If we don’t win today, then some of the best supporters in the country might be spared false expectations.
After the last day, the actual starting 15 today will tell us if this management team have their eyes open, if they learned anything from the last outing, or should throw their hats at it.

Safe travels to all supporters today,hopefully a decent game with no injuries,I am quite optimistic about our chances this year,only a kick of a ball between us and Galway who were very competitive against Dublin,so with a little luck I don't see why can't win out,MAyo by twelve today

Good assessment WJ. I wouldn't quite agree that a scrappy win is as good as an emphatic one. We won by nine last year which was good, but Dublin bettered it and headed us on points difference. If we are on a roll, we need to keep pounding the opposition and beat them by as much as possible. No taking the foot off the pedal.

Doing that of course is a different matter.

I expect a win today as most people do but hopefully its commanding with a clear structure and game plan visible. Tyrone are nearer our Cleveland so I wouldn't rule out getting something there as well but we are off treetop five of Kerry Dublin, Donegal Armagh Galway, so a AL QF would be acceptable this year. Mhaigh Eo Abu...

Concur entirely wj... this is about winning, ugly or handsomely will do.

Going to this game today eith less enthusiasm than I can ever remember (even less than I had going to Carrick!). I can't see us doing anything radically different for the rest of the year than we've done for the year so far or for the last two, and I agree with your assessment WJ of our prospects. There's a real sense of going through the motions about today. We'll probably win comfortably enough but I can't see us winning comprehensively.

Low expectations are the norm for many counties in this championship - fewer, admittedly since the launch of the Tailteann Cup - and we have been spoiled for a long time as contenders, so swings and roundabouts. Best to get out there, get through it, enjoy the sunshine and hope to god we don't pick up any more injuries.

I am taking a break today after attending the loss to Galway, the U17 loss to the Rossies and the U 20 loss to Louth. All 3 games were there to be won but we are unable to close out games at any level and make silly mistakes that cost us games in the dying minutes. Look at Dublin and see how they can produce a score after the hooter. It is getting harder to watch our current style of play with little or no direct ball into the forwards and forwards reluctant to shoot. Our defencive set up is way too open with defenders not attacking the man with the ball. Kickout strategy is non existent leading to catastrophic mistakes. Feels a lot like 2010.

The handicap is -6, with Cavan missing so many key men would be very surprised if do not meet or exceed it.

I disagree with you Willie Joe on our prospects. I believe we can top the group if we have the belief. The team lacks confidence at the moment but if we have the right backroom management we can improve on that. Getting over the line is a problem for Mayo. Given what is being said on this forum it might be a genetic defect in Mayo people. If it is not part of our DNA then maybe we have been conditioned to lack confidence thru decades of abuse and disappointment. We can beat any team if we believe in ourselves as a team. You won't hear Kerry or Dublin people talking down their teams. We are up there with the best of them. We just lack belief in ourselves.

Too much being made about kickout strategies. With the new rules most kickouts are a lottery now and as ethan Rafferty said earlier in the year when he kicks it out it's up to the outfield players to win it. Anyone any thoughts on Gleeson dribbling out the ball yesterday? It shows Galway are thinking outside the box (pardon the pun} between that and molloy fisting the ball against the dub when he was penned in near the line and winning a line ball. Regarding today i expect mayo to win a scrappy game but don't think I'll be reading to much into it. Take Dublin for example they were brutal against meath then beat Galway in their next game, mayo struggling with sligo and leitrim then should have beaten Galway. Lots of teams can look totally different from game to game. So enjoy the sun and hopefully a mayo win.

I really do hope for a good win , yes either way is good but if there were a bit of fluidity, Darren mchale tagging on 5 or 6 points , ROD scoring well , few points from Flynn Ruane and Carney then a good morale booster would reset things .

I didn't bother posting back during week when some posted about us being entitled and should be grateful, that's the attitude that ensures we won't win feck all.
Go hard go with the best plan to suit the players you have. We aren't flush with generational player but you have to make the most of what you have , if we can get these boys confident and in the flow again , it would be great but to do so management must trust the players talents and gibe them the format to best suit their skills .

As Arsene Wenger used say "let's play with the handbrake off "

Also meant to say Galway showed there's reward at times for the high ball into the square and hopefully we'll see one or two of them today

@ Bogman….I hear ya and I agree with you on defensive frailties. I’ve been beating that drum for years here but it’s just so incredibly frustrating following Mayo teams year after year at all levels who despite having individual defenders as good as anyone else, we simply fail more often than not to implement correct defensive structures. This comes down to management and coaching, particularly underage.

I’m recent years we’ve focused too much on trying to rectify our offensive problems when we should have played to our strengths and made our defence impossible to break down. While not relevant now, it cost us an All Ireland in the last decade, that’s for sure and in more recent times, we’ve just been too easy to score against, bar the odd occasion. I know you have to rack up enough points other end.

We just seem lacking morale and belief over the past year. Fragile mentally. It’s largely up to management to instill that confidence but it’s also done by playing to a strategy that players believe in and one that maximises the chances of success. It’s a results game. Style is secondary, for me anyway.

Heading to Cbar today, but like Ann-Marie said, it feels flat.

It's a new competition today....the only one that matters for us really.
Let's see how we get on.....it's do or die now if we can win the next 2 games things look different....we needs wins thong not performances

Muckle - “ The team lacks confidence at the moment but if we have the right backroom management we can improve on that”

Did Mayo get a new management team? And on what evidence are we “up there with the best of them”? I’m not having a honest trying to understand your logic…?

Just looked at RTE Sport website. No mention of the game. 3 posts about the Dubs. Is the match on. What a crowd of overpaid wasters in RTE.

Best of luck today folks I sincerely hope ye do the necessary. Cavan are going to throw the kitchen sink at ye and this game has been the core of their focus since their exit from the Ulster championship. I think this will be tighter than a lot of people seem to think but ye should have too much for them in the end. Good luck

Amazing weather up here fitness will be key!

Bedtbof luck guys mayo by 4!

All we need for today is a win and no injuries. After that, maybe—just maybe—we’ll get something more than the usual ‘ah yeah, he’s close’ from management about Mayo’s latest mystery: when Tommy Conroy will actually be back in competitive action.

