There was a County Board meeting on tonight, with a few issues of interest down for discussion. It’s usually after the event before details of what gets debated at County Board meetings are clarified but a stream of tweets from @MayoGAA kept the wider world informed about what was going on this evening.
While all the talk on street corners the last while has been about the management of the senior team, it was the managerial positions at minor and U21 levels for the coming year that were debated at tonight’s meeting.
The U21 selection process took an interesting twist with the announcement that former senior (and U21) manager John Maughan had joined Michael Solan and Anthony McGarry on the shortlist for the job. All three candidates will, I guess, now go forward for interview for the position.
On the minor manager job, Enda Gilvarry let it be known that he was interested in continuing in the role and, following a discussion on whether or not he should be reappointed or if alternative nominations for the post should be sought, the meeting decided that Enda should once again be ratified in the role for 2016. His backroom team for next year will comprise Pat Kelly (Kilmaine), Brian McLoughlin (Burrishoole), Daniel Forde (Ballycastle) and Damien Gavin (Swinford).
There was also some debate at the meeting about the allocation of tickets for the semi-final but that issue is well below my boredom threshold right now. We didn’t get enough or didn’t get them soon enough. Or they weren’t the right colour. Or something like that.
And Aido’s tweet? I can’t shed any light on that one either – cryptic clue-decoding was never a strong suit of mine, I’m afraid.
Disappointing that delegates voted against club nominations for Minor management position. There was at least one alternative management team that deserved a interview as it contained some serious talent. Gilvary may have still been the best candidate for the job but we’ll never know about the others now…..
[Deleted].
Regardless of what happened I am not impressed with Aidan o Shea’s tweet.
Yeah although Keegan’s messo hit the right note for me, modern high sped communication has its pitfalls and could be easy to say the wrong thing. Players get caught up in Facebook and Twitter like the rest of society but it’s a bit risky given the sensitivity of us blogger types, each statement goes under the microscope.
Anybody able to shed light on the managerial credentials of Anthony McGarry and Michael Solan?
Well Maughan has really thrown the cat among the pigeons there. Michael Solan was expected to be pushed over the line for the under 21 job and now there is a decision to be made.
As for the senior job many here are saying a player’s coup should not happen. I agree that a coup is never bad. However these go on a lot more than we ever hear about but are done behind the scenes.
It’s damage limitation now. Everyone has their pride and there is nothing to stop Noel and Pat toughing it out for the next year. They will have the backing of Noels’ brother and his colleagues. They have never won the confidence of the players. The dogs on the street knew of the issues going back to last January. They were pushed aside and the players were able to work with a strong backroom team but with Buckley and Solan gone there is nothing there. A real case of piggybacking the previous management with a view to trying to sneak an All Ireland.
When they never seemed to have the confidence of the players is that going to change now? It’s all over for them.
They should be old enough and wise enough and have the best interest of Mayo football to the front of the minds. Do the right thing lads and do not drag it out. Sometimes you have to walk away.
Unless we won Sam this issue was going to come to the forefront. We have a fantastic group of players with huge ability. The question is not well who will come in. Anybody coming in will have a better chance because there is no buy-in to the current setup. The players are owed a quality and professional management set-up. That is the minimum that any Mayo team are entitled to now.
If the two lads don’t walk I don’t know if the players will speak up but I do know that the senior players will not be playing football for Mayo next year if they are there.
Anthony Mcgarry spend time with ballintubber and Ballina as manager i believe. maybe someone involved with those clubs could commment but i don’t think those times are reagrded as a great success.
Interesting to hear of players coup, always strikes me as a bit arrogant in a sense. The cork hurlers tried it but they had won all irelands and were the only team fit for kilkenny so they had objective evidence for their reasoning. What’s prompted this from our boys, tactical ineptitude ? well we have seen this before and there was no blood letting.
The definition of insanity is repeating the same thing and expecting a different result, maybe he new management decided they needed to change things to get a different result and this has noses out of joint.Did all 30+ players script the email or was it a selection of the senior players. Exciting times ahead…let the PR battle commence
Might be wrong but don’t think Aidan’s comments have anything to do with senior mgt. I assume it’s about the minor job and someone who didn’t get it.
I was a great fan of EG and his management team on the minor scene until the minor game in Castlebar. I am aware this is 17 year olds we are dealing with and anything can turn up on the day. The withdrawal of all of the backroom team shortly afterwards would indicate to me that the focus on what is best for Mayo Minor football was absent this year.This unsavory stuff from what was seeminly a successful management team previously. Enda has a big year COMING in 2016 IMO
done deal – I think you may be correct there. Either way making your grievances public like that is plain stupid. That tweet is all over social media now and no doubt after the media coverage has died down on the Final, the national media will be all over Mayo like a rash.
Behind closed doors is the place to air your grievances.
I don’t like this at all. I’m confused – if there is a player revolt or if there’s going to be one, who are they revolting against? Is it the county board or the joint managers?
