Smart move by Mayo. No COC, no party. Take the season off, come back revitalised next year
Simply
Not
Good
Enough
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Who said otherwise?
Not for the first time, the thought occurred here that nobody in Gaelic football takes more unwarranted shit than OâShea. A quick â and yes, obviously, ill-advised â surf through social media after the game revealed that the verdict of people who werenât in Croke Park was markedly different to those of us who were.
Far from the pivotal presence in the game it appeared to anyone in the stands, he was dismissed online as overrated, a diver, a row-starter, as well as various and plentiful other unmentionables. Even allowing for the general putrid swampiness of the internet, it was jarring to see him so blackguarded given how good he had been.
Thatâs one for the woeful journalism thread.
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ZacklyâŚ
The reason OâShea and COC get so much flak is they donât produce the goods when needed despite all the hype and tags associated with them.
Itâs also the same reason why people like Keegan, Higgins, Andy Moran, Boyle, Durcan etc donât/havenât got the same level of flak. Generally they have been the players driving on Mayo during the big games and big moments where AOS and COC have been posted missing.
Clerkin joins Ewan and Kieran Shannon who both wrote very similar articles about O Shea âŚbizarre stuff âŚ
It certainly is bizarre.
Criticism of players in a team who keep falling short, specifically with regard to the ones who are meant to be their top players who arenât even in the top on their team in the big games, is certainly merited and with foundation.
Peter Harte and Mattie Donnelly have regularly got it with Tyrone and I think itâs fair enough for the most part - particularly with Harte who is such a talented player but tends to go missing or gets blackguarded out of a game.
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Rent. Free.
Itâs a banker each year, win, lose or draw. No matter the result, performance or perceived controversy, the pretend Italian from Tyrone gets its knickers in a twist about Mayo football. Iâd say if thereâs anything bizarre, itâs this!
To my mind, OâShea is a mediocre footballer. A big man that cannot get a free for love nor money. Pull him, drag him, belt him, jump up on this back and play away. He doesnât use his size to his advantage the way Michael Murphy does, and he hasnât half the football of him either. After years of being blaguarded by referees I say fair play to him if he buys a few frees. Everyone else is doing it.
What he does do is land above in croke park almost every year for finals and semifinals, and beats all bar Dublin en route.
Perhaps whoever @Fulvio_From_Aughnacloy is pretending to be these days is jealous 
Mayo arenât good enough to win Sam, but theyâre a helluva lot better than Tyrone, Donegal, Armagh, Cork, Monaghan, Cavan, Kildare, Meath and have beaten Kerry enough recently to earn their respect.
They wonât get within an asses roar of this Kerry team or Dublin, but they sure as shit are Top 3. Remember than clown McGuigan on The Sunday Game referring to Tyrone as top 3 a few years back, the whole country sniggering at him 
What I am jealous of?
You havenât won an All Ireland in 60+ years. Is that something to celebrate?
You do have some fine players and have had some fine players, but your very precious and sensitive demeanour being exhibited here is exactly why you have won fuck all.
AOS and COC should be getting loads of criticism from their own over the years for how they have flopped in the big games, instead you make celebrity failures out of them. In a serious footballing county these players would be called out for these non-shows, in Mayo they snarl at people for rightly pointing it out.
Grow some tough skin.
Mayo havenât won an all Ireland because they havenât been good enough. Its that simple. Theyâve had some sensational players over the years, and have played some great football at times but to my mind, never consistently enough nor for long enough. Especially when it mattered.
Their supporters follow their team and back them, what harm. @Fulvio_From_Aughnacloy getting excited about it and having a pop at Cillian OâConnor for some Tyrone-esque behaviour and AOS for being popular (and not as good as his supporters make off) is entertaining. Any time AOS is in the news Iâd say his Ulster Ulcer bites.
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Your sensitivity is bizarre.
You went on an unhinged rant about Tyrone football because a few posters made very valid points about AOS lack of delivery on the big stage. I donât have any real axe to grind against Mayo, they have been the second best team in the country for the past 8/9 years and would have won one or more only for Dublin. Iâd be a big admirer of players like Keegan, Durcan, Diarmuid OâConnor, Barrett, Andy Moran etc who were all superb players.
I happen to think their high profile players, the ones who get a lot of the coverage in AOS, COC have let them down at the big moments. COC gets the most out of his talents but is a limited player and is filthy. AOS has a massive ego problem, he hasnât developed as a footballer since his early days and has failed on the big days. Heâs also a serial simulator but seems to get away with it without any media commentary.
I lost a lot of respect for the Mayo team after what they did with Holmes and Connelly.
I think all the above is valid but youâre far too sensitive to criticism.
I have no issue with their supporters following their team. You seem to have serious problem with valid criticism being levied against a couple of high profile players who havenât delivered for their team in the big games, on a consistent basis. Maybe thatâs the type of mentality that has saw Mayo falling just short.
They were good enough in a similar way to how Armagh were good enough in the 1999 to 2006 period. Always there or thereabouts and the development of the team followed a similar trajectory, Armagh probably peaked in 2005, late in their run, Mayo in 2017. Armagh had multiple chances but only fell over the line once, almost in spite of themselves. Armagh were also lucky in that they didnât have to consistently come up against an opponent as good as the Dublin team of the last seven or eight years.
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Youâre deflecting here, which is unlike you.
Iâm not a bit sensitive about perceived criticism of Mayo footballers. Your sensitivity to both AOS and Cillian OâConnor getting airtime piqued my interest some time ago and Iâm not surprised by your latest spat. Youâre like clockwork, as soon as thereâs something for either player, youâre up an at em.
Given that Tyrone have been behind Mayo for the last 10 years I find your position to be mired in jealousy. Mayo get to a final and blow it⌠big woop. Tyrone didnât get to many over the same period and when they did, well, they were walloped.
I went on no rant about Tyrone. A limited but game side with an unbelievable appreciation of the darker arts of football.
People criticise Mayo and dismiss them. Mayo Godhelpus. My own county could only dream of Mayo levels of success in football (granted the big one has eluded them) and I find that bizarre. Imagine someone in Limerick football dismissing their achievements. Ridiculous.
When you do it so regularly and vehemently, itâs jealousy. Youâd love their media profile, their big days, their 31-county support.
#Mayo4Sam
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Clearly you are. Valid criticism of Aidan OâShea prompted this outburst, any valid criticism of Mayo seems to prompt an outburst from you relating to anything but Mayo.
You seem to be very precious.
I donât understand what my position. Itâs not ok to make valid criticism to AOS or COC? You never tried to contest anything I said. You merely just went on an emotive rant.
Not an outburst. An observation of your sensitivity to positive media coverage of AoS or Cillian OâConnor. Thanks.
Itâs not my sensitivity to that at all. I think Mayo have some very underrated players like Doherty and Parsons etc over the years and some consistent big time flops. You donât react well to valid criticism.
Iâd agree Doherty is a big loss to them. Harrison at the back too.
I wouldnât disagree with valid criticism of OâShea at all. He doesnât back himself half enough, he doesnât step up when heâs really needed, like against Dublin, and your assessment of OâConnor earlier was spot on. Iâd praise his filth though. Heâs up against dangerous bastards off the ball for most of the game. Fair play to him for handing it back to lads.
Now, with that said, there you were this morning up on your soap box about⌠AOS and Cillian OâConnor 
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