Mayo’s championship run for 2019 may be over but the county was back in the headlines this week, following the announcement by Andy Moran that his playing days for the county are, after seventeen years, at an end. In this episode of the Mayo News football podcast we pay tribute to Andy’s long and distinguished career in the Green and Red. We also look back on the county’s narrow defeat in last Sunday’s All-Ireland ladies football semi-final as well as casting an eye over the club championship action that took place in the county last weekend.
Rob Murphy and I get this podcast episode going by reminiscing on Andy’s huge contribution to the county since making his senior debut way back in 2003. Rob then speaks with Mayo News columnist Billy Joe Padden, who played for several years with (and briefly against) Andy at county level, to get his assessment of what it was that made the Ballaghaderreen clubman such a special player.
Moving onto the ladies All-Ireland semi-final, I meet up with Mayo News columnist Anne-Marie Flynn at Croke Park shortly after the final whistle had sounded to reflect on the team’s heartbreaking loss, while Rob and I chat further about the game and where it leaves Peter Leahy’s team. Rounding off this episode, Mayo News duo Mike Finnerty and Ger Flanagan review the main talking points following a hectic weekend of Round 2 action in both the Senior and Intermediate club championships.
This latest episode of the Mayo News football podcast is now online and is available to listen to on iTunes, SoundCloud, Spotify and Podomatic. You can also listen to it directly on the Mayo News website as well as here on the blog using the SoundCloud player below or the one on the panel on the right.
The Mayo News football podcast’s coverage all summer long is proudly sponsored by J Streicher. “When it absolutely, positively has to be financed on Wall St.” Visit our website at www.jstreicher.eu.
Great informative Podcast as usual WJ, and a great tribute article from Tom on Andy.
Just saw there that Oisin Mullin was selected as one of the defenders in the ‘ Eirgrid Under-20 All-Ireland Championship Top 20 Players’.
Galway has three in the 20, including Forward Liam Costello as Connacht Player of the Year.
Dublin’s Ciaran Archer got the Leinster and the Overall Player of the Year award.
One worrying point about AM’s retirement is the fact that he was arguably our most important forward this year outside of JD. At 36 he was still excellent for us against Down, Meath, Donegal, in the league final. I mean it’s a worry in the sense we were reliant on a 36 year-old to add that extra dimension to our forward play.
Personally I’d have no issue with him if he stayed on for another year. We need to be careful re retirements- last year everyone thought Boyle was finished but he was one of our best players this year. For me the issue is not who’ll retire as such but whether we can find a Full Back and two scoring forwards. I believe Clarke and Higgins still have something to offer so let’s hope they stay on albeit young fellas come through to challenge them.
Why, oh why, can’t we produce a specialist FB? We all know the problem with the inside forward line. I want to see Gary Boylan and Irwin in the team next year and Neil Douglas getting a proper run.
I also think we need to see more in open play next year from Cillian. It’s my opinion that whilst solid from frees he’s not productive enough from open play and this has been an ongoing issue for some time now.
Returning to the Dublin game for a minute I’d like to think we can all agree that Horan made a big mistake in starting Ruane, DOC and Vaughan – none of who were match fit.
Were you saying that at halftime Spotlight? Hindsight is 20:20. Live and learn and move on
Our Time Has Come – Actually, yes I did. I said to a number of people all week before the game that we could be in for a ‘whipping’ because of our injuries, lack of match rest and because Dublin were at full strength .
To be fair I don’t think it got called out enough in the media post match. After all, how would Dublin have done if they had our match schedule and our injuries?
Still, surely Horan was experienced enough to know that playing 3 players that were not match fit against Dublin was too big a gamble? Not sure if there’s much learning required there!
Just to finish on this – was D Coen not a more plausible option in the FF line rather than DOC considering the two players’ form in the cushion and match fitness? I would have thought so.
Agreed Spotlight definetly hope higgins and Clarke stay on
After the Semi final we see that we need a new goalkeeper, clarke should stay and bring a new guy along
At least now, with the very welcome philosophy of blooding new players, retirements of some of our good players will not be as damaging to the team as it would have been anytime in the last few years.
We’ve great finds in the backs, midfield, and in the forward-line. Bring those lads on further, add 3-4 more next year to the squad and transition will be fairly pain-free.
Our targets for 2020 should be to maintain Division 1 status, and win the Connacht Final
(and feck the backdoor).
That would require front loading fitness a bit
more and winning a max of 5-6 games.
The squad with a good mix of youth and experience can build from there into the summer.
Hopefully Irwin, O’Donaghue and Boylan all get their chance to stake a claim for 2020.
In fairness to Horan, I think he has shown he is open minded on selection if players can prove themselves (e,g, D Coen) however, he seems to have some prerequsities – team player, massive workrate off the ball, skill execution under pressure etc. Andy, Cillian, Jason Doc are 3 of the forwards have those attributes in spades.
I think it’s easy to underestimate how big a jump it is for a forward, from being marked by a good club player to being marked by Jonny Cooper or Mick Fitz. The intensity in that 2nd half against Dublin was insane.
Probably the realistic outcome is that maybe one of those 3 above((irwin, Boylan, O’D) could start for Mayo in Champ 2020. The core of the 2020 starting forwards will still probably come from Carr, D Coen, Cillian, DoC, Boland, McDonagh group with Jason to come back.
@Spotlight, you are right… You could also argue that if David Clarke had played in Goal, he wouldn’t have ran out of Goal and giving the ball away under pressure, which led to a point that could easily have been a Goal, immediately followed by a 20 meter kickout direct to Paul Mannion, another point conceded that also could have been a Goal, and the third Dublin Goal went through our Goalkeeper’s Legs!…. Not that we could attribute Dublin’s dominance in Midfield to poor kickout’s by Robbie Hennelly, our Midfield failed to contest the ball in the air, just as they have done most of Championship regardless of who we had in Goal…And definitely you could add Lee Keegan should not have been in the full back line, but we still would have the problem as to who else we have that’s good enough to mark Cormac Costello?….We are all wiser Now.. Dublin had 3 weeks in reality to prepare for the Match, while Mayo, concidering that Friday was a travelling day had 5 day’s to prepare… And for all that, we were 2 point’s up at half time!… Plenty was done that was right as well..Unfortunately, it all went away from us in the first 12 cruel minute’s of the second half, and by the time Andy Moran, and Kevin McLoughlin had arrived the situation was beyond the point of rescue. It gives me some hope that Kerry might be able to stop the 5 in a row, and if not it could easily be 6,7 or even 8 in a row, concidering how loaded the dice is , the administration of GAA in giving the Dub’s ‘every possible concievable unfair advantage for almost two decades Now!
Spotlight I think D Coen has enormous promise but he needs to be put on an S&C programme and diet to improve fitness, power and pace. He didn’t perform against the Donegal and Meath defence – how would he have coped against Dublin? let’s be realistic. That said I think he has enormous potential and this year will have done him wonders.
As leantimes said we are all wiser now after the fact and you can be sure James took immense learning from that chastening defeat. I agree with you wholeheartedly the scheduling and toll on our lads was a joke and we were always up against it due to that. Dublin were ridiculously good in that second half though and although they have every advantage going, they have set the bar for us to meet in order to get over the line, we’ll all rest up and go again! #2020vision
Correction, Of course I should have said, Con O Callaghan instead of Cormac Costello… getting mixed up with all the C’s …wonder does that ever happen with the CCCC?
Neil Douglas has been passed over by 3 different management groups for championship game time in recent years..Considering he is one of the highest scoring forwards in the county its hard to fathom. Clearly they are looking for a different type of forward player…Remember seeing him score a couple of lovely frees against Monaghan in Clones last year..
Lee spoke to Off the Ball earlier re Andys retirement and those 12 minutes. It sounded hell. Also I urge all to read an article on Off the Ball facebook page re an interview with Colm Nally, Meath coach (from Dublin) (I didnt hear the interview) – the way stewards treat the Dublin players, all the officials on first name basis with players, refs, etc.
@Leantimes – afraid i might annoy Willie Joe again ( i dont want too)
When the dust settles it has to be said that it was calamity stuff from Robbie again V Dublin, as i said above I just hope Clarke stays on and gives it one more shot, now even more so that Andy has retired.
he brings a sense of calm and we will have more options in Midfield next year with Ruane, Parsons, DOC , AOS , SOS all fit
Would like to see a midfield/forward
lineup tried out along the following lines in the league
Keegan AOS Ruane
Durcan Irwin DO’C
Carr COC
with Hanley and Mclaughlin tried out in the HB line
Tommy, I hate to say it about any Mayo player but you’re not too far off the point there. Two short kickouts straight to dublin players, leading to points; the one in the 2nd half was a nail in our coffin. It also happened v donegal in the first half if anyone remembers gifting donegal a 3 on 1 goal scoring chance which they made a total hash of. Robbie has talent, but he’s too unreliable and evidence proves over the years that you cant trust him to perform consistently well. Also, he missed every free kick he had v roscommon. It’s definitely time for management to look elsewhere. Clarke is a fantastic keeper with an average kickout. As things stand he is undoubtedly our first choice and when he retires it will really hit home how fortunate we were to have a player of his calibre.
@Cloud9, our target for 2020 should be to win the All Ireland. I can assure you that’s what the players target will be. Mayo’s target should always be to do this. Settling for less will get you nowhere. If we get to point where we are aiming for connacht titles as being our goal for the year then we have fallen behind and it means our structures have let us down. From now on, Mayo should always be on the list of ‘contenders’ at the outset of any year.
Of course Mayonaze, the end game is to bring Sam home but it won’t be won via the backdoor,
followed by the Super 8s.
Get the League done, nailing down Div. 1 status and win Connacht.
Then it’s 5 games to win it. You need the less demanding route early on (and I know Connacht is the most competitive of the 4P’s these days) like they get in Munster and Leinster, so our warriors have the energy reserves to get the bigger job done.
The back door and Super 8’s combination is a GAA HQ revenue generation invention, not a realistic shot at winning the AIF.
Achieve the first target and then have a realistic shot at ultimate target!
Just for the record – Niall Morgan, first choice Tyrone goalkeeper, fluffed a kickout in the All- Ireland semi-final and sent it short straight towards a Kerry player. I don’t remember if Kerry scored from it or not but it was a gift of a score chance from Morgan to Kerry. My point is that goalkeepers, even ones of Morgan’s stature, are fallible. Modern keepers may not be flawless, even Cluxton.
For the record, saying Robbie missed all his free kicks versus Roscommon – I’m not sure how this makes him less reliable than David Clarke. David doesn’t take free kicks. Our free kickers were also poor that day.
