Mayo without 11 of 26 players that were on the Derry match day panel for first few rounds of the league.
Do we have 11 players good enough currently to replace that crop? Almost certainly not.
Are they better off calling up John Mcmonagle, Darragh Beirne, Niall Hurley, Oisin Cronin, Paul Gilmore, Eoin McGreal, etc? Still all U20s but all players who will certainly be getting big looks at the senior team in the coming years.
Especially when in my opinion the current crop aged 22-24 who are on the periphery of the panel / in current development have been extremely poor at underage level and have not pulled up trees in club championship either.
From the panel last year, these are some players who are still involved / should push on to at least make the bench in the league next year:
Frank Irwin
Kevin Quinn
Diarmuid Duffy
Paul Towey
Fergal Boland
Eoin O'Donoghue
Enda Hession
Fenton Kelly
Mikey Murray (back this year)
Ewan Duffy (new)
Cian McHale (new)
Davitt Nearly (new)
Jack Melvin (new)

Based on all reports the fact the likes of Niall Coggins, Oisin McLaughlin, Sharoize Akram, Brian Reape, David Drake not getting called in is bizarre considering they could be more ready made then the younger guys that have been brought in.
This lost of new guys is not speculation btw, this is from Mike Finnerty on this podcast above.

@Retro...Of the names you mentioned Oisin McLaughlin is definitely someone worth bringing in, in my opinion. There are others too.

Davitt Nearly...I got a good laugh with that :) ....nearly made it!

Those u20's need to stick with u20....how many good minors have we seen over the past few decades of following football closely who have not developed into teh players we/they hoped they'd become. In my opinion there's far too much talk about this crop of lads between 18-20 in Mayo. I've followed those minor teams closely and like there are some good players, some potentially very good, but they've won nothing. Nada. Let them win something. Then let's talk.

Speaking of talented young players that I have no problem talking up - Shay McGlinchey... McGlinchey will be a future all star midfielder for Galway. He's u20 for the next two years and he makes the Galway u20 team for 2025 very dangerous indeed.

I'd imagine he's all over the Aussies radar....ticks all the boxes of what they look for.

Rumour is that McGlinchey has been called up to the Galway senior panel. As Derry were sniffing around him. Given his family ties to Derry. Think it's a bit early for him to be honest. He's U20 eligible for another 2 years as far as I know.

Hi Mac, I heard that too about McGlinchey from a reliable source in Galway.

Claremorris seem to be seriously overlooked by Mayo Senior management not one player in the squad again , yet Ballinrobe and Davitts both Intermediate get more call ups. Would like to see Jack Fallon from Mayo Gaels in there.

Im sorry but I just have absolutely no faith in McStay and Rochford id like to see them go when our season ends in 25. I think we got Kevin McStay the facilitator not Kevin the manager I think he will look back and regret he delegated too much. Nothing against them personally im sure they are decent lads but I think we have regressed under them.

I'm afraid with the standard of club football, it's hard to see us competing at the latter stages of championship this year .
Still , hope is a great thing !!
I do think this will be Mcstays last season if we have a poor season.
I'm told that Cillians decision to not commit to the panel this year is purely to do with his work commitments with Spot recruitment in Dublin,
Please God we will see him back for his leadership in the dressing room next year but remember these lads are amateurs and need to look at their long term futures outside of football.

If every player is available for selection and It's knock out championship football next summer will this be the likely starting 15 of choice for McStay/Rochford?

Colm Reape
Jack Coyne David McBrien Sam Callinan
Paddy Durcan Stephen Coen Donnacha McHugh
Matthew Ruane Jack Carney
Eoghan McLoughlin Jordan Flynn Diarmuid O'Connor
Tommy Conroy Aidan O'Shea Ryan O'Donoghue

I would swap Loftus for Coen, Coen doesnt offer anything to be honest,
Eoghan McLaughlin half forward??
Sam Callinan Corner back? When its not his best position
No Enda Hession
That team gets to a quarter final at best.No semi Final.

You might be right mayomagic but will be pretty grim if that is the starting 15, as it's essentially the exact same 15 that have been there for limp exits at last 8 and last 12 stage this year.

1-05 scored in 80 minutes at home against a demoralised leaky derry team, best stick with everyone who started that day then :-/

That team looks like the best of the rest from last year.
We really need to move on.

Wonder would mcstay guve Evan Ivers a chance. He seems to have great potential we need new blood it's a great chance for other guys to show mcstay what they have to offer.

Real chance for Towey to step up. Still not sure abour him but he has definetly potential also..

Carney and ruane are not the answer in midfield.you might get away with one of them alongside a proper ball winner.alot of teams press up on us now because we don’t have an out ball to midfield.it’s actually extraordinary how poor ruane is in the air for a big man

I’m hoping you’re right My Ball regarding Cillian. I hate how some of our all time greats have been treated down the years. Ciaran mc being asked to trials. James Nallen being humiliated in my opinion in 2009 against Meath. Our backs going badly and Liam o Malley is brought on, Nallen left on the bench. Then they wait until the 67th minute v Derry this year before getting Cillian on, when we couldn’t score.

We have to develop at midfield.
Ivers sounds like a player to develop Irwin and Murray have to be brought in.
The last 2 in particular are guys that can develop hopefully in that central type role.No reason why they shouldn't be given a good run of games.
Ivers is apparently a more unknown quantity but there is only one way to get toknowhom if he has the will to do it.

On that team above, is Sam Call really a corner back? More naturally a halfback but needs to really improve his decision making when in possession. Regularly runs into traffic and gets turned over. A good player but a bit to go yet imo. I’d have Enda Hession there but again he’s also better suited to wing back or even half forward which is what he was underage. I think we are short natural pure defenders. I think Coyne had a mediocre 2024 for Mayo. Hoping he gets a bit more tigerish and dominant in 2025.

Eoghan mcL can only be a wing forward if he’s actually positioned as an additional defender with licence to attack cos that’s his key strength. A fella in the club championship that showed glimpses of talent in moving forward in possession and ‘breaking the line’ was Evan Ivers.

