Tomorrow's League final will be Mayo’s 27th game in the competition since James Horan took charge for the second time.
In the previous 26 games dating back to an opening round win over Roscommon in 2019, Horan has run the rule over a total of 54 players with 27 having made their League debuts.
He inherited a team that was widely considered to be in need of urgent regeneration after and the assumption was that the resulting transitional period would see a fall-off in Mayo’s fortunes having reached four All-Ireland finals between 2012 and ‘17.
But Horan has defied that expectation by skilfully rebuilding the side while keeping Mayo competitive at the back end of the Championship.
Granted, it hasn’t been all plain sailing and they dropped out of Division One in 2020 and still haven’t scaled the All-Ireland peak, but the focus should never be that narrow when assessing such an overhaul.
From the side that lost the 2017 All-Ireland final to Dublin, only David Clarke, Chris Barrett, Paddy Durcan, Lee Keegan, Kevin McLoughlin, Aidan O’Shea and Cillian O’Connor started their next final appearance three years later and they were without Clarke, Barrett (both retired) and O’Connor (injured) when they returned to last year’s final.
Beyond that, there was a significant drain in experience at the start of last year with Clarke and Barrett joined in retirement by Tom Parsons, Keith Higgins, Seamus O’Shea and Donal Vaughan.
Andy Moran and Ger Cafferkey departed the year before and Colm Boyle bowed out ahead of this year’s campaign.
In the three full campaigns that he has overseen in Division One since 2019, Horan has used between 33 and 35 players (most counties don’t use more than 30) in each. Last year was something of an outlier given the truncated nature of the League with Mayo in Division Two North, but there were still five new players blooded in the competition.
As well as handing out 27 League debuts across the past four seasons, Michael Plunkett and Padraig O’Hora made their first League starts after fleeting League appearances off the bench under Stephen Rochford and are now regulars.
Mayo managed to win the League, their only success in the competition in the last 21 years, in Horan’s first year back at the helm in 2019 despite nine players being introduced that year. Six of them have since been moved on, however, but Matthew Ruane is now an All Star midfielder, Fionn McDonagh features regularly and James Carr returned from injury against Kildare last Sunday.
When a further 10 players were tossed in during the 2020 League, Mayo lost their long-standing place in Division One with relegation finally catching up on them.
But, from that crop, Oisín Mullin has won an All Star, twice been Young Footballer of the Year and is now one of the best defenders in the game. Fitness issues aside, Eoghan McLaughlin is well established at wing-back and Ryan O’Donoghue and Tommy Conroy have brought a new edge to the attack, allowing them to withstand the loss of O’Connor last year and still reach another All-Ireland final.
Conroy’s loss through injury for this season is a cruel blow but not one you wouldn’t back against Mayo absorbing given the depth of their squad, particularly with O’Connor due to return soon.
Indeed, of the various theories as to why Mayo couldn’t cross the All-Ireland threshold despite their series of final appearances between 2012 and ‘17, the one that they were often essentially drawing from 17 or 18 players is as compelling as any.
Just last week, Keegan commented that the current squad is the deepest that he’s been a part of in his 12 seasons.
“We were missing Paddy Durcan, Diarmuid O’Connor, a couple of those main guys (against Tyrone) but then when you look around it didn’t feel like you were missing them when the team was named because we were very comfortable with who was coming in to do their job,” he said.
“I think we do have real depth in the squad, even the Armagh game the players that came off the bench got us over the line and that’s really important and something we may have lacked over the years.
“We have a lot of good talent coming through in Mayo. James has explored that and he is not afraid to put them in.”
Silverware tomorrow would be nice, but Horan has repeatedly made a success of the League with and without it.
MAYO’S LEAGUE DEBUTANTS 2019-22
2019: Brian Reape, Conor Diskin, Fionn McDonagh, James McCormack, Ciaran Treacy, Matthew Ruane, Colm Moran, James Durcan*, James Carr.
Note: Michael Plunkett made his first League start in this campaign having featured off the bench twice in 2017.
*Featured in previous year’s SFC.
2020: Oisín Mullin, Jordan Flynn, Bryan Walsh, Ryan O’Donoghue, Tommy Conroy, Eoghan McLaughlin, Paul Towey, David McBrien, Mark Moran.
Note: Padraig O’Hora made first League start in this campaign having featured off the bench once in 2016.
2021: Aiden Orme, Rory Brickenden*, Jack Carney, Enda Hession, Ben Doyle.
*Featured in previous year’s SFC.
2022: Donncha McHugh, Sam Callinan, Rory Byrne*, Frank Irwin.
*Featured in previous year’s SFC.
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