The GAA/GPA All-Star nominations list was published late last night and, just like last year, we have ten players on the list. As was also the case twelve months ago the team that beat us in the All-Ireland final – this time Dublin – heads the list with twelve nominations while Ulster champions Monaghan are next on six. Then it’s Kerry with five, Tyrone four, three for Cavan (their best ever showing for sure) and one each for Cork, Donegal (how the mighty have fallen), Galway, Meath and London. It is, of course, the Exiles’ first ever time to have a player nominated for an All-Star.
The ten Mayo lads nominated are Robbie Hennelly, Ger Cafferkey, Chris Barrett, Keith Higgins, Lee Keegan, Donal Vaughan, Colm Boyle, Aidan and Seamus O’Shea and Cillian O’Connor. In addition, Lee has – along with Dublin’s Stephen Cluxton and Michael Darragh Macauley – been shortlisted for the Player of the Year award while Cillian has, once again, been nominated for the Young Player of the Year Award. The two-times winner of this gong is bracketed with Dublin’s Jack McCaffrey and Paul Mannion on this occasion.
Ten All-Star nominations is a fair enough reflection on our season but the one glaring omission from the list is Alan Freeman who had an excellent championship this year and who ahead of the final was in pole position to claim the full-forward slot on the All-Star team. How he’s ended up without even a nomination – when the likes of Colm McFadden and Michael Newman have made the cut in that line – is beyond me and it’s obvious that the inexplicable way he was subbed so early in the final has cost him a shot at an All-Star.
Aside from that, the list looks okay from our perspective. In terms of likely winners, I’d say we’re on course for five (one more than we got last year) with Keith, Lee and Cillian cast-iron certainties, Boyler not far behind (though the media love-in with Jack McCaffrey could unfairly cost him), the O’Shea brothers, Ger Caff and Donie all in the hunt while Robbie and Chris aren’t going to make it any further. I’d say it’ll be Keith, Lee, Colm, Aidan and Cillian.
In the Player of the Year category, I’d say that Lee is unlikely to win out over the two Dublin lads. It’s hard to know which of them will do it but I’ve a feeling that MDMA might get the nod there. Having finished as top scorer in this year’s championship, Cillian definitely deserves to claim the Young Player award for an incredible third year in a row but if Baby Faced Jack doesn’t get onto the All-Star team (and I don’t think he will whereas Cillian is certain to) then I’d say he’ll end up getting this award instead.
The full list of nominations is here. This year it’s the turn of the football awards to be announced on the night and that night is Friday, 8th November at the All-Star banquet in Croke Park.
Wouldn’t rule Barrett out WJ.
Don’t worry Cillian will get YPOTY. he’s 1/6 with bookies aswell. If McCaffrey somehow got it it’d be a farce though
How Cunniffe and Freeman aren’t nominated is beyond me.
Higgins, Keegan, Boyle, COC and AIdan will definitely get one but I think Barrett will too
I’d have Seamus ahead of Aidan
I wouldn’t either, Ciaran, but assuming we get five awards (and I don’t think we’ll get any more than this) then it’s likely to be a choice between him and Ger Caff, Donie and the two O’Sheas for the last one. Cian O’Sullivan hasn’t been nominated at midfield so one of the O’Sheas looks very likely to get that final one (and that will be very close but for the Donegal match alone I’d put Aidan a bit ahead). By the way, Robbie’s nomination means that we’ve had different goalkeepers nominated in successive years: I doubt very much if this has happened before and it shows how well served we are in this position.
That’s a great achievement alright re keepers!
Bit of a cop out putting Cavanagh 12 and COS CB isn’t it? It’s the same every year though!
I’m surprised they didn’t leave COS at mid though, there wouldn’t have been too many complaints had he got one. Donie will be hard done by. They’re obviously trying to accommodate AIdan! In fairness that Donegal performance alone is probably deserving of one alright!
I’d have given Cunniffe one. Don’t know what games these were watching he was dead solid all year. Keith could easily have got one at 12 but such are these awards they’ll have to have a Tyrone man in and sure may aswell throw him in a position he never played!
Agree re probably 5 representatives they’ll do their best avoid a scenario where runners up get more than champs.
If McCaffrey gets one it’ll prove what a joke these are
One good game all year, shown up in the semi and the final
I’ve said it before if Nolan is fit and firing next year Mc will have to make do with warming the bench for the season
In fairness to McCaffrey he was very good all through the league and the Leinster Championship.
Can’t see how Cillian won’t get it though.
Agree that mcaffrey is extremly over rated. One good game against a very slow cork team and thats it. It really annoys me how the media latch on to a player and make him into something he’s not. I think they have been doing the same with kildare over the last 5 years. Tom is very unlucky, cillian a banker for yopty. Mdma will win the senior equivalent im afraid.
Doesn’t it just show you where the obvious weakness in our team is when we have only one nomination out of 18 in the forwards
He had a great league but as far as I know it’s irrelevant for these awards.
He was good against Kildare I guess, but then again they cantered through that game
He’s young, he will improve! But in the two big games he was nowhere to be seen. Similar to KK
Think he’ll find it hard get into team next year though with Cooper/McMahon possibly moved out to wing, Nolan coming back or maybe even COS going back to accomodate Bastick- they may look to freshen things up
In fairness Freeman should really be nominated- how they’ve overlooked him is daft
You could say KH is deserving of one at 12 aswell if he was nominated there like he should be in all honesty. I see your point though definitely and it’s valid
Fair enough if the league taking isn’t being taken into account but just making the point he hasn’t come out of nowhere, v good on u21 team last year.
I can see Bastick being put out to pasture for Dublin, limited footballer in my opinion. The young lad Emmet O Conghaile is going to have a say next year for Dublin around the middle from what I’ve heard from Dubs.
