It didn't take long for the s-h-1-t to hit the fan on RTÉ's coverage of tonight's World Cup qualifier with Georgia.
Martin O'Neill's dropping of John O'Shea, non-inclusion of Wes Hoolahan and, in particular, decision to start a James McCarthy who presumably lacks match fitness, drew the immediate ire of Eamon Dunphy, who went off on a barn-burning rant live on air, suggesting that it was if the names on the Ireland team sheet had been picked out of a hat.
O'Neill went through his usual pre-match ritual of explaining his decisions to Tony O'Donoghue in a firm manner, before O'Donoghue threw back to the studio.
Dunphy went on to describe O'Neill's lineup as "quirky", "off the charts mad", "provocative", and "a sin", before claiming that even if Ireland were to win 5-0 tonight, 'it wouldn't make the team right'.
He elaborated with the following metaphor, as astutely picked up by Larry Ryan's prolific DangerHere Twitter account:
Dunphy: "If you were on the 5th floor of a hotel and you wanted to go outside to get a taxi, why would you crawl down the drainpipe?"
— dangerhere.com (@dangerhere) October 6, 2016
Time will tell as to how McCarthy and co. perform tonight, but if Ireland are ropey at half-time, then do what you can to get to a tv.
See Also: The Rancorous History Of Eamon Dunphy v The Irish Football Manager