I think David Clarke is a hands-down legend. However, Dublin would have done the same thing to his kickout as Robbie’a and arguably worse. They would have seen the Kerry game and they are ruthless. Robbie’s kicking ability gave us flexibility against Donegal and helped us win that game. I’m not keen on the Clarke versus Hennelly saga but Robbie deserves his place on that team (to put it in mildly).
I also think teams now need to devise a way around that Dublin press.
Lastly I believe Dublin felt they owed us in kind for what we did to them so effectively and maybe embarrassingly in the first half of the 2017 final – pressing Cluxton’s kickouts and starving them of scoring chances. Remember Jason Sherlock coming onto the field to give a message to Cluxton and their changed kickout strategy in the second half.
I may be wrong but I think Dublin like to undo a team’s strategy that has worked against them. Witness the time spent on being able to so ruthlessly and with such precision dismantle the defensive game of Tyrone in semi-final 2016. They had succumbed to that defensive game versus Donegal a year or two previously. I wonder if they want a flawless record and so will work to undo any strategy next time that worked for a team against them. It might be a coincidence but one of our other proven threats versus Dublin has been Mr Keegan. I’m sure it was quite satisfactory for them to get the better of Lee but fair play to our man – he won’t be quietened that easily. A poster said it already but what class to go up the other side of the field and make/score a goal of his own. Just some views of mine.
While Robbie did unquestionably make a few errors V Dublin, something that has happened consistently was our inability to Win primary possession in Midfield, The vast majority of Robbie’s kickout V Dublin were very good an 8/9 out of 10 for tragectory, distance and direction… The problem has been the same too often this Summer, our Midfield has not fielded much clean possession from our own restarts Regardless of wheather it was Robbe or David in Goal…. I would say that easily, Jason Doc and Fionn McDonagh have won more ball around Midfield than any combination of Midfielder’s we have used ( I know we were missing Mathew Ruane for a number of games) but it tells that it’s something that need’s to be addressed, and maybe the almost endless debate about which Goalkeeper to start…it wasn’t sorted out… then again if we had 3 weeks to prepare like Dublin, it’s something that I am sure we would have improved on!
Hi Swallow Swoops, I didn’t mean him missing all his frees v ros as being evidence of him being less reliable than Clarke. It was more an after thought. I should have expanded my train of thought.. I was thinking that Robbies freetaking potential was an asset he had over Clarke but his scoring ratio on this is poor. That’s all.
I don’t like the Clarke v Hennelly saga either and have rarely commented on it but for me, and speaking as a keeper, I’d pick Clarke. He is ahead in every capacity with the exception of long kick outs and I emphasise ‘long’.
I do think Schlinger or someone else deserve a go in fbd/league
Fair enough Mayonaze and interesting insight too from your own experience.
Andy now live on Off the Ball.
(Im obsessed!)
[Deleted].
Likely have a 2-3 year window where we have the older guys AOS/Keegan/Durcan/DO’C the u21 winning team and the u20 players from last year i really think there has to be a huge push made in this window. could be be Mayo’s best chance to win for a while
The Colm Nally interview is excellent and a great insight into the dark arts and marginal gains at the highest level there is so much happening in a game its impossible to see it all. Personally i think Dublin will walk the weekend . Club championship is well poised now . In group 1 there is only the one game worth looking at Davitts vs Kiltane. The winner of that goes through to the quarter final and goes through in second spot. This is huge for both clubs as the seeding for next year come into play. Make it to a quarter final and your group will on paper be easier.
Group 2 The mitchels are in top spot and what it looks like to me is a straight shootout in that group between westport and ballina for second spot assuming cbar beat aghamore
group 3
Ballintubber look best placed to come out of group 3 with probably knockmore to get out aswell . Garrymore play ballintubber and hollymount play knockmore id be expecting Knockmore and ballintubber to advance
group 4
Group 4 is decided ,so its only the relagation quarter final between charlestown and claremorris . Claremorris have been disappointing this year and i think charlestown have a good chance of winning this game
https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/a-county-chairman-bertie-ahern-and-a-grand-plan-the-inside-story-of-how-gaelic-football-changed-forever-38450469.html
Centrefield – that first bit of your comment crossed the line. It’s not up to you to be saying who should be dropped from the squad.
Tommy – I’ve given you a few runs now at the same point. Enough is enough – is there any other topic you’d care to pronounce on for a change?
Our time has come – I’ve put up that link but edited out the unnecessary crude remark that accompanied it.
Point noted Willie Joe, who are you tipping for sunday?
No worries, apologies WJ. Just my own personal sentiments on what I think of Bertie
I have to say I’ve never been so positive after losing a semi final. IF we can keep injury free next year we wont be far off winning the all Ireland. I’m not saying that for the sake of it . Believe there is enough talent coming through to to be really really competitive in the championship if we use the league to blood the new players. Tom ,Matty fully fit with the 2 O Sheas and another year of s+c and experience in the newer and younger players, well we wont be far off .We might struggle a bit in the league but keeping injury free is nearly impossible but we need a bit of luck in that regard.
Not sure if it’s been mentioned already, but Mayo GAA TV is back, they’re showing 2 games on 7th September (Ballina v Westport – 4.30 & Davitts v Kiltane – 6.00, both at MacHale Park).
Games are free on the Mayo GAA Facebook page, although I’m assuming those of us not on Facebook can still access these games easily enough.
Looking forward to the Ballina Westport game especially.
Great to have this service from Mayo GAA TV again this year.
No worries, Our Time Has Come. You wouldn’t be alone there, I suspect, but let’s leave the politics for other forums.
Listen to the podcast, Tommy – I nail my colours to the mast there. It’s got to be Dublin – hasn’t it? – though I’m old enough to remember that glorious wet Saturday afternoon in 1982 when Offaly did the business over Kerry. I think the history-making issue could make Dublin more cautious (and they’re cautious enough in finals as it is) and it’s Kerry they’re playing (when were Kerry last on offer at 5/1 in an All-Ireland final?) but, even then, you’d have to think Dublin, as they always seem to do, will have an answer for whatever Kerry throw at them. The last time Kerry beat Dublin in a final, by the way, was in 1985 (I was there to see it) but I don’t expect them to be celebrating on Sunday night.
Mayogaatv great service along with the work now other clubs are doing. The great Enda Coyne doing a great job with Lahardane games also Charlestown foing a stellar job with the online service and pioneers Ballinrobe with the online radio and erris times covering ersis based clubs there has never been better cuvergae of our club games. Well done to all
The Charlestown commentary the last day was something else. No false airs and graces there! Super stuff for sure.
@williejoe the great Ronan Kenny has a bright future
Ger Canning watch out.
[Deleted].
Ger will be indighted.
Dublin will win by 5-7 points on Sunday IMO. The Kingdom have as good a set of forwards as anyone but their back-line is not up to the standards of yesteryear and I could see Dublin having a lot of joy running at them. Kerry also need David Moran to rev up the Flux capacitor and return to 2014 form, otherwise the Dubs will send far too good a supply into O’Callaghan and co.
The other thing is that if you look at the ages of many of the Dubs squad, most of the starting players are still in their twenties and they have bedded in several quality replacements in Murchan, Howard, O’Callaghan, Scully and maybe Ciarán Archer next year. Cluxton aside, a lot of the older brigade who may retire post-final haven’t been starting in recent years (McMenamon, Brogan, Connolly, McMahon etc.). People are deluding themselves if they think that the Dubs won’t be on course to win 6,7,8 in a row etc. if they win on Sunday.
As for our ongoing goalkeeping issue, well it’s hard to know what to say that hasn’t already been said, and indeed what it would take for some of the Hennelly loyalists to admit that he displayed the same worrying tendencies again in a big pressure game. Our ten point semi-final defeat would have been heavier still if Dublin hadn’t blazed two goal opportunities over the bar in the first half, straight from our kickouts landing to them, something that Clarke would get panned for (can’t remember it ever happening, though).
Clarke is the GOAT in terms of Mayo goalkeepers IMO, even allowing for a sometimes ropey restart. If he decides to stay on for another year then it would be a good idea to start developing a high quality understudy to him, Schlingermann, O’Malley, Byrne etc. being options. FBD League and NFL could be a good testing ground in this regard.
As regards Andy, the man is pure class and will have a big career in coaching if he decides to go in that direction. The County Board would do well to have a word in his ear 😉
Mayogaafoundation have put up a message on instagram now “that due to a breakdown in relations our foundation can no longer work with mayo gaa in their current structure”. What the hell is going on?? Could this week get any worse…That NYC gala was such a success – so well organised and so much dollars raised. I really am gobsmacked. Its people like that we want with us fundraising and backing team.
Goagain – see it too what the hell is going on, post put up about a breakdown in relations with the county board and donations to the clubs in mayo
why did this need to be released this week, along with Andy retiring …. why is all our dirty laundry washed in Public??
especially All ireland week
Yeah whatever way i dice it up just cannot see Kerry coming within 6 points of Dublin unfortunately, Kerry will put up a big score on them, they have the best forward line in the county imo and may even plunder a few goals but there is far too much resting on David Morans shoulders around the middle of the park, he will have to win the midfield battle of his own against Fenton,MDMA,Howard and McCarthy. Also i have seen nothing to convince me they have a single top class defender, they will be destroyed inside. Look at all the damage McShane done on his own in there.
For me, main objectives for Mayo over the winter and in the club champos are…
1. identify a brand new keeper that can be coached and backed as no 1 throughout fbd and league (and hopefully champo)
2.Identify a ballwinner inside to replace Andy, we need the ball sticking to somebody when it goes in. The way Andy was able to make it stick and bring others into it
3. Polish our talented rough diamonds, Im thinking mainly of James Carr here. Ive seen enough flashes from him to think he is a guy we can build our forward line around. He is not the finished article yet but the raw tools are there, 2 footed, strong, pacey,accurate, loves a goal. Coach away his bad habits from junior football and predictable movement and you could be looking at a hell of a player
It’s Dublin for me. I know I’m not alone in predicting a Dublin win on Sunday but I think they will squeak it. I think it’ll be very tight.
I really like the way Dublin play ( with the exception of some of the basketball )and you simply do not have a choice but to admire the majority of the individuals on their team.
They are real people with real lives and real achievements outside football. They are humble and clearly have the caring side down too.They want to beat you but not humiliate you ( unlike some bullies from other counties in the media)
Dublin people are the finest most decent and fair minded people ( but Ciarán Whelan going on again today about why Lee Keegan didn’t deserve to be footballer of the year means not ALL Dublin people- jeez)
You have to contextualize their rise during the era of massed defences. That they put that sh*te to the sword as a primary strategy of playing football is reason enough for us to be forever thankful.
