Official Cavan GAA Thread

[Westside]

Sadly "desperation" is the first word that popped into my mind when I read the news this morning. The chances of Johnston making a significant difference to the inside forward line given his injuries, age and absence from intercounty football are very very slim. The chances that this move sends the wrong message to supporters, current players, younger players and invites a media circus to our camp for all the wrong reasons are fairly large.

I'm a big fan of Terry and I'd always give him the benefit of the doubt with his decisions but not with this one. Johnston should never have been given the opportunity to pull on a Cavan jersey again.

[Old yeller]

Sadly "desperation" is the first word that popped into my mind when I read the news this morning. The chances of Johnston making a significant difference to the inside forward line given his injuries, age and absence from intercounty football are very very slim. The chances that this move sends the wrong message to supporters, current players, younger players and invites a media circus to our camp for all the wrong reasons are fairly large.

I'm a big fan of Terry and I'd always give him the benefit of the doubt with his decisions but not with this one. Johnston should never have been given the opportunity to pull on a Cavan jersey again.

Agree with ya there, desperate looking. You'd have to ask aswell, who does this benefit? What about building for the future? It looks like a selfish move to try and get some results, no matter what it takes, to take the bad look off last year. The only people this benefits is Johnston and the management.

[cavanmaniac]

I wasn't very enthused at the prospect of 2016 before now,  and now I already think the season is a write-off. 

I might be like a lad with a dreadful hangover promising never to drink again only to see things differently a little later,  but it all leaves me thinking I personally wouldn't bother going to watch the team next year.

Hyland should have gone after the championship ended,  and now he looks like the blues guitarist that sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads.  A desperate,  to-hell-with-it-all roll of the dice.

Johnston might not ever be fit enough to play,  the rumour might not be true,  maybe he offered some sort of olive branch himself (highly unlikely) but this still sends a very bad message about the pride in our jersey that's been carefully restored recently.  A very depressing retrograde step.

[mylestheslasher]

An apology!

I heard Johnston and the county board are organising a letter of apology and a box Roses for you personally Myles!

In all seriousness, He was let go by the previous manager and tried to resurrect his inter-county career with Kildare but to no great success. Nobody in Cavan had any problem with Rory Gallagher or Gareth Smith trying similar moves. I know the latter has Cavan parents but he was born a Dub, living and working in Dublin and playing club football there is whole life.

Regardless of U21 titles we have, we certainly have not produced many scoring forwards in the past few years. Dunne, Jack Brady, Bud Fitz etc are not going to win us many games. We also don't have many free takers either. Relying on out make-shift Goalkeeper to score to late frees for us against Monaghan was just very naïve by the management.

I don't like the idea of drafting in 31 year olds either. It shouldn't hamper the prospects of younger lads like Hayes, David Brady or Ciaran Brady who will probably be drafted out of the panel for the second half of the league if the u21s are doing well.

Johnston could be the difference between a winning by a point instead of loosing by the same margin just like our last two encounters with Monaghan in the Championship.   

Yes an apology, an admission that they made a mistake or some remorse for what he did. Maybe I am old fashioned but when a player is banished from the panel in this manner I would expect that he would have to put somethings right before being asked back in. Otherwise what is the message to all the other players in  the county - do whatever you like, it doesn't matter?? Like Westside I would also have given Hyland a lot of support over the years, especially on his stance on Johnston. I think he has done a lot of good but I am afraid he has taken an incredible backwards step here. I really cannot see the angle, the positive, the logic in this decision. 2016 is a write off and I won't be travelling to see the senior team playing. In fact, if anyone wants a McKenna cup ticket please PM me.

[Westside]

Myles I think everyone is a bit disillusioned with this move from Hyland but stay the course. One man on the panel can't sour the whole lot. Last year didn't end well granted but I have to say following the team throughout the McKenna Cup and the League was a pleasure. Lads like Rory Dunne, Martin Reilly, James McEnroe, Mossy Corr.. All putting together consecutive performances that we have been crying out for for years and certainly restoring pride in the jersey. The overall effort and progress of the last two years from the lads deserves the supporters loyalty regardless of Johnston's presence. Hopefully Killian the Gunner gives him a nice welcome back at training..

