On Monday night, the FAI released an independent review of the League of Ireland.
John Delaney has called it 'the most comprehensive review of the league to date'.
Speaking on 2FM's Game On, Eamon Dunphy was critical of the report labelling it 'bullshit' and 'spin' along with questioning why several knowledgeable people with an interest in the game - such as himself, John Giles and Liam Brady - were not interviewed for the report.
I watch League of Ireland when it's on Network Two. I watched the Dundalk game against Bate in the Champions League qualifier and I saw the pitch.
The match should not have been played and the home team [Dundalk] should have been disqualified from the competition. It was a disgrace. It was gray, bumpy and Bate who qualified for the group stages have every right to complain as do the Dundalk players.
You try and market that around the world like Niall Quinn wanted to do. That's the image of a league that doesn't give a damn.
This is the elephant in the room. They've interviewed 190 people and they haven't interviewed some of the smartest people in Irish football. I don't know anyone [who was interviewed]. Are you tell me that they didn't interview John Giles and Liam Brady?
I'm 70 and I've spent 65 years either watching League of Ireland or playing it for a couple of seasons. Wanting it to do well. Seeing its golden age. And I'm not someone who made them think 'maybe ask him'.
I spent 17 years playing in England playing for clubs like Manchester United and Millwall. I've written five best-selling books. And they couldn't interview me.
This is spin. This is bullshit. The spin is that this is a new report and it might produce something.
If they want to talk about the League of Ireland and the game in this country then they should talk to people who've made a commitment to football in this country throughout their lives.
The Niall Quinn idea to which Dunphy refers is one which he outlined, also on Game On, two months ago.
Quinn believes there could be a revenue stream for the League of Ireland in selling broadcast rights for Irish football to emerging nations.
Picture credit: Cody Glenn / SPORTSFILE
