahead of them. In fact Kerry have contested more finals, 59 to Dublins 41, and won more also, 37 to Dublins 28. Kerry won 7 in 9 years and Dublin are currently on 6 in 8 years. So, they’re NOT unique. Yet.
So. Wouldn’t it be the ultimate “Fuck You” to Dublin to beat them on Saturday and scupper their Drive for 5. Make no mistake, they hate us. They hate us because they fear us. All the bravado, Johnny Big Balls with their immature signs, and their soccer-style chants is all a facade. Because deep down, deep inside the Jackeens head, they know full fucking well that we get under their skin. They know it and they don’t like it, and what’s more, they know that we know it too. So bring on Saturday and let’s see what they are made of. Let the dog see the rabbit.
Hon Mayo.
There’s been no word on Jason Doherty yet because the full extent of the injury isn’t known. He was only getting it scanned today. You’ll probably hear later in the week. Unfortunately at the time it looked like a bad injury and Horan didn’t sound too confident about it after the game.
Rain if it comes gives backs a slightly better chance and battling harder than our opponents gives an advantage. Dublin have a lot of potential match winners. The other thing is not to pump in loose ball at the other end. Floating out in front chest high is the best. Also patience going side to side when confronted by a wall. Dublin have more tough backs than Donegal.
I also think teams keep making Cian OS look good. If he’s defending deep then as CHB then there has to be a hole around the 40. OK goals would be hard when he’s playing deep but if we can drag him out then there’s space. Bit worried Coen won’t have the smarts to lose Dublin backs. Could James Durkan have the pace to win ball off them and lay it off? Maybe start Andy and tell Coen he has to make impact after coming on. Dublin FB line good players and strong but wouldn’t say they have any great pace bar Fitzsimmons who may not start. Also Andy able to lose Fitz with his clever runs. Drag Dublin FB line into middle and beat them out to the side with clever runs. They’re afraid of goals and very focused on blocking the middle.
I’d be inclined to stick with SOS ahead of Ruane. Seems to now be back to full championship pace and intensity. Sunday game highlighted his work the last day.
One other thing with Dublin is good discipline. They have 2 players who might slip up, Small and MacCauley or Connolly if he plays a part. Run low at MacCauley if playing and he may close line some tackles.
Philly and Cooper get up to a lot of skulduggery but rarely get caught and Philly in particular has also been known to feign injury trying to get lads carded. Somehow refs seem to ignore these guys antics, it’s worth management discussing how we react in a way that highlights their antics to refs. On our side Cillian needs to keep his cool and focus on his super football skills which he seems to be doing of late.
Re.. Goalkeeper debate, James Horan and his Managnent will pick the Goalkeeper, I have my own opinion but I won’t say anything about it at this moment.. We Mayo Supporter’s have to gaurd against our self destructive nature, I remember in the recent past,a few years ago now in MacHale Park Castlebar, the cheer went up when it became apparent that a certain defender (who hadn’t been in his very best form prior to this particular game) was replaced before the Throw In… No matter what player is selected in whatever position on Saturday, we should cheer them on like they were one of our own family…. Regardless of who it is… They belong to Mayo, and belong to us and we better cheer them on like our lives depends on it, simple as that… because the Dub’s’ certainly won’t cheer them on, and if they detect any acrimony our support for any particular player from 1-26 on Saturday, they will feed on it…..This is not the FBD league or a few weeks break in the early part of the Championship…. Everyone should be on the same hymesheet as regards our positive Support on Saturday, and fair play to everyone who was in MacHale Park last Saturday, we need more of the same, only louder, More Flags, Banner’s and Colour…We can make ourselves worth a few points to Mayo!
To me Hennelly can’t be put into a pressure cooker match like this again after the 13 and 16 finals errors and the Ros match this year. The question is not whether he’s a good keeper it’s whether he can cope under extreme pressure.
100% Pebble master. You can spot the media manipulation a mile away now once Ciarán Whelan and all the other Gavin mouth pieces start to push out his smoke screen story.
would go with
Clarke
ODonoghue
Harrison
Barret
Boyle
Mclaughlin
Keegan
Higgins
SOS
Ruane
Durcan
DOC
COC
Carr
AOS
Would start with 3 up front initially.play very compressed in the middle of the field and go long and direct to inside 3.
