I'm not surprised by the result as Cavan had beaten Meath, Louth and Roscommon in the League. So well done to Cavan. The County Board is completely to blame as it was them that picked McStay who brought Rochford in who had ruined Donegal so as I said before they were appointed they were my least favourite applicant for the job. Imagine going for a job in any walk of life and all the interview panel knowing the mess you made of your previous job. Who would get blamed then. And remember there were a lot of posters on here singing the praises of the appointment of McStay and co.
Give me a break as Roy would say.

Well done Cavan.
The level of embarrassment today performance by Mayo has caused lifelong supporters is at a new low low level..
If this is the standard they play at now, how awful must The Training sessions be.
Clueless tactics for the most part today .
Respect to any player that wears a Mayo jersey but in the name of God how can todays show be the result of any constructive training.
A sad day for loyal supporters, as for the Players i'm not sure what happens next as usual with Mayo football.

Not much you can say after today's performance. Where to from here i wonder?

[Deleted].

Any Mayo Fan with an ounce of Football knowledge would be using our players strengths on the field. This includes the long ball into Aidan o Shea . Two balls into him Today Mayo score 1-1. It’s not Rocket science …. Yet time after time , game after game Mayo dont play direct Football. Why because our players are coached and managed in the negative. How many times do we see our players play pass the parcel in and around the opposing arc? It’s almost like they are being coached to not shoot on sight. I think the Management set up has not been right since Liam Mc Hale walked. Cillian O Connor walked. It’s time this Management walked.

In the long run this will be a good thing. A fourth year won't be offered but we need winners in there.
No looking back at past managers. Had their chance. Get a hardened, winner who is cute and knows the modern game. Bring in good club recruits and modern s&c and start again.
I wasn't sure where the optimism was coming from this year. Same team really. Still don't have shooters and when u hear the manager say the game hasn't changed much with the rules....Well...

What I don’t get is the arrogance of many on this blog who dismissed Cavan and made derogatory comments about how much we would beat them. The same happened before we played Tyrone in the All Ireland final. Totally dismissing the fact that Tyrone had beaten Kerry in their semifinall and ignoring how lucky we were to be in the final Even when we were a top two or three team in the rankings we have always suffered when playing lower ranked teams. Think back to all the pack door games on our way to the finals in the 2012 to 2022 era We are arrogant when we should be meek. Best player today was Aidan. Coen got lucky to get the room for his scores but he is a dedicated and very honest player for Mayo. I have been following Mayo for the last 60 years and today’s result was par for course before James Horans arrival

I also agree that the current management have to go ASAP. Substitutes should have been made when Cavan scored their goal but they appeared to be frozen on the sideline. Problem is to get the right replacement We are not a very attractive team at the moment

Who’s available for the Mayo job though in terms of outsiders who have won or whatever , Jim Gavin … not a hope he’d be interested. Dooher (Tyrone ) ? Again I doubt he’d be interested . Eammon fitzmaurice ?

My point is I don’t think there’s anyone outside

I'd say there'd be outside interest alright, Sean. An informed football manager would see there's potential in a future Mayo. I won't overstep the mark by mentioning the stumbling block which may lie elsewhere.

It's very disappointing to hear this premature talk about new management. As I said it an earlier post Mayo were sleepwalking into this fixture - they are capable of so much more and I think the current management can guide them to win the two remaining fixtures. I think the competitive nature of the Connaught final drained both Galway and Mayo. Mayo are still well capable of taking down the best - ye certainly gave us a right fright. There are no great teams out there, so it comes down to desire. Pj kicked a lot of ass in the Galway dressing room post match, so that in itself should see us fine to come out, if not top of the group, then certainly second. I'm sure McStay will do the same for Mayo and who knows, we could meet in AI final.

[Deleted].

Sean. I'd say a setup with Austin O'Malley as manager and Andy Moran as head coach would be a step in the right direction.

Sean Burke

You’re 100% right. If one person suggests Gavin managing mayo I’ll lose it. The man is not making 3 trips across the country 7 hours a day say in a car to manage a team he has no love for. The elite managers have huge loyalty to their counties.

I highly doubt Eamon fitsmorris wouldn’t do it due to distance. The only man who could do it is Mickey Harte. And at this stage he couldn’t be any worse than what we have. But he would need a good number 2&3 who know the club game inside out. And a top coach.

A word for the ref today as well
His inconsistent application of the black card rule for body checking off the ball was infuriating!!!!

We have two games show what we are capable of,just do it

All fair comments here,but for me the players are ducking there duty to the jersey and their fans...if everyone knows the high ball to aido works,,then do it...everyone knows the sideways running game is over ..so stop doing it... every manager can't be blamed... I personally wanted an outside manager 3 managers ago,,,cos the cartel would be broken but it was not to be....there's a big click from club level to board level and in between....but in reality these players need to start doing the job on the field as that's were it was lost....in the famous words of ger loughnane,,,,,men needed now......

JoeG, The A-Team!

