Photo: The 42
There I was saying there was nothing in the way of news and along comes Colm Gannon in the Mayo Advertiser with a great, detailed informative piece with Noel Connelly about the team, Barry Solan and more – here.
I’m rushing out the door now but the short version is that Diarmuid O’Connor is our only doubt for Hyde Park and Noel reckons he’ll be okay. So, for the first time I can remember in recent years, it looks like we won’t have a single player unavailable through injury when the team is picked. That’s a great position to be in.
The other bit worth pointing to from that piece is the confirmation from Noel that Barry Solan will stay involved with the backroom team not only for the remainder of the championship but well into the future too. So Barry is a Gooner won’t mean Barry is a goner, which is great news.
And the sun is shining … and I’ve a meeting in town I need to dash off to now.
Pick the team based on the fact that we have a full squad ??
Great news lads.Proud to be a mayo man
Thats great news to hear. There will be serious competition to even get into the 26 man match day squad, never mind the first 15! Roll on the game….
Jesus, they’ll be hammering into one another tonight in Bekan. With only 4/5 nailed on starters, there’s going to be some dog fight for the remaining jerseys. This is what we’ve always wanted and needed in the county, genuine competition for nearly every spot on the field. Credit to the medical and S&C teams for having everyone in peak condition and ready for action. The future looks bright……
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Hmmm, Diarmuid O’Connor a big doubt I would say, and Cillian’s knee is obviously still ‘at him’.
And Mayo don’t like the Hyde: “We’d have preferred here , we’d have had no problems with that … The venue’s picked, it wasn’t our choice … we move on. It wouldn’t be our first choice.”
I saw black cat yesterday is that a good omen for Sunday week that Leinster final won’t be much viewing. Dublin by ten I suppose
Catcol, we haven’t had that many defeats in the Hyde in my time anyway , 01 x 2, 94 and 91 . I’d say we’ve won more than we’ve lost in the last 30 years at the Hyde. 11,12, 14 wins in horans era alone.
Very few vintage performances by Mayo in the Hyde though, the last meeting their against Sligo was what 0-12 to 0-10? So i think Mayo are due a good performance their and with a fully fit panel will probably produce it.
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Fair play to ya Ceideboy.
*needs that meme with the popcorn and wacko*
Well Said Ceideboy, them 2 lads have allireland medals in their back pockets all be it at u 21 level which are in short supply in Mayo, True Grit cop your self on.
Don’t feed the troll lads.
I think this Connaught final is more important than the the last 3.That’s my opinion anyway. The best all round performance I have seen this team was against Donegal in 13 in quarters.That is the level we need to be at to have any thoughts of an AIF this year. Are the lads good enough to get to that level? Without a doubt they are. Whether we see that is another question. It takes serious mental and physical endurance to get yourself to that level .Last few years have to have knocked it out of them. Before Andy Murray won Wimbledon a few years back I used to compare him to Mayo in that he had be unsuccessful for so long but he kept coming back. It takes a huge mental toughness and grit,belief and want. That is what it will take to bring Sammy home lads.
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Okay, in true GAA ref style that’s a yellow for both of you, True Grit and Ceideboy. You’re both commenting on here long enough to know what’s acceptable and what isn’t so knock it off. We really do need a match at this stage to concentrate minds on what matters!
Liam – you were third man into that ruck so it’s yellow for you too. No need to be casting aspersions at others in that way.
I agree with you Liam.some of the blogs posted here are outrageous.Why cant we all get behind County Board. Management and players.We all have the same aim that is to win Sam. Noel and Pat have been appointed to do a job.Let them do it.I have said it before and I will say it again 5 in row would be a great start to the promised land.
I don’t post much but read all the time and know the holy grail Sam I have the unfortunate life experience of being a mayo boarder in jarlaths college tuam where Mayo underage football was the classiest but after us breaking through in Connaught to get to finals in 96 and 97 the untalented maroon win 2 all Ireland’s. It’s deveasting but that’s Mayo. This team will win an all Ireland and just defend like animals and it a given we always score enough sorry to have to say this but brolly is spot on. Shit defending wins fuck all.
Sorry willie joe,
True Sean Burke, the record is good, but they still don’t like it. Yes WTF about venues, maybe we are letting it get to us, but Connelly’s (abbreviated) comments keep harping on it!
