John Cuffe has beaten me to it, by posting details of this article in the Irish Independent today where it is stated that we’ve decided against making a formal complaint about the way Donal Vaughan was manhandled by that Cork ape as we “did not want it to be misinterpreted as sour grapes”. The article doesn’t specify what kind of complaint we might have considered making, who we might make it to or on what basis. Likewise, the piece contains no direct quotes from our side and so it’s not clear where the writer, Cliona Foley, is getting her information from.
Having thought about this on and off since Sunday and having lodged my own personal complaint the other day (under, as Liz Hurley might put it, my civilian name) with the national broadcaster about that Derry dickhead’s verbal hatchet job on Donie Vaughan, I think we should make at least two separate complaints in relation to what happened at Croke Park last Sunday. Indeed, I think it would be more than a bit remiss of us if we don’t.
The first is obviously to RTÉ. Joe Brolly tarred both Donie and the entire team as cheaters (contrasting our approach with Cork’s “absolute honour and integrity”) and we simply cannot let a slur of this magnitude stand unchallenged. I’ve repeatedly watched the clip Brolly refers to in his analysis (it starts on the RTÉ Player recording of the programme at 14.40) and you can see clearly that Donie takes three belts before going down so it’s obvious there was little or no feigning involved. But, more importantly, Brolly ignored – or chose to ignore – Cork’s blatant gamesmanship in repeatedly trying to provoke Donie to react in a way that would result in a second yellow and so get him sent off.
Honour and integrity? Downright honesty? As I’ve put it to RTÉ, Brolly is either a knave (in disingenuously ignoring what the Cork lads were up to) or a fool (if he genuinely wasn’t able to see what was happening). Either way, he’s not fit to be on television and at the very least we’re owed a fulsome apology from him and RTÉ for what was said on Sunday night. I’m not sure I’d agree 100% with John Cuffe’s proposal for a boycott on interviews but, you know, Mickey Harte’s one last year sure had the effect of concentrating minds at Montrose.
The second complaint we need to make is one that relates to the standard of refereeing. Once again in a major match in Croke Park we’ve taken it up the rear end from officials and while complaining about it won’t change the result we absolutely have to place on record our dissatisfaction with Maurice Deegan’s performance. That clip that Brolly used not only shows a clear strike by Michael Shields on Donie but it also shows beyond doubt that Maurice Deegan saw it with his own eyes. If you hit someone it’s a straight red yet Shields wasn’t even booked. Then, of course we had the two-man hit on Donie by Pearse O’Neill and Eoin Cadogan (who also, by the way, struck Donie in that earlier incident). And, of course, that was followed by the Baboon O’Leary manhandling Donie when he was close to being out cold on the ground.
What we need to do in relation to this one is get somebody to review the match tape forensically, recording each and every refereeing error and then send this on to Mick Curley or whoever it is within the GAA hierarchy that always denies there’s any problem with refs. We should, of course, have done this after the Meath game in 2009 and the Longford one in 2010 too but that was then and now is now. We have a clear case of the ref failing to apply the rules in several important instances last Sunday (I’d actually go easy on him about the Lee Keegan incident as, important and all as it was, the push in the back was easy to miss) and we simply have to act on it.
None of this should be interpreted as sour grapes or whinging or whatever. None of it will change Sunday’s result, a match where we can all acknowledge we deserved to lose. But if don’t stand up for ourselves – by calling that prick Brolly to account and documenting just how poorly served we were by the match officials on the day – then we’re simply asking for the same treatment to be visited on us in the future. Enough is enough: it’s high time we started to stand up for ourselves on issues of this sort.
Well said WJ and I would boycott them because they perceive us as idiots who will forgive everything. Not talking to them until they actually respect us might focus a few minds. Who is Joe Brolly anyway? A rather self opinionated and well re-numerated pundit.
The difference between Brolly and the rest of us here is this…he gets paid for his opinions …we dont. He comes from a county who has won a single All Ireland, the ffffing cheek of him sneering at us.
Sorry WJ, more bad news for you. As far as I know Mick Curley is gone and his place has been taken by……Pat McEneney.
I fully agree with everything you have said WJ. 5 days later and the mere mention of that twat brolly makes my blood boil. You are right when you say we should stand up for ourselves. It’s a disgrace what happened to the team and of course Donie Vaughan against Cork.