Midfield, I’m sorry but I don’t see what Carney has done to merit a starting slot. Has he talent and potential? I do think so. But he was fairly anonymous in 2024. In fact he was better in 2023. He didn’t have a great club campaign so can only hope there’s an upwardly change next season. Could take a leaf out of John Maher’s book. He has as much if not more natural footballing ability but Maher was head and shoulders above Carney in 2024. I think there’s more in Flynn and Ruane. We desperately need leaders here. Midfield is by far and away our biggest area of concern.

Reports coming out this evening that Carr will not be joining the Mayo team in 2025.

We need to develop killer instinct and I’m not sure that our current CB & Management Team are fit to deliver this.

It’s time money was invested into our players. Do we know if Mcstay has reached out to Oisin Mullen?

What is James horan on about.. Like this guy is always sniffing around the mayo job it seems.. He was there twice and still couldnt win it.. Surely no one wants him in again... On about Cillian o Connor not being respected enough... Will ya stop good man.. We all know about him and he was respected

A lot of doom and gloom over the departures from the panel. A fit Cillian and James Carr I would consider big losses-the rest less so. At times there are more conspiracy theories on this blog than you would get at a Republican Party Convention of deluded Trump supporters. With regard to Cillian, here's a novel suggestion-could it be that he just needed a break for a number of reasons? He is nowhere near the player he was, before his serious Achilles injury and he knows it and the management will also have seen how he looked in training. Since his comeback, he has made a number of short appearances and did not exactly pull up trees, So maybe he has decided to take a break and refresh and recharge the batteries, in the hope that it might help him get back to something close to his best. He probably needs a break, as he has played a lot of top level football over a long period. On top of that, he has a fairly new business and I understand that he is based in Dublin and, with the traveling, time etc., this probably factored into his decision. Like everyone, I would dearly love to see a fit and refreshed Cillian back in the green and red. Either way, he owes Mayo football nothing. The others who have left may have their own personal reasons for opting out. Their is now an opportunity for fringe players and young newcomers to stand up and stake a claim.

David Tighe and David McHale would certainly stiffen that Mayo defence and Sam Callinan is a terrific half back but not a corner back. The same as POH treatment, putting lads in specialised positions that they are not cut out for. Could we not just pick the best and most natural player for each position and stop with all the experimenting bs.

@ norm. James Horan is someone to talk about disrespect for a player with the way he disrespected "Our Conor" back in 2012 when Mortimer was our all star corner forward . Conor had a wobbly moment of madness and Horan ended his career with Mayo when he had lots more to give and he was only 30 years of age. I will go to my grave thinking we would have won SAM in 2012 if Conor was part of our panel. The disrespect shown to Conor in 2012 by Horan will never be forgotten

That report isn’t only coming out now, Mayosbiggestfan!

Great Podcast to whet the appetite. Feels like the county stuff is back after 5 months of drought. Going from Colm Keys the danger for Mayo is a potential lack of squad depth coming into the league and in general.
Hoping the lads that have been there step up now and take their chance, especially Towey.
It could be a long year, but with the championship wide open it could be a '51 Vintage.

Kevin Barrett, I'd imagine it's to do with the financials. CB meeting this evening will likely tell the tale.

Kevin - wondered that myself, but I'd imagine there's not much in it.

Thank you JoeG. I am sick to death of putting square pegs in round holes. We are overly stacked in half backs, to the point that we shoehorn 6 or 7 of them into the team. In my opinion, the only 2 players I'd trust 1 on 1 in full back line are Donnacha McHugh & David McBrien. Callinan, Coyne, Brickendon, whoever. I don't trust them in there. And that's not to say they are bad players, but they are being put into positions they are not strong in. Colm Boyle was a fantastic half back, but he would have been all at sea in the full back line. Only very few can do both (Lee Keegan being 1 example from recent times). Even Oisin Mullin was criminally used when we had him. Had absolutely unlimited potential as a half back or further forward, but no we used him in full back line.

Give me a steady corner back any day over a square peg in a round hole. It's always the flashy player who gets the recognition. But if you can blot your own man out of the game, it might go unnoticed but it's just as important, if not more important.

Say what you want about Horan, but he brought us from the gutter to the team we became in the 2010s. He brought professionalism, mentality, physicality & Standards. Standards that we rarely if ever dipped below. When we had a superior team to our opposition, we put them away simple as. We stepped on their throat & didn't relent.

Players didn't opt out under James Horan. Look it (as James would say), he had his time & it has passed. But he brought our levels up hugely. His 2nd stint was a bit different but he had to completely rebuild a team again!

Those standards & levels are being dismantled in front of our eyes.

@mayo focus totally agree.

Horan rebuilt our team. He discovered Tommy c, Ryan O D etc.
If any manager people say is disrepectful it is Rochford.

Horan waa a great manager made some mistakes but not half as much as current management I would rather Horan ball anyday as others said never heard of players opting out under Horan!

Jesus Christ almighty. I'll just caveat this my post by saying I'm no Horan fan boy but to be honest it really boils my blood when people post silly stuff on here.

Norm - Horan is 100% referring to Cillian not getting the respect nationwide that he deserves, not within Mayo. I live outside Mayo and I know the general view on Cillian. He's not rated anywhere nearly as highly around the country as he is Mayo. That's a fact and its exactly what Horan is referring to. At least listen to the podcast before posting.

Jimbo - Your post is just wrong. Mortimer left the panel because he was told he would not be starting in a Connacht Final. He has since come out numerous times to admit he was wrong and express his regret at his behaviour. You say that Mortimer was our all star corner forward but was he really? He won his all star 6 years before and hadn't played for Mayo for 18 months at the start of 2012. Even the day he famously wore his RIP Micheal Jackson t-shirt, he was a sub in a Connacht Final (the very thing he left the panel over with James Horan). In fact he was a sub throughout 2009, so he started 2 championship matches in the 3 years before he walked. But yeah its all Horan's fault...what about the disrespect Mortimer showed to his fellow panel members.

