119 thoughts on “The emotional rollercoaster”

1. Excellent post Four Goal I think you said it all there really and hit the nail on the head. I like Revelinos analogy that watching a Mayo game is like opening a lucky bag you never know what your going to get. If they may a sequel
   To Forrest Gump they might use that one. Speaking of Forrest Gump if we had him in goal or on the sideline Saturday night he’d hardly have done any worse

2. I don’t buy this picture that is being painted of Mayo being an inconsistent team making the same mistakes over and over. We have been one of the most consistent teams over the past 10 years delivering results in so many games when it came down to last few minutes. It’s a long time since we saw a performance as bad as last Saturday night in the Championship.

3. I’m not so sure about that, Justoutsideballagh. 2016/17/18 against Galway were all equally bad as performances, Derry in 2017 was very poor and we were no great shakes either against Sligo in our Championship opener that year. Indeed, you could argue that, with our 20 (or whatever it was) wides against New York, that we weren’t hectic over there too.

4. Great point on Higgins . And it’s an area of the pitch we actually have great options too. However Eoin O Donoghue must have peed in Horans corn flakes when he took over . The fact we didn’t even use 2 of our subs is still inexplicable and unforgivable. Nobody will tell me Eoin O D /Drake and Boyle wouldn’t have made a difference toward the end of such a grueling game
   Seperately what adjustment did we make to make use of the the extra man ? None
   I said it when he took over and I’ll say it again. Horans in game management is appalling and has cost us before. He is slow to react and at times refuses to act . He is also extremely stubborn bordering on arrogant when it comes to changing tactics depending on opposition . He doesn’t do it.
   This more than anything is why I’m worried .
   I don’t believe he will bring Clarke back in . (This should no longer be even a debate )
   I don’t believe he will alter the defensive set up as ALL past form points towards more if the same .
   We only have to look back to Limerick and his complete lack of a plan for Donaghy
   Horan Ball is back y’all and Rochford with all his silly tactics is gone………

5. Good piece .Reflects a lot of how I feel .Jaysus I’m sore about Saturday and not because I was all cocky believing we would beat the Rossies but just the manner in which we lost .It is so frustrating .I can talk about Hennelly or Duirmuid or even Kevin Mc but Horan also had s bad game .Very slow to make changes. I wanted or hoped to see nothing new but all I saw was my team one who had taken one step forward to taken two steps back and I remember this since 1996 .I don’t usually post negative comments but I feel so pissed off about it .

6. Kim79, I think the problem with Horan is that he spends most of the game strolling up and down the sideline with his hands behind his back looking down at the ground. You tend to miss a few things here and there when you dont actually look at the game. Just doesn’t seem to have changed his tactics too much since his time off. I think Rochford had a much more experienced backroom team as well. Horans team is an unknown quantity at county level as of yet.

7. In any game when 3 of the starting 6 forwards are anonymous your in trouble. Thought Coen should have been left on as not alot of running needed against blanket defence and he capable of popping up with a score. As someone posted before why wasn’t regan brought back on again to take that last free ?Having said that I think we need to give them the chance to sort things out and I believe they make super 8 ..3 games to play is only 1 more than whoever loses connacht final.

8. Hit the nail on the head and it’s so frustrating. Ya great we’ll see the hounds released now but it’s too little too late. Confidence is not built by playing and losing like that. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…Mayoyo…get rid of the yo-yo effect. Let’s see Mayo the beast… for fecks sake. Horan won’t last so long this time unless he shows a willingness to trust others and learn from his mistakes.

9. Great piece, nailed it in terms of how I feel after this loss.

10. Good piece .Reflects a lot of how I feel .Jaysus I’m sore about Saturday and not because I was all cocky believing we would beat the Rossies but just the manner in which we lost .It is so frustrating .I can talk about Hennelly or Duirmuid or even Kevin Mc but Horan also had s bad game .Very slow to make changes. I wanted or hoped to see nothing new but all I saw was my team one who had taken one step forward to taken two steps back and I remember this since 1996 .I also think we need to look at our back line Higgins and Boyle has lost that bit of pace. I don’t usually post negative comments but I feel so pissed off about it .

11. Totally agree with km re EOD,boyler and Drake , it was actually baffling . I don’t want to get too down on management but it’s very hard to see what they did right. OK starting Darren coen was a good move especially with the anticipation of how Roscommon would set up forcing long shots , ruane has been a positive , Evan Regan was a decent option with short to mid range frees for a citog in mind but then he pulls off at a crucial stage . When a game is that fucking tight you don’t pull off a free kick taker especially when you had a couple of others contributing less from play anyway.

    I really thought his in game management would of improved cause he always comes across as very smart and one of those guys who will learn by mistakes and keep up with the modern changes also . I feel very disappointed in his performance .

    We do have to move on now though , you take the blow to the bollix and get up again , Mayo always do .

12. We seen this before from Horan against Dublin. Last kick of the game and COC pops it over the bar. Zero instruction came from the line that day.
    Horan should be making those calls, not a player who is half spent after 80 minutes of attritional football. Loftus put his hand up, has the confidence and ability and would have popped the free over. Anything could have happened in extra time.

    This is just a microcosm of how Horan manages and is the reason players love him. Do you think the dubin players have the same relationship with gavin? Or cody, or boylan, or o’connor.

    The answer is simple.
    Managers should manage
    Players should play

13. I would be more disappointed with the performance of some of our more senior players than i would with the management. Some of the errors at this level was shocking, its like groundhog day with some of them.

14. Ah in fairness folks, we’ve all been at plenty of matches – there is no time to get an instruction across from the sidelines in those situations – players can barely hear the guy beside them. I think sometimes we look to the manager too much – decision making is a massive part of any player’s ability – they need to make these calls themselves, DOC did it with the free and got it wrong, hopefully he will learn from this. Everyone – players and management – screwed up on Saturday but they can put it right, it’s in their hands and they have the ability to do it.

15. What I will say though regarding free takers , there should be a clear list in order of ability as to who is taking the free – there shouldn’t be a situation that they’re deciding on the spot. That should be worked out during the week.

16. The final free isn’t the main reason we lost, but still it was a major moment.
    DOC had a poor game overall but I wouldn’t put too much blame on him on this one. Kevin Mc is one of our most experienced players, is left footed and has taken frees before (although he is very inconsistent or downright poor at it).
    Conor Loftus was only on the pitch a couple of mins and from my recollection hadn’t kicked the ball at all. He is also far less experienced that McLoughlin at this level.
    DOC had the decision to give a match saving free kick to the experienced head or the inexperienced player who was only on the pitch and had hardly played at all this year.
    I don’t blame him for the decision he made – he’d have been castigated if he gave it to Loftus and he missed.

