59 thoughts on “Two changes for Sunday”

1. How we deal with McManus will be crucial obviously as he is just majestic when in song like last weekend.
   Would like to see Loftus get a run again from the bench. AOS needs to have a big game if we are to get anything from this .
   This project needs a win sooner rather than later.

2. Unless Rochford decides to double mark Conor McManus or somebody has a fitness question mark I don’t see any changes to the starting team. If he does decide to give McManus extra attention then I think Hall is the likely man to come in, not necessarily to mark McManus.
   I would like to see Aiden start and stay at full forward, not moving around to centre half etc. as he tends to do.

3. [Deleted].

4. For gods sake give Regan a chance. It is only early March.

5. Three games and drop him? I’m glad you’re not in charge. He may well settle himself and become an “addition”.
   For what it’s worth on a Friday evening I think Mayo will win well on Sunday. Mayo by 5 and regan to score a few from play

6. Jeez stall the digger there cliona, set up goal chance v cork, had a goal chance v Dublin , got brought down for penalty v Donegal , it’s his first proper season . Patience is needed , I stick by my opinion he has massive potential . Put a score on him to score a goal anytime be about 4/1 on Sunday and have a few pints on Evan Regan when ya land back in Charlestown Sunday night.

7. Agree regarding Regan, expectations way too high, he needs time.
   He showed nice flashes of skill and vision in the Cork and Dublin games from open play.
   I’d hold judgement until our forward play as a unit becomes more fluid and the old adage of harder ground and such, comes into the reckoning

8. Regan got poor service on Sunday, his ability in undoubted. Agree that Loftus looks a prospect too. I’d give Ger the job of marking McManus with Barrett helping close by. Also, I’d hold Nally in front of McManus and let Harrison and Keegan bomb on. Clean tackling to reduce frees in scoring positions, keep McManus quiet and we’ll come down the road with the points.
   For all the talk about McManus only 3 of his 12 points came from play. He’s a terrific player but they are too reliant on him.

9. Thought Clarke would have started instead of hennelly

   Surprised loftus didn’t get a start also instead of regan

10. As good as McManus is I’d be very weary of putting too much emphasis on stopping him albeit it’s fairly crucial to not afford him space ,five other inter county forwards need minding too and ffs I hope the video analysis team had the Donegal goal on repeat all week ,no way should any team be allowed cut through us down the centre like that

11. You’ve set the bar fairly high on proving yourself Cliona. 3 and a bit league games is all you get to show your stuff and develop as a senior inter county player. What then? Kick in the hole and off back to your club because at 22 you’ve not banging in 1-12 per game.

12. Cliona where should Evan Regan be at this time in his development in your opinion?

13. Strong team. I think AOS is more effective in the central position, he can influence the play more. As his fitness improves so will his influence. A rest is probably due to Diarmuid. He covers more yards in a game than the rest of the team. How about young O’Hora instead of Diarmuid and place him within 5 yards of Barrett watching you know who. Regan definitely deserves more games. He is dangerous around the square. And Loftus can interchange with Doherty at some stage. He scored a nice point in the Donegal game. Will Nally be a wing back or a sweeper? Anyway wolley hats needed for Sunday.

14. 900 players were put forward by their clubs in Dublin for minor trials this year, that’s NINE HUNDRED. These are the lads who had already shown the potential within their clubs to get put forward in the first place. Your looking for a panel of 45 so all you want is 5% out of that 900. Anyone under 6ft, out. Anyone not able to use both feet, out. Etc etc.
    If your dealing with those kind of numbers then you can be ruthless and discard players quickly. However, their is only one county able to do that so ourselves and everyone else must be patient and let a player develop naturally.
    Maybe some people should keep that in mind when crisitising the county because, despite all that numerical, financial and resource advantage, we ran them to a point in 2013 and it took 140 minutes of football for them to better us last year.

15. [Deleted].

16. That’s bang out of order backdoor Sam and do you think it makes you clever to say something that you’re not saying . Oh and btw the white boots and blonde hair didn’t make ciaran Mac too bad of a footballer or the mort imo.

    Bring in the cattle , it’s freezin out there.

17. Who captain instead of Higgins

18. Jeez Backdoorsam I think thats an awful statement to make…… about ANY player putting in the effort that these guys are.

19. [Deleted].

20. Chrissy Barrett tight on mc manus with hall to play on front of him.

21. Harsh on Regan here, he has potential and is a reliable free taker from the right side which was needed. Would like him to get his head up more when on the ball but that will come with experience.

    I would like too see AOS back in midfield as this is his best position and where he can have the most influence on a game. In my opinion he is wasted at ff, out of the game for large periods. Michael Murphy is prob the best ff in the country but Donegal cant play him there as he is so influential, AOS is the same for us.

