Official Cavan GAA Thread

[mylestheslasher]

Anyone see any of the U21 challenge games of late. I hear we played out a high scoring game against Derry (won 3-13 to 5-5 according to Hoganstand although I heard Derry actually won) and they play Meath tonight. Also see Martin Dunne of Cavan Gaels pulled out, is there some problem with the Gaels lads playing for the county or whats going on there?

[Dougal]

We beat derry according to one of the players.where did you hear about the meath match myles?only have access to internet on my fone and cant see what day the match is on.might head home if it's on tonight in breff

[Celt_Man]

We beat derry according to one of the players.where did you hear about the meath match myles?only have access to internet on my fone and cant see what day the match is on.might head home if it's on tonight in breff

Na it was on last night in Navan, no word on it yet

[Lawrence of Knockbride]

Just read the celt briefly and the Meath match was to be on last night alirght. Dunne has left the panel cos he's not getting enough playing time. Good to see the ilk of players coming through. He has a right to play more than anyone else I presume? Also a mention that Cole won't be around but not for drinking, work commitments i think it said. Dougal, is your rumour unfounded?

[Celt_Man]

Hyland content with team's progress

24 February 2010

Cavan Under 21 boss Terry Hyland claims he's "happy enough" with the progress his team have been making in the build up to their Ulster championship clash with Down on March 24.

The Breffni men have registered some impressive tallies to reach the final of the Hastings Cup at the end of last month and recently put up 3-13 to defeat Derry in a challenge match at Kingspan Breffni Park, where there were also concerns at the back for Hyland's team as they conceded 5-5 to the visitors.

"I'd be happy enough the way things are going. We're progressing slowly but it's a matter of getting the balance right," said Hyland.

"We're starting to put up scores and we're starting to get our forwards tackling and improving their workrate. We have to tighten up a little bit more at the back end of it alright."

With regards to a starting 15 for the game against Down in four weeks' time, Hyland says he wants to get in at least two more challenge games before making any decisions; starting with tonight's meeting with Meath at Pairc Tailteann, Navan (throw-in 7.30pm).

"I might have an idea of championship panel but our idea is to give every body in there as much exposure as they can possible get at as high a level as we can. We're playing Meath this Wednesday night (tonight) and we'll try to get another one (challenge match) in," said the Lacken native.

Two players who definitely won't be apart of Hyland's plans for the Down game are Ramor's Adrian Cole and 2009 Cavan SFC top-scorer Martin Dunne. Cole is tied up with work commitments in England, while Cavan Gaels attacker Dunne "decided himself to pull out" of the squad according to the manager.

Read into that, what you will....

[Lawrence of Knockbride]

Just for the sake of completeness, Celt Man missed out the last part

It is understood that the Cavan Gaels player was unhappy at the amount of game time he was receiving in recent matches and opted out of the panel

http://www.anglocelt.ie/sport/localgaa/articles/2010/02/24/3995137-hyland-looks-to-tighten-defence-with-month-to-go/

[Denn Forever]

At least we know now and have a month to plan without them.

[Celt_Man]

Just for the sake of completeness, Celt Man missed out the last part

It is understood that the Cavan Gaels player was unhappy at the amount of game time he was receiving in recent matches and opted out of the panel

http://www.anglocelt.ie/sport/localgaa/articles/2010/02/24/3995137-hyland-looks-to-tighten-defence-with-month-to-go/

indeed...

[Dougal]

Yes,i really should change my sig to "take everything i say with a pinch of salt".its unfortunate 2 not have dunne but we have plenty of forwards to replace him with.

[mylestheslasher]

Any word on that Meath match?

[whats my name]

yea we were drawing with meath at half time think they came out in the second half and bet us round the pitch.from what i have heard cavan had va lot of sick men due to rag week this week so wudnt look into it much.

[mylestheslasher]

So the goal is promotion, except if things go bad.

http://www.hoganstand.com/cavan/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=124543

Promotion the goal for Carr

Cavan manager Tommy Carr
26 February 2010

Cavan football boss Tommy Carr concedes that promotion to Division Two is his immediate concern.

The Breffni Blues slipped up against Antrim last time out, having opened their Division Three account with a crushing defeat of Roscommon. Tipperary native Carr hopes they can kick on and earn promotion to the second flight:

"Every team in Division Three is thinking about promotion at the minute.

"Realistically, they would love to be promoted and it is going to be a huge fight in the first three or four games for that promotion possibility spot.

"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.

"That's really where we are; what we are looking for out of the team is good, solid consistent performances."

[Denn Forever]

"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?

[cavanmaniac]

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.

[put-it-up]

"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..