Pity Bastick wasn’t limited in the final made a huge impact when he came in, same v Kerry in semi^^^
Not going to get into a discussion about a Dublin player on mayogaa blog but I’ve seen him a fair bit in the Dublin club Championship down through the years. He made the 2nd goal due to A)Just coming on the field roughly 10 seconds earlier and had no marker B) The worst player for Dublin to have in a goal scoring opportunity and was always going to pass.
Delighted for Chris Barrett getting a nomination . Has had to scrap for his spot on team and drove us in semi when a few others couldn’t.
The omission of Cunniffe is wrong as was the fact that McLoughlin didn’t get one last year. Most recipients are worthy but a few have been given on personality than raw ability and cutting edge final day delivery.
Agreed that one forward nomination again shows our glaring weakness up front. Freeman is unlucky but can blame his substitution in final for not making list.
Higgins, Keegan , O Boyle,SOS and O Connor for me from Mayo. YPOTY is l taking Bob Dylan ” Forever Young” literally with COCs nomination. He’s got it twice , he’s with the big boys now , McCaffrey did enough for that one and COC for the Star. I am sure they would swop the lot for the All Ireland. All Stars are consolation prizes .
How could these awards retain any credibility if Jack Mc Caffrey is given one. It would surely be the first time ever that a guy got an all star despite being substituted at half time in the AI final. Has James mc carthy not been nominated?? Much more deserving than mc caffrey IMO. Would still have Boyle and keegan ahead of both.
Its absurd there is no Freeman nomination. Was our best forward this year even with another good year from Cillian. 10 nominations and only 1 forward included doesnt look great
Cuniffe in particular is a strange one, I thought he was Mayo’s best defender this year while the half-backs made the headlines. McCarthy was Dublin’s best defender this year, that’s a poor choice.
While Freeman has been good, I don’t think he was nearly as effective for his team as Newman or McFadden were. Mickey Newman in particular was outstanding. Meath play a lot of hailmary passes inside and you need very aggressive, hardworking forwards to make that work. Old school.
James McCarthy has been nominated too and he’s also very much in the hunt for a wing-back place though I still can’t see how both Lee Keegan and Colm Boyle can’t get both of these. Paudie Kissane got an All-Star in 2010 despite getting roasted in the final and taken off shortly after half-time so there’s plenty of precedent, I’m afraid, for stupid awards!
@ Alf I would also highly rate O’Conghaile, he was actually the stand out performer of that winning Dublin U21 team, along with a forward called Paul Hudson (despite all the raving about C Kilkenny). Both saw game time during this years league and I would expect that we will see more of them this year.
For me Boyle, Keggan and Higgins should get one. Its nonsense putting Sullivan in the centre back position, Tyrones Cavanagh into wing forward is more nonsense. Aidan O Shea will probably get one although Cavanagh is more deserving of one in this position. Vaughan will not get the centre back position, O Sullivan will, although Vaughan should get it on the basis Sullivan plays in midfield. If O Connor gets one and the Monaghan lad McManus does not its a shame. For me the player of the year was Cavanagh, but he is not even short listed. Therefore Keggan should get it, had an exceptional year. Michael Darragh is a fine big man and a great hearted player, however their is not much actual football in him and how many goal chances did he spurn?
How Higgins was not in the running for POTY is beyond me. He could be an All Star in 2 positions and has been the most consistent player over the last 3 years.
McCaffrey is young, a Dub, smiles alot, has heritage with his Dad, the media (nearly all Dublin based) love him, had 1 good game where no-one marked him at any time, so, therefore, is a shoe in for an award.
Finally, some goos news and somethign to chirp about 😉
Goalkeeper: Correct players nominated here but cannot see beyond Cluxton. For Robbie to come into the team when he did, perform as well as he did and receive a nomination is nothing short of amazing and does prove just how strong we are in that position.
Full Back Line: How Cunniffe did not receive a nomination here is beyond me. in Barrett, Cunniffe, Cafferkey and Higgins Mayo should have 4 nominations for the three spots. Higgins could have been nominated in the half forward line but he did play about 4 1/2 games in the backs and against Tyrone he was mostly deployed as a defensive forward. Because Mayo did not win the All-Ireland Cafferkey is the most under threat here as they might decide to give one to a Monaghan layer just because they won the Ulster title. Cafferkey was far better than O’Carroll all season and in the final he had Brogan in his pocket for the entire first half and most of the second half. How often does a ful forward score 2-2 and people still praise the full back performance? Higgins, Cafferkey and O’Carroll are my picks.
Half Back Line: Cian O’Sullivan being nominated here is a joke and an insult to actual half backs across the country. He did have a good season but it was in midfield, he was only moved to the half back line for 35 minutes of the entire summer. This is a clear case of them squeezing in a player who was not quite good enough for an all-star in his actual position. Keegan and Boyle are surely certaintys for an award here. Keegan, Boyle & O’Sullivan
Midfield: Would be the hardest to pick if they had actually put O’Sullivan and Cavanagh in their actual positions, but because they have been moved in order to guarantee them an award it becomes a bit easier. MDMA is guaranteed one of the places by virtue of his POTY nomination while one of the O’Shea’s should get the other. Seamus would be my pick but Aiden did give the single best individual performance of the summer against Donegal so that should be the tie breaker. MDMA & Aiden O’Shea
Half Forward Line: Probably correct that no Mayo player was nominated here. Higgins could have been but I think he is rightly nominated in the backs. Cavanagh nominated here, much like O’Sullivan in the half backs, is a slap in the face of actual half forwards who played well this season. Someone like Diarmuid Connolly or Cian Mackey is going to miss out because the GAA/GPA are more worried about being politically correct with counties than giving deserving players awards. Cooper is a shoe in here and Flynn should be aswell. Between Cavanagh and Connolly for the third spot and for politics sake they will give it to Cavanagh so that there will be all four semi finalists represented. Flynn, Cooper, Cavanagh
Full Forward Line: Another difficult one to select. Cillian O’Connor, top scorer with 6-22 in 3 1/2 games (average of just over 11 points per game) has to be a show in for one of the spots while Bernard Brogan will get one for his 2-2 in the final and performance against Kerry in the semi, despite the fact that Brogan was beyond useless for the majority of the season. James O’Donoghue is another who deserves an award as he performed to an excellent level on a consistant basis all summer and his performance against Dublin was phenomenal. Conor McManus, a more deserving award winner than Brogan in my view, is going to be the one who misses out here. O’Connor, Brogan, O’Donoghue.
