congrats to crossmolina ,well done

Well done Crossmolina. But stop letting teams come back at you in the last minute. Nearly lost it again.

Real game of two halves was near impossible to kick points into the scoreboard end. Elphin and Crossmolina only scored 1 each at that end and both tap over frees so obviously that goal in the 5th minute of the second half for Crossmolina was the games most important score and Elphin had the ball a few times and not clearing it proved costly.

Be interesting to see how Crossmolina fare in the All Ireland series now that win today in a battle and testing conditions should bring them on a ton.

According to reports I see Cillian has opted out of mayo panel for next season.. Any truth in it i wonder?

Where have you been Norm?

Sorry 2 hops I didn't hear a thing in the last while, was away.. And a few more gone along with him I see

Congratulations Cross.
Well done

As the man says tis equal

Norm says:
November 24, 2024 at 5:26 pm
According to reports I see Cillian has opted out of mayo panel for next season.. Any truth in it i wonder?

-----------------
Irish Examiner confirmed tonight that Cillian has opted out for the year.

Only messin with you Norm... it's equal I agree.

CB should have parted with McStay after the bad review, its well known a lot of the squad were not happy with Management.

I’ve always thought Cillian was the ultimate professional. And I still do. All his injuries and still comes back for more. It’s very sad to see him “opting out”. But in my opinion he is clearly indicating that there seems to be a split between management and players. Just an opinion. It was echoed throughout the summer that team had concerns around management and we have seen players step away. It’s deeply disappointing but it looks from the outside like there is a serious split. If we start the league poor then it could be a very short year next year.

Well done lads and now on to bigger things…..

Serious questions need to be asked at the County convention on what the state of affairs is with our Senior team and management for next season

Congrats to Cross. Hopefully they win the All Ireland now. They'll be a strong senior team in 4 years time.

Re Cillian, it's a pity he's not staying and not a good indication in the faith of management amongst the players but also based on the last two years it's not much of a loss. I think he's too slow for anything other than a 10 minute impact role.

Well done cross , great team spirit in challenging conditions, but super football in first half with the wind.

One door closes with Cillian leaving but door must be opening for James Maheady, another class display, left foot, right foot, constant threat with ability to win his own ball and pick off passes and a very good work rate getting back and defending as he won the ball just before halftime.

Losing Cillian is a blow, no two ways about it. I thought he looked sharp in the group games but could have been better utilised to be honest.
We don't have the forwards to step in either, that's the big problem. His record for Mayo speaks for itself really.

@Achill75…things feel like they are all over the place at the moment:-

*Cillian
*the drama surrounding the senior review back in autumn,
*the total mess at u20 this year,
*no centre of excellence but most other counties are racing ahead in this regard / pathetic facilities for academies (basically one pitch)..can it even be called an academy when there’s no real venue?
*no Cairde Mhaigh Eo meeting in 2024
*no coherent funding structure in place despite Mayo having support other counties are envious of but yet those at the helm of Mayo GAA have failed time and again for over a decade plus in tapping into this glaringly obvious advantage. It’s negligent.
*no senior provincial club title to Mayo in a decade

Am I missing anything?

Well Done to Crossmolina,Always have a Great time for the Club Bringing the First All Ireland Club Title To Mayo Best Off Luck Going Foward

Any chance of getting Cillianon for an interview Willie Joe

@Maznaze a very accurate picture of where we are. One other (big) issue is the 30 THOUSAND EUROS repayments on the debt that our clubs are forking out EVERY MONTH. The knives are sharpening for Rochford/McStay. Why didn't they make changes to the backroom team? The review was a joke/box ticking exercise. I am not one bit optimistic for 2025.

Well done to the neighbours. Especially delighted for John Maughan who added a provincial intermediate title to the junior won with Lahardane. Don’t think he has a senior but it could come in the future.

Apologies to John. He has the full set. Mr Google informed me he won the Senior in 2002.

A Cillian interview would be a bad move , at this point if there has been discontent and a few more depart , what’s the point in stirring the pot further . Better off letting it lie till 2025 season is over anyway .

He does Nephin , managed crossmolina to the all ireland final in 2003 . Will take that win today , our second half performance was as bad as we played all year ,made a lot of handling errors, but who cares the result is all that matters lol. Roll on January . It's been a great 12 months, under 21b champions , division 2 league, County and connacht intermediate , it will shorten the winter.

