I am finding it fairly difficult to establish just how good this current Mayo team really are, so I have conducted my own little independent survey among knowledgeable footballing friends from outside the county. Every single person I have spoken to since Mayo’s Connacht final victory over Galway has suggested that the Mayo team is in with a serious shout of winning this year’s All-Ireland title. They love the fact that this present group of players is big and strong with lots of ball winners particularly in the central positions. They also argue that it is a team that appears capable of scoring goals.
Looking at what is left in the championship I genuinely believe that Mayo are capable of beating any one of the remaining teams. I was hoping that Mayo would avoid Kerry in the quarter-final draw last Sunday and thankfully we did. It appears from afar that all is not well in their camp at present, but I can guarantee you they are, this week, six or seven points a better team than they were this time last week. They overcame the game challenge of Antrim in Tullamore last Sunday and will benefit enormously from that victory. They love Croke Park and produce their best football at HQ. While I accept they are not nearly as formidable as they once were, I still think they are best avoided at this juncture. If we had been drawn to play them next weekend and then beaten them in Croke Park, I feel that the hype would kick off a month too early!
The draw, however, has Mayo paired with the winners of Meath and Limerick. I would love to see Mayo draw Meath, as we owe them one from 1996. Whether it is Meath or Limerick, however, it is generally accepted that this is a fantastic draw from a Mayo perspective. I believe that, deep down, the Mayo management recognise this too but will be most anxious not to convey that feeling to the team. I have a sneaking suspicion that Limerick might be good enough to beat Meath tomorrow for the second year in a row. If you recall Limerick destroyed Meath last year in a ‘back door’ game that led to the immediate resignation of Colm Coyle, the Meath manager. Limerick are probably a better team this year and I am not convinced that Meath have improved in the last 12 months. John O’Mahony and his management team will almost certainly make their way to Portlaoise tomorrow for the 7pm throw-in to analyse their quarter-final opponents. Management are leaving nothing to chance as I believe they covered every match last weekend before the draw on Sunday evening. That involved taking to the air after training in Castlebar last Sunday to be in time for the Kerry v Antrim match in Tullamore. They almost certainly will take in the big one in Croker on Monday afternoon, as it will be the winners of the Dubs v Kerry that Mayo, should they advance, play in the semi-final. Exciting times indeed!
But then how good were Galway really?
I was in Sligo last Saturday evening for the match between Galway and Donegal in what was a perfect evening for football. The game, however, took ages to come to life. Yes it was close and generated a certain amount of excitement because of that fact, but the football was at times error ridden and generally poor. I couldn’t help but recall only a few short months ago how Liam Sammon and his Galway team were receiving standing ovations in Pearse Stadium such was the quality of their football. They won their opening five games of the National League and were playing with a refreshing exuberance that had the Galway supporters giddy with excitement. Many people suggested that they were genuine contenders for ‘Sam’ this year. They trudged off the field last Saturday and can only look back at a season that had promised so much and ended so disappointingly for them. My thoughts instinctively were with Padraig Joyce, whose head appeared to be a little lower than the others. Speculation will almost certainly centre on whether we will ever see this genius of a footballer don the maroon and white of Galway again. Donegal players on the other hand were surrounded by their loyal fans, cheering and back slapping their heroes who themselves have played with mixed fortunes in recent weeks. They were beaten by Antrim in the Ulster Championship and struggled subsequently with average performances against both Carlow and Clare. There were disciplinary issues, as there invariably are with Donegal, which resulted in a couple of players being dropped for breaches of discipline. They then beat Derry and arrived in Sligo last Saturday full of confidence. They have turned their season around and now get the reward of a Croke Park outing against Cork on Sunday However I expect their great summer recovery will come to a halt then as Cork, if they produce the form we witnessed when they beat Kerry in the Munster championship, are a serious outfit. The second game in Croke Park on Sunday between Tyrone and Kildare is an intriguing prospect.
Plenty to look forward to over the Bank Holiday
Kildare are, arguably, one of the most improved teams in the country over the last 12 months and are playing with great confidence under the expert guidance of Paul Grimley and Kieran McGeeney. Big, fit, and strong, and with Dermot Earley playing like a man possessed I believe they will push Tyrone all the way. Pushing all the way yes but with Tyrone pushing that little bit more!
The big game of the championship so far from a neutral perspective is undoubtedly the pairing of the Dubs and Kerry on Bank Holiday Monday. What a mouth watering prospect. Anyone with a love of football won’t want to miss this one. As mentioned earlier Kerry are just about hanging in there in this year’s chase for the holy grail, but I get the impression the sight of the sky blue jersey will almost certainly ensure that this game will be a cracker.
Tommy stands tall
I was in contact on a few occasions in recent days with my good friend Tommy Carr, the Cavan manager. A short number of months ago Tom rang me to discuss an invitation he had received to manage the Cavan team. Tom hadn’t been involved with a team for a few years and I knew he was itching to get back involved with a county side. Throughout the year we chatted about the difficulties he was experiencing with certain Cavan players. Invariably there are a number of players in most counties who are almost always talented but just not committed enough to the work ethic required to be successful. These players invariably question a manager at every opportunity always looking for a cheap shot to undermine the work being done. Tom had a difficult enough season with some of those guys but just didn’t have the strength in depth in his squad to dispose of them. One of those players who didn’t get too much game time throughout this year’s campaign had the temerity to undermine the manager after the defeat to Wicklow in the qualifiers. It appears he was given the support of his fellow club colleague who happens also to be the county football secretary who went about co-ordinating a vote of no confidence in order to have the team manager removed. Both secretary and chairman travelled to Tom’s house in Mullingar last Monday evening seeking Tom’s resignation. Tom wasn’t prepared to make it easy for these guys and sent them home to Cavan with a message for the county board. He was not going to resign and he suggested that the Cavan Co Board would have to sack him and suffer the subsequent embarrassment of removing a good manager a few short months into a three-year managerial job. Well done Tom!
