That Mayo team wins.
For some reason people think 6-8 months is going to kill a few players, because thatās only how long ago it was these lads were hopping.
Without turmoil or changes in manager Mayo will have a ride and trusted approach. Galway are still tinkering and learning. I would say Mayo realise the value of this game as a qualifier run and Super 8 will hardly ever produce and All Ireland winner I would suggest
Maybe so but great teams can age very quickly and the age profile of that Mayo team must be worrying.
Ultimately we donāt know but they canāt keep coming back every year.
7 of that starting side are now in their 30s.
In another lifetime Andy Moran would not be making his 165th appearance for Mayo on Sunday. At age 34, he wouldnāt be still playing intercounty football or thinking back on the six All-Ireland finals he has lost since his debut season in 2004 and wondering what if?
He wouldnāt be worrying about beating Galway, after losing their last two meetings in the Connacht championship, and instead most of his thoughts would be on his gym business in Castlebar and his wife and two children.
That doesnāt mean there is anywhere else he would rather be on Sunday than in MacHale Park, and although openly admitting he thought he would have won two All-Irelands at this stage, with or without being footballer of the year, Moran is perfectly content to just keep pressing on.
āWould I have preferred to have won an All-Ireland in 2004, got it out of the way, not to have this attention? Of course I would. But listen, it is what it is. And to me itās just great that we are competing at the highest level of the sport that we are in.
āPeople talk about losing All-Irelands and various things like that. I would much prefer to be in the All-Ireland than not be in it. You have only one chance of winning, and thatās if you are in the bloody thing. So, weāll keep fighting to be in it, and weāll keep fighting to win it.ā
It is a few years now since Moran reckoned this Mayo team were good enough to go and win not one but two All-Irelands despite their string of final loses: now heās only a little less sure.
Massive journey
āWell, Iād take one now at this stage. Weāve had a massive journey. What I would love to think is that Iām going hell for leather to win one this year, next year. Whenever I play I think you can only have one goal.
āBut the key now is that weāve a legacy moving forward. Itās like we didnāt come, get to an All-Ireland final or two, then drop off. Weāve literally stayed there, six, seven years, and weāre hoping that these young guys that are coming in after us, the likes of Stephen Coen, Conor Loftus, all these guys that now understand that they can carry it on.
āBut I thought the team at the time was good enough, I genuinely did. You see what Dublin did, they went and won two or three. Thatās the sign of a really great team. No matter what you do youād love to do it twice to show that you can back stuff up.ā
Win or lose on Sunday, he expects Mayo to have a say in the latter stages, especially come the new Super-8 stage; and the same with Galway. After that if Mayo do fall short he certainly wonāt be feeling sorry for himself, and 2019 might well be another year. Especially given the fact he though injury had finished his career in 2014.
āTo be honest I wasnāt going to retire or anything, but I thought I was finished in 2014. I would still argue Iām not that talented of a footballer. I would live my life by working as hard as I can on my game. Iāve certain areas which Iām good at, Iāve certain areas that Iām crap at. I try to make the ones that Iām good at as best I can and then I move on. I can honestly say that if I left in the morning I could say Iāve literally tried my best.
Personality
āI actually do think itās a tiny bit of our personality that we can kind of take stuff, give out about it for a while, and then just go at it again. I think thatās probably just the nature of our psyche
āWhat I can live with is Iām playing the game, I had one or two serious injuries throughout my career, I came back, I played really well, I burst myself to win the All-Ireland. If it doesnāt happen I canāt do any more. I have a wife and two kids at home ā if I feel sorry for myself for five minutes Iām dead.ā
Mayo have one championship debutant for Sunday in defender Eoin OāDonoughue, while Galway have three: defender SeĆ”n Andy Ć Ceallaigh, midfielder CiarĆ”n Duggan and forward Barry McHugh.
Thatās exactly it and to be honest I still donāt think weāll know after Sunday, whatever happens.
Itās when the Super 8s and Croke Park comes around is when we will have a fair idea.
You can sense the desperation off your posts re Mayo.
No desperation here.
Just stating facts that every side has a lifespan and Mayo are coming very close to their expiry date. They have defied the critics so far but itās going to come some day.
Youāve been saying it for the last three seasons.
Nobody ages any quicker than anyone else.
What happens is one player has had enough for physical or lifestyle reasons or maybe change of management. This can then lead to a standing ovation effect where others who view themselves as equal/similar start questioning themselves and either follow suit or reduce effort.
However I do not see that with this mayo see ide yet.
If well looked and fter being 30+ these days is no bother. It varies obviously for individuals. But physically with the way sports science is now and especially who mayo have looking after them I would say 35 is the new 30
As have a lot of people but if you keep thinking these Mayo players can keep defying their age then you donāt know very much.
There are signs their bodies are creaking though.
Injuries are being picked up more and more frequently by these guys.
Last weeks panel on Sunday Sport, now I was only half listening in the garden with the kids, seemed to suggest this was the year to beat the Dubs. Lots of players retired, others aging, new lads may not be experienced.
If that was their view of the Dubs then I donāt know where the winner is coming fromā¦not Mayo based on the players retiring and aging presumably.
I hope not but I think @Cicero_Dandi maybe on a high in September and not just after celebrating the Popeās visit.
They were at the same shite last year.
Fact is Dublin are 4 games away from 5 in a row. And only 2 teams can beat them imo.
Connolly is a massive loss if he doesnāt return which will give the chasing pack a glimmer but I donāt believe them to be as vulnerable as many of the pundits are saying.
Sometimes it does.
Have you stats to back that up?
Because my information is mayo injuries have been steadily reducing over the past 5 years
Itās clear as day, look at the injury problems during the league.
Barrett had knee surgery during the off season.
Lee Keegan had a double hip op.
Vaughan hasnāt played this year to date with injury problems.
COC tore his hamstring.
SOS missed the most of the league with a knee injury.
Harrison missed the majority of the league with injury too.
Galway have far better forwards .
Quite a few of those Galway forwards have still to stand up on a truly big day. Its time for Shane Walsh in particular, to stop faffing about. Going back to Armstrong as well, suggests a lack of faith in a few of the others which have been tried. Armstrong has flattered to deceive for years. Iām a big fan of Galway, but the Baysht aside, the rest have a lot to prove.
Fair comment but I still think there is more pace and natural scoring there .
So what?
From my information they rested platers and as well as that injuries are down on previous years.
COC, Harrison and Barrett all under 30 too.
So you are talking rubbish
Highly debate able.
Bigger ceiling of ability maybe.