Mayo News sums it up well "dull , drab and featureless" A lot of non Mayo gaa followers loved watching Mayo because of our style of play and they keep asking me what's gone wrong. It's depressing and that's why a lot of supporters are staying away including myself.
Team selection doesn't help either persisting with one or two that haven't performed ever for Mayo. It must be demoralising for lads not getting a chance because they obviously know what's happening.

Sticks for the reek. The old Mayo way of swashbuckling high risk football is gone and these new rules don’t help. We got huge numbers of scores from our attacking defenders. Now we must keep 3 in our half at all times. Conceding possession is an even greater sin now as when you turn over the ball it is transitioned much more quickly up the field as opposition always have 3 men up. That is unfortunately leading to low risk lateral football which is certainly not good to watch.Even in our good days we were not very prolific shooting from distance. We need to adapt better to the rules alright but I have no doubt we will grow into them a bit better. We look around and we see other counties putting up big scores but the first half of Galway v Armagh was on a par with us and Tyrone. Kerry can’t be too happy with their start to the league bearing in mind they have quite a strong team out and Derry Tyrone and even Armagh have been hit and miss . I would certainly like to see us being a bit more adventurous but when you’re new on the team the inclination is to be cautious and to play it safe because if you have a few wides the confidence drains and you are thinking you may be replaced. Let guys grow in to their comfort area. Agreed the crowds are down but as I often reference look at the tiny crowd we had in Hyde Park in 2011 Connacht Final before the band wagon got rolling. In that we are no different to most counties. Fantastically loyal when the team is going well but nowhere in sight when we are on a downer. Take Galway as an example. They have such a poor support when going badly but better crowds lately .

In the first half yesterday eoghan McLaughlin had possession on the stand side of the field and soloed across the field to the other side of the arc and then turned and soloed back to where he came from without once looking in to see if a run was being made .was he trying to waste time against the wind who knows but it looked ridiculous .

Dour match between two sides stuck in the old rules and don't want to embrace the new rules.

Win is win and that win got by outscoring Tyrone 0-5 to 0-1 in the final quarter five subs introduced are all first choice/starters so that helped in the strong finish.

The secrecy by management about the inclusion of Aidan O'Shea and having him draft in wearing the number 2 jersey was childish nonsense. It was well known he and Jordan Flynn was a involded in a challenge last week and would be back for this game.

One thing I'd like us all to get away from is thinking of players as starters or subs.
Too often in the past we've started our full deck and had at most two subs to come on. You need to be brave with your bench.
For me a player like Fergal Boland has always been more effective off the bench.
Aidan O'Shea with braver mgmt is now a sub, but my own view is the braver move is to sub him in around 25 mins. The player he replaces runs the full back hard for 25 mins.
Eoghan McLoughlin, maybe he's an amazing pace weapon off the bench?
Here's a full forward line to finish a game.
Tommy Conroy Aidan O'Shea Diarmuid O'Connor
Are we going to make the same mistake again starting Tommy? He's a pace weapon. He needs defenders tired and on ticks, yellows and on black earlier.

Good to finally get win and lift morale. However what is clear from new rules is that teams with good long range kicking skills for 2 pointers have a big advantage and now that’s the main scoring focus . Goals while also important have lost their significance compared to teams that can kick 6-7 2 pointers or more in a game. What was evident from yesterday is that neither team had those players , and if they did they were either told not to take the risk of losing possession or were not confident enough to take the shots on due to lack of experience ( which is understandable for the new lads introduced this year). We will have to up our game significantly in this area or it’s going to be a very difficult campaign I fear.

@JP
Its a tough one. It takes a brave manager to leave some of his best men on the sidelines.

Saying that, many eyebrows were raised at team selection in Killarney in 2023 and we were able to spring Paddy,Tommy, Enda Hession and Eoghan Mc from the bench that day.

@Mayo Man for Life: Everything a bit thrown off with the big winds (which it sounds like next week might suffer from too) so caveats on any numbers, but not sure we'll be seeing 6-7 2 pointers a game from sides against decent D1 defences. Especially when the softer 2 point frees for 3/3 breaches reduce over time.

In Div 1 so far, 3 games in each:

Galway (13 - 7tp, 6tpf) 4.33/game
Armagh (8 - 7tp, 1tpf) 2.66/game
Kerry (6 - 4tp, 2tpf) 2/game
Dublin (5 - 5tp) 1.66/game
Donegal (5 - 4tp, 1tpf) 1.66/game
Tyrone (5 - 3tp, 2tpf) 1.66/game
Derry (4 - 3tp, 1tpf) 1.33/game
Mayo (3 - 3tp) 1/game

1985. One thing I noticed about that point you make about McLoughin yesterday was he doesn't trust his skill level as he is weak on it..
If you watch him again when he solos the ball he has to look down every time he solos to keep control which means he is limiting his time looking up..

Generally happy as I feel we got the reaction to the Galway game that we needed to see. Albeit a very basic improvement in intensity, physicality, tighter 1-on-1 marking, winning a higher % of breaking balls and tackling. All this against a weakened side, as I doubt the Canavans would have shot the wides that Tyrone did shoot, particularly in that first half. But these are the basics of the game and we showed a big improvement in these aspects of our game. In his program notes and his post game pressers McStay hinted, more than once, at the allegation that he, his backroom team and the players were not aware of the new rules. I felt he went to great lengths to explain the opposite and defend their position, and he also admitted that they needed to respond to the Galway game. It might not have been pretty and there is still a lot of work to do, but they did respond and they got the win.