17. All in all it was a bit of a main systems failure on Saturday night. Tubberman, you’re right in what you say insofar as if Do’C had asked Loftus to take the Free and Loftus had missed, the result and opinions would be the same. There’s no guarantee that Loftus would have scored and if he did there would be no guarantee that we’d have come out any better in Extra time either. We had several chances to change the result from the start of the game and did not take them or made too many errors.
    While losing on Saturday night isn’t the end of the world, it puts us in the qualifiers for the 4th year running now, which in 2 years out of the 3 prior to this we still managed to reach the final. We’ve been here before so perhaps all is not entirely lost.
    I would be a bit gloomier than before given the nature of the defeat – summarised by a huge number of wides, poor substitutions, unforced errors, a number of players just not playing to their usual and expected standards, bad decisions and selection limitations due to Injury.
    On the more positive side, that’s all stuff that can be worked on and Horan and Co have over 3 weeks to work on those issues and figure out a way to put it right. A number of the players that were not available through injury should be able to rejoin.

    We will have to rotate the squad in order to make it to the Super 8s’ and will have to continue to rotate it should we get to the Super 8’s, so that will give the younger blood a chance and some valuable game time.

    To be honest – I’m not expecting much from this year and I do think the condensed run of games is less than ideal for us but that’s the hand we’ve been dealt now and we’ll just have to run with it. We’ve been in precisely this situation before and have on 3 occasions run what is being termed as the best team of all time closer than anyone else has managed to do. It’s up to the players and management now to get the best out of themselves and if that is not good enough, then so be it.

18. Joe
    the point I am making, is that other successful managers, have all this worked out pre-game. Who takes free’s and who are the back-ups. At half time you can make changes to your plan. Hennelly for example had a bad start, yet in the second half, he didn’t know if he was coming or going when we had long range kicks. I actually do coach, but only at U14 level and even then it’s chaos trying to get instructions out during a game. The only thing you have control over is positional changes & subs. Players needs clear instructions going into a game, so they can focus on their own game, managers need to give these Clear instructions.

19. Joe you have a good point there – the whole free-kick debacle at the end showed that many of the players lacked leadership on the field that night – something that’s obviously a work in progress for James Horan. All great managers build teams full of leaders on the pitch rather than try to micro-manage off it. I still maintain that if we brought our shooting boots on the night (15 wides) we wouldn’t be even talking about this stuff! Such is football.

20. I just hope we go with clarke for the next day, come up with a defensive plan and have cillian back

21. No doubt. Coen’s legs had gone when he was taken off; should have been 5 minutes earlier. BTW he scored 5 magnificent points.

    JH has certainly gone from hero to zero on this blog. Some decisions do seem inexplicable, but here’s what he said to Mayo News re the free:

    On that last-gasp free that was missed by Kevin McLoughlin, Horan was asked if captain Diarmuid O’Connor had ‘taken control of the situation’ when the free was awarded.
    “That seems to be what happened there yeah, Kevin stood up and took it. So there you go.”

    Perhaps he anticipated extra-time and was saving his firepower for that. If we had won that way, he’d be a genius. I’m convinced we would have won in extra-time. I felt the Rossies were wilting. And, though their game management was good, and Cunningham took good decisions, the free was a giveaway and should have resulted in a draw. In other words, they got away with it there. Also, O’Malley, who hit 3 great 45s, missed a vital one, to draw level with us I think.

22. Like everyone here I too was `sick as a parrot` after the loss on Sat. But ….. you know….. it could turn out to

    be a blessing in disguise. Personally I cant see what`s wrong with playing a game three weeks in a row. Playing

    football is the best form of training. The intensity of training sessions can be eased for those who are playing

    regularly. Injuries happen. Rotation can even help us to try new players as we did in the league. I know I`ve

    said this before but – – I would like to see POSITIONAL changes be made more quickly during the course of the

    game. Making changes `on the hoof` does`nt seem to happen much any more. If a fella is obviously in trouble

    switch him early . He might thrive. If not make the sub change.

23. Yep playing all these games in such a short space of time could be good until we get real and look at the age profile of a lot of the team. If they weren’t able to do it against Roscommon who had 12 starts from last years Connacht final how can we expect things to be different without at least a fresh approach with fresh egear young players. Take a step back to the loss to Galway in the league there were similarities on Saturday. We couldn’t close out the game. The older players are just not able and as you stated Willie Joe neither is the Management for some reason. I hope to see the future unfold thus season that’s all we can really hope for. There is plenty to be hopeful about but it has to get the opportunity. Just a question where are all the high profile experienced people in the management structure that James spoke about in his article in the Western People before he became manager. It’s time to see them show their ability on the line

24. We had a full systems failure on Saturday evening. Precious little went well and the reasons for that may never be fully known. I doubt the squad or management can really put their finger on it. I don’t believe it was as simple as complacency.

    I think as fans we’re shocked, annoyed and disillusioned. But I would imagine the lads themselves are downright angry. Angry that they’ve not got the job done, not lived up to their own expectations and not performed to their optimum.

    The post mortem has to be kept internal and I have every faith there are hard questions being asked within the group. They should be a bit of friction there, not pointing the finger but demanding more from each other. They need to be contrary and honest in equal measure, and no one should be spared.

    What we should get on 22 June is a squad bristling to put things right. We should forget about who we might draw. To be honest that’s fucking irrelevant at this point in time.

    If these fellas really do believe we’re at the top table then they need to prove it to themselves. The majority of us can see it’s in them but they need to give us something to get behind. If they’re angry they’re being questioned (inside and outside the county) then fine – but use that and channel that frustration.

    We’re a nightmare draw for everyone else in the qualifiers. It’s now time we back that up.

25. Willie Joe, there is a difference in bad performances and throwing the game away like we did on Saturday night. I still think we have been hugely consistent in closing games out even after poor enough performances. Saturday night was different as our set up was so poor and so many mistakes made on the line. Unless we learn from it, would have major concerns about the rest of the season. Still convinced we have the players if the set up and attitude is right on the day, we will give anyone a game, including the Dubs but focus now in Rd 2 of Qualifiers and let’s hope James Horan can make everyone eat their words on this blog since Sat night!

