Things are deteriorating rapidly in Galway hurling. After suffering a second All-Ireland defeat in three years, leaving them starved of All-Ireland success for 27 years; it appears frustration is clearly brewing. The ongoing crisis is about to enter its third week of confrontation.
Conflicting rumours are floating about regarding player dissatisfaction and the allegations that the team want Anthony Cunningham to depart his post seems to be the most prominent one. Yesterday, another chapter was added to the hostilities; when we discovered that Andy Smith, David Burke, Joe Canning and captain David Collins were the elected few who conveyed the vote of no confidence to Anthony Cunningham prior to his re-appointment.
Further to this, we also learned that Cunningham offered to resign prior to the county board meeting where he was ratified for a fifth successive season.
But now it appears we have more news to digest on this matter. According to at least two internal sources, the players requested changes to be made for the 2016 season rather than for Cunningham to step down. Here is the most recent update on the matter. According to RTE radio this morning:
There was a fresh twist yesterday. Anthony Cunningham it appears, had offered his resignation when he was first approached by a delegation of players prior to his reappointment. It was subsequently claimed that four players informed him that the squad had lost faith in the management. These reports are now being strongly denied by a senior source in the camp.
It's difficult to know what to believe at this point. One thing is for sure though, the situation is not looking good for inter-county hurling in Galway. Crisis talks are currently suspended to facilitate club games this weekend.
