Time for a quick update on what’s being said about us and them as the time continues to tick down remorselessly towards Sunday’s final. Sweet Lord, is it only Tuesday yet?
The only place to start today is the Mayo News, which hit the streets this morning with a 64-page final preview. There’s enough reading in it ’till Christmas but, like a series on Netflix, the best approach is to pig out on it in one go.
The only way to do this, of course, is by getting your hands on the paper or digital variants of the supplement. If you want to nibble on a few morsels first, though, some of this content is online.
Included in this are Billy Joe Padden’s analysis (here and here), Edwin McGreal on the overdue debunking of that tiresome curse nonsense (here), an interview by Anton McNulty with Kevin Kilbane (here) and my own bit of scribbling for the supplement, which is here.
The Mayo News also has a piece by Daniel Carey (here) on the recent County Board discussion about the allocation of tickets for the final. The number of tickets coming the county’s direction is, this report states, the same this year as last. You can be sure that discussions around the county on this issue will also be as animated as they were twelve months ago.
Onto the nationals where pride of place today goes to Jim McGuinness’s column in the Irish Times (here), where, after a good deal of in-depth rumination from afar, Jimmy thinks we’ll be winning matches. Or, rather, a match. Sunday’s final to be precise.
The same paper also has a feature piece on Jim Gavin – here.
Over at the Irish Independent, Colm Keys has a look at who has featured most for us in recent years (here), while the same paper also has a piece (which quotes an interview in the Western People – where, by the way, their final preview has yet to be made available to subscribers of the digital edition) featuring Lee Keegan, who has a few uncharitable things to say about Tyrone’s limp-wristed performance against Dublin. That one is here.
The Irish Examiner, meanwhile, has Mike Quirke’s column (here) and also that John Fogarty piece (here) which has already been linked via the comments. John’s spot-on with his observations on the oftentimes off-message nature of what our pundits have to say at times like this.
The 42 has a piece with Jim Gavin, which starts off with some standard Gavinwaffle (I think that’s a German term) about the balance between work and playing but which then segues nicely into an analysis of the in-built advantages Dublin enjoy, year-in, year-out. That one is here.
Finally, on the RTÉ website the Philip Jordan column is worth a look – here. Like his fellow countyman, Sean Cavanagh, Jordan feels that Dublin will win on Sunday but, unlike the Moy clubman, there’s nothing of the wide-eyed ingenue about his analysis.
That’ll do you for now, I reckon.
Don’t forget that Mayo GAA Lotto are holding a final draw for ten All-Ireland final tickets this Wednesday – play the Lotto here.
You hit the nail on the head WJ with your article in the Mayo news ….There was only 12k at the Derry game myself included and the atmosphere was unreal ….We were being totally frustrated and nothing was going right for us up front….Time running out 2 pts down in the 68th minute and Paddy Durcan gets a point a lifeline in the 70 minute Conor Loftus could have taken a easy point instead he burys it into top corner of the net…I have never seen a reaction like it….Bedlam breaks out in the stand we were never going to lose after that….What made it sweeter was Joe Brolly in front of me watching it live….
Can anybody tell me when the tickets will be given out by the clubs in Mayo?, I’m waiting on a call, a yes or a no to receiving a terrace ticket.
John Maughan is one of the guests in a club “up for the match” here in Dublin on Friday night. I’m looking forward to meeting him.
Part 1
To read Dublins Dressing Room – Half Time (Go to WJ’s thread Pre-final beers at Bowes Sept 9th).
Part 2:
Mahem at Croker
Gavin notices a sharp sting in his right buttock. He’s just been stung in the arse by a wasp. He jumps up swivels around and stares down at the bench. There, sure enough is a squashed wasp flattened in to a jam sandwich.
Gavin begins to rub his arse.
“Sir”
“Yes Brogan”
“That’s McMahons sandwich. He left it there in case he got a bit peckish during the 2nd half”.
“The son of a b***h” roars Gavin.
Up in the Presidential Corporate Box.
Michael D is now halfway through his 14th pint of Lager. Mayo are leading by 12, he’s excited and feeling pretty hot. He has already discarded his jacket, tie and shirt. He is leaning forward, head swaying slightly watching the match in a stringed vest.
On either side are his 2 invited guests, Arlene Foster and the President of the African League of Nations. At this stage Michael D cannot remember what his name is. Both guests are feeling uncomfortable and more than a little shocked.
The medics have done a remarkable job on Kilkenny, who after his terrible halftime accident had also began to bleed from the ears. They have covered the wire wounds with a dark soothing cream and have stuffed each of his ears with a length of wrapping bandage. He has also been given a double pain killer injection to get him through the 2nd half.
