How bad is it ? Well, not great over the past couple of months, for sure, but that's not a fair reflection on Mayo football. The county may be questioned because we haven't won Sam Maguire but the conclusion that we are not good enough is way off the mark. In this piece we can be accussed of taking a 'glass is half full' view but we have looked at the facts in the record books since the qualifier system started in 2001 and Mayo are one of the few counties that has been in contention and has a ranking to defend ...
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It's worth remembering that despite what happened over the past couple of months the ranking of Mayo as a football county is still pretty high.
Lets' have a recap of what has happened since the qualifiers started in 2001 - 9 years.
The first thing a quick snapshot of the past 9 years shows is there is a top tier in football, if measured by All Ireland success, and we are not in that group. In fact there are really only 2 in that group as the evidence shows - Kerry and Tyrone. Kerry have made it to 7 of the 9 finals since the qualifiers came in and won 4, so they have set the bar and have the know-how, the experience and where-with-all to win titles - and they go into every final expecting to win. Next are Tyrone who have got to 3 finals in the last 9 years, won all 3 and have shown the mentality to take on and beat Kerry. Tyrone may not have the decades of experience that Kerry have accumulated but they have they have managed to get players who have passion and commitment and a good organisation behind them.
So in tier 1 we have Kerry and Tyrone who can claim 10 appearances and 7 titles between them in the last 9 years.
Now if Kerry and Tyrone got 10 of the 18 appearance slots available and won 7 of the 9 titles up for grabs that leaves just 8 appearance spots and 2 titles for the rest of us – not much to share around over 9 years. And that brings us to the tier 2 group, where we have all the other counties who have actually made it to an All Ireland Final. There are just 5: Armagh, Cork and Mayo had 2 appearances each, with only Armagh having 1 success from that group. Then Galway and Meath had 1 appearance each (against each other in 2001) and Galway took the honours.
Let’s also look at the managers who made it into the winners enclosure - just 5 again, Mickey Harte, Jack O'Connor, Pat O'Shea, Joe Kernan and John O'Mahony. Interestingly Mayo has had 4 managers in the 9 years – Pat Holmes, John Maughan, Mickey Moran and John O’Mahony- and about to go onto our 5th. That's a statistic that might merit its own discussion.
As you read this there will be thoughts that Cork are now maybe into tier 1 and that the Dubs should be in tier 2 and are Mayo still tier 2 and so on but the point is just to have a look at the record books and how Mayo have got on since the qualifiers started. It shows that we have been up there competing and we deserve more credit than sometimes given to us by the critics and even by ourselves. Though we haven’t bagged the big one we have been a serious contender and combined with a decent record in the minor and U21 championships we have no reason to hang our heads.
Yes we have had our bad days and disappointments but we we have had some very good days too, like Croke Park in 2004 against reigning champions Tyrone and against the Dubs in 2006. The degree of disappointment we have experienced is worth mulling over for a second. Basically, it means the bigger the day and the stakes the bigger the disappointment. in other words, we wouldn't have big disappointments if we weren't making it to the big matches in the first place. Is it because we have succeeded it getting to the big stage so often that our disappointment is weighing us down? Most likely but if we were less successful it getting there would we feel less disappointed? Ask yourself a simple question - would you still prefer the emotional high of that day of victory over the Dubs in 2006 followed by an equally emotional low against Kerry a few weeks later or the alternative of losing that semi-final thriller?
Many counties would be delighted with a portion of Mayo’s achievements.
The qualifier system has definitely been disproportionately good for Kerry and Tyrone - they have won 2 titles each through the back door. It seems that given the second chances these 2 counties know how to capitalize. Altogether, the back door has produced 5 winners in the 9 years - In 2001 Galway lost to Roscommon in the Connacht s/final, in 2005 Tyrone were beaten by Armagh in the Ulster final, in 2006 Kerry lost to Cork in the Munster final, in 2008 Tyrone were beaten by Down in the Ulster q/f and in 2009 Kerry were defeated by Cork in the Munster s/f. By contrast the back door is something that Mayo haven't come to grips with - we seem to have the opposite experience to Kerry and Tyrone. Why? Not sure but surely it can be sorted.
Maybe this is just trying to see some positives in the midst of the current gloom hanging over Mayo football but when you look at it we have had our moments on the big stage. Titles have been frustratingly elusive but the expectation is right to be there as we are one of the few counties that can de-thrown the dominance of Kerry and Tyrone. We have the talent and a fair smattering of experience of playing big teams and big games on the big stage .
We need to instill the confidence, passion and team spirit that has got Kerry and Tyrone across the line so often - and to do that we must get that back door problem fixed!. You get 2 chances every year and some counties have relished the back door and some haven't. We are in the latter but if we want to win titles we must take every chance we get.
Recent results are not a reflection of where the county is in the pecking order but we do need to reclaim our spot and fairly quickly. All the good football that has been played by Mayo at the top level over the past 9 years has not been lost. There are talented players in the county and though support may waiver Mayo fans will always be there. A new ambitious manger plus a shake up of things off and on the pitch can and see Mayo return as title challengers in the immediate future.
No doubt about that!