12 thoughts on “Poll: how will we do in 2013?”

1. We weren’t far away in 2012, some of the football played against Down, Dublin and for part of the final was of the finest I’ve ever seen from a mayo team in the past 45 years.What was lacking was that most important ingredient,’Luck’ and we didn’t have much of that, which when lacking can demoralize and undermine even the greatest of effort, even from the best.
   All that said,I do believe that we were short of a couple of really ‘stand out’ players, the likes of a ‘Gooch’ or Murphy up front. Kevin Mc for my money is the best footballer in the country by a mile and he portrays above all others the self belief that is needed when your luck is out and what is needed to push on, he can’t however do it on his own, he needs a couple in front of him that has the same hunger and who he can offload to, the same goes for Alan D (who, except for the final gave a great showing throughout the year ). Imo the rest of the team is solid and can only gain from the experience they gathered in the season that was 2012 and I believe Donie will return to his best in 2013.
   What was a delight was the way the team played and executed the footpass, splitting the opposition while conserving energy, again this play went unrewarded quite a lot with wasteful and hurried snatch shooting.
   So at the end of a year that gave us much but not the ultimate, I think we are in a good position to push on in the year ahead and if the attitude the lads showed at the homecoming is still alive then I think we will settle a lot of old scores but we do need a couple of good front men and Andy back.
   Thanks WJ for the site and the very best to you and all on the site for 2013

2. There’s no reason Mayo will not be in the mix for Sam in 2013. If anything they should be stronger after the defeat in 2012 and with a lot of young players in the team and panel they are fresh enough to go out and do it all over again with even more hunger.
   Kerry,cork and Dublin will be the main obstacles and all are beatable by this Mayo as we have seen. I think the key is that we get one or 2 big lads up front as an option, 6′ 2 plus and strong, not necessarily geniuses with a ball but able to win it when it’s dropping in the scoring zone,hold it and shoot. We badly need that option and to look back at the way the dubs were allowed back into the semi because of very simple mistakes and easy turnovers.
   I don’t buy the easy route in 2012 thing neither, we won our own provincial championship, beat the ulster finalists, beat the Leinster and reigning allireland champions and gave the current champions more than they could handle for 55 minutes, we let ourselves down with bad shooting and poorer free taking on the day.
   For 2013 I would leave the defense as it was in 2012, midfield the same and definetly bring 2 big forwards into the panel, I mean big as in physically imposing and hard to knock like aiden o se is. When you have mcloughlin, oconnor,dillon,conroy and co to start 2013 with you are already ahead of most teams but the big players would add a dimension we don’t have now.
   I also think that Mortimer (blonde) should be in the panel, he’s too good not to be there. Jh and himself should get it done one way or the other.
   Mayo fans and players should not be overly concerned about Kerry or the rest, Mayo are just as good as them today. We need to support our own and our team need to increase their game a fraction.

3. I agree with the first post, McLaughlin gave some great passes and can score himself. My favourite plays were
   1. The pass conroy gave mort in the league semi for a point
   2. Andy’s pass and dohertys run for the goal against down
   3. Dohertys point against Dublin
   4. Aiden o se high catch against Sligo just after he came on
   5. Keegan clearing his line with a badly smashed finger, against the dubs , he is one of a few real fighters on the panel.
   6. Colm boyles goal against Kerry when the goal was really all that could save us In the league semi

   We are lucky to have these type men in the jersey

4. “I also think that Mortimer (blonde) should be in the panel, he’s too good not to be there. Jh and himself should get it done one way or the other.”

   Good or not the fact is he turned his back on his county before the Connacht final and his family didn’t help themselves with those comments to the media. It’s very unlikely that Mortimer will return with James Horan around he certainly wouldn’t return if i were manager.

5. This year we won Connacht beating Leitrim (Div 4 side) and Sligo (Div 3 side) in the quarter final we faced Down whom reached the Ulster final because they were on the easier side of the draw and Donegal had soften them up before our game. The win over Dublin was our best but the last 10,15mins kinda told us we wouldn’t be good enough to win the All Ireland.

   I voted for Another Connacht title and decent showing in the All-Ireland series because i feel we are better than every side in Connacht however the tougher draw next year will take more out of us and i expect us to bow out by the semi final stage.

6. we must win connacht, then we can see how the draw opens out before us. we can definitely win an all ireland with this panel and management

7. Why is it a must to win Connacht? Kerry,Cork,Tyrone,Galway have all won Sam without needing to win a provincial title.

8. we have been pitiful in the qualifiers since their inception MO2013 , the path would be much much tougher that way and its tough enough the other way

9. How will we do in 2013? God only knows! We are capable of winning the All Ireland. Last September proved that we are not far off the mark. That said we had severe limitations:
   1. Our inability to defend against the likes of McFadden and Murphy
   2. The lack of a lethal force up front (two forward that will scare the daylight out of any defender)

   If we can fix those problems and we can stay injury free then I would have no hesitation in saying we have an excellent chance.

10. Its seems that in the few months since we lost another All Ireland final, we tend to forget the ugly and romanticize the average. Fact is, we (team and manager) blew it big time in the first 15 mins of that game..
    I agree with some that we need another impact player, perhaps big and strong and maybe have him parked up front. That will help, and give us another option for attack, while also giving the opposition another dimension to defend.
    Of course, how do we defend against these big lads on other teams? Do we put another “big lad” of our own in there to defend? if so, who makes way for this “big lad”? Despite those early “killer” goals in the AI, I believe we are ok in the back line. I think they are good enough to win with these lads. However the manager and team better cop on and do what ever is necessary to prevent goals in Croke Park, cause goals win games…as was evident in the AI..

    All things considered, the manager and team have a massive task ahead this year…nothing short of wnning the AI would be a failing grade.

11. Roger the path will be tough whatever route we take this year. Most here agree we have side that are good enough to challenge for All-Ireland and i don’t think what we did in qualifiers since their inception matters much.

12. Im not too optimistic about our chances next year in the All Ireland Series. We have alot of very good footballers in our first 15 but if you look at the Donegal team for instance, how many mayo players would be on the first 15? its the same with Cork and Kerry. We are certainly in the top 5 in the country but due to a lack of top quality forwards and a couple of tight defenders to support Cafferkey, Keegan and Higgins we are lacking in strenght in depth in a few positions including midfield.

    Hopefully James Horan will get it right and we will give it a good lash again. If we are going to be successful alot depends on the players but the calls on the sideline are crucial. Games are won and lost by big calls, tactics and the tough decisions made by a management team. Lets hope that our guys have learned from the last two years and uncover and give a chance to 3 or 4 players in the county that are hungry for success in the Green and Red. Its all about winning Sam Maguire. Nothing else matters.