Well spotted Nephin and Deel and well done to Maughan, a fantastic achievement and a great influence to any team he has been apart of .

Under appreciated due to clichés but the man's record speaks for itself and we can never forget where he brought us from in 1994 to a bad bounce of the ball from holy grail . All same great achievements. Like of John's interview in marking such achievements be better for good of county than stirring pot with cillian .

Who's to say cillians work load or personal plans don't align to commitment of county panel

Well done Crossmolina. On the Cillian issue it is very disappointing that he has opted out for next year and he is certainly a loss. But no point jumping the gun and speculating as to the reasons. For those not too fond of Kevin, it’s a great opportunity to have a go at him. For those not too fond of the Co Board, they get the blame. Maybe he is not too impressed with the set up or maybe he has other reasons entirely. Until I hear what he has to say for himself I will keep my thoughts to myself.

There is a bad smell to Cillian opting out.
I get it all the way up here in Meath.
Talk here is it is connected to the review.
Hope this is not correct and we don't have another player power situation.
It never ends well, just look at Cork hurling.
Horan took no bull from Mortimor but we lost out with no reconciliation.

Go again, how do you know which changes have/have not been made to the back room team?

Mayo football has always been very lucky in terms of players 'opting out' compared to other counties, you never heard of it much in Horans time, pretty much every player in the county was ready to answer the call when it came.

So that's why it's a bit alarming to see guys like Orme/Cillian/McDonagh etc say 'thanks but no thanks'

Mood music is a wee bit sour at the minute, few defeats early on in the toughest division 1 in years and you could see knives being sharpener. Especially if he goes out again with essentially the same starting team he has been wedded to for 2 years now

Congrats to Crossmolina and I hope they go all the way. They are a proud club and great to see their progress at all levels . On the Mayo senior situation I think we love to over react in Mayo ….players have to make their own decisions that suit their personal situations , it’s an amateur game at the end of the day. Also the hard slog of club and inter county football means that injuries and the physical demands of it all have to balanced with players own personal careers and well being. Let’s wish Cillian well and the other lads that may decide to step back and welcome the new group that are brought into the squad and wish them and encourage them .

Catcol it was confirmed by Mayogaa that Kevin & his team would be in place. A few token changes to S&C & psychology. In other words, nothing.

I've said it so many times. We are one of about 7 or 8 team who could win it, because there is a serious lack of quality teams. But we will absolutely not win it unless we make some changes. And we are throwing away an opportunity here.

County Bpard need to act now before more players leave. We dont want a Paddy Carr /Donegal situation.

I wouldn’t have Orme and McDonagh in the same context as Cillian. They were fringe players in comparison. When a leading figure ‘steps away’ as opposed to ‘retiring’ it speaks volumes.

We should still have a strong panel for next year. It is just not great when you see players opting out. Hopefully no more go.

Surely James mahedy should be called up by mcstay next at least given a chance in the league anyway.

@ Clare, I’d keep him with the 20’s. Getting a starting position in the forward line for the u20 team will be very competitive

If any player at u20 level excels in the u20 championship then bring them into the senior set up etc.

Also, putting in performances at intermediate club level is obviously good to see in a young fella, but senior intercounty is light years away in terms of standard. This is why you want to see your established senior county players ripping it up at intermediate club level. They should be head and shoulders above most at that level.

@mayonaze yeah fair point

No point in rushing up him to seniors. He has great potential though.

Tommy c still needs to be left at half forward though hope they do not move him back to full forward now!

Catcol - it waa reported in local papers the management team is the same. A few changes to strength/conditioning/psychology.

All - just catching up on comments now to see that virtually everyone appears to be of the opinion that it’s suddenly okay to post unconfirmed rumours. I really don’t know how many times I have to make the same point over and over again …

I’ve deleted all those comments now, as well as the ones soliciting rumours, which to my mind are just as bad. If anyone can provide definitive confirmation of this news then please do so but otherwise I don’t want to see these kinds of stories peddled here.

Yes Goagain, but those changes in the S&C area are going to be important when they are made, if they’re not made already.

@willie joe apolagies for my comment I was under the impression that 2nd rumour had been confirmed by judging by comments on here.

https://www.con-telegraph.ie/2024/11/25/mayo-gaa-postpone-convention-in-unprecedented-move/

Is this newsworthy?