Paul Mannion is one of the most complete footballers I’ve ever seen and for me should be footballer of the year. Cluxton changed the game in a big way. O’Callaghan is Gerd Muller. Fenton is grace on a football field. Howard is Fred Astaire. You could go on.
Gavin is inscrutable and surely ruthless. But what sets him apart is that he’s such an artist. Like Micko before him he is not for compromise on how to play the game properly. He promotes athletes , but only two footed ones. The attention to self improvement is very Andy Moranesque. Would that we were all like that.
Dublin have real advantages ( geographic mainly )over a team like Mayo but that does not mean they don’t deserve everything. They deserve it. They earned it. Good luck to them says I .
Once we get past this five in a row thing I hope that the GAA can help promote the game in the rest of the country in the way it has been promoted in Dublin these last 15 years.
Kerry too play the game the right way and they will always have my respect. Peter Keane seems like a really fun and decent guy and I wish them well.They are certainly going to be very difficult to beat forever.
Davitts51 – you know that rule I have here about posting unconfirmed rumours? Well, you’ve just gone and broken it so I’ve deleted your comment. I don’t care if it turns out to be true, as things stand now it’s not confirmed so you can’t post it here.
Excellent podcast lads and lassie Ann Marie well done all.
I know Tommy – its beyond belief (last year in run up to All Ireland it was S Rochford resignation) and now this. We need big cash to be able to compete with the Dubs and others.Look at Limerick last year with JP’s funding. No end to the money spent in Tipperary with their huge backroom team. That’s the reality of the level that is needed. How can it all have ended in such acrimony so quickly. They could have raised endless cash and now all stopped. What is going on? The players must be so frustrated.
It might be as well to hold off on drawing any conclusions on that Foundation development until further details emerge. It’s impossible to draw conclusions off the back of an Instagram post so it’s best not to start laying blame on any side on the basis of the little amount of detail that’s currently out there on it.
[Deleted].
Whats the latest from the County Board on the Mayo centre of excellence project at Lough Lannagh in Castlebar, also a new surface in McHale park is badly needed and the issue with a lack of turnstiles that reduced capacity for the Donegal game needs to be addressed.Its all gone very quite by the County board.We will slip back to pre 2010 levels if no big investment is made in Mayo football.
How can you fall out with an organisation whose sole purpose is to give you money? I don’t claim to know all the details but that is just bizarre.
Anybody know if the Tedd Webb finals are being live-streamed.
While Dublin are going for 5 in a Row, Already achieved, 3 National League Title’s, 9 in a Row, Leinster Titles, and indeed 14 out of 15 of the last Leinster Titles, (The outlier being what should have been Louth deserved win over Meath in the 2010 Leinster Final being Gifted to a Try scoring Meath Team, hang your heads in Shame the Leinster Council for having allowed this to happen) Dublin are currently 34 Championship game’s unbeaten… 32 win’s and 2 draw’s..Very impressive record… can’t argue with the facts, a Magnificent Team, Magnificent Manager, Magnificent Player’s…. But it’s not, ,nor has been anything close to a level playing Field… The Governing bodies of the GAA have responsibilities for fair play for all….AIG and Dublin are backing equality, fair play to them… But is it, Equality of the Advantage to the Dub’s’, Women’s and Men’s, GAA team’s over everybody else?… The various bodies in the GAA have different responsibility, The Mayo County Board have responsibilities for Mayo, Connacht for Connacht, Leinster for Leinster, the CCCC for arranging game’s, time’s and Venue’s..On a Saturday in 2014 the CCCC sent Mayo to Limerick for a All Ireland replay with Kerry, the Referee was diabolical and the result of the Match was as tainted by the Ref as the Leinster Final had been 4 year’s previously.. The next day, Donegal beat Dublin in Croke Park, and that was the last time Dublin have been beaten in the Championship…In the meantime Dublin have won every Championship game in Leinster… and only on one occasion and with great fanfare Dublin played a Leinster Championship game in the home of their opponents, Longford in Pearce Park, Longford in 2015, how magnanimous of the Dub’s’?…in 2016, Dublin played Laois in the home of Kilkenny hurling, Nowlan Park… some Laois fan’s organized a boycott of the game to righty highlight that the game should have taken place in one of the best Leinster GAA Grounds, O’Moore Park Portlaois, in subsequent years, O’Moore Park was deemed worthy of hosting the Dub’s’ in the Championship, but just not versus the home team Laois, hosting game’s Dublin,V Carlow, and Louth…Navan hosted Dublin once versus the might of Wicklow, every other Leinster Championship Game was played in the Neutral/Home of the Dub’s’ Croke Park, where a poster’s on this Blog noted that the Dub’s’ don’t even pay for the Grass getting cut…. All the League Final’s and Semifinal’s have been held in the Neutral/Home of the Dub’s’ going back even to before 2014… However to their credit the Dub’s ‘have played two Championship match’s away from home twice , and even more impressive played in the home of their opponents, in 2018 and 2019 Dublin have played Tyrone in Healy Park,Omagh, on both occasions the final Match of the Super Eight’s, and as luck would have it, Dublin had already qualified for the All Ireland Semifinal’s…Next Sunday will be Dublin’s 28th time to use the same dressing rooms in Croke Park, come out first onto the hollowed turf , them being Atha Cliath and A come’s first since the rules were changed after 2006 , when Mayo came out first, took the Hill and Won the Match,,….Compare and Contrast that very fixed, fixture list that the Dub’s’ enjoyed to the Mayo fixture list since the Day back in 2014 when Dublin were last beaten…Mayo have played 37 Championship match’s in the meantime, 15 game’s in Croke Park, 9 game’s in our home ground, whoohoo MacHale Park, 3 in Limerick, 2 in Salthill, and one each in New York, London ,Ennis, Newry, Thurles, , Killarney and Newbridge or Nowhere…. Now I know that in the meantime, we took the long and winding road of qualifer’s a few times, even so there’s some disparity between that fixture list and Dublin’s… The CCCC even arranged Twice for Mayo to play in the final qualifer game before the Super Eight’s or the once quater final’s at Neutral Ground’s as it always is..In 2016 we had to drive through Westmeath to get to Croke Park and play Westmeath there, putting about 300 KM extra on our return journey, this year the CCCC arranged for Mayo to travel through Galway to play Galway in Limerick again’ putting extra miles and expence on the hard pressed Mayo Fan’s and the County Board… despite what one Mayo Man and a member of the CCCC said this year , all final qualifer game’s HAVE to be played in a Neutral Venue and no such thing as a toss of a coin for Home Venue can take place in such circumstances… both of these Match’s should have been played in Dr Hyde Park, Equidistant Fair, Neutral and big enough to hold the crowd…When you weight it all up, you realize how much extra the it costs Mayo fan’s, the travelling the Hotel Costs for the County Board, in comparison to what travel has cost Dublin the GAA authorities have allot to answer for, as to how they allowed such inequality to take place…. And still Dublin have to be financially subsidized by the rest of the GAA… over to you John Horan, a GAA President for all???!
Ps, Mayo also played the 2015 Connacht Final in Dr Hyde Park!
There is one conclusion we can certainly draw from the Mayo GAA Foundation post, and that is that yet again, Mayo football will be making headlines heading into the winter for all the wrong reasons.
I’m surprised though, particularly given the professional manner in which the fundraiser appeared to be managed, that the Foundation has taken the decision to make an an announcement of this gravity on Instagram of all places, and in a rather confusing and poorly worded statement. It seems a bit odd.
Good evening all
I can confirm that the Mayo GAA Foundation and the Mayo GAA county board have severed ties.
The why,how etc are not important.
We have contributed over €300,000 so far and will continue to so in an environment where there is full accountability and transparency.
We are happy to support the ladies team this evening
[Deleted].
People need to stop jumping to conclusions regarding Mayogaafoundation announcement and automatically thinking it’s the fault of the CB. So far only one side have said anything. Have the foundation made demands on the CB in return for their funding? Such as a say on the new development in Castlebar, a say on CB structures? A say in team selection???? We dont know!!! We don’t know much in the terms of details yet so people should hold fire until the full story is disclosed.
I thought my last comment was clear enough in terms of people laying blame in relation to this Mayo Foundation issue but clearly some of you – NiallMc1983 and Way Out West in particular – haven’t read the memo. This isn’t a place for people to lash out wild allegations and apportioning blame in the absence of the facts being available. Both of you are in moderation for your respective outbursts and, by the looks of it, more will follow if people don’t cop themselves on and fast.
That is an amazing sum to have raised – Mayo Foundation! Well done and thanks for your efforts. The Gala night in New York sounded to have been brilliantly organised. Dismayed and disappointed it has ended with Mayo gaa. Lucky the mayo ladies to have you onboard.
This is so depressing. It looks like ‘another fine mess’… I’ll keep my powder dry for now but all signs and previous history would have us conclude where the fault/blame lie.
Poor Mayo. Such potential.
I’d give Kerry a fighting Chance of winning on Sunday. Kerry are Kerry and All Ireland finals or the Dubs don’t faze them. Ok they have a dodgy defence but they have an excellent forward line and a useful midfield if they can get 70 minutes out of David Moran. You’d never know the pressure might get to the Dubs in the last 10
Minutes. Anyway I hope both Gamechanger 10
And Martin the Dub enjoy the game and hopefully it won’t be too long until we’re back in an all Ireland final
Who do ‘Mayo GAA Foundation’ think they’re entitled to 10 All Ireland final tickets (as posted on instagram)? I would have thought the fundraising was for the betterment of Mayo GAA and didn’t mean the CB had to acquiesce to whatever demands are made by the ‘foundation’? It seems a particularly strange example of why relations have broken down given that Mayo aren’t even in the final this year.
Mayo Gaa Foundation- you said above you have contributed €300000 so far to the county board. Is there any harm in asking what the other €100000 was spent on and what your plans are for the balance of the money nearly another €300000 that you still have in your account. Would contributors not have given this money for the running of our county team? So far they have received less than half the money raised???
Done Deal
We have funds in our account and are a legitimate US registered charity that will report and publish accounts annually –
The Mayo GAA County board have being invited to apply for funds by presenting a business plan/proposal looking for funds. This far we have had nothing.
Our donors are all huge mayo fans but they demand the highest levels of transparency – they want to how their money is spent – is that not a reasonable request?
If we can demonstrate that – people will continue to Donate.
I hope that makes it clear
The 10 tickets were to go to major donors and Irish charities – I AM NOT attending – thankfully we got them via other means
Mayo Gaa Foundation- I attended the gala last May so I consider myself a doner. I was lead to believe that my donation would benefit the future of Mayo Gaa. Today I hear you raised €675000 for year and that the county board only received €300000 of that amount and now you are cutting all ties with them.