I felt we defended far better, both in our structure and shape around the arc (as we stepped up a meter or two compared to the Galway game) but also in our 1-on-1s and man marking. The only consistent failing in our defense was our inability to handle Morgan so there's work to do there. However, we turned over Tyrone 3 or 4 times going down the straight in the last 15 mins and that showed a good appetite for the battle and physical fitness. Both attributes that were sorely missing v Galway. Irwin and Neary are performing consistently and are bringing an impact to our game that warrants their selection. I'd like to see McStay give these two lads in particular the remaining of the league and give them as much exposure as possible to this level. Another 4 league games plus hopefully 2 rounds of Championship v Sligo and Leitrim could set these two lads up as real contenders for a Connaught final spot. Good to see Eoin O'Donoghue back in and I thought he brought a "stickiness" to our marking in the full back line. He conceded just the 1 point from play and intercepted 2 or 3 attacks so all in all, he contributed well and, like the two lads mentioned above, another 5 or 6 games could have him in contention for a spot in the Connaught final. Ruane was much better than his last outing. He seemed stronger in the last 15 mins, full of running, fielded well and took his score. Still a long way short of where we need him but we don't need him at 100% until the Sligo game.
The downside to yesterday was our continued inability to move the ball quickly down the field with the boot. It really does hinder us and at times yesterday it was like we were waiting for Tyrone to get back into position before we started to attack them. Towey was disappointing and many attacks broke down at him, and we never got enough ball to Cian McHale to try and get him into the game. He has promise but we need to move the ball quicker inside and give a forward a chance 1 v 1. I'd like to see more of Cian McHale and, being honest, less of Towey. I just don't see what he gives us that we don't have in other players and I think the match minutes would benefit us more in the long run if we gave those minutes to more promising players who can offer us something different.
On our kickouts we were very static and at times Reape had no moving targets out the field to aim for. We rearly had a runner going into space for Reape and he was left having to resort to the big lump down the middle. We have work to do there but this work is easy and only requires communication and walk-throughs.
With Conroy, O'Connor and Durcan back in training and AOS getting a run out our squad is filling out, little by little. I would still refrain from getting all the "oldies" back in there too quick or for too long in games. In my opinion it is all about the Connaught Championship. If we can get everyone 90% fit for April 6th we should be in a good place. A tough win over Sligo would be good prep for Leitrim two weeks later. Another tough battle there will wet our whistle for a home clash v (most likely) Galway two weeks later again. Having all our big hitters locked and loaded for that one must be the aim. If we go down to Div 2 in the meantime then so what. A Connaught title would be just rewards and anything after that would be a bonus.

Cannot see us winning any more matches this year in Div 1.

To win just once. I agree that the old Mayo way of swashbuckling football is gone but it's not down to the new rules. It was gone last year with Mayo over and back the field. Look at Donegal how the half backs attack at pace when they get a turnover. We put the brakes on. Our mantra is possession football and it has stopped us from shooting. Matty Ruane was always a man to take a shot on and good at it but how many times this year has he failed to shoot. A famous coach in Jarlaths once said if you can't get a point get a wide.

After Mayo lost to Kildare in 2018, the end of the first Rochford era- Aiden O Rourke wrote
"If Mayo are to return seriously with another challenge then they have to develop a defensive approach that allows them to absorb attacks more efficiently.
More fundamentally, their attacking game must allow the team to breathe occasionally. In simple terms, they will need to add the personnel to accommodate a direct approach when it is required and empower the decision makers to on the pitch to know when it’s possible.
Strategy cannot simply end at a team’s most effective approach. Winning games consistently requires variety and efficiency".

Since Rochford returned in 2023, Mayo have implemented a defensive approach that allows Mayo absorb attacks more efficiently - the first part of O Rourkes comment.
However, that they continue to fail at is accommodating the direct approach, thereby giving Mayo variety and efficiency.

Over the past two years, AOS has been a constant selection at FF - but no ball gets kicked in.
Mayo have curtailed their wing backs attacking runs, but not replaced them with kick passing the ball, which allows quick counterattacking with less running.
They did have a CB with footpassing skills in the 2023 league win, but dropped him like a hot snot after losing to Roscommon on a 6 day turnaround. Never to be tried again.
Yesterday, we had 3 solid players in the HB line but no kick passer and only 1 runner. We lost what we had and havent added what was needed.

@Padraig O Neill ok
I think we can take Armagh & maybe Derry.

Doubt we can beat kerry definetly not Donegal anyway!

@Pebblesmeller: I'd agree with a lot of that, though I'd still see plenty of potential in Towey. On the end of loops, shooting from outside or with fast ball he's a potent threat. Just not the way we tried to (or failed to) use him yesterday, and especially not on a day he was having one of those days. Ball always looked like a bar of soap when it got near him, which wouldn't be like him normally (worked hard out of possession). Horses for courses and all that, I'd certainly be giving him lots more minutes (along with Cian).

"On our kickouts we were very static and at times Reape had no moving targets out the field to aim for. We rearly had a runner going into space for Reape and he was left having to resort to the big lump down the middle."

This happened some, for sure.

Even more often we had lots of movement on the kicks, but none aggressive enough to get separation and once the runs were tagged (which will be +90% of the time at this level) those runs left us without an overload or a long kick to advantage for Colm to go to (and a few times he'd have been cutting it close to the free-in as a result of the delays).

When we're the ones deciding the runs to be made and the pathing for them, it should always end with us (in the worst case of going long) having a breaking zone on either side that favours us in numbers. There's a lot of work still to be done on this area. We've got underage sides and clubs showing more planning, creativity & innovation here over recent years - long before the rule tweaks made it even more vital.

Was that score from distance by Frank Irwin not a two pointer? How many scores/opportunities did we lose because of rules application/misinterpretation? I reckon we were another two or three ahead of Tyrone. Some of their misses were shocking though.