We all know that the county board appointment last year was a gigantic cock-up. But was there anything glaringly wrong done all year by Connelly and Holmes for the players not to buy into them or to be calling for their heads? I don’t think so. We didn’t win either match against Dublin due to very small margins and I firmly believe blame like this can’t solely be laid against the managers. And the Galway, Sligo and Donegal wins could not have been more emphatic.
I think we all know that they were never going to click like they did with Horan, but surely this isn’t a reason that they should now leave.
There has to genuine reason for player unrest, whatever the sport. It await eagerly to see how this plays out.
Kyle – that was a personal accusation against a named individual, which isn’t allowed here. I’m going to have to put you on moderation watch after that as you clearly can’t be trusted to stick to the rules.
Anthony McGarry won all (league & championship) with Ballintubber when he was with them, would consider that success Santanico Pandemonium says!
I have always been a JM fan. Our great days out in Croker and Salthill over the past few years will stand as a monument to his vison and achievements in the late nintees. Mayo football and Mayo teams were a different entity prior to his taking the senior job in 1995. We beat Galway in Tuam on a Championship day. Not a big thing anymore but it was huge back then. Mayo football came of age under his management. We became tougher and more competitive as a result. I don’t understand the timing of his decision but I would be fully supportive of it.
I would also add, those still harping back to the appointment of Noel and Pat….were there not talk the players didn’t want MacHale which came with McStay ticket so we could have been here either way. If indeed the lads have lost the dressing room then they should step aside but as I say, who out there is better (and available) and what happens if we don’t win Sam next year?
Anthony mcgarry has applied for various Mayo jobs before. I’d like to see him given a shot because of his enthusiasm . I know nothing about Solen. The name of John Maughan is most significant . A bit like Jack O Conner in Kerry, both men with heavy CVs resurrecting themselves with under age teams again. Maughan is still young with a strong CV. I assume he’s a shoo in for the job.
Indeed he might be coming at an opportune time . The board may decide to use his record of 3 senior AIFs in a capacity to assist the incumbents especially if Buckley and Barry Solen are gone. Interesting intrigue ahead.
Logic, he won with a team which had established itself already using the many of the same backroom team. Why was he only one year there then ? What happended in Ballina….he was run out iof the place and david brady put in place to for the last few leagie games to try to keep them from being relegated.
Has Twitter and Facebook become the normalised channels of public communication for Mayo GAA. Jimmy winning matches had a great solution for unsolicited commentary from the Donegal team a few years ago. Is not time we set some ground rules on this behavour. No player is bigger than the team or Mayo football, and social media is not the correct forum. There is no I in team. I am going off to check all the social media channels to find out how Kerry will setup against Dublin on Sunday
Logic & John Cuffe, the general feeling in Ballintubber was that those wins came in spite of McGarry, not because of him.
And he didn’t last long with Ballina either – I think it would be a terrible appointment.
I don’t know anything about Solan but if he’s anything like his brother he could be the type of modern forward-thinking manager we need. If not, then Maughan would be a good appointment, no problems there.
For all the bluster about Maughan’s apparant fondness for himself (Tiernan talks reference) he is still willing to make a contribtion where he can to Mayo football. I know many didnt approve of his tough love/army methods but in todays setting this would be quickly forgotten as players mentality are hardened with the aspects of training now required.
Cillian o connor and keith Higgins are the player representatives at the county board. I assume they were nominated for the role by their team mates. I would have thought all issues should be addressed through them.
I would think those U21 lads need someone fresh, forward thinking and young. So for me Michael Solan is the best candidate. Quite obviously he would have plenty input from his brother being able to talk to him direct day to day.
Just alone the fact that so many of these lads have returned from injury they need a young manager who will be applying 2016 best practice on the fitness side. Which would be Michael Solan hands down. There are a whole load of hip injuries just recovered this year in these players so the very last thing they need is intense traditional method training with sprints, running, slogging sessions. The Body is like a machine only has so many sprints in it per month. Skills work and keeping them injury free and fresh would be the obvious objective.
Not sure on Maughan, he will definitely have his teams well trained but the goalposts have moved a lot since his times in terms of sports science and not sure he’ll unearth the forward talent we want coming into seniors.
That is why McStay is popular at all levels, a positive thinker and very good analyst of the game. Of all the analysts he seems to have a very good idea what teams are up to. Question is are the candidates other than Maughan good in these departments. And what has Maughan learned with all his experience? If he has added extra technical savvy of the modern game he would be a good appointment. Not just about running lads until they puke. So the backroom team S&C etc. is important. Also important is avoiding injuries like recent minors. Some of the likely lads to participate are returning from those injuries so the sports science needs to be good. Guessing he’ll probably jump to favorite for the job.
WJ.. we were beaten by 20 points and the manager is re-instated and people are wondering what the problems are in mayo football
Kyle – I’ve no problem with you making a point like that, the earlier one was well out of order though.
Sound WJ.. Sorry. Done Deal too for Mcstay and McHale taking over the rossies.. heard it from a very reliable source
I’m just wondering how did John Maughan get a nomination for this position. The closing date was a number of weeks ago and there was no mention of his name then. Is this a case of the County Board bending their rules again to suit themselves.
Hopefully Maughan gets it!