I would agree with John cuffe though and I feel it would have a positive effect if we boycotted interviews after games to RTE. They must know that what brolly said was a major fabrication of the truth of what happened to Vaughan in incidents throughout the game. Feck them. We owe them nothing and it wouldn’t harm us in the slightest bit if we boycotted RTE until brolly realises the error of his ways. If one of our own gets hit, we all get hit. It’s time to take action. Enough is enough.
Alot of great points Willie Joe. I’d have to disagree a bit with you Willie Joe. I think Donie did make a show of himself and did a “Drogba”. Now I know the ref didn’t deal with the problem initially but our man did let himself down in my book. We might as well call a spade a spade instead of going ape shit defending the indefensible.
We are all in agreement that Brolly is a prick. The whole bloody country agrees. But RTE are too blind to what the viewers want to see. And so there GAA coverage gets lower and lower ratings and the Sunday Game at night is a dead duck. There are either sensationalists like Brolly or bland contributors like Tony Davis or Martin Carney. The hurling lads who love their sport and are great entertainment. Or to Newstalk or TV3 coverage which is positive and enjoyable.
Brolly loves this kind of controversey. I wouldn’t bother putting him up on any pedestal. The team doesn’t need these kind of distractions.
The refereeing thing though is spot on. Management and the County Board have let ourselves be bullied on the appointment of refs. They see us as a soft touch. That is why we were ridden for a 7/8 point turnaround against the Meath men, why Keith Higgins was sent off for abusing Gerry Kinnevey (in one of the worst referreeing performances of all time), why Barry Cassidy got away with the Down match performance. Refereeing is the biggest thing keeping people from matches. When did you ever see so many Mayo players sent off in a league campaign. Never. Was there any dirty match that they were involved in? I don’t think so. The GAA are so out of touch with reality, like RTE, that it is serious and is causing huge damage to the game.
John Cuffe is right. Talk is cheap. A boycott will get their attention.
Cork were extremely cynical on the day and question WJ raises is very pertinent – is deluded enough to think that the actions of the Cork players were not premediated or is he deliberately seeking to raise the ire of supporters with ludicrous comments about their counties integrity?
I’ve raised the issue of Brolly before on this forum and it’s on record that I find him one of the most odious and insincere pundits in the game. His pithy commments and smug demeanour add little to the analysis of the game and I struggle to listen to him anymore.
I’m inclined to agree with the decision not to make a formal complaint regarding the actions of the Cork players on Sunday. I don’t think there was much to be achieved. I think our reaction to Cork has to come later this Summer.
In relation to the incident where O’Leary dragged Donie along the ground while lying prone with injury, I for one would have had no problem with a Mayo player dishing more than a heavy shoulder on this ocassion. It may well have led to a red card etc but sometimes you have to stand your ground, defend your mates and to hell with the rest of it.
Agree with your points WJ but, as with criticim of players, can we step back from this for a sec.
1. Cork bullied us, plain and simple. They got away with it. If the shoe was on the other foot, as it was to a lesser degree in the QF last year, would we be complaining about our guys?. Donie was pushed around without question, my ‘take away’ from this is next time be the bully not the bullied becuase you can bet Galway and Ros are being told by their managers that ‘Mayo can be bullied and put off their game. Cork was the template’
2. Yes, Brolly is a dickhead, no question there, but much as I hate to disagree with you, JC and An Spailpin etc could a boycott only ‘feed the beast’. Brolly would like nothing more than to be in the media making smart comments about the ‘Mayo bad losers’ and RTE will not back down. The best risposte to Brolly is to play our game, play hard, play fair and refuse to be bullied in future even is that means a good old dust up ala 96.
3. Refs – Yes, in general they are a disaster but I have some sympathy for them also. Until Gaelic football defines a proper tackle we will never have proper refereeing in the game.
Mike I accept your points but its not about good losers or bad losers. Anyone at the game accepts that Cork merited the win. Its about the perception that you can do what you like to Mayo, its players and get away with it.
l
Poor officials decisions cost us the 2009 quarter final v Meath. The ref in that match got top run the line in the All Ireland final after making a balls of two controversies that cost Mayo two goals, one for one against. The other linesman in that final was Coldrick.
