Never mind Rod Liddle, his rant about Terry Venables or his argument with Graeme Souness, this was Dunphy at his absolute best.
Since Eamon Dunphy announced his exit from RTE on Wednesday, some have rejoiced at his departure and a few have even expressed sadness that the veteran pundit will no longer be on our screens. Mostly though, there has just been a lot of reminiscing about Dunphy’s stint on the station, which stretches back all the way to the 1978 World Cup.
Dunphy’s style, particularly in his later years on RTE’s football coverage, wasn’t to everyone’s tastes, but there’s no doubting that he had a unique take on the game.
"Gerrard, right, found out tonight, nothing player"
Here are 70 seconds of Eamon Dunphy at his best 😅 pic.twitter.com/hG4JEMifxi
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) July 25, 2018
Yes, he was inconsistent, he made big calls and sweeping statements, before soon backtracking, and his judgement, particularly in the past few years, was open to question. Eamon backed England to beat Croatia in the World Cup semi-final because of their superior “character.” Yes, he thought a team containing Jesse Lingard – who refers to himself as “JLingz” – had more “character” than players who grew up in a war zone.
Dunphy got it wrong, but does that really matter? Most pundits get it wrong, but none are as memorable as Dunphy when they do. It wasn’t his job to be right.
Dunphy and the RTE panel were brilliant television.
Football punditry peaked at this moment 😂 pic.twitter.com/PhNfKLEn5R
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) July 25, 2018
At their best, the RTE panel of Dunphy, John Giles, Liam Brady and the late Bill O’Herlihy were football broadcasting as it’s best. Giles was educating football fans for 25-years on Irish television before Gary Neville began to do the same in Britain with his analysis on Sky Sports.
Giles was the authority on the panel, an articulate, clear-thinker with a deep knowledge of the game. Brady was the contrarian, Dunphy tended to go with his gut, and Bill knew how to get a reaction out of all of them. It was never boring.
The 72-year-old has said that Giles’ exit from RTE two years ago, when he was “pushed out” of the station, was one of the main reasons he decided to walk away from the broadcasters.
Dunphy’s words after Giles’ final appearance on RTE, after the Euro 2016 final, should be remembered as his best moment on the station, at least in recent years.
There were no soundbites, just Dunphy speaking articulately and passionately about his life-long friend and one of Ireland’s greatest-ever footballers.
You can watch the clip here:
“There will be no past tense here,” Dunphy began.
“Because John’s career has been, is brilliant. His greatness is due to his foresight and his wisdom, which Jim (Beglin) referred to there at the end of the game. He had the wisdom to leave Manchester United, when they were a top club in England, to go to Leeds United, who were in the second division, in the Championship, to believe in Don Revie, who was building a great team – which John partly led and largely led. Intellectually, he knew, that was the time.
“Don Revie wanted him to succeed him at Leeds United as the manager. Bill Nicholson wanted him to succeed him at Tottenham as the coach. He went on to manage West Brom, won promotion, finished fifth in what is now the Premier League. The hottest young manager in England and he walked away from the game because he didn’t like the way it was run – responsibility without power.
“He managed the Irish team, changed the culture over seven years. He gave Liam (Brady), Mark Lawrenson all of these great players their debuts. He changed it (the Irish team) forever. He came home to try to create a great club with Shamrock Rovers. Brave, courageous, foresight – they have always been his hallmark.
“And in the 30-years he sat in that chair, if any of these kids out there are wondering, ‘who is that guy?’ – that guy is the greatest football man we’ve ever had and there’s nearly ever been in these islands. He’s going to go on. I’ll be tuning in, I’ll be buying The Herald (where Giles has a weekly column). He’s a great friend of all of us, a joy to work with. And a great, great figure in the history of Irish sport, soccer’s man.”
You can watch the full version here:
Dunphy and Giles know each other since childhood. Like Giles, Dunphy was an apprentice with Manchester United. But unlike his friend, Dunphy never made the breakthrough at Old Trafford and spent most of his career with Millwall in the second division. Giles was a world-class midfielder for Leeds United.
They worked together on RTE for 30 years and Dunphy’s respect for him shines through in the clip. He spoke with great dignity, passion and knowledge.
He wasn’t to everyone’s tastes, but Dunphy appeared to have a genuine love for football and his admiration for Giles was evident. We’re unlikely to see a moment of television like it again on RTE’s football coverage.