Mindset that they are not allowed to get shots off on goals. i don’t think we have any chance in an all out end to end running game we need to make this into a low scoring dogfight
It’s very fair and logical that facts be a determinant of any debate. So here’s a pertinent fact on the goalkeeping debate: Hennelly has made mistakes which have led to goals conceded in three All-Ireland finals, games we lost by narrow margins.
And yes, Robbie did well during the league campaign, and deserves credit for that.
But it happened again against Roscommon earlier this season and very nearly in the first half against Donegal (thanks be to Jasus that their corner forward butchered the three-on-one).
Yes, Clarke had trouble against Kerry and deserved some criticism, but there seems to be a mantra among some Mayo fans that RH is beyond that same criticism.
Well, as one well-known political commentator says, facts are stubborn things, and they don’t pander to feelings.
My last word on this, good luck to all the Mayo players that take the field on Saturday.
Jason will be a massive loss but after Diarmuid’s display in the league final it would be great to see Doc replaced by DOC.
8 semi’s in 9 years. Some might say we’re semi conscious. Boom tish!!
David Clarke was not available for the Donegal game.
Robbie was, and played a stormer. We were lucky to have him.
Them are the facts.
Even the great Cluxton has succumb to pressure on the odd occasion. Kicking balls over the sideline and has been caught in two minds of what to do when the pressure is applied.
I’ll take whichever of our great keepers is picked to start and I’ll be roaring them on the whole way.
We’re a lucky county to have 2 keepers who each bring their own unique qualities.
I like to think of the great games each of the lads has played for their county and hope every time whichever of them gets the nod that it’s one of these great performances we see.
We have seen outstanding goalkeeping performances from both our keepers this year.
God bless them both.
The question of replacement could be one of consistency. Kevin Mc has been in our top 5 performers in a huge number of games for many years now. In past years dropping him was simply unthinkable. There have even been times when fans said AOS should be dropped but never Kevin. This season he hasn’t been as consistent and was dropped a few times. Probably a correct call on some of these games. However the man has an incredible amount of credit in the bank and I would be starting him any big game. Maybe just a confidence blip from Ros game or a niggle we aren’t aware of but team really battle hardened now. Maybe he’s come to a stage where there are other things in life and questioning his hunger but after the run we’ve just had, no player could avoid anything other than huge excitement that were in a semi. Also being big underdogs frees the mind from any weight of expect. So if 100%, I’d be starting Mc. As disappointed as we are for Jason I think Mc has been more effective even this season when people said both were off key I’d be starting Mc the first of the 2 because he can do so many different roles well and can pass so well as well as popping up for goals despite less game time. One of those roles he’s better than all others has been mopping up any loose ball around the middle when asked to do so. As some have said here, I wouldn’t be beyond starting him wing back with Paddy moved up onto McCaffrey as he started his Mayo career as a no. 7. A means of keeping players fresh to change their roles. We’ve lost a high ball outlet with Jason so Diarmaid or Matthew might get picked first but we should start with best 15 and rely on newbies to perform as game opens a bit through 2nd half. Not about finishing with our strongest, Dublin don’t do that, they just have strong subs. We should do the same. It means also starting Andy ahead of Coen.
I find it strange that they would only scan his knee today. Usually that would happen straight away. If it was a cruciate, knowing straight away is best so surgery can happen as quickly as possible. I’d have to see a video again but it’s possible he discolated his knee cap which is very painful. If it is that then he could play on Saturday but his knee would be weak. Lots of strapping and a knee brace would be needed.
Succumbed to pressure “on the odd occasion”? Try every big championship game he’s played for us over several seasons. Cluxton and himself are in no way comparable in that regard.
I’ve listed the litany of errors in big games on several occasions but won’t do so here out of respect for Willie Joe’s moderation.
I struggle to think of a goal that Clarke has conceded that you could pin directly on him in nearly twenty years donning the Mayo geansaí.
Arguing that the two main keepers we have are a similar standard is akin to arguing that black is white.
Anyway, I won’t be drawn again on this, done.
Good luck to all the Mayo players on Saturday.
No matter the goalkeeper, if you cant go short you go with planned long kick out and midfield wins it or wins breaks, end of story, lot more space in Crokeparke so I think kickouts will be ok no matter who J.H goes with. I think we will need a healthy lead at halftime to have any hope of winning this one and with quick turnaround I think its a step to far, but still think this has been a massive season for us, everything a bonus from here and all the pressure on Dublin.
History is a heavy burden to carry
@It means nothing to me.