Cluxton, Cafferkey, O’Carroll, Higgins, Boyle, Keegan, O’Sullivan, MDMA, AOS, Flynn, Cooper, Cavanagh, O’Connor, Brogan, O’Donoghue.
6 – Dublin
6 – Mayo
2 – Kerry
1 – Tyrone
Young Player: Cillian O’Connor has no competition for this award and should take it home for a third year in a row. Regardless of any ideas that if he wins an all-star then they wont also give him the individual award. He is still eligable because he was still u21 this season and it is a testament to him and his importance that even while battling a shoulder injury all season which caused him to miss 2 full matches he is still the outstanding young player. Mannion has a better chance than McCaffrey if they actually look at performances rather than what the media has been saying as he was more consistent than young Jack all season. McCaffrey performed well in Leinster, was good against a slow and old Cork team and was then shown up in the semi and the final by superior players. Cillian to win this one
Senior Player: Can’t see past the long distance runner for this award. MacCauley did have a good season and was a driving force for Dublin going forward and strong arguments can be made for them not winning the All-Ireland if it was not for MacCauley’s running ability. But running alone should not win you a player of the year award. Just like kickouts and frees should not win you one either which is what would be the case were the judges to have a brain fart and give the award to Cluxton. Until he proves himself as an actual goalkeeper, shot stopping, commanding his defence etc, then I will not jump on the Cluxton love-in bandwagon. Keegan is a deserving nominee here but I fear, just like the all-ireland final MOTM, he is nothing more than a token nomination. How Keith Higgins did not receive a nomination is beyond me but once again they only look at the eventual champions when it comes to these kind of awards. I think Bernard Brogan is the only player in the last 20 years, at least, to win the award and not bring home Sam in the same year. Higgins had as good a season this year as Brogan in 2010, in different ways of course, but is not even nominated. Once again the National media influences are heard. MDMA to take home the award.
In fairness Keegan WAS our best and most consistent performer throughout the championship, and in my opinion in the final also – deserves POTY nomination ahead of Higgins (they were never going to nominate 2 Mayo players). Keegan is one of the top players in his position, if not the top, I have ever witnessed for Mayo (in 30+ years). A real diamond, and credit to JH for identifying this and facilitating his development (Keegan was not hearlded at underage).
MDMA – fine season, but not outstanding, if it was a proper fair system, Keegan should get it ahead of him. Indeed, Cluxton should too – was never a big fan, but have to admit he was the reason Mayo’s midfield was totally taken out of it in the final, and the winning of the game
full forward line would be cillian brogan and macmanus as monaghan won ulster who am i missing out
James O’Donoghue certainly in with a strong shout. Monaghan dont deserve an all-star just because they won Ulster although I do agree that McManus deserves one, just not for that reason
Unless you win an All-Ireland or are a player from a so called “weaker county”, do all stars really mean anything ?
4 or 5 max all-stars Mayo will get, no way will those selecting them will not give the “mighty” dubs 6 or 7. Lee Keegan a great year though i’m a bit suprised he as chosen before Boyle,Higgins who i thought were better than him.
Hard to believe Monaghan playing out of div 3 this spring have got 6 nominations their one and only big win was against a Donegal side that were well off the pace.
Agree Ciaran , but in 96 if memory serves me right I think we got one more than Meath, but then again they are not the Dubs.
First of all I’m not a great fan of those that pick the All-Stars. A quick read of all the comments above would tell you why. Rather than make a hard decision on midfield, they nominate one near certainty into the half forwards and accommodate another in the half backs.
Some of the media voting are good judges and go the hard yards to matches from February to September. Many others with votes are sunshine reporters that might not have heard of the FBD and regards the early and mid- league games as non-necessary evil.
Of course it’s right that players that impress greatly from teams that don’t make the final stages get nominated. It’s also good that several counties get nominations, but only if they’re good enough. So with this in mind, ask yourself about Freezer and TC not getting nominations.
And 9 out of 10 years, the champions get more awards than the runners-up, regardless of the individuals involved, so one or two players often lose out so the sums read right. So it’s a process where the appearance can be more important than the substance.
All that said, for the players that win the awards, you couldn’t argue that they are deserving, but every year, you can argue that a few were very lucky to get one over someone else.
In my view, theer are 9 certainties this year are: 1. Cluxton, 4. Higgins, 5.Keegan, 6 O’Sullivan. 8. MacAuley, 11. Cooper, 12. Cavanagh, 13. O’Donohue, 14. Brogan
4 Dublin, 2 Mayo, 2 Kerry, & 1 Tyrone.
I’d say the rest could probably be as follows: 2. Walsh (Monaghan), 3. Caff or O’Carroll, 7. Boyle or McCaffrey, 9. A. O’Shea, 10. Flynn, 15, O’Connor. 5/7 Dublin, 4/6 Mayo, 2 Kerry, 1 Tyrone, & 1 Monaghan.
Player of the Year: Cluxton or possibly Keegan.
Young Player of the Year: Cillian or McCaffrey.
Not that bothered one way or another about all star nominations. It is good that the exceptional players get the credit they deserve but alot of times that is not the case. Hype and media blinker reality. Some great players get left by the roadside. Good to see a alot of green and red in for contention but other than that I’m not really bothered.