I know I am like a broken record but this is what drives me insane. John Finn got a bad injury in 1985. Nobody was held accountable. A few years ago a player whom happened to be on the pitch that day wrote “Nobody in the GAA world takes Mayo seriously”. He was/is correct and my blood boiled. Now I know official Mayo wont do anything so expect something similar down the line again.
We lost to Meath in 1996 and picked up the name of whingers. It has stuck despite us being rode to death since. Its past time we stood up for ourselves.
I’d agree with Mike above. An official complaint won’t help the cause here. Even though it’s understandable given the treatment Vaughan (and others) got, it would send out the wrong message about Mayo – and give our many critics another stick to beat us with.
If I’m Donie Vaughan, I’m thinking : don’t get mad, get even. Donie will see Noeleen down the road, and he mightn’t have to wait too long either.
Bottom line : Mayo lost. If Mayo want respect from the GAA world, there is only one way to get it. Start winning these big finals. I know that’s much easier said than done, but in the end, that’s the only way that the media/GAA world’s perception of Mayo is ever going to change.
In principle I agree that we should make our views known re; Brolley – I already did earlier in the week to feedback@rte.ie – then there’s the ref Does a “complaints procedure” from the public exist in the Referees’ set up??? I know they are monitored and surely must receive thousands of complaints weekly from disgruntled fans, so my quandry is to whom do I send my comments on the refs performance, which, incidently will be prefaced with the opener “Cork won on merit”, as was my feeback to RTE.
With regards to refereeing the standard is shocking and it isnt improving. Look at the fracas after the St. Bridgets/Corofin game. The fracas after the Louth/Meath game in 2010. That Cassidy fecker from Derry that screwed us against down. The awful second half that maurice deegan had against cork. I could go on and so could many.
Why can’t the GAA heirachy go after ex county footballers who understand the game and have been there and done that. They would have played the game at the highest level, they would have had the most stupid decisions given against them and know how it feels to be screwed by an inept ape. Their fitness Would also be alot better than some of the current ones. If Mayo were playing Kerry then the ref should come from ulster/Leinster. Etc and so on. It annoys me that Cassidy was appointed to ref our Down league game when he is from Derry. It doesn’t make sense.
Finally we have to take a stance on the shit that’s coming our way. A boycott or whatever has to be taken so that we gain the respect we deserve. Enough is enough. Mayo players and fans give alot every year to the GAA. Our support is envied everywhere. We travel far and wide and we are vocal in our support for our team. Now one of our own has been unfairly treated on the airwaves that we pay our licence fee for. I didn’t pay my licence to listen to an egotistical gobshite that craves insulting and making a mock of our players. It’s time to take a stand!
Did anyone that made a complaint from RTE get any response?
Yes, Donie went down easily, but as has been stated before realised he made a mistake and jumped straight back up. The way he was being provoked all through the game was just as “dishonorable”. Would be nice to get another crack at them in the Summer. It was easy to see last year still hurts them.
I would boycott interviews with RTE. Otherwise we are in for the same crap from Brolly and co for the summer.
RTE send an auto response to say – got your feedback we will look at it but wont respond to it individually. So presumably the more feedback they get the better.
Also having an arsehole like Brolly (who used to blow kisses to the crowd when he scored a goal) handing out lectures on “manliness” is a bit rich.
FIGHT SMART
Brolly and Co……. I wouldnt feed their agenda by entering the controversy directly. In all likelyhood their low standards will reap its own reward in the end when GAA folk get fed up with it and the programme looses ratings.
I think we should not feed the monster by sending complaints to RTE. Instead send them to GAA headquarters……. and orchestrate it from every other county in Ireland that he has insulted down the years.
RTE might listen to those who really have the power to pull the plug on them.
diehard is right.
If people want to complain. Swamp the GAA. They are the fellas that will be giving out the contract to RTE or whoever
I made the point after the game about Donie and the incident. He was hit three times. There was another open hand in the face by (I think) Michael Shields. One of O’Leary’s team mates did pull him away from Donie when he tried to drag him up as he saw that it was going too far and Alan Dillon gave him a shoulder in fairness to him though he didn’t have the size to inflict much damage.
