Official Cavan GAA Thread

cavanmaniac · June 26, 2018, 02:54:14 AM

Jesus lads, these are grim times. That stupid optimist inside me that always pops up a few days before a championship game is whispering that nobody gave us a ghost of a chance in Division 2 yet we got promoted, so is it possible we somehow, amazingly, pull some sort of magical rainbow out of our arses against Tyrone?

Then reality bites. This sudden changing of horses in mid-stream and reversion to a blanket defence (in appearance anyway, if not effect) is very symptomatic of what I alluded to in another post - there's never been a settled look or clear plan or direction from the top so far, and things now have the appearance of us trying everything and anything in the vain hope of avoiding defeats and clinging to some sort of respectability. It's like watching an inept handyman trying to level the legs of a table and going around each one in turn and only making it worse on each go.

It has all degenerated into a very depressing state of affairs and whereas before I thought Mattie had earned himself a crack at Division 1, it's quite clear now that it has all become a farce and he should be removed before any more damage is done. The question is, if he was all that was interested when we looked a healthier proposition after Hyland, who in God's name would be interested now? We'd have to look within the county. Have the players got any more go left in them for another fresh start after so long achieving practically nothing at senior level?

mrdeeds · June 26, 2018, 09:33:54 AM

The only thing is we are in division 1 next year so that should help. We need a big name, to get some of our better players back in squad. Then we need to surround him with top class, young dynamic Cavan GAA people like Jason, Peter or Finbar.

Itchy · June 27, 2018, 03:54:42 PM

Are we putting in an appeal for these red cards or whats going on?

Westside · June 28, 2018, 10:09:51 PM

Dara and Conor's bans lifted. Now Mattie for the love of good God don't camp them in their own 45 for 70 minutes on Saturday...

tierworker blue · June 28, 2018, 11:25:12 PM

Given what we've seen over the last while, that's pretty much EXACTLY what we're in for, I'd imagine!
We can live in hope of a change in tactics, but I wouldn't hold your breath... $:-\$

Denn Forever · June 29, 2018, 11:42:25 AM

The Cavan Two available for the Tyrone game.

Itchy · June 29, 2018, 11:50:29 AM

Wonder is Clarke fit. Youd need his athleticism around the middle in this heat.

Jaysus I just hope they go for it, nothing worse than getting bet after playing such conservative crap like against Down.

Itchy · July 01, 2018, 10:35:11 AM

So what do ye think now?

On the face of it the result wasn't terrible in that it wasn't a hammering even though i think that's the worst Tyrone team in 15 years. They were there for taking.

However you can't get away from the fact that cavan were totally clueless and had no attacking system. No head nor tail to selections. Left Clarke on for 5 mins after he pulled his hamstring. I don't think this manager will bring this team on. County board need to be brave and do the right thing.

mrdeeds · July 01, 2018, 10:49:19 AM

He has to go but I think he'll get another year. For the reasons he got us up and didn't get hammered.

But he makes some strange selections and has no gameplan or knowledge how to implement one.

cavanmaniac · July 01, 2018, 02:02:07 PM

I think you're right Itchy. He's not taking the thing forward and appears to be in damage limitation mode. There's a good crop of youngsters coming up at the minute (hopefully they see off Monaghan today in the minor) and if McVeety and Gearoid etc. can stick around to blend them in then there's hope for the future but only if we have someone of vision and imagination at the helm, who might even inspire a few more absentees to come on board. The best Matty can achieve at the moment - if at all - seems to be to taking us back to ultra defensiveness and making us hard to beat, but that's going to move the needle the way we want. Will the county board press eject though? Probably only if someone within the county indicates they'll step up. There's nobody outside the county would want it I think and tbh, I'd be happier for us to look within anyway.

rodney trotter · July 01, 2018, 02:52:06 PM

Been a good crop of youngsters since 2011.. It's a different level to playing Senior Inter County football.

The u20's were brushed aside, and they are meant to be the future.

cavanmaniac · July 01, 2018, 04:20:04 PM

Isn't it still something to be positive about though? We ultimately won nothing with the U21s we had/have but we were knocking on the door a good many times, in fact were more or less there and yet contrived to come up short on a few occasions. Although underage success is never a guarantee of senior progress I'd rather have it than not, it's a no-brainer. Either way, I don't think Matty would be the man to manage it though.

Itchy · July 01, 2018, 04:43:52 PM

Quote from: cavanmaniac on July 01, 2018, 04:20:04 PM
Isn't it still something to be positive about though? We ultimately won nothing with the U21s we had/have but we were knocking on the door a good many times, in fact were more or less there and yet contrived to come up short on a few occasions. Although underage success is never a guarantee of senior progress I'd rather have it than not, it's a no-brainer. Either way, I don't think Matty would be the man to manage it though.

Problem with an outside man is he wont do whats best for Cavan (walk away) he will do what is best for himself. He will have to be pushed. It will probably come down to the players. Many are getting football at a level they probably wouldnt be if everyone was available so I dont think there will be that many on the panel that want him out. What we need is strong leadership from the county board. Make a hard call. I seriously doubt we will get that either so you can expect to see Mattie back next year with more Fabulous, Class etc nonsense.

rodney trotter · July 01, 2018, 08:11:20 PM

Quote from: cavanmaniac on July 01, 2018, 04:20:04 PM
Isn't it still something to be positive about though? We ultimately won nothing with the U21s we had/have but we were knocking on the door a good many times, in fact were more or less there and yet contrived to come up short on a few occasions. Although underage success is never a guarantee of senior progress I'd rather have it than not, it's a no-brainer. Either way, I don't think Matty would be the man to manage it though.

Yes it was good of course , but the u21 success was won on a defense system . . Then people weren't happy with the football at Senior level. Cavan went attacking and left the defence open.

Then Mattie decides to go defensive in the middle of the championship after shipping 4-16 and 2-20..

mrdeeds · July 01, 2018, 08:19:33 PM

Quote from: rodney trotter on July 01, 2018, 08:11:20 PM
Quote from: cavanmaniac on July 01, 2018, 04:20:04 PM
Isn't it still something to be positive about though? We ultimately won nothing with the U21s we had/have but we were knocking on the door a good many times, in fact were more or less there and yet contrived to come up short on a few occasions. Although underage success is never a guarantee of senior progress I'd rather have it than not, it's a no-brainer. Either way, I don't think Matty would be the man to manage it though.

Yes it was good of course , but the u21 success was won on a defense system . . Then people weren't happy with the football at Senior level. Cavan went attacking and left the defence open.

Then Mattie decides to go defensive in the middle of the championship after shipping 4-16 and 2-20..

Defensive versus Wicklow. Fecking Wicklow.