Official Cavan GAA Thread

[Celt_Man]

We have something like 40 clubs with a population of say 65,000(thats being very optimistic)
which is more clubs than Donegal who have a population of 150,000.

I think the best solution is

Junior and Intermediate Club championships
start in May- Finish in July
Senior Championship starts end of July like its supposed to this year.
Amalgamations of intermediate/junior clubs should then  be encouraged to enter the Senior Championship,and if the Inter/Junior championships were complete,the amalgamations would have the players full attention.

It would give the likes of 
Ciaran Galligan
David Givney
Ray Cullivan
Declan McKiernan
John McCutcheon
Michael Hannon etc
the chance to play senior club championship football,and not be under pressure to train and play for their club in intermediate/junior at the same time.
what does everyone think?

Would most boys want to play senior championship with an amalgamation though?

I honestly think that these amalgamations are just being used as a fits all sizes solution.... We haven't been doing these right from the lowest point in this county for years and till that changes, amalagamations will solve damn all

BHMan you're idea would leave the majority of footballers in the county with their championship football over by July?? How is that an improvement?

[BigMac]

Now now Myles and Drung. Stop the squabling, its starting to become like the hoganstand with this childish behaviour. I would have to agree with Myles though, I dont think Carr has gone to many (if any) club games that werent held in Breffni. Although I do think he has tried a lot of new players, he will probably end up returning to the same players who werent good enough last year. This is mostly down to the fact that at the minute we dont have the quality of players to make the team good. We have some good players who arent there, but there is nobody out there that Carr could bring in that would make us Ulster contenders. What i would ask of him is that he get the group that he has in good physical and mental shape, and playing with pride, courage and determination every time they take to the field.

[BallyhaiseMan]

We have something like 40 clubs with a population of say 65,000(thats being very optimistic)
which is more clubs than Donegal who have a population of 150,000.

I think the best solution is

Junior and Intermediate Club championships
start in May- Finish in July
Senior Championship starts end of July like its supposed to this year.
Amalgamations of intermediate/junior clubs should then  be encouraged to enter the Senior Championship,and if the Inter/Junior championships were complete,the amalgamations would have the players full attention.

It would give the likes of 
Ciaran Galligan
David Givney
Ray Cullivan
Declan McKiernan
John McCutcheon
Michael Hannon etc
the chance to play senior club championship football,and not be under pressure to train and play for their club in intermediate/junior at the same time.
what does everyone think?

Would most boys want to play senior championship with an amalgamation though?

I honestly think that these amalgamations are just being used as a fits all sizes solution.... We haven't been doing these right from the lowest point in this county for years and till that changes, amalagamations will solve damn all

BHMan you're idea would leave the majority of footballers in the county with their championship football over by July?? How is that an improvement?

CM
i know id want to play in the senior football championship even in an amalgamation,
(even if i had to join up with the likes of boojangles club to do it "spit"  )
The club season for me needs to be compressed,
id much rather a season from February-July/August,whereby we are playing virtually every weekend.
would you not agree?

[boojangles]

BH Man its bad manners to spit in good company.

There is no doubting that some players would benefit greatly from playing at Senior Championship level,whether that is with an amalgamation or not. It would also be the best way to judge who exactly is at the required standard as the top players in the county should be competing against eachother.
Drung made the point that nobody could dispute the fact that the 25-30 picked for Cavan are the best available. Well I would dispute that fact and could name a list of at least 8 players who IMO would be as good as whats there,BUT the only way for it to be proven either way is for all these players to be seen competing against each other in Championship football.
So maybe Amalgamations are the way to go after all??

[mylestheslasher]

As a matter of interest, what is the best an amalgamated team has ever done in the senior championship in recent times. I can't remember one doing anything and I have to say a lot of the argument BHM and Boojangles are making are arguments I heard 10 years ago but amalgamations didn't work back then either.

[Dougal]

Senior championship

annah gaels (belturbet redhills) 1973
st marys? 1976

[Denn Forever]

annalee gaels (belturbet redhills) won the senior champ at some stage,could of been 70s though.

I think was the 70s when they had the likes of Ollie Brady and Frank McGuigan (not that Frank McGuigan).

[boojangles]

As a matter of interest, what is the best an amalgamated team has ever done in the senior championship in recent times. I can't remember one doing anything and I have to say a lot of the argument BHM and Boojangles are making are arguments I heard 10 years ago but amalgamations didn't work back then either.