Disgraceful turn out here in McHale park, very fickle support base, home advantage will not be from the crowd anyway!

Good intro WJ Thing I agree with most is a scrappy win gives you 2 points same as an outstanding win Difficult game for Mayo We do tend to play at the level of the opposition Morale is low in the county though not necessarily so in the team This time last year morale was desperately low in Armagh but McGeeney ignored the noise and look what happened. Can’t see the same outcome with us but McStay and his team have got to keep believing in themselves . Only a kick of the ball between them and Galway x2 Dublin and Derry games over the last few years Our look has to hopefully change

Looks like it will be a very small crowd
Should be handy enough get All Ireland tickets next time we make it :D

Talk about genetic deficiency in Mayo people is just defeatist claptrap.
There is obviously no genetic differentiator between Mayo and Galway or Kerry!
It's more to do with a history of poor underage coaching, and yes, the weight and scars of history has affected both supporters and players. It feels like players are lacking confidence, and supporters are lacking belief and are cranky.
In terms of prospects for this year, I think we could get something in Omagh, but very hard to see us beat Donegal.
A preliminary q-final is always winnable, but the q-final the following weekend against a rested team is very likely a bridge too far.
Then you'd expect the mgmt to step down, and another circus to start, although probably not with the same enthusiasm from any quarter as we saw for any appointment since I don't know when...

Shocking crowd
About 5000 I’d say

1/4 of Cavans named team doesn’t start including their keeper. I assume everyone is outraged at the disrespect shown by their manager ????? Or is that reserved for McStay?

Strange that it's not even on gaa plus. I thought all games would be available to watch somewhere.

Good luck everyone, team and supporters. Enjoy the beautiful sunshine in MacHale Park.
I think Cavan will rattle us but we will keep our composure and build up a score to win.
I’m also in the optimistic camp. What we have seen already this year from Mayo doesn’t matter. It’s what happens from here that matters and I don’t see why we won’t see our best effort from here on in from team and management.
And let’s see some of the younger players like Tuohy and Thornton.

When will plans to made to have a Mayo vs London Connacht football championship game in 2026.

That's your department Martin - I was expecting you to tell us.

Martin Carney not too impressed about the lack of a hooter.

I enjoyed martin carneys rant on mid west about their been no hooter and he's dead right absolutely ridiculous having it one day and not another.

Pure shite so far. Cavan totally dominant and look quicker, fitter and sharper. This is no gimme.

Disgraceful 10 minutes from mayo
We haven’t had the ball and we have the breeze
They should be further ahead

We might have to drop Reape
He is absolutely killing us
Takes an age to take every kickout and then kicks it away stand side every time anyways !!!!

Terrible there is no hooter, it's in the rules now. Mayo would want to start showing up.

19 minutes in and we get our first score from a free.

This is grim.

I hate our style of ball and I think the players do too
They look like a group of players going through the motions as they no longer believe in what they are being told to do

What a bad game

A purple patch is what we desperately need right now to swing the momentum in our favour.

Not surprised in the least. Nobody should be giving out about fans staying away. Great weather, many gone to the beach. There is zero incentive to watch this team with the way they are playing.

The longer Cavan stay in this game I can see us been beaten . We just can’t put away lower division teams compared to Kerry or Dublin

It will soon be forgotten again by most but two huge scores from Stephen Coen when we needed them most.
That’s leadership. That’s why he was captain of 3 All Ireland winning teams.

The less said about the rest the better .
We have Aido running around on the hottest day of the year again as we absolutely refuse to kick the ball in. Mind boggling

7,300 here, if you prefer go to the beach then suggest you stay off this blog for Mayo supporters who support the team through thick and thin!

The hooter is not the only new rule not being applied here...at least not in favour of Mayo/

Woeful stuff. This is looking like another one of those games where Mayo keep a team in it and it goes to the wire.
Training session intensity. Yes it's hot, but they have to win this game....

In fairness to Reape he has nothing to aim at the only one i see making himself available is Coen

Who's the division 3 team? That's the worst Mayo performance by a Mayo team in 20 years, it's worse than pathetic, S & C how do, great diet for players how do, hard tackling "none" they all seem to be saying " how dare Cavan come to McHale Park & play good football!
It's time for all involved with Mayo senior team to wake up, this is absolutely horrible.

Mayo terrible so far, loose passes and kicks etc. Need to seriously buck up against the wind. Ref. is appalling, pulling and dragging by Cavan not given, 4 handled on ground not given. Mayo player taken out off the ball-clear black card and not given. Think I experienced this gentleman B4 in the league and was not impressed.

Woeful. Flynn lucky he is still on the pitch. Very low scoring. Zero entertainment value for neutrals.

Reape takes so long to put the tee for every single kickout he is left eith no options as he has given the opposition almost a minute to set up .
No urgency form him at any stage in any game . It’s a huge huge issue

Why can't we kick the ball more often? In weather like this, kick passing is vital to keeping the energy levels. The ball moves faster when it's kicked vs the player who's running with the ball. I'm not saying we should be naive and keep kicking balls in when the option isn't there, but we should be trying to mix it up now and again to keep oppositions like Cavan guessing.

Lateral hand passes for example, when moving the ball side to side could instead be kicked from side to side. This is just to move the ball faster so Cavan's defence cannot be given time to set structurally.

Long balls could also be used IF there is an outlet. It doesn't have to be a straight kick inside, it can be kicked diagonally with the option of a player cutting in behind to assist.

Kick outs are tricky (not my area of expertise), but when we kick long, why can't we overload the middle area and break the ball down if we don't have the fielders to catch it? It's much better than losing the ball just outside the arch or kicking it just beyond reach towards the sidelines.

I could go on and on, and these suggestions are not just in relation to today's match, but going forward. We were a team (2011 - 2021) based on hard running with attacking half backs either cutting inside or coming off the shoulder. Yes the game has changed, but it has also opened up opportunities to pick off a variety of scores. Anyways rant over haha.

It’s time for Jack Carney to impose himself on a half of football. We are going to need scores from him

We’re in right trouble now! Against the wind and a couple of points down, typical Mayo territory, hopefully we rally.