Last Sunday only allowed around 15 minutes for the final which TG4 had broadcast in full. I believe that if more people had seen the whole game instead of the highlights (which normally show good play from the eventual winners) there would be more uproar from neutrals
Brolly is there, like Dunphy as someone else pointed out, for his controversial views or his punchlines. Ditto, his newspaper columns.
Even though most counties dislike him, they wait to hear what he has to say.
I believe that he is compensating for slating Cork last year and he has never liked Mayo players. He was the pundit who went for the cheap shots over the colour of Conor and Mac’s hair not their ability. He is there for the smart remark.
Saying that, my main reason for hating him is for calling Donaghy ” Star”. The man’s name is Donaghy, you clown
I can’t see James Horan engaging in any boycott, but would encourage those who feel like it to email RTE about the coverage. Lazy punditry is condoned by not doing so
I would like the Croke Park disciplinary crowd to look at the incidents to see if Cork have a case to answer. It’s not sour grapes, it’s fair play
By all means, ensure that Noel O’Leary is punished for what he did…just as long as the diving of Vaughan and others is also punished by the GAA authorities. I’m afraid you can’t focus on one action that brings the game into disrepute and ignore others because they were perpetuated by your own county men.
Excellent article WJ, points well made, nobody could argue with them. I find it repugnant that a barrister who earns bucket loads of cash for talking shite, can successfuly subsidise his income by talking more shite on the national broadcaster. Give to job to someone like Conor Deegan a brickie (could be wrong) who talks a bit of common sense. For the record I would not care for our own Carthy or yer McStay or that total gobshite of a Carney.
The way to approach this is for Mayo to table a motion at the earliest possible convenience that it is an automatic red card and serious suspension for someone who interferes with an injured player. This is as good as you can hope for on that front.
As for RTE/GAA/Brolly, it’s probably not a good idea for the county panel to take the lead on this front. After all, it’s the license payer who pays to watch it, therefore it’s the license payer who should take the stand.
A mass-supported nationwide Supporter’s Group should be set up in order to air grievances and put pressure on the GAA and RTÉ to treat it’s patron’s better. As we are told at every match, we are patron’s of the sport. We fund it. The hand that giveth can also taketh away.
The players have done it before with the GPA when they had no support from the establishment. The supporters can do the same.
Ah Jaysus, Willie Joe you are breaking your own house rules and allowing them to be broken all over the place on this particular thread. We are not supposed to say anything over the top about our own individual Mayo players but it’s open season on the Cork lads. If we had won that match by a single point – would there have been any complaints – – I doubt it. The fact remains that the Cork boys (and management) played on the edge, they knew how to play the Ref and what they would get away with – – that’s experience. It may not have been pretty from our point of view – -but Cork have the silverware at the end of the day. Only yesterday I was talking to one of Mayo regulars and as far as he is concerned – match is over – move on and look forward to the championship. If he is able to do that then surely we as supporters can – – – forget all this childish talk about “official complaints and boycotts” – – – move on. Hopefully if we do meet them again over the Summer then we might have a few more of our own “hatchet-men” on board and we can do our talking on the pitch. Move on lads – see ye all in the Upper deck of the Nally Stand(no- -not Padraig Nally) in Swinford on Sunday.
This country of ours is gone apeshit. Just stand back and take a good look at what is happening.
The “supposed good people” in the Catholic Church make a mistke and every gobshite trys to protect them until “good people” are found out to be evil. Look at our politicans ” when Charlie was being buried, Bertie said he was a true politican to his fingertips, Look at Berties legacy. Now look at our GAA referees, nowadays after every match a load of officals have to go onto pitch and escort those bastards off. If they had done their job correctly nobody would have to escort them off pitch. Then to add insult to injury the cannot be asked or expected to explain their stewardship , Those pricks are above this. Look at rugby referees and the way they they do their job, they make GAA refs a joke. No wonder people wont go to GAA games on weekends as the ref will decide who will win. We have had our share of bad referees this year ,but our County Board have not got the balls to lodge a complaint, All those county board suckers are afraid of is Croke Park might find them a few euro. We have no backbone in our county board, all yes men. As for last Sunday in Croke Park it was a disgrace of a referee, Then we had Ballocks Brolly adding insults as he always does. I may have overstepped the house rules but i’ll call a spade a spade. We are a timid people.
Cynthia, your very harsh and I cannot agree.