“Sir”
“Yes Brogan”
“Kilkenny is ready to come on”
“Well thank God for that Brogan”
Kilkenny is sent on straight away.
The double pain killer injection has affected kilkenny greatly. He races on to the pitch. His knees come right up to his chest on every step. The bandage wrapping has begun to unravel from each ear.
With the dark streaks of cream running across his body, the high steps and the unraveling wrapping bandage kilkenny looks like he is doing a tribal wardance.
Michael D’s invited African guest is highly insulted at this. He feels he is been mocked. He jumps off his chair to leave. One of Michael D’s aides tries to intervene and smooth the situation.
“Let him off to f**k” roars Michael D. He didn’t even buy me a pint.
Michael D beckons his lifelong buddy over and tells him to sit down where the invited guest has just vacated from. At least now I can have a bit of crack he thinks to himself.
Kilkenny has made a right turn in the middle of the pitch, is now picking up speed and high stepping it towards the endline.
“Where the f**k is he off to” inquires Gavin.
Paddy Andrews roars at Kilkenny to get back out in to his position.
Kilkenny can hear nothing with his plugged ears.
He doesn’t have his glasses on so he can see f**k all either. He ploughs in to and makes s**t of the specsavers advertising behind the goal.
This time he’s down for good.
“Send on the bull” roars Gavin.
McManamon with the head down roars on to the pitch like a Rhinoceros.
“Yea f****n p***k yea Gavin”
“Sir”
“Yes Brogan”
“That was O’Gara Sir”.
“I thought I told that p***k to stay in the dressing room”.
McManamon is fed the ball, lowers his head down between his Rhinoceros shoulders and heads for goal.
Gavin’s eyes are almost swollen shut due to his reaction to the bee sting. He can hardly see the action.
Donal Vaughen wisely sidesteps McManamon’s charge.
McManamon barrels in to the 82 year old umpire sending him in to the air clutching his green flag.
The umpire with arms outstretched somehow manages to lodge the green flag up Kilkenny’s arse, who is still lying behind the goal on his stomach receiving treatment.
Marty Morrissey sees his chance up in the RTE booth.
“I wonder Ger does that mean he scored a goal with his hole”.
RTE immediately cut to a commercial break.
Michael D is now on his 18th pint. His childhood buddy has swithched places with Arlene Foster so she can have a better view of the match. Michael D hasn’t noticed the switch.
He leans over to his right in his stringed vest and not realizing who he is talking to whispers in Arlene Fosters ear, “I think this ones problem is she doesn’t get enough Mickey”.
Arlene Foster leaves immediately.
Kilkenny has been loaded on the stretcher face down due to the flag sticking out of his arse. His legs are still going. Churning away. Before the stretcher has reached the halfway line he has worn a hole through the stretcher. His legs drop to the ground and he’s off, tearing up the pitch again with a stretcher around his waist, covered in stripes of cream, wrapping bandage hanging from each ear and a flag sticking out his arse.
The head of RTE sport has burst in to the studio to address the Marty comment.
Brolly, Spillane and O’Rourke are smacking the table and in uncontrollable fits of laughter watching Kilkenny running up the pitch.
“Can we be a bit more professional” ? Nugent asks.
“F**k you” roars Brolly as the 3 pundits collapse on to the floor in stitches.
Michael D hasn’t been to the bathroom yet.
He staggers out in to the hallway.
He now thinks he is at the U2 concert.
He checks several doors, all locked.
Finally he is able to open one. He stumbles in, no need for a light and for a full 6 minutes pisses in on top of a pile of RTE equipment.
The match has ended. Mayo are All Ireland Champions.
Marty asks Gavin for an interview.
Gavin’s eyes are now fully swollen shut.
He’ll do the interview to save face.
“Jim, Dublin were beaten by 15 points today. what happened” ?
Marty then sticks the piss soaked microphone under Gavin’s nose for his reply.
Gavin collapses.
Kilkenny and Gavin are both recovering well in hospital.
They are in neighboring beds and both lying on their stomachs.
Gavin’s arse had swelled to 3 times its normnal size the evening of the match.
The flag was successfully removed from Kilkenny’s arse.
O’Gara visits every day.
He doesn’t bring any presents.
He just stands at the door and roars “f**k you Gavin yea p***k.
He is not expected to make the Dublin squad next year.
wow you are brilliant Rivellino you brighten up these dark evenings another script writer for an Father Ted Character
Revellino, that is absolutely hilarious, I am still laughing, There’s no doubt at all, you are very gifted, I can picture Kilkenny & Gavin, brilliant.