All - I'm just in the door from the drive across the country and, thanks to the valuable help I've got this evening in overseeing the comments, I can see that there are several that have crossed the line, some badly so. I'll be dealing with these shortly - the moderation room is a big one and it needs to be tonight.

The disgust is beginning to clear and now I’m looking ahead to……..
I think we are going to get a huge reaction against Tyrone
They will only a week break after donegal game too

All set up then for a draw against donegal to put us through on 3 points and them through as group winners with 5
?

@Km79 totally agree!

Fair play km79, your powers of recovery are strong lol.
Everyone else still in the anger stage sifting through the wreckage searching for any glint of a positive.

A guy at work during the week was winding me up that he believes Mayo have the worst collective attack out of division 1 and 2, and while he was half on the windup I'm scratching my head to think who is worse.
As a baseline with the new rules you need to be hitting 20 points to win a game, most games we aren't even hitting that. We have one top quality forward in ROD who needs to be carrying almost all the scoring burden. Outside of that it's just athletes. Flynn/carney/aos/irwin all non scoring natural midfielders. No creativity or guile or instinctive finishers. When the much maligned Stephen coen is your most threatening attacker then that says it all

Looking at the highlights on YouTube there, cavan kicked some wonderful scores from kicked passes bouncing in front of the forward who would turn and finish (that cormac reilly lad had the time of his life)

Carney is probably getting off lightly ……he is no spring chicken in the team now and is ghosting through this season again. He needs to grab games by the scruff of the neck soon or he won’t get the jersey much longer

Tyrone's Peter Canavan a possibility.
The problem with mayo now, is it's difficult to break habits and change the way you play.
Coen needs to initiate a player management meeting and sort something out for remaining games.
Without change, Tyrone will devour us.

@Km79 - We are only postponing the inevitable. At this point, it might be better to put us out of our misery. The management seems to lack any real strategy, and the players look like they've already checked out. It's too little, too late to salvage anything positive from this season.

If you look at it objectively for a minute, really look at the team. The current management are getting flak, rightly or wrongly and that will always happen when results go the wrong way, but it seems to me the players just aren't there at the moment..midfield a huge problem, the defence so leaky and not enough scoring forwards, as said if you take O donoghue out its pretty much curtains. So the days of our half back line chipping in with lots scores are well gone,..no keegan and boyle for that and it's not easy replace those guys, or COC mcloughlin etc..so the old adage of silk purse and sows ear comes to mind...take Joyce in Galway, they were calling for his head after 2 yrs..but he had the raw materials there, just needed time to fit pieces..he had 2 forwards who'd make any team and prob conroy in the middle aswell, but then he got to work on fitting different players around..so now they've a strong unit..my point is mayo don't have that...now it could be a few bleak yrs until some of the 20s step up..we'll see..I certainly think the current management aren't great but not all their fault either.

When we lost to Longford all those years ago, at least we put out of our misery. It probably going to get worse. And feels like rock bottom already

Won't feel it now until the London game in 2026. Flights from knock i think.

It's not results, it's style of play, and engaging with new rules. And its not just today's game.
But Players out on their feet or not performing early in second half, and a section of crowd has to tell them to use their bench, it doesn't get worse than that.....

@ on the ditch,,,,what are you on about a player management meeting??? It didn't work before ,,,a matter of fact that player power move got rid of an honest management team,,,,two ex mayo players who wore the jersey proud......they had more pride in the jersey than the current bunch......that power move destabilised that team for sure.......

Probably the worst 3 point hammering since Kerry in 97!!…

I'm disappointed for Mayo. For our team our support, our county.
I don't know what else to say.
Some serious kick in the arse...
Máigheo... I don't know.

I read today that Mayo County Board have a monthly repayment of 25,000 on McHale Parks stand.

Maybe I'm wrong here but the county boards focus might be on finances rather than the football.

The management will get the blame but when I look at Mayo I see a honest team but a blunt team.

No real attacking threats apart from ROD.

That's been Mayos achilles heal for as long as I can remember.

I mean no disrespect here but Mayo look to be out already because it's hard to see a ain in Omagh or a win against Donegal.

@KM…we are very weak in the middle. Carney’s been floating for several seasons now and looks lost out there. I don’t know how he’s getting so much game time tbh - he wasn’t even great at intermediate club football last summer. Flynn is jaded and while physically in great nick, his form is poor the past 6 weeks but a valid excuse is the Mgnt gave him no break after the club campaign which was negligent on their part…some of us were calling it back in March that he’d either get injured or lose form…and we were right. Such shortsightedness by Mgnt for such a crucial figure on our team. It shows how vital they viewed division 1status whereas the bulk of Mayo supporters wisely recognised the importance of using the league to test players. Mayo used less players than any other Div 1 team in the league and lads we did try our went missing coke championship and lads not tested in the league suddenly made appearances in Championship…daft stuff.

Mattie blows so hot and cold. You can’t rely on him.

Stevie C isn’t really a midfielder but he has strong leadership skills and bottle.