Was our game against Donegal last weekend not a big championship game ?
Is it your opinion that this was not a big championship game ?
Robbie had a great game. So no, not every championship game he has played.
Give the lad credit where it’s due.
I find it strange the amount of criticism our goalies get and yet for much of the year several of our outfield players were well below par. For some reason they don’t get a microcosm of the critique that the goalies recieve.
“Ah sure I hope he does better the next day”
“He needs to up his game”
The one certain way to ensure a players confidence is at a low ebb is to run them down at every hands turn.
The Donegal match was a huge game and Robbie was excellent.
Shocking slating of our current Goalkeeper three days before an All Ireland semi final.
We’re lucky to have two goalkeepers of the quality of Clarke and Hennelly, but to not acknowledge they both have their flaws is asinine. Hennelly is prone to rash decision making and is unsure under a high ball while Clarke’s kick outs are his biggest problem. Like another poster here mentioned, I too was in the terrace behind Clarke in Killarney and it’s was a horrendous 35 minutes. I genuinely felt sorry for Clarke and while he didn’t have the midfield outlets that he’d have now to relieve the pressure, I could see the dubs doing the same. Can you imagine the Hill jeering as they pinned us in for 20 minutes?
On the flip side I can remember the 2013 indecision with Brogan that caused the goal and the spilled ball/penalty in 2016/2017.
These are the reality’s we face and it’s not a call I’ll be making thankfully. I’ll finish with one point, if Robbie Hennelly had a first half like David Clarke in Killarney, I’d genuinely have feared for his safety. I’ll be having a decent cut on Mayo at 9/2
We will be there Saturday to cheer all players the starting 15, subs, blood subs and blackcarded players.
I trust management to make the right calls in this upcoming contest.
Tickets now for sale again
Easiest to buy on Ticketmaster
This is the most worried I’ve been about a semi since I watched brokeback mountain.
Liam, I find the last paragraph of your latest comment borderline libellous. Hennelly had one half back like that (worse, actually) in the 2016 All-Ireland final replay. He’s still here and I hope he lives in peace and prosperity for many a long year. Threatening anyone’s safety is entirely unacceptable.
Please point out to me where anybody has threatened any Mayo footballer on this forum or indeed anywhere.
Revellino, I don’t actually agree with you on that, as he shanked a ball straight to a Donegal forward in the first half (luckily their corner-forward made a hash of it), we lost over a third of our kickouts and he nearly got robbed running way out the field with the ball in the second half. He did fine generally but let’s not rewrite history. The performance standards are so low now in the eyes of some supporters that any match we don’t lose due to a goalkeeping error are seen as a fine game.
Some friends of mine have been compiling stats based on the careers of our two main custodians (especially centering on the period post-2011) which demonstrate that Clarke is better in almost every respect (average goals conceded, win ratio etc.) The only metric that Robbie performs better on is with regard to points from frees. I would be happy to share these with the forum but I doubt it will be permitted.
Look, if he plays well the next day and we win, fantastic. I will support every Mayo player taking the field for us during the match and will be happy to come on here after the game and chew some humble pie.
And Declan, if any Mayo footballers are reading fan forums a few days before a massive championship game, then I would very much question their focus.
Fokker out.
More tickets released on ticket master get on it and let’s try and fill the place!!!
I’m a huge Clarke fan and I was fuming with Rochford for dropping him for the 2017 final replay but the reality is Robbie came in last week V Donegal and had a great game overall and he did have a great game against the Dubs in the league so if Clarke isn’t fit to start on Saturday I’d have 100% faith in Robbie in fact I don’t think he deserves to be dropped he did nothing wrong Saturday apart from maybe kick one kick out to a Donegal player I think Donegal’s goalkeeper kicked a kick out to a Mayo player so it does happen anyway good luck to whoever starts in goal. We need to get behind the team pronto and have loads of green and red flags and colour in the stands now is not the time for negative attitudes towards Robbie or David
Tickets up again
Tickets back on sale now through Centra / SuperValu and Elverys in Castlebar, Westport, Ballina, Claremorris and Galway City. Best bet might be Elverys, queues may be shorter. Good luck to all in ticket hunt.
I hope that the delay in revealing Jason’s injury is not due to lack of medical experts available on bank holiday?
Injuries (and illnesses) do not take a break on Bank Holidays…
Borderline libellous? Bit early in the morning to be sniffing glue surely. I’ll see you in the high court so. Outraged anonymous online poster vs other anonymous online poster. You can get Joe Brolly to represent you.
