Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane

[osarusan]

O'Donoghue's line of questioning and method of asking totally fair IMO.

I don't think he is 'totally' fair, there are times I think he goes too far, and deserves criticism for that.

A lot of it comes down to whether somebody thinks a question is reasonable or not, and the opinion on O'Neill's response to a question will depend on whether somebody thinks it was a fair question in the first place. Disagreement over whether a question is reasonable or not is inevitable, I suppose.

If TOD does something that I think is unfair or unreasonable, I'll willingly admit that. That's TOD's fault, simple as that. No excuse for it.

But if people are agreeing that on the occasions that TOD's questions are reasonable, and MON's response was wrong, then I think that's MON's fault, simple as that. I don't think that there is any logic to attempts to justify or excuse MON's response on such occasions by referencing previous interviews, other journalists, interviews of previous managers etc.

I think at this stage MON goes into each interview incredibly guarded and wary, expecting a hand grenade in every question, and interpreting them in the worst light, and the interviews end up being horrible. I think the whole 'hard luck' episode is an example of that.

[pineapple stu]

Think it's worth adding that 99% of post-match interviews are utterly pointless. Managers and players are, by and large, too well trained in saying bland nothings.

[jbyrne]

100% agreed. My biggest criticism of TOD is that the questions he asked are of very little interest to me. The Stoke story has been done to death, as has the Denmark game and the contract saga. It's all yesterdays news now.

He had the opportunity of an interview with O'Neill. Given what we are hearing about O'Neill bringing in younger players for the upcoming squads the big question I wanted asked was who are the new players he is looking at? Can't for the life of me work out why that wasn't asked.

its not on rtes agenda unless its a controversial potential player ala jack grealish.

spot on post by the way. sums up my feelings too.

edit: and to illustrate my point:
https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2018...england-radar/

[DeLorean]

I can't see MON agreeing to keep the peace because as far as he is concerned RTÉ are a bunch of w@nkers who are out to spread negativity and make an Irish football manager's life as unpleasant as possible, regardless of the job they are doing. He'll continue to treat TOD with disdain because he doesn't have any respect for him or the level of footballing intelligence on RTÉ generally. He feels he's above being interrogated by somebody who he sees as not only clueless, but also deliberately disruptive.

I think it's hard enough to fault MON for feeling this way, given RTÉ's history, but I also think he needs to play the game a little smarter. For an intelligent, articulate man he's coming across flustered and out of control. He's turning a lot of people against him at a time that he (and the team) need support more than ever. Maybe try killing Tony with artificial kindness for a while or something.

[Fizzer]

Yeah that's exactly the point Del, Tony is a pain in the hole, of course he is, but the worrying thing is how badly O'Neill has handled him. He should be batted away like a wasp. Instead O'Neill has clearly been going around stewing over some perceived dig Tony had at him pre-interview, months ago, practising what to say, then making a hames of it not unlike Lloyd in Dumb and Dumber. He just looks weak and nutty and he's made a show of himself. Passive-agressive 'what did I say'?? Tony is loving it, because it's making news and it's so flippin easy, push button A to get reaction B. If I were an opposition manager, I'd be looking to exploit that weakness.

[geysir]

When interviewing O'Neill, regardless of who and where, post match, Abbotstown, anywhere, just don't mention the "luck" word.

[seanfhear]

If I remember right, the seeds for the Noel King vs TOD thing were sown post Germany match a few days before that when TOD asked him about playing Stokes (and someone else on the wing who was out of position) and King corrected him, firmly but relatively beningly.

Then Dunphy completely hatcheted King in the post-match analysis over his line-up, the shape, not playing Wes and Andy Reid and it came back around again.

It's not entirely fair to say TOD is looking to agitate managers but it's not unfair to say his questions tend to parrot whatever controversial line comes out of the panel's (or, possibly more accurately, Dunphy's) mouth...

There's a balance to be found and, god knows we could use some actual answers from MON, but TOD has leaned far too far into becoming an avuncular heckler, a seemingly innocuous dealer of toxic passive aggressiveness. Which has led to him becoming essentially worthless as an actual interviewer imo.

Regardless, O'Neill's effort during the week was really, really poor. There's better ways to deal with this.

