Mayo need to be very measured
I started to think about Mayo and their approach to the All-Ireland football final next Sunday while watching the US Open Ladies Tennis Final last Saturday night.
All the talk this week will be about the strength of Dublin, three in a row, Dublin’s bench, the best team of all time, tactics, managers and can Mayo break the curse.
You might ask what has that got to do with ladies tennis but I feel Mayo can take a leaf out of the new US ladies champion Sloane Stephens book where I felt she won this title in her mind as much as about brilliant tennis.
To me she appeared to take this match in small segments never thinking about the weight of history or the final result but just kept doing what was working and when she won her final point it was like she didn’t know what just happened.
Physiologically this has to be Mayo’s tactic next Sunday to approach the game in small periods not looking at the end result and when the final whistle goes not believe it’s all over.
While Mayo will go into this game as total outsiders there is still a huge weight of expectation to land this elusive All-Ireland title which they must erase from their minds, just keep winning the battles over the small periods and the result will look after itself.
In order to win the game, it will be about limiting the Dublin possession where possible by both targeting the Cluxton kick-out and not giving up easy uncontested ball, and when Mayo have the ball they need to be very measured and not turn it over cheaply back to Dublin, as this is where Dublin make their biggest gains when the opposition is vulnerable at the back.
We saw in the first Kerry game where 3 balls were turned over cheaply by Mayo and Kerry returned 2 goals and a point from them.
The other major factor will be David Clarke and his kick outs,
Clarke has been very confident with his short kicks and then making himself available for the return pass, but you can be sure this is noted by Jim Gavin.
Mayo also needs to put enormous pressure on the Dublin forwards when shooting because if Dublin has the same wide to shot ratio as they had in the semi-final there will only be one winner, Dublin. The big question this week is, can Mayo win it? The correct answer won’t be known until around 5 pm next Sunday but in the meantime that question will dominate both radio and newspapers for the next 5 days with ‘no’ the most common answer.
To win they will have to defeat a Dublin team looking for their first 3 in a row since civil war times and a team that many are calling the best team of all time (personally I don’t think that honour can yet be bestowed on them).
They will also have to defeat the enormous personal mental pressure on trying to avoid being the best team never to win an All-Ireland.
Having said all that I am going to go against the head and say ‘yes’ they can win it as Offaly proved back in 1982 that every team can be beaten on a given day, when they prevented the 5 in a row against what is still in my mind the best team of all time.
After three years in charge and appointed for a fourth year Niall Carew has stepped down as Sligo Senior Manager which came as a surprise to many citing change of job as the reason.
Carew inherited the job from Pat Flanagan and will probably go down as the manager who has given debuts to more Sligo players than any Sligo manager in the past, willing to try something different and not afraid of reputational damage.
Like Marmite, managers are a required taste with some people liking them and others not, personally I feel he steadied the ship and has things in a better position than when he took over.
He gave a huge commitment driving over 1000 km a week and given up his time for the betterment of Sligo football which has to be appreciated and I wish him well in the future.
Now it’s about the next appointment and the importance of getting it correct.
Internally there are only two candidates in my mind either the O’Hara/McGowan combination or Aidan Rooney. While neither of the two have been involved in a Senior intercounty management setup previously which can be beneficial, it’s not a requirement.
What each will bring to the table is knowledge of local football and huge passion amongst many other attributes.
But intercounty management is more than that, it’s like a business, managing your backroom team, players, budgets, media, county board, club fixtures on top of the number one job developing players and achieving success.
The applicant must have also huge energy and drive as this is an all-consuming job where there are no shortcuts to success and it is a job that will take over your life.
Lastly, there were no shocks in last Sunday’s Belfry Senior Football Championship where the teams that were expected to win, won.
Now for the quarter finals in two weeks’ time but more on that next week.