Most of the articles are good. One thing I wouldn’t agree with is Quirke suggesting P Durcan should start in midfield. We may need him as an impact sub or else as corner back given that AOS won’t be playing in the backs. Should Donie start in the backs, midfield or come on as sub in either position. My preference is he comes on as sub in midfield and Durcan starts in the backs. If we need subs in the backs use Coen, Caff and Drake in that order. For midfield Donie could be the answer to tiring Mccarthy out and/or to stick with either Flynn or MDMA their obvious midfield subs, however they could also use Connolly or Kilkenny in the role. Whichever half back is on Kilkenny should be given license to run and shoot. Make him think about defending. McGuinness has some good ideas about how to force the issue with Dublin forwards wide play and recycling if nothing on tactics. Hopefully Buckley has figured this out too.
Kevin kilbane asked S rochford if Mayo will be wearing the black and red strip
At the risk of getting the head eaten off me, I think Mayo should wear it. It’s a menacing looking strip, I think it adds to Mayos personality on the pitch.
I posted before spotting Revelino’s exciting premonition of the game. Yes I think that’s exactly what will happen. Brilliant crystal ball gazing there.
Got me paws on the Mayo news supplement a while ago and getting stuck into it now. Will keep me going till Friday I reckon! Worth getting if you haven’t already.
Fair play Revellino I really enjoyed that. I think you are right Shuffly Deck Durcan has to start – he is a better option when running from deep to break out of defence. The only thing is that Donie was excellent against Kerry the last day and it is handy to have a top drawer player like Durcan to call on to bring on as Donie starts to flag. Mcguinness’ article is one of the few that had some tactical detail to chew on and most of the time in fairness his analysis is spot on. As for where to play AOS, around midfield seems the most likely. Roch could well spring a surprise again with him however and move him around from midfield to ‘minding the house’ like he did against Kerry but I cannot see it. The match ups this time have to be spot on and the call on where Aido plays could well win this game. Whatever they do they also need a plan for Cluxton – something, anything to disrupt his distribution. The whole Dublin game falls to pieces if Cluxtons kick outs fail. Maybe the sight of Diarmaid O’Connor following a high ball in on top of the goalkeeper for his goal against Kerry the last day might be a hint of things to come. #believe #mayo4sam
McLoughlin/Cluxton incident
https://www.livegaelic.com/news/vine-stephen-cluxton-red-card-incident/
I read in the Western People Dave that Mayo will be wearing the Green and Red as GAA rules stipulate that colour changes are only allowed where a colour clash exists with the opposition. Makes me wonder how Sligo managed to permanently adopt to black. Either way if we are good enough on Sunday colour wont come into it. I am so proud of that Green and Red all the same!
A year ago I would have said it can only be green and red jerseys. But we won in 1951 wearing white and that red and black jersey has been full of good memories for us.
As I stated before possibly the black shorts and black lower half of the jersey is deliberate. The players do look lean n mean in them.
It would definitely be a slight psychological “different Mayo today” for both teams.
I hope the jersey colour doesn’t matter, because if it does, maybe we didn’t beat Kerry after all. They didn’t wear the Green and Gold.
WJ – is that you modelling the T-shirt ?!
ok didnt know it was decided for certain about the jersey. The black one is something else, maybe the could incorporate the red and green into it at some stage?
It has to be Green & Red all the way! My heart gets a huge lift when I see the Green & Red of MAYO. The black was OK for the semi, now let’s show Dublin & the World how proud we are of the Green & Red, Up Mayo
As far as I’m concerned have Aido play on top of Cian OS and play the high ball in, then OS wouldn’t be able to sweep as he’d have another job to do. Have the Mayo forwards sweep around him. Aido clever enough to know where to break the ball. No point playing Aido “minding the house” as suggested above… that was to cope with a big Kerry ball winner who isn’t as mobile as the younger Dublin forwards. Remember how Small side stepped him last year, admittedly well into 2nd half. Prefer Aido further from midfield up where he does most damage. He’s more a team player this year than the past. Use him at what he’s good at but offloading a bit quicker as McQuillan may not give him anything and Dubs will want to strip him . Also can use him long on any kickouts where Dublin are marking the midfield and wing options. Small can’t out jump him nor can Cian OS bar breaking it. Also four Dubs in our FF line means one less further out. Word has it Big Barry flying in training too.
Revellino…. Fabulous stuff… ….
Willie Joe
2017 version of a good mayo song written and performed by the brother in law and Foxford man living in Galway
Thanks
Brian
Fight For Sam 2017 by Dave Howley on #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.com/davehowley/fight-for-sam-2017
Head wrecked as to where Aos might be playing. And a lot of the possible match ups are also doin my head in. Also been thinking more bout the possibility of connolly starting and if so could he start at full forward??? Could that be the curve ball from them?
