Well said BreffniDub. never before have we such a panel of players every one of them capable of fitting in to the team on any given day. great to see the likes of Killian Clarke performing so well at midfield which gives us another option there. who would have thought that Cavan can still win games without the likes of GmacK,david Givney,eugene Keating,Alan Clarke,Cian Mackey and martin Dunne (for the most part). These are(were) our big name players but look now , we have the likes of Conor Moynagh,Killian Clarke, Enda Hessian, Tom Hayes,Philly Tinnelly, to fill in and do a great job. we also have the likes of James Farrelly,Conor madden, michael Argue, brian Sanky, Padraig Faulkner,Barry Reilly waiting in the wings and many more too. We have lads like Dara Mcveety,Killian Brady,Conor Gilsenan,Jack Brady,Jason Mclaughlin,Josh Hayes,Feargal Flanagan,Chris Conroy,Enda Reilly who are all a year older and have experience under their belt now. Allied to that we have experienced haeads like Lyng,Mckeever,Ronan Flanagan,Martin Reilly,Damien Reilly,Rory Dunne,Martin Dunne etc. and there are more I'm sure that I have neglected to mention. Terry and his team plus peter reilly and his team are responsible for bringing all these lads through. It should never be a case anymore of pointing out who is "missing" because as long as we have 15 on the pitch there will be nobody "missing". everyone of those lads are well capable of donning the royal blue jersey. We should all be proud of them.

s goldrick (Cavan) - Posts: 5518 - 22/01/2015 19:43:25    1685641

To be honest I'm with BreiffneDub here ! There's an awful lot of lads on here very negative, "glass half full" merchants !
To be honest for a man who lives outside the county, it actually sounds like a gripe these guys have with the current management !
Serious chip on both shoulders. Terry and his mentors deserve enormous credit, thats it.
They've brought the county set up on leaps and bounds. An awful lot of the fellas on here are NEVER happy.
What the hell would they be sayin if we had lost every game in the McKenna cup so far ?
Now im a realist as well, where I think the points are on offer in Division 2 are against Laois, Westmeath, Down and possibly Meath.
I think Rossies away is extremely tough (cant imagine what the doom merchants will be sayin if we lose that one !)
Galway away very tough, and likewise Kildare at home is MORE than tricky.
Onwards and upwards. Does any of the doom and gloom merchants think the 5 in a row Ulster U21's is on ?

5allirelands (Cavan) - Posts: 90 - 22/01/2015 20:19:58    1685657

Unfortunately its a feature of this forum that a number of people with anti Terry Hyland agendas are on the whole time, except when we play well - then they have nothing to say. Cavan football owes Terry a huge debt, just take some time and compare results. I've been watching Cavan for 30 yrs and I've seen us beaten and hammered year after year. Now teams take us seriously, we have a conveyor of talent coming through. There is obviously room to improve but to suggest Terry has brought us backwards is delusional.

fredflint (Cavan) - Posts: 1483 - 22/01/2015 21:12:31    1685676

What do posters consider our strongest team with everyone available?
We seriously need height up front.
What about Argue and big Wright being used up there?

Cavan_Slasher (Cavan) - Posts: 10253 - 22/01/2015 21:25:12    1685679

Cavanslasher..... Why would they need height up front when those out the field are not allowed kick the ball in...? I like your way of thinking but I fear we wont see it put into action...sur why copy the Kerry model with a big man on the edge of the square and feed off him....they win nothing...????

Sean66 (Cavan) - Posts: 440 - 22/01/2015 21:48:41    1685685

People do be negative when there is good reason to be, last year the type of football the team was playing was puke football. and it kept getting worst game by game, the management got the idea of playing that system and was too stubborn to change, anybody who watched Cavan play last year couldn't deny that. get the ball to the opponents 45 and pass it over and back across the field until the player who is allowed to have a go at a score gets the ball, yes it got us promoted from a poor standard in Div 3, but when it came to the important games it just doesn't work,, thankfully this year well in the first half against Monaghan they let the players be more direct and what do you know it works!

goonie (Cavan) - Posts: 308 - 22/01/2015 21:55:06    1685687

Were you at the game Wednesday night goonie?

