The Official Cavan GAA Discussion thread.

mylestheslasher

Cavan_King wrote: »

The BBC in studio pundits were very good yesterday but I found the commentary team poor. Niblock is hard to listen to and I’m not sure why Marty Clarke was selected to co-commentate on a game involving his own county.

It was quite clear from early on the pair of lads could rhyme off every Down player, their club and who their grandad played for but hadn’t a notion about Cavan. Surely someone with a partial knowledge of Cavan football should have been in the box with Niblock or even get Mackey in and have three.

Great show on We Are Cavan last night with the interviews. Interesting to hear Faulkner state that the planned tactics were to slow Down’s players far up the pitch first half but the team just failed to do it.

Also it really appears that all the talk of who is not there that we seem fixated on in Cavan us clearly in the player and management’s minds as both Mickey & Chris Conroy referenced it again.

It is about time these dedicated lads got the credit they deserve and people stop bull**** talk of who should be in there etc.

It’s not often we’ve seen determination & willpower like yesterday in a Cavan team.

Thought Niblock and Clarke were OK. Clarke has the gig for every game it seems. They were much better than against Antrim I thought.

Giggernaut

willabur wrote: »

The sunday game is transition year level of production, genuinely look like lads in their debs suits.

Even with the bias of the lads on BBC at least you know they watched the whole game.

Donaghy was on OTBAM this morning and it was chronically obvious he didn't watch 1 second of the game. He lauded the performance of Stephen Smith, Faulkner put in a great man marking display (based on a game he played 2 years ago), Conway kicked crucial scores (he didn't).. I lost count the number of things he plain made up about the game. Oh Martin Reilly is the spiritual leader of the team, that was a good one also

Listened to Donaghy on OTBAM and he was truly awful. Stephen Smith comment made me laugh because I was shouting at the tv to have him subbed.
Reilly and McKiernan both mentioned as are our spiritual leaders :pac:

rrs

Cavan_King wrote: »

The BBC in studio pundits were very good yesterday but I found the commentary team poor. Niblock is hard to listen to and I’m not sure why Marty Clarke was selected to co-commentate on a game involving his own county.

It was quite clear from early on the pair of lads could rhyme off every Down player, their club and who their grandad played for but hadn’t a notion about Cavan. Surely someone with a partial knowledge of Cavan football should have been in the box with Niblock or even get Mackey in and have three.

Great show on We Are Cavan last night with the interviews. Interesting to hear Faulkner state that the planned tactics were to slow Down’s players far up the pitch first half but the team just failed to do it.

Also it really appears that all the talk of who is not there that we seem fixated on in Cavan us clearly in the player and management’s minds as both Mickey & Chris Conroy referenced it again.

It is about time these dedicated lads got the credit they deserve and people stop bull**** talk of who should be in there etc.

It’s not often we’ve seen determination & willpower like yesterday in a Cavan team.

I'm fairness you mentioned it yourself, that Cavan were missing McVeety and Moynagh after the Antrim game.

But those that are there fair play it's a big commitment.

dxhound2005

Cavan_King wrote: »

The BBC in studio pundits were very good yesterday but I found the commentary team poor. Niblock is hard to listen to and I’m not sure why Marty Clarke was selected to co-commentate on a game involving his own county.

None of them picked up on the issue for the penalty which RTE concentrated on in The Sunday Game. In fact all of them including Canavan, Harte and McConville said the ref got it right. I'm not blaming them, and it does go to show how difficult the job of a ref is.

Cavan_King

rrs wrote: »

I'm fairness you mentioned it yourself, that Cavan were missing McVeety and Moynagh after the Antrim game.

But those that are there fair play it's a big commitment.

They are missing due to travel though. My point is more towards the lads on the Hogan Stand that you have bringing up Castlerahan corner backs and the like as the best man markers in the county when Castlerahan don’t even use said player as their own top man marker!

tayto lover

dxhound2005 wrote: »

None of them picked up on the issue for the penalty which RTE concentrated on in The Sunday Game. In fact all of them including Canavan, Harte and McConville said the ref got it right. I'm not blaming them, and it does go to show how difficult the job of a ref is.

