The Official Cavan GAA Discussion thread.

benjy1000

Lord save us, I heard just there that the current u20 management set up will be offered the senior set up.

county board will definitely be shopping local even if the above crew for some reason don’t accept the gig.

mylestheslasher

Does it sound realistic that someone has been offered the job one day after Mickey stepped down? I dont think so.

Hammar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120835979#Comment_120835979

There will be a lengthy process involved I'd imagine, I'd be surprised if we have a manager in by the first of September.

The Under 20 management was

Seanie Smith,Barry McGahon,Niall McDermott and Liam Brady

Smith won the Intermediate with Mullahoran and took them to the Ulster IFC final.

Michael McDermott probably has the strongest CV of any potential internal candidates.

Jason Reilly won a IFC with Lacken. And took the Gaels to the Ulster club final, he might be another potential candidate.

I'm struggling to name others..

Darragh McCarthy??

celt262

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120835979#Comment_120835979

We are definitely in July and its not April fools day.

rrs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120836501#Comment_120836501

Those were the Minor management

Damien Donahoe was U20 manager

Hammar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120836646#Comment_120836646

I couldn't see it, The under 20 2022 campaign was good, but we got annihilated against Down in 2021 and threw the game away against Monaghan this year.

I don't know much about Donohoe, as a manager to be honest, I haven't been involved in football at all since finishing playing, would he be highly rated as a coach / manager?

rrs

I couldn't see it either. The U20 management wasn't retained for next year. 3 year term was up.

There would be interest outside the county. Paul Curran of Dublin could be an option

piplip87

Micheal McDermott is a decent shout IMO. Took over Ramor wasn't long clearing some of the 28+ year ol4ds out and gave that young team a chance and they went on to win the championship, Intercounty experience and has won club championships with multiple teams in different counties.

McConville could be another decent shout, young manager who would have the respect of the lads and done well with Wicklow this year.

If the money was right I wonder would his stint with down brought back the hunger in McGuinness, how Down evolved throughout they year very similar to Donegal's All Ireland win.

Then again with a serious rebuild on the cards is Terry Hyland the man for the job, his record with young players is phenomenal.

mylestheslasher

What has Malachy O Rourke been at since he was last doing inter county management? Has been involved in club football. McConville hasn't done a lot for me to be forking out the money he'd want. McGuinness I can't see us forking money out and with Donegal short a manager no way he'd look over them and go to Cavan. McDermott seems like a front runner based on his track record but I don't know much about him except his Ramor players wouldn't go into the county.

Cavan_King

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120833368#Comment_120833368

The game in the snow. That was a terrible loss alright. We got a bit of momentum and got a bit of a run on them start of the second half but their players had the sense to lie down, act injured and break our momentum.

Cavan_King

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120838890#Comment_120838890

Have you been living under a rock? He won the Ulster Club Championship with Glen from Derry and got them to the infamous All Ireland Club Final with the extra Kilmacud player.

Re McDermott, he managed Wolfe Tones in Meath last couple of years and won a Meath championship with them in 2021 - literally coming from nowhere. He’s now managing on Kildare I believe.

Didn’t the county board approach James Horan before and he wasn’t interested? Aidan O’Rourke that ended up Donegal caretaker manager this year was in against Graham.

mylestheslasher

I sure have

Cavan_King

Clubs asked to make nominations by Sunday 23rd July.

mylestheslasher

They'll need a time machine

rrs

Mickey Graham was on OTB AM earlier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al6-8HbaQnQ&t=32s

Cavan_King

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120842125#Comment_120842125

The usual cliche ridden soundbites.

He talks about getting supporters off their seats and forwards taking men on. Is he aware he’s coaching a team is five years under him struggling to score goals? Even in Division 3 and 4?

He also says he treats all the players the same. That is blatantly not true.

There were some other contradictions and falsehoods in there but what’s the point, he’s gone now. Thanks for 2020 Mickey.

rrs

WAC said Ramor were one of the clubs that wanted his final year being debated. They said he had a new backroom team in place. Looks like he left before it went to a club vote.

Cavan_King

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120843159#Comment_120843159

I don’t think he would have won a club vote. Even his most ardent supporters are saying it’s time for a change.

I found his interview very duplicitous. They talked about what he will do going forward so why not mention Ballinamore?

I found the WAC podcast poor. For example, saying he was getting involved with club teams to keep his skills toned - no, he wasn’t, he was doing it for money, like most other club managers.

i don’t think they tackled the real subjects like that our most decorated underage players wasted three years languishing in lower Divisions.

Our best U21 team from 2014 - McVeety, Holla, Faulkner, Smith, Moynagh, Madden - will be 31 next year and spent some of their peak years playing Waterford, London & Wicklow in the League.