@Kevin Barrett and Gizmobobs, the reason for the county board convention being postponed is because Revenue are gone in. Never a dull moment in Mayo GAA.

Not sure Horan 3 would be so bad.
At least we would have the joy of beating Galway.

You've just nailed it, unstoppable.

James Horan is correct in stating that Cillian has never been appreciated as much as he should have been both nationally and frequently within Mayo.
I really don't understand the constant knives that are out in Mayo for Stephen Rochford. Players didn't 'opt out' when he was manager either. He always seemed to have decent people management skills (convinced Aidan to play full back against kerry, David Clarke didn't leave after being dropped for the 2016 replay, handled Keith Higgins' family situation well, didn't flog lads by making them play league while also playing sigerson football). For me the buck stops with the manager and the manager is Kevin McStay.

@mayoforliam as well the same thing happened to McStay at Roscommon. Don’t get why rochford gets all the blame when he has a history of success with mayo while McStay doesn’t

@Plunkett not saying mcstay is not to blame also of course he is. Just saying Rochford has not been great in the past also. It was clear in Donegal to with players opting out and now they are back. Mcstay had a bad run in Roscommon to of course.

Anyway thankfully we have had no more players opting lets hope it stays that way!

Mortimer was still a very accurate corner forward all star who'd kick 5 or 6 every game... Could do with him now

His problem was he didn't get goals... Like mayo forwards at the moment,No goal threats whatsoever. So I'd imagine the burden will fall on Rod again.. Conroy injured.. Aos will be there as long as he's wanted whatever you're opinion on him. So I don't really see mayo challenging at all.. Maybe a win or 2 in championship but that'll be all... Sorry to be pessimistic.. Hopefully Kerry will be back at top table

One departure name-checked by Mike Finnerty that concerns me (all do really), is Aaron McDonnell. I've liked what I've seen of him, and he should be in pole position now to nail down a starting place. So why has he departed I wonder and what does that say about his relationship with management?

To strengthen a point here. Squarely on mgmt has been this continuous use of half backs as corner backs. "Sam is one of our main man markers" was utter naive guff. Utter guff. If you're not an effective man marker at Sigerson or Club you're bloody well not one at county level. I fully agree. Pick career corner backs at corner back. Alfie Morrison or whomever it ends up being. David Drake, tremendous man marker.

Ya Pebblesmeller, was trying to avoid spelling out when had not been in papers officially. But I suppose it was earlier in year.
There be some craic tonight I'd say.

So we will be missing a lot of players in the league.
Great.
We will be forced to try new lads in the most competitive league in years.
Is there a sweeper keeper that is accurate in the county?
Morgan showed the difficulty they present in the Inter Pros.
We get relegated, so what.
Last 2 finals won by Division 2 teams.
Coaching will be vital for new rules.

I have to agree with JP. It's been a fault for years. Throwing good half backs into full back line as a fix. (Keegan, Oisín Mullins and I suspect David McBrein and Sam Callinan). Easy fix but weakens the team.
Great opportunity to experience.ent in League but with new rules we need to see major changes in our style of play/tactics.

@on the ditch I can understand playing your main man marker as a corner back in the league.
It is a position that needs getting used to and opposition tend to move the forward being man marked into the corner.
Playing them in the corner full time is madness

Regarding Cillian. I posted a couple of years ago that what he has achieved in becoming all time top scorer whilst still at his peak is absolutely phenomenal. He broke Gooch record playing 20 games less, holds scoring record for a single championship game beating his own record and tops all ireland final scoring charts also and tho he doesn't have the medals he reached superman type records and I'll stand over all that.

I would think part of the reason we have gone with half backs in the full back line over the years is due to our lack of potency in the forward line. Over the years we have picked lads who have been able to get up the field and score rather than a hatchet man in the corner. The score have to come from somewhere, and in our case they have to come from everywhere.

Overall though, it has probably backfired.

Rumour mill be flying tonight with media black out on meeting!

https://www.con-telegraph.ie/2024/11/27/exclusion-of-media-from-mayo-gaa-board-meeting-raises-eyebrows/?fbclid=IwY2xjawG0GDZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHVOwWXzp-y7kL8k9y-_gvY2OnzWhEQWoLPySUcu7I1fjHJ2KHsy-aVhvlw_aem_JPtoiaXLhn8mdduEdbHu-Q

Media excluded from tonights meeting, and the annual convention is put back from the 8th December to the 18th December, according to an article by the Connaught Telegraph a short wile ago.

Seriously think Bob Tuohy should be given a look at midfield, would seem like a better fit then wing-forward. Time to build his experience up.

Cloak and dagger stuff. A conclave of.. I won't say.

I read somewhere that a number of County Boards are subject to Revenue audit.

JR think our neighbours have one as well. Then 2 Munster and a leinster county from what I have heard.

When you look at all the praise for Mayo corner backs the following would draw laughs, but some people would agree. Tom Cunniffe was a better corner back than Keith Higgins. I'm not saying Tom was a legend. But he brought concussive power into our full back line.
I always thought Keith Higgins was ineffective in the big games at corner back, wasted back there. The James O'Donoghue battle in 2014!!
JOD won that hands down and it cost us that two game series. Keith Higgins a potentially brilliant wing back, he was lost effective in the middle third picked in the forwards first half of 2013 final.
We don't have a good understanding of man marking corner backs in Mayo.

Typo * most effective

Reape
Brickenden McBrien Hession
McHugh Coen McLaughlin
Carney Ruane
Touhy Irwin Boland
Darren Mchale Towey Ryan O'Donoghue

You would imagine we might look something like this for our first league game in Croke Park. Although we will almost certainly have more injuries by then. I'm not too minded about numbers just really firing out who is fit and has been making squads.

