The Official Cavan GAA Discussion thread.

Lemlin

Thinkstoomuch wrote: »

The U21 game should be a good game and close on Saturday,weather is meant to be good as well.Their a lot of expectation with our bunch of players,I'm sure yere the same.
Cork team to be announced tommorrow night,their seems to be a clean bill of health.
Stand tickets have been reduced to only 20 euro,their should be a big crowd from both counties,and the fact it is a double header.
Any news on yere team???

The Cavan team has lined out the same in every game as far as I recall so I wouldn't expect any changes on Sunday.

As the article posted above says, our lads are a team that work hard together and have no exceptional stars. They'll give their best win, lose or draw and that's something Cavan didn't have for years: sheer dedication.

Cork are strong favourites but hopefully the bookies have it wrong.

Thinkstoomuch

Lemlin wrote: »

The Cavan team has lined out the same in every game as far as I recall so I wouldn't expect any changes on Sunday.

As the article posted above says, our lads are a team that work hard together and have no exceptional stars. They'll give their best win, lose or draw and that's something Cavan didn't have for years: sheer dedication.

Cork are strong favourites but hopefully the bookies have it wrong.

I saw the highlights from the link from the BBC on this thread from the Ulster final,ye scored some nice points from distance and Clancy our centre back looks like he will have he's hands full with Brady.
Yere full back in the clip I saw looked dodgy enough.Our full forward line is nicely balanced,big and strong but a lot pace of too ,and extremely talented footballers.
Thats the only time I have seen this Cavan team but by all accounts Ulster is meant to a Lions Den in trying to win it once,but to win it 3 times in a row ye got to be a serious team.
We have scoring power in all 6 forwards and while against Tippereary in the second half midfield was much better we have struggled at times during the Championship in stages of the game.
So far Cork have played brillantly in periods of a game and then for other stages we go missing.
This is another step up in standard so only a complete performance will do.
Its a pity both these teams met now and not in the final as who ever looses Saturday it will be heartbreaking as both these teams in the last 3 years have had no success at the business end of the Championship.
Listening to the interviews afterwards yere lads seem full of confidence.
Our lads are the same,full of belief.
I believe this is very hard to call.
Our forwards probably edge it for us,but I would not take much of what the bookies say at this grade,they as proven this year have got it wrong before.
We were massive favourites against Galway two years ago and came undone.
A very good article that was the Examiner.
Credit due,if ye put the work in with the right men in charge it is bound to reap dividends at underage.
A lot of Counties could learn from ye,we could take a leaf out of yere book in terms of underage development regarding our hurlers.

Lemlin

Thinkstoomuch wrote: »

I saw the highlights from the link from the BBC on this thread from the Ulster final,ye scored some nice points from distance and Clancy our centre back looks like he will have he's hands full with Brady.
Yere full back in the clip I saw looked dodgy enough.Our full forward line is nicely balanced,big and strong but a lot pace of too ,and extremely talented footballers.
Thats the only time I have seen this Cavan team but by all accounts Ulster is meant to a Lions Den in trying to win it once,but to win it 3 times in a row ye got to be a serious team.
We have scoring power in all 6 forwards and while against Tippereary in the second half midfield was much better we have struggled at times during the Championship in stages of the game.
So far Cork have played brillantly in periods of a game and then for other stages we go missing.
This is another step up in standard so only a complete performance will do.
Its a pity both these teams met now and not in the final as who ever looses Saturday it will be heartbreaking as both these teams in the last 3 years have had no success at the business end of the Championship.
Listening to the interviews afterwards yere lads seem full of confidence.
Our lads are the same,full of belief.
I believe this is very hard to call.
Our forwards probably edge it for us,but I would not take much of what the bookies say at this grade,they as proven this year have got it wrong before.
We were massive favourites against Galway two years ago and came undone.
A very good article that was the Examiner.
Credit due,if ye put the work in with the right men in charge it is bound to reap dividends at underage.
A lot of Counties could learn from ye,we could take a leaf out of yere book in terms of underage development regarding our hurlers.

