“He was strolling around the place as if he hadn’t a care in the world.”
Eamon Dunphy has said that Callum Robinson is the ‘most overhyped’ Republic of Ireland player he has seen ‘in a long time’.
The veteran football pundit was critical of Robinson after Ireland’s disappointing 1-0 defeat to Armenia on Saturday.
Stephen Kenny’s side lost 1-0 in Yerevan to the team ranked 92nd in the world. Ireland were sluggish and sloppy and never looked like beating their opponents.
Eamon Dunphy: Callum Robinson is Ireland’s most ‘overhyped’ player.
Robinson started the game and has been a regular under Kenny. He was in excellent form at the end of 2021 when he scored five goals in two games for Ireland – against Azerbaijan and Qatar respectively.
Dunphy, however, has called for Kenny to drop the West Bromwich Albion forward for the match against Ukraine on Wednesday at the Aviva Stadium. The former RTÉ pundit believes that Robinson is ‘overhyped.’
“To me, he is the most overhyped Ireland player in a long time,” Dunphy wrote about Robinson in his column for The Irish Daily Star.
“And the reason why he has been built into something he isn’t is an extraordinary run he had last year. In two games in October, he scored five times and, a month later, he scored again – away to Luxembourg.
“Six goals in nine internationals in a calendar year is a brilliant return – but it gave us a false picture of Robinson’s standing. In his other 21 games, he has scored just once.”
Dunphy criticises ‘blunt instrument’ Robinson.
Dunphy also examined Robinson’s club record and came to the conclusion that the 27-year-old is ‘a blunt instrument’.
“At club level, Robinson is usually a blunt instrument,” the former Ireland midfielder wrote.
“He has played 180 games at club level over the past five seasons, scoring 39 times. Given the fact that most of those games were at Championship level, that’s a poor return.
“When you take a narrower focus, the picture looks even worse. Robinson has played 109 club games in the last three seasons, with just 19 goals. That’s not good at all.”
Finally, Dunphy was critical of Robinson’s performance against Armenia and said that Kenny must make changes for Wednesday’s game, starting with the omission of the team’s number seven.
“What irritated me about Robinson on Saturday – and not for the first time – was his attitude,” Dunphy wrote.
“He was strolling around the place as if he hadn’t a care in the world. This was a game that Ireland really had targeted to win. Where was the urgency and bite from Robinson?
“He can’t live off a hat-trick against Qatar any more. He has to go out and do it – and in game after game.
“Kenny needs to change things up for Wednesday’s home game with Ukraine. Dropping Robinson is a call he has to make.”
Ireland’s Uefa Nations League campaign.
Ireland’s Uefa Nations League campaign continues on Wednesday night against Ukraine, who are the top seeds in the group.
Kenny’s side then face Scotland in Dublin on Saturday before wrapping up the international window against Ukraine next week with a match in Poland.
Ireland have yet to win a game in the Nations League after 11 attempts.
