The Official Cavan GAA Discussion thread.

rrs

Mickey Graham said Niall Murray is ruled out in the Celt. Should be back for next round v Laois. Conor Smith and Conor Madden are doubtful.

benjy1000

Yevon wrote: »

Anyone else hear that our All Star selector has parted ways with the management team?

Hopefully it is true, I heard last night the real reason Conor Rehill left the panel.
Man management skills in the Cavan S.M team are somewhat lacking ( putting it very mildly)
Enough is enough get rid of the all star selector

tanko

Only his buddy was the Chairman he wouldn't have been anywhere near the set up. Would be great news if he got the boot.

Cavan_King

benjy1000 wrote: »

Hopefully it is true, I heard last night the real reason Conor Rehill left the panel.
Man management skills in the Cavan S.M team are somewhat lacking ( putting it very mildly)
Enough is enough get rid of the all star selector

I’ve heard various different reasons for Rehill leaving - last was that Cavan management said they wouldn’t accept him training with his college as adequate training but he has to train with them as he’s on a scholarship. How true that is I don’t know.

Re injuries people are asking about, Madden and Smith has muscle injuries so I can’t see them being fit this week. Smith sprinted a few times for the ball vs ArmGh and was quick but watching him off the ball he looked very stiff when walking. I don’t think he should have started.

The 3 lads are three very big losses, Murray particularly.

baconsarnie

rrs wrote: »

Mickey Graham said Niall Murray is ruled out in the Celt. Should be back for next round v Laois. Conor Smith and Conor Madden are doubtful.

Would you believe it I picked the Celt up in the big smoke about an hour after my (then redundant) post.

If Smith injured his hamstring against Tyronen then it was a gamble that backfired spectacularly in playing him against Armagh. He needs to be given time to heal.

Hope Madden is fit, otherwise we will struggle for scores without him and Murray.

rrs

How much of an impact would Mc McCabe have had. He was a selector, though he probaly was trying to be more then that.
Cavan trained over 25 times in November, and something similar in December. That was hardly down to McCabe, or was it?
He wouldn't be great with man management, but don't think all the players left over McCabe

benjy1000

rrs wrote: »

How much of an impact would Mc McCabe have had. He was a selector, though he probaly was trying to be more then that.
Cavan trained over 25 times in November, and something similar in December. That was hardly down to McCabe, or was it?
He wouldn't be great with man management, but don't think all the players left over McCabe

I would say for sure he was getting ideas above his station , Mickey obviously didn’t rein him in and madness ensued.

We were all aware that this was likely to happen when he was added to the ticket , the players don’t like him / are afraid of him but to be leaving/ sacked 3 months into the season isn’t good whatever way you look at it.
Already the season could be wrote off & I feel Mickey will follow at end of season & back to square one again for next season.

Cavan_King

benjy1000 wrote: »

I would say for sure he was getting ideas above his station , Mickey obviously didn’t rein him in and madness ensued.

We were all aware that this was likely to happen when he was added to the ticket , the players don’t like him / are afraid of him but to be leaving/ sacked 3 months into the season isn’t good whatever way you look at it.
Already the season could be wrote off & I feel Mickey will follow at end of season & back to square one again for next season.

I hope to god Mickey is given time. Changing him won't solve anything. He's a good manager. McGleenan wasn't but he is.

We do look like mugs for letting the players force out Terry Hyland though. He's bringing Leitrim, albeit from a very low base, from strength to strength.

Is the All Star selector definitely gone though? I think it says it all that the players who used to play with him, and who you'd expect to respect him, call him ''Bully'' as a nickname.

I would worry about the scores this weekend though. It was a sign of desperation to play Smith when he obviously wasn't fit. Its backfired now big time. Ryan Connolly may have big shoes to fill this weekend. Gerry Smith may also be an option for the forward line. He's quick and mobile and a handful. Could barely run when Lavey played Crosserlough last year and still gave them a few problems when just left in at full forward.

Cavan_King

Team is named whatever you can read into it:

1 Raymond Galligan
2 Paddy Meade
3 Padraig Faulkner
4 Killian Brady
5 Gerard Smith
6 Ciaran Brady
7 Oisin Kiernan
8 Benjamin Kelly
9 Gearoid McKiernan
10 Stephen Smith
11 Martin Reilly
12 Evan Doughty
13 Oisin Pierson
14 Bryan Magee
15 Simon Cadden

https://cavangaa.ie/2020/01/cavan-team-v-westmeath-allianz-football-league-rd-2-sat-7-00pm-kingspan-breffni/

16 Liam Brady
17 Luke Fortune
18 Paul Gilcreest
19 Christopher Conroy
20 Evaan Fortune
21 James Smith
22 Liam Buchanan
23 Ryan Connolly
24 Cormac O’Reilly
25 Thomas Galligan
26 Kian Monahan

rrs

A bit strange how Connolly is still a sub, when there is injuries in the forwards.

