Official Cavan GAA Thread

[mrdeeds]

McDermot looks to be going well. Shot the lights out in Sigerson.

[Denn Forever]

Team  for Sunday.

Panel in Full:

1. James Farrelly (Kingscourt)

2. Fergal Reilly (Castlerahan)

3. Padraig Faulkner (Kingscourt)

4. Killian Brady (Mullahoran)

5. Martin Reilly (Killygarry)

6. Conor Moynagh (Drumgoon)

7. John McCutcheon (Cootehill Celtic)

8. Killian Clarke (Shercock)

9. Rory Dunne (Redhills)

10. Ciarán Brady (Arvagh)

11. Dara McVeety (Crosserlough)

12. Gerard Smith (Lavey)

13. Niall Clerkin (Shercock)

14. Niall McDermott (Ballinagh)

15. Sean Johnston (Cavan Gaels)



16. Raymond Galligan (Lacken)

17. Jason McLoughlin (Shannon Gaels)

18. Stephen Murray (Cavan Gaels)

19. Shane O'Rourke (Laragh United)

20. Tomas Corr (Denn)

21. James McEnroe (Ramor United)

22. Conor Madden (Gowna)

23. Paul O'Connor (Cavan Gaels)

24. Niall McKiernan (Lacken)

25. Shane Tierney (Lavey)

26. Gearoid McKiernan (Swanlinbar)

Ray Galligan surprise ommission from last year when he played well but I
supose it makes sence to have goalie and full back from the same team.

[rodney trotter]

Galligan didn't play in McKenna Cup through injury. Farrelly didn't do a lot wrong to be dropped though would expect Galligan to be back in team down the Line. His kickouts are better then farrellys,

[Westside]

Galligan's kickouts were hugely important to us last year. He has that ability to just place the ball and stroke it to the man in space 40 metres away allowing us to get on the attack very fast. Farrelly was solid yesterday but his kickouts were ponderous. The most depressing thing about this aspect of our play is that a huge amount of effort had obviously been put into this last year and now it's been abandoned or at least it's not been picked up where it was left off.

There were some positives from yesterday. Our defending was solid against a forward line that are deadly even when they're only in second gear. Faulkner is a wonderful player, it's really puzzling how or why Terry thought it was a good idea to drop him after the league last year.
Gerry Smith again looked good, once he finds his feet at this level he should really add some pace and class going forward. Seanie looked sharp and got a few classy scores. It's the best I've seen him play since he came back. Also great to have McDermott there, stuck his head where you wouldn't put a shovel going for a ball at one stage to win a free.

As for the negatives... There was some shocking decision making and fundamental errors yesterday. We gifted Dublin a few scores as a result. Killian Clarke had a bad day out, shocking tackling and passing/shooting.

I felt in general the team lacked direction and purpose going forward. I can only hope this was because it was Dublin and deep down management knew we weren't going to take anything from the game and decided to play it safe and try to keep the score respectable.
There was no real plan going forward, in the warm up they seemed to be focusing quick movement through the hands. During the game we had a few nice flowing movements but in general there was a reluctance to break the 45. We brought on a few big men and didn't kick in any long balls to them. Niall McKiernan was breaking forward at one stage while Martin Reilly was in the corner back position.

I think the team selection is misguided. We should have a panel of solid, experienced county players at our disposal. Lads that have been doing the conditioning of an intercounty player for years. We finished the game having played 6 players who haven't featured for Cavan Seniors prior to 2017, in our first game in Division 1 for a donkeys' years. It's too much. That said, I don't know the fitness of lads like McEnroe or Argue so maybe management's hand was forced.

I realise that it's maybe not wise to judge a manager on what he says to the media, perhaps the players are very clear on Mattie's intentions and plans and ignore anything he says outside the dressing room. However, from a supporters point of view there is absolutely no consistency in his views/plans/beliefs.
At the start, the League was to be Cavan's aim for the year, retaining Division 1 status was vital. After defeat yesterday we were just using Division 1 as a springboard for the Championship.
After the win against Tyrone if you got the jersey you kept it, put in a good performance and you'll keep your jersey, our best team will be played in every game and you have to work hard to earn a jersey. 9 changes then made for the UUJ game.
We're not playing a blanket defence, we're going to go after Dublin and attack them. 2 men played inside with 13 behind the ball. A certain reluctance to commit players forward.
Shane O'Rourke singled out in an interview as being one player that was absolutely flying in training. I think he was maybe the 4th or 5th sub used? And was subbed for Conor Madden who had came on himself and scored a point (no doubt a big blow to the confidence of a young player making his league debut in a game that was realistically lost at that stage)
The interview after the game didn't fill me with confidence either. Just delighted to be here in front of 16 thousand people, sure isn't it great. And won't next Sunday in Castleblayney be great too, these are the great days we train for, weren't Dublin brilliant. I really don't believe this is the type of attitude that will bring these players to the 'next level'. I want to see the Jim McGuinness/Mickey Harte/Malachy O'Rourke attitude; we don't give a f**k about what anyone thinks of us, we're going out here with our gameplan in place and we're going to kill ourselves to execute it and we're going to do whatever it takes to win.

McGleenan so far looks like a very genial bloke, full of positive energy and kind words for all. The type of guy you'd love to see managing your U-12s. I sincerely hope that underneath there is a dead eyed calculating tactician that is leaving his players in no doubt as to where they stand. It's very early days to be judging his managerial skills and it will take him some time to put his stamp on the team, I don't want to sound like I'm slating him but that's my assessment of how things have gone so far.

