Where do Mayo go from here?

Player wise, they have most of the ingredients. They still need a top-class inside forward with size to release O'Shea out, maybe only to as far as centre-forward.

Most importantly of all, they need a player in the half-back line that is tactically aware and will sit, no matter what.

they havent got the scorers. no amount of management can fix that. theyl breeze connacht again next year what is is 6 or 7 in a row. then they should have an easy passage through the final beating donegal in the semi. in the final kerry or dublin await and it will be the same old story over again. no shame in being in the top 3 or 4 of the country. if only they had a couple of the galway forwards like conroy or walsh. not being able to put the ball over the bar will always be their achilles heel.

yep they need someone like that too neil. even with their shambolic defeding they could still win big games if they could take their chances. but they never will find the key forwards. diarmuid o connor a big plus to come out of this season. looks the real deal.

I don't know do they have the skill or guile to ever go toe to toe with the likes of Kerry and Dublin playing traditional football. James Horan, being a supply chain manager for coca cola I think, drilled into them this idea about going through the process and taking everything step by step. It like there golfers that use visualisation and these exagerated thought processes before swinging, I'm not a fan of it.

I'd much rather watch the top class forwards who seem to everything naturally of which Dublin and Kerry have loads but Mayo only have a couple really. The very basic and crude long balls into O Shea lacked any thought or skill for example. When Kerry kick to Donaghy, they make sure it is diagonal, at speed and there are plenty of runners off him.

I hate to say it but if Mayo do want to win the big one, i think they'll probably have to devise a rigid defensive system a la Donegal.

2 managers was never going to work.

I wonder did Holmes and Conelly give Conor Mortimer a buzz?Get him on board,another option and a bit of balance on the inside line,a natural to feed of o'shea,is Andy Moran up to that roll?You can play a simple ball into space in the danger zone and those type of players can do damage.

Mcstay can keep everyone on board.

zero chance they will change management. they will give it another year. if they fail next year to reach final then they will be off. next year they couldn't dream of an easier route to the final, avoiding munster and leinster. if they get there and kerry or dublin have 5 or 6 big injuries then maybe they could make a game of it who knows.

Most county supporters in the island would be delighted to be associated with current Mayo team , except for the fact that expectation has diminished their performances over the last number of years .

Two elements are missing in my opinion , two players short of the requirement , and lack of a killer instinct . Not an easy task to right those shortfailings , particularly the killer instinct bit which most teams winning All Irelands have .

Moot point whether management can find the players needed , most good managers I have known about were "blessed" with good players , intelligent players who figured out what was needed in the moment and acted accordingly , without recourse to sideline dictats .

If you are playing "system" football , you are only as strong as the weakest link . The opposition , if they posess those intelligent ( instinctive possibly) players can identify the weakest link and exploit it .

Mayo had the Dubs on the run in the first match , were totally dominant all over the field at one period , and kicked 5 successive wides , some of them "gung ho" efforts where a simpler execution plan would have got a score and kept their foot on the Dubs neck . In the replay they led by 4 points , and conceded 2-3 in the blink of an eye .  Frustrating for supporters ( and management) .

We would love to have their panel of players here in Down , whether or not we could transform their ability into a winning All-Ireland team would be an interesting exercise if the system were similar to other sports and teams could be built from outside . Finishing second in any form of competition does not make you a bad competitor or player , but it gnaws at base feelings , and a bit like Sergio in the golf , eventually you believe that you cant win a Major , and you dont . Galway hurlers are a bit similar , they were as good hurlers as Kilkenny today , but Kilkenny won going away , partly because it's in their DNA .

Mayo deserve huge credit for their recent efforts , just a pity the silverware is not there to reward them .