Pic: Fat chance the Offaly hurlers will like what Ger Loughnane has had to say about them in The Star today

The National League hasn’t even started yet and already Ger Loughnane is rattling a few cages.

The former All-Ireland winning Clare manager turned pundit is not one to sit on the fence when expressing his opinions, whether it be on The Sunday Game or in his newspaper column for the Daily Star. It was through the latter medium that he had some choice words to say about the Offaly hurlers while previewing the beginning of the National Hurling League in today’s paper, words which were picked up on by RTE’s Darragh Maloney, who tweeted a picture of the quote earlier this morning.

I wonder will that quote from Ger be up on the wall of the Offaly dressing-room on Sunday? pic.twitter.com/UCUrWyhBdl — Darragh Maloney (@DarraghMaloney) February 14, 2014

  To put the quote into context, Loughnane wrote: “Of the top 10 teams, Offaly have the greatest scope of all for improvement. But, to me, they look like a county living in the Dark Ages. They’re the only team in the modern era where you still see players with fat legs, bellies and arses.” Loughnane is entitled to his opinion, of course, but not for the first time, his comments have caused a bit of a stir, with his sometime Sunday Game colleague Michael Duignan quick to respond to Maloney with his own thoughts on the matter.

@DarraghMaloney Cheap shot at very dedicated bunch of lads.Grossly unfair! Maybe we should get a full time manager!! #GerDidn'tInventHurling — Michael Duignan (@DuignanMichael) February 14, 2014

  Former Laois footballer Colm Parkinson, meanwhile, who can currently be heard on the airwaves on Newstalk's Off the Ball show, wasn't going to turn down the opportunity for a playful dig at his punditry colleagues from the Faithful County.

I'm surprised at Loughnane's comments. Sure @daithi_regan and @DuignanMichael are retired a long time now :-) — Colm Parkinson (@Woolberto) February 14, 2014

  What new Offaly boss Brian Whelehan and the Faithful players will make of them is another matter, but somehow we doubt it’s the only time this season that Loughnane’s comments will be the subject of heated debate within the GAA community.