Poor Martin Carney will have a conniption if we don't kick more ball into O'Shea!

Long ball into aidan and we win a free absolutely crazy how we don't use that option more often.

Cavan 3 moves... point....
Mayo 126 passes, a referendum, two bank Holidays and a 45.....that we miss

Thank god this game isn’t on tv!

We are in huge trouble here

Fair play to Stephen Coen, he has his critics but he usually stands up when the going gets tough. Four points is some going for a defensive player…

4 for stephen coen fair play to him showing leadership when it's needed.

We need a Stephen Coen apology form for all those who thought he was the dispensable one in this team. He's scored more points from play in this game alone than most of our forwards across the whole championship!

Coen keeping Mayo in it

Disgraceful performance. It should be no surprise where we are at under Mcstay and Co.

It’s a shame this isn’t a knock out and for Cavan to put us out of our misery. Dreadful performance from Mayo and be long time before I drive down the width of the country to watch this again

15 mins to go. 4 points down. At least bring on a few subs.

Welcome back Paddy Durcan

No coming back now.

Getting beaten out the gate

As another poster said. Itd be no harm if today was a knockout game, 2 more games to prolong the inevitable.

Mayo football at a very low ebb now and something drastic has to happen for next year. It’s pure muck to watch

We are at rock bottom, I’m afraid. Our home record has been very poor over the past decade or so, and losing to (being hammered by, really) a Division Three side at home just isn’t acceptable.

Thanks to the management team for their efforts, but a fresh approach is needed now. The players we have at our disposal shouldn’t be playing as poorly as they are, and the constipated style of play we have gone with over the past three years is patently not working.

Good luck to Cavan in the rest of the competition, they played some lovely football at times.

Ah lads I’m looking at the positives. These guys have a 4 year contract. Everything always comes good in year 4.

In all seriousness Kevin McStay and Stephen Rochford have destroyed this team in record time. Longford 2010 vibes now and John Omahony had a hell of a lot more credit in the bank then these men.

I’m not one bit surprised. Maybe when this management step away they might take the chairman with them. He’s the man who gave the “most experienced” management team in the country this job. Not a clue about football.

Losing the 2nd half by 9 points....

No words.

Put on the tin hat Willie Joe. This blog will
need some policing tonight

@Two Pointer.

I suggested that if we had lost to Sligo. I was told it wasn’t the premier league. We are absolutely shocking. Nothing short of a disgrace.

Amazingly James Burke, a man who was rejected 3 years ago has coached an average Cavan team to wipe the floor with us today.

Will the Stephen coen out gang now demand other players and management be shown the door?

Worst ever
God help us

Worse than Longford
We don’t even look fit
There has to be wholesale changes to the team for Tyrone game
We are stuck with the management for that game unfortunately

Can see why Cillian left.

I am a little disappointed with that,we have to win the next two games

[Deleted].

McStay out.

Three years and no progress. He has clearly lost the dressing room. There is no coming back from this.

Lovely guy, loves Mayo football with all his heart, but he is simply not the right man for the job.

Willie Joe I know you are a stats man, but please don't put up a MOTM poll for today.

[Deleted].

Jasus lads , that's diabolical... listening to the lads on midwest...
Cavan win for the first time since 1948... and well deserved

What a joke of a setup. Mayo the laughing stock of Ireland.

Mcstay for president

Tuamstar,

We are a genuine disgrace. You can count your lucky stars ye have a manager who is a leader of men and demands high standards, with a very tactically smart backroom team.

I’d kill to have Ye’er management. As long as we have these lads over us the only direction we are going is down.

Do we have to fulfill the remaining fixtures or can we call in sick.

Jesus that hurts

The season is done

I had a concern before Mayo Galway around Kevin McStays messaging about it being all or nothing hinging on the Connacht final. I thought it was a high risk strategy especially if they didn’t win. How do you manage messaging then. He went all in for the Connacht final and it didn’t go his way. Unfortunately he has no cards left to play

Mayo by 12 today was posted earlier. We need to be realistic . I mean no disrespect. Why do we not breed forwards in. Mayo?

To come that close with Galway (this year and last), and Dublin last year, and then not be able to put in a winning performance against Cavan is very bad going.

We played two long balls into o shea
We got a point and a goal

But sure why would we kick it in to him
That would just be silly

They looked way fitter than us too

Not much left to say. We all know now what has to happen to change Mayo’s fortunes for next year

Really feel for the lads this one is gonna hurt more then Galway and I don’t think we will be able to bounce back, today was the opportunity for the bounce back.

Who put the bullshit back into Mayo football?

[Deleted].

Worst loss since Longford 2010

Jim McGuinness in Castlebar today. A pic of him in the stand. I’d say he is wetting himself with laughter. Imagine if we had a county board that had a set of balls we could maybe have got I’m on the sideline.

Oh no wait “he destroyed football”. If he destroyed football this current management have obliterated it.

And there are two very hard matches to come.

And the very cheek of Mayo supporters taking Cavan for granted and not just talking about winning the game but winning with a bit to go spare...we never learn!!!

[Deleted].

Really feel this team is going nowhere fast. We appear so rudderless at times and are so predictable. Been to five games this year and we have got progressively worse. Have said it for ages, I don't know what Mulligan and Canny bring to the table. Up here in Galway they thought it was the strangest appointment in Canney going to Mayo. Donie and Rochford has been figured out at this stage also. If we were any sort of all Ireland contenders we needed a 8+ point win today against an average Div 2 team.
If I was a forward and I saw Coen (who is not a natural scorer) coming off with 4 points from play I would have to question my role within the team. I would love an end to the season right now, few weeks break and get on with the club championship in the summer weather.

Cavan took Tyrone to extra time in the Ulster championship. Where did we get the notion we were going to win this plus 6 and we barely could beat Leitrim. Einstein could not figure out Mayo football

There's uphill battles and there's Tyrone and Donegal.. I'll say no more.

Hopefully some consolation for AOS to s ore a goal with his last in probably his last match for Mayo in Mchale Park...

