Brolly brands Cavan football as ‘the Black Death’

By Peter O’ Dwyer

Controversial pundit Joe Brolly has described one Gaelic football team as “the Black Death” despite their successful start to the season.

Cavan, who reached the McKenna Cup final this year, are unbeaten in Division 3 with three wins to their name already, following wins over Fermanagh, Offaly and Wexford so far.

Brolly, however, is far from impressed with their style of play which he describes as “the most horrible, defensive football”, in his latest Gaelic Life column (Subscription 90p or €1.09).

“The one real anomaly in the League is The Black Death (Cavan). They have continued to play the most horrible, defensive football the game has ever seen, oblivious to the trend towards attack based, non-fouling football,” he writes.

Brolly praises the attacking emphasis adopted by Tyrone and his native Derry, but feels that the Breffni County approach the game in a far more defensive manner which is hurting the game.

Cavan’s solid defensive record of conceding an average of just eight points per game drew scorn from the out-spoken pundit, describing it as “thoroughly depressing.”

“A warning: Please resist the temptation to go watch them play, as this will only encourage them,” he writes.

“It may also lead to others catching the black death, which is fatal to all known forms of Gaelic football,” adds Brolly.

His assessment of Cavan’s style is somewhat different to his analysis of their victory over Derry in last year’s qualifiers.

That game, he said, restored his faith in Gaelic football, despite mentioning the blanket defence Cavan adopted.