26. Focusing in on one event, the final free, and what might have been is a waste of time. The clock does not go back and every aspect of our performance last Saturday was atrocious.
    Going forward, we have to see Horan managing his squad of players. He did it well in the league, giving a vote of confidence to new young players, and they thrived on his recognition of their abilities.
    IMO, these youngsters need to be given the same vote of confidence in the championship.
    And substitutions from the bench need to be managed. That to me was the most disappointing aspect of last Saturday s performance, while Cunningham’s management was superb.
    Picking up deflated players, rebuilding belief in the team, the task is challenging. The return of COC. Is a boost at least …..

27. Some ludicrous stuff in that article.
    We wouldn’t have gained anything from taking off Hennelly. He had a very good second half on kickouts, lost no more that 1 or 2. Yes his free kicks were a disaster but Clarke wouldn’t have done any better on them as he doesn’t take them.
    Diarmuid O’Connor playing in the half forward line was a no brainer given O’Shea’s and Ruane’s form in midfield.
    Starting Keith Higgins was a no brainer given his form in the league. Easy to say in hindsight that he didn’t have a big impact in the second half.
    Info on Barrett is factually incorrect. It was Higgins who marked O’Donoghue in the league final. Although I do agree that he should have been moved onto Cox.
    Kevin Mc dug us out of a hole down in Tralee. We were badly stuck for a ball winner inside and he did a great job for us down there. With Boland, Doc and D O’C on half forward line this was the right call IMO.
    Bringing on Moran as a blood sub for 5 mins – how is that even an argument? Moran was brought on ahead of Diskin because he was our best forward on the bench.

    The criticism I’d give Horan is not moving Barrett to Cox and not making more subs, earlier, and as you say trusting youth moreso but Christ a lot of the above talk is pure hindsight stuff.

28. I do not get the comments casting doubt on our older players and saying they are not able. Keith Higgins was *able* in the League Final when he and the rest of the full back line were fierce against a highly dangerous Kerry forward unit. He was able all during the League when he started most games & was only off the field for one game. Andy Moran was *able* when he came on in the League Final & made some brilliant linking passes up front. Colm Boyle, the wise old warrior, was *able* when he came on in that same game and made a crucial intercept to prevent a goal after Robbie had made that point blank late save from Clifford.
    I don’t get the doubt casting and feel it is cheap ageism. Horan is blending young and old in what makes perfect sense as a strategy to me. In an interview a few weeks ago he said there’s vast experience on that team and it’d be ‘crazy’ not to make use of that. Btw is Aidan also an older player because he has been there so long?
    Why can’t young and old be blended together utilising the strengths of both? I don’t wish to be disrespectful but throwing a lot of youngsters in on the starting fifteen and sidelining the experienced heads because they are supposedly past it would, I wager, lead to defeat more quickly. Arguably the youthful Kerry team at present, though full of talent, are lacking experience.

    People need to remember that the season is a long one (we all hoped that and so did Horan) and there is time and need to use a lot of players young and old. Let’s look at it over a longer time period. I fully expect to see the younger players.

    Mind you, managing the blending over the games doesn’t seem like an easy task.

    On another note, getting the scoring accuracy right is essential for me. Has been top of the list for a while this year. I feel hopeful still and let’s hope we see some good football yet.

29. Very Good Post, Fourgoal McGee… agree with almost …everything you say… except that I’m not sure about, moving AOS in and out to bring Diarmuid into the game…. The last four games that I was at, Mayo’/Kerry in Tralee, Monaghan, League Final, and on Saturday, AOS performance ranged between the, the Outstanding to the very good, as did the performance’s of his Midfield Partner Mathew Ruane, one area of the field that definitely is not broken. Don’t fix it!… Diarmuid had a brilliant second half of the League Final, his direct Kerry marker had a very good first half in the league Final…. inclusion has to be earned, regardless if you are the Captain or not…. Darren Coen had a great performance, but was substituted, maybe out on his feet late on! … Nobody could have disagreed if Diarmuid was replaced last Saturday,, several others as well….Sport at this level is ruthless, no time for sentement …. no time for, James Horan has to learn fast, from his own mistakes…On Saturday, Team selection, and Tatics were obsiously very wrong from very early on…He needed to rectify some of his own decisions?, and preferably recitify the mistake’s before the game is gone or sufficient damage done… Last year after the Galway Match James Horan gave an interview to ‘Off the Ball AM’ OTBAM, it’s on YouTube for all to see…. some of his criticism of the Mayo performance on that day, I totally agree with ….He referenced Kevin Mac, missing a few simple free’s and Andy “who you would bank on all day taking wrong options” … Such is Life,

30. To all Brehony haters,
    Read Martin Brehony’s article in today’s Indo while having a salad in O Briens
    I must admit, have seen it on this blog, this guy is a bad bastard, hates / despises Mayo, adding as much insult and poison as possible to last Saturdays defeat.
    I often wonder do Journalists now have a free role on tabloids and also on TV.
    I would love to meet him.

31. Willie joe any luck with mayo messi

32. I think we have to forget about what any particular journalist who, SEEM’S to have a particular agenda writes….In fairness, it’s 3 and a half weeks until we are out again, against God knows who, or where!. Our defeat has zero to do with what any Journalist writes subsequent to the events of Saturday evening… I think that the vast majority of Mayo genuine fan’s, relationship with the player’s or Team won’t change… even if some would like to see it change…. It reminds me of last year, a certain well paid (we just don’t know how well paid) GAA administrator , suggested that there would be fighting in the streets of Newbridge, between rival Mayo and Kildare supporter’s if the Match went ahead in Newbridge… People sometimes have agenda’s, and they are not out for good of our health you know!…. The problems that Mayo have, and we do have them…. The solutions are here in this County as well!…..If we can find the solutions, put them into practice, we will go on in the Championship, and deserve to go on!.. If we can’t, we won’t go much further, or deserve to go much further either!

33. Going to Mayo games for over 50 years now. Saturday night lacked atmosphere among the attendance, from the beginning. The first Roscommon goal, while against the run of play gave a boost to the Rossies and the second goal coming so soon sucked some confidence out of the supporters and indeed the players. All sport is about planning strategies, moves and when things don’t go your way and the opposition is getting their strategies right, that thing called DOUBT creeps in to the best of players.
    That aside the single thing where Mayo fell down was in our shot selection in the first half of this game. The decision to shoot or to find a teammate in a better position is one of our more serious failings. We have not changed in the last few years. Our skill level and decisions needs much improvement to reduce the missed chances we have.
    RE making changes. I feel that James Horan or one of the managers need to be seated in the stand as high as possible to get a good overview of the game. This is not possible from pitch level where you are looking across the pitch with so many players obstructing the view.
    Every single occurrence (1st, 2nd +3rd choice free taker off injured/player sent off) has to be planed for and leaders on the field to know and execute for that contingency.
    There is no safety net from now on, so give it a blast and Never give up Never give in;; Never give up Never give in;; Never give up Never give in.