Woeful lads. I wonder do we have the stuff though? I mean there’s a new mgt team required asap but would they get anymore out of that squad? I’m not so sure. Hope Donegal win it out now.

Pure tripe. Definitely seems the dressing room is lost. Sin é.

Worst performance from us in a long time so disappointing. Congrats to Cavan.

There is an end of era feel about this game. Like 2010 loss to Longford. We will regroup- we will be back. there is no point in hoping for more this year we are done for this year- new Manager- new setup - we will be back

Maybe the lowest Mayo football has been at since donkeys years. Full overhaul needed now

It's not a time to be too reflective but we could be on now for two big hidings after that. Tyrone and Donegal will not take pity on us.

[Deleted].

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. '
Never kick the ball into forwards,
Alway play to the level of opposition, play sligo, play to sligo level, Leitrim same. Play Galway raise effort, should have beaten them. So frustrating
Irvine played nearly every minute of league, hardly any championship minutes.
Has not embraced 2 point arc,
Don't know were we go from here, can't see how we get out of group.

Looks like a managed decline.

[Deleted].

The team have no belief in how they are being forced to play. No adjustment made for new rules. Chickens roosting nicely tonight.

The agonizing 4 week funeral procession starts now. As someone else pointed out, McStay letting it slip after the Galway match that it was what the whole year was planned for was a catalyst for failure. The negativity stemming from that had to have rubbed off on the players. The lack of any intensity or motivation today only validates this. A 12 point turnaround in 12 months. That just isn't natural decline. That rests on management. Some saying get rid of him now. I say let him have his procession.

A real end of the road feeling about this result, we were going nowhere under this management team, let's be honest, a blind man could see our style of play was brutal and not suited to the players we have. The year is done, we need a new and fresh direction, Mayo will be back, sometimes you need to hit rock bottom to bounce back.

Longford was one thing but this is up there with Jack O Shea days

McStay demanded yes demanded the job.He does not have what it takes and God only knows what Rochford is at.
Consider your position Kevin and Stephen.

We have to keep fighting while there is still potential hope, but in order for us to have any chance now, management need to do the right thing. If they don’t then I feel it purely selfish and counter to the best interests of Mayo. I am sure they are hurting etc, but their goose is cooked. Leave now please with some respect and so as to give us some shred of hope. Walking out of MacHale Park today was depressing. Felt like walking away from Longford in ‘10.

We’ll have no supporters in Omagh if this management stay. If they do the honourable thing, let an interim step in and tell the team to KICK THE BALL INTO AIDAN!! He’ll either win it or it breaks to Ryan. God the past 18 months has been torture.

Wasn't expecting a loss and certainly not one in that manner..Obviously mgmt unable to lift team.after Gslway game and have lost the dressing room..Very disappointing for players and supporters alike..Dont know what Mc Stay does for his last two games..

Embarrassing stuff up there with 2010 when losing to Sligo and Longford. 3 point margin hugely flattered Mayo

Can't see anyone intervening at this stage to oust management. Who'd take over for the remaining two games? I hope there's no Mandelsonian spin in KMS' post match interviews. It would be tantamount to death by a thousand cuts.
.

Unfortunately the bench added nothing.
Unbelievable that Coen was our main man.
It's called Football!!!!

70 years supporting Mayo,that was the worst performance i can think of, this might bring us to a new management set up hopefully after our next 2 games as they seem clueless.

Malachy O'Rourke sitting beside me at the game, he won’t lose any sleep over Mayo tonight

Baz Ham, You wouldn't need a poll or Nostradamus to predict what people are thinking this evening on that question.

A complete reboot is required now

Should we bring some of the 20s up to Omagh?

How many commenting on here were at the game?

Mayo25

Absolutely not. We can’t rot their minds even for one game. Let a new manager look after them next year.

No comment .

We have two games to win,keep optimistic

Paul Regan- slating individual players isn’t right. Considering the two bucks played about 10 minutes between them, they are hardly the problem.

How many points did our starting forwards score from play today ? 1 from Darren McHale?

Bring the best 6 players from the U20 into the panel for the next game

Time to turn the page

Not alone were we not kicking it in to Aiden(bar 1 or 2)..we wouldn't even kick it out to Aiden. Several times with his hand in the air looking for it and with a good height advantage over his marker but it never arrived .

The team that showed some spirit won and fair play to them...our sideline has sucked all confidence out of our lads, but I wouldn't be calling on them to go tonight. That would be an easy out for them. Let's see have they any bit of pride in the county they represent over the coming weekends.

Positives would be Paddy getting on the field,and Stephen Coen kicking points .
After that they're hard found.

As our hurlers have demonstrated this weekend, Croke Park isn't for everyone

Management have to go but will do after our final game. People calling for them to step down tonight are off their heads.

Be better go enjoy your holidays now than to put yourself through all that again over next 2 games. Time to put on the barbecue and enjoy the evening

Can't honestly say what I'm feeling other than how disappointing it was to lose. Having said that, not entirely surprising given how we've played so far this season. We were poor against Sligo, but did enough to win. Poor against Leitrim, but did the bare minimum to win. Raised our game against Galway to be fair, but when the pressure was on, we couldn't produce the winning moments. And today, was as flat as we could be against a team who were really up for it.

I've not been a regular poster here on the blog, but I do watch the comment section from time to time. I cannot stress how frustrating it has been since the start of this season to not adapt to the new rules. These rules are here to stay, and most teams within the top 6 have more than adapted to it. We're struggling to score 1 pointers, much less 2 pointers. We're struggled all season thus far on kick outs (not going to get into specifics) and we just seem to have lost that intensity that teams of the last decade had when it came to tackling and winning turnovers.

Post 2011 - 2019, we were renowned for our physicality and our drive as well as our ability to thrive in the chaos. We were also a team that got into the faces of our opponents and didn't dare fear them because we fully believed in ourselves that if given an opportunity, we will do our best to take it. Now to be fair, the team of that decade were more or less a golden generation so to speak and opposition was far and few between. But that kind of stuff a team needs to have isn't something you lose overnight.

I honestly don't know what to expect for the next 4 weeks. But going forward into next season, SOMETHING has to change. Both on and off the pitch.

