That's an absolutely unbelievable stat that Stephen Coen will equal Cillian O'Connor's number of appearances, league plus champ, this weekend. Joint 10th place.

Stephen is a solid campaigner, does alot of unseen work off the ball, pops up for a score, and rarely gets injured
Cillian missed alot through injury

Fairly strong although would prefer Carney to be playing for his aerial abilities.
Darren McHale still has to prove he’s good enough to hold onto a summer jersey although he’s looked to be better all around recently e.g. mopping up breaking ball. Not scoring as much as his early cameos with Mayo though when he often got 3-4 points from CHF where he’s picked for this one. If he could get that back then he’s properly in the mix.

Coen did well in midfield the last day proving me wrong (on him in that position). My argument is based on height and spring. Derry did have a rookie though in hound Tohill. If Donegal fail to put a good ball winner in midfield then Stephen could do well. Would still prefer Mattie, Diarmaid and Jack ahead of him in that position for the Championship. It has been argued that Mattie should be half forward but would he have the same freedom to do what he does best then?

That team didn't start last weekend. I'm a bit skeptical about it starting this weekend.

Stronger looking team than I anticipated Reckon he will make a good few changes Mayo are very hot favourites with bookies but you’d wonder if they really want to end up in league final

There will be a few changes and be good to see others get a run.
We need to wrap Jordan in cotton wool , it's last thing he would want be will get burn out sooner rather than late if doesn't get some rest.
Be good to get more minutes in Carney and Reid as both are showing good form and understanding for rules aswell as good range of passing .
Sam and Coyne are lucky to keep their places if indeed they do .

Anyways good luck to the lads nothing to loose go for it and enjoy the day and hopefully full house and crowd get behind them

And still no change with the keeper...surely no 2 deserve a runout?

Need a strong team, we can be related.
I am sure other players get chances in the challenge games we play.

lets just hope reape doesnt get injured throughout the year as you have 2 sub goalies with 0 minutes in a mayo jersey.maybe their plan is to play him v leitrim?
(not underestimating sligo, but realistically we should be beating them)

We should know by now not to take any notice of the team named. Maybe it’s a hint of who is in the match day panel and then again, sometimes not. Didn’t a couple drop out completely last week.

It's very difficult to have worthwhile discussion on the named team. It's only mayo supporters that loose out as no one in donegal cares.
I thought Callinan got one excellent hand block in against Derry saving attempted 2 pointer. We need to see more of this skill and a general tightening up in the marking.
Winning doesn't mean we are in the final, but the extra game would benefit us imo.

"Stephen will make his 125th league and championship appearance, which puts him in joint 10th place alongside Cillian O’ Connor on Mayo’s all-time list."

Everything you need to know about Mayo football is summed up in that remarkable statistic. I'd be interested in seeing the top ten list of appearances, if it's available. It may be even more instructive.

Coen's lack of pace is a killer, especially in the new game. Stephen was never a tight man marker. He tends to shadow runners, and tries to head then off at the the pass. On 3 to 4 instances against Derry he failed to keep up with the runner he was tracking and Derry got easy enough points as a result. The goal against Kerry was on Stephen failing to close down the Kerry runner who simply ran around him.
Lack of pace defensively is a huge liability under the rules, and I think Stephen will be targeted come championship.

A bit of respect for Stephen ,he was captain of too all Ireland winning mayo teams and a all Ireland school team and has been picked by several senior managers,if he kicked Five too pointers on Sunday he wouldn't please some of the key bord worriers on here, probably never kicked a ball in there lives

All the so called experts who criticise Coen must be right. The multitude of managers who have selected him 125 times to represent his county at senior level and the managers who chose him to captain an All Ireland winning minor team, an All Ireland winning u 21 team and a Sigerson Cup winning team must surely have all been wrong.

Fully agreed. He clearly brings great leadership qualities and has been trusted by every manager he has had it seems.
His “problem” it seems is his versatility as he can play in full back line , half back line and midfield. To me that’s an asset . To others it’s a problem!
Personally I think his best position is probably centre back stationed in front of full back sweeping up ball whilst letting our wings backs and a corner back go up the pitch .