Does Dunphy need a mouth piece ?....Dunphy has enough mouth and neck not to need any apparatchiks ...........

[The Fly]

Just get Roy to do the interviews with O'Donoghue from time to time. Problem solved.

[tetsujin1979]

interesting

[backstothewall]

It appeared to me that Tony O'Donoghue and Martin O'Neill shook hands after the pre-match interview there.

Hopefully peace has broken out!

[Kingdom]

Now that dinny o brien has stopped paying the wages the fai will need to watch the pennies. They could well do that by not renewing spoofed contracts with the national team. That way they could invest even further underage.

I cannot see where or why they should pay 2m a year to that management set up.

[OwlsFan]

I see MON has a regular column in the Daily Telegraph for the duration of the WC. In today's column he says we were "pipped at the post" by Denmark. Think there was more than a head in it there Martin. He also says it is so infrequent and special that the players have to make a sacrifice or will regret it for the rest of their career. I wonder does his Assistant regret 2002 "on mature reflection", as the late Brian Lenihan might have put it. Probably not but as a pundit I don't actually mind him.

[nigel-harps1954]

I see MON has a regular column in the Daily Telegraph for the duration of the WC. In today's column he says we were "pipped at the post" by Denmark. Think there was more than a head in it there Martin. He also says it is so infrequent and special that the players have to make a sacrifice or will regret it for the rest of their career. I wonder does his Assistant regret 2002 "on mature reflection", as the late Brian Lenihan might have put it. Probably not but as a pundit I don't actually mind him.

There was a Roy Keane/Patrick Viera show on Sky Sports recently where Keane was asked about this and he said he did have regrets, he'd loved to have played in the World Cup, but that the decision was made and no turning back on it, or something to that effect.

[DeLorean]

That's pretty much bang on Nigel - https://youtu.be/FGAQhCAMV1k?t=29m25s

Interviewer: "If you could do one thing again, what would it be?"

RK: "Play in the World Cup".

[OwlsFan]

Such a shame. When you think how close we came to the quarter-finals in Korea/Japan. At work we all tip toe around difficult people and if I was Mick that's probably what I would have done for the greater good. Easier said than done I know. Ah well, 16 years on we're still left with what might have been as indeed are the two protagonists.

Nothing from MON in the Daily T today but Jamie Carragher has a column. Imagine the DT employing England's best known expectorator.

[backstothewall]

I see MON has a regular column in the Daily Telegraph for the duration of the WC. In today's column he says we were "pipped at the post" by Denmark. Think there was more than a head in it there Martin. He also says it is so infrequent and special that the players have to make a sacrifice or will regret it for the rest of their career. I wonder does his Assistant regret 2002 "on mature reflection", as the late Brian Lenihan might have put it. Probably not but as a pundit I don't actually mind him.

Is he that badly wrong? The record books show we took a sound beating from Denmark but it might have been different. Obviously we'll never know but the biggest 'what if' of the O'Neill era must be what if McClean had put us 2-0 up in that game.

I can only imagine that question will be with James as long as he lives.

[jbyrne]

Is he that badly wrong? The record books show we took a sound beating from Denmark but it might have been different. Obviously we'll never know but the biggest 'what if' of the O'Neill era must be what if McClean had put us 2-0 up in that game.

I can only imagine that question will be with James as long as he lives.

and murphy grazed the post at 1-0

[backstothewall]

My thoughts in the stand watching Mcclean bear down on goal were that if he scores Denmark are dead and buried.

It's hard to draw a direct line from there to Peru v Ireland in Saransk at the weekend, but it would have been a very long way back for Denmark against an Ireland team that would have put 10 men behind the ball and repeated the dose from Copenhagen.

[tetsujin1979]

'I've won top club prizes but disappointment stays with you for much longer' - Martin O'Neill on World Cup regrets

Martin O’Neill has had success with Nottingham Forest, Celtic and Ireland but the pain of defeat never leaves him, writes Daniel McDonnell

[DeLorean]

MON has some harsh words for McGeady & Gibson, as well as offering updates on Callum Robinson, Robbie Brady & James McCarthy - https://www.independent.ie/sport/soc...-37224744.html