@Paul Regen With all due respect, honing in right now on 2 players who have played about 20 mins each total in the last 2 matches, is misplaced criticism. That's just easy scapegoating. As stats have showed, Boland and Towey are in the top 4 or 5 across entire panel when it comes to points from play. They are hardly the problem. The real problem is who's standing on the sideline, not sitting.

Management should not be allowed to walk away tonight from this they are directly responsible for this failure, and the warning signs were there as far back as the off-season. They need to be held accountable and face the justified criticism over the next four weeks. For Mayo, the season is effectively over. There’s little point in clinging to false hope for the final two games; Cavan have us on head-to-head, and it's highly likely we'll be officially out of the championship by Saturday week.

The body language on the sideline today by our managment team was among the worst I’ve seen, and the pre-planned substitutions only made things worse. Decisions weren’t made based on how the game was unfolding but on rigid, predetermined thinking. It’s a grim day to be a Mayo supporter—we looked like a team that hadn’t trained together before and had no Plan B whatsoever once we faced adversity challenge.

Mayo need to plan a 10-15 year coaching process this year and implement it county wide next year starting at U8s.
We're 2 to 3 generations now lacking enough players year in year out with the skills required for this game.
It's not bad luck that we've lost so many close AIFs etc, at some stage we've to accept we've not been good enough.
I see it for local players at the club.
Training consists of Mon night run like a dog for 90 minutes,
Tues gym work,
Wed running 90 min again
Thurs Gym again &
League games at weekend. And God bless us this time of the year, there's "Ballwork" which means that there'll be some skills training to fill in the time as you can't keep 90 min runs going all year!
I don't blame management team, county board or player for today, the current complete setup for Mayo football needs to be pulled apart and a new start made.

Justoutsideballagh. I was at the game as I usually am but I will not be going to another one under this management. They've finally broken me. The whole feckin thing is a mess. Players out of position and players out of form pretty much make up the present team. There's no passion, no intensity, no tactics, no ball skills and no direction. It's been a bloody hard watch the last 3 years but ìt only gets worse and today took the biscuit.
Pick the best keeper in the county or put in an outfield player that can kick.
Pick the 2 best corner backs.
Put our best full back to full back.
Play 3 genuine half backs.
Play the 2 best midfielders and not 6 or 7.
Select 5 genuine attackers and maybe one utility player.
Management need to fall on their swords and walk now and give a new setup the rest of this fiasco of a campaign to set plans for next year.
Oh yeah, and get that feckin hooter fixed!

. Beat Cavan by 8 points last year and MOTM that day and he was sitting at home today Cillian O’Connor.

Main question now is who manage Mayo in 2026 back to Horan again?

JoeG agree with all your points but hard for a team to lift their game if home support does not turn up. Pathetic support and performance today!

I'm not at all surprised by this result. Mayo are a team constipated for the last 3 years. I've said it from the beginning of this disastorous management appointment. No good will come. My comments were removed. Sadly I've been proven 100 percent correct. Manager more interested in searching for some hackneyed sound bite. Something seriously wrong here.

@justoutsideballagh Have to strongly disagree with you there, but I understand where your point. Hard for supporters to turn up to matches on days like today when a team isn't performing consistently, much less to expectations for the last 2 seasons.

Management obviously a shambles but some fellas on the field need to have a good hard look at themselves too. Unwillingness to show up and play isn't acceptable either.

Cavan are playing well this year and Mayo were after producing their best performance against Galway. It would be difficiult to reach those levels again. Dont underestimate Cavan. Ulster football on a different level now and v likely sam will return there again.

Well this my first post since 2021 final. I continue to read this brilliant blog and a big thank you to Willie Joe for his sterling efforts.
Needless to say I lost all gra and confidence in our management team, the teams and the dire football we serve up. A recipe for the downward trajectory we now endure.
I love the contributions from very knowledgable people on here together with the die hard supporters. I can only say keep up your spirits it can’t get any worse.
Get management out now.
Get county board replaced, the silence is deafening
As our year is finished now get this done without delay. Get winners in like they did in Offaly and Donegal to move to the top table.
We will never progress playing the shite with players out of form in wrong positions. We don’t have natural footballers poor defensive setup, no midfield despite playing up to 6/7 so called midfielders. One decent forward the other one never gets the ball played in early, do you seriously think we could progress.
Thank you to Cavan for bringing our pain to a premature conclusion, managements departure and a winning mentality in a revamped county board.
Good luck to our supporters and thanks again Willie Joe.
I will be back again soon.

Fair play to Cavan. A new departure needed in Mayo. McStay & Rochford are good Mayo men but they've failed to improve Mayo football. There's a good group of players there , they just need a strong confident managment to inspire them.

When a section in the stands have to shout in to bring on subs, it's time to consider your position. Neary should not have returned after black card, Carney playing old rules football, carrying ball into corners, Flynn should have gone to the beach for the day, but the book stops with management. But not using bench on a day like today, there's no explanation

Our number 2 man destroyed Donegal when he was there , history has now repeated itself. McStay should let him go tonight and just the tell the team to go out abd play their own football forbext two games and enjoy themselves doing it.

The only good thing. It wasn't on tv TG. To any of you genuine Mayo supporters thinking of watching the Sunday Game tonight....don't! It really was as bad as everyone has said.

Boland kicked a point after coming on. That game was lost in the 1st 2 minutes of the 2nd half. 5 or 6 mayo lads pissing around with the ball at the back then lose it and a goal for cavan. A minute later same rubbish again leads to a point for cavan

Obviously the main talking point is the management team and I completely get that and agree but it also doesn't help when two of our best players in paddy durcan and tommy conroy have been out all year, we lost cillian oconnor who if we had for the connacht final we win in my opinion and then the loss in form of some of our important first choice players flynn, carney, callinan and mcbrien it all adds up.

Justoutsideballagh…I was but I don’t want go to Omagh if management is same;doesn’t mean I won’t. It’d be typical Mayo to get a result up there

Either way, management’s time is up unless they get us to last 4 or better (dream on…I know!!!)