Your comments about Killian Clarke, the Cavan full back, are interesting. Cavan have struggled at full back for a number of years and he is very much seen as the future for the position.

Last year was his first year out of minor and he started every championship game for Cavan, although he struggled badly with Tommy O'Connor against Kildare.

Jason McLoughlin, corner back, would also be seen as a good man marker and a real player for the future. He too played senior last year.

It'll be interesting to see how Cork cope with the Cavan system. Cavan's half forwards tend to drop back and support the back line but are then capable of carrying the ball or speeding forward to take up position.

It's a system our seniors are trying now but the players at senior level aren't as adept at getting forward quickly when they win the ball as these U21s.

People are counting Killian Clarke as our nailed on full back for the Seniors. To me, he hasn't been all that convincing at U21 Level this year. He was immense last year in our Ulster win. Man of the match in the Ulster Final. This year he got caught for the goal against Monaghan and Donegal, although Gilsenan should perhaps take some blame for the Donegal goal. Anyway, we can't afford to show any weaknesses under the high ball v Cork. I doubt we'll see any changes. I expect Cavan to give an assured performance, this is where they aimed to be and Ulster was a necessary step this year not the final target. I really would love if they could grind out a win here and give themselves another chance at an AI. You don't always get what you deserve in sport but I really believe these lads deserve and All Ireland.

Thinkstoomuch

Lemlin wrote: »

Your comments about Killian Clarke, the Cavan full back, are interesting. Cavan have struggled at full back for a number of years and he is very much seen as the future for the position.

Last year was his first year out of minor and he started every championship game for Cavan, although he struggled badly with Tommy O'Connor against Kildare.

Jason McLoughlin, corner back, would also be seen as a good man marker and a real player for the future. He too played senior last year.

It'll be interesting to see how Cork cope with the Cavan system. Cavan's half forwards tend to drop back and support the back line but are then capable of carrying the ball or speeding forward to take up position.

It's a system our seniors are trying now but the players at senior level aren't as adept at getting forward quickly when they win the ball as these U21s.

I have not seen much of him to be honest but for the one of the Donegal goal chances I thought he was turned rather easily.
Brian Hurley our Full forward is in the form of he life at Club and County level and is a future Senior,with our injury woes at Senior he may well be called up this year.Mac Eoin was brillant in the Minor final 3 years ago,and has been superb this year.
A lot of people think Cork just kick high balls in to the Full Forward line mainly as MacEoin is a giant of a man for U21.
But our full forward line actually prefer diagonal balls spread across the ptich allowing them to run on to.
Against Tippereary we were faced with a similar system to what you said Cavan do,a duplicate of Donegal at Senior level.
Cork played a sweeper in defence too for the first half and it was like a game of poker everyone trying to hold their Ace card till later on and afraid to show their hand too early.
Cork played more attacking in the second half ,and kick passed a lot more fast ball in to the likes of Hurley and Connolly but spread passes wide over the ptich than just kick in down the centre.
It worked.
It will be a good test and no harm for these Cork lads to face a blanket style now as some of these lads will play Senior in the future and will be facing this system down the line.
Unlike our Senior team we have a half back line that are brillant foot passers of a ball and very comfortable attacking forward also.
One change on the team tonight is Brian O Driscoll in he's best role at half back.
He is a superb player,and was played out of position earlier at corner back and exposed.
He made a huge improvement to our play the last day.
TJ Brosnan who I had posted in the Cork thread during the Championship was a weak spot for us has been dropped.
This Cork team has improved in every game,and the management have learned also from mistakes of the past and picked the best team for this game.You can not ask any more of them.
Also Sean Kiely who is a big man has been moved to midfield to win ball.With Maguire also their we have two big imposing players there.
Expect Cadogan our half forward and O Rourke in particular who has some engine to be their waiting for any breaks around the middle.This game will be won and lost around here I feel.
John Cleary our manager has so far showed good game management on the sideline unlike our Senior manager the last few years.
This could be a great game.It will be very close.
I think it is fair to say Cavan feel like they deserve all ireland but a lot of Cork's players from the last three years and from loosing a minor all ireland to Tyrone will feel the same.
Hunger won't be a problem on any side on Saturday.

