Official Cavan GAA Thread

[mylestheslasher]

"Because of the nature of it, and not to throw out clichés, each game will change your mind as to where you are - whether you are looking at a relegation job or a consolidation job or a promotion job.

So we should be happy with what we get?  Why bother saying anything?

Basically Cavan seem to have no goals, they are just going with the flow and seeing where that brings them..

That's the impression I got from that interview anyway..

Yes thats what I took from it + the fact that manager and some players are far too fond of reading their own waffle in the papers instead of getting on with doing something.

That piece from the Celt is well written.

[Denn Forever]

DCU win Sigerson. 

How many Cavan players started? 

Saw clips of it and Flanagan seemed to be in defence.  Is it his best position?

[Dougal]

only saw a min or 2 of it,but sheridan was playing midfield,id imagine lyng and cullivan aswell.going by the betting for 1st goal scorer flanagan was in the forwards

[mylestheslasher]

only saw a min or 2 of it,but sheridan was playing midfield,id imagine lyng and cullivan aswell.going by the betting for 1st goal scorer flanagan was in the forwards

Jaysus your some legend, back home from the dinner dance and still fielding questions.

[boojangles]

http://www.anglocelt.ie/sport/localgaa/articles/2010/02/24/3995131-end-to-end-time-has-arrived-to-make-good-on-a-promise/

Interesting article.

<b>END TO END: Time has arrived to make good on a promise</b>

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and can make fools of us all, especially those who commit their views to print. Just sometimes, though, written words can be prescient.

A year ago this week, after a humbling at the hands of Tipperary in Breffni Park, this column asked the following question:

"Are the Cavan players hurting this week? They didn't look like a team playing with passion, with a fear of failure or a pride in the jersey last Sunday. Come to think of it, they didn't look like a team at all.

"The current panel have the trappings - the gear, the status - but after the manner of last Sunday's submission, they have lost some of the respect of the supporters."

The article went on:

"Whether emanating from his military background or stern appearance, Tom Carr has a reputation as a disciplinarian but so far, the Cavan manager hasn't convinced in that department."

Twelve months later, and with the benefit of the hindsight we mentioned, can Cavan honestly say that we have made progress? Has the manager "convinced" yet?

There was much snide smirking in the national media - where Carr, an always-willing interviewee, is well-regarded - when club delegates proposed a vote of no confidence in the manager last summer.

"Typical short-sighted Cavan" was the general line taken. "Win nothing for 40 years, then shaft a new manager after six months"... That was wrong, and it irked many genuine Cavan supporters to be patronised in such a manner.

When Carr took over in a blaze of publicity, his one abiding promise was to "make Cavan competitive". In his first year, he didn't do this, or come close to it. Clubs took a fire and ice approach - some reared up and wanted him gone but others kept a cool head and urged caution. The county committee voted en bloc to save him. He survived.

We are now in his second season and, sad as it is to say, we look as far away from a breakthrough, or even from being competitive, as ever.

While the current group of players aren't the best in the country, surely they are capable of better than being hammered at home by a shadow Antrim team minus up to eight regulars?

If a handful of footballers aren't performing, it can be seen as an individual thing but when a team appear, in a lot of cases, unfit, weak and off the pace, questions must be asked about preparation and motivation.

So, let's ask these questions. Why were the Cavan senior team so poor ten days ago against Antrim? Tom Carr stated that he "couldn't chase the game on the sideline" and he's right in that some established players, who have made the team as big names on Cavan's conveyor belt of losing minor and Under 21 teams, have let him down. An underage reputation is a worthless currency for a senior inter-county footballer - performance and results are everything.

But this is a serious business and the buck stops with the manager. He picks the team and oversees preparations, remember.

To raise these points isn't being disloyal, or disrespectful to any individual either. In fact it's the opposite; hard questions have to be posed after unacceptable performances.

Cavan were flattered by the scoreline in the Roscommon match but at least the desire and workrate was there. Six days later against Antrim, the hallmarks of the last 12 months - lifeless, flat, ponderous play - were all too evident.

The times we live in demand that everything be viewed through a monetary prism too and to look at Cavan's failures purely in financial terms makes for even more alarming reading. The human tragedy of job losses is everywhere here in the Border region, which never fully succumbed to the full charms of the Tiger yet is suffering the backlash harder than most.

Yet Cavan teams have had - wait for it - a grand total of €1,695,842 spent on them on the past three seasons. The lion's share of this went on the senior football panel.

To break it down even further, according to the accounts presented to the county convention last December, Cavan team travelling expenses for 2009 alone were €248, 821. Over an average of just an eight-month season - realistic considering the minors, Under 21s, juniors, senior footballers and senior hurlers won a single championship match between them - this works out at €31,102 per month.

That's a massive investment for a paltry return. In business, someone would be held responsible for this; let's face facts - someone, or more than one, would lose their job.