Liam, I’ve better things to do with my time than engage with you, if you’re resorting to ad hominems such as your previous effort.
Good luck and enjoy the holiday weekend.
the scan is not done immediately in order to allow swelling and inflammation to reduce in order to give a more accurate reading/result. You would not play A week after a patellar/kneecap dislocation but maybe ok for a final if we get past the dubs. Will await scan result. All the best to Jason.
It seems like WJ’s plea to avoid the goalkeeper debate again has fallen on deaf ears
Lads, behave yourselves for the love of God. Liam and It Means Nothing to Me, that’s a yellow for the pair of you.
It Means Nothing to Me – if you have stats that you think are relevant, then by all means share them here. I’m also struggling to understand your dig – clearly aimed at me – about whether or nothing doing so would be permitted. If you’ve any issue with how I moderate this place then come straight out and say it and don’t be making sly underhand inferences like that. You’ve been availing freely of the comments facility here for years and I don’t recall your having any trouble posting what you want so please spare me from those kind of insults.
Willie joe. I thought you were going to stop this debate about our goalies. We have two of the best goalies in the country. In over 50 years of attending matches I never saw anything as good as Robs performance in the league match against Dublin. Over the past 10 years David is undoubtedly the best shot stopper in Ireland The Dubs will attack the weaknesses of whatever goalie James picks. I’m miserable that I can’t be there on Saturday but family must come first. Thankfully there is Sky Go. Wishing the team all my best and see you all for the final. michaelinspain
I did try, Michaelincork, but the hits keep coming. As well as that this morning I’ve had a spat between two people to deal with, a homophobic comment I’ve had to delete and someone taking a sly cut at me. No more than an appeal for civility in the goalkeeping debate, my plea for general good behaviour in the comments also appears to have fallen on deaf ears. I would add too that all this undesirable stuff is coming 100% from our side. The Dubs are acting like angels – watching on, no doubt cracking their holes laughing at it all.
We are blessed to have two very good keepers and both have their attributes and flaws. I would say that Clarke reads the game better and has better anticipation when it comes to advancing or staying put. God forgive me for reference to a ‘foreign game’ but England around 1966 had a similar situation in choosing between Gordon Banks and Peter Bonetti. Banks got the nod not because he was the best shot stopper but had greater game reading skills. The photo of Banks saving a Pele shot against Brazil in the semi final(I think) is iconic.
The kick out is about the goalkeeper and the receiver and having a strategy in place. We had a strategy in place for Donegal in that we went long. Aidan and Seamus went to the sideline and Jason god bless him picked a lot of ball up on the forty. Robbie’s long kick out suited this strategy. But at least we confronted the problem and came up with a solution.
Dublin are very good at scoring goals. David is better suited for Dublin as he can see where the threat is coming from. How often have you seen him come off his line and saved certain goals. The one on one with Bernard Brogan in the semi final (was it ’14 ) comes to mind.
This debate would not occur unless we had two fantastic goalies. Whatever the decision the best of luck to him.
Willie Joe you deserve a Celtic cross yourself, for patience and tolerance. Don’t know how you do it, dealing with issues that are debated to death many times over, when the only person that really knows the strengths and weaknesses of the team, is going to make the decisions anyway, We should be getting right behind James Horan and the team, whoever he selects, they are fantastic warriors, all the bad luck with injuries, and the hectic schedule, didn’t stop them, and it won’t stop them now either. Saturday is tough, but doable, with a bit of luck.
Replying to “our time has come”: Not being argumentative, just information and context.
James McCarthy of Dublin had a knee scare a few weeks ago. That match was on Sun 23 June I think.
Had his scan or assessment Tues 25th and results were published on the Wed 26 June.
https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/relief-for-dublin-as-scan-reveals-no-longterm-damage-to-james-mccarthy-after-knee-injury-38254096.html
Jason’s injury was on a Saturday. Hence, if the schedule re scans and swelling was the same, I’d expect to see scan on Monday, result on Tuesday. Today is Wednesday, no result published yet…
All injuries are individual, we can’t assume identical schedules, etc. etc.
Anyways, maybe no news is good news – either way, best wishes to Jason and thanks a million for every dirty ball won, every tackle, every score taken and every opposition attack snuffed out. Looking forward to first chance to cheer him back on the field for Mayo.