Diarmuid is a big loss. And Aidan can’t be everywhere at once. I’d leave him at 14 and launch ball into him and look to win breaks up there if he didn’t win possssion. It’s the only strategy left for us cos Carney Flynn ruane etc aren’t gonna get necessary scorers for us. Neary isn’t prolific. Toweys confidence is shot and he hasnt ever really done it for us when given a chance and Boland only gets 5 mins when the game is up. McHale is only ok. ROD is class but today was an example that when he has an off day we are f€cked!

Then at the back. A lot of average Joe’s. I think Callinan Hession McB and McHugh can do much better but it’s not gonna happen under current manager. Collectively they were very poor today.

Real depressing two weeks for Mayo football. U17s losing the Connacht final at home to rossies late on. Seniors had the winning of the Connacht final yet lost and allowed Galway win four in a row, Highly rated U20s lost to underdogs Louth and today the worst of the lot losing at home to Cavan and damn lucky the margin wasn't a lot more that 3 points and the 7,000 turn out showed the mood in the county at the moment.

I got a woeful slagging here in the pub in Navan tonight.
I told them that I was 43 years in Meath and wanted to apply for citizenship.
Rejected.
How can a team slide so much in 2 weeks?
Fair play to Coen, much maligned here in the blog.
Throw caution to the wind in the next 2 games and play for their own self respect.
I don't what is happening but something is wrong in the camp, put it aside and move on.

As I have said before you won,t win games with 1 scoring forward. Our kicouts were terrible again today. We won 1 out of the first 5 kickouts and thats only because Reape went short. We need a new keeper. Our backs were cut open so many times today it,s frightening. Midfield is a huge problem and a half forward line that contributed absolutely nothing.. Ballina have won back to back county titles and they have no regular starter in our team. Is there any other county in Ireland with that statistic I doubt it. We are at a serious crosswords. New management needed and they need time to blend some of the u20 with a few older lads.

Look once I saw AOS being put taking frees I didn’t need to see anymore.
AOS a very good player but a very average kicker being put taking frees at IC level.
It was a big miss by Mayo not offering McEntee the job over the last 5-6 years.
Andy Moran is probably the obvious choice now

Watching that back on The Sunday Game and looking at that crowd, I'm really struggling to see where the 7,387 in attendance people were hiding. Perhaps a large crowd decided to avoid the hazardous half-time rush for the gents' toilets.

Just about the ref today. He refereed it as a provincal.

Andy McEntee, Mcstay, Rochford etc have won club all irelands so i’m not sure how much weight id be giving club AIs for picking an inter county mgr.

[Deleted].

@Hamstrung. I'm not talking about revolt but I'm certainly talking about clearing the air and sorting out some plan for final games. Otherwise we get more of the same.
@ mayonaze hard to argue with any of that. We're not getting any leadership from Flynn, compare to Johnny Maher say, and there were opportunities to rest him, not taken, and freshen him up. Carney has a problem, not all his own doing, in that he is carrying the ball into corners, and not taking on a marker, become very predictable, no cutting edge.
Players management will not doubt sit down and review the performance on Tuesday, and I'd love to be a fly on the wall

They say there's a number of stages when grieving. 2021 all ireland was a kind of death in footballing terms if you will. Since then I've gone through denial, anger, bargaining and depression. Today I have arrived at acceptance.
I'm at peace now. I've spent enough money and invested so much for so long. Well done Cavan and ye showed us how it's done. Mayo have ballers but aren't allowed express themselves because they'll keep the curly finger very quickly if they don't conform. It's like a thoroughbred horse and the bridle is forever getting pulled

Well done Cavan.
It must be difficult for the team tonight. Keep the heads up.
Diarmuid O C leadership & Eoghan McL frantic energy were missed big time today.

I go to all mayo games. And I’ll go to Omagh next week but for the first time in a long time today I felt let down as a supporter it’s like they just downed tools Barr the few usuals (o Shea , coen , rod couple of others) then I look at the mgmt - delayed bringing on subs . Interview after he says it was a one score game. Who is he trying to fool.

It’s quite obvious now the dressing room is gone, must have been gone a while now with coc, Carr, o hora , hennelly etc opting out. Most of us on here are mayo through and through we love it and most of us probably aren’t experienced coaches etc. but Christ above the gaps appearing today in the centre back position was so obvious, the requirement for us all season to kick high ball into aos (look what happened when we did) was so badly needed. The silly rotation of players. Poor Brickenden launched into a Connacht final and then off ya go.

Lads getting brought on 2 or 3 mins left , why actually bother. The delusion in me tells me we will have a reaction in Omagh and I’ll be there but at the same time the sooner this is over the better. Kevin mcstay likeable guy, mayo man but jaysis I thought he was stronger than this , ex army officer he should be having them go through walls - which moves me to his backroom, they obviously aren’t good enough - there should have been 3 or 4 subs brought on including paddy once the goal went in. What happened , nothing, just so hard to understand. No plan no system , reape said it on the pod just utterly hard to understand. And that’s enough. This isn’t the premier league so the mgmt will be here for the remainder of the season. I have no faith in them so it’s up to the leaders in the dressing room to try and spark a reaction now. The coens, the aidans the paddys of our team. If they do and Eoghan and doc are back we might have a chance. But even if we beat Tyrone it’s still unlikely.