34. Good post fourgoal. Cry havoc! Let slip the dogs of war. No more room for mistakes. The one thing I can’t understand is people saying.. get real you havnt a hope of winning Sam. Why the fuck not. Loosing or winning to Roscommon by one point wont change that outcome much.. ohhh sure, sure it may shorten the journey and reduce the hurdles, pitfalls and all that but makes feck all difference for any team that has to take on and beat Dublin which will ultimately be the case for some team this year. I would like it to be us to get the chance but now is not the time for that.. now is the time to find out our flaws not down the road in the super 8.. now we need games with plenty of rotation and who knows if we get our act together we are as capable as anyone

35. Is Gaelic football gone too scientific? Are managers relying too much on gps data ?

36. Horan back to his old failing. The initial team selection was fine, but
    he was very slow and predictable with his subs and did not make one in-game change.
    The 3 half forwards should have been taken off before Reagan.
    He has always played it very open at the back with no hint of a sweeper.
    Very high risk and would have cost us in the league final also, but for a fine save by Hennelly from Clifford.

    The management and the players need to up their game.

    All is not lost though

37. Toe to hand at the risk of sounding like I’m quoting from a page from “Coaching for Dummies” but the most important focus is the next game – not Sam or Dublin.

38. Not sure I agree with every thing there Four Goal Terrible kick out from Robbie cost us goal but other than that I didn’t think he was terrible. Missed a few frees but so did others Agree Keith got caught for goal but he did make bursts up the field and had an OK second half. Harrison struggled against Cox but I felt Barrett had one of his most disappointing games for a long time. Agree Diarmaid was ineffective and definitely K Mac should not be in FF line. Andy kicked great point when he came on but I felt Diskin was all at sea. Anyway its all about opinions and when we lose we use hindsight and spot every thing that went wrong. One bad mistake or one great score completely colours our perception of the match. We are not gone yet so the team needs to get back on track and we supporters need to do likewise.

39. Hmmmm ‘Coaching for Dummies’!! Quote away Liamontherunsince51.. That has always been the way, the next game is the most important.. and it’s always a given. What’s your point? I made no reference to focusing on Sam or Dublin.. quite the opposite. Read my post

40. One thing that concerns me, in a lot of the posts that I’ve read since Saturday night…
    It’s the amount of Hope and responsibility that people are placing on the shoulders of our younger players…
    Many people have mentioned the names of Ruane, Mc Donagh, Diskin, Plunkett etc.

    What needs to be remembered is, that all these young players are completely inexperienced at Senior Inter County Championship Level.
    They need to be integrated into the team gradually, and in small numbers.
    Not throwing in half a dozen of them at once, because a lack of experience at this level, among so many players, will definitely lead to more heartbreak.
    The older players need to be gradually phased out, and the younger players,gradually phased in (the way Ruane has been )…This process won’t be achieved overnight, and hardly this year either.

41. I’ve been a big fan of Horan and although I wasn’t happy with his lack of defensive strategy I still think we can turn it around.
    Despite that we have to expect players to be able to kick it over the bar, Cillian is huge loss as are nerves are always shot when he’s not taken them
    If we squeeze through to the super 8s we still could have a major shout

42. Next day i would go with:

    Clarke

    ODonohue
    Harrison
    Barret

    Vaughan

    Higgins
    Keegan
    Durcan

    AOS
    Ruane

    Boland
    DOC
    Mcdonagh

    Coen
    COC

    Subs:
    Mclaughlin
    Carr
    Doherty
    Moran
    Shlingermann
    SOS
    Reape
    Boyle
    Treacy
    Coen
    Hanley

43. Kevin McLoughlin struggled on Saturday but there’s still no way I’d drop him. One of the most underrated players in the country. Never receives too many of the plaudits but if you look back over our very best performances over the last five years, he’s been invariably central to them.

    He’s a super distributor of the ball. He carries effectively and is well able to forage for possession. Not a heavy scorer but chips in with his fair share.

    We just need to let him get back to what he’s good at.

44. If a player isn’t in the game it’s up to the manager to get him in to it.

    If a player is having a bad game it’s up to the manager to get him out of it.

    Neither happened Saturday.

    Worrying.

45. Yeah, leaving on lads when they should be hauled off is the one sure thing that will damage unity within a squad. It needs to stop.
    It’s imperative timely changes are made especially when it’s clear to every man, woman and child in the place that changes are needed.
    Maybe James does have a blind spot here and it only manifests in really tight matches.
    If so, he needs to take advice and listen because it will be his undoing which would be very regrettable given his many other qualities.

46. I would only make two changes for the next day, Clarke in for Hennelly and (if fully fit) Cillian in for Jason Doc.

47. Centerfield, some big calls there. It’s probably a bit early to be leaving Regan out of your Match day 26, starting a lad who hasn’t played a full game in 6 months straight off. Not sure Hennelly deserves to be left off the match day in favour of Schlingermann yet either.
    Sure we don’t even know who or where we’re playing yet.

48. The starting 15’s are not the biggest worry.
    The in game managment is where there is a big issue.

    There were blindingly obvious decisions that would have turned the game Saturday.

    Clarke should have come in.
    Diarmuid should have been moved to the midfield area to get him motoring.
    We needed a sweeper to help out in defense.
    KMc needed to be brought out the field to get him working where he loves to do his best work.

    Starting 15’s are important but in match managment reaction should be almost instant and decisive when implemented.

    I don’t think in match reaction can be learned.

    Ear piece required and James needs to listen to his ear piece.

49. Apologies Toetohand I did indeed misread your post. You do refer to Sam but not in the way I first thought.

50. Not as yet, quietman – he needs to confirm that it’s okay for me to put you both in touch.

51. Cryptic post there Willie Joe.

52. Observer2 – Roscommon had what 3 starters the last day the played in their Connacht final win 2 years ago….3!!!!!! We more or less have the bulk of the same team…you won’t know how good the young lads are until they are thrown in on a big championhsip game…:fact is far too many got carried away with the league win.

53. It was a bit, FDB! I’ve added quietman’s handle to it, to whom the message was directed.

54. I want to wish, John Maughan and his Offaly Team all the best in their Round One, Match V London… Completely selfish reasons for me….We could draw London if they win. .. and then thousands of Mayo’ Supporter’s off to London… Singing the ‘Green and Red of Mayo’ in Trafalgar Square. . and then we get beaten in Ruislip. …. Not beyond the bound’s of possibility….. We would never live it down. .. Remember, London came within a whisker of beating Galway … Nightmare Seneario…. Just taught I’d cheer ye all up….. Come On Offaly!

