Day 16: Martin, Martin, Burning Bright
Is there a pundit (anywhere) who bristles with more edgy intensity than Norn Iron’s own Martin O’Neill? While Eamon Dunphy does walk the "I tells it like it is" walk, you always feel that the reactionary streak is something of an affectation (plus he doesn’t know what he’s talking about much of the time). O’Neill, on the other hand, is the real deal: knowledgeable, honest, and bloody terrifying…
Will Buckley’s piece in today’s Guardian captures the bould Martin perfectly, and hilariously:
O'Neill's credentials were underlined in the build-up to TOG v FRA after a disbelieving Gary Lineker asked Alan Shearer if there was any truth in the rumours that he would be the next England coach. After Shearer had filibustered – 'I've had a phone call off Steve McClaren two or three weeks ago asking if I'd have a conversation after the World Cup' – it was left to O'Neill to provide the punchline: 'Your name cropped up at the interview I did for England. I said no.' The others in the studio laughed, but rather uncomfortably as it dawned on them that O'Neill wasn't joking.
Delightful.
June 25, 2006
