Official Cavan GAA Thread

[Dougal]

Yeah, its not bad option. Then a few u21 players will be coming into that team aswell like Jack Brady, plenty of compeitition in the forwards. Very stong panel this year.

I heard the u21 Semi against Down is in the Athletic grounds.

ive heard we're back in brewster.

[Westside]

U21 game fixed for The Gaelic Grounds Armagh, 3rd April at 8pm.

[rodney trotter]

U21 game fixed for The Gaelic Grounds Armagh, 3rd April at 8pm.

Getting mixed up with Drogheda , it's the Athletic Grounds Armagh

[Westside]

Hah, my mistake. Anyway, the Athletic grounds isn't somewhere the lads will have played before, real pity it wasn't in Brewster as that would have been an advantage for us.

[rodney trotter]

Yeah it would have been nice to have been back in Enniskillan. Suppose the teams Cavan played in the past Brewster suited those teams Geographically, like Donegal, Tyone, Monaghan, Down is to the East and it made sense to be Armagh.

[Dougal]

were many of this u21 team playing for the minors in 09 when we lost in the athletic grounds?

[Westside]

Cavan's first game in the Ulster Minor League and they got hammered by down. 1-9 to 3-13. Doesn't bode well for their chances this year. I heard they lost to Leitrim back a while ago too.

[mylestheslasher]

Cavan's first game in the Ulster Minor League and they got hammered by down. 1-9 to 3-13. Doesn't bode well for their chances this year. I heard they lost to Leitrim back a while ago too.

I wouldnt read too much into it. The Ulster winning team had an average enough Ulster League too if I remember rightly as they used it to trial 30/40 players.

[Itchy]

Good luck to the u21 lads tomorrow in Armagh. Go out and give it everything ye have lads.

[Denn Forever]

Well done last night.  On to another night in Brewster.  Any one other than McBrearty that we need to watch?

[tommysmith]

U21 success hindering promotion from Division 3

Any views on this guys?

[Westside]

Well the U21 Campaign has prevented us from fielding our strongest team, Killian Clarke and Jack Brady are almost nailed on starting players for the Seniors at this stage with Flanagan and McLoughlin not far away. In that sense we are hindered to some extent.

However, the value of having a group of lads playing 3/4 Championship games and wining those games far far outweighs the negatives to the Seniors in the long run. The experience, winning mentality and confidence that a Championship run breeds will be far more valuable as these players graduate to senior level. All that said, there are absolutely no guarantees that the addition of the few U21 lads would have got us over the line in the Fermanagh game (where promotion was lost) The sending off of Damien O'Reilly was the turning point and U21 availability wouldn't change that. 

We should become increasingly competitive in the coming years, promotion should be the target in the next 2 years along with good championship showings and a few wins and scalps. Within 3/4 making a decent stab at an Ulster title should be the aim.

[Itchy]

Spot on westside. Couldn't agree more.

[rodney trotter]

It was always going to take a few years. Cavan don't have the experienced players that Counties like Donegal had, when they won the Ulster u21 in 2010. They had players like Karl Lacey who had won All Stars, Neil Gallagher, Rory Kavanagh, Colm McFadden. McGuinness took over and had a lot of experienced players to work with, and blend with the younger lads from U21. They were at a low ebb when he took over, but they were all good players, just about getting their heads right.

The younger players will have no fear in the future, as they get older and more mature.

[tommysmith]

So do you think that the U21's not been available has cost promotion Rodney?