Half time score was what you’d expect in a wet January. Then after the break mayo bollix around with the ball - playing it backwards get turned over - and Cavan go route 1 for goal. And get it. I knew we were in deep poo then. When it was all over my young lad said he was almost rooting for Cavan. They deserved their win and we deserved to lose. A just outcome. I never called for the management teams head - but I’ll admit I was missing what some others have called for over the past months. The team doesn’t know how to play effective attacking football and has no bite about them. All fine players in the warm up - but the management riding orders have banjaxed our senior team. The next manager needs to do what Horace did. Set standards and make players accountable for reaching them. Even the likes of Mickey Harte would do us no harm - our boys are a complete soft touch and that’s win you nothing. Competitive aggression is a key part of what’s missing. A sad day for Mayo football.

Is there any other County supporters that would look to go back to a manager that didn't win the All Ireland with two cracks at it... Horan? Jesus lads show some ambition. Move on.
Mayo need strong, ambitious, tacticians who have won all irelands....
Rochford was ran from Donegal.... look at them now
enough said.
We should've gone after Jim McGuiness, Gerr Brennan is a steely character, a winner....that type.. a proven winner. Get club lads involved in the set up but out front we need a leader that raises standards and gives fans a reason to go back after the 2021 final straw....

That was Longford level.

After something similar last year against Derry, Roscommon the year before, where our heads weren't right taking the field, you can't but blame management. Even if they aren't seeing it, they're allowing it to happen by not making changes. Irwin, Kelly, Reid and Dawson, a bit of excitement getting a chance for themselves, seems exactly what we needed from the start.

We're too damn passive. At least a James Horan team would go out there and try to run them off their feet. We need that simplicity again. Run hard, tackle hard, play fast.

Management have two games to salvage their reputations, and zero chance of them being on our sideline in 2026.

As for the players, we need to bring energy, enthusiasm and pace to every line. I don't care anymore if they make mistakes. Run hard, tackle hard, play fast.

And try something. Maybe Aidan and Stephen Coen inside with Ryan dropping is the answer right now. Maybe dropping Jordan back into the halfback line might give us more energy there. Maybe Carney might do a job at 6. Hession at corner forward. McBrien in middle.

@ joe ruane. I remember that alright i also wanted ray dempsey. To me Mcstay did not have the qualities at this stage oof his life. Manager of mayo came 9 years too late for him. I hope he is let finish out the season.

Ontheroad13, we didn't "lose" Cillian O'Connor.
He walked away. maybe now we know why.

@James,of course they have to go, I'm just saying not tonight. They need to face the music and show that they actually have a pair between them, restore some bit of pride at least before they are all sent to pasture.

I said do what Horgan did in term of setting standard. Read the post again.

5 mins left on the clock, we're 7 pts behind and our full forward was McBrien!! Towey (supposedly the great hope, the great scorer of Mayo football) was in our right corner back position??
Twice we kicked long ball into AOS, 1 of them ended up in a free which we scored, the other ended up in a goal for AOS. Outside of that we were totally blind, clueless and scared in attack.

When the "review" at Christmas took so long, McStay never recovered and the lack of support from the county board then was deafening. He should have walked then, with his head held high, and told the county board to go fxxk themselves. Instead, he was left dangling in the wind, alone, unsupported. He was damaged then and now we see how it ends up. Buckley needs to go too as he's there for donkeys years and there's no visible signs of what he brings, apart from a massive expenses sheet. Rochford should be ran out the gate, overrated as a coach and when no one was crying in Donegal when he left, that should have said it all. His race is ran too.
I said it earlier, the use of the Mayo bench today was scandalous and, as a coach myself, I'd be embarrassed bringing on 3 players with 3 mins to go and us 7 pts down. If a club manager did that he'd be savaged in the car park after the game and rightly so.
We've seen enough.

Thoughts and prayers for you this evening, WJ ;-)

@Jimbo

On reflection Ray Dempsey’s management team looked a million miles ahead of what we have atm. Certainly wouldn’t be as soft and timid on the sideline as we are now. Counties just walking all over us these days.

Thanks, Anne-Marie! I think, though, that it'll be whiskey I'll be needing tonight.

@Michael131 the team deserve support through thick and thin. For those of us around in the 70's and 80's we supported them despite never getting to Croke Park. They are still representing Mayo once they put on that shirt as are the supporters. Very hard to watch today but we will be back, realistically in 2026 at this stage with a new manager.

Grand spell of weather all the same.

I've been one to have reservations about Towey and Boland come championship, but there's no way they should be getting savaged this evening, for not saving us in the couple of minutes they got!
I think most supporters know full well where the blame lies.

@Gizmobobs yeah the heat was unreal.

We saw Barry Moran in the clubhouse after actually looked like he was going to burst into tears . Don't blame him at all.

It’s a very reality hitting night for Mayo football . Second half Armagh league game saved management from the chop mid season re rumour . I think it’s time for a bould statement , it’s no addition for management to see out the year . Stop being safe , the time is now . Get the wheels in motion for the longer term . Thanks for your efforts Kevin , unfortunately it hasn’t worked out . That team was poorly managed today .

2025 is forgettable now, Tyrone will beat Mayo easily & Donegal will hammer them. I can't understand it, Cavan tore Mayo apart with fast, hard tenacious football & very skillful shooting, Mayo looked like a clueless division 3 team not up to championship football, this outfit is gone, time to think ahead & get new manager & coaches + 6/7 tough skillful players, especially forwards & a midfield pair who will contest & win ball, not much chance of getting anywhere this year. Fitness was poor also, slow movement with the ball, straight into Cavan's trap, Sad day for Mayo football.

No flowers please donations if desired to underachievers anonymous

We shouldn't start making excuses. Unacceptable. Tyrone can't wait to get stuck into us. If they wanted a confidence boost, they got it today. We have some fine footballers, release them from this management team.

