Hang on to your hats. There may be some fun times ahead.
It wouldn’t be right for Ireland to be at a major tournament without Eamon Dunphy going to war with the manager.
Euro ’88 is just about our only finals appearance where there was something approaching harmony between RTE’s most notable analyst and the coach of the national team.
On Wednesday evening in Cork, Martin O’Neill questioned Dunphy’s credentials for passing judgment on the Ireland team as he never made it to the top level. He described Dunphy as a ‘failed player’.
“He couldn't make the grade at Manchester United and he's been pontificating for years” https://t.co/0fyprgdaDB
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 2, 2016
As arguments go, this was pretty weak from O’Neill. The ‘show is your medals’ approach is as outdated as Giovanni Trapattoni’s tactics at Euro 2012.
Besides, there are plenty of other ways to take on Dunphy if you really want to.
Unsurprisingly, Eamo has now hit back, taking on O’Neill in a chat with Kieran Cunningham in The Star.
“Even if I’d never played football at any level, I’d be entitled to express an opinion on the game,” Dunphy says.
“Look at Arsene Wenger, Jurgen Klopp, Roy Hodgson or Jose Mourinho. None of those were top players. Does O’Neill think their opinions don’t count?
“This is football snobbery from Martin O’Neill.”
Dunphy goes on to point out the hypocrisy of O’Neill’s, given some of the members of his playing and coaching staff.
“This is silly, childish stuff. You would expect better from an international manager.
Look at the players O’Neill is bringing to France. Keiren Westwood, Cyrus Christie, Richard Keogh, Jeff Hendrick… none of these have played in the big leagues.
“Has O’Neill looked at his own coaching staff? Would he class Steve Walford as a ‘failed player’? Walford left Arsenal at a young age and he had a journeyman’s career after that. He was never capped.
“I have 23 caps from a time when there were far fewer international games. It’d be the equivalent of 50 caps these days.
Dunphy goes on to say that he thinks Ireland can get to the quarter-finals as long as O’Neill cuts out the “childish nonsense”.