Tubberman & Santanico Pandemonium, Ballintubber won nothing the following year so your argument does not hold water. If its a result orientated business and I believe it is McGarry has a good record! Don’t know Solan but was he not part of the out going management team who were a failure? I heard that JM put his name forward for the Minor job last night which was not successful and then applied for the U-21 job at the last minute. Did he not have a son playing for the minors last year? Maybe that’s now his motivation?
While all this Management debate is raging on, Kerry and Dublin are quietly preparing for an All Ireland Final on Sunday. How different things would have been, had we driven on in those last few minutes of the first match. Dublin were on the rack, they were there for the taking, and we failed to cease the moment.
Despite all that, this is a final worth watching, who will win is anybody’s guess, but the tactical battle between both managers will be intriguing to watch. My money is on the Dubs, but it should be a cracker.
Some of the chickens of last year going on on the county board are more coming home to roost. County chairman is the Mayo manager’s brother. Look it was always going to give the IMPRESSION of a lack of impartiality. There is nothing in itself wrong with that, but it is impossible for the Mayo public to have confidence. What we’re sure not to get is unanimity. Surely the Mayo players, mentors, sponsor’s and supporters need to know where we are heading in the future. It will take some time to sort this all out. In my opinion the county board and its chairman must be able to see that their is a perception of a conflict of interest on anything to with the retention of the current management put otherwise. I don’t know what will happen, maybe the current setup will continue. Hard to see that being a success now. Maybe the county board will fall on its sword. That would be highly unlikely. But either way we must learn for the future in Mayo that the way things were handled last year from the appointment of manager’s to the appointment of chairman of the county board has to SEEN to be totally above board. I would ask anyone going to any club matches in the coming weekend’s not to verbally abuse any players Mayo or otherwise. Likewise any members of the county board or management that may be attending are also entitled to view the matchs without hassle. I witnessed abuse from the stands at times of unrest in Mayo before by so called fans and that is so unedifying.No 2 people in this world have the exact same views but because their views do not exactly mirrors mine or anyone else’s does not mean they’re not equally valid!
Thanks Logic for that info. Ah it does really show that the County Board are making it up as they go along, according to what you said:
John Maughan put his name forward for the Minor job last night which was not successful and then applied for the U-21 job at the last minute.
You hate having to keep bringing up how they do their business in Kerry but a no. of months ago Jack O’Connor was ratified as their U21 manager for the 2016 season having been manager of their minor team last year and this year. Compare this to how we conducted our business last night and then we wonder why we can’t win All-Ireland titles. To be honest lots of people call us chokers and bottlers etc. but when you think of it, a lot of the time we probably punch above our weight based on the players that we have and the structures that we have in place.
Kyle, reading between the lines get your feeling regarding the minor appointment but I would be more concerns about the amount of hip injuries minor players are getting. Its really concerning
What a shambles. The most disturbing news is the likely loss of Buckley and Solan. The players deserve so much better and looks like we are going to let this magnificent bunch of players down again due to incompetent County Board. When are we going to learn? Meanwhile Kerry and Dublin march on!!
How ironic that as soon as we hear of unrest in the senior camp, John M’s name surfaces as a contender for the under 21 job! Watch this space 🙂
Whats disturbing about the loss of Solan, he’s going to work for Arsenal football club, what do you suggest could have been done to hold him in an amateur status while a top end professional opportunity arises ? The man has ambitions i’m sure and also bills to pay. It’s incompetent to think he’d pass that up
Strategic review of all levels of mayo football needed simple as that and it will have long term benefits.the mess that is going on at minute is down to lack of structures at all levels within county!
WJ – Any thoughts that you (and this website) may get a rest in the off season will have to be shelfed. Lets hope this is all sorted sooner rather than later. I hope we are not returning to the bad old days.
I wonder would it be possible for a representative of the supporters possibly someone from club 51 to sit in on county board meetings and air the view and concerns of real supporters?
I know the county board would try and counter act this by saying air your views and concerns through your club!
Where is all this stuff about Solan and Buckley leaving coming from? Is is fact?
According to The Mayo News, H & C are confident both are staying on…
It’s sad to see what is happening in Mayo football at the moment I don’t think some key players will play for Mayo if the current management stays in place if a vacancy for a senior manager does arise it must be handled properly and the shambles that surrounded the current management appointment must not be allowed happen again.
[Deleted].
@HSE
John Maughan did not put his name forward for minor manager last night, no one put their names forward. A motion to ratify Enda Gilvary was narrowly carried by the delegates. This in effect stopped clubs from putting forward nominations for the post and no one was allowed put their prospective management teams to the CB for consideration. While this may seem like democracy at work, it was in reality carefully orchestrated by the executive to ensure that the public were not made aware of an alternative to the incumbent manager who had finished his initial 2 year term.
As I said in my first post, Enda Gilvary may well be the best man for the job and having delivered us a national title probably deserves another term, however, the manner of the appointment once again leaves the executive looking incompetent at best and downright deceitful at worst.
John maughan was involved in a successful achill team last summer, i’d say there is plenty life in him yet !
