Piss poor. Finian Hanley has been our only top class player the last few years, when he was gone the full back line couldn’t keep a beach ball out. The whole set up is ametuerish and the book stops with mulholland for that. Mayo warmed up with a fast game in small grids. Galway took pot shots from the 40 and wandered aimlessly around. Then in the game mayo made them look ridiculous with short kick outs while Galway just hoofed 50/50 balls on midfield where they were being destroyed. But mulholland had to make do with what he has, and all these u21 all Irelands have done is create a panel of shapers, to use an NFL analogy a team of highly rated draft picks who refuse to do any work and really improve when they get to the top level, the type that cheating but canny cunt belichick wouldn’t touch with a pole.
Sean Armstrong gave an amazing interview to malachy clerkin in Saturdays times. He basically said that when he was a young player he didn’t care about losing as the blame would fall on the senior players, not the 19 year old corner forward. So he used to just give up trying at times thinking he’d get away with it and a few tracksuits to wear in halo thrown in. No player with that attitude should be let play inter county. But there’s a few of them with underage all Irelands, who grew up watching Galway win all Irelands and who have the Galway football in built superiority attitude. Needs to be a total change of approach. They bitched about peter Ford and o flahartha trying to get them to play a tighter tougher style, and this is where they are because of it.
The worst thing they did was to run Liam Sammon out of the job. They were competitive as they had been at any stage in the last ten years and they were playing a decent brand of football which is about as good as we could hope for at the moment.
Didn’t see that article but I remember Sean O’D giving an interview about his time as selector and he was saying there were too many lads on the panel who were all about picking up the monogramed towels and all that and couldn’t careless about the football results.
As for a solution?? I don’t really have one changing the manager hasn’t worked. I don’t think there’s any untapped resource of players in the county. All we can do is hope the u21s come good and don’t enjoy their j1s this summer.
[quote=“Wristy, post: 774615, member: 1156”]The worst thing they did was to run Liam Sammon out of the job. They were competitive as they had been at any stage in the last ten years and they were playing a decent brand of football which is about as good as we could hope for at the moment.
[/quote]
[quote=“farmerinthecity, post: 774547, member: 24”]Was listening to it in the car on the way up home. Seemed to be a bit of a beating with Maughan, Carr, Silke, Devenny saying it was as bad of a Galway team as they have ever seen.
Why do they refer to Keith Higgins as ‘the dual player’? Does he actually play hurling for Mayo (in what Championship) or does he just tip about with it for his club? If so, half the Leitrim team are dual players.[/quote]
He is dual man in fairness. He plays every NHL game with Mayo that doesn’t clash with the NFL and ditto plays most of their Christy Ring games. He has been doing that for years. I am sure some football folk would prefer him to jack in the hurling but he seems to do his own thing. Likes the hurling so plays as much as he can. fair play to him
[quote=“Wristy, post: 774615, member: 1156”]The worst thing they did was to run Liam Sammon out of the job. They were competitive as they had been at any stage in the last ten years and they were playing a decent brand of football which is about as good as we could hope for at the moment.
Didn’t see that article but I remember Sean O’D giving an interview about his time as selector and he was saying there were too many lads on the panel who were all about picking up the monogramed towels and all that and couldn’t careless about the football results.
As for a solution?? I don’t really have one changing the manager hasn’t worked. I don’t think there’s any untapped resource of players in the county. All we can do is hope the u21s come good and don’t enjoy their j1s this summer.[/quote]
indeed wasn’t Sammon the manager the time Galway lost a classic all Ireland quarter final in monsoon conditions to Kerry? Got the impression the only reasons for getting rid of him were he was a bit old school and wasn’t cool enough for some players. Came across a decent man anytime I ever heard him talking football
Ya he was the manager that time. There was no real explanation behind his departure. And then to get Joe Kernan who played a completely different style of play and then he only lasted a season and O’Flaherty came in after and that was doomed from the start. We also go on about the forwards we have but Sammon was the only one of these managers who managed to get the ball into their hands and had them kicking scores
Heard the radio preview of the Mayo Galway game. Every cliché in the cliché handbook was utilised. Awful, awful stuff. Punditry is a farce. The Sunday Game ends up a discussion about referees every week. Painful stuff.
Enjoyable start to the live coverage of the Summer of Sundays
Watched the games with a mate and a couple of lads who asked if we minded them joining us
Anyway myself, the swan and Karl Lacey were mightily impressed with Mayo. Michael Murphy thought Galway had the worst back 6 he’s ever seen in his time watching championship football
[quote=“thedancingbaby, post: 774708, member: 48”]Enjoyable start to the live coverage of the Summer of Sundays
Watched the games with a mate and a couple of lads who asked if we minded them joining us
Anyway myself, the swan and Karl Lacey were mightily impressed with Mayo. Michael Murphy thought Galway had the worst back 6 he’s ever seen in his time watching championship football[/quote]
you watched the game with mike Murphy?
you should stick that in the celeb spot thread mate- he is a genuine start
loved him on that quiz show in the 8o’s -technology at its best
Very much so Bandage, but one, they have a small enough club base and pick, and two reading between the lines Crossmaglen and ex-players from the good team don’t help the whole thing with comments about team selection etc. you get the feeling their confidence is buried and they are not helping themselves. They had te core of a potentially good side 2-3 years ago but they are awful now. I’m not sure McKeever would even make the 02 team were he around, and he is their leader. A poor leader at that.
But you are right, they do develop players well up to a certain level.
I don’t think in those instances you can say that the league they were playing in had anything to do with it negatively. All 3 built up a winning mentality and then went deep into the championship, Cork and Down getting to finals and semi’s. at that stage of the year you really are beyond being affected by a lack if challenge in Div 2. In all cases they were beaten by more talented teams, nothing to do with being in Div 2 IMO.
A half decent discussion on off the ball there between parkinson, earley and moyles on the Galway and Armagh games. Amazingly they were actually criticising players and managers. The Armagh manager grimley just seems jokishly inept sticking to his attacking system come what may.
That joe lad is much better at running those kind of discussions than gilroy, who keeps having to show how much he knows, too.