With the new rules you need a few players who can go up and down around the middle and have height and strength. This means you have some players who can chug along the full game.
Such a type of athlete won't be quick off the mark. A quick player won't have the stamina for the full game.

Yes I agree with above. Don’t get the constant over negative talk about Coen. Multiple management teams have continued to pick him. His reading of the game is excellent. He does a lot of work “off the ball” making runs and tracking etc. You’ll see this if you understand the game and actually watch it in person. People talk about pace but you need a mixture. Also we have one or two players with blistering pace but zero footballing brain.

Congrats to Stephen Coen, well done and keep it going. Being a past student of the midfield berth, I often monitor the movements of different midfield pairings and it is surprising the number of teams that get the balance wrong. Todays game contains so many moving parts, but outside of fielding ability, the role always contained four vital ingredients being 1) Don't let your man field or win ball on their kickout 2) track your player most especially when he moves into dangerous scoring zones 3) know when to leave your player to cover a greater threat and 4) make your marker sweat. Stephen does the first three of these excellently. But most especially to be excellent at the fourth one, he would have to be doing what Matty does, breaking lines scoring, roaming freely frequently etc. If both himself and Matty plays like that then we are really screwed. Anyone that ever played midfield understands that midfielders compliment each other. The player that has the flamboyance and forward style understands full well the worth of his lesser seen midfield partner.
As for Stephens's ability to be always fit and ready, it is really remarkable. Having such a senior voice amongst such a young bunch of lads every day they play and train is invaluable.

You'll see the likes of Murphy in and out of the game for Donegal this summer for reasons of self preservation and the conservation of energy. The clever footballer doesn't need to tear up and down. It's all about game management and reading what's in front of you once you pass your prime. Best I ever saw at this was Gooch Cooper.
Every team needs multi tasking athletes in this era with the clever bucks being in the right place to capitalise. Keep the workhorses in the middle fielding and fetching. The conductors of the orchestra are between the posts with the changes.

Coens lack of pace is his problem. And under the new rules, the ball might be leisurely swung around the arc but the 'plays' are executed at pace. As a poster above said, go back and look at the goal conceded against Kerry. We can't afford conceding soft goals come championship time.
One thing about Coen, he always turns up, gives 100 percent and gets through a lot of hard graft work.
He has a valuable role to play but it may be off the bench, where his versatility is a valuable asset.

Jeez.....this thread is titled "Team Named To Play Donegal" not a Stephen Coen scrutiny. Over the years there have been many things wrong with the Mayo setup and reasons for not winning the All Ireland but Stephen Coen is not one of them.

We n more than enough to beat Donegal,all the best for tomorrow,safe travels to all supporters

I've crunched the numbers on appearances from the search tool in the results archive (which anyone with sufficient curiosity could have done as well).

Here are the numbers I've got for the top ten appearances in League and Championship (which Stephen Coen will join tomorrow assuming he plays a part in the Donegal game):

1. Aidan O'Shea: total appearances 196 (170 starting)
2. Andy Moran: 185 (139)
3. Kevin McLoughlin 168 (140)
4. Keith Higgins 166 (159)
5. Lee Keegan 140 (131)
6. David Clarke 134 (132)
7. Alan Dillon 134 (109)
8. James Nallen 133 (120)
9. Jason Doherty 132 (94)
10. Cillian O'Connor 125 (93)
11. Stephen Coen 124 (92)

Anthony - I'd be curious to understand why you feel that "everything you need to know about Mayo football is summed up in that remarkable statistic"!

Fair play to Coen. Getting that many appearances is unbelievable dedication, the hours in the gym, getting the body right, eating well etc

Aside from having plenty talent as a footballer, and I admit I have given him plenty stick before, he has been selected by various managers because they can trust him to give his best each and every time and try and follow their instructions to the letter. Invaluable for any manager.

Last game of the league and you’d have to feel fairly positive about it overall, the likes of Neary and Irwin stepping up. Reid gives another option around half forward/midfield. Ruane finding form. McHugh has full back locked down, I notice how over the last few years the high ball is no longer the threat it once was against us.

Under the new rules the importance of those middle right players getting a breather is vital. I think our love of half backs stands us in good stead here as we can really swap any of our back six between the two lines and allow players catch a breather.

