By Kevin Regan
There is a commonly known myth in the media game that you must be controversial or negatively provocative in order to sell papers or capture the readers eye across social & digital media platforms.
As we all know by now, yesterday Ger Loughnane had another cut at Brian Cody, suggesting that the Kilkenny Manager thought in his own mind that he was “indispensable to Kilkenny”
Loughnane was writing in his column for the Irish Daily Star and said that his backroom team was grand but that Cody himself was the problem. He also said:
“Had he left, he would be leaving a team with a reasonable chance of winning silverware in 2017.”
To me that line is a load of garbage.
Why would anyone leave a team that has a reasonable chance of winning an All Ireland in 2017?
And what makes Ger think that anyone else other than the games Greatest Ever Manager would be in a better position to guide Kilkenny to another All Ireland win?
Thats what I find a little peculiar!
I think that Loughnane feels in his own mind that he must rub someone up the wrong way or make a controversial remark in order to sell papers.
The fact of the matter is that this is NOT the case.
There are plenty of writers out there who are full of optimism, but within that optimism is also a great depth of realism.
Kieran Shannon always produces incredible copy week in week out and generally seems to have an angle that others may not have, and he is just one of the many great examples of Irish journalist’s who get just as much a reaction for being imaginative and creative rather than destructive and critical.
I respect what Ger Loughnane has achieved in the game and guiding Clare to All Ireland glory twice in the 90’s was some feat after all the talk of the curse of Biddy Early and all that kind of caper.
But he wouldn’t lace Brian Cody’s boots in terms of what he has achieved in the game.
Ger has also been critical of the Galway Hurlers over the past few years, questioning every aspect of their game.
The same fella was over Galway in the late 00’s and didn’t exactly set the world on fire!
To put this into perspective, I don’t think Brian would be writing the type of disrespectful content that Ger has been doing in recent times if he had his own column.
For a man of Loughnane’s intelligence I think he could offer a lot more to readers in his column’s but if he continues in this vein then he will lose a lot of people’s respect.
How sweet would it be for Kilkenny fans if Liam McCarthy returns to Noreside in September 2017!