Obviously you may never have received any sort of shot or clip in the throat, but let me tell you – even the slightest contact with the throat can cause incredible distress.
Vaughan didnt feign when he went down, but he popped straight to his feet again, indicating that he was caught at his throat.
The more I think about it, the more I am convinced someone put a curse on us. Maybe if we light enough candles in Knock our luck will change! Samuel Maguire might be able to get us a job lot up around that area.
Just watching Seo Spoirt (great show by the way) and it handed over 1 minute to ‘diving’. Nice and balanced, a quip about using it as a tactic; a clip from the Fermanagh Wickow match were diving was like an olympic event and the clip they picked from our game… Eoin Cadogan taking off like a jet after been brushed by Donie. But sure maybe it was an honest dive!!
Great site WJ, keep up the good fight.
I think it,s totally unfair that someone that is being well paid by RTE ( taxpayers money) can make such a personel attack on a player that is not getting paid and get away with it.
I am as baffled as the next Mayoman that the County Board has decided against a complaint. Yes Turenne, I understand where you’re coming from too. You had your spake on the GAA discussion board too about the Vaughan diving. I’ll have my spake on that too, he was totally wrong.
Will you admit now that your players were acting like thugs? Noel O’Leary dragging a man off the ground when he was injured and got nothing at all? Surely that’s enough to warrant some complaint.
And, yes while I’m at it, I do think refs have it in for us. That cucking funt McEnaney in 96 and numerous Laoismen as well. Why, oh why won’t the Co board complain to Croke Park, I’ll never know? But it made my blood boil.
Lads,i would,t go down tha road,u,r only adding fuel to tha fire,fuck rte, brolly,spillane,lester n co.we need to tough,n up n stand up for each other , 1 of the boys shouda dropped o,leary las sunday even if it meant gett,n sent off, i wouda rather lose a match any day than let any1 bully me n lets be honest we wer,t up for tha fight las sunday, its a long road to sept. n hopefully we ,l get another crack at them. until we win a fuck,n all ire. n crokepark n stop lose,n finals we,l get no respect from nobody, fuck,n nobody, kerry,cork,meath galway even countys tha win fuck all derry ,donegal ,roscommon n armaghs,, the media and tha biggest wanks we hav to deal with referees,we absolutely get noth. from them n all tha big calls n tha last 20 yrs hav gone against us. we have to[mayo team] toughen up mentally n physically n never give up or back down from any1 and stand up for each other, only then maybe we can look up at tha rte studio box with a mayo man holding sam aloft giv lester, brolly n co tha 2 fingers n saying fuck ye all.Hope this is a lesson ths mayo team learns n learns fast…..fews players ther past it for me n its a player like trevor mort. we,ll miss,he;d get stuck in ball or man[wish him well] sooner we get oshea ,cunnife back tha better. maybe worth hav,n another look at mcgarrity n parsons if ther play,n well for ther clubs, we need to sort midfield who partners a. oshea n full foward before we hit crokepark again. our management hav not covered themselfs n glory either so come on lads,lets all stick together in all sorts of weather n shut all them c….. up. THERES ONLY ONE WAY TO DO THAT, WIN SAMn n until we do wer gonna get tha every year..
To my old (and current) Amigo, John Cuffe – – I have been on to the Met Office at Knock Airport this evening and they are forecasting rain for this part of the country on Sunday – – – so if you are travelling West to see the purists in action – make sure you bring a Brolly with you. Never mind about lighting candles – just bring your Brolly!
You know where to stick your Brolly!! Wink, smile , wink. Mind yourself old pal
The rugby guys do it well
They spend as much time analysing the ref as the opposition
We should do that too.
paper has never and always will not ever refuse ink. TV is primarily entertainment. No game is won or lost on either.
The league taught alotsome are learning at a great rate (the title mentors may not be misplaced)
What matters now is London or Leitrim
Hey lads just don’t bother watching Brolly & co it’s a waste of time , I watch Seo Spoirt for my analysis, it’s an excellent show apart from Sean Ban! Turenne while you make a valid point your Karma post over on Gaa board means I can’t and won’t take you seriously.It was juvenile at best and I have a felling you’re an internet alter ego/troll for another poster who just doesn’t like Mayo for whatever reason. I think the CCCC have to look at the O’ Leary incident purely because even if he didn’t mean it , it sets a dangerous precedent which could lead to an awful accident sometime in the future.