So the CB have to apply to you for funds?
What happens the funds if you don’t agree with the aims of the business case? Do the donor’s know you are in effect acting above the CB and deciding how the funds should be spent?
Was this whole structure agreed between yourself and the CB in advance?
Maybe it was, I have no idea, but it seems very odd.
Done Deal – before you start making unfounded allegations – please listen to the facts
We are an independent foundation run by supporters of mayo GAA.
Every Euro we receive will be fully accounted for and we adhere to the highest levels of corporate governance and transparency . Our accounts will be available for every person to see.
Despite the breakdown in relations with the county board (we are not the first or last people FYI) we will continue to support GAA games in Mayo.
This week we ordered 700 O’Neill’s football to give to every club within mayo and this evening we made a donation to our ladies football team. We will also make donations to the hurling clubs,
We are always open to ideas and willing to listen to new ideas how to raise funds and of course spend them. Please feel free to reach out to us via our website. Have a good weekend
I didn’t make any allegations, just stated of the 675000 raised 300000 is all the county board received. This is not an allegation it is what you said yourself. I have no doubt the other 375000 will be accounted for and never suggested otherwise.
Mayo GAA Foundation why don’t you just hand the money over to Mayo county board to pay for the running of the team it probably cost close to one million euro to prepare the team to get to a league final which we won and to prepare both senior and minor teams to get to an all Ireland semi final doesn’t come cheap surely that much is transparent enough to your donors. And the idea of the Mayo County Board applying to you for funds quiet frankly sounds daft when the donors donated it for the good of Mayo football in the first place. I hope this issue is resolved for the good of Mayo football.
In my opinion, fair play to the Mayo GAA Foundation. I hope you maintain your goals to raise funds for Mayo GAA teams, in particular to support structures from kids level up to trams chasing senior all ireland titles.
An organisation like this is long long overdue. Those of us who have donated to Mayo GAA in the past have no idea where the money goes. Transparency is of utmost importance.
You’d imagine the powers that be should be thrilled that a group of people bothered their backsides to set up a foundation like this.
For Mayo to won All Ireland’s, this kind of organisation is fundamental and a crucial component to our chances success.
Statement from mayo gaa Foundation before gala. Main Focus seems to have changed. Pity I didn’t know before I parted with my money.
‘Our main focus and remit is to harness global support for the future development of Mayo GAA including our new underage academy initiative, our new training centre in Castlebar and other player welfare, educational and development programmes.
“From time to time we will also endeavour where possible to provide much-needed support to charities who have strong links and associations to Mayo including the Mayo Roscommon Hospice,” according to Tim O’Leary, spokesperson for Mayo GAA International Supporters Foundation.
Hi Tim (I am assuming this is Tim). I absolutely understand the desire for transparency and assurances that money is spent wisely, particularly given the track record of Mayo County Board in administering situations (and I don’t think it’s a stretch of any kind to say that).
However, you say that the Foundation has already contributed €300k to Mayo GAA. That is not an insignificant amount of money and if used wisely, is money that could potentially make a very positive impact on the county’s footballing fortunes. Was no plan required or presented by the county board in advance of that money being handed over? If I were donating significant amounts of money to an organisation, I would expect that before I donated the money that a business case had been presented and a plan laid out for the spending of funds, though I do also appreciate that such money may have been donated in good faith; – after all, we do like to think the best of people.
Furthermore, the gala in NYC was marketed as a fundraiser for Mayo GAA and people bought tickets while being under that impression. While investment in clubs is obviously hugely welcome, it was the county team that people were investing in. How was the decision taken to buy footballs for the clubs, over deciding to donate cash? Perhaps it was because the donation of product is more beneficial than giving cash as it frees up funding at home that would otherwise be spent on equipment – I’m not sure?
I hope some more clarity is provided and an official and detailed statement is released to clear things up. These are genuine questions and thank you for engaging on here.
Either way, I’m very sorry to read the news – it’s a massive shame for Mayo football that things have come to this.
Thankyou mayonaze
FULL transparency about how the money raised is spent is what our donors request first and foremost.
Our charitable foundation provides this and is the major reason why we are able to raise funds we have done so far and will continue to do so.
Many of our donors have particular interest in the new centre of excellence which is great news….
DoneDeal – please email us and we will happily refund your ticket from the gala as you seem unhappy how we the trustees have spent the funds.
So far over €200,000 has gone towards the senior team while we have also supported local charities like Roscommon hospice.
We are making a decent gesture of giving every club balls this month while also supporting the ladies football team and of course our hurling teams.
There is no right answer how to spend the money we raise – but we are in our first year and we are trying our best to please everyone. This is a new project and surely what we are trying to do should be viewed positively?
If you have a better idea – we are open to ideas – all we request is full transparency how the money is spent
Please send me your bank details if this is an issue
Thankyou
Folks, I’m not affiliated with the foundation in any way but some will recall efforts to start something here a few years ago with which I was involved, but that never quite got to where it was intended.
To raise money you need to spend money, and a gala event such as that which took place in NYC would involve paying a hotel (along with a number of other suppliers) a pretty penny for the room and the food being served. That will eat in to a large chunk of what was raised, but it’s necessary to speculate to accumulate as the saying goes.
Further if the foundation is a charitable foundation then it won’t suffice to simply hand over cash to the county board, its will have to be accounted for by the foundation and they need to be able to demonstrate on what the funds were spent.
I don’t know the ins and outs of the arrangements but for the county board to make a request for the funds and to outline on what it was to be spent isn’t really that unreasonable, it may simply be a request to pay for the buses, the hotels, catering or whatever, but if no request has been made for funds, then it’s no surprise that no funds have paid across, if that is what the foundation requires.
The area of charitable foundation is quite heavily regulated in the US, and one which no doubt comes under a lot of scrutiny from the US Tax authorities (the IRS) as well, so collections using biscuit tins and handing over cash in car parks does not work with these structures.
What is certainly disappointing is that relations between the county board and the Mayo GAA foundation appear to have taken a turn for the worst, I would hope that things can be repaired and that the common aims of each can be better managed and achieved,
Mayonaze – that charge about a lack of transparency isn’t fair or correct. Copies of all Mayo GAA annual accounts since 2013 are online and available here. For comparison, try and locate those for Dublin GAA. Let me spare you the trouble, you won’t find them online, nor, I suspect, will you find the accounts of most other counties.
Just to add, I’m obviously keeping a close eye on this discussion. I’d appeal to everyone to stick to the known facts and not to make allegations of any kind. In the interests of full accuracy and transparency, I’d also ask anyone who quotes any figures to back up these claims with solid evidence to support what they’re saying.
Some football news for a welcome change! Ted Webb Final result: Mayo North/South 1-11 Galway 0-8. Match played in dreadfully wet conditions by all accounts. Congrats lads.
Was all fundraising by Mayo County Board in New York carried out through the Mayo Gaa Foundation? If €300000 was all that was raised and county board had to pay for a training camp there for entire panel for a week then we had very little profit from the trip.
Surely it is the job of the new commercial manager Tom Reilly to put a business case to the Mayo foundation to secure the remaining €300,000 that they seem to have. If the county board are to survive financially in the long term this overseas support is essential. I am sure if county board can show the money is been used for – senior county team expenses, academy development or new centre of excellence – then money will be released.
Commercial manager needs to get on this case asap (if not on it already).
This news about the Mayo GAA Foundation is no surprise to me. For good or ill there can only be one master in each house and, again for good or ill, in the GAA that has to be the County Board. The idea that the foundation chiefs can donate the balance of the money in hand to whomever they wish seems to me to be in breach of the objectives stated at it’s launch.
As I can see from the post’s tonight, there is something of an International flavor, and I can see, some have got big money in the Bank… I was thinking of starting to build ‘An Ark’ cos it’s raining’ Cat’s and Dog’s ‘s here in Mayo and has been all of? August… Just a few little deatails to work out , like how to stop the Foxes eating the Chicken’s, when I have that figured out, I will send my deatailed plan to the Mayo Foundation for approval, and you never know what, I might just get a healthy cheque in the post… Has anyone any suggestions as to how do you stop the Foxes eating the Chicken’s?
If the Mayo gaa foundation really care about Mayo football then they should sit down and talk with the Mayo county board and sort out there differences.Why go public and put our name in the headlines again.Its the footballers and volunteers in Mayo gaa that suffer in this whole mess!!
Yes Chris Kelly.
As Tony Soprano, God rest his soul, would say,
“What is it with you Mayo?, always with the drama?
WJ, I just said transparency was of utmost importance. It’s true though…you’d donate a few K for the senior team training fund but sure there’s no assurance it didn’t go toward something else…like the stadium debt for example. That being said, the nature of donations to governing bodies is that there is a large degree of ‘trust’ involved. You expect that your money was used specifically for that intended purpose. I’m not saying monies donated to Mayo GAA aren’t being received and handled in good faith etc. What I’m saying is individual contributors can’t be certain it is.
However, when you have an organisation dealing in major financial contributions (Mayo GAA Foundation) and where individuals are donating large sums, then these people need to know that this money is being spent on specific identified projects rather than a vague contribution to Mayo GAA. Sure that just wouldn’t work!
A breakdown in communications has clearly occurred. It doesn’t mean it cannot be resolved. It would be absolute lunacy for Mayo GAA not to iron out these issues. We need every penny we can get to even stay on the coat tails of the dubs.
WJ maybe I should be clearer in case what insaud coukd be misinterpreted. I’m sure MAYO GAA are upstanding and honest when it comes to finances.
But that if a large amount is being put forward those putting it forward want to see where it’s going. I can only assume this the issue Mayo GAA Foundation have??
Anyway. Hopefully it’ll all be resolved. We all want what’s best for Mayo GAA.
Mayonaze – Both Tim OLeary and Mike Connelly spoke at the dinner in May. Mike Connelly spoke at length about the training centre and the benefits it would bring. Tim O’Leary spoke about supporting such projects. If they have now severed links I’m not sure where money from this project will come from but I know clubs can not afford to be levied anymore. Hopefully training centre still goes ahead.
Terrible conditions for football in Bekan this eve, our Galway North lads were beaten by Mayo NS, however Galway CWest beat Mayo Ew.
Donedeal, we all hope it goes ahead and im sure it will. I would imagine the type of individuals donating large enough sums for the benefit of Mayo football, and let’s be frank here, for the pursuit of Sam Maguire, will no, be disinclined to stop doing so because of a breakdown in communications but I do think the emphasis is on the co board to resolve thos because people like Tim O’Leary bothered to get this off the ground in the first place. We should be very thankful for people like this (and ive absoluteky no connection with the man) who show the interest, endeavour and capability to actually do something constructive for Mayo.