Tom Joad

Looking forward to the game now and hope the lads get the win to have another crack at a final - should be a great day out if nothing else..

Crucial that we are tight defensively and we are fighting for the breaking ball at the back. Cork seem to have a very good team and plenty of big lads but while Cavan have no superstars they have a cracking team spirit and a great attitude.

Here's hoping for a great game and a Cavan win..

willabur

best of luck to the lads later on, unfortunately the spin over from australia is a bit too far for me to make this one but I might make it back for the final

I read that article in the examiner and a point which stood out for me is that they are not looking at typical attributes you would look for in a county footballer. Targetting bigger players whose technical attributes might not be up to scratch is interesting, alot of gaelic football these days is a bout hard running to gain territory, providing support for the guy in possession etc Donegal really brought this one to another level last year. Watching them in the warmup of games they would be three abreast running hard for 65 metres transferring the ball between them. Thats what you need to be looking at, you need your number 4 running 70 yards hard, maybe getting their hands on the ball, maybe not. You need your number 13 running back to spoil possession. Seems as tho the lads involved have identified this, drawn up a plan of what kind of footballers they want in and involved in the county ..

its an exciting time to be a cavan football fan,

Lemlin

Very disappointed with today. Cork were a good team but we threw it away. They were there for the taking at the end.

Thinkstoomuch

Lemlin wrote: »

Very disappointed with today. Cork were a good team but we threw it away. They were there for the taking at the end.

This game was exactly as I thought it would be in my post here the other day.
A very close game.We did not deserve to to loose to be fair when we built up a 5 point lead,over the full game we were the better team and I don't think ye threw it away,but when the game was there to be one in the last minutes we won it .Our forwards were the key today.Some played badly today but then we had others to step up.
As I said we have 6 forwards that can all score,so when a few are held we can rely on the others.
The first half we played very defensive,trying to curb yere style as i thought we would.
We were far more direct in the second half,and Hurley and MacEoin had yere full back line in all sorts of trouble when they got direct ball.
We were 5 points up but as this team tends to do,we fade in and out of games and it nearly cost us in the end.
O Connor was a handful for Cahalane.
We have won tight game so many times with these players and managers over the years that there is huge belief and confidence in this team to do the right thing at the right time in the closing stages of games.
That and our greater potential in the forwards just edged it .
Their seemed to be panic on the Cavan sideline where ye brought back on yere best man who was subbed to take the last minute free.
Credit due to Cavan, they played a great game,and battled gamely to the end.
They gave everything,you could not ask of any more from them.
Yere sickened after today but keep the heads up,thats a fine cavan team.Most of these Cork lads were sickened after loosing a great minor final in 2010 but bounced back.The Future is bright for Cavan football and I wish ye the best for the future.
There can only ever be one winner but Cavan made us earn it in the end.
Fair plays lads it was a great game.

Pete_Cavan

Very disappointed with the result but Cork had more of a cutting edge and deserved their win. We looked very dangerous when the ball was played long and fast into the full forward line - you wont see a better team score all summer, at any level, than one point O'Connor scored in the first half. When the build up was slow and Cork were able to get men back we had no way of getting through them. The Cork players on the other hand were able to break tackles and their forwards, especially no. 14 who was excellent, showed the killer instinct which we lacked at times.

I was very disappointed with the Cavan management, the lack of substitutions and when they were made I think it was for the wrong men.

The Cavan support, as always, was fantastic and I think they helped to lift their team as they dragged themselves back to level from 6 points down. Its a pity Cork didnt have similar support, that teams deserves better.