With regards to the refs and media etc , use it as motivation and shut them up by winning.
Does anyone else think that getting a €1m loan from Croke Park might colour our judgement as to whether we should be objecting?
well lads I was away last weekend so I missed the game got texts to keep me up to speed, I watched the game during the week and it was interesting watching it on the back of all the comments made I’m not going into the Brolly saga as I don’t think that gobshite deserves anymore spotlights but here’s my take on the game (apologies WJ for not posting it under the game analysis but its so late I though it would get more eyes here and now):
– Of course we need to secure our midfield – I think there was only two clean catches – but on a day like it was that’s not a surprise whats more evident is the lack of possession we managed to make from breaking ball in midfield, this is as important as a strong midfield and we need to be consistent here in order to perform.
– low quick ball that worked so well against kerry was missing, too often the half back line came out and hit a high ball to our half forwards and full forwards – these are always going to be contested as the longer the ball hangs the more time the defence has to align itself, what works with our forward make up is quick ball down the channels into space for them to beat their man to.
– we missed about 4/5 scoreable point chances during the game including one goal chance, need more work on our long distance kicking especially when you have a breeze at your backs, also think we need to try and take these goal chances – Andy had one against Kerry and Cillian against Cork both times the ball was hit with power but too high, forwards need to work on this.
– I don’t personally think that we were bullied off the pitch I think cork were more aggressive on the day but I for one didn’t see it as a boys against men scenario, I think we have progressed well on the physical stakes and i hope this loss to Cork spurs the players on for better things in the summer – I feel it could be a blessing in disguise.
– Corks first goal was well taken but I felt the back line weren’t fully awake keith was way off his man, concentration levels need to be increased especially after a half time break when it was evident that cork needed to rip into us, their second goal was a lucky break both from the free not being awarded and the comeback off the upright – however again concentration lapsed they should have been watching the ball on that occasion and not the man.
– so overall I’m happy enough with the league campaign think it was more important to get the kerry/croke park monkey off our back than win the final – it shows we still have room for improvement and i think this is better ammunition for the mayo squad heading into championship then a league trophy.
so there’s my thoughts feel free to pick em apart!
The league Sunday program editor was good enough to respond to the complaints listed in my email. He basically defends brolly as a pundit and says it is not RTE policy to ” muzzle” there pundits. personally i think Joe brolly on rte wearing a gimp muzzle would do more to improve viewer numbers than what we had to listen to last Sunday. Real gaa people don’t take Joe serious and that’s a fact. O’Rourke and Spillane know there football even if pat is biased towards Kerry and Munster. the thought my licence fee goes towards lining joe’s pocket makes me not want to pay it. Finally, Donal you are 10 times the man Joe brolly ever was or ever will be. On or off the pitch.
Jeez
Stop moaning all and let’s play some football with a sprinkling of ‘cute dirt’
Agree with citog 1, lets learn from all our league performances, see what other teams do to win matches, and stop looking for excuses like refs, linesmen, opposition players, pundits and the like.
Dublin under Pat Gilroy have lowered the hype, and worked on maximising their potential, we need to do the same! We are on the right path, let’s not distract ourselves.
it is the team (including mentors) and the team only that will win Sam, not the pundits are us hurlers on the ditch.
sure what would you expect from a subject of the queen mr brolly is a little twisted bitter man poinless exercise complaining to rte about apehead all you will get is we present a fair and balanced coverage our pundits are unbiased in their views well i must be watching a diff programme to them it has detoriated beyond a joke the way rte treat mayo and connaught football in general eamon dunphy he aint hes a bigger clown than him his facilal expression as he slated mayo last sunday night was one of pure bitterness i only hope mayo end up making brolly eat his words come september hope we meet his native county along the way and hockey them out the gate wonder what hed come up with after that
well said nallystand and citog1. if i was a mayo player i,d be chomping at tha bit to get bk to croker n august n settle afew scores n scalps. lets hope derry cross our paths n tha summer.
Far be it from me to defend Joe Brolly but it’s unfair to tarnish him with being a subject of the Queen. He had/has no say in the division of this nation and could rightly point out that it was this state that left him defranchised along with thousands of other nationalists. Armagh recently complained about being tarnished with a British brush.