That was a difficult enough decision in fairness.
What was not difficult was the referee and linesman allowing a Mark inside the 45 and the player going out over the sideline with the ball. Either they were both blind, biased or didn’t know the rule. Take your pick.

Cavan_King

dxhound2005 wrote: »

None of them picked up on the issue for the penalty which RTE concentrated on in The Sunday Game. In fact all of them including Canavan, Harte and McConville said the ref got it right. I'm not blaming them, and it does go to show how difficult the job of a ref is.

Cavanagh still a bit bitter over this...

https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.balls.ie/amp/gaa/extraordinary-account-reveals-sean-cavanagh-was-bitten-and-spat-on-during-ulster-semi-final-396554

ruwithme

"Howling like a hound " good line all the same.

mugsymugsy

Just watching Sunday game now. The 'analysis' was awful. Also the highlights they showed were a load of rubbish. Some key points not shown.

Cavan_King

So lads, what is the team for the weekend?

You would have to expect the first 12 pick themselves (and I know they may not line out as below)....

Galligan
McLoughlin, Faulkner, Fortune
Smith, Brady, Clarke
Brady, Galligan
Reilly, McKiernan, Kiernan

So the positions up for grabs are the full forward line.

I think Pierson has done enough to start, as has Madden who was dropped for the Ulster Final last year when Mickey got his tactics wrong and went with Rehill and an unfit Gerry Smith named as forwards.

That leaves the third position. I can’t see James Smith being back from his hamstring injury. Therefore I’d love to see a left field option like Buchanan thrown in to give us another level twin tower option with Madden, Galligan etc rotating inside. He could also switch out to midfield now and again.

Would be great then if Conor Smith was ready to spring from the bench and inject some pace later in the game.

Hammar

Peader Mohan and Ryan Mc Hugh will have to be man marked as they are the key runners whom break the defensive line. I assume,Clarke or Faulkner will pick up Murphy,

There's a lot of lads that need attention, Brennan,Langan, Mc Brearty ( if he starts)We are going to struggle with matchups..They have a huge amount of fire power.

I feel the younger lads, Pierson,Cormac o Reilly etc,while very talented, will struggle with the strength and power of the Donegal backs.

Cavan_King

Hammar wrote: »

Peader Mohan and Ryan Mc Hugh will have to be man marked as they are the key runners whom break the defensive line. I assume,Clarke or Faulkner will pick up Murphy,

There's a lot of lads that need attention, Brennan,Langan, Mc Brearty ( if he starts)We are going to struggle with matchups..They have a huge amount of fire power.

I feel the younger lads, Pierson,Cormac o Reilly etc,while very talented, will struggle with the strength and power of the Donegal backs.

Murphy needs watching alright but he didn’t play that well against Armagh. As you say though, they’ve fires need to be put out all over the pitch.

Last year they put pressure on our kick outs and that rattled us so hopefully Mickey has a plan for that this year.

I honestly wouldn’t care if we went in and played awful puke football and won 6 points to 5. An Ulster title is an Ulster title.

Hopefully we’ve learned from last year and our big names can carry their form into this game.

We’ve played Donegal numerous times over the last decade and not troubled them so hopefully this Sunday is the day.

cavan4sam

Any word on who the ref is for Sunday?

Mickey is getting cuter with the press with his big teams, big calls comment! And how teams need protecting from Murphy

Am I the only one that actually thinks we are in a better position this year than last year to actually put it up to Donegal

Thunderbirds

cavan4sam wrote: »

Any word on who the ref is for Sunday?

Mickey is getting cuter with the press with his big teams, big calls comment! And how teams need protecting from Murphy

Am I the only one that actually thinks we are in a better position this year than last year to actually put it up to Donegal

Barry Cassidy

benjy1000

cavan4sam wrote: »

Any word on who the ref is for Sunday?