22. Im not too convinced by Regan either. IMO non “regulars” who get a shot at the jersey in Jan/Feb/Mar should be raring to go physically and mentally, i mean this is they’re championship, they’re chance to grab a jersey for the summer. Regan is’nt doing enough in open play at the moment to warrant a place come summer, whether its bad ball in or lack of strength, he’s just not showing enough. He may just be too small for top level football these days? He has pace which is a major plus, hopefully he’ll develop and come on leaps and bounds over the next few months, but in all fairness, he has been over-hyped (up to now} around the County. Hopefully he’ll prove me wrong on Sunday and bang in 2-10!!!.

23. Juan, thats totally unfair on young players. You cant expect young players to suddenly be up too pace with seasoned players especially on crap pitches in February. Reagan more so as he missed last season through injury. DOC didnt show a whole lot last Feb but look where he is now.

24. I presume Regan is playing as his management want him to play.

    I seem to remember post after post last year lamenting his absence… the missing link…injury curse…will we ever get him back… and so on.

    Now, after a few games (could it be the same) posters are pointing him towards the exit door.

    Has he even had a proper surface to play on, to showcase some of his skills?

25. It was predictable that we would loose the first 3 games and while you get make an argument we could have nicked something in the last two games we didn’t because we weren’t good enough on either day. Against Monaghan I find it genuinely hard to call. You worry about where Mayo will get scores and how they will counter the threat of mcmanus. But actually I think Mayo will be solid enough defense wise and would hope some improvements in forwards with Mcloughlin and moral of the bench to increase our scoring threat and hopefully one of the others will step up also. Would like to see AOS on the 40 I give Mayo a hesitant vote by 2.

26. I was hoping Evan would shine this year but I too am a little disappointed and surprised. I had him down as a real star of the future and maybe he will come good yet but he needs to start showing a bit more. There was one particular incident in the first half against Donegal that did not impress me. Himself and Conor O Shea stood up while a defender went right past them and continued down as far as our half back line. Mind you I’d say they heard about that at half time because they chased their men in the second half.
    As I said in a previous post they need to up their game on Sunday.

27. Cliona/Bazham 19/Backdoor Sam – black card for the three of you. Trash-talking players isn’t allowed and you should all know this. To turn your own language back on you – not good enough, not county standard. The three of you are dropped.

28. Cliona, Bazham 19 and Backdoor Sam I think it is so horrible to talk about young (22 years old) players like this. I presume they are under immense pressure and you come on here slating them?
    Where is your county support?
    Do you know the work they put in week in week out, hoping for a good game and to “shine”.
    Can we keep in mind Regan was unjured last year, this is his first season back properly playing, he has had 3 games and is still putting his name on the score board. I would think before you right up nasty comments about young players here again. Glad to see the last comment that you all have been blocked from commenting. That negativity isn’t needed.
    Regan to shine 2016 I reckon, we need quick thinking forwards like him.

29. I recall a 22yr old Colm Boyle having some howlers of league games for Mayo back in the day. A few years later he was back as one of our toughest and most courageous defenders. With that in mind I still want to see Evan being given more opportunities to develop during this league as he certainly can be a useful player for the future even if his club, U21 and county appearances in recent years have been average enough.

30. I know regan since he was a young lad and i can tell you he has superb potential. The one difference i have noticed so far this year is the forwards aren’t getting a huge amount of ball other than scraps into the corners. Like someone else said here, the forwards need to be getting the ball into their hands in shooting positions. No use giving the ball to evan on the corner of the sideline , he doesn’t have the power a o shea does to barge through players from these positions. Time is important, i know what he can do so does everyone else who knows him at club level ,just a matter of getting good ball into him. When he does ,he creates goal chances,but just my opinion, which may be a little biased.

31. Why does Mayo never name subs before a match. Every other county seems to.

32. Apparently a crash with the Mayo team bus at Abbey Breaffy outside Castlebar. I hope nobody got hurt

33. Happy with that team. Thought Seamie might start but probably good to have someone in reserve. Might need him for second half.

    Expect a dog fight but think we can shade it. Caff the man for McManus and Regan will come good yet. He’s a predator so we need to get the ball to him in the danger zone and he’ll do damage.Don’t know why people are getting at him, it’s not as if any of the other forwards are setting the world on fire !

    Pity Higgins is injured, love the idea of taking him out of full back line and using his pace further up the filed. Higgins and Durcan will add serious pace to this team come summertime.

    Mayo by a 2/3/

34. Going by the job Caff did on McBrearty who had been dangerous in earlier games I agree he seems the man for the job as they could pump in high ball if any of our other backs go to mark him.
    Also thought Seamie might come in but good news for Gibbons to get more high level game under his belt. If he came back to his 2014 form that will be good news as he was our standout in league that year before injury.
    Hopefully we’ll hear all well from the bus incident. Don’t see anything in any media about it.