Honestly, the new season can't come quick enough

Just to add some nuance. A 33 year old Cillian is what is opting out. People keep posting 32, the season is next year and even a tiny further drop in pace would be concerning with Cillian. When you don't have pace to lose a small decline is an issue. Personally it's not a big deal for me. Might be a perfectly normal reason he can't commit next year.

@mayo focus agree bring on the league already!

Mayonaze your calling out the Intermediate championship as if it's 8 stone lightweight guys who play it . That's very disrespectful, where did we get Ryan O Donoghue, Lee Keegan, Jack Carney, Fionn McDonagh, Jason Doherty, James Carr, Keith Higgins, Colm Boyle, Jordan Flynn, Conor Loftus, Tommy Conroy from in the last few years or when they made their debuts but Intermediate clubs and below .
If your good enough your good enough

@Outside of the Boot...I think you must have misinterpreted my comment??? I wasn't being disrespectful in any way, whatsoever. I think it's very fair comment to say that intermediate club football is miles away from senior intercounty - most intercounty players would say that senior club football is miles away - which is true.

I think that the players who are u20 should be focusing solely on the u20 intercounty campaign and as I said, if a player stands out then bring them into the senior set up.

I'm not sure at all where you are picking up any disrespect!?

And for what it's worth, Ive long been a strong advocate on this blog for over a decade in promoting divisional football. Why? Because I think there is untapped talent in the county at intermediate and junior level and the exposure these guys would get at playing at a higher level would benefit them and ultimately increase the talent pool for Mayo. So if anything, I'm more vocal than most in promoting players from clubs outside senior!

Ah ref is a very reliable resource, Sure didnt Rochford do an interview on there last year.

@mayonaze I agree with you. Intermidiate very differnt to senior club football. Cross will know they will find it tough next year up in seniors but they will still do well I would say.

Agree Sam Og, that's one the reasons I shared his link. He's been at the official Mayo Media days as well so is as good as a verified sports journalist in the region and has done wonders for publicising the club game. Would have thought he'd be seen as a
So apologies WJ, I didn't think posting from him would be a carta.

I attended Mayos last League game in Clones in a dead rubber game v Monaghan back in late March, I thought the body language and communication between players and management looked really poor that day and it didnt look like a happy camp.I remember Cillian spent alot of the game warming up eventually be brought on with with 20 mins to go.Since that day I have not been impressed with our Management.

James Horan on the Irish Examiner on Cillian O'Connor.

“He has been leading it really since he was 18. Chief scorer, chief free-taker, chief problem solver. He has been an absolutely huge part of Mayo over the last 12 years. He set the tone, on the field and off the field in the meeting room and dressing room.

“He was exactly what Mayo needed. It wasn’t backing down from anyone or anything. He embraced everything to be the best he could be. A phenomenal player.”

“Has he got the respect he deserved? Never,”

“Look, Aidan is on the podcast here. Has he got the respected he deserved until the last year? They have been phenomenal players for over a decade.

“They have led Mayo without a question to consistent high levels every single year. League championship, every single training session. I don’t know if people will ever know the level that Cillian helped the team.

“You have to remember when Cillian O’Connor was young, he was always a scoring freak. But when he came into the panel, he would not have been a huge tackler, not someone who really needed to tackle because at underage all the ball would go to him. He just took that on.

“He became a physical, hard tackling forward who did a huge job for the team. He was the first line of defence. He took that on. A lot of people who watch the game wouldn’t see that side of it. The job he did, not alone the top scorer, he loved rolling up his sleeves.”

We now have Cillian , O Hora , Carr and Plunkett to name a few stepping away from the Mayo panel this coming season. There’s definitely unrest in that camp and we cannot afford to be losing the calibre of those players.

If players don't want to commit to County Team that's their choice, so good luck to them, time for new blood to be given a chance.

Am inclined to agree Culmore. Note though that most have been peripheral which is frustrating for them. How willing is management to try young blood and, more importantly, stick with them?

Summing up, we are now without two thirds of our alternative full back line (O'Hora & Plunkett), two thirds of our first choice half back line ( Durcan and Callinan injured), one third of our first choice FF line (Conroy injured), and two thirds of our alternative FF line (O'Connor, & Carr). Time for a Pauric Joyce-style whinge.