Nevertheless, good to see O’Rourke complaining of being bullied at midfield. And, he felt Tyrone’s build up was too rushed! With Morgan around they always have a chance. He did so much for them yesterday, including a great save from Eoghan. Reape spent as much time in the Tyrone half as Morgan did in Mayo’s, but he made no impact. He has to be taking two pointers.

I'd want to see more time also given to Towey simply because his potential to score is higher than most. However, yesterday was poor. He was very frustrated. He let out a roar at himself at one point after an unforced error cos he knew it wasn't happening for him and he knows well the pressure is on. It can't be easy, but just like many of us were saying 13 months ago, if I'm the manager I'm telling him he has the league and we are going to play you every game provided your're fit. That in itself gives a player confidence and reduces that 'doe or die' pressure. The conditions yesterday were awful for forwards (granted the rossies kicked points for fun and the weather couldn't have been that much different there). Next weekend is also promised crap, which given our form might actually be an advantage for us!

The problem for lads like Towey and Cian McHale is that our transition to attack is pathetically slow. There's no clear system. Just nothing. Like I said yesterday, you'd really wonder what kind of offensive stuff we are doing in training. We look like a bunch of strangers meeting up to play a match. Those tow lads aren't physically big, so they will struggle to excel in wet, winter conditions. Dry sod, fast ball? Different result and performance levels altogether but if they aren't shooting the lights out in the league they wont get a chance to play in the summer. Therein lies the problem. They'll go back to clubs and hit higher scores that others in the county set up and people be crying out for them to get more game time in 2026.....and the cycle starts again....

Irwin is showing better, partly because he has the physical strength and Neary is showing some promise because of his speed and aggressive running. That's not really Towey's game. While he can score some wonder scores., like he did against Garrymore in the championship where he ran the length of the left flank and popped over a peach of a point....at intercounty he wont get that time and space. He is a 'finisher'. That's it. He needs to be on the end of moves. Very difficult when playing for Mayo at present.

I think there is too much focus on two point scoring potential...and the reality is, at present, we don't have an abundance of players who we can rely on inn that regard. It's just not in their game. Flynn has a few in him. Carney has forgotten what shooting means. Ruane is more a burst through and shoot player...not like Conroy for Galway with long range scud missiles. So rather than trying to be something we are not, why dont we try to create more goal scoring chances and not spend too much time trying to create space to shoot for 2's. We have runners who can break lines and create overlaps....ok, we aren't doing that much at all, but it's in the the locker of lads like Hession, Tommy and McLaughlin...with the new rules there will be much more space PROVIDED you move the ball quickly into attack. The opposite to what we have been doing so far this year or in 2024. If Mayo are to progress deep this year we need blitz attacks....just go for it. If we miss we miss, but if we continue with the laboured, lateral stuff then we literally have no chance. None whatsoever. We need to play to our strengths...fast ball carriers who can if we move quickly enough and before the opposing team have time to set their defensive lines, can cause real damage. Surely management can see this????? Dont be focused on the two points...ok, if one naturally opens, then take it if it's on, but I think there's far too many teams doing this and in fact, so many defences are focusing on stopping the two pointers....so, our attack should think outside the box....and get in behind the first line of defence and hit the scores from there. We'll create far more goals.

@TuamStar - Skill level is always an issue with McLaughlin unfortunately but he does offer so much danger too.

He played at right half back in the Connacht Final last year and bombed forward 3 times in the first half and Galway were happy to force him wide and let him have the ball because despite being in a great location, he had no right foot to take the score...

E Mcloughlin is probably the most frustrating player in the county, only because how good he could be but his skills do let him down.He has strength and pace, great at getting turnovers, but his kicking and soloing is poor for intercounty level, decision making not great but maybe that's cause he lacks confidence in his skills, I think it was Towey that was lining up for a shot yesterday and McLoughlin comes like a train past and stop Towey from shooting and I think Towey getting blocked down then..

Also about the new rules for the kickout, I heard from someone who is part of a inter county refs team, that the 20 second rule was not a new rule brought in, and that it was discussed in the FRC meeting with the referees, and they were debating the kickout issue and how kickouts were not being sped up and it was suggested that around 20 seconds should be enough for a kickout, but this was not brought in as arule, and it is still left to the referee to call if they think a goalkeeper is taking too long.

@Catcol: No. He'd two scores where he was a yard or a couple of yards inside the arc (& a 3rd miss around the same area), but the way the moves panned out he was kind of forced inside or to dummy to create the space and meant they wouldn't have been on without him taking it inside. His options were taking the 1 or turning down the shot altogether, where he made the right call going for all 3 as 1s IMHO - though a pity he didn't get another open crack at a 2, you'd have fancied him for it the way he was shooting.

We missed out on 1 score we should have had from the incorrect 3/3 breach. In the Tyrone protests, before the ref incorrectly blew against our breach, one of the 3 Tyrone forwards crossed the half-way remonstrating. After the ref corrected the line-umpire's mistake calling against us (we'd only 2 up, but with Conor black carded so that was perfect) he restarted returning us possession around the 45m, but technically it should have been a free on the 20m line for the Tyrone breach. A super messy one and a culmination of errors, so wouldn't view that one too harshly at all. Honest mistake.

I'm almost sure there was another slip where he gave a free against us for Mattie taking the S&G from a mark (explicitly prohibited) but then gave a Tyrone lad a retake when he hand-passed it following one. I can't think of a single clause in the book to lead to the two different punishments there, but I also can't say what specific clause either of those two breaches were, so far from confident on what should have happened there. Hopefully one of our resident refs can fill in my gaps.

Tuamstar I know what you are saying about McLaughlins skillset but I suspect it was also the genuine lack of any particular game plan to break down the Tyrone defence as their was a lot of these aimless runs being made but McLaughlins was the most obvious

@Tommy132: True. But only kinda.

