The substitution of Aidan O'Shea has polarised opinion in the aftermath of Mayo's penalty shoot-out loss to Derry.
The general consensus is that O'Shea was playing well against Derry, only to be substituted in the 70th minute of the game.
In his absence, O'Shea's direct opponent Chrissie McKaigue sent the game to extra-time with a last-gasp point.
Derry went onto win the game in a penalty shoot-out ensuring that the O'Shea decision has come under the microscope.
Cora Staunton for one questioned not only the logic of subbing O'Shea, but also Mattie Ruane and Eoghan McLaughlin.
Speaking ahead of the 2024 Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Championship Finals, Andy Moran explained the factors that may have led to the O'Shea decision for Kevin McStay and his management team.
The Leitrim senior football manager doesn't believe it was down to GPS stats for starters.
"I don't think Kevin or the boys heard any stats about Aidan," Moran said.
"I think what happened was, just before he got taken off, there were two incidents where he dropped a ball twice," says Moran.
"That is very, very unlike Aiden so I think it probably just triggered something in Kevin or Stephen's mind saying 'we need to get him off because he's tired.'"
"But at the flip side of it, then do you need your most experienced player on the field even to block up that hole to stop Derry coming through.
"To compound it then, Chrissie McKaigue scores the winner to put a bit more emphasis on that decision but these decisions are done in a small period of time, and they can go right or wrong for you at any given time."
Some Mayo fans asked if such substitution decisions are pre-ordained based on stats.
A pattern was pointed to where key Mayo players are taken off early on in games, going as far back as Colm Boyle back in the 2017 season.
While Moran doesn't believe it was a factor in O'Shea's substitution, he none-the-less feels that information from the stand is very important as a manager.
"You'd see it with the Dublin ladies too, Mick Bohan would always have the earpiece in," explains Moran.
"So what you have is someone in the stand feeding you information."
1 June 2024; Leitrim manager Andy Moran during the Tailteann Cup Group 1 Round 3 match between Kildare and Leitrim at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park in Longford. Photo by Tom Beary/Sportsfile
"Most managers would wear an earpiece or airpods. Duing the National League you don't see them because everyone's wearing hats.
"But you're getting information about tactical stuff, maybe someone is flagging, maybe someone is struggling on their marker on the far side of the pitch.
"Just a message you've to get in."
As for Mayo's season on the whole, the former Footballer of the Year feels that while Mayo are disappointed, they're not too far away.
"It's disappointing that they're not in the quarter finals this week but when you're analysing it when the All-Ireland is over, you'll say that they're not too far behind in terms of the Dublins, Donegals and Derrys of this world."