I would like to see Thornton get a run, I think at midfield it will be important later in the year to get fresh legs in from the 50-55th minute. Ryan it seems switches out to half forward later in games, I assume this is also to try and have fresher legs around the middle later in games.

Hopefully get to see a few faces from the panel Sunday.

Well done Stephen, a great servant and a great achievement.

My reading of the above is that we are loyal as a county to our players, and to our managers. We are also quite conservative. When you are in you are often seen as in, often rightly as can see by quality of players above, but some lads seem to be in panels an age without ever getting much of a chance at game time. I think Tsu flagged in earlier thread that we had lowest or joint lowest use of players in the league. we repeat managers etc.
"Who dares, wins" and all that, but despite not winning we remain quite steadfast and constant.

Going by Gizmobobs post this weekend should be about fringe players for us as only about 1% chance of relegation. If the risk goes up, bring on strong subs.
I agree this is a chance to see a sub goalie.
Hopefully the starting team is more experimental than listed. Donegal will have the B team out.

Donegal may be encountering technical difficulties with their team submission.... Be interesting see how plays out.

Agree shuffly, likely we will be subject to the usual few "unplanned" pregame changes again tomorrow.

Coen has been such a maligned player in mayo by fans who think that the only way to be good is to be flashy. He has had bad performances but he always stands up when it matters. He’s a calm presence and great leader. The fact that he has been on the panel since 2013 and playing fairly consistently since 2018 shows what a great character he is. He’s one of the players who when he retires we will realise how important he was.

Well done Stephen coen he does not deserve alot of the lack of respect from some supporters that he gets.

On tommorow we could still get relegated so shouldn't be to risky in using fringe players till we know we are safe & if we get to final use fringe players then.

I suppose the post did seem a little gnomic but you've thrown me a curveball WJ with those top ten stats. You menion that the data is accessible from the site. I just took a look and I can't see how I'd have been able to dig out the data from the way it's presented without spending days trawling through it.

Have you any plans to put the raw data up on Github or anywhere like that? I know the GAA is meant to be setting up some sort of database but that's something I'll believe only when I'll see it. I know you went to a lot of effort - proper drudge-work - to collate those stats in the first place WJ so if feel propriatorial about them that's fair enough. But while what's available is fantastic the data is not quite as available as you might think if you think that identifying the most-capped players is straightforward.

On the broader issue, stats are more and more common in football and you hear them being used a lot more in analysis too. It would be nice if the media in general were to publish that data, similar to box-scores in the USA. The fact they are so inconsistent in even formatting the scores across the different media doesn't give me much hope though.

Anthony what is so telling about Mayo Football from that stat.

Is the Donegal team named yet

While I accept the point, Anthony, that you can’t pull up player appearance stats instantaneously (like you can for individual player records, opposition etc.) it took me no more than half an hour to compile the list using the search tool. I can’t see how anyone with even a passing interest in Mayo GAA would need to spend days on such a task.

I’ve no plans to release the raw data in the manner you’ve suggested and I don’t think that anyone would expect me to.

My curveball, as you call it, remains undealt with! I’m still curious as to why you believe the stat about Stephen Coen’s appearances tells everything one would need to know about Mayo football. It’s one hell of a stat if it’s capable of doing so.

The Mayo county board have the data as well on players scores, appearances etc. as well. It's pity they don't put on the webpage for us nerds. Be nice to attack it with power bi for a nose :)

What is thinking of having the large extended panel of players does anyone know? Are they just a training aid for the main panel, as a good few of the lads on main panel aren't getting a look in it's unlikely them poor bucks will see grass.

I thought Stephen And Mattie played excellent together last week against Derry. I saw that pairing mentioned above and they did complement each other. They seemed to read each other very well. Yes, I think there are too many people quick to criticise and don't see all the work done off the ball.

What time is the game tomorrow

I hope that the extended mayo senior and under 20 panels, who are not getting game time, are allowed back to their clubs to play senior leagues next weekend. Otherwise these players will will be totally under cooked for championship in August.

It's on at 3.45pm James and is being streamed live by Spórt TG4 on YouTube. I'm planning on embedding the live stream here on the blog for ease of viewing for those not going to it.