Darren McHale is someone who could come a lot and is being overlooked in the conversation. I don't know what he'd be like in the full forward line but I had an extra middle third player and had to shoe someone in there. I've no idea who is next up in the full forward line. Kevin Quinn has been in the squad, but I haven't seen enough of him to know where he is.

Hession for me at looked most comfortable at corner back.

McBrien's best attribute imo is his positional sense. He's more valuable to us as the free man at the back rather than picking up a man. WTS he's a good man marker, in particular he's really good at staying goalside of his man but in doing that can leave space for a point attempt. The old school sweeper we were missing, but because of the way the game has gone that can be either 3 or 6, and the numbers are likely to mean even less if the new rules come in.

Who is next up after these 15? I have no idea. Definitely light in the full forward and full back line.

Why is there always drama with Mayo GAA? By not allowing the media to attend, it has actually created more interest locally and nationally. Now everyone is wondering/speculating!

It’s a worked example of the Streisand Effect, Goagain!

Am I the only person who sees no issue with media banned if confidential issues to be discussed. We don’t need our business in the national media tomorrow.

Just a thought, it seems to me we are actually getting more attention as a result of it. All will come out after anyways, possibly less accurately though.
Also many would know the situation already.

@Gizmobobs agree.. Just makes it look worse and that they have stuff to hide as you say will come out either way!

We are always in the news in the off season usually for wrong reasons..

@Just a thought: Yes, just you.

Step 1 of any type of messaging, communication, promotion, PR crisis or general supply of unknown information is to be in a position to frame the conversation. It's why any PR company in the world will release bad news prior to a negative story breaking and why day 1 in any course teaching any of those topics it'll be front and centre.

By putting up shutters on the doors we've gone from a small county board meeting to one with national attention, we've gone from a message where the board could have controlled how it was shared in the public to one where the attempted blocking of the story leads the story and instantly casts everything discussed in the meeting (which will absolutely leak within seconds) in a more critical and negative light while eroding trust between our county board and the county (and most especially media within the county, who we'll depend on for aid with fundraising/sponsorship and control of messaging througout the year).

It's not even a subjective thing. It's objectively a bad mistake.

It’s also the second behind-closed-doors County Board meeting in a row, which makes it an even worse look. As an organisation it always leaks like a sieve so the news will come out regardless.

The weather appears to have come as a shock to them as well.
Meetings now cancelled due to it. If only there was a system in place that relatively accurately predicted the weather a couple of days in advance.....

Jp I agree completely. Know exactly what you mean & a perfect example of putting players in the wrong position. Though Unstoppable made a good point about lack of scoring power if you take those lads out. A catch 22. But on balance, it was the concession of bad goals that ultimately cost us. We scored enough to win most finals

County Board Meeting call off due to weather

Plenty of lights on in McHale Parke do.

Dont think what i am hearing there will be money to pay for the lights in the future

How has the CB bought the county to the edge of the abyss again

The media scrutiny around the next meeting and Convention is going to be massive and they have only themselves to blame. I see John Fogarty mentioning again about county boards-financial irregularities -Revenue Commissioners. There must be some major issues .

Freshers A league final on higher education YouTube.
Niall Hurley flying for ucd.
Eoin mcgreal struggling for UL a bit but Hugh o loughlin for kilmaine doing well, as is Colm McHale from Moy Davitts. Senan Guilfoyle for UL is a year younger to be playing the grade and looks a bit too light.

The New Departure.
Must have been a drastic change in the weather. Everyone went and got home from work and school today. Maybe the lowering of temperatures might be a good thing.

Apologies for my comment on senan Guilfoyle. He has been absolutely brilliant since. How refreshing to see two mayo men flying as inside forwards in college games.

Threw on the Freshers League Div 1 final. Enjoyable match for a cold November night. From a Mayo point of view N Hurley and S Guilfoyle both standouts for their teams and were very efficient. They must have kicked 4-5 points each from play plus both won frees. Thought H Loughlin no 10 from UL showed well too. A big unit but some nice skills too

Where is Senan Guilfoyle from - hadn't heard the name before this

@Retrocut agree Niall Hurley is a real prospect for the future. Full of confidence and not afraid to go for a goal. Lets see how he develops but he is promising!

@southmayo exile - he’s from Eastern Gaels. U18 this season. Haven’t seen much of him to be honest but certainly showed a lot of skill tonight at the Freshers level. Lined out at 15, mostly right footed but also kicked a tidy score off his left

@Southmayo Exile: Part of the '23 minor side along with Beirne/Lydon/Mortimer/McGreal. If you ever listen to AhRef he's been ranting about him the last couple of years, especially this year with Senan having a flying year for Eastern Gaels on their junior run.

Fairly two footed, can kick a boomer, can win a dirty ball and showed a lot of clever and delicate touches tonight to help open the door for teammates (while being ULs star man & scorer in chief).

Hurley & Guilfoyle both outstanding & star forwards for their sides, kicking some fantastic scores... but I was very impressed with Hugh O'Loughlin from Kilmane. In a middle third UCD were often dominating in the 1st half (Dublin's McCormack with size/pace/power you'd worry about) he looked to be the UL player really putting it up to them.
Big, powerful, mobile, athletic wing forward and well able to kick a score too. A new name for me but one I'd expect to see & hear a lot more of.

Tonight's CB meeting called off because of Fog..
Maybe just maybe Soon someone will tell The Emperor he's not wearing any clothes.

It's so long ago now, Kevin, that I can't recall with accuracy but I'd think it related mainly to the opaqueness of the information provided. This was in an era when annual accounts weren't published by Mayo GAA, which they've been doing for several years since. I'm not sure there's any relevance, to be honest, in linking that situation from a decade and a half ago to the current travails.

