Official Cavan GAA Thread

anglocelt39 · January 23, 2009, 10:56:40 AM

Yes Drung I'm long gone out of the County by a fair distance and have not seen any matches this year, so my opinions on lads like Galligan are very much based on second hand reports. There seems to be some potential there anyway, what's your view?

On a separate note TG4 are showing the O'Byrne final between DCU and Louth live on Sunday which may have a few Cavan lads lining out. Might be interesting.

Drung · January 23, 2009, 01:06:16 PM

You shouldn't cast aspersions on players without having really seen them play.

Galligan was oustanding for us in the championship and has been good for Cavan so far, along with Walsh.

mylestheslasher · January 23, 2009, 01:49:54 PM

I'm glad to see Walsh back in the midfield. He may not be as skillfull a player as we'd hoped he'd be (after being a very skillful minor) but he does get stuck in. I can't believe that idiot Keoghan didn't play him all last year until the Kildare game (a game he nearly swung our way). Walsh will not leave a ball easy won against him and when you are short a couple of really good midfielders you need a spoiler like walsh. Galligan is playing well and I know some have their doubts about him but I'm happy to see Carr give him a few games to find his feet, unlike Keoghan who gave his midfielders about 20 mins each in the McKenna cup last year, before hauling them off in the 1st half.
Our fringe players beating Armaghs fringe players has to be a boost to the confidence if nothing else. We also know that in past years Cavan have gone ok in the McKenna cup and early league as they may have had a fitness advantage which was erroded as the league completed. New rules mean that this is not the case now, so in many ways it was a level playing field.
We have a lot of good players to come back in but we still have a lot of problem positions. FB is the obvious big one. I am not confident over Podge in there. I suspect Dunne might have to grow up quicker than we'd like and take that role. Ctr Back is troublesome too. I see Podge being a bit better out there but with the possibility of gaynor "maybe" coming back who knows come championship.
The positive is that we have some real potential up front. The trio of Johnstone, McCabe and Pierson in the FF line (assuming all going well) is a real big threat to any back line in the country. Then we have the likes of Lyng and Cullivan too. Some nice potential subs like Larry (if fit), Jason and Tierney. Two or three years of good management, good focus and good player dedication could result in us getting back to having a decent shot at ulster. Maybe just maybe there is some light at the end of what has been a dark period for Cavan football.

anglocelt39 · January 23, 2009, 01:52:42 PM

Welcome on board Drung. Wasn't aware that I was casting aspersions in any particular direction. If you don't mind I'll let you settle into the board a wee bit before deciding whether I accept your instructions/suggestions as to what I post. It would be a huge boost to Cavan football if a top class inter county midfielder can be uncovered, whoever that is. I keep thinking back to Pierce McKenna who I would have seen in action many times. An awful lot of us weren't too impressed with him for his first year or two, we would be more than happy so see his likes now. The moral of the story being that we might need to persist with lads and give them a chance to develop, something we weren't great at over the last year or two.

mylestheslasher · January 23, 2009, 01:53:45 PM

Quote from: Drung on January 23, 2009, 01:06:16 PM
You shouldn't cast aspersions on players without having really seen them play.

Galligan was oustanding for us in the championship and has been good for Cavan so far, along with Walsh.

Think you are being a bit touchy there Drung. I dont think AC was slagging Galligan. There was a feeling last year that he didn't get stuck in as much as we'd have hoped and AC was just saying it is good to see him going well. I think we'd all like to see him do very well for Cavan.

cavan4sam · January 23, 2009, 02:20:40 PM

Id just like to get your definition on getting stuck in lads? Its good that he has been given a few games to help him settle in and also the confidence boost of being made captain for the last 2 games is a sign that Carr likes him.

Wait and see is what I say

mylestheslasher · January 23, 2009, 03:00:26 PM

Quote from: cavan4sam on January 23, 2009, 02:20:40 PM
Id just like to get your definition on getting stuck in lads? Its good that he has been given a few games to help him settle in and also the confidence boost of being made captain for the last 2 games is a sign that Carr likes him.

Wait and see is what I say

I suppose, from what I seen of him last year I thought there was a lack of aggression from him when competing for the ball, a sort of hunger to get that ball at all costs. Everyone has a section of their game they need to work on, maybe that was his. Now I hear he had a good championship this last year so no doubt he is improving. I really don't want to slag the lad though because I'd love to see him do well and Carr obviously thinks he has the potential to do well.

cavan4ever · January 23, 2009, 03:46:55 PM

Quote from: mylestheslasher on January 23, 2009, 03:00:26 PM
Quote from: cavan4sam on January 23, 2009, 02:20:40 PM
Id just like to get your definition on getting stuck in lads? Its good that he has been given a few games to help him settle in and also the confidence boost of being made captain for the last 2 games is a sign that Carr likes him.