From what I saw of Galway they didnt look great and I think both Cavan and Cork would have beaten them today but a final can be a very different story.

Tom Joad

What a game - on one level am absolutely gutted that we lost but on the other am so proud of the guts that the lads showed - there was no hiding out there.

Cork are a top top team and fully deserved their win and will be hard beat in the final. Many teams would have died when Cork stretched to a 6 point lead but fair play to Cavan for keeping going - a couple of small things and we could have got a draw but wasn't to be.

Am immensely proud of that team and know there are better days to come for Cavan football..

celt262

Tom Joad wrote: »

What a game - on one level am absolutely gutted that we lost but on the other am so proud of the guts that the lads showed - there was no hiding out there.
.

I walked out of there proud, it was no shame to lose to that Cork team.

The margin for error is small though and it could have easily have been a win or at least extra time. The wind was so strange today it changed direction several times and sometimes died down completely . I don't think there was a stronger gust all day than the one that decided to blow up for the free at the end.

Anyways brave performance from the lads.

cavan4sam

Gutted
Proud
Traumatised
One of my best and worst days as a Cavan fan

The fighting spirit shown by those lads is of a new Cavan , a Cavan with a bright future

Emotions are high at the minute so I won't say too much
The general feeling leaving the ground was pride tinged with disappointment

We have the most fantastic support and we Will get the success we crave soon

The future is bright the future is blue and white

Excellent post Cavan4sam. Fantastic pride and determination from the lads today. I thought Moynagh was immense when he came on. Took the game by the scruff of the neck. He's the next leader and the next captain of this Cavan U21 side. Jack Brady showed that he has a real touch of class today, he got vital scores at vital times going it alond. McLoughlin did very after a shaky start, and Enda O'Reilly and Paul O'Connor were both oustanding at winning ball. Our delivery to our inside forwards was top quality.

The most horrible thing to see today was Enda O'Reilly after the final whistle. My heart was breaking for the poor lad, he was inconsolable. The argument will rage about whether he should have been brought on to take it. My view is that the management were correct. Madden gave us an arial threat when he came on, he also scored a point and won 2 frees, we don't know how the game would have played out had O'Reilly not being substituted. We had no left footed free taker on the field when we got that free and O'Reilly is a fantastic free taker. It was difficult and the wind was swirling around. O'Reilly was our best option at the time, it's hard on the lad but that's football.

In 2010 Michael Murphy missed a penalty with the final kick that could have won Donegal the U21 All Ireland. The next day he got a phonecall from Charlie Redmond who himself missed a penalty in an All Ireland final, I sincerely hope someone will give O'Reilly a call and give him some words of comfort.

All in all, hugely proud of the effort by the lads. They have given us days that we thought we might never see again in Cavan. This is a glimpse of what Cavan football and Cavan supporters are all about. Let's hope that this will continue at underage and filter into the Seniors in time.

Utopia Parkway

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

From what I saw of Galway they didnt look great and I think both Cavan and Cork would have beaten them today but a final can be a very different story.

They beat the All-Ireland favourites by 5 points. Not much more you can do after that. And I bet they win the final as well.

Galway always seem underrated at this level despite them going for basically their 4th U-21 All-Ireland in just over a decade.

Lemlin

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

They beat the All-Ireland favourites by 5 points. Not much more you can do after that. And I bet they win the final as well.

Galway always seem underrated at this level despite them going for basically their 4th U-21 All-Ireland in just over a decade.

I wouldn't think much of the odds tbh. I thought Kildare were the weakest of the four teams left from their display today. I hadn't seen much of them but knew Galway would give them a game because they had good players 2 years ago that were still available this year.

How many of the Cavan panel will still be there next year? I know Moynagh, Gerard Smith, Joe Dillon and Killian Clarke will all be there but who else?

celt262

Lemlin wrote: »

I wouldn't think much of the odds tbh. I thought Kildare were the weakest of the four teams left from their display today. I hadn't seen much of them but knew Galway would give them a game because they had good players 2 years ago that were still available this year.