55. We had a chance there and never took it. We let the elections pass by and never used the opportunity.

    Sure couldn’t we have had an extra ballot paper in Mayo. We could have had all the players on the panel on the ballot paper and we could all have voted for the starting 15.

    The canvassing would have been fierce.
    Posters of all the players up all over the county.
    Dobson grilling the players on different nights on National TV in live debates, arguing why they should be starting.
    The goalies in the 1st debate and then the backs in the next and so on.

    There would have been a 98.7% turnout (based on an exit poll) and 129,000 posters (based on a telegraph pole).

    Video snippets of great plays and bad mistakes could have been used in the debates and the players explaining why they tried to kick the ball with the leg they were standing on.

    The counts would go on for weeks. 26 recounts at least to decide on our goalie. The whole County sitting beside wirless”s night and day until the counting was finished.

    Alan Dillon the cute hoor saw this coming down the tracks some time ago and has been canvassing for the last 2 years.
    He’ll be back in the starting 15 for the next game.

56. Didn’t read Breheny at the weekend but I’m not convinced he has any particular agenda. He had a piece yesterday that was fair, balanced and uncomfortable for us in equal measure concerning the 2015 coup and its aftermath. Worth a read. Imo there are 4 former Mayo managers who deserve an abject apology from everyone in the county, including players. They are: M Moran, N Connelly, P Holmes and S Rochford. Can’t see it happening any time soon.

57. Love it Revellino!

58. Connaught football has changed quite a bit since Horan’s last stint. Teams like Galway and Roscommon were dire, even London reached a CF. While I am not claiming that there are any world beaters in the province, it is now vital to turn up with the ducks more or less in row. That was not the case last time round.

    Add the super 8s to that and it makes for a very different dynamic in the championship, requiring a very different approach and skill set.

59. Btw spot the inappropriate apostrophe in my last post……

60. Morto for you, Fearbolg! I’ve sorted it now.

61. This defeat, while very disappointing for all concerned has an upside, at least we will avoid being beaten by Galway for the 4th time in a roe in the Connaught Championship – and that’s a plus.

62. Thanks WJ. Must do better.

63. Noel Connelly and Par Holmes don’t deserve any apology. Players don’t have to stick with management they dont believe in.

64. Brilliant post there Revellino!
    And I think you could extend that image of the whole County beside to the wireless to the whole CountRy. After the latest roller-coaster twist at the weekend there are signs the wider interest really isn’t going away.

65. good article in the Hearld definetly worth the read, the blog is mentioned here

    Good to see an opinion from the outside

    https://www.herald.ie/sport/gaa/for-mayo-the-same-old-scenic-route-but-its-all-new-for-horan-38162052.html

66. I recall a great article by Ed McGreal in the Mayo News about the ousting of Pat and Noel. They most certainly do not deserve an apology from any of the players. Quite the opposite in fact.

67. Fair and balanced and ket me just bring up 2015 again four years later…

68. With the exception of JH, every Mayo manager since John Maughan has been dumped on from a height. I won’t include John O’ Mahoney in any discussion because that was a political appointment driven by the Fine Gael/GAA
    Nexus. And fair play, it took him just 2 years to send us down the toilet. The way Mickey Moran was treated is a blot on Mayo football to this day. Whatever the issues with Pat and Noel they we’re soldiering for this county for years and they deserve respect for that alone.

69. Fearbolg, there is nothing whatsoever in Breheny’s article that could be classed as ‘worthwhile’. For years now he has been using the ousting of Holmes and Connelly as a stick to beat the players with. It would be laughable were it not so tiresome. It is hack journalism of the most boring kind, copy and paste stuff. He’s not capable of producing anything closely resembling a fair analysis of Mayo’s performance on Saturday. Instead we get the old chestnuts about ‘player power in its ugliest form’ as the reason for Mayo losing. It’s not even at pubtalk level but yet it’s printed in national newspaper. Go figure.

70. Very good article here from John Morley in the Indo.
    And for anyone trying to somehow justify anything Breheny writes, this article shows how you can be constructive in criticism and actually analyse the game and the tactics used. Rather than the boring, repetitive shite that Breheny comes out with, every word laced in disdain and contempt for this current team.

    https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/the-view-from-mayo-insanity-is-doing-the-same-thing-over-and-over-again-and-expecting-different-results-38152079.html

71. Tommy, that’s not a bad piece by Frank Roche in the Herald.

    JH really getting it in the neck; fair enough Donie Buckley and Tony McEntee were great sounding boards to have. Nevertheless, the selectorial team survived the Croker league final.

    Hadn’t realised we hadn’t scored over the last 15 minutes. This seems hardly believable, given that we had scored 17 up to that, which is a damn good total even with a high wide count. I’ve been a fan of Conor Diskin since the u20s last year, but one has to wonder about him, as a scoring forward at any rate. Maybe JH thought he just needed him to shore things up with a one point lead, but the quick yellow didn’t help things there.

72. The Roscommon starting line-up last Saturday only included 3 members of the team that started last year’s Connaught final. Therefore the management teams deserve great credit in having the confidence in blooding new players against Mayo. There is too much emphasis on why Mayo lost rather than on why Roscommon won. 1. Had a clear and very effective game plan. 2. Improved on the weaknesses identified in the Super 8’s last year. (Defensive system) 3. Trusted the bench and brought on six players who started last years Connaught final. (Some of them would be expecting to start) 4. Have scoring forwards. Having said all that, I do believe Mayo, Roscommon & Galway will all make the Super 8’s this year.

73. Liam 2 – there’s another Liam who posts here regularly hence the 2 I’ve added to your handle. Can you use that or think up a new one?

74. Forget the last miss. Having been awarded a point for a shot that was clearly wide, we were really 2 points down and a scoreboard draw would have been an injustice to Roscommon.
    It was not McLaughlin’s worst ever miss but let’s not be too hard on lads who are prepared to put on the jersey and go out and play in the rain. Unfortunately this Mayo team do not appear to be able to adjust their game to playing in the wet. Whose fault is that?