Lastly - and this is harsh that was unacceptable, we as supporters pay big money to go to games - travel , fuel, accommodation , kids etc the way they downed tools today was not mayo. Someone in that camp needs to take control and has 2 weeks to do it.

Mayo looked so slow today that one has to wonder what kind of training they did for the last 2 weeks. They couldn't keep up with the Cavan lads. I'm not buying into the idea that Stephen Coen is the answer and remember one swallow doesn't make a summer. He shouldn't have started today based on his performances all year. Grant it he took a few nice scores but he was non existent at mid field and a few scores came from them because he is too easily rounded. But as Mgt are going to continue to play him maybe the solution is to put him in corner forward and he will be able to get a few scores as his shooting was good today. I'm expecting a much better performance against Tyrone who will only have a week to recover against us.

I've just driven back to Dublin from Castlebar so haven't taken the time to read all the comments. I'd assume I'm not alone in wondering (for one thing) how in God's name Reape took the same failed kickout option five times in a row in the first half. I know other options were not presenting themselves, but if he didn't see fit to change that approach, someone else on the team or on the sideline should have intervened. It was a total system meltdown. That's just one criticism. I could give you about twenty more.

We were beyond awful all over the pitch today. Comparisons to Longford in 2010 are 100% warranted - but that's not necessarily all bad news. Yes, this does feel like rock bottom. But if this result guarantees we get a change of management this winter, that's may end up a good thing. Yes, Mayo looked utterly clueless and rudderless and shapeless and formless today. But I've posted below the Mayo team that lost to Longford in 2010. They looked just as bad fifteen years ago. But with new management, and a new spirit, those self-same players later formed the nucleus of maybe our greatest ever side. HIstory could repeat itself. Believe it:

David Clarke

Chris Barrett

Ger Cafferkey

Keith Higgins

Donal Vaughan

Trevor Howley

Kevin McLoughlin

Aidan O'Shea

Pat Harte

Andy Moran (0-2, including one 45')

Seamus O'Shea (0-1)

Alan Freeman (0-5, one free)

Conor Mortimer (0-2, one free)

Barry Moran (0-1)

Alan Dillon (0-3)

This isn’t directed at you mangochutney ;and I agree with your msg but why have I read several times now this evening that ‘this isn’t the Premier league’ in ref to getting rid of a manager? Can a Co board not request that an individual leave a post mid season? It should happen in my opinion. It’s for the good of Mayo football because while we only have a very slim outside chance of recovering our season, it certainly won’t happen with that Mgnt team at the helm. Nigel Reape summed it up at the end of the post-match pod. Their time is up. There is no benefit to them remaining on. For what?

1/why does Reape take so long to take a kick out sure it's going left.
2/where is Frank Irwin ,done well for the league and drop to coming on today when we were goosed.
3/paddy Duncan could have came on for the last 5 mins against galway.
4/ Fucking kick the ball into o'shea and o' donoghue
5/apologise to Horan.
6/ Get Tony Mcntee in as he carried Rochford the last time.
7/ T Mcntee, j keane,A Moran,and me
(Maybe) if i have time.
8/ Connacht final first and foremost
9/Dream of winning Sam when chreck list is done.
10/ take me off that list who would want anything to do with that job.
11/only brave men apply.

Unless a miracle happens, and we win next two games. We need to think about next management team. And whoever that is, we have to someone that can improve us as an offensive unit and bigger men around middle 8 please. Not going to pile in both Rochford and McStay, but something not working.
While I'm pretty sure current crop of player no of caliber of some forward team, still should beat Cavan. I feel sad tonight, but imagine players and management unit feel worse.

Austin o malley the man for the job

Very quick to place all our hopes in one man like austin omalley. He was working with an excellent group of club footballers in a top class club led by an 8 time all ireland winner in Fitzsimmons. Remember mcstay won a club with brigids!!

It's a long time since I left a match so depressed. I have finally emerged from the dark room. I am not usually lost for words, but I am struggling for the right ones. I was disappointed, annoyed, frustrated, shocked, embarrassed and extremely pissed off. This was a pathetic performance and completely unacceptable and management must take most of the blame, altho' few of the players emerged with much credit either. This was a lifeless, clueless performance. I started to get a very uneasy feeling even after about 10 minutes, as Cavan looked really up for it and we're fitter, quicker and sharper. Our kick-outs were poor again and Cavan seemed to hoover up most of the breaking ball. Once again our defence was poor and Cavan sliced thro' at will. (we have one of the most open defences). We did'nt seem to have any real attacking plan or any clue how to break them down and got turned over frequently. Apart from Aido's late goal, I think our starting forwards scored 1 point from play-says it all. I was in favour of McStay & Co. getting the job, but my faith was beginning to waver recently, and today was the last straw. Unless we pull off an unlikely win in, at least, one of the remaining games, they should do the right thing, and quit. I have no idea what changes we can make for the next game to give us some chance, but surely there must be some changes. I really fear that we could get a few hidings.