Sean Johnston said in an interview last week that Cavan supporters "all need to realise that they can't live in the past and that we are a long way down the pecking order." He's right, but it's unfair to ask supporters not to expect an acceptable level of performance.

There has been a backlash in the county over the past week to the performance. The manager has been in situ since September 2008, 17 months ago, so the excuse peddled last year of not having enough time doesn't cut it.

This isn't a witch hunt. Tom Carr is a thoroughly decent man and a popular figure with players; he could still be the right man to lead us, but we need to start seeing signs of progress. Rather, this is a reflection of the frustration on the ground among ordinary supporters, who just want the team to do themselves and our footballing tradition justice.

On that note, worryingly, the anger has almost gone, too, extinguished and replaced with a wistful shrug. One supporter contacted the offices of this newspaper last week to voice his opinion on the Antrim match. "Will we ever have a team again?" he asked wearily. Who can give him an answer to that? When will this manager make good his promise and make us "competitive"?

Hindsight, which we mentioned before, plays tricks. Two years ago, former manager Donal Keogan was derided but what would we give for an unbeaten seven-match league run or a championship win over Antrim now?

Cavan supporters - Club Breifne members, sponsors, die-hards, old-timers and starry-eyed teenagers - desperately crave a team to be proud of.

The promises and bluster are useless now - it's time we walked the walk, starting with the trip to Drogheda on Sunday week.

Excellently written article from whom I can only presume is Paul Fitzpatrick.

As regards the Sigerson match,I only seen some of the 2nd half.Flanagan had 11 on his back but was dropping very deep.
Cullivan had 18,seemed to be a WF and Lyng came on for Cathal Cregg I think the other WF.Dermot Sheridan was Midfield.

[boojangles]

Anybody hear if Aogan Farrell got in?

[Celt_Man]

Anybody hear if Aogan Farrell got in?

Oh there was no gettin in about it.  He was done and dusted, only being confirmed as Ulster President on Saturday.  Great achievement, fair play to him and best of luck

[Rawhide]

Anybody hear if Aogan Farrell got in?

is Farrell a cavan man, God, hopefully he isn't as big a header as that man Greenan, an embarrassment

[boojangles]

Anybody hear if Aogan Farrell got in?

is Farrell a cavan man, God, hopefully he isn't as big a header as that man Greenan, an embarrassment

A Drumgoon man.Principal of Dernakesh National School outside of Cootehill. Fair play to him and the Best of luck.
Michael Greenan made some good and bad decisions during his tenure.Unfortunately the bad ones will be remembered more. He is however, a man of his word and if he said he would do something,he would do it.

[boojangles]

For anybody interested thats around Cavan.Tony Scullion will be hosting a coaching workshop to develop games from Under-14s up to Seniors on this Wednesday evening on the new Breifne 3G pitch at 7.30pm and it will be over at 9pm.
Seeing Tony Scullion in action alone should be enough to get a few out.

[BigMac]

According to the Hoganstand home page Nicholas Walsh has torn ligaments in his knee and will be out for the next 3 or 4 games. This might not actually be a bad thing, as i dont think hes near the best midfielder we have.

[Denn Forever]

For anybody interested thats around Cavan.Tony Scullion will be hosting a coaching workshop to develop games from Under-14s up to Seniors on this Wednesday evening on the new Breifne 3G pitch at 7.30pm and it will be over at 9pm.
Seeing Tony Scullion in action alone should be enough to get a few out.

I'm surprised that there was no mention of this in Hoganstand.  Its the kind of thing that would be both of use and of interest to anyone who trains teams. 

A true legend of football.

With Nicolas gone are there any representatives from the County Senior champions on the panel?  Just remembered Lyng. 

[boojangles]

For anybody interested thats around Cavan.Tony Scullion will be hosting a coaching workshop to develop games from Under-14s up to Seniors on this Wednesday evening on the new Breifne 3G pitch at 7.30pm and it will be over at 9pm.
Seeing Tony Scullion in action alone should be enough to get a few out.

I'm surprised that there was no mention of this in Hoganstand.  Its the kind of thing that would be both of use and of interest to anyone who trains teams. 

A true legend of football.

With Nicolas gone are there any representatives from the County Senior champions on the panel?  Just remembered Lyng.

You can say that again. We had him down a few times a few years ago for talks. The man speaks with a raw passion that would make the hairs stand on your neck. U just wanna get straight out on the field as soon as he speaks.

[Dougal]

is anyone else feeling more optimistic about sunday now that walsh is out of the picture?

[Western Blue]

When and where did N. Walsh get this injury as that last time I seen him he was been subbed in the Antrim  match and as he walked to the dugout he started to limp. I agree he  contributed nothing that night but I think he would have improved his performance over our next 4 key matches. Looks like Mulvey or Galligan for the next 4 matches.
I see Dermot Sheridan played for D.C.U. in midfield any thoughts.