The rule is "4.28 To waste time by delaying own kick out". There is no time or thresholds attached to it. The only place refs will be guided on what is to be considered a threshold for that rule is in the directives they're given, which in this case is 20 seconds from that recent meeting.

There's room for the refs interpretation if the player is wasting time or if it's a genuine case of needing more time, lots of cases of a second ball on the pitch causing delays much longer, but once you go over 20 you can't complain if blown for it.

@TsuDhoNim, from what I was told there was nothing sent out to refs, the 20 seconds was brought up at the meeting but didn't leave the meeting. It's a daft rule to bring in anyways, as you say there is so much factors to consider for kickout to get held up, and is the ref supposed to time the 20 seconds, count it in his head, just not possible to add in something like that on top of all the other rules that refs have to be thinking of.

@Mind the House
That game you mentioned in Killarney felt like the dawning of a new era at that time. We wont give up hope yet that days like that will return under McStay.

I'll predict we stay up with a win next week, that will leave us with just 1 more win needed most likely. Ideally beat Derry or Kerry but there maybe a safety net in the last game to as Donegal will most likely have nailed a league final spot before that game so I'd expect to see their fringe players out for our game...

Just a few quick comments on what I've seen in the 3 league games so far.
Number one is opportunity .... the opportunity provided by the 2 points gained yesterday.
We should now heavily target the next game against Armagh as they are down a few bodies.
If we could get 2 more points there, then we would need only one win in our remaining 3 games.
6 points will keep us in Division 1 in all probability.
Number 2 is our defence.
Hession & Callinan should never be played in any FB line.
There is one defender who is consistently selected but is too pedestrian
for top end football.
Number 3 is our attack and our total confusion about whether we are going for a
one pointer, a two pointer or a three pointer.
We are falling between these 3 stools.
Every time we cross midfield we need a quick decision as to whether it's
a long footpass into our FF line, a tearing run through the middle
in order to create a one pointer or draw a central free , or a set up
in the central arc for an attempted 2 pointer.
At the moment we're just attempting the latter, afraid to take on
the responsibility & then passing the ball wide to a worse position.
When Reape in particular gets to the head of the D he needs to go for it
and stop the lateral passing.
More urgency required in both thinking and execution.

@thedarkyfinn although I am not particularly pushed if we stay up or not but both Armagh and Derry will see the Mayo games as a place to get points and they might need them. So could be tough games. Different if we were playing Galway and Dublin at the back end since both are likely safe. I agree Donegal unlikely to push it particularly if they are through to the final or maybe they want to avoid the league final since they are first out in the Ulster Championship against Derry.

We'd go up a hell of a lot in performance with simply :
- a better structured selection
- maintaining a defensive structure
- mixing the running and kicking game and finishing moves rapidly to a wide or a score.

Tommy Rooney is predicting Rossies to win the All Ireland after there forwards performance in Round 3 of the League, its not the 1st of April yet is it?

Roscommon should be respected, especially in connacht. They could well get to a connacht title. However, not convinced by davy burke. To call a team that hasn’t won a competitive championship match in croke park since 1980 a serious all ireland contender is ludicrous. Tipperary have been to two all ireland semi finals in the last 10 years for context. I think Roscommon have on paper good footballers but they get so obsessed with beating mayo and galway that they have no real plan after that. But having Roscommon and Galway as all ireland favourites in the medias eyes is absolutely perfect for us and i hope the media keeps praising them as it takes pressure off us. Mayo for sam 2025

Just a question,what has Donegal won since Stephen Rochford left,what has Roscommon won since Kevin Mc Stay left,seeing has they are both blamed for those counties failure

The Rossies have to earn some respect and stay up in Division 1 for a few years rather than up and down like they have been and win there 1st game in Croke Park since 1980.Ya they can upset Mayo or Galway on there day but dont be talking about All Irelands when you cant win in Croke Park.

Mayonaze, your spot on about Towey and McHale.

Think we need to persist with Cian McHale as the only genuine left footed scorer on the panel. He's been terrific the last while in men's football for his club and should only be better and stronger this year. The lad is deadly accurate from play and frees and we're not overblessed with those sort of talents.

I thought we all agreed every season around this time that nobody should be talking about winning AIs. Bad enough having to put up with the Mayo's year brigade but now it's even Roscommon........Farcical!

One unexpected and definitely unintended by product of the new rules has been the lack of goals in Div 1 (with the exception of Derry v Kerry) No goals in our last 2 games and only 3 goals in Div 1 this weekend . Table toppers Donegal don’t even seem bothered about going for goal at all. It was presumed with 3 forwards staying in opposition half, a lack of sweepers and lots of one on ones that there would be an abundance of goals. Maybe it will happen as the rules bed in but not really obvious yet The 2 pointer is impacting the desire for goals big time. Once a goal was a huge score lifting the team and fans but now it can be cancelled out so quickly if the opposition hits a couple of 2 pointers in reply. Interesting post there Pebblesmeller as usual lots of which I agree with. However I would persist with Towey as he is at least willing to have a shot. If you don’t shoot you don’t score. Likewise Fergal, always willing to have a go. Might not have the 2 on at the same time but both are worth place in panel

Donegal won the ulster championship last year and reached all Ireland semi final .Roscommon won the 2019 Connacht championship and I think a division two league title

That's actually hilarious Tommy Rooney has predicted Rossies to win the all Ireland...

Fine they can maybe be competitive against us or Galway but they have not won a competitive match in croker since 1980 as others have said.

And they say mayo are dellusional at times ( ok maybe sometimes we are...) but Rossies winning it this year not a chance. Maybe a quarter final spot if they are lucky.