[Ollie]

People who start saying that 2016 is a "write off" due to a player being called up that they dislike would want to take a good long look at themselves. Can you really call yourself a true supporter if your planning on  boycotting the team due to disliking one player?

Myles your critical of Johnston playing for another county. Yet your planning on walking away from supporting the team in protest. Seems a bit hypercritical of you Myles!

The management will call up an array of different players leading up to the McKenna Cup. Some will be kept on, others won't. Regardless of his age or what went on in the past, Johnston has talent. He might be a little older and lost some of his pace but he's still a credible option in the League at least. As I said in a previous post, we're not blessed with many good forwards or free takers. All avenues have to be explored by the management and that includes Johnston.

I'm proud to be a Cavan supporter. I'm not going to distant myself from games just because I've an issue with one player out of a panel of 30. People on this forum with negative and begrudging attitudes are better off staying at home!!   

[five points]

Correct decision to bring back Jelly. Remember Hyland's quote after Monaghan beat us by a point, "When they were bringing on our experienced men, we were taking off ours".

This year, we need all the experience we can muster. 

[cavanmaniac]

People who start saying that 2016 is a "write off" due to a player being called up that they dislike would want to take a good long look at themselves. Can you really call yourself a true supporter if your planning on  boycotting the team due to disliking one player?

To clarify, I meant that things (to me) didn't look good even before this development and now that this has happened, I don't think the team will achieve anything in 2016 and it'd leave me inclined to stay at home instead of going to the game. Seanie coming back is just a symptom of Hyland's wider problem, he should have gone after last season but we are where we are.
You'll find I won't be the only one reading between the lines like this. Bringing Seanie back will be very divisive and will cause more problems than it solves. I hope I'm wrong but can't see this going any other way but badly.

[mylestheslasher]

People who start saying that 2016 is a "write off" due to a player being called up that they dislike would want to take a good long look at themselves. Can you really call yourself a true supporter if your planning on  boycotting the team due to disliking one player?

Myles your critical of Johnston playing for another county. Yet your planning on walking away from supporting the team in protest. Seems a bit hypercritical of you Myles!

The management will call up an array of different players leading up to the McKenna Cup. Some will be kept on, others won't. Regardless of his age or what went on in the past, Johnston has talent. He might be a little older and lost some of his pace but he's still a credible option in the League at least. As I said in a previous post, we're not blessed with many good forwards or free takers. All avenues have to be explored by the management and that includes Johnston.

I'm proud to be a Cavan supporter. I'm not going to distant myself from games just because I've an issue with one player out of a panel of 30. People on this forum with negative and begrudging attitudes are better off staying at home!!

Its a bit of a red herring trying to turn this into a "dislike" of one player. In my opinion Johnston betrayed his team mates, the supporters, Cavan GAA and the wider GAA ethos. He has shown no remorse for it. As for my bona fides as a supporter, I know what games and efforts I have made to go to matches (every game is an away game for me, Breffni is 2.5 hrs from where I live), I dont need to justify them anymore than that. I will not be a hypocrite and stand in the terrace as an unrepentant Sean Johnston takes the field as in my opinion that would be to show support to  the decision.

I have no wish to get into a slagging match with you Ollie or anyone else (we all did that before and it was not a healthy undertaking), positions on this are well known. I see this as a reckless decision by Hyland and has the potential to cause untold trouble in the camp and in Cavan GAA. I can't and won't support it. That's my position on it right or wrong.

[Ollie]

People who start saying that 2016 is a "write off" due to a player being called up that they dislike would want to take a good long look at themselves. Can you really call yourself a true supporter if your planning on  boycotting the team due to disliking one player?

Myles your critical of Johnston playing for another county. Yet your planning on walking away from supporting the team in protest. Seems a bit hypercritical of you Myles!

The management will call up an array of different players leading up to the McKenna Cup. Some will be kept on, others won't. Regardless of his age or what went on in the past, Johnston has talent. He might be a little older and lost some of his pace but he's still a credible option in the League at least. As I said in a previous post, we're not blessed with many good forwards or free takers. All avenues have to be explored by the management and that includes Johnston.