When I woke up this morning, I hoped it had all just been a bad dream—but no, it really happened. We actually got beaten out of the gate by Cavan yesterday! It could be a long few weeks ahead, Tyrone and Donegal will walk through us with ease.

@Glas Agus Derg

Fully agree. I was the same got the bad feeling after the first 10 minutes . As I said fair play to Cavan they deserved it .

I still feel absolutely annoyed over it . Never left a game so depressed and annoyed as I did yesterday .

In my opinion from day one I always believed Stephen Rochford getting the Mayo job was an odd decision.
Based on what?
When you look into that All Ireland win by Corofin , he was the manager, but brought in by Dave Morris who knew him previously, wanted an outsider to head things up , but had to have Morris himself calling a lot of the shots, Kevin O Brien ( who went on to win 3 in a row All Irelands ) and Mike Comer on his team. Comer himself was a brilliant defender for Galway.
O Briens name never comes into any discussion nowadays for any jobs despite his excellent record.

Rochford got lucky initially getting the job first time and still had some players of a good Mayo team but ultimately he failed..
To give him the job again was ridiculous and a terrible decision by Mc Stay and the county board.

There’s something not right , we are all saying this and that but that wasn’t the same application from the players as the Galway game , you don’t just lose your hunger /desire /aggression in two weeks , something is completely off .

On a different note where have our supporters gone , that must be one of our lowest championship crowds of all time .

The next two games as difficult as they are and how badly we are written off , we still need to show up . Pride in the county and the jersey should never be dismissed, we need to die with our boots on , never let them snigger at us , always go down fightin. This is where you show future generations that there will always be fire in the belly of Mayo teams .

On another note. I was in Tourmakeady yesterday morning for the lgfa feile finals before heading to McHale Park. The difference in entertainment levels to the Cavan game was ridiculous. Girls of 14years playing 4 games of about 25 minutes within 3 hours in that heat without flagging was something to behold although player welfare might need to be looked at in future.
My first visit to Tourmakeady in 18 years and the setup they have is absolutely fantastic and in one of the most beautiful settings imaginable. We'll done to all concerned with the club and the region.

@Sean Burke

Well said .

As Sean Burke says, there is definitely something wrong.
No passion.
A good open team talk needed.
Time for leaders like Coen and Duncan to step in and try to save their pride and our championship.
Both getting on and it would be a terrible way to finish their careers .

The Tyrone game being a 7pm throw and over a 3 hour drive is a pain in the hole
I wasn’t planning on going.
But I might now out of pure stubborn Mayoness.
I can only assume and hope the players are going to have the same mindset.
There could be a sting in this yet …….i do feel they might be best of at this point playing for themselves as a team and the shirt. They clearly are not buying into what the management is trying to sell them. And I can’t blame them. McStay and Rochford still seem unaware the rules have changed. Incredible really

@Km79

Good point maybe I will to out of pure stubborn Mayoness as you said !

Great post Eoin.There was a great bunch of players in 2010....reality is they probably just downed tools.....I suspect the same dynamic is at work now.

Mayo have nothing to loose in the last 2 games.
Matchups will be crucial against Tyrone.
Some of our lads got skinned by Canavan in the Sigerson over the years.
While Donegal won Ulster I thought Armagh were the better team.
In the last quarter of normal time Donegal missed a lot as they did against Galway last. Year.

Tyrone, next year, will have O'Rourke's primatur on their backs. This first year of his tenure was about deepening his squad. They're not the finished article by any means but they've two titans in midfield who will clean Mayo out unless the kickouts are worked on. Tyrone by four points I'm afraid. Donegal will make light work of Cavan.

Agree Sean, we looked spent force yesterday, hopefully we can bring some energy to last games.
Can anyone explain with 15 minutes to go we just didn't pop points that were on, we seemed to believe trying to engineer a goal when there was still plenty time left, you don't expect that from D1 teams, disappointing

The kickout issue. Wouldn't necessarily blame Reape. Every single time the entire team turned their back on him and jogged out to what seemed like a predefined position. No one giving him the nod, no one going for a quick run. Its only when they get to position that they turn and any one makes a move. Again its more of a please to kick it to me run rather than an I want the ball run. That is awful hard for a keeper to deal with. Not that Reape is blameless either but its a system issue.

Saw the lowlights on the Sunday Game, for most of the Cavan scores there wasn't a Mayo man near them. It doesn't make sense, we're not that bad. That aside unless we get a hold of the numerous errors and lack of ambition going forward we're done for the year. I can't work out what the plan is but if we don't see it in the next two games, we never will.

The game in Armagh summed up our season for me. The first half told the truth of where we stand but we somehow bluffed a result.

