Official Cavan GAA Thread

[mylestheslasher]

CavanCola,

To be honest I have no idea what the team will look like but I would love to see the following players on the team just so I can see some of the terrible injury luck we have had relapse a bit...

Gerald Pierson
Mark McKeever
Michael Lyng
Darren Rabbitte

I'd also like to see McCabe at FF and also see if there is any sort of forward strategy being worked on to get ball into these players. On paper a Johnson, McCabe and Pierson FF line looks good to me.

Then I am praying that we see someone around the middle take up the slack that McCabes fielding will leave behind and also that we get a dedicated free taker on the team and quit this messing we've been at for the last few years.

[cavanmaniac]

Posted by never kickt a ball over in the McKenna Cup thread:

Cavan boss performs major surgery

Saturday, December 30

New Cavan manager Donal Keoghan has performed major surgery on his Senior football panel with just 17 of last year's squad set to feature in the upcoming campaign.

Of Martin McElkennon's 2006 squad eight high-profile footballers have either been dropped, opted out or retired - Pauric Reilly, Cathal Collins, Anthony Gaynor, James Reilly (Drung), Eddie O'Reilly (Mullahoran), Finbarr O'Reilly and Michael Brides.

Gaynor is travelling in Australia and will be away for at least three months, while James Reilly is taking a year out as he is unable to give the necessary commitment.

Peter Reilly is retired, and the other five have been dropped.

A further seven panellists have been let go by Keoghan - Michael Brennan, Dermot McGlade, Eamonn O'Reilly (Shannon Gaels), Enda King, Dermot Sheridan, Martin Lynch and Joey Jordan.

*****

With the exceptions of Ballinagh duo Pauric Reilly and Anthony Gaynor (who will hopefully come back for championship), I either wouldn't know or wouldn't shed any tears about the others that have been let go - provided the replacements have a realistic chance of being better and inproving the team.

Deep breath lads. Here goes for Keogan and Grimley this weekend. We'll probably be flying fit and mad for road so don't be surprised if we win...although historically, we do tend to embarrass ourselves on television...

[Homer]

Just a little bit of news for yous.

Gaynor is back home next Thursday (10th).

The Cavan seniors played the u21s last weekend in Templeport, seniors won by 6. Full-forward line was Pierson, Sean Brady, Jelly. With Brady moving out as a third midfielder (his role with UCD). Didn't hear much else from the teams but if I do i'll let you's know.

And last but not least

Top GAA Manager Faces 12 Criminal Charges

[Homer]

Also forgot to mention but training is suppose to be the most unmerciful since the days of Austin

[lynchbhoy]

Also forgot to mention but training is suppose to be the most unmerciful since the days of Austin

I thought the training under austin was too easy ?

[Homer]

Also forgot to mention but training is suppose to be the most unmerciful since the days of Austin

I thought the training under austin was too easy ?

Don't remember much from them days but I thought the team got rid of him because they couldn't hack the training
I may have picked that up wrong 
It wouldn't be unlike me to get things backwards

[Cromagh]

Sounds like Keoghan is not a manager that will gain respect....up in court facing charges.....Maybe McElkennon n cassidy werent that bad after all

[cavanmaniac]

Ah no, they were that bad, just not in the criminal sense...

I've heard training is absolutely punitive as well, as Keogan and Grimley opt for a Ger-Loughnanesque separate the men from the boys-type approach. But sure you hear that every time a new man takes over, let's wait and see.

Great news that Gaynor is home so early. I was afraid he'd be away for months and if he wasn't training or looking after himself he'd strike me as a lad that'd take a while to get his sharpness back.

As for Austin there was some rumour that the training wasn't hard enough, that's what I recall. The team were reckoning they hadn't been trained hard enough by comparison with what it took to achieve success under wee Martin. Interestingly, we might not have been too far behind under Austin.

We showed good character to pip Fermanagh in the 1998 first round and opened up playing like men possessed against Donegal, only for the ref to spend the last 50 minutes effectively apologising to Donegal for a harsh sending off by giving them every marginal decision afterwards and some not so marginal at all. I think Tony Boyle won more dodgy frees that day than ever before or since in one game with Terry Farrelly in particular being unable to lay a finger on an opponent without being whistled for it.

A very frustrating day and it's been practically all downhill from there.

[lynchbhoy]

thas what was said at he time - not that the training was too hard but
the players 'revolted' as they believe the training was not near hard enough under austin.

the mchugh regieme had them puking their rings up at each session and they won the ulster title
so they thought that this was the way to go

now with two lame reillys (Peter and Larry) and a full time hospital case in McCabe to name but three off that panel
it looks like that was indeed far too much training

[Cromagh]

Bottom line is that Cavan are not good enough. You can do all the traininig you want but when a group of losers like there is in Cavan at the minute get the heat turned up on them they melt and quit. Hence the reason why Cassidy was not liked!! wait until big Grimley starts telling a few home truths they will run him out of town as well

[BallyhaiseMan]

The Reason Liam Austin was sacked as manager is because the Players thought his training wasnt hard enough.....

I must say Eddie Reily and Michael Brennan being out of the panel is a bit of a suprise to me...

[cavanmaniac]

Mad Eddie can't be faulted for effort, or passion and application, but if we are seriously contemplating having him as one of our forward options then it's a sad reflection on Cavan football. He got his chance, gave his all but one salad day apart in the league against poor opposition, the guy just doesn't have it for this level.

In some games he was actually clattering his own players in his over exuberance and people were actually laughing at him. I don't know if he could have been fashioned into a more polished performer in time but on the basis of what I've seen so far, I'd seriously doubt it. Plus there's always the lingering fear that he'd clock someone in a big game and get the line. Maybe at some point down the road, but like I said, I can't see it happening and with Pierson, Jelly, Mackey, McCabe, Lyng and others all hopefully available, Eddie is very surplus. He wouldn't have got near the panel in alot of other counties.

Mickey Brennan I think might be getting a slightly raw deal though. He too gave everything in last year's league only to be discarded for the fat boys brigade when summer came. He's very limited too but I'd have held onto him as a decent enough sub who could come on late in games, run at the opposition with his strength and pace and win a few frees or something.

[Hank Everlast]

Unmerciful training would sound about right with Grimley as coach... It will reap rewards tho, so long as him and keoghan get the lads respect and not the 'talking behind the back syndrome'.. ..

[mylestheslasher]

Has the Cavan panel been announced yet for the McKenna Cup? I see you reckon mad eddie and Brennan are of the panel. Poor auld Brennan is getting a very raw deal. He was even previewed on Hogan Stand there last week I think. Anyone making the trip to Celtic Park? Can't go myself, have to go and look at a new car in the big smoke. Will probably try and catch it somewhere on TG4.

[lynchbhoy]

Forty grand, thats a bit steep. Sure you dont want to add on a bit more,say lets go for the round 50.  You sound like someone who is into conspiracy theories, he wasn't even the manager. Why does Cavan have thsi tag of being big payers, they cant be any better or worse than most other counties. This is gaelic football not the premiership. Maybe its because we have nothing else to talk about because our football team is so poor.

Lads are we happy that somelike Keogan is in charge. Hes up in court on many charges, personally I am just embarrassed to think hes our county manager

Cavan have the most active GAA fund raising committees in Ireland
the Dublin branch were forever holding events to raise money.
Far from the stereotype
Kildare were also up there in getting big cash together - but theirs was mostly through the supporters club and private sponsorships - most of this went on mick odwyer.They aren't generating the same kind of money these days.