Thanks Willie Joe you are a gent

My reaction had as much to do with Cillian O'Connor as it has to do with Stephen. I'm always really struck by the fact that the highest-scorer in the Championship, ever, is a Mayoman. I'm also struck that more isn't made of this fact. If a Kerryman or a Dub were the highest-scoring player in the Championship, I can't help but feel we'd hear more about it. Or if it were someone like Declan Browne in Tipp or Matty Forde in Wexford, ploughing lonely furrows.

I don't post much on my own blog anymore, but I made an exception when Cillian stepped away from the panel this year: https://anspailpinfanach.substack.com/p/cillian-oconnor. I thought a bigger deal should have been made about him, and still do.

Now, it's not easy to compare forwards with backs but in my opinion Cillian was/is a better footballer than Stephen. So to find their number of appearances was the same surprised me.

The publication of the Top Ten list surprised me some more. I'm surprised Colm Boyle isn't in it, for instance. I know that Colm and Cillian have had careers interrupted by injury and that Stephen has been injury-free. Colm has four All-Stars. Cillian has two. Should they have been picked more often?

Now. We can't properly judge this because to do so we'd need to know when they were available for selection, rather than just when they were picked. The equality may be a factor of when people were available for selection as much as anything. But we can only work with such numbers as we have, and I find it puzzling that Cillian and Colm weren't picked more often.

I also seem to remember both Colm and Cillian spending time on the bench when I would have played them myself. You may think I have a bee in my bonnet about Cillian. You are correct. I do. If it were up to me, I'd do for him whatever McGuinness has done for Michael Murphy in Donegal.

Panning back a little, and again at the risk of blowing my own trumpet, I published something on my own blog in 2018 trying to figure out why Mayo don't win All-Irelands: https://anspailpinfanach.substack.com/p/why-mayo-dont-win-all-irelands. I based it on Ger Loughnane dropping Tony Guilfoyle at the start of the 1994-'95 season, and wondered if any Mayo manager would ever be so cold-blooded. Guilfoyle is a clubmate of Loughnane's. He didn't speak to Loughnane for twenty years, but that was a price Loughnane was willing to pay to win those All-Irelands for Clare.

And I don't think there is anyone in Mayo willing to pay that price. I think that one of the reasons Mayo don't win All-Irelands is because - and I don't know why this is or if it's even a conscious decision - Mayo pick teams according to who's they want to see win a medal rather than who is able to help the team win a medal. This is not a sensible way to do it.

I'll give you an example. Before one of the finals in the 2010s, there was talk about whether or not so-and-so a player was fit. And talking to people and reading comments online there was a strong opinion abroad that the player had to start, as he deserved the medal.

Everyone in Clare thought Tony Guilfoyle deserved a metal. He deserves a shed of medals, actually. He was a great hurler and a better man. But Loughnane knew that nobody in Clare would get a medal if Guilfoyle were on the panel so he dropped him. Loughnane cut out Tony's heart and showed it to him, because that was a price worth paying as far as Loughane was concerned.

And that's why I think that stat about Cillian O'Connor and Stephen Coen having the same number of appearances for the county tells you all you need to know about Mayo football.

Looking forward to a Mayo win tomorrow. Stephan and Mattie did vey well last week and hoping they keep it going. Home support needs to get behind the boys early to boost them on. [Deleted].

That's an interesting take, Anthony, but it's not one that, to be honest, I think is all that valid.

Aside from the obvious slur it casts on Stephen Coen - and it does - that narrative doesn't take proper account of player availability, even though you do mention in passing that this could be a possible factor. It's a huge one in this instance: I don't ever recall Stephen being unavailable due to injury but Cillian has, literally, lost years of his career to injury. If he'd had a better run of it, he could easily have 30 or more total appearances at this stage. Injury is the one major factor in explaining why Cillian has only played 125 times for Mayo.

Aidan O'Shea has said more than once that the best any player can do for his team is to be available. He's living proof of that himself, even if at times he's played when less than fully fit. Sadly, due to no fault of his own, Cillian often wasn't available - he missed whole league campaigns (including the year we won it in 2019) and we can but speculate about how the '21 All-Ireland final might have gone if we had him on the pitch that day.

