Will Brian Cody's decision to stay damage Kilkenny hurling in the long run?

Ger Loughnane sparks debate with claim that Cody should have already walked away.

GER LOUGHNANE HAS reignited the debate about Brian Cody’s Kilkenny future, claiming that the most succesful manager in hurling history should have stepped down for the good of the county.

Writing in his column in the Irish Daily Star, Loughnane argued that Cody should quit while the Cats have enough star talent to carry his successor through the transition.

By staying on for a 19th campaign in 2017, Cody is increasing the odds that Kilkenny will face a barren spell when he does eventually quit the scene.

“This is the mistake the other two great long-serving managers in the GAA, Mick O’Dwyer and Sean Boylan, made at the tail-end of their careers,” he wrote.

“By the time they left, the cupboard was so bare that many years of famine ensued.

“And even Alex Ferguson – a manager with whom Cody can be favourably compared – left little for his successors to work with.”