In the aftermath of Wexford's All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Waterford on Sunday, much has been made about the personal back-and-forth between Davy Fitzgerald and Michael Duignan.
After The Sunday Game analyst suggested that he wanted to see more from the Wexford players, but felt that they were being limited by the tactics deployed, Davy gave an angry response claiming that Duignan and Shefflin were way off the mark and suggested it was down to the lack of managerial experience between the pair.
Duginan gave his view in his regular column on Monday, which prompted Davy to speak to Off The Ball to clear a few things up, and stress that it was nothing personal, but he felt that Wexford were not being cut any slack.
Speaking to the media again on Tuesday at the M.Donelly Poc Fada Finals Launch [via The42.ie], Fitgerald once again stated that he knows he is not always in the right, but remains upset at some of the things he is seeing on The Sunday Game, which he has informed the RTÉ of, and he even went as far as to say that he wishes for analysis similar to what Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher provide on Sky Sports for MNF.
I said it to someone high in RTE recently. I said, ‘Will ye look at the whole thing of how we present it?’ Do we want fellas on to just be controversial and cutting lads? I personally now and I know there are a lot like me who would turn down the television because they want to learn about it. Then you have a certain amount of people who want to hear the controversy, that’s fine.
I want to learn. I want to know more stuff. I want to see what actually happened there. I look over DVDs and I’m seeing stuff. Like, Micheál O’Donoghue did stuff in the Leinster final that was top notch. Top notch to go against what I did.
Not one person analysed it on the Sunday Game. I know what it was. And it was fecking smart what he did in one particular thing.
I love that (Monday Night Football). Gary Neville and them aren’t cutting lads. I love watching them because they’re giving me information and I love information and seeing what’s going on and what’s different.
Why do we want to cut? There are certain pundits and I will not read them. If I hear them say something I know they’re only doing it to make headlines. I’ve no interest in that. I want the genuine stuff.
In fairness, Neville and Carragher often cut lads when they need to, Carragher pointing out that the play of Lamine Kone was likely to get Sunderland relegated at the start of last season springs to mind.
But he does have a point to make regarding the breakdown of the play. It's his belief that the viewers at home should be offered more in terms of tactical breakdowns, something that the MNF team are widely praised for, then taking on players who have underperformed.
Whether or not his views have any impact on how The Sunday Game operates from now on remains to be seen.
