In an age where football punditry is becoming an increasingly large focus for television broadcasters, it's fair to say that the offering currently put forward by RTÉ is not as entertaining as it was in years gone by.
While Eamon Dunphy, Liam Brady, and John Giles had their critics during their time on our TV screens, there is no doubt that they were capable of entertaining the masses.
Dunphy, in particular, had the ability to produce memorable one-liners that have since become part of the public consciousnesses. That more than made up for what were some clear gaps in his ability to produce in-depth analysis.
That trio, along with legendary presenter Bill O'Herlihy, certainly was the peak of Irish football punditry.
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Eamon Dunphy calls out RTÉ over their football punditry
It is now over half a decade since Eamon Dunphy left his role with RTÉ. John Giles had left a couple of years prior to that, as had Bill O'Herlihy before his passing in 2015.
Liam Brady would soldier on for another few years, but the chemistry was never quite the same in the studio. In fact, Dunphy said that the broadcaster's move towards a less entertaining product was the reason he decided to step aside in 2018.
Speaking to the Irish Independent and journalist Niamh Horan, the Dublin said that it was clear to him that some figures in RTÉ were glad to see the back of him. He would also question the station's current punditry lineup.
ED: I could see the trend towards blandness. Bill O’Herlihy left and died. John Giles got the boot and I could see the future and it was bland and I wasn’t going to sit there through all of that and they knew it. They didn’t like me.
NH: Why not?
ED: Because they couldn’t predict what I was going to do or say. They like the predictable, because it’s safe — and it makes their life easier if they haven’t got a firebrand in the studio...
Authenticity is key for a journalist and an analyst. They call them pundits. But that’s not a word I like. You wouldn’t call a theatre critic a theatre pundit. It’s snobbery, it’s dismissive.
There’s a new gang in RTÉ and they’re pretty mediocre. They think you can make safe programmes for nice people with nice people. I started a podcast in 2016 because I knew what was coming.
It's fair to say that he isn't impressed with RTÉ's current approach.
Eamon Dunphy was always one to speak his mind, something that has not changed since he left the broadcaster.
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