Losing to Dublin was fairly inevitable and it was probably wise not to go gung-ho at the game and end up on the end of a serious hammering. Next week the league starts properly for Cavan, I really hope we see more purpose and intent.

[rodney trotter]

Hopefully Madden gets his confidence back tomorrow in Sigerson. DIT playing McDermotts Ul.

Johnston showed against Dublin he is more then a Division 2 forward. Its teams like Tyrone he struggles against, with their blanket defence. Most forwards struggle against that.

[mrdeeds]

Breffni hardly be playable tomorrow?

[Itchy]

Breffni hardly be playable tomorrow?

Going ahead after pitch inspection this morning.

[Westside]

Madden and Argue start.. Presumably looking for more physicality in wet conditions? Great to see Ray Galligan back in goals. Still think there should be room for McEnroe. Having Mackey off the bench is a great option.

If we lose tonight, I believe we will go down.

[Itchy]

Where do we go from here. That's as bad as I've seen in a long time. I want to give the manager a chance but being honest he is coming across as a spoofer with all his positivity nonsense. We were all over the place even before Clarke was harshly sent off. Madden look good in 2nd half when he decided to have a go, Faulkner good too but he is playing fellas in stupid positions. Mcvitty as a corner forward? Faulkner midfield? Dunne midfield? Mental stuff. We are going down now, there is no way back for us now some really unlikely results.

[mrdeeds]

His substitutions make no sense. Taking of players too early. Emptying bench and leaving yourself in trouble later on. Bringing players on and taking of again. Niall McKiernan not being seen. Midfield is non existent. One week your a forward, next week a back. No consistency in team selections. At least Terry had a plan. I don't know what the game plan is. There were two big lads in full forward line and we didn't kick it in.

[Westside]

I said it at the time, Terry would only be truly appreciated once he was gone. He had the team playing better than the sum of its individual parts. The players thought the opposite and felt that a new voice could bring them to a new level. Now we're seeing what happens when Terry's steadying influence is gone and we have a guy chopping and changing between games and in games.

I don't feel there's blame to be handed out, we chose the best managerial option available to us. The players are more than entitled to want a new voice. I believe McGleenan took the job for all the right reasons and is doing his best even if some (or a lot) of his decisions are... misguided.

We are going to be relegated to Division 2. The best we can hope for is that we put in a few respectable performances and maybe beat Roscommon, keep the panel together and come up with a decent game plan for Championship.

[mrdeeds]

I said it at the time, Terry would only be truly appreciated once he was gone. He had the team playing better than the sum of its individual parts. The players thought the opposite and felt that a new voice could bring them to a new level. Now we're seeing what happens when Terry's steadying influence is gone and we have a guy chopping and changing between games and in games.

I don't feel there's blame to be handed out, we chose the best managerial option available to us. The players are more than entitled to want a new voice. I believe McGleenan took the job for all the right reasons and is doing his best even if some (or a lot) of his decisions are... misguided.

We are going to be relegated to Division 2. The best we can hope for is that we put in a few respectable performances and maybe beat Roscommon, keep the panel together and come up with a decent game plan for Championship.

Agree with everything you say.

[tierworker blue]

Yep, that's pretty much it folks...I think we're all on the same page so far.

We don't have a good shape to us at all, at the minute. OK, it may not always have been pretty betimes over the last few years, but there was a plan and a shape that we tried to stick to. It paid off...we didn't find ourselves back in Div1 by accident. In last year's League in particular (ok, different quality of opposition granted) we looked more tactically prepared and moved forward with purpose. I don't see much evidence of that these days. We have a potentially great back 7 but m/f isn't clicking and there is nothing cohesive about us going up the field, most of the time. The team selections are so erratic and all over the place from week to week.

McG talking the talk, but not walking the walk yet. Everyone deserves a proper chance, and I'll happily be proven wrong, but I'm not convinced by what I've seen from him so far. Hopefully that will change soon. I'll be interested to hear his take on last night. The 'isn't it great to be here...over the moon' schtick has worn very thin with me (and many more!) by now!

The 1st half was a total write off last night...frustrating to see the amount of primary possession and breaking balls lost around the middle. I don't know how we managed to only go in 2 down at the break!
The 2nd half was better, and showed glimpses of potential at times, even if it was fairly obvious that the game was out of reach. We pushed forward better for 20 minutes or so, and got a few nice scores. If we can play like that for 70 minutes, we might be onto something.
Finishing the game with 15 on the field would also be a help...it really is an uphill battle when the opposition have the numbers to play keep ball with, for long periods of time.

[Itchy]

I thought we were awful flat in the 1st half. It was like the players didn't realise the importance of that game. Need to beat Tyrone now to have even an outside chance given that our score difference is really poor now.

[cavanmaniac]

Staying in Division 1 was always going to be a uphill battle, whether it's Terry or McGleenan that's in charge - the difference being we could have struggled with continuity and a well-known clear gameplan under Terry or instead struggle by trying to find a new formula and perform beyond what even Terry achieved. Hard to know who'd have fared better to be honest - it's a hell of a tough division. To be charitable to the new man, it's his first intercounty job in what's a tough environment to register results - but judging by the comments and analysis here, the signs are worrying. You'd look to see some sort of response in terms of results before the league ends, or certainly an upswing in cohesion on the field and a settled, tactical unity with evidence of clear direction on the sideline, because if the Billy-to-Jack swaperoo continues up to the threshold of championship, it could be chastening there too. Either way, Division 1 status was in trouble after failing to beat Monaghan and now it's gone after losing to Donegal which was a home game earmarked for potential gains. We should just focus on playing as well as we can, beat Roscommon if possible and then get things settled before championship, where hopefully the experience will stand to us.