Honesty is the only policy

Honesty is the only policy


Mike Finnerty

IT’S not getting any easier is it? Four days and counting since Mayo went out of the championship and with every hour that passes more questions keep cropping up about the team, the performance, the result and the future.
You can’t walk down any street in Mayo this week without bumping into somebody that wants to talk about what happened, or didn’t happen, in Croke Park last Sunday. It’s probably the same in any shop, office, building-site or pub around the world where Mayo supporters have converged these last few days. Everyone is asking questions and looking for answers.
The most striking thing is how disappointed and disillusioned so many people are, from the fairweather fan to the seasoned supporter. They’re disappointed, obviously, with the result and disillusioned about the performance, coming as did against fairly mediocre opponents.
The lack of leadership in the face of Meath’s late surge is a major talking-point. So too is the perception that not every Mayo player seemed to empty the tank in pursuit of victory. Mayo supporters are a discerning bunch and they saw the lethargy and the inertia in the closing stages.
That perceived lack of effort has raised eyebrows as well as questions.
>From where we sit there are a number of different strands to be analysed over the coming days, weeks and months. And that is the first point: last Sunday’s game, performance, and result must be analysed and examined in great detail. Otherwise, Mayo’s entire 2009 championship campaign will have been in vain.
When John O’Mahony and the Mayo squad meet for their debriefing session when the dust settles, everyone needs to be honest with one another. The senior players need to be honest with their younger team-mates and the management. The management need to be honest with the players. And the young players need to speak their minds too.
Among the topics up for discussion, surely, will be: Why were Mayo outscored by 1-7 to 0-1 between the 51st and 71st minutes? Why did Mayo not push on when Aidan O’Shea’s goal left them four points up with twenty minutes to go? Where did the key men go when the chips were down?
Why did Tom Parsons, a midfielder all his life, start at full-forward? If Plan A was to hit the big men in the full-forward line, what was Plan B? And why didn’t Plan B work? Should James Nallen have been brought on? Where was the support-play that characterised Mayo’s good days this year? Why were there such gaping hopes in the Mayo half in the closing stages? Why did Mayo lost 56% of their own kick-outs?
The make-up of John O’Mahony’s backroom team next year and how the team will prepare are also key issues. In fact, the list of topics for discussion is practically endless, and the group could be in that room a long time.
The 30 players that made up Team Mayo in 2009 will not be together again next season, that much is almost certain. Why? Well, because if last Sunday showed anything it was that the previous bad days at Croke Park have left an indelible mark on players that have given so much of their lives to Mayo football.
It also showed that no amount of A versus B matches, training camps and psychology sessions can prepare a team (or individuals) for the white heat of a big championship match at Croke Park. Especially against a team with as much confidence and self-belief as Meath when they get a sniff of blood in their nostrils.
We have no doubt that Mayo players are hurting this week. They have given so much of their lives to Mayo football and made huge sacrifices. Last Sunday’s defeat, and the subsequent criticism, will have hit them hard. But if it didn’t, then the problem is worse than we thought.
Honesty is not the best policy for Mayo now. It is the only policy.