That will be the official line anyway.
1 Like
Mayo came perilously close to being dumped out by all of Derry, Cork and Roscommon, and were troubled by Clare too.
But none of that matters now, only to the extent that now theyâve come through it, itâs a clear benefit to them that all that happened.
They have an incredible ability to match the level of their opponents. That applies as equally to their performances against shit teams as it does to their performances against the top teams, but it undoubtedly applies to their performances against Dublin at the business end of the championship.
I watched the two finals against Dublin back in full over the last couple of nights. They were the better team over the two matches. They sustained two own goals, a stupid decision to drop their very assured goalkeeper, a first half black card for their talisman in the replay, and a disastrous penalty concession. And they still were within one point at the end and should have got extra-time.
It obviously doesnât necessarily follow that if Mayo eradicate that kind of thing this year that theyâll win, but I donât get the confidence that Dublin will win handily. I wasnât overly impressed by most of Dublinâs performance against Tyrone - they did what they had to do and no more. Tyrone played with no conviction and no intensity.
I just canât imagine Mayo doing that. Mayoâs utterly indefatigable spirit crushed Kerry as much as anything and it can win you an All-Ireland.
1 Like
Had to remove the option.
Itâs mad, next youâll have people saying Diarmuid Connolly didnât wear the number 12 jersey on Sunday.
That is shocking footage there. Iâve never seen that before. Now I understand why Tyrone fell out of the parade last week.
Are the little mice in your head gone on full alert, mate? You faggot.
What is the matter with you?
Do one, you gimp.
They did what they had to do. I would suggest they didnât get out of third gear.
There is an even bigger difference to Dublin this year with regard to a focus on tactics and defending more than ever before. Some may say that it is to the detriment of the team in that they would be better if they played more of a free flowing type of game. I think you may see a match similar to Kerry Donegal in 2014. For the first time really a team (Kerry) applied Donegal like tactics to Donegal in terms of withdrawing players back behind the ball, and holding the half back line in place when the team attacked so as to prevent the counterattack. I think Dublin will focus heavily on counteracting Mayo beforehand and will be tactically spot on by the time the final comes. Dublin will completely stifle them and they have enough then in their forward line, both starting and from the bench, to hurt Mayo and ultimately win the match.
I could be completely wrong of course.
For your sake itâs a good job Iâve turned a new leaf on this forum lad.
Agree with all that. Thereâs has been little or nothing between the teams most times theyâve played and even when Dublin won by 7 mayo were 4 up in that game earlier. The difference in the respective bench impact is massive and I think mayo need to be prepared to shift tactically during the game to force dublin to react. I donât think mayo can set out their stall and go for it and hope to sustain it for the full game.
They were in top gear for about the first 20 minutes and then eased into second gear for the rest of the match. It doesnât really tell us anything we didnât already know.
Is there? Sunday certainly isnât the first time Dublin had 15 behind the ball in a big game. But I think youâll see less of that in the final.
Mayo are very flexible in that they have two different sorts of attacking games - the familiar running game from deep, and the two ball winning full forwards - they pretty much always keep three players up, and they always have good options for outlet balls. That means their opponents have a lot more to think about when Mayo have the ball. Compare that to the ponderous, one dimensional running through the middle on the counter game that Tyrone attempted to employ. And they have width - they like to attack down the wings and kick in diagonal balls.
Mayoâs short kickouts were excellent in the replay against Kerry. So if Dublin want to push up on those they wonât be getting 15 behind the ball or anything like it. Mayo have proved they can go long, and they have proved before in big matches that they can disrupt Dublinâs short and long kickouts.
Aggression is key to disrupting Dublin. Tyrone and Monaghan were meek. Both had the defensive shape to upset Dublin, but they didnât have anything near the requisite aggression, which was very surprising in Tyroneâs case. Mayo are the most physically aggressive team in the game.
After initially being a doubter, Iâve become increasingly impressed by Stephen Rochford.
Dublin held six defenders back against Donegal in 2011, by the way.
I was talking recently to a player who faced Kilkenny in a colleges game. He described him as more like a rugby prop than a footballer.
Heâs very hunched over.
âNo neck and rounded like a barrelâ was how it was said to me
Three weeks in Aussie Rules will do that to you.
1 Like
Never won an all star.
Assuming @Sidney list is of all time all stars over 30 and not just this season
Not even 2010?!
Thatâs mad.
How many All-Stars has Sean Armstrong won?
That was under Gilroy. Take Gavin versus Donegal in 2014 and he was very naive. But he certainly has learned from that.
I take all your points on Mayoâs flexibility. I think Dublin will be aware of that more than ever before and tailor their game at least as much to stopping Mayo than playing their own game. And I think they will stop Mayo because they have the players to do it.