The trajectory of Leitrim and our performance in Carrick tells us where our level is right now.

I think it is an insult to Cavan to equate yesterday to Longford beating us. They are better than that and have some decent results to point to this season including a win in the Hyde. When you see our changes since last year's game with the same opposition this was always going to be a tricky one.

However our level of performance does hark back to the shambles of 2010. We have dropped our standards unacceptably. Commitment to excellence, ball skills, hard work, team work all have taken a tumble.

The McStay era mirrors his time in Ros - start in a blaze of glory due to fitness advantage and tail off during season 1, fall out with a senior management team member, flat year 2, and then year 3 sees the players leave and a 3 match losing streak in group stage.

Their failure to adapt to new rules, to even engage with them should be a sacking offence alone. The management now seem disinterested on the sideline. Little engagement with players or the game. I would rather they walked now.

We are at the start of a new project and it will take a few years to build us up to a competitive level. The next decision is critical. As Meath, Kildare, Derry and others will tell you if you do not arrest the slide the lost years fly by.

A big issue is midfield. We just don't seem to have the players to win primary ball or mop up the dirty ball.

If you don't have a functioning midfield you end up playing crab ball over and back. I think one of the reasons we don't really go for 2-pointers is that we are unlikely to win back possession on the resulting kickout. Teams that are thriving are dominant in that middle eight. If they miss their two point they gamble they have a fair chance of winning the next kickout 30 second later and back on the attack.

[Deleted].

CPAMG - while midfield was an issue in other matches, yesterday against Cavan I would say we one far more clean possession in the midfield. Thornton, Coen and Carney at least all took clear primary possession. The issue was we were lax on the breaking ball. Its like they are too regimental in the systems therefore we cant react both with and without the ball when things get messy. Which is exactly where we used to thrive.
@Pod Fan - the game in Armagh, the Galway game and others, including the 10 minute black card yesterday show the biggest issue. A rigid stick to a possession game plan until the shit hits the fan. In the second half against Armagh when the game was away from us we abandoned the rigid slow run in contact game plan and started moving the ball a pace in to space both through direct running and passing. Again - 8 points down against Galway, abandon the game plan and inject pace. Bring it level and revert to zombie-ball. And yesterday, after the black card create 3 scores through use of space , running and good passing. Management get them in at half time and spend an extra few minutes (they were 20 minutes off the pitch and back 4 minutes after Cavan) and remind them you cant be doing that and we proceed to dilly dally around the middle, lose the ball and concede the goal. That in itself is an incredibly bad indictment of the management that after taking extra time to instil their "tactic" for the second half we immediately concede a bad goal. It shows that either the players wont listen to them, they cannot get the message across or the tactic are terrible - all 3 in my opinion. McStay and Rochford are actually coaching a different sport at this stage.

On a separate note - a strong management team would have substituted Neary after his black instead of bringing him back on. I think he has great promise, is worth his place in the team and is going to be an excellent player for us however how he gave away the black card is something that should have been addressed with him. Lose possession and then recklessly and deliberately take out an opposition player it a position where there was no danger was a very immature thing to do. Him and the team would benefit more from this being addressed in game though substitution. I know you can argue legitimately that the ref did not apply the rule consistently to both teams however that does not excuse the issue in isolation

Paulb.I was at the game yesterday. AOS made at least 3 if not 4 runs into space away from his marker for a kickout. But Colm is taking far too long to kick out the ball, he is giving other teams the chance to at least have a 50/50 chance of getting the kickout. He is taking away too much time to place tee on ground and then his kickout is been now read by all teams. Me thinks it may be time for a change there, but unfortunately like others on this team of ours they continue to be picked by this management team, because off past games where they played well. It’s time they started to pick the 15 on their form, the attitude needs to say you are only as good as your last game, if you don’t preform your not on the next day. Simple some players are too comfortable . Don’t have to look over their shoulders, because they think they will be picked anyway.

Pebblesmeller - if it's hard truths you're looking for then I suggest you find the nearest mirror and have a stern talk with yourself. For someone who's been commenting here for as long as you have, the way you fanned the flames with intemperate bile in the aftermath of the game yesterday was shocking.

I don't think there is any manager in the country that could have delivered an all ireland to Mayo in this last 2 years. We don't have enough power runners and quality and unlucky with injuries etc..
That been said this management setup has been nothing short of abysmal. Running 3 players against sligo and never played 1min of league football.
Yesterday bringing on 3 players with 3 mins to go. Its like someone managing u12s and realising ah we can't win now and look around and see a fee subs, oh jes I better put them on and the parents here and all. Just a mess.

We need an outside manager for a change, someone with credentials who can build a good structure with the likes of Kobe McDonald coming through and the likes of hurley.
Looking forward to watching crossmolina this year, it will be refreshing.

