Canât wait for saturday now. Got me ticket and mask am set to go. 
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Tyroney Holohan
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Anyone able to post Darragh O Seâs article from todayâs Irish Times please ?
Darragh Ă SĂ©: Mayoâs rapid transition a testament to James Horanâs management
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Dublin might prove a step too far on Saturday but this Mayo side are here to stay
about 9 hours ago Updated: about 8 hours ago
The transition of Mayo under James Horan has been both swift and successful. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
When I look at Mayo now, my first thought is that you have to hand it to James Horan. When he came back on board as manager at the end of 2018, everybody could see that the best days were over for that great Mayo team. That was the Newbridge Or Nowhere year, where they went out to Kildare before the championship was even in July.
Look at the platoon of good soldiers who have walked out the door since then. David Clarke, Keith Higgins, Chris Barrett, Ger Cafferkey, Donal Vaughan, Tom Parsons, SĂ©amie OâShea, Andy Moran. Look at the injuries that have taken out Jason Doherty and Brendan Harrison for the last two championships and Cillian OâConnor for this one. Thatâs more or less two thirds of the team that started the 2017 All-Ireland final.
And then look at Horanâs record in his second stint â All-Ireland semi-final in his first year, All-Ireland final in his second and now another All-Ireland semi-final in his third. Everybody â and I include myself in this â had written them off for a while. I didnât see how you could turn over that many players in such a short time and still stay at the top of the game.
Transition is hard. Itâs a delicate process for a manager to handle. I donât believe for a second that every one of those players decided by themselves that it was time to walk away. I presume Horan made up a few of their minds for them. Thatâs how these things work.
My last year was 2009 and over that winter, I made up my mind that the time had come. I was happy enough with it. You have to call a spade a spade eventually and I wasnât going to fool myself. I was going to be 35 when the next championship rolled around and knew the reality. So I went to meet Jack OâConnor and his selectors to tell them the news.
volume is 80%volume is gedempt
On the way there, I was thinking of a famous incident in Tralee one time where there was a fella playing for one of the clubs who, letâs say, wasnât the most popular man to have around the place. He was a divisive sort of a character, always getting in rows and annoying people.
Mayoâs Conor Loftus and Diarmuid OâConnor react as referee David Gough awards Kildare a late free during the All-Ireland SFC qualifier at St Conlethâs Park in Newbridge in 2018. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
When he suddenly announced one day that he was moving to America, there were mixed feelings around the place. On the one hand, nobody was sad to see him go. On the other, they knew theyâd have to throw him a going away party or it would only cause more grievance and strife.
They had obviously come to the same conclusion as I had over that winter. Timeâs up, Darragh. Next!
So thatâs what they did. They threw him a party and made a fuss of him and wished him all the best on his travels. Gave him a great send-off altogether. Such a great send-off, in fact, that halfway through the night, so touched by all the love and affection was he that he stood up on his stool and declared that he had decided not to go at all!
I was laughing thinking of this on the way to see Jack and the lads. I was anticipating all the nice things they were going to say to me. I knew right well that somewhere along the way, the prospect of giving it one more year would come up. We were All-Ireland champions, there were new lads who needed to be brought along, all that stuff.
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I had my bit prepared in my head -â âAh, thatâs very good of ye to say so, lads. Very good of ye. But my mind is made up. Ye can try all ye like but you wonât be changing it. The time comes for everyone and this is my time.â I wasnât going to be like the man in Tralee. I was going to move on, regardless of how nice they were to me.
As it turned out, I neednât have worried. I told them what I was thinking and they wished me all the best and that was that. They had no more a notion of asking me to stay on than they had of sending me to the moon. They had obviously come to the same conclusion as I had over that winter. Timeâs up, Darragh. Next!
Thatâs what transition involves. Jack OâConnor knew where he wanted to go with his team and Horan, you can be sure, came into his second stint with Mayo knowing the same. He made sure that the original agreement was for four years. When you look at the way they dismantled Galway in the second half of the Connacht final, thereâs no doubt they can be delighted with where they are in Year Three.