In my opinion if Mayo are to win on Sunday, they will have to play with a level of spirit and aggression which Dublin have not encountered so far in 2017. Cyrille Guimard who managed the great French cyclist, Bernard Hainault, to five wins in the Tour Dear France stated in an interview “I’ve never met a nice, kind, soft man who’s succeeded in sport, whether it be in rugby, football or cycling”.
All Ireland winners in the noughties whether in football or hurling have had players with this almost over the top aggression: Dublin have Philly McMahon and Johnny Cooper, Kerry have Peter Crowley and Donncha Walsh, Donegal had the Magee brothers and Tyrone had Ryan McMenamin. Will this present Mayo team go down in history as nice also rans who always gave great entertainment. Let’s hope not! We have a lot of unfinished business in Croke Park. Maigheo Abu!
Absolutely imperative to place Aido on the edge of their square. Look at the trouble Kildare caused them. Aido slows the play in the middle, which you can get away with against weaker teams, he also hasn’t the pace for these dublin players and will be destroyed at midfield.
He can nail Cluxton on any 50/50 ball, then see how Cluxton reacts. I’ve absolutely no doubt we’ll be bet if Aido plays any deeper than the 40 yard line. Its no disrespect to the big man. His strengths are winning high ball, breaking tackles and off-loading…all of which are tailor made for the ff line….not for chasing lads around the middle who are a minimum 6-8 kgs lighter.
.MayoDunphy..
You cannot be serious.
Rewatch mayo v dublinds for the past two years.
Pocession cannot be kicked away cheaply. Pocession will be key on Sunday … win it, win it back and make it count.
Kicking it away would be crazy.
I would play Aidan at 11 too. He basically played as an inside forward for 4 games against Dublin in 2015 & 2016. It didn’t work and he won’t get any of the frees that he deserves. Dublin are going to be pressing Clarke’s kickouts aggressively so we’ll have to go long a fair bit. With Aidan around midfield, along with Tom, Seamus and Diarmuid, we should be able to win plenty of long kickouts.
I wonder will Philly follow Aidan outfield in that case? My guess is that he won’t and O’Sullivan will mark him. I’d say Andy will be marked by Fitzsimons, Cillian by Cooper and Jason by Philly. Clearly Dublin have a much better FB line than Kerry but if our 3 guys are on form we’ll cause them plenty of trouble.
One thing I noticed when Dublin played Tyrone was that Small was sent out to do a spoiling job on Peter Harte. Much of it was illegal but it worked and Harte was anonymous. Could he be told to do something similar on Kevin McL? He is involved in so many of our attacks.
Teams haven’t found how to break Dublin aerially for long periods in games but I’m pretty sure it can be done. Tyrone won a penalty and Kerry do well enough at times with high ball but typically Dubs organisation minimises damage
Our players were reluctant to kick into Barry at the end last year because stakes were too high with risk of turning over the ball. The one that went in he won a free off. However it could and maybe should be done 3 or 4 times per half. Dubs are not tall at the back. Either keep it away from sweeper or have the big man play from on top of him. If Dublin do start Connolly FF I would put Keegan in on him. Horses for courses, Harry needed for Rock.
Dubs were upset at RTE for giving away their starting 15 too early against Tyrone so yes they may try a curve ball. Players should know their match ups going on.
I’m frustrated that teams make Cian OS look so good, he is good but not as good as teams let him be. Analyse how they set up defensively and find the weakness. Each setup has its weak points. For starters Kilkenny deep is not a prolific tackler / sweeper in the defensive sense, he’s a playmaker and Cian OS nowadays plays with 3 rather than 6 on his back where before he was a deep centre back and one of Cooper & Mcmahon now out in half backs. Also Small’s discipline is not guaranteed in CHB. Has he the smarts if Mayo come with a clever game plan?
Lets take the bridges – evil forces at work. Mayo flag at Kilcock bridge yesterday has been removed. Dublin flags all the way from Tempelogue to M50. Lets make sure we cover every bridge on N4 from Kilcock to M50 with flags before Sunday. Hon Mayo!
I know I will get slated for this, but I would leave aos on the bench until 5 minutes into the second half. Trust our other players to stay in the game. This would put Gavin and his bench on the back foot. He would be forced to hold back his attacking subs for fear that, when the big man does come on he could wreak havoc. Possibly holding 2 defenders in reserve. If they were to pick up an injury or black card, it further reduces his options.
Plus, can you imagine the reaction to aiden coming on with 30 minutes to go.
We have a precedent with the Donegal game in McHale park this year.
Before shooting, I’m just sayin…
Reckon Aiden will rotate between 11 and 14 …I agree that it didn’t work against Dublin before at full forward but might be an option for a while as Andy is buzzing this year and Aiden was very isolated the last time and found himself with 2 Dublin defenders on him at all times …Good news …nephew of mine has ticket in the post for upper Cusack ….absolutely thrilled . .best of luck to ya all in the hunt
Regarding Aido. .