Has to be opportunity for lads now. Hurley mentioned above played hell for the minors, not lit a fire ye since, but he wont a college title last night, so the lad has to be given a chance. The challenge games will be hot and heavy with no FBD

I was thinking about good and great managers.. You could never really put any mayo manager, past or present in the great category.. I think you have to win an all Ireland to be considered good.. 2 or 3 would be considered great..the mickos, gavins o Connor hartes of this world have multiple.. I'd still consider mcguinness a great manager too.. If your worth your salt as a great manager you have to win Sam.. Either in your own county or elsewhere.. I'm talking about the strong football counties obviously

I would think John o Mahoney would have to be in the great category

Colm Keyes has a good article about GAA finances, amount a town gets from a game ,Mayo traveling to Down an example given.
A conclusion that the GAA need to engage with Revenue on the expenses issue.
Today's paper.

Has there been any word on anyone new joining the panel

What I like about Niall Hurley is he has the pace to get open and win ball in front. He's then skilled and tricky at working space for a shot. His accuracy is pretty decent.

@JP: Spot on.

Easy to get wowed by the flashy stuff, which he does so well, but his work rate last night (& in general) is very impressive. A couple of dangerous UL breaks slowed, stopped & turned around with his pace & physicality in the tackle. Off the ball in UCD attacks he never stopped moving either, a number of times being the one to open up the path McCormack drove into.

He must be an absolute nightmare to try (emphasis on the 'try') and mark.

(Nice position to be in when we could equally be lauding praise on any of Guilfoyle, Maheady, Beirne, Clarke, Carey, or Lydon, all still underage next year, for fantastic performances in recent months)

In the more fluid scenario which new rules should offer, a guy like Hurley could really thrive. With a significant injury and departure list, he has to be looked at.

Talk of the u20 forwards, oisin Cronin might be the best of all of them and never gets a mention. Was their most consistent player in their final games and had no wides in any of his appearances, while kicking 2 against Roscommon, 2 against sligo, one against Galway, and a combined 8 in the two Leitrim games. Also kicked a bomb from the 45 against down in the semi final in the last minute to equalize. Didn't start for the minors when they had Niall Hurley and Ronan Clarke inside but had come on leaps and bounds since then.

Plenty of decent forwards but have we any midfielders?!? Lads who can win ball in air and have engines., No need to be silky footballers - just machines. Look at John Maher in Galway. He will run all day - he can win high ball and dirty ball but he's average in terms of natural skills.

Hard to know, diarmuid Duffy was a non factor for the U20s last year yet is in with mayo. Jack Melvin the same. Hugh o loughlin wasn't on the panel last year but he is this year. Luke feeney has transitioned into a full forward. Oliver Armstrong didn't make it last year, should be good this year.

And Duffy played for Connacht in the Rules trial game.

If Hurley is underage for U20 again this year I'd let him develop there. Very high ceiling hopefully but was well marshalled in some senior club championships this year when up against more physical and athletic defenders.
Get him on the S&C programme and let him develop into the best footballer he can be.
Midfielders as Mayonaze says is more pressing issue. Good forwards not much use if can't get the ball to give them!

@Retrocut: I'd assume (with zero knowledge around the actual panel or selections) Jack Keane and Darragh Staunton would be in the mix and pushing hard too. Club form for both looked impressive this year.

I'd also have expected to see Luke Feeney back around the middle for the 20s. One to watch for sure. Could be an interesting shift in the dynamics of the team using him inside.

I wouldn't call Johnnie Maher has average in any shape or form. He is an all star recipient and short listed for footballer of the year. Just an d excellent reader of the game, crops up in the right place at the right time, and has a tireless engine. The type of player we could dearly use to lead our forward lines at 11.
Jordan Flynn, for one, is well capable of stepping up to a midfield/ leadership role, given the right encouragement/ mentoring from management.
Unfortunately what we are seeing from the sideline is control rather than development of talent. Flynn had an indifferent year, in and out of form, not doing himself justice. . Carney, unfortunately in the same bracket imo.
We ended our season, playing a most unattractive brand of controlled, 'unwilling to take risk' football, and got what we deserved, dumped out of the championship by an indifferent Derry team before the championship proper had started.....

I would think while Niall hurley is a really great prospect still leave him with under 20s next year. Let him develop.

As others said Duffy is a real prospect to but I think it was to soon for him up at seniors he needs more time to develop but he is still a prospect maybe next year be better for Duffy at seniors he is only young to sure!

The league can't come quick enough though it will be a tough one for us I think. Though no harm going into championship with players back totally under the radar..

I would think, if he’s good enough bring him straight in to senior. I can’t wait.

Given the S&C required to make it as a hardened senior footballer, I agree with Clare.
There is a squad of players there to do themselves justice. Management has to step up to the plate and get a time out of these guys.
The goings on in CB is a hugh distraction.

@ontheditch 100% you are right! It is such a huge step up to seniors and they are so young. There is definetly talent there no doubt about it. Though if you rush it and they don't quite cut it straight away at seniors risk loosing their confidence.

Give them time and when the time is right they will bounce into seniors!

Yeah god we have not been in the news the last week for good reasons at all. See we are 2nd favourites to get relagated to division 2 no surprise with all this shite going on and players injured.

We could still come back with a bounce in championship with players back and hopefully Durcan at some stage.

Could be a blessing in disguise with players back for championship instead of league like for Galway this year..

Keep the faith.. Though it is definetly make or break for mcstay & co next year!!

@tsudhonim.hughie o loughlin is a prospect alright. Playing well for kilmaine and in and out of the underage county setup and probably should have gotten more game time, has a great left peg and is committed to the cause. His dad David played minor and u21 for mayo in the early 90s.deserves a crack at the big time.

@ontheditch, I guess when I said average for Maher, I meant average at intercounty level and that’s just the finer skills. He’s a brilliant engine and I know he has worked incredibly hard to get to where he is. He has improved massively from where he was 3 seasons ago. Great determination and he drives forward at most opportunity, whereas in comparison Carney (who I think physically compares very similarly to John but actually possesses higher natural footballing skills) is far less effective. He goes sideways…and only on a very rare occasion do we see him break the line and burst forward like Maher does. It’s very frustrating. Whether that’s his own lack of instinct to do so or whether he’s being told from the line, I don’t know but it’s boring football and will win ya nothing. Flynn has shown a bit more fire and positive ‘go-forward’ spark but as you rightly said, he drifts in and out of form. Midfield is the engine room and ours needs a major service!!

