In the early days of the Charlton era, Martin O'Neill and Eamon Dunphy regularly sat in the same studio passing comment on the team's performance.
They're on the other side of the fence now, and possibly for the first time ever, the Irish manager spends more time dishing out abuse to Eamon Dunphy than the other way around.
The Last Word with Matt Cooper held an event in Cork Opera House last night, which will be broadcast on the show this evening.
Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane were there. As he does every couple of months at this stage, he took a swipe at Eamon Dunphy. He may well have misquoted him in the process, although there are conflicting accounts on this.
It doesn't bother me in the slightest... seriously. To be criticised by a failed manager is bad enough but to be criticised by a failed player like Eamon Dunphy...
I have to laugh at this, I heard Eamon once said, and I can't do the Dublin accent, 'I was a good player, not a great player...' No Eamon, you weren't even a good player.
You can't call yourself a good player if you've never played in the big league. He couldn't make the grade at Manchester United and he's been pontificating for years.
It's Martin's own lookout if he wants to talk down Millwall Football Club or an FAI Cup win with Shamrock Rovers or, indeed, 23 caps for Ireland.
One might be inclined to wonder if there are members of Martin's current squad reflecting on his belief that the second tier of English football is a home for losers and bad players. Richie Sadlier's general line on these things is that players tend not to give a toss.
Unlike Aiden McGeady, Eamon Dunphy was a consistent starter in a second tier team that was a whisker away from promotion (in 1970-71, since you asked).
But the big question is 'did Eamon Dunphy ever call himself a good player but not a great player?' Wikipedia certainly claims he did but the only source is a broken link.
We had always believed that this was a comment Eamon made about Michel Platini at Euro 84 and not about himself.
It's beyond dispute that this barb was directed at Platini. The only question is whether he also uttered this phrase about himself.
We are open to correction on this. Hopefully more evidence will come to light.