How many of the Cavan panel will still be there next year? I know Moynagh, Gerard Smith, Joe Dillon and Killian Clarke will all be there but who else?

Robbed from Gaaboard

From today's team, Ciaran Brady, Killian Clarke, Gerard Smith, Argue, Sanky, Madden, Moynagh, Dillon, McVeety are all underage next year. Add in Conor Finnegan, Andy Graham and Nevin O'Donnell all who were with the panel this year

Pete_Cavan

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

They beat the All-Ireland favourites by 5 points. Not much more you can do after that. And I bet they win the final as well.

Galway always seem underrated at this level despite them going for basically their 4th U-21 All-Ireland in just over a decade.

I was just making the point that Galway didnt look great today, which they didnt, and that both teams in the second match played with more intensity and aggression. I am not writing off Galway for the final, like I said, it can be a very different story from the semi and Galway may bring all the intensity and aggression on the day.

Next year's U21s will be the winning Minor team from 2011. That team I think was O'Meara, Ciaran Brady, Killian Clarke, Conor Smith, Gerard Smith, Conor Moynagh, Brian Sankey, Michael Argue, Joe Dillon, Andrew Dewart, Conor Finnegan, Andy Graham, Kevin Bouchier, Paul Graham.

Only O'Meara, Dewart and Bouchier weren't involved this year with the U21s. That's fantastic continuity. Add in Dara McVeety, Aaron Watson, Nevin O'Donnell, Paul McEvoy and Conor Madden and we can be hopeful for next year. But as we know, the winning Minor team has failed to win Ulster 3 years later for the last number of years.

Syferus

I think Cavan looked incredibly small for a U21 team and were definitely the 'weakest' of the four teams today if we're playing that game, save for a flourish near the end. I assume many of those lads are underage next year too?

Too much latheral passing and standing around looking at Cork's defence, it resembled the stuff you'd see D3 senior teams at. It was an impressive comeback though, and more so because Cavan stuck to the latheral game and still found the gaps they needed to which I only think made it harder on them to do.

Cavan is in great nick overall but the way the underage game is played outside Ulster punishes teams that aren't direct and I think that has played a big role in Cavan's three defeats in four in the AI series the past three seasons.

Syferus

Syferus wrote: »

I think Cavan looked incredibly small for a U21 team and were definitely the 'weakest' of the four teams today if we're playing that game, save for a flourish near the end. I assume many of those lads are underage next year too?

Too much latheral passing and standing around looking at Cork's defence, it resembled the stuff you'd see D3 senior teams at. It was an impressive comeback though, and more so because Cavan stuck to the latheral game and still found the gaps they needed to which I only think made it harder on them to do.

Cavan is in great nick overall but the way the underage game is played outside Ulster punishes teams that aren't direct and I think that has played a big role in Cavan's three defeats in four in the AI series the past three seasons.

You're flirting the line with being downright disrespectful there Syferus. Through sheer heart and determination we almost pulled a result out of a game against a quality Cork side that were the better team for most of the game. Please don't come on the Cavan thread the day of the loss and dismiss that as a "flourish".

We are not incredibly small either. Not as big as Cork or Kildare but they are the exception not the rule.

Our gameplan is not lateral aimless handpassing. It is patient, probing build up play which served us well this year and almost worked out in the end today. Although granted it's not ideal when chasing a game.

These lads will be back. Some special players have come through in the past 3 years, they will drag us of the bottom of the pyramid in the coming years.

Syferus

KeepTheFaith wrote: »

You're flirting the line with being downright disrespectful there Syferus. Through sheer heart and determination we almost pulled a result out of a game against a quality Cork side that were the better team for most of the game. Please don't come on the Cavan thread the day of the loss and dismiss that as a "flourish".