I think for this game he is of most use in the half forward line. We all know he doesn’t have that speed in the middle and it will cost us against Dublin.
If he’s used at half forward he can win the game for us. Balls laid of to him while he’s already on the run. It always takes three of four to stop him in full sprint. Usually with a free and while doing so it leaves other players wide open.It’s so obvious that is where he should be. If it was a medieval war Aidan would basically be our battering ram. We need him for running at his top speed into their wall then handing it off, scoring or getting frees (and knowing which to go for which he does this year). Aidan draws the crowd of backs and creates space just because he’s a tank and no one man can tackle him alone. We are gifted with this space opening gem and he should be used as such.
Once he’s making runs here and there it will create space in the Dublin defence. He can’t be making these runs from midfield as it will slow us down and if he gets the frees there they are usually too far out.
We’ve tested Aido at full forward and bar sligo it doesn’t really work. I certainly wouldn’t expect it to work against Dublin. Andy Moran does a fine job of holding up the ball up there as of late. There’s less balls going into the corners for him to chase and more into his chest and feet. We should be ideally using him as the target man up front for direct balls(not high balls) as he’s the strongest of the forward’s to hold the ball up and either ping it over or look for the occasional lay off to O’Shea if he’s around or who over else if not. Them moments have goal written all over it.
I’m still uncertain what to do with Keegan. He’s the type of player you can put anywhere on the pitch and he’ll do well. I would like to see him getting up and down the field a lot. Taking turns with Boyle to burst up the pitch and switching every so often for rests. If Connolly is playing I presume he will take him.
Cluxton needs to be slowed down. His kicking game is the best in the country (although Evan Comerford gives him a run for his money). When the last ten minutes comes into play I think we should be going all out to slow down the kickout. Running in front of Cluxton accidentally on purpose and checking him. Standing in front of the ball pretending not to notice. Falling infront of the ball with fake injuries. Even kicking it away.It’s dirty but they wouldn’t think twice of similar tactics if we remember last year and the off ball checking they were doing when we would get on the break. We might get a yellow or two for it but come the last ten mins or so it will be worth it if it means it sways a 95 percent chance of possession to a 50/50 and we push up on the kick out for the last ten.
I think my ball aiden will rotate between 11 and midfield. Think ff might be a bit too far forward for him. We found it tough to get the ball in to him at ff against Dublin in the past.
I’d like to see him at mf for the throw ins and the rest of the game positiomed between the hf line and mf. Think though for the Dublin kickouts the dublin chb will try and run him all over the pitch.
All that will hinge on how tom and seamie are fairing out with the dublin midfield.
Maybe aiden should take his marker in to the corners when mayo backs are in possession on a few occasions . Think it would open up the dublin back lines for our half backs when they run with the ball.
Hard to know where to put Aidan for this one, given that the full-forward experiment hasn’t worked against the Dubs in several outings, and he also didn’t have the legs for midfield against them in 2013. Ordinarily, I’d say that leaves him on the 40, but tbh our forward unit clicked better when he was back the field, as we could fire fast diagonal balls into Andy, Cilian and DOC without AOS taking too long on the ball, as he is wont to do.
I’d also be hugely surprised if Connolly starts, given how little football he has seen in the last few months. Perhaps Gavin may bring him on towards the end of the game though.
Yea. I’m still surprised that Gavin gave connolly so little game time in the semi final. I’m hoping it results in him not been match sharp if he is playing.
Agree ..said it in previous post……Aiden could create space if he pulls centre back to wings but my thinking of him at 14 at times is that half backs would fancy there chances running the legs of him going forward …. I have complete faith in Stephen and co to get it right
One genuine worry has to be Fitzsimons marking Andy; he’s blotted him out the past two seasons and that would curtail our scoring return if it happens again; he’ll definitely pick up Andy.
The player that has actually cost us against Dublin for the past 2 years is MDMAuley. His introduction in the second half of last year’s second match and the previous year’s second match cost us both games. Why? His strong running breached our defence and he caught crucial high balls in the middle of the park as well. Costello’s scores came off McAuley. We absolutely have to plan for his introduction the next day…………..you know what they say about not learning from past mistakes!
Wouldn’t agree with leaving Aidan in bench for first half – this is Dublin not Donegal. If we don’t hit the ground running the game could be over after 15 minutes never mind HT. CHF is his position. At midfield Dublin would run him into the ground. His job at CHF is simple – win our own long kick outs – there will be plenty of these. Also win ball around the 45 and give pop passes to runners – like goal in replay last year. Like last two games we should bring plenty of ball up wings – this will draw Dub defenders away from the centre and create more space down middle for Aidan.
