That sound you hear is claws being sharpened down on Noreside.
The Kilkenny public is unlikely to be very pleased at the latest comments by Ger Loughhane on the current Kilkenny side, who are going for yet another three-in-a-row under Brian Cody.
The Cats face Offaly in this weekend’s Allianz Hurling League quarter final in Nowlan Park, but ahead of the game, former Clare manager Loughnane has dropped a major bomb on the Cats reputation.
In an interview with GAA.ie the Feakle man reminisces about his own playing time with the Banner and, of course, his 1990s successes as Bainisteoir.
It’s all very nostalgic and insightful but one passage stands out above all others.
When asked why teams find it so hard to beat Kilkenny when it comes to the latter end of the championship, he takes takes a major cut at the All-Ireland holders, and their status as the best team in Ireland right now.
“Looking at Kilkenny now and their personnel, there is no way that Kilkenny should be winning the All-Ireland. There is no way this Kilkenny team should be going for three-in-a-row.
“Three-in-a-rows were so hard to get before Brian Cody came along. And teams that won three-in-a-rows were legendary teams. Now the present Kilkenny team is functional beyond belief, and they’re getting the best out of what they have to an extent that no-one else could do other than Brian Cody.
“But, at the same time, a team with that talent should not be winning an All-Ireland. I have no problem in saying that. They should not be winning an All-Ireland with that team. Totally dependant on TJ Reid, one forward, and maybe Richie Hogan as well.”
The comments could be seen as yet another chapter in the long-running war of words between Cody and Loughnane, with the ex-Clare boss a vocal critic of what he saw as an overly physical approach to hurling from Cody’s charges in the last decade.
The Kilkenny boss has dismissed Loughnane’s public utterances before, once famously describing him as “a lunatic from Clare”.
Loughnane does go on to to qualify his statement by explaining that Kilkenny get better as the season goes on, along with his high respect for what Cody has achieved, but there’s no getting away from his attempt to tarnish Killenny’s aura.
“I think if they’re not stopped in an All-Ireland quarter-final or semi-final, then they won’t be stopped on the first Sunday in September. That’s the point where you must stop them.
“Cody can get so much out of them and time his run to get them at their very peak for the All-Ireland that nobody else can reach. No matter what backroom they have or expertise they have, they can’t match the instinct of Cody. He’s just a once-off, totally exceptional person in charge of a team. What he can get out of players is remarkable.”
Miaow indeed.
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