All, lets not lose the run of ourselves talking up all of these young developing footballers into senior stars straight away. Let them develop at the u20 grade over the next couple of years and try any put back to back Connacht u20 titles and have a real go for an all Ireland. They will have their work cut out to win a Connacht title, as we have seen the other Connacht counties are right up there with us and it will be a very competitive championship...not to speak of the strength of many of the Ulster teams at this grade over recent years. This group can then be the foundation for the next generation of senior footballers over the next decade or so. We are a county in transition whether we wish to accept that or not, and have to continue to focus on the core tasks of developing underage players into the senior grade with the objective of competing again in the final stages of the all Ireland championship on a consistent basis. Bringing young lads in too early will result in more injuries with the increasing demands of club, colleges and county football,....we only have to look at the massive increase in injuries of our younger players over the last few years. There is no break for lads in the 17-21 age group, its all year round....where will they get some time out ?

Wouldn’t dismiss Carney yet , he’s like one of them players who seems very capable of progressing to been top of his game , more belief in himself and his ability to go head on . I actually still find diarmuid o Connor still doesn’t know what he’s capable of . It’s often said we need to take the bullshit out of mayo football , perhaps we should take the conservative style out of it too and plough on when the opportunity arises in a game .

The two best points scored in the new rules games were from the boots of O Shea and Carney. But lining out for Mayo,they play a much more controlled game. 'If your not sure, recycle it's mentality.'
Players need to be allowed express themselves, they need to make calls and decisions themselves on the field. That's what was so good about Durcan and Keegan, they never feared taking risks, the road less traveled.
Young guys will walk away from the game, if they have to play to a patern, designed by wise men on the sideline. Upskill players for sure, identify areas where they can improve but it's their world, trust them to find solutions...

Mayo flag flying outside a hotel in London , apparently Mayo team staying there , not sure why , perhaps they are guests at a London association thing ??

@Ontheditch my views are very similar. Players look afraid to shoot. Probably for fear of a telling off because of taking a low percentage shot. The ironic thing is that if the 2 point arc comes in, those same people telling them off, may now be encouraging them to shoot more. Hypocrisy.

A lot of the joy of football has been sacked out of it by coaches & over use of stats.

There’s a Mayo Association bash on over there alright, Seán, though I’m not sure the team are involved in it in any way. The county flag isn’t only a football one!

@Sean Burke
Regarding Diarmuid I have long since thought he was tailor made to play at 11.
I think back to the early stages of the 2022 league and his man of the match performance in Croke Park. He pulled the strings for us that night. Bizarrely he was shunted back out to wing forward a few games later. Successive managers have done the same with him. A real head scratcher for me.
He's ok in midfield, wasted at wing forward. I'd play him at 11 with Flynn and Ruane in midfield.

@On the ditch a grandson of a pal of mine playing with Meath minors a few years ago got a lovely point from about 40 yards.
At the debriefing the following week he was reprimanded for not passing to a player in a better position.
Paralysis by analysis.
I give up.

Haha wj that’s true , just a post i noticed on social media . County flag colours are very much steeped in football history though , I’m pretty sure . Took this history lesson from the blog of an Spailpin fanach a few yrs ago .

“Colonel Maurice Blake of Towerhill was a landlord in South Mayo, and patron of his local football team, Carnacon. When Carnacon played Belcarra in 1887, Colonel Blake saw the chance to make a political point – Blake was a Catholic, and Belcarra were sponsored by a local Protestant, Unionist, family, the Brownes. In the light of this, Colonel Blake insisted that Carnacon line out in strips that featured Green above Red, in reference to Dr Croke’s fear, expressed his famous letter to Michael Cusack, that if the Irish did not stand up to express their nationality, we might all just as well “clap hands for joy at the sight of the Union Jack, and place 'England's bloody red' exultantly above the green.”

And that is why Mayo have always worn the green above the red, and always must, if they are to mean anything at all. Willie Joe, in the photo above, is seen wearing red above the green, but only because its his own red blood that he spilled for cause on that famous day in 1989. Not because he had product to flog, or some half-witted motivational theory to live up to either. Maigh Eo abú.”

Taken from http://spailpin.blogspot.com/2006/02/green-above-red.html?m=1

Problem with the green above the red is that it raises the question: why have the red at all?

Bring back An Spailpín fànach,I say.

Spailpín is an exquisite writer. Love his work.

He's still writing and had a piece in tribute to Cillian O'Connor this week - https://anspailpinfanach.substack.com/p/cillian-oconnor

Thanks for that @Tubberman.

Hurley should be brought into senior squad. We are desperate for natural forwards. This thing of keeping them in u20's and then development squads is so frustrating. We need to challenge this year, lack of firepower is costing us, we can't afford to slip back any further.

Very well summed up. That's Cillian in a nutshell. To think he missed 2021 and was used sparingly since he probably would be untouchable record wise if he had been able /allowed to play more.

Beautiful piece by Spailpin.
When you're absolutely despised by the opposition,it means you're hurting them Cillian hurt a lot of teams!.

Congress currently ongoing. Looks like all motions will pass. Feels like a huge step into the unknown for our great game, can't help feel excited but nervous on how our game will go from here.

I'm delighted, didn't think they'd have so much support but in fairness Jim Galin is a serious operator, creating a panel from the get go from around the country gave it a serious advantage. I don't know it they'll work out but delighted to see them being given a chance

Mayomanindublin
You seem to need to be from Ballinrobe, Crossmolina , Ballina and Westport to get a chance from McStay.He hasnt a clue of the club scene here.Never managed a Mayo club in his lifetime.I wonder is he even attending the Under 21 games at the weeekends at present.No Trials have taken place going into his 3rd season.He will end up playing his strongest estbalished 15 at the start of the League again bar the injured players and ones that have left squad.