The fact that this has come out in the public domain is a shame but I’d imagine, reflects the degree of frustration the Mayo GAA Foundation feel? That’s my read of it.
On a brighter note. Nice to see Ted Webb back where he belongs.
[Deleted].
The biscuit tin in New York 2014 was at least it went to the county board. For me it’s simple if people dontate to the cause of Mayo football in any part of the world then the money should go to the people charged with running Mayo GAA namely the county board.
Mayonaze,
When it comes to Mayo GAA finances the debt on the stand and the training fund come out of the same pot, i.e. the Co Board’s pot. What goes into the pot or where it comes from is pretty much irrelevant to the outgoing once the outgoing is justifiable and above board. The stadium/stand debt has to be met as has the expenses of players and management. If the debt is not met we will find that we have an administrator imposed from above by our bankers, Croke Park or otherwise, and the debt will be given priority over training expenses. If you don’t accept that ask a Galwayman how things are in Galway. There is a lot of criticism of the cost of the stand in MacHale Park but it is a bit late now. It is a likely that there will be criticism of the cost of the Lough Lannagh project when it is finished but today it is accepted as being a necessary facility.
When the Connacht CoE was proposed I argued vociferously that the money involved should be distributed to the five counties for their own Centres of Excellence but got very little hearing. I still regard it as John Prenty’s vanity project as it serves little use for the vast majority of clubs etc. in Connacht. But it is there as the result of the decisions of Co Boards in Connacht and there is little point in continuing to complain about it.
Backdoorsam – I get the point you’re trying to make and have tried to preserve that in what I’ve left in your comment but, for your own sake as much as anything else, I had to take out that clumsy bit at the start where you appeared to cast aspersions at some people.
I’d appeal once again to anyone commenting on this issue to show restraint and not to make comments of a personal nature aimed at those on either side.
Fair points AndyD and yes I’m aware of that re, once money goes in its effectively used on whatever the co board deems fit. That’s fine. The point I was making was that I imagine those donating larger sums seem to want greater transparency (if that’s the correct word) that it’s being funded to back a specific project(s).
I don’t know much about the CoE so cannot really comnent. I’d imagine very few clubs use it.
We really do shoot ourselves in da foot in this county….always drama. It’s a total F up yet again.
Could I ask why it appears that one individual on behalf of the Mayogaafoundation is making add hoc communications through a fans forum over what appears to be a sensitive matter related to finance. I would expect the Mayogaafoundation Board Of Trustees to appoint a communications officer and open clear and authirised lines of communication through that officer with the Mayo CB. Dealing with theses matters through a fans forum is unhelpull and adds to speculation, rumour and general embarrassment. (just a thought ?)
Top man Andy Moran. Enjoy your retirement.
Really hope Kerry can stop Dublin. Not so sure they can though. Can’t see anyway out of what’s coming.
And the thoughts of listening to them talking s***e for the next 12 months. Jesus wept
Come on Kerry
That’s fair enough Willie Joe, I understand.
Well Done to U16’s
WMD, I would agree with you, this foundation need to come out and make a statement in a professional manner to mainstream media, a vague moment on Instagram is not the place. Also the person on this forum claiming to be from this foundation cannot be taken at face value as there is no way to confirm that they actually do represent said foundation.
There ‘re a lot of assumptions being make at the moment which are not accurate, there seems to be an assumption that the development at Lough Lannagh is contingent on receiving this funding, this is not the case, the development was announced long before the trip to NY or any mention of this foundation.
Transparency in the spending of funds is expected which is only proper but Mayo GAA are one of the few boards that actually do publish their accounts as WJ stated previously. It seems that this foundation demands a “business proposal ” BEFORE any funds are given. Right now we don’t know what kind of hoops the Board had to jump through or what stipulations this foundation expected or what they expected in return. They call for transparency, but there is very little transparency coming from their side yet. We haven’t heard the full start from either side. As for the promise to buy balls for every club in the county, IMO this is a blatant stunt to gain favour with the Mayo public, people shouldn’t fall for such cynical strokes.
Mayomad – The development was announced last year. Plans to host a corporate dinner were also announced last October. At the time the county board said they hoped to raise one million from the event which would cover 1/3 of the cost. It now appears they only raised 300000 from the trip.
I agree with you on the footballs and I think it is €35000 badly spent.
It is not my intention to be critical of the Mayogaafoundation just to state that this forum is not the correct media for appointed officers of that board to communicate or provide updates in relation to this matter.
I do agree that all matters in relation to funding, finance, spending, sponsorship and governance of these matters must be completely transparent and auditable.
How funding organisations such as the Mayogaafoundation are granted with oversight or authority in relation to the allocation of funding is unclear to me and I assume others? However if an organisation is raising large sums of finance under the marketing banner of Mayo GAA and then in effect has a veto in how the finance raised under that banner is allocated by the official body of Mayo GAA (the CB) then this to me seems the grey area?
What are the terms of reference and governance between the Mayo CB & the Mayogaafoundation with regards to money raised under the Mayo GAA banner? It would seem entirely reasonable to me that if an organisation is raising large sums of money that its elected officers have some form of oversight in relation to how that finance is allocated and sent?
But this needs to be legally documented in the governance and terms of reference between the Mayo CB and the Mayogaafoundation.
If not then Mayo CB could divert funds to a authorised black holes and/or the Mayogaafoundation could just pull funding on a whim and in effect have an unofficial power of veto.
All need to pull in the right direction and if thi gs need to change including the Mayo CB then for Gauds sake change them lest we throw the baby out with the bath water!
I couldn’t disagree more on the point that spending money on footballs is money badly spent. Time spent with the ball is the best way to increase skills. There is a skills deficit, we need to work on this. The rights and wrongs will come out in the wash. Money spent on big name coaches from outside the county would be a bigger concern of mine, we need to upskill our own coaches. The Supervalu program is a great initiative to get balls t young players
What is it with Mayo airing our dirty laundry foe the country to laugh at us again. A public forum is not the correct way to make statements s regarding sensitive subjects especially when the facts are not known yet
Southpaw, Mayogaa has not aired anything in public, there has been no mention from the County Board on the issue. So far all this is based on one post by an independent foundation, they do not represent Mayogaa. I would totally agree the forum used by the foundation is not appropriate, if they do have a grievance, let them make a statement through the proper channels backed up by proof (publish correspondence they send to CB to back up their claims). Also their “representative” who posted here stated,
“The why,how etc are not important”
I would strongly disagree with this statement, the how and why are the most important issues and these have not as yet been disclosed.
Never said Mayo GAA!
As another poster said earlier, good luck to Gamechanger10 and Martin the Dub (and other Dub posters here) tomorrow.
I’m looking forward to watching the game, to see the contests, the ins and outs and how it is played. It’ll be a relief to watch with no pressure for once : )
It really is great fun to get to a final and what a day for players and supporters. Hope all enjoy it. And we’ll be hoping to get back there ourselves one bright day soon enough.
I won’t go into the donation issue as clearly the full facts can’t be established if only one party so far has had their spake.
But why in the name of Jaysus can’t we in Mayo keep issues like this internal?
I think it’s no coincidence that the premier GAA counties- the Dubs, Kerry, Kilkenny and Tipp- don’t air their dirty linen in public like this.
This is not the first time Mayo GAA has hit the headlines for the wrong reasons and it has caused nothing but rancour previously.
Spot on WMD in all of your posts above. Surely all of this should have been future-proofed and agreed in writing in advance; and it is not unreasonable to suggest that no money should have changed hands until both parties were in agreement as to their obligations, responsibilities and deliverables. And an agreed communications strategy (internal and external) is never any harm.
I can imagine it’s not hugely straightforward trying to put in place such agreements from either side of the Atlantic but there is a reason for investing the time to put them in place – to prevent unseemly outcomes like this, which paint no-one in a good light.
Anyway, I hear there is a game on tomorrow. I clearly have some kind of Stockholm Syndrome because I am fervently hoping Dublin win. Not because I am deeply invested in the Drive for Five (good god above), it’s just because firstly, I don’t want the GAA to have any reason to suggest that their financial doping is not actually a problem after all. And secondly just imagine how unbearably smug Kerry would be if they managed to to pull off what we haven’t managed in numerous attempts?! Either way it’s not of much consequence to use either way and I still feel the 6th August killed off a lot of hope, but I am sure the optimism will return when we get back to it next year. I know I sound terribly negative and on paper it has the potential to be a good game so I’m sure I will tune in, in spite of my own bitterness 😉
I am really enjoying the interviews with Andy, despite the fact that I invariably turn into an emotional wreck at some point during all of them. The only good thing that comes from the retirement of one of the greats is finally getting a retrospective and unguarded insight into their perspective on events we all witnessed on the field. I was in fits listening to Off the Ball, when he talked about what was actually going through his mind that time he cupped his ears in the direction of the Hill. Well worth a listen!
Great interview with Lee on Off the Ball, you’ll get it on the podcast, skip to the last quarter. He talks about Andy but also gives a very honest account of where things went wrong against Dublin, including his own performance, and vows to improve and learn from the mistakes.
It seems pretty clear the people involved in the Mayogaafoundation have the best short and long term interests of Mayo GAA at heart and I would hope that they could continue with the great work they have started whilst finding a way to work with the Mayo County Board and drive the change necessary to facilitate this.
Allowing for speculation the central issue seems to be related to financial governance and oversight. Now I am going to speculate further that one or two of the trustees on the board of the Mayogaafoundation know a thing or two about financial regulatory compliance, governance and best practice (or maybe they have been working for HSBC or Goldman Sachs and just ignore this stuff?… I jest)
The Mayo County Board Chairman at a recent fundraiser referred to the Mayogaafoundation as a “game changer” I would suggest that new games require new rules to be implemented and applied.
In relation to corporate sponsorship I assume you have commercial contracts agreed and in place lest one party breaches their commitments and violates the terms of the contract. I am sure regulations around charitable organisations and donations compliance and governance is different especially when a large portion of the finances raised is under the banner and goodwill of Mayo GAA (PLC)
Never the less it does not seem entirely unreasonable that something legally or ethically binding such as a memorandum of understanding could be drafted and agreed to provide a governance framework moving forward and improve on that framework annually (I am sure there is precedent with other counties and organisations) Remember the Mayogaafoundation is not a one off benefactor “gift” but is meant to provide sustainable financial support for the future structures and growth of the game in Mayo.
The Mayo County Board and its officers also do stirling work on behalf of Mayo GAA and many do it unrewarded for the love and development of the game and I know that it is easy for me to sit outside the fence and throw stones at the glass house.