75. No worries Liamontherunsince51. We all want the same thing at the end of the day

76. Its just the signs of the end of the road for some players who have been there so long. Its natural and only sheer willpower kept the likes of Andy Moran going but he is showing the signs now as is Higgins and Boyle and McLoughlin too many miles on the clock. They wont get another tilt at Sam but can be proud that they almost did it. The final curtain fell in newbridge last year and while Horan has raised it for an encore it will be all too brief before the downward plunge. Horans job is to prevent or limit the plunge not win the All Ireland and its time people on here seen that and not put such intense pressure on the players.

77. The fact remains that clerkin Brolly Brehany and whelan are telling us the same thing and some think it doesn’t really matter. It matters alright, it matters what happened to Moran it matters what happened in 2015 it matters what happened last year to SR. Because for all those years we have all the reasons why we haven’t won the all Ireland. It’s time to ask ourselves why did all these things take place and those who were responsibile where was there courage in giving reasons so what’s wrong can be put right. I am my family are passionate bout Mayo but to be honest the fun is gone now from following Mayo. We have seen what we have achieved really nothing. I want my family to keep up playing football but I honestly agree whole heartily with Brolly Clerkin and Brehany because it’s true. If it were not tell us all why. I was broken with disappointment last Saturday and so was everybody round me. So hopefully we’ll stop blaming pundits and journalists for our failure and look and see where the structure can be mended. Managers manage as said on this blog and players play unfortunately it’s hasnt always been this was and who knows what’s the real story now. We can sink now or rise with new vigor.

78. @ Looking forward, you buy the barstool wisdom being peddled by Brolly and Breheny that a Breaffy/Ballintubber clique are in charge of the team and all decisions relating to the team?
    I don’t mind Whelan (while I don’t always agree with him) as he focuses his critism on the performance of the players not the personailty or the mangement heave.

79. Good man looking forward… I don’t like dredging the past but I do like honesty. Too many secrets and hatchet jobs and no answers. Time for the games to stop and play football… for Mayo’s sake.

80. @Looking forward.

    ‘The fun now has gone out of watching Mayo’ Fuck me…stop watching them then. Supporting a team isn’t always fun..there are ups and downs. We are actually very lucky…look at all the county supporters who never get to see Croker and support their team regardless. Those fans are to be admired.

    Brolly and Brehany are quite frankly full of shite…If you think what they do is quality journalism that is your opinion but most Mayo would be to differ.

    You keep going on about your disappointment and what us fans deserve. All Ireland or no that team owes us absolutely nothing. They are sacrificing a lot to play for their countiy while we sit at home on our arses.

    There is also a difference between ‘achieving’ and winning…where this team may not have reached the promised land they have most definitely achieved and more and a one point loss to Roscommon will not change that fact.

81. I’d love to think it was bar stool wisdom but unfortunately the facts as we know it speak for themselves. Whelan made an interesting point on the Sunday game bout where mayo are at and Dublin were at the same point in his time playing not able to progress to winning an All Ireland and we have seen under Gilroy and Gavin the transformation., the mangers mange and the players play and suddenly the Dublin football landscape is transformed. Why? I used to think like you until I was asked hard questions and found that I couldn’t answer them because many who could hide behind the cloak of secrecy. Why again. Pity and hopefully what we have with witnessed in these sad episodes won’t be repeated. Forward with hope and vigor

82. Sad episodes? This is heaven on earth we’re living through/in.

83. Mayo fans have had a great few years, the best ever. Couldn’t call them sad episodes. Yes we didn’t get Sam but we had some great days out trying. I will never forget these years and I’m hoping they are not over yet.

84. Sinead have faith we will be back we are warriors

85. Sinesd sadly they were great years and we should have won Sam and that’s our mantra we had a great time but can you imagine the memories we could pass on if we had won and the enthusiasm this would inspire as it has done in Dublin. Mire or less what the journalists and pundits are telling us let the players take the responsibility. It was a shambles on Saturday a Roscommon team that had 12 new starts. It says it all. The players who blamed the management is 2015 who have they to blame for that shambles. I was embarrassed when it came to taking the free at the death, a simple enough free. Nobody to take responsibility it’s say everything

86. Was John Morley at the match? His report/analysis is full of inaccuracies.

87. I want to believe we have the best chance of winning an all Ireland in my lifetime,but mistakes were made and if we don’t sort them out we woo win Sam,I believe S Stephen Rochford was our best chance but hopefully J Horan will funnily make the journey

88. Without completely freaking you all out. This will more than likely be Kevin Walsh’s last year managing Galway. There is a strong possibility that Rochford will be a front runner for the position.

89. For a man who’s handle is ‘Looking forward’ you do go about 2015 quite a bit!

90. I have faith, don’t worry but I’ll have a nightmare tonight after Big Mike’s post!!!!!

91. We won the National League weeks ago.

    There was only one undefeated team against the other Div 1 opponents. We beat them twice.

    We’ve played some brilliant football this year so all isn’t over by a long shot.

    Pundits do what they do and say what they say to keep themselves in a job.

    There are loads of people on this blog who know more about football than any of these guys. Don’t read or listen to them if it upsets people. I’ve copped on to the pundits shenanigans and don’t go for the bait anymore.

    We have a summer of football coming at us and I firmly believe we will get in to the super 8’s and get out the other side of them as well.

    The old dog for the long road. Saturday was bad but I think we’ll still make a big.statement this year.

92. Walterwhite I agree and I suspect there may be some mischievous meth being used!

93. I honestly think when we win the All Ireland Brehony will write a negative piece on us.
    He absolutely hates us with a passion and I hope I never meet him in person.
    I agree Revellino we have a summer of football ahead and it’ll be great experience for our younger players. Maybe just maybe last sat loss by just 1point will be for a very good reason.
    I also think that our lads will be vicious at next games after all this OTT punditry and comments in last week. God help whoever we meet is what I say.

94. Looking forward, I disagree with your post and the drama in it. I am sorry if that is offensive. Firstly, you’ll get better analysis on this blog from most posters than you’ll ever get from the journalists you mention. It mystifies me why some people are given superior credibility because they write for a newspaper that is there to make money. Perhaps sadly for us in ways, as far as some journalists are concerned, any story about Mayo football will get interest.
    Secondly, what makes you think you or any other Mayo fan deserves an All Ireland? You write as if you do and you’re sorry you’re denied one. The FACT (as people love to say) is that those players have the talent, and they make the sacrifices to get far in the All-Ireland Championship every year. It’s not us out training and it’s certainly not Brolly or Breheny. I’d back the players and their heart a million times.
    And dear God, spare me ‘the road is over for the older players and the team’ storyline. I give anyone free reign to go down this road in November when we know something but we know nothing now.