The team named will struggle to beat Westmeath. They are missing 2 quality forwards in Kieran Martin and Ger Egan but the likes of Heslin and Connellan, will be a handful. O Toole at centre forward very pacy.

Cavan_King

rrs wrote: »

A bit strange how Connolly is still a sub, when there is injuries in the forwards.

The team named will struggle to beat Westmeath. They are missing 2 quality forwards in Kieran Martin and Ger Egan but the likes of Heslin and Connellan, will be a handful. O Toole at centre forward very pacy.

To be honest, I'm not believing Connolly is a sub until I see the team line out tonight. Without Murray or Madden, the forwards are very light in experience though.

Best of luck to the lads anyway.

cavan4sam

Great 2nd half performance, good to see they took the game by the scruff of the neck and kept driving forward when they got possession towards the end!!!
It's a big boost ahead next week for another must win trip to Laois

Cavan_King

Some comeback but what a shame so few were there to see it.

Did Cavan break a record for the latest team ever to take to the pitch in the first half? I think it was 6.52 before they came out.

The first half was atrocious stuff but the team showed real character and heart in the second half. They have to take great confidence from that.

Mickey got the changes right too. Connolly with a vital score and Conroy with the winning goal. If ever there was a lad to illustrate the benefits of sheer perseverance when it comes to the county panel, it’s him.

celt262

Didnt see that second half performance coming at half time especially after getting back into it and then letting it slip again 10 minutes in.

tayto lover

Yesterday’s match, I think, proves my point that there are no easy games in Division Two. No team can be taken for granted. Laois beat Armagh easily enough too and they will be up for it again next week when Cavan play them in Portlaoise. Cavan will need to keep their discipline and keep 15 players on the field at all times. Laois drew away in Roscommon and beat Armagh so their tails will be up.

Cavan_King

Clare beat Kildare and Fermanagh beat Roscommon. This group has an air of the 2015 Division 2 to it where Cavan could have been promoted or relegated on the last day!

Gallant_JJ

Laois 2 1 1 0 6 3
Armagh 2 1 0 1 7 2
Kildare 2 1 0 1 3 2
Clare 2 1 0 1 0 2
Fermanagh2 1 0 1 -3 2
Westmeath2 1 0 1 -3 2
Cavan 2 1 0 1 -9 2
Roscommon2 0 1 1 -1 0

Surprise defeat for Roscommon too. All to play for

rrs

Fermanagh beating Roscommon in Brewster not that surprising. Fermanagh played well v Kildare in Newbridge. Roscommon have a lot of injures and Murtagh not involved this year.

Mike Quirke doing a decent job with Laois. They had a few involved in the Sigerson final, bit of talent coming through,.

Cavan_King

Yevon wrote: »

Really hope we don't live to regret the hammering from Armagh, if we were to go down on points difference it would be very disappointing.

I was looking back at our last game against Laois in Portlaoise in 2015. I didn't recall our team being as strong as it was, we were excellent that night in the second half.

Last night was great, but its the exception to how we've been playing lately. We can't put in these dire first halves and expect to claw back 5/6 point deficits. Any word on McLoughlin?

James McEnroe came on that night and changed the match.

No mention of McLoughlin at all. Faulkner out the pitch a lot last night which leaves the backline short. I didn’t see Meade’s offence but people in the stand thought he drew back an elbow to get away from the man. Today I heard he hit him with a closed fist? Is that him suspended next week?

Discipline is a huge issue. We got away with it last night but won’t continue to. Stephen Smith very naive getting a black card for an off the call tackle again.

Cavan_King

Yevon wrote: »

Yeah he was excellent. Absolutely bullied the Laois midfield. I remember there was almost a novelty that night seeing Paul Smith playing because there were so few lads that had broken into the team over the previous few years. Could really do with that level of consistency now.

If we can get over the Laois game, there are a lot of players to come back - McLoughlin, Niall Murray, Conor Smith, Conor Brady, Conor Madden. Those will be big additions.