@Chick79 - I too was at the game and on every single kickout there was not one player in Mayo half who would look at Reape until they had jogged slowly into position. The only players who ran into space were players already out the field but I think its become so ingrained in Reape now that there wont be early runners that he doesn't even look for them. Reapes pace of doing things bothers me too, but it is a part wider systematic error and makes it hard to judge how much is down to him and how much is down to what seems to be a lack of coherent coaching.

One comment on it though - i was at the mayo end of the stand for the warm up and Kickout drills were quite limited and mainly involved kicking 30 balls to a static Philips who would do the same back. I was at the Galway end of the stand for the Connacht Final's and Glesson's drills were for more varied. Long and short to a coach who was often on the move. Varied between a slow kick out and retrieving the ball and running quickly to get the next one away. To me that points to a coaching deficit. There may also be a player issue but the lack of coherent coaching is clear.

Players making runs for kickouts before a ball is set isn't much use. Kick outs are an issue, we don't seem side load, bunch and break or any clear tactic on them I can see, which given how poorly we seem fair in air is hard understand.

@Mayoforsam2020 Definitely will be looking at the likes of Cross this year. Seeing league results with McDonald and Deane both contributing scores at senior league level at just 18 is positive. I know it was only their first year at U20's but surprised they weren't involved. Similarly, Ronan Clarke at Moy Davitts seems to be scoring well at senior league but not around the under 20's. Did he opt out? A strong bunch of forwards at that level at U20 with the likes of Hurley, Beirne and Lydon as well. They will need any individuality knocked out of them first before they can get a look in a senior.

I'm more fed up and angry today not because we lost because Cavan are a decent outfit but because we have been making the same mistakes all year and not addressing them. The majority on here and a lot of ex players from all counties know the problems being our lack of direct quick ball, no high ball in, running up the field and leaving the defence open and picking players who have not performed all year. How many times had Aido his hand up for the ball one on one but they just went sideways. Fans are frustrated so how must the players feel. They know what's wrong but McStay and Rochford are too arrogant or stubborn to change. At least lose with a bit of swagger.

@Mayoforsam2020 The latest in a long line of baffling selections/ substitutions.An example for me was Cian McHale one of the best forwards in club championship last year was started I think against Tyrone could be wrong. Playing against a gale in first half where any forward would struggle to score from 30 yards. And McHale prob thinking great I’ll be able to shoot from anywhere now with the breeze in second half and show what I can do and instead he is taken off at half time. A killer for a players confidence. Doesn’t seem to be any consequences for some players below par performance and no reward for others who are trying to get on the team.

It is strange how irwin and reid played so many minutes during the league and now nothing. Reid’s last match was the league final where mcstay took him off before half time. I mean talk about killing a young lads confidence, a very poor decision by mcstay. Then you have irwin which posters have already mentioned at length. Players like eoin o’donoghue, who played fairly well in there matches who don’t get a shout. Not trying a sub keeper. Playing the same 20 odd players, i said this back in march, mcstay needs to try more players in the league. We have too much of a settled team, a very complacent team. I’m so sick of this negativity can’t wait for a new manager and some sort of hope. Not sure about o’malley as i felt cuala were lucky to win the all ireland. Neither Andy moran, as i feel there needs to be a culture change at mayo. I would like eamon fitzmaurice but whether he would actually want the job is another thing.

CDR fully agree but unfortunately some players are persisted with despite not playing a good game for 2 years whereas newbies get 35 minutes to perform miracles or else they are dropped for good. And every Mgt Mayo have had in my lifetime have done the same. The devil you know syndrome. Then they play one half decent match and they are fine for as few more years.

Most important thing now for a goalie is to be an accurate kicker.
2 pointers have reduced the need to score goals.
Just look at Cluxton's last play against Galway.

Agree with you Plunkett.

And it was similar in Rochford's spell as manager. New players got very little scope.

The selections and tactics demonstrate a worrying caution and inability to be brave in taking on a game.

There are two issues here. Players below par and style of play. I think the second is the more important of the two. Carney is an excellent talent for example. Is he 'off form' or is it the system of play that doesn't make use of his talents? Same for Flynn, he flashes in and out, not sure if he knows what his role is. And as many posters have said re OShea, play him as traditional striker full forward and throw high balls into him.
Tyrone will be like greyhounds coming out of traps to get at us.
Maybe management can get some help explaining how the new rules have changed the game before their last two games

I believe that we will win our next two games,be optimistic m

I'm baffled by the lack of long ball into AOS. I thought that we'd be complaining it is our only tactic. It's the absolute opposite. We just don't do it enough. Who was that who played the ball in yesterday for the goal. The perfect pass. Flat and with pace. Very difficult to defend those one on one which should force the opposition into double marking which would be creating space for others.

Didn't hear managers comments after the game. Anything said on the injury front?

Corick bridget - I really think you need to give that kind of Pollyanna nonsense a rest on a day like today.

Mind the house listen to the ah ref Pod from about 4.30 mark to 5.30 and it will blow your mind on the use of long ball tactics....

Towey played a very good ball in if recall, Cavan had left a gaping hole at that point unlike rest of game, our goose was cooked I suppose and they were tired so it opened up a bit.