ramor101 (Cavan) - Posts: 289 - 23/01/2015 09:09:57    1685711

Ok, Ive made a lot of negative comments on here, but none of them were about the players, its the style and tactics employed by management that I take issue with. If we take the Derry game last year, the 1st half of the Monaghan game last week, we've seen that the players have the ability to play good attacking football and take scores. But thats only when theyre let play football.
If you take the U21 game against Dublin last year, we had Dublin on the rack, we were 4 points up and rather than kicking on and getting scores on the board, we started playing the ball back and sidewards, and we let Dublin into the game.
Whilst the defensive football may work to some degree, the problem is we are not putting enough scores on the board to put teams away, the truth is, we wont get away with it in Division 2.
Whilst we are in a McKenna Cup Final, an achievement in itself, if we look back over the games we played, we got beat by UUJ, we were excellent in the 1st half against Monaghan, but we only raised the white flag once in the 2nd half and Monaghan came back into it, and Im sorry, but by any County Team standard, one point is a poor return. I stood on the terrace on Wednesday night against Fermanagh, and there were a few positives, we tackled well, the score of the match went to Lyng, and when you analyse it, it was quick ball, moving fast and bang over the bar - only 4 players touched the ball during this score - this is what Cavan Football is about, we should be blitzing teams with fast, attacking football, no doubt we have the players to do it if they are let !Our full forward line made constant runs Wednesday night looking for the ball, but never got it because the outside players were taking the extra solo, or playing the ball back. Instead, the majority of the Fermanagh match was slow, alot of errors, misplaced passes, and when you take the goal and dead ball scores out of it, we only scored 4 or 5pts from play.
Many of the supporters on here in support of the current defensive tactics have all pointed to the Derry game and the Monagaghan games as examples of the management's brilliance - point to note, these were games where the players were actually allowed to express themselves!

deanmartin (Cavan) - Posts: 643 - 23/01/2015 12:21:25    1685779

Sean66
Breffnidub.... I have never said that we will get relegated from div 2 this year.... Ye all want to talk about 2013 and forget about 2014 alltogether...that sounds like regression as opposed to progression in my view... Promotion from div 3 was the goal you are correct in saying that... I was at 6 of the 7 league games and the opposition were the worst county teams I have ever set eyes on but we still made heavy weather of putting them away even thouigh we dominated possesion.. The point I make is that our style of play keeps even rubbish teams in the game but when we then meet a half decent team we are usually toast... I have never come on here giving out about players but they are been hamstrung by management in my view... Sweeneys article on the back of the Sunday Indo gives a good insight into County managers and what they are doing to County football..worth a read.... As for Mark McKeever...a true Cavan legend

Do you forget 2011 and 2012 where we couldn't even beat the "worst county teams" in the country? We escaped relegation by the skin of our teeth both years from Division 3 and played some of the worst teams I ever witnessed. One year we even had to play 3 of the U21s against the mighty Louth just to scrape a win. You talk about Mark McKeever being a "true Cavan legend". Ask Mark would he prefer the way the team are playing now and winning or the eight glorious years of intercounty championship he had from 2005 to 2013 where we didn't win more than more game a year? I'm sure which he'd choose.

Yes, I agree fully that changes to tactics need to be made but to try and say this management team hasn't brought Cavan on is hugely incorrect. I do think its time for another voice for the players but I fully commend what Terry and the lads have done. You know Cavan are going well when Tyrone came and lifted one of our trainers. They obviously have no problem with taking someone who has been a part of Cavan's recent success.

We're very negative in Cavan and we need to get behind the team. Last year against Roscommon, even while we were still in the game, people in the stand were giving abuse and shouting at the team. Yes, we've had years of hardship and have learned to expect the worst but its time we got behind the team.

BreffniGuide (Cavan) - Posts: 474 - 23/01/2015 12:36:12    1685786

Management came on board in April 2012, we secured promotion to Division 2 in 2014 - many will say a big step forward. However, in the context of it all, Armagh got demoted last year from Division 2 and will now be playing Division 3 football, yet they beat us by 6 points in the Ulster Championship - so, was promotion to division 2 an improvement?

deanmartin (Cavan) - Posts: 643 - 23/01/2015 13:04:28    1685796

Deanmartin says we should have played a bit more attacking football versus Dublin last year. Just like Roscommon did in the final I suppose. Enough of the negative comments!

fredflint (Cavan) - Posts: 1483 - 23/01/2015 13:50:57    1685809

FredFlint - If you actually read my post, there is nothing negative, its contructive criticism. There's people on here thinking that Cavan Football has progressed that much, that we are amongst the top 2 teams in Ulster (the exact words used yesterday in a post). Someone even said that teams are now in fear when they meet Cavan? Do you honestly think Tyrone will be in fear tomorrow night?
Tell me, were you in Breffni Park recently, are you telling me that Cavan supporters should be happy and contented with the standard of football that was played in the 2nd half of the Monaghan game and the entire Fermanagh match?
As a matter of fact, the pro-defensive brigage on here are actually using the games when we actually played offensive football to back up their defensive argument. Then we have the drivel from some guy thinking at Tyrone robbed Donnelly on us because of the massive strides Cavan made under him...
I'll say again, unless we start attacking a bit more, and putting more scores on the board, we will never move on.
We were beaten well in last years championship by a team demoted to Division 3, and last Wednesday night we struggled to beat one of the worst teams in Country - and you call that progress..