I don’t think that the game against Sligo will be pretty. It really is just a 70 minutes that we want to get out of the way and secure our passage back to Croke Park. The venue, the seating arrangements, the toilet facilities etc. doesn’t matter, at the end of the day we just want to win this game. At this stage you would say also that the drive for five doesn’t really matter a whole lot in the grand scheme of things and I don’t think you’ll hear any of the players talking about it either. Sligo will fight with their lives and we need to be prepared for that. Just get in, and out, move on and remember that the 70 minutes of the game itself are what counts on the 19th.
I am going against the grain but I honestly think we have less chance this year of making final than in any other yearof the last 3. We will make quarters and I would be surprised beyond this. Why?
I dont think Mayo have adapted defensively and I think Mayo forwards may not have the same thrust now.We have not found new players and our team is unsettled with regard to midfield. I also think Cillian is so prone to injury (not his fault) that we will be lucky to have him at his best for full year.
Now before you all go mad I hope I am wrong and I will follow them as I always did.I just hope our chance has not gone.
There is a connacht final to come but I think the chasing pack are getting closer and the top two further away.
We will see.
Apologies WJ,
Just get frustrated at the amount of negativity from some posters, usually the same few.
I believe we will win the all Ireland this year. Sligo to be defeated with relative ease, Beat Kerry in the quarters, Dublin in semi and Donegal in the final. Winning back to back all Ireland’s is where we can claim to be the best of this mini era of dub/Kerry/Donegal and ourselves . The three in a row will be beyond us, unless we can unearth some talent next year and break them in for an assault on the 3 in a row in 2017.
I really can’t look beyond that at this stage .
Sean
You have put me in good form for the day maybe even the week! Fair play.Bet you have a good few bob on Westmeath too!
Sean Burke. Sean I think you are mad. You should have pushed the boat, out and gone for the 4 in a row. Now I am really disappointed in you. Westmeath are at 20 ies. in a 2 horse race. now that is madness.
My Apologies W.J. The County Board and Management know the rules. I,ve witnessed a club supporter going into a club league match and she produced a Cairde pass. The collector at the gate gave her a lecture on the usage of this pass. This same gentleman sits high up on the County Board’s list. This young lady had no money on her person and a supporter gave her the €5. It then makes me angry when a week or two later the County Board and management are fined €2000. The (TWO MANAGERS) and Board know the rules. They now should be able to disclose the team as per rules and save us another fine. Clubs are struggling to pay their levies and then to see them wasted in fines.
Ceideboy, Liam – no worries, I know where you’re coming from. I’m not a great believer in constant negativity myself either. I’m just trying to keep the personal stuff out of the debate, thanks for your understanding.
You are barking mad, Sean – sure doesn’t everyone know there’s no way we can face Kerry in the quarters this year? Apart from that, what you’re predicting sounds sensible and measured!
Sean Burke … What in the name of God have u being drinking
My mistake , I thought we could if they lose the Munster final , it’s Ulster losers though isn’t it , that’s that whole three year plan out the window.
Mayo are in their 5th Connacht final in a row. When was the last time Mayo challenged 5 in a row, if ever?
Not only have we challenged for one, Mick, we’ve won one before: 1906 to 1910. Okay, there’s some dispute over the 1910 one (and the official record doesn’t have us listed as Connacht champs that year) but the research I’ve done, which Sean Rice in the Mayo News agrees with, strongly points to there being an error in the official record for that year and that it should be credited to us. Aside from anything else that should mean that another Connacht win this year should then provide a strong incentive for us to go on and truly make history with a six-in-a-row next year!
Sean The 3 year plan was the real issue. It should have been a 4 year plan and you are sorted again. Build your castles high and never mind the begrudgers.
What’s the dispute as a matter of interest? Hoganstand county profile has us down for 06-10, I know that’s hardly great source but they must of sourced it somewhere .
Connacht gaa website says Galway, Wikipedia has Mayo . And Kerry never showed for the final because the trains wouldn’t reduce the fares for their fans, funny aul year that.
Some here dont really like TrueGrit, thats fine, but he has a great point about the 2000 euro fine, who the heck are they to throw away money like that in an economy like this?
name the team on time and keep the money in the bank.
Hello, Galway were also fined 2000.Maybe we will get Dummy Team now? It might be worth givkng. AIDO AND CILLIAN a 1st half break.
What’s the story with those fines? The Dubs always release their team late on Friday. I have never heard of them getting a fine. Also this weekend a number of teams only released their teams yesterday, even some who were playing today. Was it the Connacht council who fined us?