Again I bow to nobody in my distaste of Brolly but from my limited knowledge of northern politics it’s my belief that the Brollys hold their heads high as proud nationalists. In WJs words we should play the ball not the man. Apart from that Joe is still off my Christmas list .
My
the thing I am most disapointed about is that O’leary didnt end up on his hole when he went at Vaughan either then or later on in the game. You do your talking on the pitch, either on the scoreboard or when the ball is down the other side of the pitch. The likes of O’leary needs to know if he pulls that kind of shite against us that there will be consequences.
totally agree john was playing devils adocate with that one brolly should be invited down to a forum in mayo at rtes expense to explain his anti mayo stance maybe vincent browne could chair it that way we might get an answer or two
We need to move away from the Brolly saga as its getting a little embarassing at this stage and bringing the Queen into it is completly wrong.He is paid to give his opinion on the sunday league show and that is what he does.I have not listened to him for years as I think he is a poor analyst but I will bet any money that when Mayo play next, most posters will be glued to there tv’s to hear what he has to say about Mayo which is exactly what Brolly and RTE want.I am way more bothered on how alot of Mayo fans turn on there own players after a defeat than what some lazy and uninformed pundit has to say on RTE.
i wanted to say something about the league final and mr brolly before now,but all the coments so far has been far too intese for my (part time)opinion to interupt.but here is what i think,brollyis a sad joke…dont mind him(i live in the north and belive me he’s regarded as a joke up here too) wj i think it was you who quoted ger loughnane in saying dont look to the ref for protection..protect yourself.meath beat us in 96 by getting our best man and a less important one of thes sent off early on,that was there plan,meath never won cleanly and i hate them for that, but fuck it, its time we copped on and played the game to win by whatever means are needed,i believe we have for the first time the caliber of player it takes to mix it up .we didnt really expect to win against cork but like kerry they threw everything at us the only diff being they got the breaks.i think we learned a lot more from that loss than we would have from winning
Jesus last year there was up roar on here when Keith Higgins give a dig to a Galway player… now we are calling out for more for more of this.. think we just need to man up and take the rough with the smooth… move on and look forward to a successful championship
http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/everything-in-place-for-lilywhites-to-take-next-step-3101406.html
Colm O’Rourke admits that some of Cork’s tackling was over the top in today’s Indo.
Every grievance Mayo players have with the Cork players should be used as a motivation for next time we meet them in the Championship.
I wish that we were more like Meath in ’96, and more like Cork today. I do agree that we are selecting more of that type of player now, and I do think that JH and his back room team have learned as they have gone along so expect to continue to see a harder edge (when required) in the future.
I would much prefer the “meeja” to be complaining about our hard edge than this harping on about our losing record in finals or diving or anything else, onwards and upwards!
Last sunday was the coldest day i was ever in Croker.The wind was very deceptive & hard to judge–difficult to deliver good ball to forwards in those conditions. Suited a bigger team better. Time o forget about the ref & Brolly & move on.
I’d be cautious about encouraging players to hold the grudge for the next meet in an aggresive manner, beat them playing football first is the sweetest revenge and suits us better, throw in a a good body shot for good measure ,when you have them beat.
Roscommon game 2002(qualifiers,I think),connelly got his revenge with a good rattle into the chest too. That incident reminded me of what yer getting at, its a lesser moment I know.
For once I agree with Colm O’Rourke…Cork were a physicially superior team. They hit Mayo hard & C.M.A.D J.G, etc, were not strong enough to take the ‘hits’. We need a big strong full forward who can feed the type of forwards we have. Midfield will be fine.Revenge on the field is not the answer. Stronger, fitter players who can hit fairly when the going gets tough is the answer.Remember A O’S fair hit on O’Leary_action speaks louder than words. Brolly thrives on controversy. I agree with Nally Stand..more low quick ball into the forwards.
I see Brolly has now labeled C. Mortimor the “White Balotelli”, RIP Micheal Jackson indeed. Would you not start a thread on the big championship opener WJ?
I saw that quote alright, James – pretty pathetic stuff, I thought. The less said about that clown Brolly at this stage, the better. I was planning on doing something on the Galway-Roscommon match closer to Sunday if time permits.