We, supporters are part of the problem too. Don’t kid yourselves it’s all management. We have helped ruin the confidence of these young lads. Mayo are a different county experience wise to every other county in Ireland. No GAA people (or maybe sports people worldwide) have suffered like us. Not Limerick hurling, not Waterford hurling. 2021 was the pinnacle of it when it was plain to see the toll all the AI losses had on us all. Every Mayo person who lived through 11 AI losses is damaged from it. This team are not the lads of 2010’s but they have had to suffer for our once in a generation players many close misses in succession and to boot the teams from the 90’s and 2000’s failures. We have put too much hope and pressure on these lads past few years when rebuilding but esp this year when top players injured and many left the panel. They are always under a microscope and subject to our swings of extreme high and low. We have ruined them with microscopic negativity. We project on to them on the field, on social media and I’m sure put in on their everyday lives too with unwanted sticking our noses in. We were spoiled 2012-2020. Nothing is good enough for us unless AI semi/final or Sam. Therefore as far as I’m concerned we have helped ruin our team. Have a look in the mirror nearly the whole lot of ye. That was a team shorn of confidence. Also last year we should have won the Connacht final and this year. Why should we have to still win when ref makes mistakes in close matches. Galway didn’t two years in a row - they got the benefit. Thats disheartening too. What’s the point. That had to factor into things too. Disillusionment and a schizophrenic support base. We played our part in it.

Let the management team remain to championship end.
Players must take a lot of the blame.
Get a new management team in before the start of the club championship.

Ontheroad13 It's probably worth though asking why so many key players have experienced such a dip in form this year. And why so many walked away before a ball was kicked this year. The signs have been there.

I agree that management's goose is cooked, and I am genuinely disappointed. No-one wanted it to turn out this way. You could argue that it isn't McStay and Rochford kicking possession away, carrying the ball into tackles, kicking stupid wides or failing to show for kickouts, but ultimately these things are the product of a culture, and of the standards demanded and expected under that culture. A team with collective belief that is enjoying their football does not play the way we did today. And I cannot see management turning that around at this stage.

And a management with respect for its players does not drop a player after the league and introuduce him as a sub weeks later with two minutes to go when his team is 7 points down. Our use of the bench this year alone is cause for fury, let alone the rest of it.

Going to let the dust settle for a bit. Spent the €50 on the three tickets so am planning to be in Tyrone because as hard as today was, it would be far worse to to be giving free money to the GAA ;-) And they're our team, good, bad or brutal, hell or high water.

Who knows, there might even be a response, but it'll be too little, too late.

But we have had dark days before, followed by very bright ones. And at least, unlike Longford 2010, the sun is shining!

Mayo needs to appoint an actual all Ireland winner who knows what it takes. I suggest contacting Ciaran Donaghy, to see whether he’d be willing to leave Armagh and take on a full county management role. We need an outsider, someone with ice in his veins willing to take on the major redevelopment of this team. Horan did it once, can be done again? Time to wipe the slate clean. People may disagree, but for me it’s clear to see that there’s a lot of toxicity in that dressing room and it starts with management. This doesn’t look like a team of 2012, who were willing to die for one another. So sad to see there are a lot of pretenders on that team that are just not good enough at this level. The team has lost 80% of its abilities from their high point in the 2010s. Aidan O Shea I feel so very bad for you, one of Mayos finest, best ever. But time has come lad. I believe the time has now come to reduce the age profile of this team to below 25 and really put stock into the development of underage Mayo teams. And it starts at club level. New rules don’t suit us we can’t score, haven’t enough forwards of quality required, no attacking game plan, inability to adjust during games, same garbage play over the last 4 years or so. Time to really take stock and prioritize the role of attacking play and development of killer forwards, who can score of both feet. This is not prioritized at club level. This has to change. Sad state of affairs but it’s time to face reality and facts we are going nowhere. Tell me lads where were Donegal until McGuiness came back. And who was in the background during these years for Donegal. Sorry but this is not county level standards for a team who should have All Ireland aspirations. Time to bleed this team now and grow from and develop youth. Horan may be an option but has done this twice now, got close but no cigar. We need a new freshness in this county. Do we want to become the Meath of Connaught for the last 15years, irrelevant. Right now this is bottom of the barrel. We got to take drastic measures and it starts now, McStay and Rochford need to do the right thing and resign.

Just to put more context on it re: cavan

They were missing their 3 first choice midfield options in gearoid mckiernan, James smith and killian clarke, Jason mcloughlin a key player ruled out and paddy lynch their best forward only managing a cameo and they still bet us off the field on home turf.

Imagine the crying and excuses we would make with so many injuries

In a sporting world of complexities and scientific measures . The route one in Gaelic football can still be exploited especially under the new rules , why oh fkin why did we refuse to act on it till the game was gone from us . It’s beyond reasonable thinking

I'm not sure it's lights out just yet. Can't see anything other than a defeat in Omagh but Donegal might well be assured their place before the Mayo game. Tyrone could do a Dublin next week and pip Donegal... nobody knows anything at this juncture.

I did say in an earlier post that Mayo tend to sleepwalk into these matches. It's tough to take but management must now be given the space and time to finish out the year. The weekend games prove Connaught football is really mediocre. Having said that, it wouldn't surprise me if Mayo go on and win their two remaining games. That's what Mayo do..

Let the management team see out the season. There's little to be said for a soccer type attitude to managerial comings and goings, in my opinion. Culling a manager after a bad run of form doesn't seem to work for them either (most of the time!). Someone young, fresh and progressive needed the next time around. Austin O'Malley the only person I can think of at this stage. Fair play to Cavan, though. We underestimate our opposition, as always, at our peril.

I wasn't at the Longford defeat but I'm guessing it was similar to today. What a disaster.

No leadership (except coen). But also the way we structured ourselves was poor. It was if we thought we knew how to beat Cavan and just do the same thing over and over again.

After about 15 mins did anyone else notice a bit of a heated exchange between o shea and rochford?

I've heard people describe towey and Boland as our best forwards. To be fair to the two players and the people saying it no-one expected them to be saviours with minimal game time.

A big rebuild project ahead. I really think next management need to drop about 15 of the 35/40. I'm not convinced the current u20 team will solve the problem- yes I think 3 or 4 forwards and maybe 2 others but some of them will end up been squad players. I expect about 3 established players to come from u20. There are some good players out there and not all played under age so get new management in place before club championship starts

Stick a fork in this management team, they are absolutely done.

I wouldn't let either of them near Omagh.

