Overall disappointing

By Michael Hannon

Judging a season is never quite as simple as counting wins and losses, but sometimes the results are too stark to ignore. Cavan’s 2026 campaign was one of frustration, confusion and only occasional encouragement.

There were signs of development late in the year, and there were individual players who emerged or kicked on, but the overall picture remains a disappointing one. Across results, style of play, panel development, performances, buy-in and consistency, Cavan were a team still searching for a clear identity and a level they could reproduce from one week to the next.

Results

Two wins from 12 games tells its own story. Across seven league games, three championship games and two McKenna Cup fixtures, Cavan’s only victories came against Offaly and Kildare, both of whom will be playing Division 3 football next year. There is no way to soften that record. Results-wise, with the exception of the Covid-interrupted year of 2021, this was as poor a season as Cavan have managed in this century.

Survival in Division 2 mattered. It kept Cavan in the Sam Maguire race and avoided a drop that would have done real damage. But survival was achieved by the narrowest of margins and without any real sense that Cavan had established themselves as a strong Division 2 side. Two wins from 12 is a results sheet that cannot be excused.

Grade: E

Development of style of play

The biggest concern was how uncertain Cavan looked without the ball for long stretches of the year. They tried to press Cork in open play in round one, on corks short kickouts and were exposed. Too many players were unable to track runners, deny men possession, or close off the next pass. That game set the tone for what became a confusing few months.

Burnt by that experience, Cavan seemed to give up any pretence of pressing through the middle third and reverted to getting bodies back into a zonal shape. But that brought its own problems. They still struggled to stop opposition teams getting two-point shots away, struggled to win turnovers, and too often allowed runners in behind for goal opportunites. The communication between zonal players, particularly around who was responsible for tracking which runner, did not look convincing enough.

With the ball, Cavan played their best football when they ran at teams. That is understandable because many of their best players are natural ball-carriers. But if the inside forward line is to be built around Patrick Lynch and potentially Darragh Lovett, Cavan need to think seriously about how best to kick through the middle third rather than always trying to run through it. These men need earlier, better and more purposeful service.

Grade: D

Development of players/panel

Cavan went with a small panel this year, and that decision looks questionable now. Peter Corrigan of Kingscourt and Ciarán Brady of Corofin were two new faces who got minutes early on, but both appeared to be phased out as the season developed. That was especially strange in Corrigan’s case, because he had shown flashes of what he could bring.

One of the sticks thrown at Cavan over the last two or three seasons is that their best players are still largely those who came through from the 2011 minor team. Corrigan and Brady are around 28 years of age, so while they may have been new to the panel, blooding players of that age is not exactly the long-term solution a county needs when the cohort of 32-year-olds currently back boning the team eventually walks away.

There were positives. Darragh Lovett’s reintroduction towards the end of the season, after spending much of it in the wilderness, was encouraging. The emergence of Emmanuel Shehu was probably the most pleasing development of the year. Jensen Tynan and Paddy Meade have potential and should be persevered with. Liam Brady, Oisín Brady Conor Brady and Tiarnán Madden, all of whom have been around the panel for a few seasons, looked to have kicked on another level. Oisín Brady was Cavan’s player of the year in my view, and his injury in the Ulster Championship seriously derailed Cavan’s options.

Still, a larger panel would have been wise. Even younger players with little chance of making match-day squads could have benefited from extra strength and conditioning work in a competitive environment, with a view to contributing next year.

Grade: C

Performances

Cavan’s lowest point was, strangely, one of their two wins. The round six game away to Offaly was the season’s nadir. Against a seriously depleted Offaly side, Cavan needed Ryan Donohoe heroics to squeak over the line. The result papered over a seriously poor performance.

From there, performances improved. Cavan were much better against Derry in round seven despite being second best to the Oak Leafers. They were more cohesive without the ball, did well on both kick-outs, and created pressure on the ball. Compared with the Offaly game, it was night and day.

The good bits against Monaghan were very good, but the opening 20 minutes were anaemic. Take that shockingly poor start out of it and there were at least 45 minutes of a middling performance. The Westmeath game was full of mistakes, but Cavan were competitive. It is hard to call it a major improvement, but it did represent a levelling off.

The Dublin game was a marked improvement. I wrote before the game that Dublin were close to getting their mojo back, and subsequent events have suggested that was the case. Cavan’s performance was let down by one glaring metric: shot conversion. A paltry 49% undermined what was otherwise a good performance in most other areas.

Grade: C-

Buy-in from players and supporters

Cavan’s players came out to bat for the management at various points of the season. Whatever else can be said about their performances, apart from the opening 20 minutes against Monaghan, there was not really a game where you could say they lacked effort or did not give their all.

The same cannot be said for supporter buy-in. The team’s season hinged on the round six game away to Offaly. Cavan needed a win to have any hope of surviving and, by extension, of playing in the Sam Maguire competition. Yet only 625 people turned up, apparently the smallest attendance ever recorded for a Division 2 game.

At times it felt like the team was on one journey and the supporters were on a very different one. People like to give out — that is human nature — but it was hard to find too many who were optimistic about Cavan’s progress. It does not help that, over the last two seasons, notably Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Westmeath, and even Longford with promotion to division 3 and Fermanagh with heir run to Tailteann cup semi finals ending in a narrow loss to Down, have all brought their counties on some sort of football journey. When all your neighbours have something to crow about, it is hard to keep the sunny side out.

Grade: D

Consistency

The gap between Cavan’s floor and ceiling is too wide. They need to raise both. The floor can be raised by improving the athleticism of the panel. So can the ceiling. But the ceiling can also be raised by finding a tactical approach that genuinely suits the players in the panel and then developing it with conviction.

That is the challenge for next year. Cavan do not need vague improvement. They need clearer identity, a deeper panel, better athletic development, and a style of play that gives their best players the best chance of succeeding.

Grade: D

Overall

All things considered, If I were giving an overall grade for Cavan’s season I would probably award them a D, with the preservation of both division 2 and Sam Maguire status largely responsible for this passing grade.

Grade: D