Now that that musty talk is settling and I can finally see the woods taking the shape away from the tree I can look honestly at what went down.
Did Mayo loose simply because (although they are undoubtable a serious team) they just weren’t good enough to beat a serious Dub team. Take nothing away from Mayo but they are just not good enough to beat the dubs.
That’s the third time that The Dubs beat us in one year. Is there something else? I believe that the something else elephant in the room is the now 63 years.
I do realise that this particular elephant has been paraded around quite alot by lazy pudits and media whores. Bottom line is that on the big day this particular elephant is let loose in the china shop of the mayo players and management psyche.
Never more was this more telling than in the captain, Andy Morans pre game talk. Andy stated that he wanted to win for the supporters. Andy is a man I would have a huge amount of respect for but his thinking is pressured by the elephant.
I would like to tell Andy and the team to think about youselves! Think about the legacy that you can still leave with your families! Be sefish to the hardcore! Win ‘The Fucking Thing” not for us but for each and everyone one of you who sacrifice so much to just fall short. Everything else will fall to place if you think solely about yourselves and your own personal legacy. I know that I repeat but sometimes somethings are worth repeating.
Win it for yourselves and you will win it for us. Everybody wins and the elephant fucks off to some other hard done by supporters.
“Come On Mayo!!!”
Love it.
Absolutely brilliant Joe 🙂
Sorry lads could ,ent give 3 shites about the all stars which is a farce most years anyways, obivously great honour for the boys that gets them but for me i long for the second week in january when show gets on the road again…………..
That’s brillant Joe, totally agree.
Joe Ruane. Spot on as usual. I’m not too interested in this “all star” business. We wont be setting off next May to get 5 all stars in a Dublin hotel on a November night. There is an elephant in the room alright and we need to get rid of that mother. Joe, you are wasted, sitting in the Cusack or Canal End on All Ireland Final day. A fella with a gift for such uplifting and passionate words like that should be inside that Mayo dressing room talking to our players. They would emerge on to the Croke Park pitch with their chests out and full of the right kind of emotion after hearing your words. We certainly dont make full use of our best resources when an orator like you is sitting in row Z watching our lads playing within themselves in front of your eyes. Ah blast it anyway.
A good shot of poitÃn wouldn’t be long sorting them out and another shot at half-time.
Delighted for Keegan who was excellent but for me Higgins has been our stand out player. Think Cavanagh is best midfielder in country and should have been nominated there. Wouldn’t be over critical of McCaffrey because he supposedly played only one good game. He played a lot of good games. People are saying the same things about AOS. For what its worth I think Boyle and Keegan should get the wing back positions and Aiden will get midfield. Higgins is a certainty while Cillian will probably get corner forward. Caff had a good season but will possibly lose out to Dub full back somewhat undeservedly.
Nice recognition for the players who receive them but no doubt all the Mayo nominees care about are celtic crosses.
Joe and johno, two great posts. I agree so totally with not giving a damn about allstars, they would be a bonus on top of an all Ireland medal but that’s all.
I think Andy might have been trying to be nice about it, he really shouldn’t care about winning it for me or anyone else on here. Win it for yourself Andy, you’ve worked hard enough and had enough heartbreak to win it without worrying about us. Same for Alan dillon, I hope he gives it another rattle, even as a sub, they can win it if they keep the pressure on. They are every bit as good as. Dublin, the near misses in the final cost the Sam Maguire.
Keep calm, get back to your training after a break and march on, I think it’s safe saying there 130,000 I’m Mayo backing you and many more outside Mayo the same.
Up Mayo
I was never inside a dressing room on A I final day so I don’t know what goes on in there. But the elephant certainly exists among us the supporters and it would be hard to believe it doesn’t filter through to the team. So your advice Joe is certainly spot on. However, I think that is how top sports men and women think anyway – certainly those who succeed at the highest level. They have to be selfish in their approach.
The other point you raise could well be true – that they were better than us! I kept a close eye and ear on the pundits and ” experts” and they almost all went for Dublin. O Rourke declared after the Kerry match that ‘this is bad news for Mayo’. I have to say I felt the same way after that game. And yet we could have turned them over in the first 20 mins like we did to Galway.
Truth is we are not far off the mark and the lads owe it to themselves to go finish the job next year. Hup Mayo!
i woud put james mccarthy ahead of mccaffery for the simple reason is he was was bad aganst mayo and kerry and mccarthy had a great year and deserves an all star
WJ, could you please write a post about season tickets. Difference between the GAA ones and Cairde Mhaigh Eo?
Good man Joe ,
Lovely spake as always, one of my favourites on here.
CM ones €200 gets u into club and mayo league games and first round of championship a free jacket and if Mayo get through to AI the right to buy a ticket they also give you an option to renew for following year and this entitles you to buy another AI ticket … The Croke Park ones cost 85 or 75 if you get them earlier out at the end of the month they get you into all mayo league matches + 1st round of championship after that money is taken from your account online if Mayo progress with a discount of €5 you print tickets and scan at the gate the difference with these ones is you must attend ( get tickets scanned) 60% of games to qualify for a ticket if Mayo get through to AI whereas the CM ones I understand you don’t … That’s as much as I understand from them I think the Croke park ones are fantastic and will be renewing mine at the end of the month they are fantastic to deal with and always very fast to reply to any queries … Still keeping the dream alive !!! 🙂 Also going to get the children ones which cost €10 hope that helps !!!
As I understand it MM there are a few differences between the two types of tickets. The Croke Park version is cheaper (€75 versus €200 for Cairde Mhaigheo), is more online-friendly and has options such as being able to create groups of ticket holders so that you can arrange to sit beside friends and family members. However, the Croke Park ticket only entitles the holder to an All-Ireland final ticket (should your county make it that far) if he/she has attended 60% of matches (I’m not sure if this is league and championship or championship only – maybe someone more in the know could clarify). The Cairde Mhaigheo ticket has no such attendance requirement and for the last two years members have been given the right to buy not only one All-Ireland final ticket but a second one on condition that they renew their membership for the following year at the same time. The Cairde Mhaigheo ticket provides free access to all club matches within the county (I don’t know if the Croke Park one does too), all league games and the first round of the championship with subsequent championship matches (apart from the final) costing €5 less than the normal ticket price. I’m not sure to what extent these concessions are also available with the Croke Park ticket.
