Fan’s View
An Spailpín Fánach
ONE of the great feats of gaiscíocht, or acts of heroism, of the mythical Irish warriors was the salmon leap. The warrior had to be able to leap over an opponent’s shield in order to hack off the opponent’s head from above, what modern marketing consultants would consider thinking outside the envelope.
Galway are doing some Sammon leaping themselves this year, as crowned by their Connacht title on Sunday. In this age of special assistant to the isotonic water carrier, manager Liam Sammon is refreshingly old school. He seems to believe in finding the best 15 players in the county, throwing them a football and telling them to let rip. Works pretty good so far.
It’s fashionable to preface any comments about Galway’s potential with the remark by dismissing their All-Ireland winning prospects. But if Galway aren’t All-Ireland contenders, then may I beg my masters’ pardon and ask who are? Lethal forwards, a midfield that can only get stronger when Joe Bergin returns, tigerish backs in Burke, Blake, Fitzgerald and Hanley, and the ageless, iconic Pádraic Joyce – what’s not to like?
As for Mayo, once the bitterness of a one-point defeat dies away and the acrid taste is washed away by a week’s consoling porter, things will not appear as bleak as they may seem now. Galway are nearer Sam, certainly, but the championship is more about cats on hot tins roofs than the one county that can be champion. The real purpose for most counties in the championship, as with the tabby on the slates, is to survive for as long as you can.
Mayo finished the game stronger than they started, and are still in the championship. There is much to build on. Firstly, there is the return to form of Alan Dillon. He has been played all year at centre half-forward and clearly hated it. Back on the wing, he was popping them over happily. An Spailpín has full confidence in Ronan McGarrity and Tom Parsons in midfield, and once any team has a foothold in midfield it’s a contender.
Either side of midfield remains an issue. There’s nothing new there. Aidan Higgins was magnificent when he came on, because he set about doing what should be first on every defender’s list – making his man’s life a misery. An Spailpín would like to see Liam O’Malley’s return to the colours, for the same reason. He has a gift for being a pain in the ass. The third man who impressed when he came on was Billy Padden. There is so much criticism directed at Padden it’s surprising that he bothers sometimes, but he’ll always have something to deliver.
Leaving the ground, An Spailpín was asked by a friend from Ballaghaderreen if I was going to “have another go at the Ballagh’ man”. I thought it unfair, not least as I didn’t have a go at the Ballagh’ man first time out. We might as well clear the air on this issue. John O’Mahony remains the only man for the Mayo manager’s job. Full stop. He’s certainly made mistakes, and clearly made them on Sunday, but we all make mistakes in life. It’s how we respond to those mistakes that defines us.
On Sunday, when Mayo were being cut open in the first half, Johnno make the switches and Mayo were unlucky in some ways not to pull it out of the fire. All is not lost; Mayo are one win away from being in the same position as Galway in the All-Ireland series.
What O’Mahony and Mayo do have to do, however, is to maximise their resources to deliver the best efforts they can. One of the reasons that Johnno the best man for the job is because he’s the only man for the job. There is no other contender with the same credentials. The biggest mistake he made so far was in letting men go when he was not able to replace them, thereby leaving himself some hostages to fortune, but in life it’s never too late to deal with mistakes and make amends. Mayo have three weeks to rise again.
AN SPAILPÍN FÁNACH is an internet weblog that’s an increasingly popular destination for Mayo fans surfing for Mayo football discussion on the World Wide Web. The above is an edited extract of a longer article, which can be read in full at http://spailpin.blogspot.com