Mickey is getting cuter with the press with his big teams, big calls comment! And how teams need protecting from Murphy

Am I the only one that actually thinks we are in a better position this year than last year to actually put it up to Donegal

Possibly Cavan have improved & matured somewhat on last year but Mcveety & Moynagh are a still a huge loss & Donegal have improved a lot from last year it’s no longer just Murphy & mchugh to watch, there’s langan, Thompson , mogan, Jamie Brennan who will take a hell of a watching .

treade1

Donegal are definitely a tough ask. But remember they managed to lose in Ballina last summer when it really mattered. The wheels came off the wagon that day so they are by no means invincible. If we get stuck into them like we did in the 2nd half against Down from the beginning we can definitely make things difficult for them. We showed them far too much respect last year and didn't get going until it was too late. The fact that Donegal will have 1 eye on the possible semi-final against Dublin, despite what they may say, could ultimately lead to their downfall.

Cavan_King

Yevon wrote: »

I can't see what Pierson or Smith have done to keep their places. Start Madden and Niall Murray (if he's fit for a half at least). Try and stay with Donegal and if we can live with them, hope for something special from some of our big guns to get us across the line.

Being honest, I just can't see a way we can win this game. At best, we can match Donegal in a few areas of the field. They are far superior in most though. If we come out of this game having really competed with Donegal, in full flight, i'd be happy. But I can't see anything other than a 7+ point win for them.

I hope the Cavan lads go out and do themselves justice and enjoy the occasion. They've given us a fantastic few weeks and done us proud as a county. We've seen them struggle but we've never seen them quit.

Pierson got an important goal against Monaghan and in fairness to him tried to stay on when he clearly wasn’t right after getting the knock.

I don’t think Murray will be fit. He only got on at the very end for a couple of minutes against Down. You’d have to expect he would have been sprung earlier it fit for it.

I can’t see us beating Donegal either but there’s always hope. Galligan has been changing matches for us, Madden then did it at the weekend so you’d wonder if a player can raise their hand and do the same this weekend.

cavan4sam

Let's hope Barry Cassidy doesn't let Michael Murphy ref the game like he gets away in so many games...

He seems to constantly have the refs ear, it's bad enough that he's the best footballer in ulster without him having even more of a bearing on things by influencing the ref

I think moynagh is a bigger miss than mcveety as good and all as mcveety is I felt that other forwards were possibly being held back by e everything going through him

I really hope we go at them from the first minute and hold no fear... If we are beaten by 20 points so be it but don't give them a headstart by inviting them on us by going sideways

Cavan_King

Yevon wrote: »

Don't get me wrong i'm not questioning Pierson's effort, he always puts in a shift but it just hasn't been happening for him in the Championship. He doesn't provide a ball winning presence inside and he isn't blessed with pace, it's a tough ask for him to make an impact at this level.

It's hard to know if we are better or worse than last year. I think last year we looked stronger personnel-wise with McVeety, Moynagh and the two Murrays available but there definitely seems to be a different dynamic about the team this year. They have matured a bit and you can now easily identify several lads providing leadership. That wasn't there previously and we were looking to Mackey to lead the charge when we were in a tight spot.

Pierson, when on form, can take a score and that’s why he’s in there. Apparently he was buzzing earlier in the year when playing well in the League but he’s lost some form since then. I think Mickey rates him and has been playing him in the hope he’ll play himself into some form.

I think our strength & conditioning is up a notch this year too. I’ve had neutrals from other counties in work comment to me about how they felt we bullied Down in the second half. One even pointed to when Gerry Smith caught a kick out and, even though he won his mark, a Down man tackled him, and he just threw him out of the way.