1985, honestly I wouldn’t waste your time replying to that comment. Mayo are further away from an AI then Donegal and if anyone thinks otherwise then it’s soft sentimental talk. Jim McGuinness won more Ulster titles last year then Stephen Rochford has in his entire intercounty management career.

Sorry Jim won more provincial titles last year the Stephen has in his entire IC career. And last year he also levelled with McStays total. Add it 3 more Ulster titles, an All Ireland and Div 2 title with a county that historically has been no where near the top table, and people will still say McGuinness isn’t as good as our mgmt. cracked.

One of the problems we have at the minute is comparing the quality of players we had over the last decade with what we have at the minute.we no longer have the likes of Tom cunniffe and Chris barrretts man marking abilities it the brilliance of keith Higgins and lee keegan bombing up the field.we don’t have the luxury of the o Shea brothers Tom parsons and Barry Moran to call on in midfield or the scoring ability of Alan Dillon Andy Moran and cillian o Connor.who knows what would have happened if mcstay got the job back in 2014 .Stephen rochford did the chance and dispite there being some great performances against kerry and Dublin there was also desperately poor performances in that time .i remember the team being boo’d off the field at halftime against Fermanagh in 2016 .we just don’t have those quality of players anymore and the atrocious style of football this joint management has imposed has shocked everyone but we will have to wait until championship for the final verdict on their second coming

We’ve enough to be worrying about , no need to worry about someone saying the ros will land Sam . Looked back at the game earlier , trying to look for positives , you can see some decent potential in the development of players like Davvit Neary , Cian mchale ( why hook him though ) . The reliables had a great presence when on too , Aido could offer a lot more than we think even at this stage of his career . Tommy and paddy will be massive addition if back . Diarmuid too obviously.

The negative is as everyone is saying continuously the lack of speed in transition in getting the ball up top . It’s very frustrating to watch and hard to fathom . The fact of the matter is you would need to have an exceptionally tight defence (best in the land ) to win championship games against top 8 scoring as low as we are . It’s just not going to cut it . If we don’t have 2 point shooters we will have to score more goals . I understand people expressing their feelings on E Mcgloughlin not having the skill set to shoot for the onion bag but boy can he break a tackle with his burst of speed , we need to find a way where there’s a man to lay it off to who has a better more dependable shot . My point is we need to maximise our assets , we have a few despite the narrative been expressed by most of us in here .

Green and red I know shouldn’t have bothered replying it is of course a load of nonsense that lad posts

@1985 most of those lads were around in 2010 when we were beaten by Sligo and Longford.

Yea some of them were around and then James Horan came in and a year later we beat the all Ireland champions and reached the all Ireland semi final.i don’t see your point

@Plunkett who in the media is talking up Roscommon as All Ireland favorites? plenty about Galway afterall they reached two of the last three AI finals but nothing I have seen about the rossies, if they get back to Div 1 and reach the last 8 of the championship again it would be a good year I think most would agree.

On Tipp reaching two Semi finals one was by beating Galway in the AI Quarter final a Div 2 Galway at the time and the other was by just winning Munster and had no Kerry to beat as they were taken out Cork in that covid championship behind closed doors.

Armagh winning it last year should give all top 10 teams hope and that includes Mayo who have looked poor in this years league so far but the championship is where teams will all be truly judged

Clare says:
February 17, 2025 at 6:20 pm
That’s actually hilarious Tommy Rooney has predicted Rossies to win the all Ireland…

Tommy Rooney is a Meath man, Meath are playing Roscommon next, It's his way of hyping up the rossies in a effort that they might take the eye off the ball for the trip to Navan. Nothing more to see there

Did anyone actually listen to what Tommy Rooney said?
I hadn't listened to it yet this year, but listened today, and he didn't tip Roscommon to win the All-Ireland - he said they could have a say and he wouldn't be surprised to see them make a semi-final.
People getting wound up over something they didn't even hear.

@1985 the point is nobody saw any potential in 2010, same now but things can change.
Very hard to play fast transition football on poor bad pitches.
A dry sod will change everything with new rules, just hope we are ready for it.

And did we play fast transition football in last year’s championship and clearly James Horan saw massive potential in those players

Not sure if anyone mentioned it already but it was great to see Jordan Flynn jump up straight away and accept the apology after he was accidently stood on by a Tyrone player. Could you imagine if it happened to a player in soccer he'd be still rolling around the pitch. I'd give our lads a good chance the next day and hoping for a better game than Sunday and a couple of the new lads to perform again. I'd like to see can irwin follow up on his performance and put another shift in the next day. Neary and Reid deserve another shot also and with a couple of the regulars back it could/should improve things.

I'm a bit amused by this elevation of teams that are leading the field in kicking 2 pointers, into
All-Ireland contenders. Come the Championship, there won't be anywhere near as many of these scored, as the blanket defence experts, along with tighter more intense marking will seriously reduce these opportunities and, hopefully, common sense will prevail, and the 2 points for a free outside the arc will be binned. I feel that teams that are able to breach and get in behind that arc defensive curtain, can rack up the points and create a fair few goal chances. I think teams can become obsessed with setting up for 2 pointers and miss out on other scoring opportunities.

Good evening all. This year I fear is a write off. Kevin McS and co last year hopefully. The holy grail of Sam Maguire is as far away as ever and I'm getting old Will the head honchos of County Board be worried about falling attendances/loss of revenue? McStay must be worried when he had to write a message to the Mayo supporters in yesterday's programme.