The U-21s are vital as a feeder into the senior team and if Maughan is appointed then it would be no harm including the other candidates in some capacity.
A Connacht win must be an absolute minimum requirement from our U21s for the next 2 years given how the repesctive minor teams did.
two successful U21 campagins could set our seniors up for years just as our current team was set up by the 2006 win and the 96/97 Era was set up by successful U21 teams.
Massive decision to be made , massive year ahead at this level !
Solan promised N and P that he will stay with them until they finish , I see no reason for him to go back on that unless Arsenal pull the plug.
As for Buckley we will have to lose him sometime or else promote him, that’s how it works.
From the Mayo News – I hour ago, Daniel Carey reporting:
“DONIE Buckley looks set to remain as Mayo senior football team coach for 2016.
Chairman Mike Connelly told Wednesday’s meeting of Mayo GAA Board that team managers Pat Holmes and Noel Connelly ‘don’t foresee any change to the back-room team’ for next year, which suggests the Ennis-based coach will be staying on in his position”.
Not conclusive, not 100%, but sounds very promising.
Carey further reports that: “The chairman reiterated that everybody involved – players, management, back-room team and County Board – is ‘going to have to look at how to do better’ in 2016.
The update came in the course of Connelly’s Executive report, which prompted no questions from delegates”.
Why are posters continuing to use the site to advance personal vendettas against the current management, when there is no EVIDENCE, of unhappiness?
I know for a fact the players are unhappy with management duo ?
What not promote buckley to Manager ???
Let him bring in his team
pj2 – where is the EVIDENCE of this fact?
Can you produce quoted material from someone prepared to go public?
Some people just like to stir it up it seems. Of course when you’re hiding behind a pseudonym you can post what you like. Sure no one knows who you are. Its likely some on here are not even from Mayo but just here to add fuel to the fire.
Too many people running with and making up rumour just to stir it up that’s the reason
It’s fairly obvious that there a rift between certain players and management and if it not sorted it may make the managers positions untenable.
However the managers are only human to and should in no way be given abuse of any form.they try there best for mayo football and won an all Ireland under 21.sometimes things just don’t go to plan.supporters can be like the English media and do a witch hunt on managers and players when things go wrong.i seen the banter page had a post up of them as clowns the only clowns are certain admins on the banter page that put these up.
A certain tweet shouldn’t went out either last night.i just hope that everything can be sorted in a dignified way for Mayo football.if we need a new management team so be it and if we don’t get behind the team we have in place.
What is all the love for Buckley about? Has he not had enough opportunity too?
The players will not play for the management and so they are doomed to failure.
Buckley has already said he is not staying. The Chairman has a conflict. He hasn’t said that he is staying and is buying time in the hope that this will go away. He has been doing this since his stupid quotes in the Mayo News last week.
Another point I like to make is if we don’t get our house in order at underage we will lose players to other codes.
The fai are finally putting there house in order and have set up a national under 17 and under 19 leagues and it a requirement of all league clubs to have teams at these levels.so the likes of Sligo rivers and Galway United and Longford town will be looking to counties like mayo for young talent to play for them.gary Boylan a minor 2 year ago is currently on there ist team and fair play to him.he doing well and a few teams across the water have looked at him to.we lost cause Hanley to but not a lot you can do about that but if you are loosing 16 17 and 18 year olds to other sports it doesn’t go well for the long term future of Mayo football.
We have passionate people with great knowledge to put proper structures in place and I hope this really happens.we not going to be at a level to win an all Ireland every year but with proper structures we can challenge every 5 or so years.
can people calm down, seems lately a breeze is a full scale hurricane!! I am in no doubt both management and players are not happy with how we exited the competition, and in the haze under the croke park dressing rooms, choice words were exchanged. Aiden most definitely didn’t endear himself to me last night putting that gobsmackingly stupid tweet out in the public domain for the national media, and mostly our fanatical supporters who have taken this as a battle cry for a rebellion! if the rumours are true then things have an eventuality about them, we all know what that is……..
but on the chance its being blown out of proportion, lets let the players and management sort this out behind closed doors like adults.
WJ,
As one who posted a couple of weeks ago that some of our golden generation will slip away into the night without crowning their efforts and their talents with the holy grail (like many of their illustrious predecessors of yesteryear) this latest Mayo debacle/uncertainty/disunity gives me no pleasure whatsoever. Time nor tide wait for no man and all that. At the risk of repeating myself I feel that Kevin McStay and his package will loom large over the Connacht Championship 2016. Which sideline Kevin patrols is also a consideration.
However, more heat than light is now being generated by speculation, gossip and innuendo by people who are hiding behind pseudonyms, myself included. As someone has already pointed out such contributors may not even have our interests at heart. Maybe quite the contrary.
I feel, that while all who spend time, money and raw emotion supporting Mayo, are entitled to their opinion and the freedom to express it, it would be wise at this juncture if we were to cool it a little, stand back and wait for accurate information and solid facts to emerge.