I think Dublin will start connelly at ff only to keep lee out of the game so id put Vaughn on him and let lee bomb forward they have to be as worried about Lee’s scoring as we are about any of their threats.besides if im not mistaken didn’t Vaughn do all right on him after lees black card last year.aos chf with runners on his sholder ala lees goal
Mcauley is a big danger alright. He is teak tough too. Remember seamie bouncing off him last year. He’ll have to be shadowed when he comes on. Really tightly marked.
Mcarthy is another man that can be a game winner on his day.
I’m hoping they will criss cross runners to come between Andy and fitsimmons to upset that dual.
The thing to remember is the Dubs will be having a mirror of the conversation we are having here. They’ll be trying to come up with best strategies to tackle all the danger men in the mayo team. Thank god we have plenty of danger men for them to worry about too.
Ao’s will win plenty of ball from chf. Now if the game is reffed properly at worst should result in plenty of scoreable frees. Am not going to start raving about referee calls.
Think aiden can have a huge influence if he gets his decision making correct. Sometimes he drops the head and goes on solo runs in to traffic when it’s not the correct thing to do and is often dispossessed doing this. If he’s a bit cuter could have a massive game in him. We’ll need it from him sunday.
Another interesting position for us to think about is to have Aidan O’Shea between our half-back line and midfield. He played around that area when we beat Dublin in 2012. The value in this would be that if we push up on Cluxton and he goes long, Aidan would be able to contest for those long Dublin kick-outs.
Then if Dublin push up on us, O’Shea would be a option for Clarke if David can’t get his short kick-outs away. He would be able to contest for our mid-range to long kick-outs. Its an interesting one to think about. Rather than Aidan been on their 45 clogging up the space for Andy, Cillan and Jason Doc, he would be around our 45 clogging up the space for the Dublin forwards. The main risk would be that Dublin would put a fast man on him and that could cause us a few problems. We’ll see how it goes anyway.
Would like to see the following team tried for the first 15-20mins, would give Dublin a few things to think about.
Clarke
Higgins-Harrison-Barrett
Keegan-Coen-Boyle
Parsons-S O’Shea
McLoughlin-Cillian O’Connor-Doherty
Moran-A O’Shea-Kirby
Every time a ball was launched in to the full forward line in 15/16 to O’Shea he was double marked each time, be interesting to see how the Dubs would cope if they had two huge men plonked in there at the start, also allows Cillian to kick long range scores if chance arises and less distance for him to cover when he’s tracking back as he so often does. If it’s not working after 20mins then switch Kirby out to CHF for Cillian, at least Kirby would be mobile and offer an option for kickouts, if needs be can switch it up at half time. I’d start Coen, convinced Connolly will start at FF for Dublin with the Dub’s intentions of us having to keep Keegan tied up in the full back line and thus out of the game being the main reason. Coen had a super game on Connolly last year when Keegan went off so be worth a gamble. Durcan/Diarmaid O’Connor and Loftus to come on around the 55th minute to freshen things up and run the Dubs into the ground. Nally to come on too if Dubs are retreating into their own half and we need a long range score with few mins to go. Would keep Vaughan in reserve especially for McCauley when he comes on, done too much damage to us last year. Would like to see Keegan drift into midfield quite a bit as I feel Fenton/McCarthy could do us a bitta harm here with their mobility.
Interesting line up there eyesontheball. Your points are well made. Maybe the mobility on your ff line might be a bit of a talking point but suppose if they at least got possession they could lay off to the hf line.
Think we will need that kind of calibre of sub coming on and you have also thought about vaughen for mcauley so while it’s a line up I wouldn’t have considered it has its merits. O’ shea could drift out as well to win his position.
How about the twin towers for first
20-25min AOS and BM with a couple of lads playing off them
sit deep and kick long early on.
would leave an extra man to come in off the bench aswell
Cannot believe some of the suggestions here….
Mayo scored heavily v kerry (both days) with Doherty winning ball around the 45 ando Cillian & Andy staying close to goal.
Why change something that looks really effective. ….
If Doherty has another stellar game …. that will go along way to troubling the Dublin full back line. If o’Sullivan tags him …it will have a telling effect on the result.
The words Twin Towers should be banned from this site! Jesus – how many times does that tactic have to fail in big games for us to stop doing/suggesting it? Aido should not be allowed within 60 yards of opposition goal. I agree fully with everything Hope Springs Eternal wrote above. Finally we have a menacing, pacy full forward line that moves correctly and people want to abandon it and put 2 immobile players and lump in high ball? Come on guys, Dublin would love nothing more. Big philly pulling and dragging Aido all day with no frees given and no creativity on our forward line. No thanks.