35. On Regan, I think it’s 50 50 call with Loftus to give these lads a fair go. Regan edges it being a leftie for balance and the better freetaker ot the 2 but Loftus to come in if things go well. No need to spring Andy unless it’s a tight finish as we know what he can do. Doherty’s place is under threat from Higgins this summer so hopefully he will show up well.
    I think Aido might be better on 40 for this one and try Connor as the target man. Murphy argument applies to Aido, maybe sacrifice the x factor in FF until we have a team that’s firing. If Gibbons comes good and Seamie improves his distribution we have Barry to come back so Aido is surplus to midfield apart from injury needs. He can do more damage marking smaller men in the forwards and be an extra target for our kickouts.

36. I will take my black card like a man and be in Monaghan in the stand tomorrow roaring on Evan and the lads apologies Willie Joe and anyone else I may have offended

37. That’s fair enough, Backdoor Sam.

38. Big game for us tomorrow. We still have a great chance of staying up and even making the semis. We’ll see. I’d favour Regan over Loftus purely based in the fact that Conor has plenty of football ahead with the 21s as well. Same with Diarmuid. Game time is what it’s all about

    Do we have a time line for Cillian’s return? We saw some faces back last week which is great. I would like to see Davey back between the sticks though as it’s been too long

39. Also personally think that it’s time to stick a fork in the Aidan O’Shea up front era. Aidan is a wonderful player who is, in my opinion, better around the middle of the field. By all means have a short spell now and again but a constant tactic of lumping the ball into him is incredibly wasteful, energy sapping and demoralizing.

    How many times did we see our lads empty the tank in the Dublin replay to win possession only for us to kick long, hopeful less than 50-50 balls to Aidan and just give possessions straight back? It’s not a clever tactic, it’s wasteful and it’s incredibly inefficient. I really hope we start to move away from it soon.

40. Can I mention a poor, seemingly forgotten soul, called, Cunniffe. He was marking one of the best forwards in the country the last day and while it took him a while to settle and take control, he did just that. The second half in particular, he stuck to Clarke like glue and any ball Clarke got he was pushed right out on the wing and couldn’t even take a shot. He had to pass!!!! Cunniffe was up and down that field like a rocket all day!!!! Why does nobody mention him????

41. Not sure Joe but to be honest, as far as I’m concerned, we have 5 lads with the Mithels currently (Dougie, Tom, Barry, Danny and Paddy) that can make a proper difference in the Mayo squad and team.

42. Wouldn’t have minded Stephen Coen coming in for this one for a more physical presents. Monaghan played a rugged brand of football at times. Conor o Shea so far seems to enjoy playing more on the half forward line. Did well against Cork and the 1st half against Dublin. He was put into corner forward in the second half of the dublin game and last Sunday beside Aidan and didn’t look comforable. Some players just don’t like playing with their backs to goal. Conor Loftus is another, he is purely a half forward His direct play and running style suggests this. Alot of moving parts in the forward line at the minute, Rochford looking for the right blend. He needs time too, alot of players coming in late and some still to come in like the Castlebar lads. There is progression being made. Seamus O Shea will be a big help too.

43. Of course there is progress been made,a very late start from team and management,give the players a chance,bad pitches,getting used to new ideas,and teammates,I am confident that we will be there at the business end

44. its unbelievable how certain posters are judging young players after trying hard against two of the best defences in the country. Dublin and Donegal are catalysts for tough defending and im delighted that new players are being tried. Everyone was calling for change after h&C. It is being implemented so who are we to critcise if a young man who was wrecked with injury last year has not yet came of age. My critsism would only go to one player who features alot in the panel and on the team.

45. Wishing the team every success on Sunday. It’s a bit soon to be over critical of players and management as we all know the reasons for the position we are currently in. Kerry find themselves in this position nearly every other year and it does not stop them from winning the league or championship,as a matter of fact they become a more solid unit as they know what they have team do to dig themselves out of a hole.
    We have a good management team and our players are showing improvements in every game so far. We still have players out injured, and when the Mitchell’s contingent return (successfully I hope) we will be a formidable outfit for the championship, and a good chance of avoiding the drop, so keep the faith.