The fact that, despite all the time missed from injury, Cillian has managed to become the top scorer of all time in the Championship is a testament to his greatness and I'd agree with you that, if he played for any other county, he'd be lauded to the heavens. What made him even greater was the tougher the opposition the better he got. No wonder the Dubs hated him - they knew what kind of damage he did to them every time they met.

I'd also agree with you that we should have done whatever it takes to keep Cillian involved this year. That didn't happen and we're undoubtedly worse off because of it.

Back to the two lads, though, I can't see the sense in trying to compare them. They're completely different kinds of players who were asked to do different things within the team. The fact that, by full-time tomorrow, they'll be on the same number of appearances for Mayo is neither here nor there and to say that this tells anything (let alone everything) about Mayo football is just plain silly.

I don't see the relevance of that Tony Guilfoyle story either, aside, of course, from adding to the slur it indirectly casts on Stephen. And that theory that as a county Mayo pick players who they want to see win a medal rather than players who would be able to help the team win a medal is just that - a theory. One that doesn't have a shred of proof to back it up and would suggest we've been incredibly lucky all the times - despite apparently picking the wrong players - that we've managed to get to all those finals.

Paraic - I've deleted that final sentence of your comment for obvious reasons. That's not a relevant topic to be raising here and I'd appreciate if you didn't do so again.

I'm beginning to think Donegal may tog at full strength tomorrow and if they win, send a 2nd string up next Sunday for league final.

If 1st string doesn't tog tomorrow that's three weeks without a game going into Derry and can't see them doing that.

Think the players and supporters need to be ready to rumble!!!

Have Donegal named their team yet ?

They’ve gone from 5/1 to 3/1 in 24 hrs . Maybe they are going to go in stronger than last week ?

No word of a team yet, Seán.

Really interesting post Anthony, I chuckled reading some of the allegories. And don't see any slur in it personally if comparing someone to Guilfoyle who you described as a "great hurler and a better man". I'd take a slur like that any day of the week compared to some of the things I've been called :)

Donegal will likely be named the exact same as last week with some changes before the off.

Donegal team and subs named: https://x.com/officialdonegal/status/1903533328331911492/photo/1

Thanks Gizmobobs. I appreciate it.

Donegal have not named a strong team by the looks of it...

Hello all,

It would be nice to hear comments about the Donegal team.
Just now it seems very unseemly to be raising comparisons just mentioned like that, on the eve of important game. I am more familiar with the word 'digs'

ciaran2.

Donegal team out, very strong defence, no murphy mcbrearty or gallon in forward line, like mayo could be plenty of changes before game

WJ, on an unrelated note, do you know if Mayo v Sligo is is televised? I’ll be out of the country for it.

I don’t know, Auldstock, but like you I’m hoping it will be as a prior engagement means I need to stay in Dublin that weekend myself.

Donegal swapping out Mogan, Gallen, Brennan, McBrearty, Murphy, Doherty, McFadden-Ferry & Gallagher from their most experienced 26 (you'd make a case for plenty of those potentially making a Championship 15), so wouldn't be at their full strength or depth.

That said, nothing 'weak' about that 15. They're well fit to compete:
- 12 out of their top 15 for minutes in the league (11 of those named to start)
- 9 out of their top 11 minutes (all 9 of those named to start)

It will all come down to their attitude, really.

For most sides, you'd assume they'd be -10% to -20% normal levels given the lack of jeopardy involved for them.

When it's one motivated by Jim? Who knows. He could easily have them ripping into the game at 100% of Championship intensity to avoid consecutive losses & use the final to build minutes deep into the squad (a great way to emphasise the failings of the current setup), or just as easily swap in the young lads and be ok with strolling through it with the focus (mental on the day & physical in recent sessions) already shifted to Derry.

Watched the hurling there , pairc ui chaomh really should be used more , it looks great

Mayo v Sligo isn’t on RTÉ anyway. They released their fixture list today. Neither is Mayo / Sligo v Leitrim semifinal. Hopefully TG4 will step in.

