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Football

04th May 2016

VIDEO: Eamon Dunphy’s damning critique of Manchester City isn’t something an English audience might be used to

No holds barred

Conan Doherty

“A team without courage. A collection of chancers.”

British residents, meet Eamon Dunphy.

He’s not your average, polished BBC pundit. He’s not there for a quick pay cheque. He’s not there to fill dead air between the main show that is football. In his mind, he is the show.

When he’s not happy with something, he’ll say it. He’ll push the boundaries, he’ll take a warning and he’ll say it again.

Eamon Dunphy is a man who once called Cristiano Ronaldo a “con”. He made a mistake, he admitted it, but if he’s angry after a game of football, he’ll say how he feels – knee jerk or not. He’ll risk making a mistake again.

Manchester City were the focus of his scorn on Wednesday night. Manuel Pellegrini’s men limped out of the Champions League with a whimper during a 1-0 defeat to Real Madrid but it was the manner in which they seemingly refused to even try anything that frustrated the viewers.

Faced with elimination, City offered nothing. They took no risks, they didn’t open up, they looked to have just accepted their fate from the moment Gareth Bale’s deflected cross hit the top corner.

And Eamon Dunphy wasn’t impressed.

Aguero, De Bruyne, Sterling and Yaya Toure were all in his firing line on RTÉ 2. He didn’t hold back. He never does.