We are not incredibly small either. Not as big as Cork or Kildare but they are the exception not the rule.

Our gameplan is not lateral aimless handpassing. It is patient, probing build up play which served us well this year and almost worked out in the end today. Although granted it's not ideal when chasing a game.

These lads will be back. Some special players have come through in the past 3 years, they will drag us of the bottom of the pyramid in the coming years.

I'm sorry but there's nothing disrespectful in what I said and if you find it that way you're being far, far too sensitive. As you might have noticed 'weakest' was in quotations because it was in reference to someone else saying Kildare were the weakest team on display. Cavan were certainly the weakest physically whatever your reading of the two games.

I'm just telling you what it looked like for someone with no horse in either race, I certainly have no axe to grind against a county I admire but I'm not going to come along and lie about what I saw unfold in front of me just because you are feeling a bit sore. If I came out and attacked players or management or I was just trolling you would have a point but I clearly was not.

Even compared to Galway or ourselves Cavan are a small U21 team. Size doesn't matter as much at underage but it clearly contributed to Cavan's unwillingness to run at Cork or be more direct. They were afraid of losing possession in the tackle and far too many times they sat outside Cork's 45 and played hot potato with the ball, giving Cork plenty of time to arrange their defence for the eventual attack.

Very few teams win big games playing that type of attack and it without a shadow of a doubt was the biggest reason Cavan lost today.

Utopia Parkway

Hard luck to Cavan by the way. 3 Ulster titles in a row is a great achievement even though they haven't been able to make the breakthrough after that. Should have a very handy senior team in a few years god willing.

Lemlin

Syferus wrote: »

I'm sorry but there's nothing disrespectful in what I said and if you find it that way you're being far, far too sensitive. As you might have noticed 'weakest' was in quotations because it was in reference to someone else saying Kildare were the weakest team on display. Cavan were certainly the weakest physically whatever your reading of the two games.

I'm just telling you what it looked like for someone with no horse in either race, I certainly have no axe to grind against a county I admire but I'm not going to come along and lie about what I saw unfold in front of me just because you are feeling a bit sore. If I came out and attacked players or management or I was just trolling you would have a point but I clearly was not.

Even compared to Galway or ourselves Cavan are a small U21 team. Size doesn't matter as much at underage but it clearly contributed to Cavan's unwillingness to run at Cork or be more direct. They were afraid of losing possession in the tackle and far too many times they sat outside Cork's 45 and played hot potato with the ball, giving Cork plenty of time to arrange their defence for the eventual attack.

Very few teams win big games playing that type of attack and it without a shadow of a doubt was the biggest reason Cavan lost today.

My reference to "weakest" was in terms of overall ability, not physical attributes and was in the context of Kildare being installed "favourites" by the bookies. I found that incredibly disrespectful to three other teams with huge pedigree at U21 level over the past few years.

Re Kildare, one of the local Cavan journals was laughing that someone in the press box near the end of the Kildare game commented that Kildare needed 5 points but would need 20 scoring chances to get it.

Cavan were indeed probably the smallest team in context of size. There's not much we can do there. We don't have too many Bernard Morris', Stephen King's or Dermot McCabe's floating around.

It's worth remembering that the population of Cavan is 70,000 and the population of all the other counties on display would be 3 times ours at least. Therefore they can afford to be that bit more picky and have a huge selection advantage over us. For example, Kildare would have the population next to Cavan and has 210k to Cavan's 70k.

To put it even further into context, Kildare rank 7th in the country in terms of population. Galway and Cork are 5th and 4th. Cavan is 25th.

You commented before that Galway bring good support to this type of game. That was totally incorrect. As per the U21 final two years ago, the Galway support was minimal to say the least. A number of people actually commented as I was leaving that there'll be no-one at the final if the support from Cork and Galway at the semi is anything to go by.