@Pebbles

Fully agree you are spot on this loss and awful game is not our fault .

Everyone was screaming for mayo to come on even when it looked like no hope .

This one on mcstay & co .

Final Whistle pod is up now on Patreon. Colm Boyle and Nigel Reape are on with me on it and there's post-match audio from Kevin McStay.

Ever the Optimist, I'm not sure I could bear the humiliation of facing a second string Donegal team for the second time this year ...

Pittsburgh…I’m saying it years. We need winners. Donaghy could be excellent…I’d expect Kerry will snap him up next year. And sadly, I don’t think the Mayo job is that attractive anymore. It could be in 2 to 3 years time though.

I agree, we need winners, and we will never be winners if we're not managed by winners.
We missed the boat with Donaghey, and I'd see him more of a mentor/ selector.
OShea as out an out old style striker fuu forward, remains on edge of box. Felt sorry for ROD. He was up for it today. A clean break from current management will help.
As for supporters taking a share of blame for team performances, that's rubbing it in, we have endured and moved on from dreadfully dark days and nights.

Well this my first post since 2021 final. I continue to read this brilliant blog and a big thank you to Willie Joe for his sterling efforts.
Needless to say I lost all gra and confidence in our management team, the teams and the dire football we serve up. A recipe for the downward trajectory we now endure.
I love the contributions from very knowledgable people on here together with the die hard supporters. I can only say keep up your spirits it can’t get any worse.
Get management out now.
Get county board replaced, the silence is deafening
As our year is finished now get this done without delay. Get winners in like they did in Offaly and Donegal to move to the top table.
We will never progress playing the shite with players out of form in wrong positions. We don’t have natural footballers poor defensive setup, no midfield despite playing up to 6/7 so called midfielders. One decent forward the other one never gets the ball played in early, do you seriously think we could progress.
Thank you to Cavan for bringing our pain to a premature conclusion, managements departure and a winning mentality in a revamped county board.
Good luck to our supporters and thanks ikagain Willie Joe.
I will be back again soon.

After all the games we have played under this manager and his team, we still did not address the kickout plan or as in our case NO Plan. They just picked fellows week in week out. It did not matter if you played sh..e you still got picked the following week. No lads looking over their shoulders saying to themselves if I don’t play well I may be dropped.They had not to do this, as they knew they were going to be picked the following week.No wounder 5 lads Cillian, Carr, Byrne and I just can’t remember the other 2 that walked away last November. This over and back football going nowhere is totally down to Rochford, no one else. It was the same sh..e in Donegal when he was there.
Kevin may be a nice decent man, but he went back in my estimations when he brought in Rochford. Rochford then goes and brings in Joe.Canney his mate from Corfin The forwards have showed no improvement since he came in . If Buckley was any good he would be in Kerry with Jack O Connor. I was at the game today it was just the worst I have ever seen. I watched the manager standing on the line with his arms folded . I felt sorry for AOS. He made several good runs and Colm did not kick the ball out quick enough.We need to look at a new keeper. He played a great league final a number of years ago, management just think he is a Nailed down starter on the back of this performance. He is an ex forward and in my opinion panics to easy . When under pressure. Also when AOS was in the full forward line he made runs but the ball was only kick in twice, we actually scored 1 g and 1 pt when it was kicked in.we just hung on to the ball and played it over and back, going nowhere.Just shocking No sign of any of our WISE men shouting on the line to kick the ball in, when we were under pressure for scores at the end. Everyone in the stand could see this but no one even bothered on the line.

Mutually assured self-destruction is how I'd describe the relationship between the boys on the sideline.

JustoutsideBallagh.
I was at it and I think some of the comments on here would be a lot worse if everyone was there. It was a truly demoralising performance.

Listening to the Cavan podcast pre game, they thought that beating Mayo was their best chance of survival such is their poor record against the other two Ulster teams. They also said it would be typical of Mayo to lose to Cavan and beat both Tyrone and Donegal. The Rossies won in Omagh last year so doable.

Joemamas,
What did he do to even warrant those minutes today? Came on v Galway and did ziltch. In my opinion he, along with 3 or 4 others, have been in and out and tried for 4 or 5 years and yet still haven't nailed down a spot. At this stage they're just taking up a spot.
As I said on another thread, it's harder get OUT of this squad than it is to get IN it.

i hope we dont get donaghy , we had a kerry man before with a pocketful of AI medals and he was worse than what we have now , and thats saying something

Patrick Hayes, and what did Jacko have to work with the broken remnants of the 1989 team, with nothing good coming through. Still won them Connaught and with that team and brought them to the semis. Won’t matter who gets the job until the lads at club level get your priorities right and start actually concentrating on developing forward talent!!

pebblesmeller

I have been complementary of most of your posts,
That last one on Towey reeks of lazy analysis,
'Did Zilch against Galway'
go back and watch it again,
This was his involvement in second half.
Came on at HT
39th minute got a pass from a breaking ball in the middle of the field soloed on up the middle,two passes later Matthew Ruane two pointer.
47th minute got a pass 60 yards out from goals punched pass 20 yards to Mchale who kicked over a point.
49th minute got possession along sideline ran into endline back out passed ball to Hession, who was fouled ref allowed advantage result point by Neary.
58th minute Jack Carney shot for point blocked down, Towey hustled for breaking ball he had no chance of getting , put Galway #4 under pressure who picked ball off the ground on 14 yard line. Free and point to Mayo.
68th minute both he and Matthew Ruane catch a Galway player in possession make him overcarry. Mayo Free, 30 seconds after his shot for a point was blocked down by a full length diving Galway player.
Yes he did snap at one effort he should have got, a lot of Galway traffic, and he did miss another within two minutes, which he should have scored.
Saying he did zilch ruins your credibility,
How many games did he finish for Mayo this year, despite playing well.
like a lot he is not above criticism for sure, but your comments are inaccurate at best.
looking forward to your review of the Galway game and your response.

@Nephin wonder what was said at half time. We were late coming out of the dressing room. First ball we got, started to move backwards and player out his hand in air. Passed it to a player who did the same. Cavan smelt blood, moved in a we turned it over and conceded a goal. We had it lost at that stage.