WITH BILL O’HERLIHY and John Giles having both just released books, what better time to revisit some of the RTE panel’s most memorable TV moments?
While their colleagues, Eamon Dunphy and Liam Brady, are often at the centre of some of the more controversial debates, most people would surely agree that the panel just wouldn’t be the same without Billo and his beloved senior analyst.
With that in mind, here are some of the panel’s most memorable moments (with added Graeme Souness).
1. ‘You’ve jumped over the fence baby.’
Liam Brady and Eamon Dunphy had one of their frequent disagreements after Liverpool beat Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-final in 2008. Brady took issue with RTE’s portrayal of Wenger, and a vigorous debate ensued.
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2. ‘Anyone who’s pushing Terry Venables has not got the best interests of Irish football in mind.’
While John Giles and Graeme Souness were less harsh, Eamon Dunphy was determined that Terry Venables would not be getting the Ireland job following Steve Staunton’s inevitable sacking.
YouTube credit: rooney2cantona
3. ‘This fella, Ronaldo, is a cod.’
The criticisms of Cristiano Ronaldo by Eamon Dunphy, and to a lesser extent, the rest of the panel, have gained a considerable degree of notoriety over the years and this highly charged clip illustrates why. Note also the hilarious-in-hindsight praise of Tiger Woods’ supposedly immaculate behaviour in comparison to the Portuguese star.
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4. ‘He’s the guy who ran away and left his wife for a young one.’
Eamon Dunphy has launched several impassioned defences of Roy Keane, but the video below represents the most notorious example.
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5. ‘That famous appearance on Saturday Night With Miriam.’
Giles and Dunphy ended up singing. I don’t think we need to elaborate any further to explain the awesomeness of this moment.
YouTube credit: RonaldoGOTM
6. ‘Germany can hammer any team.’
The panel’s most recent performance was one of their best, as Brady and Dunphy traded cogent points, as they respectively argued for and against Trapattoni’s record as Ireland boss.
YouTube credit: rte
7. ‘That’s below the belt’
When Billo suggested Trapattoni’s style of football wasn’t exactly attracting spectators to watch the Ireland team play, Brady was outraged, and not for the first or last time, the beleaguered presenter was shot down by his colleagues.
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8. ‘There is no model anywhere in the world for appointing Steve Staunton’
The day after Staunton’s reign ended, the downhearted panel assessed the ramifications for the Irish team, with their bleak outlook epitomising the depressed state Irish football was in at the time.
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9. ‘When McShane came on, we all said: ‘there’s an accident waiting to happen’.
The Ireland-France away playoff leg was interpreted by the panel as evidence that Trap’s side are capable of playing positive, expansive football under the Italian. The debate is particularly interesting looking back now, in light of all the events which have happened since.
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10. ‘There’s been a serious and evident decline in the performances his players have given.’
The panel haven’t always been kind to managers of the national team, and Brian Kerr was subject to particularly harsh treatment, as the video below attests.
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11. ‘I can’t believe that Capello would play a long ball game with Heskey up front.’
The panel are often at their most entertaining when discussing a typically diabolical performance by England at a major tournament. The video below is a case in point.
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12. ‘Gerrard [was] found out tonight. A nothing player!’
In one of the most famously critical assessments of a team that the three wise men have ever given, the panel had few kind words to say about Liverpool, despite the Merseyside club achieving the laudable feat of triumphing at the expense of Barcelona.
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