I’ll never forget the atmosphere at the Kerry game in Breffni in 2019. It’s games like that those lads should have been playing.

rrs

It was time for a change. Yeah they mentioned going back to mullinghta last year didn't go down well in some circles, but didn't mention he was with now with Ballinamore.

Damien Donahoe overly loyal because he managed Drumalee in the past.

benjy1000

100% agree Cavan king, Fitzpatrick just moans about mcgleenan over and over, makes excuses for graham, all we hear is the relegation game against Wicklow was a freak game in a freak league , it doesn’t matter one iota what it was, Cavan still lost because they weren’t good enough! If that happened under mcgleenan , fitz wouldn’t be justifying it as a freak game!

celt262

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120843900#Comment_120843900

Mickey is one of the "lads" there not going to put the boot into him.

He will be back in inter-county management before long anyway he will be picked up by a Longford, Leitrim or Fermanagh in the next year or 2.

Edit: and i would not rule him out of returning to manage Cavan again in the future if he learns from some of his failings.

KeepTheFaith

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120843729#Comment_120843729

Faulkner isn't 31 next year, neither is Madden.

McVeety never played any of those teams in the league. He chose to spend 3 of his prime years travelling and not playing any level of intercounty football.

Moynagh chose to spend almost 2 of his prime years travelling and not playing any level of intercounty football.

Faulkner I'm sure would shoulder some of the blame for the Div 4 relegation given that he got taken to the cleaners against Wicklow in the relegation final. Same story with the Tailteann Final.

James Smith got himself sent off against Fermanagh in 2021. Would we have lost that game if he had the sense to keep his hands down?

There were a lot of factors in Cavan tumbling in the league and the players have as much responsibility to shoulder as Mickey Graham.

mylestheslasher

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120843729#Comment_120843729

They did not say Graham was taking club teams to hone his skills, Donohoe said that he was reading Eddie Jones (i think) autobiography and thats what he said he was doing it for when he did it. Graham has not said that. You also forgot to mention that both Donohoe and Fitz said it was not a good idea for him to do that.

celt262

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120845119#Comment_120845119

McVetty played Division 1 league in 2019.

KeepTheFaith

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120845218#Comment_120845218

I know he did. It was stated that he was a player who spent his prime years playing league games against Waterford, London and Wicklow, which is false.

etuzyuk

People are quick to forget how badly 2019 ended and the repercussions it had on the squad and players. The level of bile and abuse directed at players was absolutely disgusting and management acted extremely poorly and seemed happy enough to throw them under the bus, pun intended. A lot of very key players walked and I wouldn't blame them. So first 2 years under Mickey were far from the fairytale some would have you believe.

2020 against Donegal was fantastic and Mickey deserves huge credit but do others like McCabe not deserve some credit also? It's part of the enigma of Graham. Any applause going he reaps in spades but any problems or failures it's always at the door elsewhere. Blame McCabe, Ricey, Johnston, the players, COVID, the weather, McGleenan. Why drag in a manager's name from 5 years ago who had a short stint and left us in Division 1 after blooding, what, 12 or 13 new players in the league? That's extremely poor form from the lads in WAC and really scraping the bottom of the barrel. So yes, Mickey will always be the man who won Ulster in 2020 and it's not a bad legacy to have. But the fly in the ointment is he owns the ills of the last 5 years, all of them.

mylestheslasher

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120845575#Comment_120845575

I dont know what podcast some of ye were listening too but what I heard was exactly what you said in your last line "Mickey will always be the man who won Ulster in 2020 and it's not a bad legacy to have. But the fly in the ointment is he owns the ills of the last 5 years, all of them"

Management is a results game. 2019 we lost players, 2020 we won Ulster. So it might just have been worth losing some players?

Anyway, its done now. I think in a year or twos time we might be pining for the Mickey Graham era.

rrs

I don't think you can pin for a 2020 Ulster win with a new manager. Gearoid McKiernan will be 34. McLaughlin 33/32. Thomas Galligan won't be back next year.

The team was at its peak then and regressed since.

mylestheslasher

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120846416#Comment_120846416

Depend how low we go in next few years doesnt it

etuzyuk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120846066#Comment_120846066

Yes it's done. Losing players is never good especially very senior and conditioned players. I think winning Ulster in 2020 was more to do with COVID and the winter competition more so than the cull of the previous year. The mantra in 2019 was we were years behind in conditioning and physicality to compete for Ulster but the pandemic hit and there was very little work done in that area in the year up to our victory. Plus we brought back players who hadn't trained at all but we were as physical and dogged as the best of them on the slower and wet winter surfaces. Winning Ulster in July on faster surfaces is a very different task.

I don't believe in the pining bit. Time to move on and rebuild and I don't think he's the man to do that. But we can remember Ulster final fondly, beating Monaghan, same way we can remember promotion to Division 1, beating Mayo, drawing with Kerry fondly. That's not pining for Mattie either. New man will have different challenges but no reason to fear that change or look back.