The rules are coming in.

I sincerely hope we have been planning for this!!

When is the last time a county won both provincial club championships.
Maybe Galway?

@Mayo focus hopefully! I think the new rules will suit us alot .. It's exciting. Be very interesting to see how we go in league but if we flop in league which I expect we will it does not matter at all..! Championship is where it's at sure..

Usually i’m very optimistic about mayo’s future but i think we’re going no where. Who has McStay actually brought in since taking over. Every new player pretty much was someone horan had in the panel. He has never managed at club level here so he wouldn’t know it as well as horan and given what happened to his 3rd year in Roscommon the chances of us seriously regressing are high. I have nothing against him and i hope this does not come across as a personal attack as i want him to succeed but i just can’t help but be pessimistic. Again nothing against the man

I’m not sure on that, Jr, but I did see it reported the other day that Cuala would become the first ever club to win a senior provincial championship in both codes and that Na Fianna would become the second to do so if they won, which of course they both did.

To kill the boredom i started reading the archives on this site under the search topic 'county board'. To say nothing has changed is an under statement. I found this link to the famous MAYO GAA strategic review the they produced to justify throwing Liam Horan's in the bin. http://www.box.net/shared/cf3vt530vi
I'll let you all read it and decide for yourself if all the boxes were ticked since then!

Willie Joe - I'm fairly sure Slaughneil of Derry have already won Ulster club titles in both hurling and football.
Mabye Cuala snd Na Fianna were the first clubs to win the two Leinster titles

@Plunkett I do agree. Really not feeling that optimistic about next year. I would be as usual if all the drama behind the scenes was not going on.

Though whenever we do get our shit together and have a happier camp these new rules will 100% benefit us!

Hopefully McStay and company are quietly going about their business despite the off field drama.
Anybody looking for a nice xmas present could do a lot worse than buying a subscription to the Pod.
Hour apon hour of entertainment.

Well,well. Another bit of a giant killing act by Coolera/Strandhill.
Fair play to them/

I think you’re correct there, Southmayo Exile!

The Barrs in Cork City also. Won both Munster titles a good few times

Congratulations to Coolera Strandhill on a thoroughly deserved win over Padraig Pearses, coming back from 5 points down in an entertaining game in Sligo.

Phenomenal achievement from coolera strandhill.

What kind of price would you have gotten on them for connacht way back.

Make no mistake sligo football is on the rise at all levels, only a matter of time before they break through

Certainly looks better for ballina now haha

Yeah looks better for Ballina plunkett haha. Though still so dissapointing they will look back with regret for some time!

Fair play to collera some win. We will have to have our guard up v sligo in connacht..

Congrats to Coolera but jeez Ballina must be kicking themselves.

Sligo on the rise in Gaelic Football, what's the chances if them beating Mayo in Championship this year. Very good in my mind.

@Culmore, the only good thing is that next years clash with Sligo comes with massive warning signs attached regardless of the league goes for either side. I can’t see more than 2/3 points in it either way. They’ve beaten us 3 years running at u20. This is partly down to a decline of standard in Mayo coupled with Sligo getting their act in order and anyone who knows Sligo is aware that they have put huge focus into schools football. Coaching kids and building up through secondary. Mayo schools have a lot more scope for improvement. In fact, I think Mayo GAA could be doing far far more at bunscoil level. Not enough being done there. Saying it for years. So much potential in Mayo to gain an edge over most counties at this level which would have a massively positive on county teams from u-16 up to Senior. We have failed for years and years to maximise our talent pool. When did we last win a Hogan Cup!? How many Mayo schools have competed in a final in the past 30 years? Then at county level we have won one minor title in 40 years…. That’s a damning statistic.

There’s some enthusiasm about having won 3 minor provincials in a row but none of them won the big prize.

The reality is that our best and most consistent era of success (if you can call it success without winning an All Ireland!?) was 2012-17 and that was built upon a foundation of relative domination at underage in Connacht from 2004-2009.

Sow the seeds and reap the rewards. Focus on national schools and second level combined with academies …. It’d be help if they had a proper facility instead of an overused back-pitch in Castlebar. How can we expect real success with the embarrassingly woeful facilities. Other rival counties are years ahead of us in this regard and even counties we would be considered ahead of have better, modern and more sophisticated facilities than us.

This is like an annual rant at this stage…nothing ever seems to change with Mayo GAA. We lack real dynamic and innovative leadership at county board level.

Well done Coolers. There is no substitute for the ability to shoot points from long range and Coolers shot some beauties today. You can have blanket defence with pillows and duvets but if you can shoot from distance all that is taken out of the equation.

Have Nemo not won both?
In other news, the Indo is reporting that Connacht will play Munster at the end of March.

I think we can safely take it that that particular double code achievement relates to Leinster only.

It’s not a rant at all, Mayonaze. Hearing Colm Boyle saying on the pod that the current development panels are training on the same overused back pitch in Castlebar that he was twenty years ago was depressing. Mayo GAA are completely asleep at the wheel on training facilities for county teams.

Did a Derry club not win both,Slaughneill.
Excuse the spelling

@Mayonase I totally agree.
Irrespective of league form we have to be ready for Sligo.
Winning the league is a poisonous chalice.

Coolera shooting from distance including their goalkeeper was incredible, I think it was 42 minutes before hit a shot that didn't go over the bar and after 80 minutes had just 4 wides in total. Pearses will be left to wonder how they just managed to score 1-14. 14 wides and 6 kicked short.

We will need to be wary of Sligo’s potential to kick two pointers when next we play them.

Cooleras shooting efficiency is something that they have worked on in recent years. They have a very structured defense which contributes to opposition teams missing scores. Experience of playing in Markievicz also helps. While underdogs against Cuala, I have no doubt that they will represent the province well

This is the 3rd game in a row that has gone to extra time, this is invaluable experience mixed with having a very shrewd management team. I would not underestimate the confidence and belief that they gained since winning back to back county titles and they have a real determination to give it all on this run. Maybe they could be an example to Mayo teams in terms of developing that winning mentality.