Some of the negative commentary on here is unbelievable - it’s a great platform for discussion but Jesus the last few weeks has been rough . Yes the team haven’t been playing well , but it’s literally round 3 - after the last 2 years do ye actually think Mcstay and co give a damn about this league only to maybe blood a couple of new players and give some much needed game time back to paddy, Tommy c etc who we hope to see soon. Why would he? We won the league in 22, done us no good. Mcstay appears quite relaxed and confident in interviews and I’ve no doubt he will have the lads primed for Championship . Some people have this god given right to demand answers , to cut the back off the management for the smallest reason. Remember these are amateur players , amateur management but committed to Mayo. It’s at times like this, players and management need support from the county not constant criticism from keyboard warriors. Was there 6k at the match on Sunday?

I definitely think Cian McHale deserves a couple more starts and a chance to stake a claim.
Things just didn't run for Towey and maybe he and Boland could be better options off the bench as both well able to take on the 2pointers when legs tire a bit.
I hope management advise Conor Reid to attack and fetch the ball, twice at least on Sunday he went to break one handed when a clean fetch was on.
Some criticism of Eoin O'D's defending but I thought apart from once being caught on his heels which his man got time to turn and score he was pretty much touch tight. As for defending from behind,I think it's the only way with new rules. The best you can do is stick tight and hope to get a hand in as ball is delivered, but refs often give a free against if deemed too aggressive. You can't take the chance to defend from in front nowadays with no cover if you are caught out. So like Eoin mostly did,defend from behind, keep your discipline and hold him up and hope runners are being tracked as they should be.

@Tubberman Just listened to that Tommy Rooney piece now, yes some here are getting too wound up. As for Mr Rooney and that podcast are some cheerleaders for the new rules. New rules or not the team that defends best will still win the All Ireland.

@Mango chutney,
Blog has turned very negative.
It's now a Forum for the same posters to bitch and moan about Management and certain individual players .
Pity as there used to be great football analysis on here , still is a few good knowledgeable posters tho .

https://www.elverys.ie/blogs/blog/how-to-play-half-back-with-mayo-gaa-star-eoghan-mclaughlin
I just found this link which some of you might enjoy. I'm a great Eoghan McLaughlin fan and it's a pity we haven't a few more like him.

Jordan and Eoin O'D named on the team of the week.
Good to have Eoin O'D back in the ranks. Hopefully he kicks on.

@Mango Chutney . You are correct re negativity and I'm glad you said it. I certainly won't be judging the team until Connaught championship round 1 and with a bit of luck a full deck to pick from with a hold host of options to come into the side that have played little or are injured - Coyne,Callinan, Durcan, O Shea, O Connor, Conroy, Loftus.

Surely I'm not the only one out there who thinks David McBrien should play at 3, and be kept there ?

Clare that Rossie team on current form would be 2nd to Galway in Connaught, They are playing some lovely football with serious forwards.

Mayo got a win but by jasus it was a hard watch but not as hard as losing an 11 point lead at home to Dublin so that's some consolation.

Is it just these 5 to come back in
Paddy Durcan
Conor Loftus
Jack Carney
Diarmuid O'Connor
Tommy Conroy

@Sam og: Yeah. Finbar McLoughlin & Diarmuid Duffy the only other ones, but both would be fighting hard to make a 26 even fully fit (said as a huge fan of Finbar's pace, but likely needs another year to be breaking those challenges at county).

The crowd reacts to what happens on the pitch .there wasn’t much positivity in McHale park last Sunday while watching a dire spectacle and while one can clutch at straws with the possible potential of Neary and Reid and possibly eoin o Donahue there wasn’t alot else for anyone to be jumping up down with excitement.you could hear the players on the field and the only noise in the crowd came in the last couple of minutes when there some semblance of football played .if anyone came on here full of positivity from what they saw yesterday they would be lying.Yes we have players to come back and Aidan o Shea made a difference yesterday but this management apear to be welded to this slow methodical possession based game and I am not convinced that it is going to miraculously change in a few weeks time but I desperately hope I am wrong

Diarmuid is already more or less back, only missed the one game. Seems rest should see some league. Conor the exception as presumably not determined if he will play this year given circumstances.

@West Kerry you have to judge them when they play division 1 teams.

I said already that Rossies would be competitive v us and Galway but All Ireland no.

As for negativity on the blog I agree with alot of what has been said.

I am usually optimistic but my god was so hard to watch us play like that at the weekend will take the much badly needed 2 points but I seriously worry for rest of league. League doesn't matter but it's pride to.

If we come good in championship I might forgive McStay & Co we shall see.. Still some strange tactics being displayed by management.

Conor Loftus he might take a year out but no one could blame him for that of course.

@west Kerry as a matter of interest what is the general mood in Kerry on yer prospects this year

I’d agree with West Kerry. On current form I think Rossies have a great chance to win Connacht. They definitely have the forwards to win an All Ireland. Few can doubt that. Have they the defence, midfield and leadership? Those are the questions. As someone rightly said, there’ll be far less space in championship to kick 2 pointers so it’ll be the attacking teams that can move the ball quickly, effectively and capitalise on the initial space that’ll be there (before the opposition can get players back) who will really excel of course there ll be games where 2 pointers are crucial but overall I think there’s too much focus on them now and if the rules force the keeper back (it’s awful watching them trot up …it just promotes lateral play) then 2 pointers will be even more difficult to land.

I think it’ll be teams who can bag a few goals who’ll do the damage. Defend well, blitz attack with goals ….

Sam Og & TSU, isn’t Coggins of Crossmolina on the panel? Presumably he’ll be getting some game time?

The difference between Division 1 and 2 is like chalk and cheese.
I understand Down were desperate against Meath..
Might get to see them next week and report back.
Pairc Tailtean probably the best winter pitch in the country.

Mayolass Id say McStays message in his programme notes might have been aimed at people like yourself who consider the year a write off half way through February. I am sure the Co Board are concerned about attendances but they have been here before. Very poor support when we lost to Sligo and Longford in 2010 which carried into out 2011 Connacht win in The Hyde where only a few thousand Mayo supporters turned up. But they were really out in force the following years when we qualified for All Irelands and were the “best fans in the country “while the team was ultra competitive for a decade.