Wait and see is what I say

I suppose, from what I seen of him last year I thought there was a lack of aggression from him when competing for the ball, a sort of hunger to get that ball at all costs. Everyone has a section of their game they need to work on, maybe that was his. Now I hear he had a good championship this last year so no doubt he is improving. I really don't want to slag the lad though because I'd love to see him do well and Carr obviously thinks he has the potential to do well.

He wasn't on the panel last year.

BallyhaiseMan · January 23, 2009, 04:08:23 PM

Ive played against Ciaran my whole football career, i would also know him pretty well by now.
Ive heard people question whether he has guts and whether he was a coward,Which is complete bullshit,if you've seen enough of him or played enough against him enough,You would know thats not the case.
Hes not a Trevor Crowe or Nicholas Walsh in that he doesnt go throwing his weight around looking for contact,Hes a stylish classy footballer who wants to play football,but will get stuck in when its necessary.

cavanmaniac · January 23, 2009, 04:54:39 PM

I'd have seen a little bit of him BH Man and I know lads that played on teams with him in college etc. they'd all have the opinion that he lacks intestinal fortitude. It was at one stage something of an in-joke on the team. I was at boiling point watching him in Newry a few years ago, he had no steel at all, was just going through the motions which was a desperate sight because he's built like a tank.

But like ac says, lads can change and come on in a few years so if he's back in there on merit and doing well - albeit that he's miles fitter than anyone else because he's definitely a dedicated buck who looks after himself - then that can only be a good thing and I hope he continues to make progress. I wish him luck and it'd be brilliant for the team if he developed into a true county midfielder, but doubts remain until we see him play in a tough match I suppose.

BallyhaiseMan · January 23, 2009, 05:11:05 PM

Hes can be sluggish at times,but ive never seen him pull out of a 50/50 ball
A Few people have said to be he was miles fitter than everyone else,he may be sharper but he definetely doesnt have the stamina
He definetely wasnt in the Queens game because he ran out of steam in the last quarter like everyone else, and only made a few bursts after that.
The way IC Midfield these days require at least 1 to be over 6'3,(Tyrone being an exception to the rule)
Barring injury, Galligan for me is a definite starter come the championship, i dont want to see a Dermot McCabe/Nicholas Walsh midfield AGAIN,giving away 3 or 4 inches of height in the most important sector of the field.

anglocelt39 · January 23, 2009, 05:22:10 PM

The more I read of this debate the more I think of Pierce McKenna. He came into the panel as a guy who was very much playing second fiddle (you guessed who), it took him a while on the panel to develop a bit of contrariness which did his game no harm. In fairness to Galligan in the Down game Maniac, and I could stand corrected here, he was sprung from absolutely nowhere for the replay into midfield in a Championship game, another masterstroke from our departed leader. Now well and good if this was an established player coming back from injury, but in that case young Galligan was an inexperienced player coming back from injury. I'm sure, subconsciously, there must have been a very smalll bit of him that day wondering "how the @#@@ did I get here"

Any info on Sean Brady anybody?

BallyhaiseMan · January 23, 2009, 05:27:18 PM

Galligan didnt play much football against Down in Newry,however he largely curtailed Dan Gordons influence who if you remember absolutely destroyed Cavan at midfield in the first game.
That for me often gets overlooked.

cavan4sam · January 23, 2009, 06:44:19 PM

Quote from: BallyhaiseMan on January 23, 2009, 05:27:18 PM
Galligan didnt play much football against Down in Newry,however he largely curtailed Dan Gordons influence who if you remember absolutely destroyed Cavan at midfield in the first game.
That for me often gets overlooked.

You just managed to get in before me BHMan, I thought Galligan had a very good game that day against Down. If you look at the drawn game in Breffni, Dan Gordon absolutley destroyed us making runs from midfield and Mulvey wasn't fit enough to track him. Galligan was sent out in the replay to stop Gordon, and for me he did a good job at this.

I for one am glad that he is getting a run in the team because he really is the best prospect we have coming through, Mulvey is never going to be fit enough for championship football, McDonald is more interested in going on the beer and John Cunningham wouldn't get a game for some club teams. Eugene Keating might step up but is young and after that the next best is Gearoid McKiernan who is still young and a bit of a loose cannon from what I hear. Galligan has all the right attributes, is totally commited and has made a good start. I hope to see a midfield of Galligan and Walsh for the championship.

Drung · January 23, 2009, 07:25:35 PM

QuoteIt was at one stage something of an in-joke on the team

If we're going to repeat every "in-joke" we hear then we'll be here a long time.

Quotehe was sprung from absolutely nowhere for the replay into midfield in a Championship game, another masterstroke from our departed leader.

If that wasn't enough the following season he repeated the dose - twice! Keogan handed two fellas who had never even played a league game for Cavan a starting jersey at no 9 in one championship - McDonald and Keating.

Surely that's a record and if it's not, the fact that he took McDonald off and put him back on is.

McDonald must be only player to make two starting appearances and one as sub in his two championship matches!!!