Thanks Liam for that info. Yeah its just very frustrating alright trying to figure out how these appointments are handled. The U21 manager nominations sums this up, we were told a few weeks ago that there were only two nominations for the job, then last night it emerges that there is a third person up for this job as well. In fairness to John Maughan he probably is the best candidate in the race and could be referred to as the man who put ambition back into Mayo football but again the way it was handled is not right. If he was nominated before the deadline then that would be the right thing to do. Its all of the not knowing about the procedures governing these positions thats the annoying part and the bending of the rules in relation to these appointments. You would think that we need to have someone like a director of football appointed to oversee all GAA aspects in the County like: management appointments, coaching appointments, S&C appointments, medical personal appointments, setting-up underage structures, development squads monitoring etc. You’d really get sick of the way the County Board are carrying on.
I agree 100% with those sentiments, Sourceoftherobe. As I said yesterday, nature abhors a vacuum and, in the absence of any hard information about what’s happening, all manner of speculation is filling the gap. The sooner come real information starts to emerge on all this, the better.
Kyle – that’s just more hearsay. If you want to propagate this kind of stuff, please do it somewhere else.
Jesus .. Sorry WJ..
No worries, Kyle – just please give a bit more thought to what you’re posting, particularly where you’re mentioning specific people.
Just wish horan could get involved with underage structures. He has a great eye for future talent and can get the most out of players in a professional way.just look how he transformed Aidan Oshea.plus players have great respect for him.county board should use his talents in someway.any other county would jump at the chance.maybe Aidan is as just as frustrated as us.we should have put measures in place years ago not just wait till things go belly up.the talent in under age is definitely there,just get the right people and structures in place.somebody in charge needs to step up and make changes soon I mean now.
There’s no doubt James Horan will be back. he gave 4 tough years, let him enjoy the media and make a few quid , I am sure we will see the second coming at some stage.
I would also like to see Liam Mchale return to the fold as well, it would be great to see him help out in some capacity at underage level.
There is one bright side to our loss to Dublin, we can’t lose this final!!!
Anyway, I don’t know the inner workings of our senior set up but if there are too many players unhappy, then, we have a problem. This mightn’t be the case at all, maybe this rumour mill is in overdrive and creating smoke where there’s no fire? If all is even semi ok, we need to start planning how we can go about winning the national league for starters, even with a few new faces on the field. Actually we need them faces because some of the reliables are burnt out, and need a long break.
And if all is not well or cannot be made well, then it’s now and not in February that we need it sorted out. That will fall to the players who know if the management are up to the job or not. After all they have been in 5 semis in a row with 2 different managers and they do the grunt work in mud and rain. It needs to be right for all involved.
McHale has already said he will never ever be involved with a Mayo team again after the way he was treated last year. So that window is shut Roger.
Nominating and choosing coaches in Mayo football seems to have more than a touch of mystery about it. Anthony McGarry had one? successful? year with Ballintubber and one? disastrous year with Ballina. One wonders why, after a successful year with Ballintubber, was he not retained. Overall his record does not seem to inspire confidence in a county role. Michael Solan’s credentials seem to revolve around being part of the outgoing backroom team. Again I would expect more before getting the top job. We had two successful All Ireland winning managers at club level in recent times who I think never got a chance at any level in the county. OK,Tommy Boyle was part of a management team but never a manager at Co level. Thomas Jordan had to go to Sligo for a managerial chance and while that was not successful Sligo jobs rarely are.
We are told that we have a top medical system in place for our county teams. If that is so we cannot blame trainers and / or managers for injuries to players. Injuries happen in all sports, often for very innocuous reasons. [Ireland’s Henshaw out of this weeks rugby game having “pulled up in training” is an example]. If managers/trainers are not following medical advice they should be out the door as fast as a good kick in the arse can carry them.
And to the senior scene. I would be astonished if there were not disquiet in the camp over the manner of our exit to Dublin this year. I would have thought it a basic principle that you go after an opponents weak points and play to your own strong points in so far as possible. [It may not always be 100% possible to do both as they may on occasion be contradictory]. This year, however our management did neither. Dublin’s weak point was their short kickout strategy due to their weakness at midfield. But we allowed them implement their chosen tactic for 110 minutes out of 120 minutes football having turned over a 7 point deficit in the 10 minutes when we changed. We then exhausted ourselves trying to win back the ball we had so easily conceded to them. Our chosen attacking strategy was high ball into Aiden O’Shea at full forward but we failed utterly to give him any support when we sent the ball in. We expected him to win the ball and then score without any support. This repeated in the replay although we saw that it failed in the drawn game.What is the point of having a forward like Cillian O’Connor roving around the field in a semi defensive role? We never made any effort to change our tactics, even when it was obvious that they were not working. I would not blame Aiden for any tweet whatever after that. We had no backup midfielder in our 26 despite having one of the best in the country sitting idly by. So we wonder at MacCauley taking over at midfield when we had most of our midfielders sitting in the stand. And,as I asked before, what was the purpose of having only wing/corner forwards filling our non defensive subs slots? We were never going to need all of them regardless of what circumstances night arise.
I have every regard for what Pat and Noel have given to our county as players and managers but having seen this years championship through I do not want to see them back next year without a complete change of tactics – a football brain transplant.