95. Regardless of what any professional’s journalist writes about Mayo! …. Last Saturday, the Management, selection of the Team, Tatics, Free Taking Confusion, Substition Policy, or lack of, to leave a number of players who were having a Nightmare regardless…Was all Shambolic… Sorry to be so harsh, but Shambolic is the only word to describe it….. The Rossies, had only 3 Player’s who played in last year’s Connacht Final!

96. It’s amazing how these doom merchant posters appear from the woodwork after defeat claiming to be lifelong fans!

    It was a bad day at the office on Saturday but it’s not the end of the world. We’ll regroup and go again for the qualifiers. We’re the strongest side in there at the moment. And whatever happens this summer we’ll be back stronger than ever next year. A couple of players may step back but there is no cliff edge on the horizon.

97. A lot of ppl a bit sensitive to criticism. It needs to be acknowledged and lessons learned. It’s not a pile of negativity. It’s frustration that such a talented team can make so many mistakes and seemingly are open to repeating the dose.
    I am critical, yes. I also appreciate beyond words what these men do for our county. I have no right to demand higher standards but in my simplicity I do. I believe 100percent in our team and I know there’s not one team between here and all Ireland final who’d like to meet us. We can win the next game but God please let’s learn from the past…and move on. I love Mayo just like the rest of the genuine posters here. Always Mayo.

98. Ah lads having read what some of you have posted I think there’s only one thing for it.Drop all the lads who though fairly good have failed to win us our bloody entitlement which is Sam. Get rid of the manager who won the league this year and who took us over when we were at an all time high in 2011 and who merely remained unbeaten in Connacht because the rest were so dire. Also despite over seeing wins over the mediocrity that was Dublin Tyrone Donegal etc he just didn’t deliver for us. I suggest based on some views here that the whole senior set up be disbanded. Then we won’t be forced to unenjoy watching the team let us down again and look at all the money we will save. Wimbledon tennis is coming up shortly and Ireland are playing Gibraltar in ten days so that should keep the sports addicts in Mayo content. And finally if there happens to be anybody in our county who are silly enough to still love Gaelic football after ALL the times we have been let down sure they can still get their kicks from watching Galway and Tyrone play the beautiful game. Should be a good summer for a change.

99. People still going on about 2015 and suggesting we need to apologise to Pat and Noel just because we’re in the qualifiers really need to get a grip. I’ll say it again: those two deserve no such apology. 2015 was the right course of action.

100. Get the Competition Authority in to break up the cartels that are ruining Mayo football from within. Get Brolly and Breheny in on a joint management ticket as they are the only ones with the acuity to see what is wrong with Mayo football, which our management, players and fans are too dim to see. Get a time-machine to go back to 2015 and right those who were wronged. Go back to 1951 and get the curse lifted while we’re at it

101. @Corick bridge. I too thought for big games Rochford was exceptional tactically, and was upset how he was treated and let go.

     What we have now are a very good panel of players.

     Surely the managment and selectors have to have learned from the debacle that unfolded on Saturday. I wouldn’t like to score their performance out of 10. All scenarios should be prepared for and in the play book well before the team takes the pitch.

     The gauntlet is firmly thrown down now. We have the ammunition to win almost any battle. It’s up to Horan and Co now to prove that they have the football smarts to get the best out of these lads.

     I’m only hoping that Saturdays error strewn, “with almost no managerial help from the sideline”, has not knocked the confidence and the appetite and belief out of our players.

102. God help whatever team we meet in the next round we have a wonderful team and we will be back stronger
     UP MAYO AND KEEP THE FAITH EVERYONE

103. I have not posted since the game but here are a few thoughts;
     People laughed at me when i warned that Ross beat us after our last 2 league wins–the point is we do not learn
     We failed to draw with Kerry in 1969 when we changed free taker for a 14 yrd free in the last minute.
     It was a big gamble to play a novice at CHB
     Time to bring a new goalie into the panel–Clarke can not go on forever.
     We must have a sweeper & our backs must do their primary marking job first before attacking–if they attack some one must track back.
     It seems to me that our forwards are afraid to shoot
     Sideline had a very poor day & not for the first time.
     We lacked the physicality of Vaughan & SoS
     We cannot go on depending on one free taker–it was an error to drop Douglas from panel.

     On a positive note we seem to play better when we have games week after week.
     The draw should not matter- you have to beet them all

104. You are freaking me out Big Mike!

105. Hopefully we will get over Saturday,it was very disappointing because we had so many chances and should have won easily,but we have to look forward and go again,I have the highest respect for James Horan in preparing the team but on the sideline he does not react very quickly ,a strength of Stephen,I would be happy if they worked together but it was not to be,so James has to be prepared to make changes during the match,it is not as though we have no subs,in fact I believe we could nearly put out a new defence that is almost as good as our first seven,in the forwards surely C Loftus and C Tracey would have an effect last week, so whilst I am critical over last week I believe we can rise again,on the pundits they get paid to write rubbish and it was very easy for them last week but none of them will miss a tackle or score a point for us so pay no need to them

106. Corick Bridge – I wouldn’t say reacting quickly on the sideline was a strength of Stephen Rochford. Were you in Newbridge last year in the blistering heat when we had an aging team – no sub on until about ten minutes to go. It was crying out for fresh legs (3-4 players) with 20 minutes to go and nothing happened.

107. It’s taking me a long time to think about our defeat to Roscommon. So here is my tuppence worth.
     Reading the comments, and there’s a lot of variety I must say, but I do like the honesty in Fourgoal’s piece. We have been very inconsistent over the past number of years, if not, as some argue, we would have won an all Ireland by now. Two things stand out for me that I consider led to our defeat.
     1. As stated already was the reaction time of the sideline to what was going on on the pitch. When someone is struggling to mark his man either move him to a different position or take him off, simple.
     2. And this to me is the big one. I’ve heard it said by Bernard Brogan after being asked who (team) did he fear most playing against.
     His answer!!!
     “Without a shadow of a doubt Mayo, because you just never know what team is going to show up, if the show up and play their best there’s no stopping them.” He went on to say “in our all Ireland final drawn game, when Mayo ran at us we didn’t know how to stop them or what to do. Then when the crowd got behind you hem the ground in Croke Park literally shook and I looked at my team mates and asked what are we going to do. Fouling them was our only option because once Mayo get into their running game no one can stop them playing”

     So there you have it, from one of the greats of our game, the one thing missing from our game for the past three years or so is our ability to run at a defense and score. For some reason when we get the ball we attack from side line to side line, back and over until we lose the ball.
     For God’s sake (and indeed Mayo’s sake) go back to running at the defense and having a runner off the shoulder. Storm through them and put the fear of God back into teams playing against us. The only cure for this blanket defense that Galway and now Roscommon (because they see we stand off it) have adopted is to run through them, ok, get fouled, but you better start training someone to kick points because they will have no fear of fouling if all we do is have our goalkeeper kick senseless wides.