However I for one as a more than 30 year exiled sunshine September supporter of Mayo GAA am a little tired and embarrassed at the almost annual public relations and procedural cock ups of the senior members of the Mayo County Board, be that press releases related to managerial selection processes, managerial departures or even the head up the arse decision to appoint the County Board Chairman as a player liason officer/go between management and players when the chairman’s brother was a joint manager (dooh!) I also audibly cringed when I recently read the Mayo County Board Chairman describe Tim O’leary as “possibly Mayo’s greatest ever supporter”
Like a drunken best man’s speech at a wedding you knew things were most likely to go rapidly down hill as the evening wore on. (and so they have)
It’s time to grow up lads, if there is no light at the end of the tunnel then its not a tunnel, it’s a cave so turn round whilst there is still time, walk into the light and for the good of us all show some real leadership.
Up the Dubs tomorrow as nothing short of a double digit win will deter the climate change deniers and the President of the flat earth society John Horan to continue with the parable that Dublin’s success is unrelated to finance but due to their volunteer system and other such nonsense.
Finally I am so glad we annexed Ballagh many years ago, the village has provided some great soldiers for Mayo GAA over the years (Thanks for the memories Andy)
WMD….excellent points. I agree absolutely with all of that. Particularly your last post.
Some players worth looking at for next years Fbd and National League campaigns
Goalies
Rory Byrne Castlebar
Paddy O’Malley Westport
Michael Schlingermann Kiltimagh
Backs
Eddie Doran Achill
Seamus Cunniffe Ballaghadareen
Conor Naylor Ardnaree
James Stretton Claremorris
Conor Horan Kilmovee
Owen Jordan Ballaghadareen
Brian McDermott Westport
Midfielders
Ryan Lynch Ballaghadareen
Gary Golden Garrymore
Jordan Flynn Crossmolina
Forwards
Liam Irwin Breaffy
Neil Douglas Castlebar
Ryan O’Donoghue Belmullet
Bryan Walsh Ballintubber
Paul Towey Charlestown
Tommy Conroy The Neale
Garry Boylan Belmullet
Jack Reilly Charlestown
James Shaughnessy Claremorris
Aidan Orme Knockmore
Evan Roynane Davitts
Kuba Callaghan Ballaghadareen
Peter Naughton Knockmore
Adam Gallagher Mayo Gaels
Gerry Canavan Mayo Gaels
@WMD, ,. I’ve been thinking about it, this latest developments in terms of Mayo funding, I’ve been taking about the same with people better in the know than myself…. It’s very very hard to disagree with anything that you have said,as regards to same!
Willie Joe will you be publishing the details the Foundation sent on to you. I believe the foundation has some very senior former footballers on the board too. This is not some biscuit tin operation but seems professionally managed and has shown with lunches and functions that i can succeed. Mind you instagram was badly user in my opinion.
@TH several of those were simply not senior inter county standard in the recent club round. A senior Division one inter county player should be prominent at club level.
It can be hard to know with intermediate level then. They can struggle even jumping to senior club level.
The list you have there does however contain most of the potential players outside of our 2019 panel.
I just think looking at 2020 it’s a list of 6-7 players once they get looked at in terms of fitness, willingness to commit and how comfortable they are in senior inter county level.
Yes JP and even then sometimes doing well.at senior club level is no guarantee of a player having what it takes at intercounty.
I know it’s only one game, and very hard to judge on just that but anyone who stood on the terraces in Tuam for the u20 match v Galway would find it hard to see any of the players on the pitch thst day ‘making the grade’ with the exception of Mullen and Conroy. The others appeared well off.
I think Cathal Horan and Mullen can break into the senior panel and should be aiming too. As should Conroy.
Irwin has a bit of something about him. If he works his ass off in terms of fitness and conditioning then he has a chance. If he doesn’t then he won’t make it. It’s now or never for others who were on those 13/16 teams, ie Doran and Cunniffe.
Strength conditioning and pace are more important assets now than they ever were. You can get away at club level if you possess high skills. You won’t at county level and certainly not at the level expected for Mayo teams. If a player is blessed with a high skill set then it comes down to attitude, how much he wants it.
Anyway, back to the finance discussion. Everyone should read WMD’s last post. It sums things up perfectly.
I am looking forward to the game today, will be interesting to see what Kerry bring in terms of innovation. In my mind, they are likely to win an AI within the next two years, and will likely put it up to Dublin today. In fact, there is no county likely to be able to fast track young players through to success than Kerry.
Having said all that, I think that the Dubs will do the 5 in a row, and I hope they do. I think that the talk of funding masks what is an excellent team, who have really driven improved standards in terms of play. The gap will close, Kerry will likely expose defensive frailties but the Dubs have a formidable front 8 themselves and should win what could be a classic encounter.
Either, all the best to our Kerry and Dubs contributors, and indeed those from Galway who I would hope can overcome a powerful Cork minor minor team.
A player I see in having senior potential is Eoghan McLoughlin. He fits the bill in terms of pace and power, just the major matter of composure at Senior level.
From 2020 it’s quite clear explosive pace is priority number one. Without it you need to be majorly making up for that in other aspects.
I like Paul Lambert, his passing is underrated. I think he’s one of the best kick passers in the county. Short, but he’s quite strong when he pumps the legs.
It’s with almost perverse relief that I watch someone else take on the Dubs today and not have to suffer the stress and anxiety of watching Mayo in another final. I watched the Shawshank Redemption again recently. Red, one of the inmates, reflecting on the hope of getting out of prison, declared angrily at one point that “hope is a dangerous thing, it can drive you mad”. Maybe that’s why I am more than happy to sit aside today.
Dublin should win easily. Kerry are young and inexperienced and they have a management team in their first year at senior level. On the other hand Dublin haven’t always performed in finals like they were supposed to. Or maybe it was a case of Mayo not letting them perform. I would like to think so.
Do I care who wins? Not really! Part of me would like to see this Dublin team go on to make history. Another part would enjoy watching their apple cart being up-scuttled. But then I would have to contend with the thought that Kerry were able to do it when we couldn’t. Ah well……let them at!
Looking at all 30 players named to start today only 3 players are under 6 foot.They are Tom O’Sullivan, Paul Murphy and Con O’Callaghan all exceptional footballers.
The gap between Dublin and the rest is NOT closing but rather all the evidence and would suggest that the gap is getting wider. Rather than me listing all the numbers, statistics related to population, finance, match statistics etc please read articles from multiple sports journalists that have done the research and highlighted this. (I have pasted below an extract from an article from that rag the Independent which was linked by a previous poster)
That’s not to say that Kerry will not put it up to Dublin today and quite possibly even win, in sport and especially when it comes down to a two horse race you always have a chance. But a win for Kerry would only allow the neigh sayers in the GAA higherarchy to bury their heads in the sand continuing as normal.
Major structural change is required at central GAA Council level to provide local County Boards with the same sort of structural and financial support Dublin have been afforded over the last 10 years at the expense of others.
You don’t need a college degree to understand that if you have natural advantages of population and geography and you underpin these natural resource with major financial investment in structures and coaching (at the expense of other counties) then you will get a far better product as an output.
Dublin supported by central council are running a professionally funded slick organisation whilst even their closest rivals like Mayo are at best semi professional operations struggling along manfully against the natural disadvantages of population, geography but most importantly against the central council designed disadvantages of finance and development support.
The GAA need to take a long term view with a long term plan which distributes investment in coaching and structures at a national level and not just a local metropolitan level. The kids in Belmullet deserve just as much coaching and development as the kids in Ballyfermot.
That’s why I want Dublin to win today by double digits, not because I have a strange affinity for the Dubs or a long held predudice for the Kerry man, but because the bean counters in the suits at Central council need to be shocked out of their state of denial as they will not change without resistance and pressure being brought to bear. They are Turkeys feeding out of the same Dublin trough and Turkeys will not vote for Christmas if given the choice.
UP THE DUBS!
Below from the tabloid rag known as the Irish Independent
“The team that won out in the 2015 final, only six started this semi-final. That means that in the space of a mere four campaigns, already the best side out there have been able to replace 60 per cent of their players and by doing so are winning by more and more as we’ve reached a 14.8 points per game average margin. On top of that, while the under-20/21 football championship has been going since 1964, four of Dublin’s five wins have come since 2010 and they were close to doing it again in 2019.
Does that sound competitive?
Does that sound natural?
Does that sounds cyclical?
Does that sound sustainable?
That’s up to you.
We also know as a matter of record the finance that coincided with this. According to those within the Irish Sports Council, between 2005 and 2009, a total of €5m was made available to Dublin via the taxpayer for games development projects. Meanwhile breakdowns have shown that between 2007 and 2017, in terms of GAA development funding, while Kerry received €730,881, Dublin were handed over €16,612,845. As context regarding the rest, Cork were second on that list getting €1,185,267.
This money is aimed at increasing underage participation and increasing skill-sets. What it’s meant is that while Dublin have been able to direct their uniquely giant sponsorship based on market size and population into elite areas up the ladder, others who get far less from commercial endorsements have to use them to pay”
WMD your last couple of posts are 100% on the money and are better articulated than I could ever dream of doing. Very well said.
Regarding the match today, for me it’s a case of which of them do I want to lose the more.
I think Kerry have a great chance. People are still underestimating the pressure Dublin will be under today. Incalculable. If they do win, fair play, that will make them a special team. With social media and widespread media in general, pressure must be far greater now than a few decades ago. To insulate players against that takes something very special. Dubs have done this brilliantly over the last 7 years but I just feel today’s the day the footballing landscape could change with a Kerry win. Kerry have lost heap of semis and a couple of All Ireland’s in recent times to Dublin. While a lot of Kerry personnel have changed since then and this is effectively a new team, they have one hell of a cause today, to stop the rot and show the footballing world that they are Kerry, to prevent the 5 in a row. Their tradition will rightly drive them.
On another note I see that Brogan has not made the match day squad. I don’t know what goes on behind closed doors in the Dublin machine but on the face if it, if I was in Bernard Brogan’s shoes and was being dropped for a man who was half way up the steps of an airplane to the USA only a few weeks back and previously took a year out in the USA whilst I was striving to recuperate from a serious injury, then I would be ripping Jim Gavin and his selectors a whole new arse whole to spout from. It will be interesting to read Brogan’s memoirs in a year or two or will the machine demand total silence and obedience?
The man can’t be happy, I would be stripping the paint off the dressing room walls but that’s just me.
In a way it also illustrates at least one difference between Mayo & Dublin. Where as Mayo strived to keep a loyal servant and team leader engaged and involved throughout his recovery program Dublin can afford to cast Brogan aside. I hope it blows up in their faces, come on Bernard say like it is!!