Finally I predict a Kerry win on Sunday. They will not concede soft kickouts to Dublin as we did and while I consider their defence suspect they will not allow their defence come under the same pressure as we did.
Roger im not saying he puts all his time.maybe it would no harm to ask him what he can bring to the table.I just like the way he thinks and his approach to the game.he’s never negative about the sport or his county.
Here’s my preferred dream team to save the future of Mayo football:
Senior Manager: Joe Brolly
Selectors/Coaches: The Bees in that jar that belongs to Shane Curran
Fitness Coach: Rachel Wyse
U21 manager: Kevin McStay’s toenail
Minor Manager: Brian Cody
Count Board Chairman: Conor Mortimer & James Horan co-chair
Re Appointment of minor management last night, there are a few questions that hopefully someone can answer.
(1) When Enda Gilvary was first nominated what was his period of tenure?
(2) Was his stint of management to cease after 2015.
(3) If not then why did County Board ask clubs at last meeting to see if they had any other people in mind for 2016.
(4) At meeting last night a delegate asked that the clubs should be asked to propose any other people that may be willing to put their name forward, and then a proposal was put forward to nominate Enda Gilvary. The Chairman made a error in that he proceeded to go with the 2nd motion first and then went back to the first delagates motion, Is this reasonable.
(5) Just because Enda Gilvary still had his name for ratification and was not proposed or seconded by any club in writing and unless it was agreed at 2015 appointment ,he should have to re apply and also the same for every body else.
(6) If this ratification of Mr Gilvary goes through is it for the year 2016 and not byond .
It would be helpful if we could get a answer to above
True Grit,
good questions and it all points to a classic example of “jobs for the boys” following on from the never to be forgotten demonstration of “jobs for the boys” from this time last year. As long as we carry on like that there will be no Sam coming to Mayo just like the last 64 years. Next up will be the review of the management of the senior team by the brother of one of the management team. I rest my case.
Get Jim Mcguinness in there if we want to win the thing. Surely Celtic dont need him anyway to help them beat the likes of Partick Thistle etc for christ sake.
Failing that, get McStay (the peoples choice from 12 months ago).
Failing that get Horan back.
The shambles of 12 months ago is now coming home to roost.
I found browsing online there is a new indoor version of Gaelic football with a basketball type vertical hoop about a meter in diameter. Was watching the young players there some of them able to hit the 1 metre target from distance. Looks a top quality game for developing skills, could be easily put in our schools.
The players in this video certainly look above average in terms of skill.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96s2-jY-DXA
If you are forced to hit a 1 metre target it kind of forces you to be accurate and have good technique. Found the website with details on the overall scene of this. Great development especially for training in Winter time and with young players.
http://pella.ie/what-is-pella/
If you read through the rules you can see that it would be of great benefit for slower developing smaller players who wouldnt get on the ball as much in a traditional game.
Even after all these comments, I’m afraid we still don’t know anything and are none the wiser.
Was there anyone on this thread who attended the actual CB meeting?
Baffles as to why there is confusion over this.
Maybe instead of getting rid of management we should be getting rid of some senior players!!
Seriously it sounds like they want some guru to hold their hands all the way to the All Ireland. Players should do their talking on the pitch not on twitter
Aidan, I think you answered your own question there 😉
But it’s been suggested outside of this forum by more than one contributor that some sort of supporter representation or representative group within the GAA as a whole (entirely separate to club representation) would not be a bad thing.
No wonder Mayo don’t will All Irelands when you see how the ‘fans’ grow hot and cold by the game, off season is a drag in Mayo web-land
Deal with facts:
– No evidence of player revolt, a few silly tweets from a player that likes to post silly tweets and half of ye read between the lines and take the worst possible angle
– Buckley and Solan are considering positions – I think they should – Buckley is hailed as the brilliant guru behind anything good mayo have done over the last few years, when things go bad its the management
– Enda Gilvarry presided over a depressing loss this year alright, but he did bag an ALL IRELAND – fact. Maybe he base something others don’t
– And if the players have a problem with H&C, well they are the constant over the last 5 years…maybe they are the ones who should take the share of the responsibility too. I didn’t see Holmes or Connelly let Brogan slip along the sideline when he should be put into the canal end, they didn’t pop the ball into Cluxton when scores were on, they didn’t take an unnecessary black card, they didn’t kick a hesitant ball straight iut to two tall Dublin midfielders when we needed calm. Yeah, they didn’t cover themselves in glory, but others didn’t either.
– Finally, we were beaten by a better quality team, maybe mayo have to play at the max over 70min to beat such teams in order to make up those deficiencies, maybe thats too much to expect
– we will have to make changes to the personnel, maybe the players need to accept that
Yes Ann Marie I think I just did answers own question!!! Or just knowing the answer already!!!
I think it be a great idea that passionate supporters could have a small input to county board level suggest ideas ask the hard questions that some delegates are afraid to ask because they don’t want to jeopardise a so called future promotion to top table!!!
At the end of the day everyone should be pulling in the one direction and putting the horse in front of the cart!