I'm so sad annoyed , deflated still after yesterday .
Actually couldn't believe what I was seeing yesterday .

The only good thing to see was Durcan coming on and I'm glad he got a big cheer he looks fit enough still considering he's some leader.

The one

Couldn’t face even looking at comments here until now .a shocking performance which shouldn’t really be a surprise to anyone after watching the Sligo/Leitrim displays .corrick Bridget your sole purpose appears to be to try to annoy people with silly childish comments because otherwise nobody could possibly be this delusional.This is a very bad day for mayo football and a sad day for Kevin mcstay and Stephen rochford .i do think we just don’t have the players at the minute but the management have made a dogs dinner of their opportunity and I would think Kevin will have huge regrets about the style of play he allowed to be imposed

What is deflating me is we're like within touching distance of being a chasing win a Sam every 10 years type of team. But, we are almost tying our own hands behind our back to reduce our level.
A few things that come to mind that have three and more seasons of data on them. Sone of these are eye test, observances, quotes on media and selection facts.
1. Our player development across scouting, player assessment, SnC, minutes of game time has been well below par.
Eye test we lack leg strength and are not built the same as Dublin or Kerry or Donegal or Armagh. We don't look like we do the correct SnC to have vertical leap and speed off the mark. Eye test, try and tell me we are not slow burn diesel SnC all over the field.
Fact on this the team has done timed years 10 * 100m for time (slow burn diesel, fast twitch will do poor in this test), the team SnC was heavily based around kms per week and hence the running extra at the end of games (slow burn diesel). I've watched those runs and they will reduce speed and increase slow stamina.
2. We've had no attacking plays like other counties. The basic play of a ball winner inside and runners come in to receive direct straight line or running across on the loop, not existing with us. The attacking basics.
3. To not have developed a left footed free taker 13 is an utter shambles. This mgmt have Cian McHale available, he got injured against Tyrone, unfortunate, but it was not a long term injury and he's seen no game day panel since.
It's as close to a fact as we can get that Cian McHale is the best left foot 13 currently on our senior panel.
4. The passing around the arc. Oh Lord the passing around the arc preceded by defenders soloing out of defence. This has really killed us.
5. The traditional closing of the panel.
This mgmt wouldn't dare take a risk on a Ronan Clarke, Adam Rehill, anyone showing at club level. I fear if they did it would be immediately into fitness assessments for 70 mins stamina. I've no way to prove, but Kevin McNanamon would not have made it with Mayo. We'd have knocked 5kg off him with running, made him slower, weaker and watched him struggle as a starter.

We are where we are now. What can we do to get the better of the next 2. Go more direct. Start going for 2 pointers. Totally change our approach. Get subs on much quicker. Bolster up the midfield. Its a tall task

Like every Mayo fan there yesterday the shambles that we witnessed has been stuck in my head since. I said after the game that the whole situation is a mess and I really believe it is.
We've witnessed the same mistakes over and over again regarding selection including picking players so obviously out of form, sticking to tactics that every other team has moved on from. Still no kickout strategy, defensive setup or attacking fluidity. We pick too many midfielders and not enough attackers. Unlike our U20s and U17s our seniors seem unable or unwilling to kick 2pointers and 45s.
The question is whether management are refusing to see the blatantly obvious and change things up or do they see them and aren't able to make adaptions?

Cillian O'Connor, James Carr, Conor Loftus (due to tragic circumstances), Michael Plunkett and Pádraig O'Hora walked away this year for different reasons. All 5 would be very close to the starting 15 if not on it. Not to mention the level of experience and leadership they bring to the fold. Seems like something in the camp isn't right.

CDR and Plunkett, I agree the way McHale and Reid were treated. I could not believe they took McHale in particular off during that game - I felt it was a really lousy thing to do to a debutant who had been one of the most impressive performers in the club championship and is one of our youngest panellists. That's not softness, it comes down to fairness and respect and building confidence - the lad had played no worse than the majority of his more established teammates and didn't deserve to be hooked at half time like he was a liability. Give him 10 minutes in the second half, a chance to play with the wind and leave the pitch with some pride. Funny how we stopped making early substitutions when they were really needed.

The more I think back over the last few months, the more I see themes emerging.

Anne Marie - Mchale wasn’t available the following week due to bad hand injury. I assumed he picked it up in that game where he was replaced at half time?

Just a few thoughts, i felt we were better on the opposition kickouts yesterday and the same against Galway which is strange in itself. We seem to able to work theirs out better as players are figuring it out more whereas our lack of a kickout strategy means 50/50 at best. Interesting what somebody posted earlier about us trying to keep the ball in play rather than at least kick it dead, i couldn't believe the amount of times yesterday that there was a two point swing when we failed to take on shots and got turned over and conceded scores. That kills you at any level nevermind Inter County. One or two turnovers at crucial times will be the winning and losing of games at business end of the Championship so at least give yourself a chance to set up again.