A question I have is why are the same people being nominated and put forward by clubs to county board level if the evidence is there, plain and clear, that they (the county board) have failed on training facilities which stems hugely from their inability to adequately fundraise. If Mayo GAA was a private company they wouldn’t last a year. I listen to all the podcasts and you hear clued in people like Colm Boyle, Paddy Finnegan, Nigel Reape and Enda McGearty on Ah Ref and these are the types Mayo GAA need at the wheel. People with common sense, drive, purpose.

No fundraising in NY last year? Insane.

Mayo GAA have failed miserably in their inability to harness the worldwide Mayo support has and this, believe it or not, is an edge we have over many counties. I know Mayo people would have been happy to put their hand in their pocket (and still would be) if they felt their money was going toward a worthy cause instead of much of the money being funnelled to pay off the massive debt over the stand at MacHale Park. It’s literally head in the hands stuff. Why is nothing being done. It’s like groundhog year! I actually dream of winning the Euro millions so I can completely re-structure Mayo GAA from bunscoil to senior county and make it the envy of Ireland!!!

Western People reporting that CP has given the green light for the Connacht v Munster clash to go ahead in McHale park.

Surface of McHale park could suffer a lot after a Rugby match if we have a wet spring.

In terms of players in Mayo that have the ability to score 2 pointers outside the new 40m arc.Who is there?
From distance I think Darren Coen is the best in the County with probably Cillian who has departed for that reason alone I would bring Coen back in.You are going to have to play more natural scoring half forwards than working half forwards under the new rules.Kerry obviously have the main adavantage where you could see David Clifford in the Kerry half forward line next year.Tommy Conroy ,Aidan and even ROD are not distance kickers.Hope we are planning for it.

Names that come to mind
Darren Coen
Fergal Boland
Cian McHale
Darragh Beirne
Conor Loftus
Paul Towey
Darren Quinn
Aidan Orme

I have no stat for it , but if I had to guess the player who kicked the most points from play for Mayo outside 40 metres in the last 10 years it would be Darren Coen.

Interesting article by John Cuffe in the Western

I see Limerick hurlers have named their 45 player pre season training squad.
Why is there so much secretcy about our panel?

Great post Mayonaze, it's people like yourself with vision and drive that Mayo GAA need running the show. I find it crazy that in 2024, nearly 2025, that we don't have a training base to call our own. It is madness for a county of our size. In 2005, Tyrone had an advert in the All Ireland Final programme looking for funds to build Garvaghy. Twenty years ago! They built it, debt free, and twenty years later, they have won numerous All Irelands at every grade, not to mention schools successes. Garvaghy is a symbol of their success and the vision and drive behind those running the show at the time.
Mayo were box office between 2011 and 2021, everyone wanted to be a part of 'the Mayo story'. Then was the time to fundraise and build a training facility. As Mayonaze said, people with deep pockets at that time would have been more than willing to fund it / get it up off the ground. Mayo GAA is a brand, the sooner those running the show realise that Mayo GAA should be a money making machine, the better, we have one of the largest supporter bases in the country, not to mention all those spread around the world, that should always be tapped into. I'd love to know why it seems no fundraising was carried out during the NY trip this year? Cairde Maigheo seem to be gone off the scene altogether. Can you imagine if Kerry got the chance to fundraise in NY, they'd make a fortune each time.

@Sam og: For someone that isn't a distance shooter (& I agree, wouldn't be his main game at all), Aidan hit a fair few (buzzer beater in the interpros, outside of the boot lash from outside the 45 in the Breaffy Westport match and another sideline outside the 20 in that same game) in the last couple of months.

Of the current squad, I'd throw Carney, Durcan and Irwin down too. They'd all be well above average outside the arc (if playing to a strategy that encouraged/allowed it). Ethan Gibbons of Castlebar one of the lads outside of the squad I'd expect to be most excited by it. A small increase in his conversion % & a hint better shot selection on when to let loose and he'd be a serious threat. Has always looked so close to a county player without making it stick.

Younger lads the likes of Maheady, Hurley, Clarke, Armstrong, Keane, Gallagher, Guilfoyle, Lydon, McDonald and (especially - he's exceptional at them long before they ever rewarded 2) Neary would all come to mind for some outrageous long range boomers. With a bit more focused training behind them, I'll look forward to seeing what they might pull out of the bag in the coming year or two.

Mayonaze, from my experience people don't want or look to go for these rolls either.
No more than myself talking is easy enough, stepping up to the plate is a different ball game.

TsuDhoNim
Out of the 3 games against Galway, Dublin and Derry.Jack Carney scored nothing from play and Aidan score 1 point from play against Derry.
You cannot just go off the Interpro game and club games.Aidan is not a heavy scorer and he certainly isnt going to score many 2 pointers in Inter County football. Number 11 in my mind is the best position for Conor Loftus.

At the moment the half forward line I would go with would be one of either 10. Cian McHale/ Fergal Boland 11.Conor Loftus 12.Jordan Flynn

@Sam og: "You cannot just go off..."

Sure you can. You have to.

We've never had a 2 point arc, we've never had a risk/reward profile where a score from out there is worth double the one worked further inside and we've never had the host of other rule changes that will change the balance/flow/speed of the game that will change tactics and team strategies completely.

All we have to go on is the shots lads have taken from outside of that zone in the past, regardless of whether it was schools/colleges/club/underage/county/province or training, as nobody has ever played to this specific set of rules before to do anything else.

@Bohola3 I agree with you about no Claremorris players being involved. Very strange for a club with pedigree in under age competitions. James McCormack the last to be involved a number of years ago. Surely Gilmore, the two Beirnes, Mortimer and the two Hurley’s deserve a look. If history repeats itself Mayo do like family pairing involved. The list is infinite…

In 2026 Connacht football championship Mayo vs London in the Quarter final stage for the 1st time since 2016.