I'm proud to be a Cavan supporter. I'm not going to distant myself from games just because I've an issue with one player out of a panel of 30. People on this forum with negative and begrudging attitudes are better off staying at home!!

Its a bit of a red herring trying to turn this into a "dislike" of one player. In my opinion Johnston betrayed his team mates, the supporters, Cavan GAA and the wider GAA ethos. He has shown no remorse for it. As for my bona fides as a supporter, I know what games and efforts I have made to go to matches (every game is an away game for me, Breffni is 2.5 hrs from where I live), I dont need to justify them anymore than that. I will not be a hypocrite and stand in the terrace as an unrepentant Sean Johnston takes the field as in my opinion that would be to show support to  the decision.

I have no wish to get into a slagging match with you Ollie or anyone else (we all did that before and it was not a healthy undertaking), positions on this are well known. I see this as a reckless decision by Hyland and has the potential to cause untold trouble in the camp and in Cavan GAA. I can't and won't support it. That's my position on it right or wrong.

I'll not get into a slagging match with you and I respect your decision. But you might be digging a hole for yourself if we do start playing well this year. With or without Johnston, the panel is strong enough to compete for promotion in Div 2. Its also well capable of beating Armagh at home. Each player on that panel has a point to prove. Keating and Givney or due back. Ciaran Brady, Argue and McVitty will be trying to build on good performances last year. Players like Rory Dunne, Killian Clarke, McKiernan, Mossey, Fergal Flanagan, Mcloughlin, Martin Reilly and Murray never lack heart or determination. If Johnston is kicking scores or making a valuable contribution to the team then all well and good. If not, then lets hope that some young fella is. Maybe David Brady for instance!

Maybe I'm being too optimistic. Its easy to feel pessimistic after the Roscommon match last year. Our biggest problem isn't the players at hand, its the tactics and the style of play that Terry insists on. You just hope he plans to adopt a better approach after two failed years in succession in the championship. There's little point calling in a player like Johnston if he doesn't plan to utilise the forwards more.

Keep the faith Myles. No point dwelling on the past. Keep in mind too that it could be the last Ulster Championship as the championship structure changes for 2017 as expected. If we beat Armagh in May and progress in the championship you can be sure they're will be little talk about the past.

[Westside]

So Keating rules out a return which is disappointing. I never thought he had it upstairs enough to be carry our forward line and push us on to another level but after he left we saw that we didn't really have another viable option for a full forward. As for Dunne leaving well you'd have to say he didn't look like a man enjoying his football and only seemed to be on his game when he had a point to prove after being benched and brought on as a sub.

According to Hoganstand the new lads have been brought in are Enda Henry, Barry Doyle, Conor Finnegan, Thomas Moore, Joe Dillon, Padraic Faulkner, Barry Tully. Hopefully some of them can offer us something new. Doyle certainly knows where the posts are but it's a huge step up. Funny to see Finnegan in there after showing such promise as a minor and then never breaking into the 21s team. Where does Thomas Moore play?

[mylestheslasher]

So Keating rules out a return which is disappointing. I never thought he had it upstairs enough to be carry our forward line and push us on to another level but after he left we saw that we didn't really have another viable option for a full forward. As for Dunne leaving well you'd have to say he didn't look like a man enjoying his football and only seemed to be on his game when he had a point to prove after being benched and brought on as a sub.

According to Hoganstand the new lads have been brought in are Enda Henry, Barry Doyle, Conor Finnegan, Thomas Moore, Joe Dillon, Padraic Faulkner, Barry Tully. Hopefully some of them can offer us something new. Doyle certainly knows where the posts are but it's a huge step up. Funny to see Finnegan in there after showing such promise as a minor and then never breaking into the 21s team. Where does Thomas Moore play?

Why can Keating only let the manager know last Tuesday that he can't play due to work commitments? Sound like another boy with a big ego. He had potential but he was a long long way from a top player due mostly to his decision making. Good luck to the new lads. I think Faulkner and Dillon could be big players one day.

[mrdeeds]

Fergal Reilly and Stephen Cooney called in too.

[cavanforever]

Barry Reilly and Hessin also not committing this year,

[mrdeeds]

Thought Hession was commiting? A lot of backs called in even though we strong there. Would have liked to see Enda O Connell in. One of the best man markers around.