That’s about the sum total of my knowledge on the two tickets. If anyone has anything to add on the topic, please do.
The league games count towards the percentage as well.
Hi ,Livenhope,
I knew all you said , Barr the last line about the children , is it possible to get child’s season ticket for a tenner . Two grand kids now, must put them on the right path at the least possible cost.
Yes ,W J. The league does count , and rightly so.
It’s easy to attend 60 per/cent of championship matches
@nephin yes I didn’t last year because for some reason thought that they wouldn’t be entitled to an AI ticket I did a bit more research and yes their season ticket costs 10 but if Mayo do get through to the 3rd Sunday in Sept they would still pay full price for a ticket!!! Get those grandchildren on the right path 🙂 I’d put up a link if I could but a bit crap at that stuff !!!
It’s league and championship for the croke park st to meet the 60% attendance requirement.
The croke park st does not entitle you to club games but worth noting that it also includes the league semi finals and final whether we get there or not. It also includes or did anyway, any other counties league games.
It has also included all the club finals, junior to senior at HQ
It also includes New York and London when it’s our turn and the first championship match after that.
Subsequent matches are paid for automatically although you are allowed to opt out of one. 5 euro of the cost of a stand ticket except for Connaught final and AIF. All done online and very user friendly. You can check your attendance online to make sure your ticket was scanned. Enquiries dealt with quickly.
If you attend 100% of all league and championship and don’t make AIF you are entered into a draw for a ticket for AIF.
I think it is worth noting that the CM ST may not guarantee two tickets in future for AIF if we get there. It was reported that they were only able to offer two this year because we made it the minor this year. There was a significant increase from about 700 to 1300 CM ST this year. May not be the case next year judging on comments here and what I have heard on the ground.
Seasonticket@gaa.ie that’s their email address they are lovely to deal with and will answer any queries you have Nephin:)
GOT THEM MY SELF THIS YEAR AND 1 FOR DAUGHTER, 10 EURO AND SHE GETS INTO ALL LEAGUE GAMES FREE ALONG WITH FIRST ROUND CHAPIONSHIP, ATTEND 60% GAMES AND YOU GURANTEED ALL IRE TICKETS IF MAYO THERE, WORKS THE SAME FOR OTHER COUNTYS, NO HASSEL AND BRILLANT, JUST MAKE SURE ENOUGH EURO IN THE ACCOUNT COME CHAPIONSHIP TIME FOR TOUR TICKETS AS THEY USUALLY DEDUCT THE THURS. FRIDAY BEFORE GAMES, THEY USUALLY SEND AN E MAIL TO YOU THAT WEEK AS WELL……..WAY TO GO ANY 1 HERE AT HOME AND GOES TO MOST OF LEAGUE MATCHES ……ALOT LEAVING CAIRDE MAYO THIS YEAR AND DEMAND FOR CROKER 1 WILL BE BIG AND AGAIN THEY HAVE NO 1 TO BLAME BUT THEM SELFS, HEARD IT WAS A BIT OF FIASCO IN THERE WHEN PEOPLE WENT IN TO COLLECT TICKETS OR WHAT EVER WAY THEY DO IT, PEOPLE TOLD TO COME BACK TOMOROW AND SO ON AFTER TRAVELLING FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTY……ALOT OF PEACE OF MIND THIS YEAR NOT WORRYING WERE TICKETS WERE COMING FROM….WAY TO GO.
I’m still feeling sick to the core after the final. This one will take longer to get over than any of the others. This is the one we really left behind. Somebody said earlier that we just weren’t good to beat Dublin on the day, that’s complete nonsense, Dublin’s worst performance of the summer was in the final, they know that as well.
We lost because most of our players simply didn’t perform and that will be reflected in the All-stars, not that it makes a bit of difference anyway. The hard truth is that players got caught up in the hype, plain and simple. There were Mayo players giving interviews left right and centre in the lead up to the All-Ireland. There should be a zero tolerence policy on interviews before the final. I didn’t see any Dublin players with sh!t plastered across the papers. That’s all I’m going to say about that.
The team will more than likely get a bit of a much needed facelift in the half forward line. The good thing about this year is that new players made an immediate impact (Carolan, Coen).
We can only look ahead to next year and hopefully Horan gives it a lash for another year.
Role on the FBD league and the NFL. Hopefully there will be lots of experimenting.
Thanks for that Livenhope ,and there was me thinking I knew everything .
Does the juvenile ST entitle them to an all Ireland final ticket also if your county were to get there and they had the 60% attendance obviously too?
Dead right there Erris Head, its called talking the talk but not being able to walk the walk. And not alone all you have mentioned, but also telling anyone who wanted to know what was happening in training, the methods of Donie Buckley, photo shoots holding Sam, the list is endless.
Are Mayo ever going to learn how to prepare for a final PROPERLY ? Everything is done backwards when it comes to Mayo and getting to a final, do all the interviews you want when you have won it.
Dublin couldn’t have played much worse on the day, we were playing against 13 men for the later part of the game, some of our lads gave it their all, others not and they ultimately let their team mates down.
I would have serious concerns about the fitness levels of some of our players to, there is something seriously wrong if players have been training for so long cannot see out 70 minutes.
If Mayo don’t learn very quickly then they will never win an All-Ireland. Some pundit said after last years final that Mayo shouldn’t be allowed play in finals, does this latest collapse give that statement some credibility?