He was basically saying, âThereâs a job going here â either you get yourself into the shape to do it or someone else willâ
I predicted that Galway would beat them that day. And although it looked that way at half-time, you could only be impressed by how relentless Mayo were from the minute the second half started. Time and time again, they ran at Galway and powered through them. They looked like the Mayo team of old.
Thatâs why I tip my hat to Horan. Transition periods are supposed to last a lot longer than this. Itâs a very rare thing to be able to bring about a massive turnover in players like that and get back to the same rung of the ladder in the same shape. All those young lads are fit and strong and athletic enough to survive at this level already. Thatâs a massive tribute to those players, first and foremost. But itâs some sign of Horanâs management too.
Mayoâs Ryan OâDonoghue and Finnian Ă Laoi of Galway during the Connacht SFC Final at Croke Park. Photograph: Lorraine OâSullivan/Inpho
It tells you a few things. It tells you his standards are sky high and his expectations are sky high too. He wasnât giving young lads a chance just for the sake of it or to get experience. He was basically saying, âThereâs a job going here â either you get yourself into the shape to do it or someone else will.â
When you look at lads like OisĂn Mullen, PĂĄdraig OâHora, Tommy Conroy and Ryan OâDonoghue, thatâs what has got them to this point. Outside of Mayo, nobody knew any of these guys three years ago. Horan has them in the physical shape to play at the top level but also the mental shape.
Conroy had a poor first half against Galway. He had to be very close to seeing the curly finger at half-time. Mayo were five points down and couldnât afford to be carrying any passengers at that stage. And what did he do? The first chance he got in the second half, he went off on a run and scored a brilliant point. Take someone else off, boss. Iâm doing fine here.
OâDonoghue has had to take over the free-taking from Cillian OâConnor. Thatâs some job to land on a young lad in his second season. But it hasnât taken a hair out of him. He has missed one free in three games and that was at the end of the Leitrim match when they were a long way away out the gap. He buried his penalty the last day as well and scores plenty from play. The Dubs are the biggest test but he has passed everything with flying colours so far.
Transition is hard for a manager but itâs a tricky thing for the players too. It isnât a simple job coming in after one of the best Mayo teams there has ever been. That list of players I had at the start includes some of the most popular footballers that ever played in red and green. Youâre talking about players that are loved in Mayo.
So thereâs no two ways about it â if youâre coming in after them, you are going to be compared to them and judged by the standards they reached and the success they had. Your mistakes are going to be scrutinised in a way that actually has nothing to do with you.
Mayo havenât beaten Dublin in league or championship since 2012 â hardly any of these Dublin players have any idea what itâs like to lose to them
A defender who gets taken for 1-2 in the first half straight away has people longing for Keith Higgins. An inside forward who canât make the ball stick makes an instant hero of Andy Moran. Itâs not fair but itâs just how things go. It happens in the aftermath of all great teams when they fall away. Plenty of the Dublin team are getting it these days too.
I do think those Mayo young lads have one advantage though. For all the great things achieved by the team theyâre replacing, they still left room for this generation to do what they couldnât. Thereâs still that All-Ireland to win.
Mayoâs Tommy Conroy is challenged by Matthew Tierney of Galway during the Connacht SFC Final at Croke Park. Photograph: Lorraine OâSullivan/Inpho
That always gives Horan a carrot to hold in front of them. You think youâre up there? Why not go further? Living up to the standards of the previous team is only a stepping stone. The job Horan has given them is to surpass everything that went before.
Plenty of people think they will take Dublin this weekend but I have my doubts. Mayo havenât beaten Dublin in league or championship since 2012 â hardly any of these Dublin players have any idea what itâs like to lose to them. I donât think thereâs much in it but until the Dubs show some bit of wobble with a game on the line, theyâre always going to be the safe bet.