@Catcol: Yup, but wasn't out injured and I believe he'd have been in contention for Tyrone match, so didn't include him here.

He'd be in a group of ~20 odd we've not seen named yet. You'd imagine tough competition there between lads like Coggins, Tracey, Prendergast or Duffy battling away against the fellas named at the weekend like Quinn or O'Flaherty. Only getting tougher too with Carney, DO'C & Conroy still to return that'd be in or around those kinds of positions.

You'd hope they're bouncing off each other at training to earn those spots. What's the saying? "Under pressure, you don't rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training."

Fair point TSU, and that’s interesting about the other newbies. Hadn’t heard that saying!

Not one rossie ,of which I am one and right on the border with mayo have said we will win or even get to all ireland final,we are just not at that level but we are on a great trajectory with our skillset and style of our footballers at present to match mayo,not saying we would beat ye but definitely 50,50,galway a few steps ahead

1985,

The mood I'd imagine is similar to that above in Mayo.

Not good after 2 home defeats the first to Dublin since 1982.

Alot of people want Jack out,

I don't agree with that but many believe we are far too conservative in our approach.

Big boys with broad shoulders should be able to take the weight of supporter criticism. Far too much cosseting of people nowadays. Kevin most likely laughs at it and I'm sure Rochford throws darts at it. Can't keep wrapping people in cotton wool.

That's interesting what TSU raises about player competition for places. Once all injuries clear up, we add in our usual one or two u20s and a three month block of training and games into May. Can we have twenty one seven out of ten minimum type players? Probably not, but can we have nineteen such players?
I think people are overstating our depth in our peak years. I remember having 16/17 championship players. First fifteen were very good.

@Ever the optimist.
The players are amateurs representing Mayo .
Management are human too .

True, I know, but Kevin must've known the job comes with expectations...he applied enough times for it and doled out criticism himself when a pundit. It's part and parcel of the gig.

Mayo players need to spend a lot of time in training and in their own time practising kicking points ftom outside the arch. That's where games will be won this year.
E O Donaghue got a bit mention on here for poor defending, funny the experts pick him on team of the week.

whatever about results, it our style of play, that getting harder and harder to watch. Two reason we were everyone second fav team around Ireland. One - was most counties like to see us win it, as we the hard luck storey, more than often, over the last 30 years. Two- was we played swashbuckling type of football. Now if fairness this type of football did not get us SAM, but got us close. And don't see type of football we are playing get us to win Connacht never mind an All-Ireland.
Whatever tweets to playing style, has to try and get us to promise land, not leave us in purgatory.
Purgatory- no mans land out side the two point arc, going sideway and backway. I say ingest, but you know what I mean

February and March are for learning and building. I felt we were stronger on Sunday than in Croker - O’Rourke complaining of being bullied was music to my ears!

The new rules? Maybe it’s because we’ve not been getting the rub of the green, but I’m a lot less bullish about them than I was. On Sunday Tyrone were not great, but I’ll take a win over them any day, particularly the way we managed it at the end; a combination of keep ball and creativity. Incidentally, one way to keep Morgan quiet is to play the ball close to Tyrone’s goal for as long as possible. Would it not be fair to say, that, overall, our wide count has been declining? Our swashbuckling style of yore resulted in a lot of wides. And, we are creating goal chances - I’d like to see clinical finishing replace really bad touches after great build up; this has happened in all games so far.

Clare,

The last two all Ireland winners came out of Division 2.

Roscommon on current form are playing the better football.

Better than Mayo and Kerry regardless of opposition.

Catcol, agree February and March are for learning and building. But are we building, won at weekend, thank god, but our score was 12points, lowest tally over first 3 rounds to win a game with. Very few goal chances created, Eoghan McLaughlin effort, as far as I could see last day. Very few 2pt taken over 3 matches played. Only created one real goal chance against Galway, which was absolutely butchered it. Scored a goal against Dublin.
Now maybe better pitches and getting player back, will improve us in Summer, but from what I've seen first 3 rounds I'm not sure.
Can see that in Croke Park in summer, anything less than 20 point scored, wont win too many games in Championship. Are we capable to score 20 points, yes, are we likely to score 20 point, way we setting up, NO the answer. Only thing clinging onto is that, we have a plan, and we completely disregarding the league. But that a risky strategy

It would be great to get Jack Carney and Bob Tuohy back soon with a solid run in midfield or half forward line for both of them.

@West kerry yeah I know the last 2 all Ireland winners came out of Division 2 one which was the Dubs and Dubs are Dubs..

Not saying division 2 teams can't win it at all. I just don't see Rossies winning sam at all this year.

Easier to play the better football when your playing the likes of Down & Meath etc. Happy for people to hype up the Rossies and us very much under the radar though! You can't say Rossies are number 2 in connacht either untill the championship starts then we will know.

@catcol agree there feb is for learning but just can't stand our current style of play. The last quarter v Tyrone saw some hope for us and were better and Aido and Jordan Flynn made the difference there.

Any word on Tommy conroys return?

@Catcol i don;'t have the stats but I'd wager our wide count is down because we take so few shots. McStay used to speak of 40/30/20 philosophy as an analyst. 40 attacks, 30 shots, 20 scores. That's gone out the window.
I think our style now is to bore the opposition into submission

Clare I'm not saying Roscommon will win the All Ireland but they are on form better than Mayo and Kerry.

They are top of D2 with Mayo and Kerry near the bottom of D1.