Thanks for that WJ. There seems to be a few different conflicting reports alright. I had thought that this was our first 5 in a row. History to be made, hopefully we’ll be going for 6 next year!
Sean – the piece I did on the destination of Connacht titles in the period 1902 to 1910 is here. As you’ll see from the piece, I think that we won 1910 but not 1902 (which the official records credit us with). Swapping who won what in those two years (with Galway getting 1902 and us 1910) wouldn’t make any difference to the overall number of provincial titles that each of us are credited with (us 45, them 44) but us getting 1910 also gives us five-in-a-row from 1906-10, which I guess is the only reason we’re discussing it now.
I was wondering the same thing, HopeSpringsEternal – you’re right that Dublin never announce their team until the Friday before they play (not that repeated two grand fines would trouble them, given the enormous wads of money they have) and plenty of other counties are slow enough naming theirs too. I think I read somewhere that the fine imposed on ourselves and Galway was by the Connacht Council but I thought the edict to publish teams by Thursday came from Congress and so would apply to all. Also, it wouldn’t just be up to Noel and Pat to sort out when and how the teamsheet is released, though obviously they’d have the biggest shout in this.
Hate arriving in here after all the good stuff has been deleted 😉
If there’s one thing that drives me insane about the championship, it’s all the blasted waiting around. I know this gap was a (relatively) short one and in terms of injuries, of course it works in our favour but it’s still felt like about six months. Maybe I need to get out more …
Then again, being around home again and listening to talk about the team and management is nice in one way but would drive you daft in others, especially listening to people harping on about the McStay and the management selection process and us now in the middle of July. This is our lot for now, so why is it so hard to just get behind this team? After four years, is it so unreasonable to suggest that they deserve our support now more than ever?
Sean Burke, I like your style!
Yeah WJ, it’s a hard one to figure out alright, you’d think there should be the same rule for all teams but with the GAA you just never know!
Just seen the results of today’s games, tipp will do damage before they’re stopped I think. They’ll probably make the quarters and are on side I hope we avoid.
Just did a list of our players that have had injury issues over the last couple of years. Not surprised really as amateurs they are used virtually 12 months a year from FBD, Sigerson, League, club etc. They train and live the life of a professional without the rest/recovery.
Clarke, Barrett, Cunniffe, McHale, Vaughan, Big Barry, Gibbons, Andy, Dillon, Carolan, Regan, COC, Conroy. Niggles to others. Not easy for them.
Spot on Sean and sure we will be fine for the 3 in a row Pearse Hanley will be back by then ????
I think this year weel make the quarters and it depends on the draw after that. In fairness it’s hard to expect the same bunch to continuously get to AIF’s every year. TheyV a lot of mileage. We needed to add a few players this year and I’m told there not in it. I’d be happy with a Connaught title this year. Mayo forever.
Clonee,
You can’t be happy with a Connaught! We won the last 4 of the damn things. I hope you’re alone in that expectation.
Connaught is as good as fbd at this stage! Die dog or shite the licence now!!!
Have we ever had so few injuries going into an important match?, credit to medical team.
Tyrone still scrapping through with Kildare the only Leinster team that won today. Great to see Meath gone they are reaping their reward for bad sportmanship in 2010.
Was on the legend tour in Croke Park today with Sean Boylan and Paddy Cullen, great stories and rapore between them.
Will be very interesting to see how Galway and the Rossies get on tomorrow.
I’d expect both Roscommon and Galway to win, Galway might have the stiffer challenge goin by the reports on the Armagh v Dublin challenge they sound pumped but they were very poor v Donegal . I hope Galway don’t try to mix it , i think it would be in their interest to play ball and let the Armagh bucks scalp away and get the cards if they wish . Galway have the footballers to do damage to that Armagh defence .
Hopefully Mayo will win on Sunday week and cillian score a few goals tipp had great win against Louth are tipp the team to watch every one reaving on about the Rossie
Its interesting to note that as of tonight, we are at the half-way stage of the championship with 16 teams left. 17 are gone (including New York). All of the teams who were in Division 1 this year are still left. All of the Division 4 teams are now gone after Longford lost to Kildare this evening. The top 4 Division 3 teams are still there, with Fermanagh and Armagh in action tomorrow again Roscommon and Galway. There are also 4 Division 2 teams left. Down, Meath, Cavan and Laois are the highest ranked teams to fall so far. Its all to play for. Things are starting to get serious now!
Fair enough Dave