46. Many Mayo supporters are like the weather, blowing hot and cold, changing daily and totally unpredictable. Many also seem to suffer from poor memories. Aiden O’Shea, we are now being told had only one good game at full forward last year – v Sligo in the CF. Have we all forgotten about his domination of Finian Hanley v Galway, his destruction of McGee v Donegal. Have we forgotten his lack of support in the full forward line in the Dublin games, where he was battling two or three players. Ok, he is not firing on all cylinders this year yet but I suspect that like most big men it takes him a little longer than most to get fully fit. He also has to, I think, learn a bit more about playing in other forwards rather than doing it all himself. As do the other forwards. And “lumping” the ball in on top of him is not the way to get the best from him either. I say leave him full forward for the league at least because we do not need him at midfield and centre half is not his position either. At midfield we have Parsons, Seamie and in a few weeks Barry Moran. Also Gibbons, not yet at 2014 levels but we can expect him to get there. Gibbons is also I believe a better option at centre half than Aiden being a better distributor of the ball.
    We also see the Mayo supporters who a year ago were bemoaning the “huge loss of Evan Regan” now wanting him dropped after a three games. I was never among the top admirers of Regan but today I say he is worth his place for freetaking alone and the way he won that penalty v Donegal suggests he has a hell of a lot more to offer.

47. Toughnup – I was with you there completely until your final sentence (that I’ve now deleted) where you went and did the same thing you were criticising others for doing.

    All – it hasn’t suddenly become open season for slagging off particular players so please stop acting like it has. Thanks.

48. you know well what im on about and if u know ur football ( which i think u do) then u agree with me willie joe though ur not allowed to say

49. Anyhow enough of that wj. Mark ronaldson played well in the league last year and made himself available and put himself in good positions to score. Id like to see him get a run on sunday if he is fit

50. I’ve backed against us so far in the league, but i think we’ll win by 2 tommorow. Would disagree with the posters who say O’Se in ff should be scrapped, I think he’s the most dangerous player in the land at ff if given the right ball and support. He’ll win us an AI if we stick with him there.

51. Danny Kirby is the man for full forward. He has all the attributes – big, strong, aggressive, good pace, skillful, deadly accurate, intelligent play maker, selfless. Rochford knows this and will be eager to get him back in the coming weeks. Mark my words – if we are going to win the AI in the coming years it will be with Danny at 14 along with Cillian and Evan in either corner.

52. Exactly it….Aido to play in the other forwards…..part of that system we re looking for. His calibre is such that if he can get this into his game I’m abs sure that we ll be nothing less than powerful.Im also sure that he must know this himself at this stage and is working on it.If it was just a matter of doing it,he’d be already at it obviously..it’s a little thing he has to solve.
    A bit diff in Cora’s case but I’ve always felt the ladies could have been more effective up front if she had spread it around and played the rest in a bit more. Now maybe it’s beginning to happen there as she’s slowing down a bit?
    And again,as regards that system we re after,regardless of it initiation,a Birdseye view will show that there are two sides to the pitch,L and R, there’s up the middle,there’s cross from L to R and R to L and all these paths to goal ought to be used and not be over predictable.
    Cold fingers and lugs tomorrow and maybe an odd slippy patch on the way.Safe journeys to all.

53. I agree Aido has the potential to be a top ff especially if he can add assists to his game. as in My previous post, I believe Aido is just too influential a player for us to have him in ff where he isloated for lagre periods of time. Him coming out and back in is not on as he runs the risk of being out of position. Much like Murphy, he is just too good to play there. Horan knew this and so never played him at ff in 4 years.

    I agree that Kirby should get a shot at ff and I believe this will happen.

54. What you lose at FF with Aidan is the ammount of possessions he’s able to win at midfield or CHF. However his distribution is a long way off say Higgins. Also good point about Gibbons at 11, as he’s mobile and especially as Higgins injured, we could alternate him and Aido the next day at midfield and CHF. I think Kirby could be very useful at FF but he’s not the wrecking ball Aido is so I would suggest horses for courses come.championship.

55. After Corks loss tonight it is pretty imperative that we win tomorrow. If not its a distinct possibility tat we end up on the same points as Cork in which case the head to head will send us down.

    Time for the team to show what they are made of.

56. JPM you are spot on. Although I go feel that the result tonight was a positive one for us. The other result that we need tomorrow is for Donegal to beat Kerry. That combined with any sort of a victory for us tomorrow would lift us off the 2nd from bottom slot. It might be just a temporary lift but it would be a significant psychological boost nonetheless.

57. This business of wanting to put two men to mark one good opposing forward is

    nonsense. You do a man-to-man job by all means. Someone who is quick and sticky.

    forgets their own game and follows their man everywhere regardless. (into the toilet if

    necessary.)

    And here`s a strange thing. The guy who is asked to sacrifice himself in that role

    often turns out to have a stormer of a game!

58. Looking forward too the match tommorow. Put the plug in the bath time for Mayo. Great days Ahead!.

59. The Mayo performances have been improving in recent weeks just the win has been missing which i think will now arrive. Monaghan were lucky to beat Roscommon gifted a goal in injury time,they only beat Down by 2 points in Clones and while their performance against Dublin was good i think Dublin v Cork showed that Dublin are a long way off their expected high level yet.

    Mayo to win by 3 or 4 points.