Pete_Cavan

KeepTheFaith wrote: »

Next year's U21s will be the winning Minor team from 2011. That team I think was O'Meara, Ciaran Brady, Killian Clarke, Conor Smith, Gerard Smith, Conor Moynagh, Brian Sankey, Michael Argue, Joe Dillon, Andrew Dewart, Conor Finnegan, Andy Graham, Kevin Bouchier, Paul Graham.

Only O'Meara, Dewart and Bouchier weren't involved this year with the U21s. That's fantastic continuity. Add in Dara McVeety, Aaron Watson, Nevin O'Donnell, Paul McEvoy and Conor Madden and we can be hopeful for next year. But as we know, the winning Minor team has failed to win Ulster 3 years later for the last number of years.

Is Karl Duke under age again next year as well? There are also some very good young players who will be pushing for places next year dispite having another of u21 ahead of them; Shane O Rourke, Enda Flanagan, Ben Kiernan, Liam Goldrick, Buchanan from Ballymachugh. Should be a strong panel again next year.

Lemlin

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

Is Karl Duke under age again next year as well? There are also some very good young players who will be pushing for places next year dispite having another of u21 ahead of them; Shane O Rourke, Enda Flanagan, Ben Kiernan, Liam Goldrick, Buchanan from Ballymachugh. Should be a strong panel again next year.

Nope, Duke and his club mate Chris Conroy are both finished U21 now.

Gerard Smith from their club Lavey still has 2 more years at this level. He was minor last year.

While the panel will be strong, we won't have a Jack Brady or an Enda O'Reilly or Paul O'Connor. Madden will be useful no doubt but as for pacy corner forwards, it's hard to see where they will come from. Andy Graham looks to have bags of skill but he's extremely light for this level. I don't know if Bouchier will be involved either. O'Donnell is no slouch I suppose but after his second cruciate operation it's hard to know to what level he will recover.

It would be great if our Minor team could throw up a few possible players this summer. Looks very unlikely though with poor results so far and whispers that the postponing of the Minor League Semi Finals was so that the County Minor Panel could be focussed on as they felt things were going so badly.

What we could have just seen was two golden ages of underage footballers in Cavan the likes of which we might not see again for a while. We like to tell ourselves it's because we got our house in order at underage but it might be a coincidence that these lads came through at the same time. I sincerely hope not and another Ulster title at Minor level in the next 3 years or so would really be a boost.

Lemlin

KeepTheFaith wrote: »

While the panel will be strong, we won't have a Jack Brady or an Enda O'Reilly or Paul O'Connor. Madden will be useful no doubt but as for pacy corner forwards, it's hard to see where they will come from. Andy Graham looks to have bags of skill but he's extremely light for this level. I don't know if Bouchier will be involved either. O'Donnell is no slouch I suppose but after his second cruciate operation it's hard to know to what level he will recover.

It would be great if our Minor team could throw up a few possible players this summer. Looks very unlikely though with poor results so far and whispers that the postponing of the Minor League Semi Finals was so that the County Minor Panel could be focussed on as they felt things were going so badly.

What we could have just seen was two golden ages of underage footballers in Cavan the likes of which we might not see again for a while. We like to tell ourselves it's because we got our house in order at underage but it might be a coincidence that these lads came through at the same time. I sincerely hope not and another Ulster title at Minor level in the next 3 years or so would really be a boost.

In fairness Chris Conroy was very light a year or two ago but has worked on it. He's still not a mammoth but he's certainly bulked up. Jack Brady and others have too and I don't see why some of the current minor crop couldn't either.

You don't necessarily need a good minor team to throw up star players either. It's good to have underage success but McBrearty for example played in a very weak Donegal minor team 2 years ago.

You're generally looking for three to four of your minor or U21 team to go through to your seniors from each batch.

Lemlin

Could anyone confirm what date the Cavan Armagh game is?

celt262

Lemlin wrote: »

Could anyone confirm what date the Cavan Armagh game is?

19th of May i think it a 2pm throw in must be on tv.