@mayotillIdie this is my worry as well. We are not a high scoring team and if we are a number of points behind with 10 minutes to go you'd be sweating. James Horan used to talk about 17 scores in old money. In the League in 2023 however we showed some impressive ability. Last year I thought the 2 pointers might give us an edge FB, MR, DOC, COC, ROD were all players that could hit from distance but maybe not as much as any given opposition on the day. Our half backs will have to nullify Donegal, Galway etc on the 2 pointers to keep us competitive.

West Kerry , you know your stuff. Keep 'er coming. Kerry won't be far away in Sept ( or whenever ), tho' Donegal looking OK. Clifford and Murphy will have a big say .

Catcool when has our wide count been declining? This year after 3 rounds of the league we have kicked more wides than after 3 rounds in 23 or 24

I agree with Clare, this year there is a big difference between Division 1 and 2.
I expect Roscommon to be promoted with ease.
In championship teams will focus on stopping 2 pointers.
However with better pitches I feel we will see a lot more kicking into the forwards. With a lot more scores and goals.

@jr I be surprised if the 2 pointers are in place for chamionship

I don't have the stats to hand, Lucero, but I doubt that you're correct there. I know we had only six wides the last day and most of these were 'good' ones, as we were having a go from distance in the second half as we were getting on top of them. I don't think we can have it both ways - we're forever complaining (with justification) that we're too cautious in attack so if we shoot a few wides when we do have a go then we can hardly complain about that as well.

"“We hope to see Paddy [Burns] and Joey [McElroy] back next week and Peter McGrane too,” said McGeeney. “Possibly Rory [Grugan] as well next week or the week after. Ciaran Mackin is making his way back too and Oisin O’Neill is in the same boat."

https://thesidelineeye.com/2025/02/18/orchard-boss-mcgeeney-offers-injury-update/

Sounds like Geezer is hoping to have a few of the old heads back for our visit at the weekend.

@Aiden I think they will but not for frees.

Am I right in saying the ladies are playing armagh after the mens game in the same ground on Saturday?

@Catcol / @Lucero: Wide count never a great stat to look at in isolation. About all it can tell you is confirming if you felt you played alright, were creating enough to compete, and it was just that final execution let you down on the night.

Far better to look at the number of chances, if they were in decent % zones, if they were under high/mid/low pressure and see if the fundamentals are working. Whether someone happened to pull off a worldie they won't hit again for the year or not far less important going forward.

Vs Tyrone: 12 wide/short/saved
https://x.com/markone58522525/status/1891145766904770651

Vs Galway: N/A (didn't see anyone do stats on this, even TG4)

Vs Dublin: 16 wide/short/saved
https://x.com/somearagaa/status/1883267757019713801

Very few (1 off the top of my head) I'd have considered poor shot selection over either game. If I was near that analysis team I'd be pushing the numbers of chances created, pushing the lads own avg conversion rate, and building their confidence around what's working and seeing how we can get them into better positions for more of those shots rather than worrying about a couple that didn't land.

Different story if the shot map shows silly positions under high pressure (or lads without a boot letting fly outside of their range), but we haven't had any of that. The big issue is a combination of lads shooting under average (not a problem, assuming we can get their confidence right and get them to/above) and us having too many shots under high/med pressure from our slower transitions.

@west kerry obviously Rossies are in better form then mayo at the moment buf that wouldn't be hard to be honest!

That’s right, No Doubt. The LGFA game throws in at the same venue at 7.30pm.

A more useful statistic would be the no of scoring chances we create from 'fast breaking' when we win possession compared to the no of scoring chances created from slow deliberate build up. And how this compares to the high flyers Donegal and Galway.
I would not be overly concerned in our conversion, it will improve with players like Carney and Diarmuid coming back.

Thanks @williejoe. I might do the double on Saturday

Is Conor Diskin available - haven't seen an update on him in a while

Predicting All Ireland winners in February is a risky game but I would expect the winner to be from Donegal, Galway or Kerry. Do I think Mayo have a chance? Not really to be honest Do I think Roscommon are in with a shout? Can’t say I do. My concern for Donegal is that they play a very high octane game and if they get to league final they are out again quickly in the championship. Lots of intense games can wear even the best teams out plus they’re not scoring goals at the minute. Remember Derry were flying last year til Donegal sickened them in first round of championship and Derry never recovered. I reckon Kerry are in with a shout because they always have seriously talented players and Mr Clifford ready to atone for last year. Galway are building a top class panel with lots of big strong men in the middle third , a strong defence and some serious forwards. The new rules seem to suit them but I will reserve judgement on that til I see how rules pan out as the year progresses. Truth is Galway should have won last year. I expect them to try to win league and then make a serious burst in championship .While I know people say we should be aiming for Sam each year I genuinely don’t think we are good enough at the moment Easily beaten in quarter finals 2 years ago and didn’t make last 8 last year. Need at least a provincial win but wouldn’t be over confident about that either though we could beat anyone on a given day I’d say we lack the consistency to win it out. Likewise Roscommon could beat anyone on a given day( Galway beware) but doubt if they have the defence to match their impressive forwards. Would be surprised to see Armagh do back to back, think it’s a year too early for Tyrone who have some super young players coming and reckon Dublin are in too much of a transitional stage to win it this year. Some really fine players on Derry team but probably not enough for ultimate glory

Thanks TSU and Willie Joe. On chances, I thought McBrien did brilliantly (at full forward!) for Frank Irwin’s first point. Caught it, held off the defender and laid it off perfectly to Frank, bang.

@JR thanks! Just think Division is sooo competitive this year you can't compare Rossies flying in it to us atm. But we are off form not denying that!

Willie Joe I wouldn’t call most of our wides against Tyrone from distance. We had 7 of them, 5 from around the 20 meter line or closer to goal only 1 outside the 2 point arc. 9 wides against Galway and 10 wides against Dublin is definitely more than 23 or 24 first 3 rounds of the league