If amalgamations are to work then I think the County Board should bring in a type of system which is used in Kerry. Super teams or whatever ya wanna call them. It would take alot of work and persuading but I feel it could be tried for a year or two.
It might mean that Drumalee would be joined with Ballyhaise (spit), Killygarry and Butlersbridge or Belturbet with Redhills,Kildallan and Killeshandra or insert any logical combinations ya want. You might end up with only 10 teams or less but it should mean that the best players in Cavan are all competing in the same championship.Then we could really sort the men from the boys.
The way it is done at present with a few half arsed amalgamations will never work.

Annagh won it in 1973. St Marys (Castlerahan and Munterconnacht) won it in 1976.

[put-it-up]

On paper I  think amalgamations are a great idea.

But the fact is they are very hard and take alot of effort from both players and management to make them even half worthwile!I genuinely don't think it would work here due to the amount of clubs in Cavan.I think there are too many rivalries and tensions between local clubs.

It would take serious effort to get them to work and in fairness it would be brilliant if i did as I imagine it would sinificantly improve the standars clubwise immediately. But what will happen under BHM's idea IMO, is players would play for their clubs and then feck off abroad come July when the senior amalgamations are due to start. I think the club scene should be wrapped up by the end of September. And I would also like to see the league finished before the respective championships begin. At least then when your out of the championship, you dont have to go through the motions and fulfill poxy league fixtures that serve no purpose

I do agree though, our domestic season is dragged out to the last and this does not help with interest levels and numbers at the club scene.

[Drung]

List them Boojangles and as a criteria tell me would they make the Cavan Gaels team?

[Swadman]

.I think there are too many rivalries and tensions between local clubs.

I would also like to see the league finished before the respective championships begin. ...then when your out of the championship, you don't have to go through the motions and fulfill poxy league fixtures that serve no purpose

Good points, Put-it-up.  As regards the rivalries issue, clubs who have a history of amalgamating at juvenile level should have no issues as they would know each other well.

According to this years "Master Fixture List" (normally a work of fiction) the plan is to have the leagues completely finished before championships start at the end of July. And rightly so. 

[BallyhaiseMan]

On paper I  think amalgamations are a great idea.

But the fact is they are very hard and take alot of effort from both players and management to make them even half worthwile!I genuinely don't think it would work here due to the amount of clubs in Cavan.I think there are too many rivalries and tensions between local clubs.

It would take serious effort to get them to work and in fairness it would be brilliant if i did as I imagine it would sinificantly improve the standars clubwise immediately. But what will happen under BHM's idea IMO, is players would play for their clubs and then feck off abroad come July when the senior amalgamations are due to start. I think the club scene should be wrapped up by the end of September. And I would also like to see the league finished before the respective championships begin. At least then when your out of the championship, you dont have to go through the motions and fulfill poxy league fixtures that serve no purpose

I do agree though, our domestic season is dragged out to the last and this does not help with interest levels and numbers at the club scene.

agree with virtually everything there Put it up,my suggestion has flaws,no doubt,but something needs to be done to boost the championships,and i dont think amalgamations will work for the senior championship whilst the clubs participating are in the middle of their own championship,unless you put into play some system whereby amalgamations dont come into the championship until a latter stage,which really isnt fair to the other clubs.
What way do they do it down in Kerry does anyone know?

[Drung]

In Kerry the county championship and the club championship are two separate things I think.
The prestigious one is the county championship, which is mainly amalgamations and very strong club teams.

[Drung]

Also, it's split into regions which play off their own championship first.
In fairness, if we had west cavan as a region it's be practically the junior championship anyway with Kildallan, Templport, Swad, Corlough, Shannon Gaels.

[boojangles]

List them Boojangles and as a criteria tell me would they make the Cavan Gaels team?

There are players on the Cavan panel at the moment that wouldn't make the Cavan Gaels team.
I said that I could name at least 8 players who IMO are as good if not better than whats on the county panel at the moment. I could extend the list to about 20 only for some players won't play, are not in the country etc etc
Here goes-
Sean Reilly- Cavan Gaels- yes he can make the Cavan Gaels team
Gavin Duffy-Cavan Gaels-yes he can make the Cavan Gaels team
Cathal Collins-don't ever remember the Doc retiring,he could have still done a job the last few years
Pauric Cahill-Killygarry-yes he would make the Cavan Gaels team
Ciaran Sheils-Mullahoran-yes he would make the Cavan Gaels team
Declan McKiernan-Killeshandra-yes he would make the Cavan Gaels team
Enda McCormack-Drumalee-yes he would make the Cavan Gaels team
Eamon Brady-Mullahoran-yes he would make the Cavan Gaels team
Barry Reilly-Kingscourt-yes he would make the Cavan Gaels team

Thats one extra thrown in for good luck.
I could also name another few who have been off the scene but are still relatively young.
Jonathan Crowe-Crosserlough
Shane Cole-Ramor
Colm Anderson-Cuchulainns
Barry Kelly-Ballyhaise