Mayo have handled their transition well and they are a coming force. Anyone can see it. But they still have a bit to go to beat Dublin. I donât see it happening. Not yet.
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The lads there are awful messers winding up Jimmy
Afraid to go head to head with Stephen Kennyâs charges.
Yerra yerra
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Copy and paste please
I have a sneaking suspicion that Dublin are coming good at just the right time
Dublin have beaten Mayo six times in the championship since 2013. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
August 11 2021 06:30 PM
Iâm not a bookie and Iâm not a punter either, so maybe that explains how I canât figure out why, two weeks ago, Dublin and Kerry swapped places in the All-Ireland football betting, with the Kingdom now favourites.
Sure, as I argued here in recent weeks, Dublin are slipping. Indeed, Iâd say they are on the decline, but to disregard the six-times All-Ireland champions in that manner is a joke.
Thereâs no doubt they are a pale shadow of the Dubs of three years ago.
When Dublin played their high-tempo game in the early years of their six-in-a-row they were unstoppable and a joy to watch.
But now, this possession game and âgoing through the processâ is conservative and downright boring to watch. Itâs almost as if they are playing with the handbrake slightly on.
On top of that the impact subs are no longer there and they must worry that only two goals have been scored in the championship this season against Wexford, Meath and Kildare.
Do I fancy them to win next Saturday night? On the positive side, I suspect Dublin have been planning to peak in August.
Did you ever for one minute believe Kildare were going to beat them last Sunday? Dublin certainly never panicked.
And, just when Dublin need them, lads such as John Small and Eoin Murchan are reporting in fit for action.
Yet this is a banana skin against Mayo. The Green and Red have the artillery to take down this Dublin team.
They have the speed and their running power from deep can hurt the Dubs. But which of three Mayo teams will turn up?
Will it be the Mayo team that was opened up at will by Galway in the first half of the Connacht Final?
Might it be the team that was level with Dublin with 20 minutes to go in last yearâs All-Ireland final and clearly didnât believe it could win the match?
Or will they be the team that blitzed Galway in the second half two weeks ago, outscoring them 2-8 to 0-3?
The key is Mayoâs mental resolve. Their last championship win over Dublin was in the 2012 All-Ireland semi-final.
Since then Dublin have beaten Mayo in the 2013 All-Ireland Final, the 2015 semi-final after a replay, the 2016 Final after a replay, the 2017 Final, the 2019 semi-final and again in last yearâs decider.
Thatâs eight losses to the same team for many of these Mayo players.
Mayo have the pace, the power, the personnel strength to take down Dublin next Saturday evening.
However, they have to play the game on their terms, forcing Dublin to doubt themselves.
This is a great chance for them even without the injured Cillian OâConnor. But without OâConnor do they have scoring power?
I still have a sneaking suspicion Dublin are coming to the boil at the right time.
I canât believe that, next Saturday night, marquee Dublin players such as Brian Fenton and Con OâCallaghan will be as quiet as they were last Sunday.
VERDICT: Dublin
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Yerra
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Oisin Mullin a major doubt for Saturday apparently. Heâd be key to any chance of victory in my mind
Heâs probably the only man able to take Con
Or Kilkenny
Spillane would sicken your hole.
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Durcan will go on Kilkenny and look to put him on back foot
I know it famously happened with Tommy and lar but why doesnât it happen more often that one team want a player to man mark someone but the opposition want their player to mark a different fella? Eg mayo want d o Connor to man mark fenton but the dubs want fenton to stick with Matty ruane
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I think Dubs will want McCarthy on Ruane and stop his runs. He hasnât been rattled properly. Macker loves playing Mayo as itâs always full on. Dublin will be happy with Fenton on OâConnor.
Hopefully Mayo put o Shea in for the throw in again. McCarthy took off like a bullet from the throw in last year and the chopper hadnât left the stadium as Deano palmed it into the net
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