There is no room for sentiment at the top level in sport. Gavin obviously feels the subs he has picked can come on in and do a better job than Brogan.
We have people on here saying players should decide themselves when they retire and leave the Mayo panel. James Horan decides who is in the Mayo panel next year – not players or sentiment.
I give Kerry a good chance today. They will ask serious questions of Dublin full back line – something we didnt do in semi final.
Selection at the top level should also be based on consistent measureable performance at the top level and apart from a cameo appearance in a B game against Tyrone Connolly has no performance at County or even club level to be measured upon excet pure sentiment. Yes in the recent past on his best day he is a class player and can turn a game with an incisive pass or move but he has also been known to do the opposite. At the top level of performance the USA or Jamaican Olympic sprint selectors don’t select their sprinters because one of them did a sub a 10 one hundred metres a year or 18 months ago, selection is based on neasureabke performance at the top level and that’s not A V B games. So to me Connolly selection would seem to be purely based on sentiment.
I will be shouting for Galway in the Minor Final today….A very poor crowd in for the start of the Minor Match, TnaG4 done well to pick out 2 fan’s for each Cork and Galway going into the Match….It wouldn’t be like that if Mayo were playing… Out of the 82,300 Space’s for the fan’s in Croke Park, at least? 70,000 are still available for the tens of thousands of resident Croke Park Sea Gulls can land and have a good view of the Minor Match… It’s hard to know what to wish for in the Senior Final, I could say plenty Negative about it but unfortunately True, but I won’t, definitely the best TWO team’s of this year’s Championship are in the Final… Those British subject’s who bow their head’s and courtesy to the Queen never publicy complain about the Monarchy, it was a bit like that on ‘Up for the Match’ last night, should have been called ‘Opt out for the Match’
I want Dublin to win. The drive for six will not have the same romance attached to it and this could take away from the absolute dedication required to maintain their position as the untouchables. The support base will lose interest also as will have seen it all before and won’t be arsed going to matches. The players also will have the edge taken off as too many easy wins in championship will undermine their competitive instincts. The GAA hierarchy will also be hoping that Dublin will get the five and not continue the run. They are the greatest team of athletes to ever play the game and there is no doubt about that. They are also the first professional team to play the game. They have every advantage required to achieve this, population, money and proximity to where they train and play. The level playing field does not exist in the GAA and never has. The disparity has never been more obvious or as large. All you are left with is two provinces, Ulster and Connacht, where there is a competitive element in the championship. The GAA will put the final nail in the coffin of rural Ireland.
PS, with the usual design mowed into the Grass in Croke Park, it’s very difficult to pick out the, 65, _45 meter line’s etc! From my TV at least!
Regarding the above comment about Mayo players themselves being allowed to decide when to retire. I think they deserve a bit of time and space and respect to reflect on whether they want to retire or not but the reality is some of the older players are still around because there is no one coming through better than them to take their place. You look at Andy he had a good season he was the difference against Donegal when the game was there for the taking. Colm Boyle had one of his best seasons ever Chris Barrett too and Seamus O’Shea didn’t do a lot wrong. I’m sure if and when there are better footballers out there James Horan will have them in the Panel in fairness to him he has freshened things up with James Carr Matthew Ruane Fionn Mc Donagh Conor Diskin Mikey Murray James Mc Cormack etc making the team and match day panel and others who started against New York including one that won man of the match against NY completely dropping out of the match day 26. I think Horan will get it right and
Next year will be a very exciting year.
Thanks to all those who have wished Dublin well today. Entirely fitting with the general tone of most commentary in this place.
I know there is a feeling of unfair advantages for Dublin and I agree that we are finally seeing the intrinsic unfairness of the county/population system coming to fruition. Of course I want Dublin to win today and win or lose, this Dublin team will remain one of the greats.
But I also feel that we are nearing the end of the game as we have known it. Professionalism is only coming closer and although I would personally resist it with every fibre I think time is running out. And at the same time, the county system becomes increasingly bankrupt.
All that for another day though. Today is about a great story in sport, one way or another sporting legends will be cast today.
I won’t, Cynical Cynthia, for the reasons I gave when responding to the email in which that information was sent to me. If the Mayo GAA Foundation want to publish anything then, as I said in my mail, it makes sense for them to do so on their own website rather than looking for me to publish it here. Aside from anything else, I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to publish here on the blog information on behalf of a third party that they haven’t already published themselves, not least given the controversy surrounding it. I’d agree, by the way, that the use of Instagram to flag the breakdown was odd. Very odd, in my view.
Sweet Jesus, that was an incredible end to the Minor final – what an advertisement for the game. It’s going to be tough for whichever of them loses it in extra-time.
I hope that the Senior Match is half as good as the Minors… Some great Skills, Great Goals, Point’s Scored, Great Drama, going on for extra time, So far you would have to congratulate the U17 Minors from Both Galway and Cork, hardly deserves to be a looser, but the football played by both is definitely the winner today!
Hard luck, Galway – they died with their boots on for sure. Fair play to them for such a battling display. We’ll be hearing more about some of those lads in future years.
The music in the Neutral Venue, is as Neutral as the Top Brass hirachey of the GAA ‘Dublin in the rare auld Time’s’ ring’s around Croke Park, HQ of the supposedly Neutral GAA…A small spattering of Kerry Fan’s are shifted to the corners of Hill 16, by the neutral steward’s of the GAA…Fair Play to those Kerry Fan’s who are in the Hill, but Kerry Fan’s aren’t Mayo fan’s in their multitude, noise,colour and defiance… Congratulations to a superb Cork Team for the Minors Great Win, Commeserations to a very Gallant, Skillful and Excellent Galway Minor Team .Hard Luck Lad’s to our fellow Connacht young Rival’s!
Kerry mafia did its job very well.
Ordinarily Cooper would have gotten away with two out of three of those tackles.
I thought peno was the soft one. Brief contact, very brief.
Now see the power of getting into refs head. Amazing.
Leantimes sure I remember when we were playing Dublin in finals the half time entertainment was Imelda May with her hammed up liberties “ya’ll riot”? Accent Damo Dempsey another Dub and another year Aslan wouldn’t that sicken any Mayo fan the GAA are pure Dublin biased they should for a start roof the hill put seats in it and make it open to everyone it’s a disgrace how Croke Park is treated as Dublin’s home venue. The rest of the country should refuse to play another game for the GAA until these imbalances are redressed. The likes of Martin the Dub and thousands more Dublin fans aren’t to blame for these imbalances but it’s gone beyond a joke now. Fair play to the Mayo team in 06 for taking the hill and the match
Would Cooper have been sent off for those challenges against a Mayo man. Doubtful….
Copper and Philly got away with that stuff for years against us, how many times did they haul down Aido or Andy in the square, anyone’s game now….
Few teams have the heft and influence of Kerry and Dublin. In tight margins it matters in a massive way.
When is the replay
Well, I guess for those who didn’t care to see either of them win it’s the perfect result. Seriously, though, you can’t but think that Kerry’s chance has gone, hard to see them sticking with Dublin 15 on 15 in the replay. Incredible too how Dublin have managed to avoid defeat in all these tight finals this decade. 2011, 2013, 2016 (after a replay) and 2017, all won by a single point. In games of such tight margins you’d have to think they’d have lost at least one of those.
Dublin will win it the next day No matter what Brogan says Jim Gavin will be banging tables that they had a man sent off you can be sure it won’t happen the next day. Credit to both teams for a great game but you have to feel if Kerry couldn’t beat the Dubs with 14 men on the field they’ll hardly beat them the next day with 15 but you never know fair play to Kerry tho no more than Mayo in the recent finals they didn’t give two hoots about Dublin they went out to try and win. I have to admit I kept thinking about the 20 seconds we were a man up
In the final and what might have been
Kerry are some bottlers lol.
Kerry played against 14 men for 45 mins and couldn’t win. You can bet that if that was mayo we’d be branded bottlers.
So much for “high end, marquee forwards” etc. Average at best, the lot of them, on both sides. Geaney, o’Brien, mannion, o’callaghan, all poor.
Dublin will win handy the next day out.
It was a definite sending off andd gave Kerry a great shot but 15 on 15 Dublin will win.
Penalty miss will really play on Geaneys mind forever
Jack McCaffrey 1-03 today .. Show’s how good Paddy Durcan has been all this year, held Jack McC scoreless, and notched up two points himself… the same thing V Donegal’s Ryan McHugh, and Galway’s Shane Walsh. Surely must be a shoe in for an All Star Now
You can add Clifford to that list too, Liberal role. Young Spillane was completely unheralded but his 1-1 in the second half was hugely impressive.
Yeah and Geaneys penalty was poor. A nice height for Cluxton needed to be nearer the corner.
Kerry should have won that game.
They missed at least 5 goal chances.
Kerry left it behind them.
Would Fenton have such a ‘mare against us……
Jack Barry seems to be able completely negate Fenton. Stephen Coen is a similar player to Barry and should be studying Barry’s performance for future encounters.
Kerry should have won but only themselves to blame. They will win all Ireland’s with that team though , massive potential there , lots of young men to get stronger and gain experience.
I knew Kerry would put it up to Dublin today and will n the replay too. A lot of Kerry players didn’t play well today either. Kerry have the forwards to create goal chances – that’s a huge factor. They will cause Dublin backs trouble in replay too.
I thought the Dublin backs were afraid of the Kerry forwards esp in the first half – of their ability, of their reputation. John Small and Johnny Cooper went in quite physically against them. They seemed jittery ( I thought Mayo did well on many occasions in the past to cleanly contain the Kerry forwards). Kerry forwards might not have heavily scored from play but their reputation seemed to unnerve Dublin.
Dublin conceded numerous frees especially in the first half because of trying to contain Kerry backs. I felt that was unnecessary.
But Kerry put in a great performance. How lucky of them to have a 14 man Dublin as an opponent for so long.
Dublin looked really ordinary at times. We’re not used to seeing them like this.
Good entertaining stuff but you would have to say that Kerry have left this opportunity behind them. When they go to bed tonight a few of them will have post traumatic flash backs of the goal opportunities missed and also towards the business end of the game, a point to the good, with the extra man, experienced players like David Moran carried the ball into the tackle and were turned over on a number of occasions.
Luckily for Kerry, Dublin also got the “Droive for 5” jitters and took some uncharacteristic long range pot shots coming down the straight after hard won possession.
Hawk Eye was a Kerry Bald Eagle saving the day on one occasion.
Not sure why Rock kicked that last chance from the ground when from the hands he could have improved the angle by stealing a yard or two?
Still my highlight of the afternoon has to be the cometh the hour cometh the hero Diarmo moment and his hail Mary pot shot from outside “the scoring zone”
Sorry to finish on the negative note but nice one Diarmo!