The solutions are there but the will to learn or adapt seems to be missing, and that’s very worrying.
Lads – I think a bit of perspective is needed about how the team prepared for and performed in the final. I know we’re all disappointed, frustrated and angry (as I’ve been too) but it needs to be recognised that we lost the final by a single point and had we won you can be sure there wouldn’t be any complaints about how we’d approached it or how we played on the day. Sure, a one point loss is as significant as a hundred point loss but to come so close to ultimate success suggests at the very least that we got a lot right this year (as well as getting some stuff wrong). And to describe this year’s final defeat as a “collapse” is just plain wrong.
On the pre-match coverage, I don’t think management can be blamed at all – they had one press night two weeks before the final and gave no further access to the media after that. It’s not the fault of the Mayo camp if the papers decide to do several features on the players and they did loads on the Dublin lads too. On Donie Buckley I think you’ll find that it was primarily the Kerry lads in the media – including John O’Keeffe, Darragh O Se and Bomber Liston – who were tripping over themselves in their desire to credit their fellow countyman with everything we were doing in the run-up to the final.
That point was made to be last night , when everything was going right for Mayo this year, there was an awful lot of credit going to Buckley in the media and when it went wrong in the final, it was mainly Horan the blame was left at. There is truth in it , when you think about it.
If Mayo had gone for goal at the end and miraculously scored it and won the game of course we would have been delighted, but we would have also felt lucky to have got away with it. Nobody would have cared about that, but it didn’t happen.
We started well and it was more or less downhill from there which allowed Dublin back into the game so I’m struggling to find a better word than collapse to describe what happened.
Buckley done his job, no question about that. But he isn’t the manager.
How about two words, i.e. “narrow defeat”?
There were many reasons for not beating Dublin on the day and the main one is that certain players for some reason just did not perform to the best of their ability or anywhere near it.
That was not James Horans fault and it is primarily a physiological issue, and until a cure is found for that, no amount of new talent will be enough to win an All-Ireland.
Yes it was a narrow defeat but its the reason for the narrow defeat I am referring to.
I think we are continuing to fool ourselves here. We seem to think that we have a divine right to win finals. Kerry always think that, but when you have 30 or so you can get away with it.
We also seem to think that a flattering score of a one point defeat was nearly a victory – and by next May we may well have deluded ourselves that we were robbed.
In truth, Dublin figured our game, had huge motivation since last year’s semi final defeat and knew how to win ugly. They talked the talk about shooting the lights out, but their approach was Donegal like to defending, and by God they worked hard on that after the Kerry match.
They ran us down cul-de-sacs and made sure that like a race horse hitting the front too early we were going to run out of gas. They may well have too, but they were over the line at that stage.
We found it hard to adapt our game to the changed demands and got sucked into swarms time after time.
Here is a hard question: if we had managed to draw it, how would we have fared in a replay? My gut feeling is that Dublin would have mauled us.
What does anyone else think?
Sean
Yes it does but I think they have to pay full price for all ireland final tickets
Where will we find this cure?
Catcol – I’ve been thinking of that myself over the past two weeks and funnily enough I think we would have won a replay. I didn’t feel that our forward line were ever going to possess the same scoring threat/ability as the Dublin forward line and that would be the difference going into the final, however, with the sheer number of injuries sustained by the Dublin players we would have had a much better chance in a replay had we snatched a draw. We would have also learned from the Dublin kickout strategy and surely would have better dealt with it had we gotten a second bite of the cherry. All academic at this stage tho….
I agree with 45, the dubs caught us on the hop al right but I don’t think our lads would have let it happen again, that’s probably why the dubs were so desperate to foul and get it over with.
I agree, 2 minutes more and mayo had a replay or better.
A replay? I’d go with mayo.
I see Willie Joe you saw fit to delete my comment which I accept is your right.I felt I was entitled to air my views on foul language and ridiculing of Knock which is a place I respect.
In any event I want to thank you for providing the site.It is an excellent site and a wonderful platform for views from Mayo people primarily.
I accept it is yours to run and you do a brilliant job.I dont accept that you have to use foul language to make your point and I am surprised that making this point means your comments get deleted.
Anyway as you say if you dont like it go so I will with no hard feelings.Hopefully some day I might buy you a pint when we eventually harvest the golden fleece.Mayo abu.
Thank you for letting me have my say when you did.
“We would have also learned from the Dublin kickout strategy and surely would have better dealt with it” Can’t agree because we didn’t learn from the league semi-final defeat where the Dublin tactics were exactly the same as the AI final, that is kick it wide to Aidan O’Se’s man who was on the move. It’s not rocket science, we had seen it before and didn’t learn from it.
People are conveniently forgetting the 3 one-on-one saves that Hennelly made. Dublin could have got 3 more goals. How many saves did Cluxton make?
See above
Yes – if you have a Junior ticket and you meet all the criteria for the games you can purchase tickets for the final if your team get that far. And yes they are full price for the final i.e. €80.
Juvenile Season Tickets are available to those who are 16 or under on 1st January 2013. So if you have kids they are decent enough value if your team gets through all they way.
That’s fine, John – the particular issue I had with those comments was that they were aimed in an antagonistic fashion at another poster, which falls clearly outside the house rules. I accept that the stance I’ve taken on the use of language (foul or otherwise) may not be to your liking but I don’t think that was relevant in this case. Thanks for your kind words about the site, by the way, and you’re obviously more than welcome to continue to post comments here whenever you want.
Hi Catcol,
Kerry have 36 and we have 24,it was very low key here in the build up and all good honest Dub fans knew that this team under Jim Gavin allowed no media hype. Mayo are to be respected because you are so consistent but please God when Mayo get to the final next (maybe against us but who knows) it will be all calm and no talk of taking over the Hill or colours all over the world….just leave it to the team to do the business. (PS I aint saying I disagree with all the craic its magic but it does feed to the team)
Kind Regards to all Mayo Fans,
Martin the Dub
I see where you’re coming from pebblesmeller and I, in no way am challenging your vast knowledge of the game but because there was such a gap in the meeting in the league and the AI final and our game had evolved so much since then, I feel that if there was to be a replay, the dubs would know they had given their all, we had taken it and the most pressure would be back on them.