Revellino and Spotlight – agree with you on the damage McAuley did last year – he’s a grade A player.
However, how much game time has he had this year? Maybe he’s performing in AvB games but remember he had a serious foot problem at the start of the championship and he’s been rehabbing since then. I’ll be surprised if he plays a major role. You could say Barry Moran has been the equivalent in Mayo, and again, realistically, are there more than 20 minutes in Barry given that he hasn’t been used so far.
Not that positions mean much anymore I would go with the following line-up. Keith would drop back to sweep and be available along with AOS for kick outs with the aim of getting, holding possession and then breaking the line if the Dubs push up. The rest of the guys in defence will do the usual link play and running through the middle. Diarmuid O’Connor i think will be crucial covering ground and giving us an attacking threat.. we need him to have a big game. If Dubs drop off on kickout then AOS to move between midfield and half forwrd to create the overlap here. It will also be the making and breaking if Ref gives Aido frees.. if he dosnt give us frees and we get caught in possession we are in trouble
…………………….Clarke……………….
………..Harrison………Barrett………
………..Vaughan………Boyle………..
Keegan………….AOS………….Keith
………………SOS……..Parsons……..
McLoughlin………………….Doherty
……………………Cillian…………………
……………DOC………….Andy…………
@Rise Again @Larry Duff, Dublin would be expecting us to line out and use Doherty/Moran/O’Connor as we did in the Kerry game, hence why I said try this for 20mins at the start, might catch them by suprise and if it doesn’t work then revert to the tactic used against Kerry. It gives us two serious options for long high balls, it would also allow our runners more space through the centre to run into as Dublin would most likely have to drop another man back to negate the aerial threat of Kirby so that’s my thinking behind it.
@Catcol, Costello didn’t have a heap of game time last year and look what he did to us!
Eyesontheball ….
Have some faith in these three super players Mayo.
I believe they will cause fitzsimons, o o’Sullivan & Cooper plenty of it on Sunday.
That leaves mccaffrey to be hounded by McLoughlin all day. Philly to tag Aiden & small & o’connor to go at it.
Theven will be some battles & mayo need to win some of these & not be beaten with the others.
Roll on 3:30 on Sunday.
We will continue to speculate as to the final 15….The tactics… The subs to be used and the timing of the changes… For both teams…… What one team does, might reflect on the other team…….There is ample evidence that, Stephen Rochford, Donie Buckley, Peter Burke and Tony McEntee, will have Mayo proficient in playing a number of different styles…. Interchangeable Player’s capable of playing different positions, and bringing a totally different threat will pose Dublin problems in areas of the field, that is difficult for Dublin to prepare for….. Dublin are a far more uniform team than Mayo, while their players are all very good, they are very similar….. This works well for Dublin when Ciarán Kilrenny finally finds his free man, he knows that the player he finds is very similar to the rest of the Dublin player’s and is well able to finish the chance…. Mayo have some very different player’s,…..eg AOS and Colm Boyle are two top class players, but two completely different types of players, and Dublin will need two very different defensive plans to cope with the threat of the very different player’s….. Jason Doherty and Andy Moran are two top class inside forwards, each having the season of their lives, but both very different as well… Mayo have the ability to mix and match more so than Dublin…. I can see Mayo starting a few different player’s in positions that Dublin have not as had to devise a plan to defend against in the previous match’s against Mayo… Versus Roscommon, Lee Keegan played Midfield, marking Enda Smith, probably Roscommon best player,…. AOS marked Kieran Donaghy versus Kerry…. Dublin are a team, they play to the mantra of repetition, repetition, repetition, keep passing until you find the free man… Killkenny will do most of the passing and probing until he finds the right opportunity…. Dublin can do this so well and so easily…. Because they are so sure that their defence is already, locked and loaded, ready to deal with the predicted offensive threat brought them by the teams already beaten before they even showed up….. This will not work as well for Dublin, when they play Mayo,.. Dublin player’s will have to worry about Mayo player’s, where they are playing and they won’t be where they want them to be…. And then when Dublin have adjusted,… Mayo will change again…. Repetition, Repetition, Repetition will not work for Dublin this time,… And Jim Gavin knows it.
.
I think it’s time to give young lads a chance and experiment with the long, high ball that we’ve never done before
Matthew Flanagan
Coen, Vaughan, Higgins
Colm O’Boyle, Jason Docerty, Andy Mornin
Tom Carsons, Seamus, Robbie Hennelly
Keegan, Durcan
AOS, Kirby, Barry Moran/The next tallest fella on the squad
I think it will confuse Dublin so much that they won’t know what to do in midfield, especially if we give Robbie the goalie jersey and put an outfield on on Mattie.