As was made clearly evident last year when a survey was carried out to ascertain people’s willingness to become involved in the county board, over 50% of posters here are not involved in a club. This maybe for a myriad of reasons but not all can be due to geographical reasons (WJ being an example of being involved with a club in a different county and still a passionate Mayo supporter). The idea of a supporters organisation having input into a counties decisions is ridiculous and insulting to the people who give their time as club reps. Are you implying that they are not real supporters? Is there different grades of supporter? What constitutes a “passionate” supporter?
I know some might feel that county board meetings waste too much time on annoying stuff like club fixtures and coaching, however, without the clubs there would be no county.
If you want to have your say in the county, join a club, help out with the mundane day to day duties, put yourself forward for county rep and then you can have your say. The county board is far from perfect and badly needs young, enthusiastic and educated people involved, so you can continue to type away anonymously on a blog or put yourself forward.
Have to agree with Liam it all starts with the clubs which are the grassroots
Spot on Liam, and I say that as one of the anonymous keyboard warriors 😉
Yup Liam is right. If we have something to add se show do it at club level.
You would love for all of this to be clarified but it looks like lingering a while.
Of course club reps are supporters but some reps are afraid to stand out because if they go against the status quo it doesn’t look good for them when they go looking for a position on the board itself! Believe me politics exists in every county board in the country and it is not ridiculous that a representative of a supporters group should have a voice at a county board meeting!
When I mean passionate supporters I mean the people that go to fbd league games in the freezing cold and pissing rain in January these are people that also travel to every league game home and away all over the country these are the real passionate supporters.not sunshine supporters that turn up in croke park every August when the going is good !
Club delegates do a great job but I guarantee you a lot of club delegates would not attend half mayo games as what I call a passionate supporter does.club delegates are really active in there club have there own club interests at heart.
But sometimes delegates are like back benchers in the Dail! Afraid to speak out in case they get a slap on wrist!!!
So I do believe it would be a great idea to have a representative of a supporters group at county board meetings.its not everyone that has time to be involved in there club due to work or where they live but they travel all over following mayo with passion.
It happens in other codes that a representative of supporters group sit in on board meetings!
Kerry have named their team for Sunday:
The team, captained by David Moran is as follows:
1. Brendan Kealy Kilcummin
2. Fionn Fitzgerald Dr Crokes
3. Aidan O’Mahony Rathmore
4. Shane Enright Tarbert
5. Jonathan Lyne Killarney Legion
6. Peter Crowley Laune Rangers
7. Killian Young Renard
8. Anthony Maher Duagh
9. David Moran (C) Kerins O’Rahillys
10. Stephen O’Brien Kenmare
11. Johnny Buckley Dr Crokes
12. Donnchadh Walsh Cromane
13. Colm Cooper Dr Crokes
14. Paul Geaney Dingle
15. James O’Donoghue Killarney Legion
Fir Ionaid
16. Brian Kelly Killarney Legion
17. Kieran Donaghy Austin Stacks
18. Marc Ó Sé An Ghaeltacht
19. Paul Murphy Rathmore
20. Bryan Sheehan St Marys
21. Barry John Keane Kerins O’Rahillys
22. Darran O’Sullivan Glenbeigh-Glencar
23. Paul Galvin Finuge
24. Tommy Walsh Kerins O’Rahillys
25. Pa Kilkenny Glenbeigh/Glencar
26. Alan Fitzgerald Castlegregory
What club are you involved in willie Joe ?
It’s St Vincent’s up here in Dublin, Mayo51. My involvement is only a small one, with the juvenile group my son plays with.
@Jim Flag,
Whether ye want him or not McStay is going to be announced as our new manager next week, was supposed to be two weeks ago but was delayed until after all Ireland final and he finishes his commitments with RTE. I remain undecided about his appointment as to whether or not it is a good appointment.
Has anybody suggesting that a supporters club rep be involved at Co Board any idea of how this could be organised? As most supporters not involved with their clubs are probably based outside the county, many overseas, I’m afraid it is not a practical proposition. In addition to have a supporters club involvement would require a rule change by the association nationally. As somebody who has tried to get rules changed in the past I can say definitively that that is no easy task. I’m afraid many contributors on this site are pie in the sky merchants who have no idea of the practicalities of running either a club or a county board.
Incidentally, regards the reappointment of the minor manager, I understand from contributors on this site that clubs were asked at a previous CB meeting to nominate candidates for minor manager but did not do so. It was then a bit late trying to nominate a manager at the last meeting [who presumably would not have already given his consent to the nomination] so the Chairman was quite entitled to propose the reappointment of the outgoing manager. The alternative would have been to postpone the matter for another month when the issue was already delayed long enough.
Andyd just curious to which rules you were trying to get changed?
Just to clear up any confusion re above posts. My point wasn’t about supporters demanding a say in county board matters or selection of managers; rather, I meant within the GAA as a wider entity in terms of how they deal with supporters. More about that below.
