As wars of words go this one has been pretty one-sided. Until now.
Ger Loughnane caused national headlines last month with his claims that Kilkenny were “functional beyond belief”, saying that there is “no way they should be winning an All-Ireland” or going for three-in-a-row and claiming that Brian Cody’s side are “totally dependant on TJ Reid, one forward, and maybe Richie Hogan as well”.
Various Kilkenny players have responded to Loughnane’s comments, including Reid who, in an interview with SportsJOE.ie, expressed some bemusement at why the former Clare manager made the comments in the first place.
TJ Reid responds to Ger Loughnane's comments about @KilkennyCLG three-in-a-row chasing hurlershttps://t.co/JvNfsvRddY
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) April 13, 2016
Brian Cody has kept shtum on the issue, until now. It turns out it was all just banter.
“Well I just know how I take Ger – he’s a gas man!” Cody said at the launch of the Leinster Championship.
“And I enjoy Ger, and I know Ger a long time. And he’ll say whatever. He might just throw anything out there just for the sake of throwing it out. Also, he maybe believes what he says as well, and that’s his opinion.”
COMMENT: Kilkenny may be functional but at least their forwards actually want to score #GAA https://t.co/1WZFFpXGUF
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) April 17, 2016
And, in a textbook Brian Cody answer, Brian Cody found the positives in being described as functional.
“It’s a good starting point for any team to be functional, I’d say. And if you ever lose that attribute, you’ll become dysfunctional very, very quickly. Look, I’d have not the slightest concern about what Ger said – none at all.”