I think the tight margin wins are down to a refusal to lose, poor shot selection and misses by opponents and a bit of luck. Dublin were poor today but Kerry still couldnt win. Its hard to see Dublin misfire again so Kerry will need to produce even more to avoid defeat. We were unlucky in the minors had it won but learned the lesson of conceding a goal just after scoring one. There are some nice players on the team though so hopefully some can be brought through.
Glad its not us having flash backs on a final tonight for a change..Did I hear right that the replay is scheduled for 6pm??!!
If Mannion, Con, Clifford, Geaney & O’Brien are only average, that doesn’t say a lot for our much heralded defence. Every one of those players mentioned absolutely tore us apart. Kerry will be kicking themselves, they got so much right. But Jack McCaffrey and Brian Howard were immense and they kept Dublin ticking over
We’d be chastised if we didnt beat them when they had 14 men for 48 minutes. Maybe that Kerry team will win an AI, maybe they won’t. They absolutely bottled that today, Gough gave them everything also! How Tom O’Sullivan wasn’t sent off ill never know. Dublin were always going to have a few jitters with immortality on the line.. kerry filled the togs and and socks. Dublin by 7 plus Saturday week.
So when Rock misses a last second free,he was “heavy-legged” but when Cillian missed a similar one,he”‘bottled it”.-what a loada bollox.
Imo it was all too frantic in Croke Park today. Crying out for a few real footballers (as opposed to athletes) around the middle who were capable of dictating events and orchestrating their colleagues’ responses. Instead we got headless stuff, franked by both sides’ inability to make appropriate decisions when leading. However as the media opinion formers were impressed, we the masses will no doubt be expected to get in line and dust down the mandatory superlatives.
WJ – Ian surprised they you and other contributors have listed both Con O’Callaghan and David Clifford as ordinary today – both in my opinion were very influential – Mayo’s lack of a quality close range finisher will an on ongoing problem as it has been in the past.
Stop whinging – the reason other counties label us as bottlers is because we weren’t able to close out those big games against Dublin – in our prime and on days when they completely under performed. By comparison this Kerry team are only on the very beginnings of their journey and at least 5yrs away from reaching their prime. Our ship has sailed – Kerry’s is only leaving the harbour.
I think a case could easily be made for Brogan to be on subs bench at the very least the next day. Diarmo may have kicked his last ball of 2019. Hed give Kerry something different to think about.
If anything, both sets of forwards today deserve greater criticism precisely because Gough is so pernickity. It should have been a forwards day. They were given every chance and lauded all round as some of the greatest forwards ever. They disappointed greatly.
You can only assume they’ll improve for Saturday week.
I meant above that the Kerry forwards had a very big influence on this game in my opinion although they didn’t score a lot directly. Their reputation and potential seemed to unnerve the Dublin defenders who conceded numerous frees in the first half that Sean O’Shea converted.
Although the likes of Clifford and Geaney didn’t put a dint on the scoreboard I thought they played excellently contorting themselves, accelerating, twisting and turning with guile. They had a huge influence in the game in my opinion in that their threat was the reason Kerry won so many frees, duly scored. Dublin I thought unnecessarily gave those frees away with their defending.
For the life of me, I don’t know how Kerry kept Con O’C quiet.
45, I find your comment a bit strident. Mayo lost many finals indeed. And several by a point. We also drew. Kerry drew with the advantage of a man up for most of the match. I do agree that Kerry’s time is coming. Great to see that for a team that didn’t advance very far last year. Donie Buckley is helping to make them defensively stronger.
There is hope for Mayo in the coming years. Let us not despair.
Great game, probably a fair result. My initial thought was that Kerry have lost their chance, however if they have a better conversion rate the next day, then they will not need to create as many chances. Donie Buckley’s mark was evident in their tackling, particularly in the first half.
I cannot agree that the forwards on display today were ordinary, Clifford played as if it was his first final, he will be better the next day. This will become a very good Kerry side, but still think that the Dubs will do it in two weeks, McCaffrey, Howard, Rock and Kilkenny did well, and showed great leadership in the last 10 minutes. Will Fenton and CON be as quiet again? How Kerry would have wished for a draw in ’82!
[Deleted].
Clifford is u20. O’Shea is u21. Scored 5 points from play between them. O Shea gave an exhibition of free taking and 45s. Would love if we had a forward in Mayo close to that level of free taking reliability. Especially from the 45 meter range.
Swallow hoops you are spot on and I agree with you, the reality is that Kerry respect but don’t fear the Dubs. Nest Saturday week several forwards on both sides will want to put the record straight and the winning team will deserve their victory. Tonight I think all the players on that field today fought their hardest and in truth many of them were troubled by All Ireland Final gremlins or demons for various reasons. As rock lined up that free kick I felt like Caesar held his thumb level and the multitudes holding their breaths wondered whether it was thumbs up or down for Kerry.
Tonight we’ll gather our traps and return to the Kingdom to develop a new plan to unsettle and poke holes in the Dubs DF5. The weekend after next we go again simple as.
In 2 years time Geaney and O’Brien will be in their 30’s. Clifford will always be a class act, Sean O’Shea is over rated. Deadly on the frees (within his range) but doesn’t do enough damage from play. When you consider defences really focus on Clifford, Geaney and now O’Brien, you’d think Sean O Shea would clean up with the less attention…..just another over rated media darling,, James O’Donoghue or Young Spillane miles better players.
Glad the good Lord intervened and pushed Connolley’s kick wide. I don’t think I could’ve taken all the media backslapping and praise for Gavin’s brilliance of letting him rejoin the panel. Not sure we will see him in the replay.
To read some of the posts above, you’d think that there were 3 teams in the Senior Final today. Dublin, Kerry and Mayo. Some people above can’t analyse a Dublin v Kerry final without trying to put a Mayo slant on it.
I doubt if any of the 82,000 attendance today, even mentioned Mayo. Move on folks.
As for those on about Bernard Brogan not making the 26 today ?…Maybe he hasn’t been doing it in training ?
Geaney has been very average for a few years and hasn’t been any great shakes this year. I don’t think players should be put on pedestals. Thats been our flaw in the past, lauding Kerry players. I always come back to Tyrone in the noughties.
It is a Mayo blog observer 2. The Mayo senior team might be mentioned now again….
For people who think Sean o Shea is over rated remember he is still u21. He scored 10 points today from I think 10 shots at goal. 4 points from play (left and right foot) 3 points from 3 from 45s and 3 points from frees. Not bad.
Sean Burke – I see you’re back, with a different email address but the same chips on your shoulder and the same antagonistic style of commentary. Now that I’ve noticed the new email address, you’re back in moderation and will stay there until you learn how to comment in a reasonable manner here.
Players experience peaks and troughs all the time and only the very few stay consistent. I remember around 2013/14 for instance Cillian was unmarkable. Scoring goals for fun and kicking everything in sight from frees, every bit as good as Sean o’shea. Annihilating the Kerry backline in Limerick in 14 only to be incredibly unlucky to clash heads with Aido. Like many players, Cillian was unlucky with injuries and for whatever reason his form has been patchy for a while now. James o’donoghue another example. Devastating circa 2014, now where is he?? Granted, another plagued with injury.
Remember Gooch, for me the greatest ever, in the 2015 final I think it was, effectively marking Philly Mc! That was the respect the Dublin corner back gave Colm Cooper. It was an embarrassment for the kingdom’s greatest. For good forwards like this to thrive they undoubtedly need the scaffolding of a good team behind them. But no player is invincible or untouchable. Not one. And its up to the opposition to make these players doubt themselves. And doubt can creep in to any players head.
Not Half Fast – I surely have to agree that when that Hail Mary punt from Darling Diarmo sailed wide I sighed with relief as I couldn’t bear the onslaught of hero adulation if he had levelled the game up and Dublin went onto win.
The pain would be just to much to bear, I was scanning with one eye for the carving knife from the Sunday roast which was on the table with my other eye on the ball as it sailed wide, in that frozen moment of time Seppuku was my chosen mode of escape from the hype in the Dublin centrist press if it had gone over.
Thankfully the only thing I sliced this afternoon was the beef and as tough as my own auld grizzle it was too.
i don’t know why Connolly is selected in front of Brogan and maybe as somebody previously posted he is tearing up the place at training, but the fact remains that he wasn’t at training all year where as Brogan has been there whilst Connolly was trying get on a flight to the USA. So on what basis of performance analysis was he even recalled to the Dublin squad, because he looked quite dangerous and nifty as he shimmied round the ques at passport control?
I previously speculated on this blog that the master tactician Jim Gavin and his PR teams had recalled Connolly as a ruse to distract the blood hounds of the press from the inevitable hype round the Drive For 5 as they got to the business end of the season, that is throwing the press hacks a sacrificial lamb of their Darling Diarmo would distract them from the Drive For 5 hype in the run in and give them enough to fill pages with.
Maybe I was wrong or giving Jim too much credit as if that was the case why put Connolly in the final day 26?
It cannot be good for squad moral and anybody who ever even played club junior football will know the disquiet having a loyal soldier dropped from a final day team for a sunshine turn up when I feel like it player causes in the squad. Everybody will support selectors and management if everybody is pulling in the right direction and putting the same commitment in but making special cases for a fans favourite because he produced a few match winning performances 2 years ago is in the long run counter productive.
Maybe Jim is slipping, if you keep reading your own press releases and hearing how infallible you are eventually you start to believe it yourself and he was certainly caught out on the sideline with some poor decisions or lack of decisions today.
Never the less winning always covers up these failings, managers are veritable geniuses when teams are winning and fools when loosing, but loosing generally draws out any behind the scenes rancour and disquiet.
Thankfully I didn’t see the RTE coverage today and the general school yard nonsense passed off as game analysis that goes on between Brolly & Spliinane. But there is no doubt that Cooper deserved to see Red and there is a case to be made also for Tom O’Sullivan seeing the line also. I don’t know what Kieran Whelan was bleating on about.
Anyway you have too feel Kerry missed the boat today, how they missed so many goal opportunities and failing to push on at the end will haunt them.
I can’t see Dublin being that poor again and even with 14 men they had the last 5 chances of the game scoring only one (Howard -miss, Connolly-Miss, Costello- miss, Rock-score, Rock-miss)
That wont happen again, but who knows it is sport and a two horse race at that.
WMD you ask “How funding organisations such as the Mayogaafoundation are granted with oversight or authority in relation to the allocation of funding is unclear to me and I assume others?”
Go back and read the Horan Report as PREPARED by Liam Horan not as it was neutered by the County Board.
Then everything will make sense.