I strongly feel that if you’re walking the walk at club level, which as Liam rightly says a significant proportion of us are not (myself included) then you have earned your seat at the table at county board level, and you have earned the right to have a say in things like managment decisions as opposed to Joe Soap walking in off the street and getting above his station; feeling he is entitled to his opinion because he’s been to a few games. From the outside looking in, it might appear frustrating at times, and I think the points Aidan makes are valid in terms of the politics, however if we’re not happy about it, I feel we all have the means to step up and do something about it – basically get involved with your club and earn your right to have a say. Harder to walk the walk than talk the talk though, isn’t it?
Separately though, from a supporter point of view, I do however think the county board could learn a lot by listening in terms of how they interact with supporters. I don’t mean allowing supporters to waltz in expecting a say in decision-making around club matters or management matters, but there are plenty of other things that affect supporters; match day setups, season tickets, fundraising etc. If you want to breed goodwill within the county (goodwill is lucrative), listening to the people who spend considerable dollars following your team around the country (and not dismissing them as keyboard warriors because they might say something you don’t like) imay actually reap benefits in the long term. But maybe I’m being idealistic on that front and it could also be disastrous; I don’t know.
At a provincial and national level, I have a bee in my bonnet about the downright contempt that is sometimes shown towards supporters and I make no apology for suggesting that supporters should have some forum for input. The GAA set up a research panel (now defunct) where they sent out surveys about national games, advertising and initiatives; those surveys were hoovered up, partly because people felt for once that they were being listened to. If the GAA want to run the organisation as a business, customer service should be a little higher up the priority list.
What strikes me though is the low level of involvement at club level; why is that? The fact that 50% of supporters are not involved with a club is telling; as you say, it can be for a myriad of reasons; location, time, lack of a historical connection, whatever. Why aren’t more people involved? To those of you who are active club members what are your thoughts on recruiting new members? Is it something that is actively done or do you think there should be more of it? Would you like to see more people joining your clubs? (Genuine Qs).
Interestingly, I worked closely myself with the GAA a number of years back in a research capacity (about ticketing and the likes; the findings of which informed a number of the national ticketing initiatives in place today including season tickets). I recall from speaking at the time with highly-engaged supporters who were not involved at club level, there was a strong sense that if you hadn’t been involved with a club from a young age that it was seen as a bit of a closed shop in terms of jumping on board later in life; i.e. there was a fear that new joiners wanting to contribute would be regarded as “blow-ins” – a lot of “who does yer man think he is coming in here after all this time”. The GAA, they felt is a very inclusive organisation if you are already included; if you’re not, it can be (fairly or unfairly) perceived as a bit cliquish and hard to break into. Food for thought?
Anyway, I have just written a short novel here and clearly have too much time on my hands but I hope that clears up any confusion around earlier posts.
@ AndyD
You are incorrect in your summation of the minor nomination. At the previous CB meeting the chairman asked the delegates to see if the clubs would be interested in putting forward names for the minor managerial position and to report back at the next meeting. At Wednesdays meeting numerous delegates stated that their clubs had expressions of interest in the position. However, the executive stated that Enda Gilvary was still in his term despite the fact that his 2 year term ended this year and pushed through his ratification with a few well placed lackeys.
I will again repeat that I have no issue with Enda Gilvary and feel he deserves another term, my issue is with the devious and deceitful way the ratification was handled. Tony Soprano would be ashamed of the shite that goes on over in HQ and with all the talk of managers, coaches and players, it’s the way the administration is run that needs the biggest overhaul.
Hontheross,
it would not surprise me if that were true about McStay going to your lot.
After the way he was treated by his own county 12 months ago it would serve us right.
Not sure if his heart would really be in it though. He is green and red. I cant see him jumping for joy and punching the air with delight if Ross were to get a late winner against us in Mchale Park in a Connacht final next July.
Despite his own county shitting on him from a great height 12 months ago, he is well aware that he was the peoples choice and he would not feel good inflicting pain on us.
Good point Ann Marie in relation to which Gaa treats supporters.last year Mayo were basically totally like it or lump it when we had to go to Limerick! Alan Minton think he has something to do with communications in Gaa was on radio for whole weak defending a crazy decision!
Another crazy decision was taken by Connacht Council fixing final for Hyde Park!
Why do some people not get involved in there clubs ? It can be for a number of reasons people drift away from the game once they finish playing underage.years ago the club scene was like a closed shop but that has all changed now.it takes dedication and a lot of time to be involved in a club so this is why a lot of people are just happy supporting there club by paying membership and doing local lottos!
And finally as for a representative of a supporters group on a county board it would be a great addition maybe rules have to change.rule 42 changed and not many people would have envisaged that 20 year ago.
One of the biggest soccer clubs in the world is run and owned by the supporters namely Barcelona!
AndyD You can’t compare a muscle tear (which takes 3-6 weeks to recover from which can happen to anyone at any time due to lack stretching/flexibility) with needing hip surgery (multiple operation for some minor players), Gilmore groin surgery etc etc… which can take years to recover from if ever!! These are due to repetitive exercises on developing bodies.
I assuming if it were your son which had to endure such operation due to training methods, you would have a different view, but that just an assumption on my part!!!1