I also feel that we seemed to peak for the quarters against donegal ,the side seemed to have them (donegal) as their ultimate target this year and a repeat bad performance against the dubs in the event of a replay would not happen but would instead put the fire back in their bellies and they would not be beaten…………….as was stated before , we are speaking’pie in the sky’ and all we have to do now is wait for the outcome of Monday’s meeting, where, I hope that all will remain as it is i.e. JH and Donie Buckley and the fabric of the squad remain in place(with additions as needed) and lead the push for a good league and championship in 2014
Relevant or not but I was at the county quarter finals this evening in Castlebar and I find it hard to under stand why pat Harte or Tom Parsons is not in the panel . They simply have to be for next season if they are willing……….and Barry Moran has to,play some part also. They were the only ones to impress me.
Locking forward yo tomorrow to see what else is possible for next year.
A lot of talk about Cluxtons kick outs but in all honesty there was very little the Mayo players could do, such was the accuracy. Its one aspect I wont criticize any of our lads for. Would be interesting to hear opinions on this.
It we got to a replay we would have got hammered and I know I’ll get slated for saying it but look at the facts.Fair enough the dubs had injuries but they have men on the bench to cover every position.Look at us,Freezer taken off,Richie never given a chance,,how Would they play in a replay,couldn’t blame them if they didn’t,AoS found out,can’t run,Conroy running into corners,Dillon not fit, [Deleted] and Dublin could never be that bad again,we were fucked if it came to a replay
Have to disagree here, we have seen it time and time again in the gaa the lads who play poorly the first day often are the best players in a replay. I have no doubt AOS, Alan Dillon and Freeman in particular would have has points to prove. Dara o se wrote an article about this after the drawn hurling final. All academic now though. You seems to be overly critical of mayo Paccar we were very close but Dublin were that little bit better, we just need to improve a tiny bit to get over the line. That’s the reality.
I’m not sure if its still the case but parsons was based in the UK last couple of years I think, very good player, though midfield is not an area we are weak in.
Sometimes I despair to wonder, what the hell some people are looking at. There has been talk of collapses, narrow defeats and replays.
Mayo did not collapse! Mayo did loose the all ireland final by the slenderest of margins! Mayo would have handily won a replay!
If the answer to what went wrong was as simple as “a collapse” I wouldn’t feel as frustrated now. Mayo dominated the first 15 minutes and the last 10 minutes. Within the belly of the game our thinking was bloated and we had no strategy to counteract Cluxtons kick outs.
It’s abit like going to confession and forgetting to tell your sins to the big man in the sky who created the world and the universe. Absolutley fucking nuts!
Cluxtons kick outs essentially castrated our midfield rendering our attack flacid and impotent. That’s the reason Mayo lost.
Why couldn’t Mayo adapt and neutralise this part of Dublins game? That’s the worry moving forward.
Mayo were unlucky alot of there wides just skimmed the posts. An inch here and there would have given Mayo a foot hold on momentum. Brogans maradona goal was bit of a fluke and came at exactly the right time for Dublin and exactly the wrong time for Mayo. Dublin threw ther ball into the net to notch up 6 scores. That’s tough to overcome.
Mayo played the final 10 minutes at a frenzied pace but unfortunately the stable door was wide open, the horse long gone. Nothing to loose, nothing to win. Why?
The last place Mayo’s final kick of the game should have gone, was over the bar. Dublin were seriously panicked. A low hard rocket with 14 Mayo men charging after it could have changed the result. A slim chance went a begging, resulting in us handing Dublin the all ireland on a platter.
Having said all of that I remain optimistic about the future. We definetly are well poised to make our break through. One thing is for sure, this Mayo team have the potential to achieve great things and if we don’t learn from this defeat, we will never ever learn.
“Come On Mayo!!!”
Cluxton and his kick outs were flagged by any GAA follower with a smidgeon of intelligence for the last ten years. When a bit of madness combined with guile was needed , we hadn’t it but we are a county laced with it. Think back to the double dummy v Roscommon in the Minor championship or the pile driver v Monaghan or Conroys bull run through the middle when Tyrone were getting us by the neck near closing time in the minor final. Madness mixed with quality.
The seniors in contrast for their final were stale. Stale on the pitch and stale on the line as regards ideas or innovation. No shock moves a la Mad Davy and a 19 year old 3-3 merchant, no Walter from Kilkenny a year earlier. We allowed Dublin to decide who to mark instead of surprising them. The biggest surprise was Freemans removal. Cluxton , to use Joes words castrated our midfield but he shouldn’t have castrated the side line…he did though.The last seconds decision to clip that point tore the soul or whats left of it out of me. Die with your effing boots on as men and go out and drag the house down with you. We choose to leave making the score look close but another chapter on the road to hell, timid and watery.
Knowing about Cluxtons kick outs and doing something to counteract them are two different things.
No offence Martin, but Dublin have no divine right to the hill, and since it is a factor in helping Dublin, Mayo were dead right to get as many in there as they could. As for colours all over the world – most Dubs have never had to leave home to make a living like most Mayo people have to. To criticise people for keeping and promoting their identity is way off the mark.
Thank you for that WJ.
It is somewhat unfair I believe that if one asks a poster to refrain from insulting places dear to many Mayo people and to stick to making points about Football without overusing profanities that one is penalised for it.
One of the things I so admire about the site is that it sticks to Football matters and points are generally well made.
This was not the case with the poster to whom I replied…yet his comments are allowed free rein unlike mine.
