Official Cavan GAA Thread

[Old yeller]

Without wanting to take anything away from Cavan's recent return to respectability - about which we all remain proud and delighted, and rightly so -  should we now pose the question about whether the tactics that are taking us so far in Ulster are suited to the different challenges that lie beyond its borders?

I used to dread playing other Ulster sides and longed to play some of the less stifling, negative sides from elsewhere but now while I feel we are well equipped to match any team in Ulster on our day, do we need to broaden our horizons and change it up against other teams?

I'm not stating a strong opinion here, and I'm mindful we haven't been far away at all against Cork and Dublin in the last two campaigns, I'm mostly just musing about the fact that we've won just one All-Ireland U21 semi out of four bites at the cherry, and wondering if it indicates that the defensive game plan that has cracked the Ulster code (at least underage) needs more ambition and tweaking beyond those tempestuous confines?

Would we have the personnel to implement a different gameplan if required? Are we one dimensional? I'm just interested in opinions.

I think its time we spread our wings a little bit and play a little bit more adventurously. The system that Hyland put in place when he first came in has served us very well. Its brought a lot of success at underage and has given us all a huge boost in morale which was badly needed. The problem with it is that when it comes to really tight games, like the last two semi's, it is very hard to get over the line due to our own low scoring. We may not have the forwards that Dublin and Roscommon have at U21 but we have a great forward lines in the senior team and dont need to be quite so defensive. We came from the worst period of Cavn football ever tonone of  the most successful at underage. That is thanks to a great crop of young players who were extremely well drilled and played a system that suited them. I think both the Cork and Dublin games were there for the taking if we had thrown caution to the wind in the last ten minutes and attacked like f**k! We need to change things up a bit because teams will suss it out soon enough and when push comes to shove we need to know how to attack with gusto. It was very hard to watch last Saturday at times in the second half when we reached the 45 yard line and seemed to hit an invisible wall that nobody knew how to get past. The slow patient build up is great but it allows the opposition time to get men back and totally nullifies our attacking options at times.
I would put Givney in at full forward so that we can mix it up with the odd high ball in to him. He can
field the ball well and knows where the posts are. Keating is also well capable of winning his own ball. Hes as strong as a bull too! The defensive style has served its purpose and im sure Terry and co are well aware of the faults in it and will tweak it to suit.
The mentality among both players and fans has changed, we know how to win again

[rodney trotter]

Peter Donnelly is the main reason Cavan are set up very defensive. Involved with u21s and Seniors. Its made Cavan very hard to break down but less focus is given to attack.  Cavan always played good open football but probaly to naive in defence and conceded pldnty of scores.

Cork u21 game last was similar to Dublin this year sat back when we should have been going more direct. Hopefully the Seniors can get past roscommon on Saturday, important for the team to get some silverware even if its only Division 3 title. Lot of players have under age titles,  nothing won at Senior.

[comeysfield]

We just need to stay calm we have come a long way in the last couple of years. If we keep building building it will come we could still have a couple of speed bumps. We could loose to Armagh, we could get opened up by Roscommon. I think neither will happen but either way it will not be a disaster. That we keep making progress is the important piece.

[scoopmine]

Hearing reports of Givney moving to Ballymun Kickhams. Same club as Micheal Brady moved to last year. Big blow for his club if true.

[Itchy]

Hearing reports of Givney moving to Ballymun Kickhams. Same club as Micheal Brady moved to last year. Big blow for his club if true.

No way!

[scoopmine]

Nothing confirmed now just talk. 

[rodney trotter]

C Gilsenan

J Hayes
R Dunne
F Flanagan

J McEnroe
A Clarke
D O'Reilly

G McKiernan
K Brady

C Mackey
N McDermott
M Reilly

J Brady
M Dunne
E Keating


Good to see Jack Brady in from the start after his injury problems. Obviouslly going well in training to be selected. Played mainly in the half forward line last year with both the u21s and Seniors, but is a lot better inside. Fairly strong team even without the U21's starting.

Niall Murray, Phil Tinnelly, Michael Lyng all put in good performancs against Limerick and would have been unlucky to miss out, Shows the strength of the panel

[Itchy]

No Givney? That's surely the biggest ommission.

[rodney trotter]

His form wasn't fantastic

[Westside]

Givney needs to up his game to make this team I think. Would no longer consider him an automatic starter.

[tommysmith]

Maybe he is still getting punished.

[comeysfield]

Mr Givney form is just rotten at the moment both club and county

[Westside]

Is tomorrow night's team a stronger team than the one that started against Kerry in the Championship last year? I think it might be.

[mylestheslasher]

Team v Kerry

Cavan: A O'Mara, T Corr, R Dunne, K Clarke, J McLoughlin, A Clarke, R Flanagan, D O'Reilly, D Givney (0-1), C Mackey (0-1), D McVeety, F Flanagan, M Reilly (0-1 '45), M Dunne (0-1), E Keating (0-2, 0-2f).
Subs: N McDermott (0-3, 0-2f) for R Flanagan (34), M Argue for T Corr (44), J Brady for M Dunne (50), J McEnroe for D Givney (58), K Tierney for E Keating (70).

Team today

C Gilsenan; J Hayes, R Dunne, F Flanagan; J McEnroe, A Clarke, D O'Reilly; G McKiernan, K Brady; C Mackey, N McDermott, M Reilly; J Brady, M Dunne, E Keating.


Much of a muchness. No Killian Clarke but we have Gearoid. It all depends on lads form.

[Westside]

Disappointing evening yesterday and once again our inability to get the vital scores when the game is in the melting pot cost us. I thought Alan Clarke and Killian Brady looked out of their depth, useful lads in a dogfight but limited technically. Jack Brady doesn't seem to have the pace or power required. As for the inside men well I thought Dunne wasn't as bad as people are saying, on another day he could have kicked 1-3 or 1-4. Keating showed the very worst of his game, selfish in possession, slowing down the play, turning like a bus. I said it after last year's campaign, himself along with Givney may not good enough, the problem being that we have replacements for Givney but no viable replacement for Keating.

On the plus side I thought Niall McDermott did very well, he seems to really shine when he gets to Croker. Martin Reilly and Mackey were very good too. I love the buzz whenever Mackey gets the ball. Gearoid had a storming first 20 but went out of it then. It has to be remembered that he was out for almost a year though.

Going forward I think Argue needs to be starting to give us another option at midfield for kickouts. Killian Clarke needs to be in the full back line. We don't seem to have the personnel to ask for much more than what we're doing up front so we need to be more competitive in the middle of the field.
The Armagh game will be extremely tough and the blueprint for beating us has been made very clear.