There’ll be no doing that with Donegal though.

willabur

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-20264952.html

a good few of the cavan team know how to beat donegal in ulster finals in armagh. A few from that donegal team involved also

Cavan_King

Whilst I wouldn't agree with Paul Fitz's article stating he thinks we have a good chance of winning (play it down lads!), I'm shocked by how dismissed we are. Listening to the GAA Hour this morning, Ger Brennan said we'd lose by ten points or more and the Mayo pundit (not sure of his name) said we won't keep within the handicap of 7.

Now I understand Donegal are a seasoned outfit now and we're a team that lost to Clare at home this year but Declan Bonner obviously has some worries about us or he wouldn't have started the media mindplay with the comments about Murphy needing protection from referees. I actually saw it as a compliment that he was bothering with that sort of tactic!

In fairness, I can think of plenty of games where Murphy could have walked if it wasn't for his high profile - I was at the Division 2 final last year against Meath for example and any other player would have got a second yellow but refs know if Murphy gets 2 yellows and off its big news.

I do think the one thing may trouble Donegal is how unknown we are. Our tactics seem to change, rather than one set system like the Tyrones of this world, and we've a number of players like Galligan and Madden suddenly rising to the fore. I also think Bonner has to know Mickey Graham saw how attempting to go too defensive went last year so he'll change the tactics this year.

cavan4sam

Any team announcement for tomorrow?

Cavan_King

cavan4sam wrote: »

Any team announcement for tomorrow?

It has always been left until the last minute the last few weeks. Pretty much the same 15 is named most weeks anyway and then changes made.

We Are Cavan did an interview with Mickey and he said Stephen Murray and others might have been back if they had a week’s break but the game has come too early for them.

Having seen the tankings Roscommon, Armagh & now Meath have taken in the last few weeks from the top teams I’m getting very worried. I do rate our lads and, as I said, I have great hope for the future but Donegal are a seasoned outfit and it might still be a bit too early for this group to go toe to toe with them.

Edit: just seen programme is online.

https://ulster.gaa.ie/ulsterchampionship2020/programmes/ulster-senior-football-championship-final/

Conroy & Madden named to start but I’d expect changes to that. Conor Smith makes the 26 though so good news!
The panel is also named so interesting to see who is actually in there as it wasn’t named before.

ruwithme

Can't see them wanting to give us a drubbing ahead off a game against dublin & building of hype from it. 7 or 8 points tops

Leave it all out there on the field anyway lads.

cavan4sam

We'll be leaving it all out there with no worries about the next week.... That may and I really hope it is Donegals achilles heel
Roll on 4pm
Cavan4sam

Cavan_King

ruwithme wrote: »

Can't see them wanting to give us a drubbing ahead off a game against dublin & building of hype from it. 7 or 8 points tops

Leave it all out there on the field anyway lads.

I don't think them hammering us will lead to much hype as alot of people are even writing Donegal off now after the way Dublin dismantled Meath last night.

Just noticed James Smith named in the panel too. Great to see him back.

I don't think Madden or Conroy will start so I'd love to see a leftfield move like Buchanan starting so we've another big man on the pitch to rotate between midfield and the forward line.

Gallant_JJ

I’m expecting to see Madden start. James and Conor Smith, two good returns to the panel.

Can only wish them the very best of luck at this point. They have done us extremely proud to date and lifted a gloomy November, all we can ask for is a performance, after that we’ll see what happens.

cavan4sam

Today is The Gallant John Joe O Reillys Anniversary... Surely this is an omen in itself

Cavan_King

Gallant_JJ wrote: »

I’m expecting to see Madden start. James and Conor Smith, two good returns to the panel.

Can only wish them the very best of luck at this point. They have done us extremely proud to date and lifted a gloomy November, all we can ask for is a performance, after that we’ll see what happens.

Do you think Madden will have the fitness to last 70 minutes? I’m a firm believer that your finishing team should be at least as good as your starting team, if not better.

tayto lover

Best wishes to the Cavan team today.
They need start like they’ve been finishing today.