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Westside is correct, 2007, tport were relegated, only to get reinstated after a vote due to Crosserlough not taking their place in Div 3. Maghera MacFinns did get relegated the following year, 2008, and did appeal same, to no avail. They spent 2009 in Division 4, where they finished mid table. At the end of this year, the league was reformatted and Maghera were reinstated to Div 3. Can I point out that this was not due to any pressure or direct action from the Maghera club as seems to have been insinuated by the poster above.

Ok, long time reader, very infrequent poster. I am a recent ex-pat looking for info. Firstly, a frequent issue on HS, and on this board is the fact that the county board make decisions and they are not to the liking of the posters. Can I ask, is it still the situation that the chairman and secretary of each club, represents the club at Co board meetings? I was at the Co Board meeting, where this was brought in, and it was not a popular decision, yet it came in. Do posters think this is something that should change? and if so does each club have someone willing enough to represent their club at Co Board level? Secondly....could someone please enlighten me, factually, on the SJ situation? As far as I am aware Cavan Gaels signed the transfer, The Co Board did not. The Co Board asked for more info, and this was supplied (as far as I am aware). Has this now been resolved by GAA headquarters?? Lastly, could someone PM me with the panel members, I would love to know who is fit and available for next weekend....I will be relying on https://twitter.com/#!/moefitzpatrick and the bould Mickey Tynan next Sunday....here's hoping for an upset. loving the soap opera by the way folks!!!!

Oh, and yes he is Joe and Brian's Dad.

Damien Sheridan played with the Maghera MacFinns, and was part of the Junior and Intermediate c-ship winning teams in '74 and '75. Not sure exactly where he was born, but was definitely brought up in Maghera.

Mind you, for anyone that was there, Seanie Johnston's point taking display in the second half vs Wicklow in 2010 was a sight to behold!

Two things, firstly no-one as yet has mentioned McGeeney's input into this??? Did he whisper sweet nothings into Seanies ear and in some way contribute to this?? and secondly, as far as I'm aware no manager has to answer to the general paying public. Keeping the clubs happy is all he needs to worry about, as Mr Andrews well knows after previous experiences....

I don't believe it, an absolutely extraordinary case of plagiarism....check out the discussions I posted on 29th June....just for the record I am not involved with the county board, in fact I don't even live in Ireland anymore....does Peter Quinn read the GAAboard???

Before I start this I wish to say
(1) its only a suggestion, we are trying to improve things afterall
(2) I have spent my life with a small club in Cavan, I know we would, and have fought tooth and nail to hold on to our divisional status...these suggestions probably wouldnt even make it out of our clubrooms!!!!

As a footnote each club in the county currently plays approx 20 or so games a season.

This is how we could work it. Change the current set up into 4 divisions. What would happen is that at the county convention at end 2011 you tell all club delegates that the top 10 ten teams in Div 1 at the end of 2012 will form the "Senior Division". The remaining 6 teams from that division will join the top 4 teams in div 2 to form an "Intermediate Division", the next 10 teams in Div 2 would Form a "Junior Division" and the remaining teams would form a 4th Division (to be named appropriately). The League/Championship would start on the first weekend in march and each team plays 18 matches, with or without County players, which given weekends off for County all Ireland series would bring us up to mid July or so.

After the 18 matches we take a break and play the Senior Championship as described in my previous post, county split into sections, clubs amalgamate...etc and this would take place in late July/August, 4 groups, 3 games each, winner of each group into Semis, then final. In September the top 8 teams from the earlier club matches play off in a knock out championship competition in each Div and the two bottom teams play in a shield. The winner of the shield stays up, loser goes down. Winner of all divisions goes forward in Ulster  (apart from the 4th Div)and in Inter, Junior and 4th Div winner gets promoted.

This will
(1) give all club players the chance to play a senior campaign if they are good enough. This will as stated before bring players to a higher standard required to play with the county team.
(2) will give the management the chance to see all players in competitive action.
(3) give coaches and managers the chance to compete at a higher level, future managers from inside the county will be born.
(4) bring a competitive edge to the current league and bring an end to meaningless games...everyone is fighting for something.
(5) will give each club teh opportunity to win a championship in its own right and bring pride to their area, whilst giving their better players a chance to shine at a different level.

This format allows clubs to compete at their own level on a weekly basis. It also strengthens our teams going into Ulster at Inter and Junior level at least. 

These are only the tip of the iceberg in what needs to be done to improve football in Cavan...but it could be a start.

They are all coming out of the woodwork now!!

Like Footballmad am a long time reader, first time poster.

Have two points, firstly have to agree with Tommy's last post, the attitude of the majority of the clubs in Cavan is get the seniors out of the way and get on with the club scene. Dont get me wrong, a strong club scene is commendable, but we need to structure the club championship in such a way that instead of interfering with an with the All Ireland run it helps bring players on. Clubs hate to loose their players at important points in the playing year, hence players are not encouraged to play with the county. However sheltering panel members by asking them not to play with their clubs is wrong, the majority of players over U21 level need football and this p*sses the clubs off. If for example I was Mickey Brennan, and stuck by the rules of the County panel, I would have played less football than an ordinary club player this year so far.

My suggestion to this would be to run the Senior championship to include every club in the County. However do not give the options to the clubs to amalgamate, but the Co Board divides the County into 16 areas, 4x4 groups and appoint managers and coaches to each team. If a club is big enough they can enter on their own, Kingscourt for example, but in East Cavan shall we say, Cuchullains could join Killinkere etc...this not only brings potential county players to an acceptable level, it nurtures coaches and managers too. The championship and league for senior, inter and junior could run concurrently also, use the league to determine who the quaterfinalists would be for the championship?? The winners of the senior league would represent the county in Ulster, however the winners of the Divisional competition would be senior champions.

There are other ideas where you could run the leagues more compeitively, by awarding teams placed higher in the leagues seeding in the championship etc, this would improve competitiveness but would need to be further teased out.

Secondly and its something that no-one has mentioned yet and that is tiredness. We started last Sat with 5 players who had just completed a full U21 campaign, possibly Siegerson campaign and club games also. I will pick Geroid McKiernan as an example. Swad got to an All Ireland, he played Siegerson and he dipped in and out of the seniors throughout the league. In actual fact I would say since he came back from the US at the end of last summer he could on average have played 3 games a week. Now from speaking to Swad men I know, Gearoid is GAA mad and has no problem doing this but against Donegal and Longford were we asking too much of the likes of McKiernan and Murray to carry the can??? Should they not have been used as impact subs instead?? or at least in a less central role?? Just a thought??

On a last note wheras I am disappointed with how we have bowed out, 2011 for me will always be about that game vs Tyrone in Enniskillen, nights like that is what supporting Cavan is all about, however few and far between they may be..