I think we should all have more to worry about that Joe Brolly. The quotes are in the Mayo News this week and he doesn’t call Mort a “white Balotelli”. The quote you saw Willie Joe is an interpretation. And really there is some merit to what he does say on this occasion. Somebody mentioned the Micheal Jackson tshirt – its a Balotelli type of thing to do?
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JUST weeks after a scathing attack on Mayo footballer Donal Vaughan after the National League Final, RTÉ pundit Joe Brolly has delivered a withering assessment of Mayo’s all-time leading scorer, Conor Mortimer.
The outspoken GAA pundit was highly critical of Vaughan last month on RTÉ’s ‘League Sunday’ TV programme after the Mayo defender was involved in an incident with a number of Cork players.
However, last week it was Mayo attacker, Conor Mortimer, who was in Joe Brolly’s sights.
The Sunday Game analyst’s comments were made while in conversation with Mayo native Seamus Conwell on DCUFM, the Dublin City University college radio station, last Friday morning.
Brolly was discussing the forthcoming GAA football championship when it emerged that the Derry native has some strong views on the subject of Mayo’s chances of All-Ireland glory and, in particular, Conor Mortimer’s role.
“I do think that there is a big physiological problem there,” remarked Brolly. “Until Mayo get a couple of really, really special players they are going to be stuck with this hoodoo. They need somebody exceptional to come along to change all that. I always thought that if the current Mayo team had the likes of Eoin Bradley in their forward line, who could lead them, it would make a big difference to them, psychologically, because I think that is the main problem.”
However, the 1993 All-Ireland senior medallist didn’t stop there and went on to launch a scathing attack on Mortimer, who he believes should be omitted from James Horan’s plans.
“The temptation is to play someone like Conor Mortimer who will score well in the league and, if you look at the first half against Kerry, he kicked five points from play and you can’t argue with that.
“But the reality is that when the pressure comes on and it’s a big occasion, he had tried and failed.
“If I was over a team that had a great chance of winning a Connacht championship and getting through to the latter stages of the championship, I would be discarding someone like that because this team needs to send out a message that they are going to the next level, and I don’t think that’s possible with some of the personnel that are there.
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s a very skilful footballer but you require more than that at this level,” continued Brollly.
“You require a big personality and to play very, very hard for the team. You look at the unity of the Dubs last year which got them through. You just don’t get that feeling from Mayo.”
And before the conversation moved on from the Connacht champion’s credentials, Brolly had one last comparison to make.
“Whenever you see Conor Mortimer in the forward line, I just think there becomes a time when it drains the togetherness. It’s a bit like Mario Balotelli at Man City.
“When you have someone like Keith Higgins and one of his team-mates is Conor Mortimer, there is something that just doesn’t add up there.”
Not surprisingly, the Shrule native reacted to the comments and he took to Twitter to have his say. “So Mr Brolly thinks I’m a white Balotelli eh. Wonder does anyone actually give a monkeys on his opinion #clearlynotmex”, he wrote.
That’s not correct, Cynthia – I’ve listened again to the full audio interview that Brolly did with Seamus Conwell on DCU FM and he does clearly make that “white Balotelli” remark. The audio is here, it’s the second piece down and Brolly makes the remark right at the end.
the t-shirt incident actually proves brolly completely wrong , CM knew that he was on the bench for the game and was backing himself to come on and to get the winning score, hows that for confidence under pressure on a big occasion ?? He was gambling that he would have the chance to flash the T-shirt and it turned out he was right to back himself.
and one more thing brolly , is our problem physiological or pschological ?
ye eejit ye.
And what would Joe Bollox say if Conor blew kisses to the crowd?
Lets be honest, there have been question marks over a lack of leadership in our team in the past, just ‘cos it is said by some one that is not liked, and OTT in his delivery does not mean that the basic message is completely wrong.
While I am not clear that Eoin Bradley is the answer, we do need to have a core group of leaders in the team, and not just in the forwards, this is what differentiates the good teams and winners!
We haven’t our next game till the end of June. A long “silly season”. Hope this threadwhich can sound like a whinge at times does not go on till then.
Haha, I’m only after seeing that you linked to the interview on the comments here Willie Joe. A year on and much has changed! Thanks