     Go back to running through a defense with a man on the shoulder, ye can do it because ye were great at it once upon a time.

108. I expect that many supporters will approach the next match with trepidation. Bearing in mind that we do the rollercoaster thing, I would expect our lads to come out of the blocks and lead us back up again. The problem is how long will the upward curve continue.
     We need to win 3 qualifier games. If we do, we will be looked on as serious contenders. Generally though, we tend to stumble when we are up. In theory, a loss of one qualifier game wouldn’t be fatal – I’m not for a second recommending it though – but we COULD lose again and not be out (one of a couple of inaccuracies in the original article!).

     The key thing is that we must learn and quick. A few years ago, Tyrone beat us in Castlebar in the league by sucking us into their half and allowing us to play keep-ball just outside their 45, so that they could break and score with regularity. I saw shades of that in Castlebar last Saturday when we spent a lot of the evening passing the ball around on the wrong side of Roscommon’s 45, eventually resulting in either a Roscommon break into attack or our lads attempting long kicks and raking up 16 wides. The way to beat that is to run hard at them and draw fouls. We have done that in other games (most noticeably once we get to Croke Park, but also in Tralee earlier this year) but it was missing on Saturday.
     Another thing we do that can be eradicated, is expecting a forward to score when he gets the ball facing away from the goals. A forward has to do 3 things to score when he gets the ball, namely: turn, create space and kick accurately. And that’s IF he gets the ball. A back therefore has 4 chances to stop a score, the first being to stop the forward getting possession in the first place. Andy got that right in 2016 when he got most of his passes facing goal and running into space in or around the D – the best scoring zone. There is a simple drill that to develop this in training. Force the receiving forward to play the ball in the direction they are facing when they receive it. After a few good long sessions of that, forwards learn that they should be facing the right way when they get the ball and the break-to-score pass numbers tumble.

     This is really basic stuff and when we get it really right, we look like contenders. There is a saying “Excellence is simplicity done well!” We have the manpower to do it.

     We will get a bounce and upward curve.
     Let’s hope it is a long one.

109. @FDBinashui. I think you may very well be correct in that summation!

110. @Past Glories that James Horan or even the current player’s played a part in even as recently as a League Title have very little to do with it!… The Game on the day, has to be taken on it’s merit’s. .. Several of the player’s absolutely great player’s no doubt about it, were available to play but didn’t!….Tatics were predictable and found wanting!… The man who won the MotM for his League Final display, was having his worst day ever in the Green and Red… Maybe the next day he play’s will be one of his best, hopefully anyhow!… Evan Regan, who didn’t start in the League Final, was having a reasonable day, (Darren Coen and Fergal Boland only other two forwards who could be reasonably happy with their performance) but Regan was removed from the fray, could have been brought back on just to take the last ditch free!…As I say just to use one example, the Player who won the MotM award, might have the game of his life next day out. . and still had a bad day out last Saturday… but he would be playing in a Connacht Final, instead of a qualifer. . If James Horan had made absolutely ‘No Brainer’ decisions on the sideline.. Including bringing on one of the finest Half Back’s ever to play for Mayo early in the second half, Colm Boyle. And keep a free taker on the field! …. Dublin would lose to any first Div Team if similar decisions were taken by Jim Gavin!

111. I’d reckon we’ve covered this defeat.
     It was bad but not terrible. The cattle broke out and we can round them up, at least they’re not standing above on the silage pit.

112. can’t stop laughing JP Brilliant ! 🙂

113. Sounds like a good note to finish this debate on… I met my wife in a silage pit… lucky day for me.!!
     Hup Mayo

114. What was wrong with my comment willie joe ?

115. Lots, Mayo67, as you well know. Go somewhere else if that’s the type of stuff you want to post.

116. Being abroad, I only today managed to watch the match with a cool head.
     From that I’m inclined to think Mayo will make the super 8’s if we remedy 2 things:
     1) Set up more defensively. Playing totally man to man is too high risk as good forwards can play puck even on excellent backs if there’s no cover.
     2) A plan other than Robbie for long range frees. His % has been too low and it causes frustration. Surely Jason or Conor would hit higher % even if their range mightn’t be the same.

117. As for comments on players:
     1) Kevin Mc wasn’t poor, he hit some really good passes, was turned over illegally once and just missed the final free. Quieter than we expect but was on the ball quite a few times. About equal to Evan in performance. Evan did reasonably well.
     2) Boland was decent but not as good as people said. 2 good scores for sure. That said conditions wouldn’t be the best for his size and did well allowing for that.
     3) Diarmaid didn’t throw the ball at Hennelly in any was disrespectfully,.. just put it on the ground. He was probably correct calling Kevin Mc for the last free playing the percentages with a left footed kicker. Mc didn’t look like he didn’t want to take it as some suggest.
     4) Plunkett didn’t have much involvement and should have been replaced by any of our experienced subs (not Mccormack as result might be the same as with plunkett). Good to blood the lad in the heat of championship but on the day should have been replaced.

118. On management:
     1) People are correct saying subs too late. I have mixed response. Possibly 2 more players could be removed, Plunkett and Diarmaid.
     2) Jason was left on far too long after twisting his ankle early on. Tried hard but no real forward threat from him. There’s a case for not taking off Evan and unless we get Cillian back we probably need to keep him in the team. Frees can hurt opposition psychologically more than from play as it makes teams afraid to foul.

119. Finally on the Rossies:
     They played really well. They had a good physical edge, something we haven’t really seen against us for a long time. They didn’t panic when we overtook them late. Their Goalie was good at long range frees in bad conditions as the game wore on.
     I would say our general performance was quite good. Both teams took some excellent scores.
     Management did switch our backs to good effect and Rossies found it ever harder to reach their influential players as the game wore on. One of Rossies subs Enda Smith did kick a really excellent point but the rest didn’t scare us all that much.
     Although Ros didn’t play a sweeper, they did play a 2nd half shawl that was very hard to break down. Some of those 2nd half wides we had were the right shot selection given Ros had so many back. Several were close enough and on a dry evening we might have pulled clear.
     All that said if we had a long range free taker we’d have won. Likewise gifting a goal.
     I think Ros will give Galway a good game. Confidence will be high and they could kick on a bit more from that.