Unfortunately, our two household names, Gearoid and Martin Reilly, are not playing well at the minute. We need a lot more out of both.

I thought Pierson showed well last night. He’s not afraid to have a shot either.

quidel

Last nights result couldn’t have been predicted at half time. The first half could only be described as woeful. Sloppy play, poor discipline, no pace, lateral play, lack of leadership, bad decision making, etc. The list was endless!
Credit to Cavan for the second half turnaround though, which was certainly inspired by the introduction of a few subs who were prepared to have a cut at it and showed determination and leadership that had been badly wanted.
Some of Cavan’s more senior players are not performing to the levels expected of them and look to be badly lacking in confidence.
The results in the Division would suggest that the margins between promotion and relegation will be slim enough so all is to play for.
So much still needs fixing though and the return of some of the injured panel members is crucial. After Saturday night hopefully confidence has received a boost and it is the second half performance against Laois we see and not the first half!

baconsarnie

That was some second half! Some massive performances from Stephen Murray, Thomas Galligan, Ray Galligan, Oisin Kiernan, Gerry Smith and of course the Holla. 1-14 in the second half and only 2 from dead balls and some absolutely magnificent scores in there as well, it really was a brilliant night's entertainment.



Some serious guts to pull back a 5 point deficit but even more impressive was that having regained parity and then going 6 behind almost immediately to be able to go back to the well again.



Having men look for the ball and drive forward was great to see and that should give everyone a boost and a bit of self belief and hopefully carry that into Sunday's game. And a serious mention to Galligan tracking a 50 metre run to prevent a second goal that would have completely finished us off. Also Oisin Kiernan kicked a score that he had no right to but his strength and determination made it possible. Monster scores from play from Thomas Galligan, a wonder point from Pearson... i could go on!!!



Would be great to have Niall Murray and Madden back on Sunday to bolster the scoring as we can't expect the backs to come up with 8 points on a regular basis!!! And was good to have a win considering two of our best players (Martin Reilly and Gearoid) didn't have great games by their standards- the latter was looking for the ball but nothing went right for him. He can't put that right on Sunday.



There are loads of things to work on but it will be nice for all those players to remember that they haven't lost their ability overnight and with some luck and self belief and more of that steel and determination, they shouldn't fear anyone in Division 2.



Can't wait for the trip to Portlaoise now.

rrs

Mackey has put in a transfer to Mullinalaghta.
Castlerahan still looking for a manager. Its hard to see them doing 3 in a row..
No Mackey, no party

Thunderbirds

rrs wrote: »

Mackey has put in a transfer to Mullinalaghta.
Castlerahan still looking for a manager. Its hard to see them doing 3 in a row..
No Mackey, no party

Was Mackey not a sub last year in a lot of games for Castlerahan. And they have a manager.

Crash Bang Wall

Looks like Keogans messing cost Castlerahan in the long run. His rubbish comments about preparations going well for Ulster Club, when pretty much all the lads were away on holidays, some only coming back the day before the match.....and Keogan makes a scapegoat of one over missing a training session

rrs

Thunderbirds wrote: »

Was Mackey not a sub last year in a lot of games for Castlerahan. And they have a manager.

He was dropped during the Championship. He came on and made the difference v Cavan Gaels in Semi, started the final. Dropped again in a ulster for going on the sauce.

Who's the manager?

Gallant_JJ

Niall Murray potentially out for the year. Big loss.

https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/sport/amp/gaelic-games/51393908

quidel

Gallant_JJ wrote: »

Niall Murray potentially out for the year. Big loss.

https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/sport/amp/gaelic-games/51393908

That’s a big blow alright. He has become a very important player for Cavan. Wish him a speedy recovery. Any returnees for the Laois game?

Thunderbirds

rrs wrote: »

He was dropped during the Championship. He came on and made the difference v Cavan Gaels in Semi, started the final. Dropped again in a ulster for going on the sauce.

Who's the manager?

Some lad from Meath I think. Used to be over Dunboyne.

baconsarnie

quidel wrote: »

That’s a big blow alright. He has become a very important player for Cavan. Wish him a speedy recovery. Any returnees for the Laois game?

Huge blow. Our best and most consistent forward last year alongside McVeety. Was developing into a real leader.

Mickey Graham on the We Are Cavan podcast indicated that neither Madden, Smith or Mc Loughlin would be back till the Fermanagh game at the earliest. For the two lads with hamstrings, that makes sense.