deanmartin (Cavan) - Posts: 643 - 23/01/2015 14:17:13    1685820

Gilsenan

McLoughlin
RDunne
KClarke

JMcEnroe
Moynagh
FFlanagan

GMcK
DReilly

DMcVeety
CMackey
MArgue

MDunne
NMcDermott
BarReilly

A lot of close calls in that

MadgeKing (Cavan) - Posts: 493 - 23/01/2015 16:04:45    1685870

Deanmartin.... You are spot on with your post again..! As Colm O Rourke once wrote.."There are those within the Gaa so deluded they think constructive critism is another term for been negitive" People can critise without been necessarly negitive or would ye rather we were all happy clappy supporters singing the praises of the way we are playing for the last 2years..????

Sean66 (Cavan) - Posts: 440 - 23/01/2015 16:11:12    1685874

MadgeKing, appreciate there was a lot of close calls in your team but surely Martin Reilly makes any Cavan team.. I'd go as far as to say he'd make any Ulster team at the minute.. Also not sure of Mackey as a 40 yards man, would like to see Barry Reilly get a bit more time around there in the league and give him a proper chance to grow into it.. Jack Brady into the corner then

onthemove (Cavan) - Posts: 37 - 23/01/2015 16:26:06    1685880

The negativity is a bit much when we are complaining about winning in all fairness . We're in a McKenna Cup final for god's sake , can we not just look forward to it . I doubt Monaghan , Fermanagh or Down GAA plan to disband their football teams anytime soon on account of losing to the lowly Cavan .
It's a pre season competition , it will bring the sharpness on and dust off the cobwebs . The real business starts next month . At least give them a few league games before writing off the year . I don't think it will be as bad as some of the bedwetters are predicting .

Hardtimes (Cavan) - Posts: 1056 - 23/01/2015 16:34:51    1685883

MadgeKing, appreciate there was a lot of close calls in your team but surely Martin Reilly makes any Cavan team.. I'd go as far as to say he'd make any Ulster team at the minute.. Also not sure of Mackey as a 40 yards man, would like to see Barry Reilly get a bit more time around there in the league and give him a proper chance to grow into it.. Jack Brady into the corner then

Point taken, McVeety would probably go to make room for MReilly. Not sure I agree on Barry Reilly at 11 though, class with the ball in his hand but he's still a bit too light for the heavy traffic in there at county level, e.g. John O' Loughlin of Laois or Bryan Menton in Meath. Would like to see him having a free role in and out of the FF line. Mackey brings something good at centrefoward because he forces the opposition to make a decision with their number 6- most of the leading centre backs want to mark space instead of a man but Mackey needs 1-to-1 attention.

Excuse the pointless speculation and tactics guff, but it is January on HS after all...

MadgeKing (Cavan) - Posts: 493 - 23/01/2015 16:50:57    1685890

Hardtimes.... Nobody here is complaining about winning or suggesting any team would abandon over loosing to Cavan... We should go all out for the McKenna Cup every year...I have always said that down the years... Tyrone are going for their 2nd 4 in a row under Micky Hart so it is a means to an end...we threw away a league title last season...time to put some silverware on the table lads.... Good luck tomorrow night and go all out and take them on...!!

Sean66 (Cavan) - Posts: 440 - 23/01/2015 16:56:20    1685893

Deanmartin -check your calendar, its January. Its the McKenna cup. We have a new man working on tweaking tactics. You are blabbing about lack of progress go back prior to Hyland taking over and put down the championship results. He's been building a team from the bottom up, he's cleared the decks of the wasters, the prima Donnas and replaced them with dedicated players. Now he is developing our style of play but it seems that he only had the month of January to do it or the moaning whingers would be out to put the boot in. You think Tyrone should fear us if things were right? Tyrone fear no one. But I tell you what, they respect us and take us seriously. Here is a prediction for you, if we play Tyrone and beat them scoring 2-15 the likes of you, Sean66, dirt bag etc etc will be nowhere to be seen on here on Sunday.

fredflint (Cavan) - Posts: 1483 - 23/01/2015 17:41:52    1685912

Does anyone know if you can watch the game online anywhere? Don't have the BBC red button

gaa365 (Cavan) - Posts: 18 - 24/01/2015 18:09:21    1686065