Or look what we let Costello do, Eyesontheball.
Thanks Revellino for a great laugh with the Dublin bench and dressing room.
That’s a brave call MayoMark – including fellas I’ve never heard of: Carsons, O’Boyle, Docerty, Mornin (any Noone or Knight?).
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@MayoMark, you can make all the smart comments you want, couldn’t give a shite, but up until this year we had never really developed as a kickpassing team, hence why the long, high ball option has never really worked in the past, seem to remember the one (decent) high ball that was played into Barry Moran last year when he came on resulted in a free and tap over the bar. Just think it’s worth a shot for 20mins and I’ve clearly outlined my reasons why, if not we’ve still got the flexability in the starting 15 to revert back to Plan A
I would agree with the above, playing long balls into the twin towers isnt an option and wont happen. Andy, cillian and Jason have forged an understanding and are on fire, would be maddness to disrupt that.
Mayo need to turn this into a Mayo type of game, a high octane, hard running game, pull Dublin out of their comfortable possession/recycling system, dont give them a second to think about where to kick the ball. Every Dublin kickout must be contested and pressed, it must be constant pressure. To this end I believe we cant play a sweeper, we must have bodies in advanced positions to press kickouts and take advantage of turnovers. Mayo need to be on the front foot not sitting back against a team better at keeping ball and more patient in buildups. If Mayo play a sweeper on sunday we cant win, if we play Mayo football and play the game on our terms then we will succeed.
Relax chief, it’s all too serious, I’m way too nervous and I’m just trying to lighten the mood.
Up Mayo!
You’re right @Mayo Mark, I need a pint before I drive myself demented thinking about it!
@Eyesontheball,.. Be careful, your not suppsed to have a pint, before you ‘drive’. yourself ‘demented or not.’ .. Your not Wayne Rooney, are you?… @Mayomark ..Your team will bring down the insatiable demand for tickets… I still think that I will go to the match even if Mayo Mark gets his way with that team. Not a bad team either…… Oh the not knowing, is driving me mad too…mind you I didn’t have too far to drop…. Darragh O. Sé is now in conversation with Séan Bán at the Listowel Race’s on TnaG4 as I write, about the All Ireland final as Gaeilge…. Séan Bán looks very confused,. Darragh says Mayo have the upper hand in the physical stakes and Séan Bán looks distinctly distraught… The conversation now goes on to the minor final, and as Darragh praises the Kerry minors, Séan Bán’s looks more relaxed now…
Its true Doherty/Moran/Cillian had a great thing going against Kerry, but they won’t have the same space on Sunday. They played lightning fast football when Aido was full back. Even against the Rossies our forward play was slower, our goals came from men running deep, slicing through a poor defence, excellent individual goals as opposed to the excellent forward play we saw against Kerry.
What im trying to say is, are we better served with Aido out the way in the middle to 40 yard line? Will we be better served with Aido at ff, pushing up on kickouts, then dropping back to mf to give Clarke an option, but returning to ff with Andy and Cillian flanked either side. It won’t disrupt the fast direct ball to Doherty/Cillian/Andy, infact it might give them more space to operate, with the attention Aidan draws. And the best part of it is, we have an option for the odd high ball…which if delivered correctly, with Aido getting a run at it, could cause seirious damage to Dublin. Imo we have to play him ff.
Agree 100% Mayomad. Our defending is key. If we (all 14 outfield players) defend with huge intensity from the first minute and try our level best to cut down the time and space they normally enjoy to play the ball around we will win. Who marks who and where players play is far less important than this basic principle of defending. As I said previously Dublin are heavily dependent on this style of play – hard running, quick passing BEFORE going into contact, support runners coming from all angles. It all looks very smooth and efficient. But the team that can crack this system will win and possibly win easily. You have heard the expression ‘a game of inches’ – true. But is also a game of split seconds – the split second it takes a man in possession to look up and spot a free support runner. Dublin have become accustomed to this all year including against Tyrone. They have had it too easy. It has become normal for them. But what if all the support runners are tracked hard? Not so easy then or smooth or efficient! Suddenly the man in possession must take contact which he wasn’t counting on. System fcuked!
It’s brutal hard work to keep this up but we only need to do this long enough to disrupt them and unsettle them. We do have the players with the physical and psychological attributes to do this. We are a mean, tough competitive shower of baskets and we are probably the only team right now capable of playing at this level of intensity – including the darling Dubs! It is a do or die approach I know but it IS do or die for many of our lads.
I think they will DO!
Revellino hope thats not you modelling the jersey ease up on the pies if it is .
Jesus i hope we win lads great writing rev and great season we all had all the talking ha to be done on the pitch now see u on the other side.