It is a great site and I genuinely admire how you run it.I find myself nearly always in agreement with your well thought out views.Not in this case though but I respect your right to run it as you see fit.I am sure you wont lose any sleep over losing one commentator .
We’ve been up and down this road from every angle over the last two weeks.
If a top county manager and management team that can’t develop a system to negate the best goalkeeper kick-outs, then serious questions need to bee answered. It really isn’t rocket science – very tight man-to-man marking by your six forwards and midfielders. Then push you half backs forward to crowd their half with no spaces where Dublin forwards to break in to for accurate kick-out. It really is that simple and there is NO excuse for not having drilled that over and over in the weeks previously.
We conceded primary possession to Dublin and most of what our midfield do in every other game became irrelevant – without doubt allowing Cluxton to dictate was the basis for Dublin being in the game. A disastrous management failing. Fail to plan – plan to fail !!
Management also failed to prepare forwards to act as a unit for the days that our backs will be under pressure, like the 20 minutes against Tyrone in the Semi and a good part of the Final. The whole attack plan was one dimensional – defenders breaking forward down the centre with forwards moving to the side. The opposition strong enough to keep pressure on our backs left us with a forward line that had no Plan B – running into corners, no direct play – nothing faintly resembling Tommy Conroy in the Minor. And the subs didn’t improve matters.
Simply no basic realisation by management that when you get to a Semi-Final or Final, your backs are likely to be much busier defending and your forwards won’t be involved in bullying the oppositions backs – they need to stand alone as direct scoring unit. Let’s face it JH and his management team are great organisers, great at getting players fit and agressive in the tackle, as well getting their heads right. However, there is a serious tactical deficit that they need to fill before next year.
JH needs to accept this. Look at how much all the top managers talk to and listen to their fellow selectors. Take Micky Harte as a perfect example. Add a proven, older and experienced tactical selector – one that knows how to react on the big match day. Fail to plan – plan to fail.
Now, all that said, I’m a Horan and Buckley fan but they need to realise their limitations and add an experienced selector that is strong tactically and has direct access to JH on match days through his earpiece or standing alongside him. He also needs to put a concentration himself on coaching the forward unit or bring in a specialist forward’s coach with a direct play and accurate scoring philosophy.
Hype talk is a load of crap…..Donegal went mad last year and they still won the final. Blaming Hype etc is just an excuse. Fact is Dublin while there for the taking are a better team. They have better forwards than us. Unless we find a new forward or two it will be more heartbreak for us I feel
Think young Aidan Kilcoynebroke his leg in the warm up today, have ta feel sorry for the lad.
Good summary there from Cloud9.
That we were caught by something that was well flagged in advance in an All Ireland Final does not reflect well on our preparation. On many occasions Cluxton had the ball kicked out before we even realised what was happening & then we found ourselves thrown into reaction mode. We had AOS chasing athletes around the place on wild goose chases as though this was even necessary or the strong point of his game.
In short we were reactive rather than proactive.
Then there were all the selection & substitution issues that have been debated to death at this stage. With every change that was made we seemed to be getting weaker.
It could be argued that had we stayed with the same starting 15 for the entire match including the injured Cunniffe we might have made a better job of it.
Unfortunately the management had arrived on the bus !
It was known a year ago that we needed new personnel upfront but we kept recycling the same people .. the solo towards the corner flag merchants … with the same predictable results.
There was one point scored by Tommy Conroy in the second half of the minor match that should be played over & over … pace, several changes of direction, direct running & finish. This is the way All Ireland winning forwards operate.
Willie Joe, can I just defend myself against the accusation that I insulted Knock.
I would never, ever dream of insulting Knock. I am 74 years of age, coming up in a very different era with devotion and Religious belief part of my being. Knock was a very Holy place and to many to-day still is. I said many a Rosary in Knock!!
I have absolutely no reason to be derisory about Knock, it would be foreign to my upbringing.
Knock was used in colloquialisms throughout my childhood, adolescence, and even adult years. ” you’ll have to go to Knock for that”; “I’ll have to pray for you at Knock”; etc;etc.
I was just, I thought, having a bit of craic. I have no more comments to make, and I will not use the terms again!!!
Thank you Willie Joe.
It was the repeated interaction with the other poster in question that was the problem, John. Taking on someone else like that invariably causes a row which was why I ruled it out and asked you to desist from doing this. I’ve no problem with profanities and I felt his references to Knock were just jovial ones (albeit a joke that began to wear thin after the fifth or sixth repetition). For the record, though, no-one gets free rein here in relation to what’s said ion the comments and all are expected to abide by the rules without exception.
Pacar – I’ve deleted that “never good enough” reference that you made about a particular player. You should know by now that lazy-minded, generalist statements of this kind aren’t allowed, house rule 11 refers. Please bear in mind for future reference.
Hi Digits,
I have commented on this blog a few times and my intention has never been to offend any person so I am sorry if I did. I agree we Dubs have no right to the Hill and it was only in 1974 that we started to go there to watch the Dubs. My eldest son, 6 nephews and 4 nieces all Dubs have had to leave home to get work so I am afraid its a problem in every county. It is never my intention to offend when I comment on this page so once again I apologise if I did.
Kind Regards,
Martin the Dub
Both Donegal and Mayo went mad last year, sure one of them had to win it!! 🙂
Martin the Dub was only telling the truth, so why get narky with the man, he has nothing to apologise for, toughen up everyone.
Aidan Kilcoyne dislocated his kneecap – he didn’t break his leg.
No need at all to apologise, Martin – you’re more than welcome to comment here and it’s clear than whenever you do you’re never out to cause offence to anyone.
Ouch,that sounds sore.. Is therea long layoff termwith that injury? Either way hope he’s back and flying again soon.
Barry Moran, 5 points from play or am I hearing wrong in the county quarterfinal ?
Totally agree with Mister Mayor’s comment! Finally some great news , hope they achieve everything they deserve.