In the aftermath of Ireland’s 1-0 defeat to Armenia, Eamon Dunphy was scathing in his criticism of Callum Robinson, calling the 27-year-old ‘overhyped’ and comparing him to a ‘blunt instrument’ in his Buzz column.

The ex-Irish footballer, journalist and broadcaster believes Robinson has flattered to deceive for club and country and isn’t displaying the right attitude on the pitch.

Dunphy even called on Ireland manager Stephen Kenny to drop Robinson and brought up his goal record in the Championship to highlight his profligacy. But is the criticism fair?

Robinson was West Brom’s second-highest goalscorer this season (7) and top assist-maker (9), so he’s outperformed all but one player in the squad. The 27-year-old is second for chances created (one every 64 mins) too, so he’s also been one of the Baggies’ best playmakers.

For Ireland, Robinson has scored six goals in his last eight internationals but has fired blanks for the fourth consecutive outing. And prior to his goal flurry in 2021, the versatile forward only had one goal from his first 20 games.

Dunphy’s criticism of Robinson makes more sense for Ireland than West Brom, but he’s ignoring that the national team have scored one or less goals in four of their last six games. That’s what Robinson has to work with.

The 27-year-old is an important player to Bruce, contributing a goal every 2.7 games in the Championship, so he’s well worth keeping.

In other news, Ally Robertson tells West Brom to sign competition for Darnell Furlong and Conor Townsend