Anthony
I couldn't agree on the narrative that Mayo managers are not ruthless ....James Horan dropped Conor Mortimer and Tom Parsons.
John OMahony dropped Ciaran McDonald .
Honestly I think we are bit over critical of ourselves....we have been consistently competitive since 1996 and you could argue back since 1985 which was the moment things seemed to emerge from a 34 year winter....alot of heartbreak but I think you might be over analysing things a bit....which we all tend to do at times in Mayo I think.

Agree Sean Burke, it's a class surface. Impossible to get to it via rail service from the west, but it's good enough to hold All Ireland.
Begs the question why didn't the GAA develop a stadium and Gaelic village somewhere near Athlone or Tullamore and central to 32 counties. But Dublin is the centre of Ireland.......

@nephin Tg4 don’t show championship matches live

Huge fan of Cillian and nothing but admiration for what he has done and achieved for Mayo. Has been an absolutely fantastic servant to the county. But he has not made himself available this year. I presume this is his decision . It should be respected but not a reason to have a go at management. Lots of players don’t see eye to eye with management but get on with it. Huge respect for Coen also. Always available always gives his best . Maigh Eo Abu

Will people be calling for mcstay"s head if we get relegated, as they were after the Galway game?

Thanks 1985. I wonder will it be on GAAGo or whatever it’s called now.

We can only speculate why Cillian stepped away this year. One aspect is Ryan is a very similar type of player, high scoring, a free taker and also many years younger. Ryan has the pace to make his own pace to kick a point whereas Cillian these days is more reliant on sneaking free before he has the ball. Looking at the other options for corner and full forwards, Irwin is being groomed, Carr was a good option when injury gave him a break, Tommy C often plays there and has X factor, Aido is probably most effective as an inside line ball winner so despite his great career, it’s hard to see how Cillian gets much game time. If we were in the high altitude zone near the end of a big game in Croker Cillian would be a great man to bring on with all his leadership skills and obvious class as a shooter. He may not accept being a bit player but that’s just speculation from me. His scoring rates from open play have not been high for a few years. If he were in the Dubs panel (especially the Gavin version) they wouldn’t be starting him. Connolly won the free that won the dubs the 2018 final. Came on in the 2nd half that day. Time waits for no man; injuries and niggles clock up with mileage. Cillian had a serious injury. Never particularly fast; if a yard is take off him, it shows. Aido has mostly avoided injury because he’s so big he’s hard to hurt. His body is stronger than the lads kicking him. He also has the power to throw lads off him to make space rather than trying to use pace. Fenton hardly picked up an injury for the same reason (he’s big) and he’s retiring in and around 30 after 1 average (for him) season. The mileage (on the body) and commitment to train at the same level are probably factors. The other consideration is management need to try unproven players in the league to build the panel, also impacting Cillian’s minutes on the field.

If Cillian decided not to make himself available this season, it was his decision and I don't believe that the Management could have done anything to change his mind, no matter what anyone says. Only he knows his reasons and, maybe someday he will explain them. I suspect that it was a combination of factors, lot of mileage on the clock, long absence with a serious injury, time required to be devoted to be at the necessary standard, a fairly new business to take care of and travel from Dublin, where I understand that he resides now. Or maybe, he just felt that he needed a break to refresh and recharge his batteries. I don't hold with any conspiracy theories that he had a falling out with management-as a matter of fact, I hate conspiracy theories, as most of them are baseless bullshit.

Ticket available for game today. Cant make it unfortunately. Free or nearest offer

Cillian is a mayo football legend , always will be , from that day in The Hyde in the pissing rain out kicking Donnie shine that seen us lift Nestor to the day he opted out , he has been a leader and dedicated himself to the cause of Mayo football . His reasons for leaving id doubt we will ever know as that’s not his style to disrupt the project, whatever about Cillian not getting the credit he deserves from outside the county , there are a group of men that have been involved in all these years , dont ever doubt their love for the jersey cause them bucks have giving every fibre of body and soul to the green n red . I hope we see him wear that jersey again , if we don’t he will still be remembered as one of the greatest, Cillian o Connor.

Donegal are now 15/8 this morning, that’s some price fluctuating from 5/1 Friday morning.

Wonder will the stand be full today and what time you would need to be in to get into the stand?

Can't imagine a huge crowd. What way wind blowing? If dry may be warner out of stand on other side.

Have you still that ticket Hows she cutting