TV VIEW:THE COMPOSITION of the majority of teams suggested a lack of innovation, the novel having been sacrificed on the altar of familiarity. The conservative formations guaranteed a certain style, one to which viewers have become accustomed and thereby predetermining which buttons on the remote control they'll favour over the next month of the European Soccer Championships.

RTÉ elected to go with their strongest line-up on the opening day of the championships, selecting John Giles and Eamon Dunphy either side of Liam Brady. But it was the man playing the anchor role, Bill O'Herlihy, who once again offered the most polished assurance.

No one plays the devil's advocate with greater panache than O'Herlihy as he asks the questions most observers would like to see teased out by the panel. For good measure, he refuses to let his studio analysts away with sweeping generalisations, inviting them to endorse opinions by invoking specifics.

A classic illustration of his tenacity was when he broached the subject of Ronaldo with Dunphy. The latter has launched a tirade or 20 in the past against the Portugal and Manchester United star, rubbishing his footballing ability and questioning his influence in the bigger matches. It's a stance that is increasingly difficult to maintain without the risk of looking like a complete charlatan.

It's not the first time Dunphy has directed this type of sustained criticism at one of football's "fancy dans", but despite having often made the wrong call, he's tenacious in his views.

In mitigation, he did admit the boy Ronaldo had forced him to revise his opinion (slightly). But having displayed a scintilla of grace Dunphy then reverted to type and ridiculed any claims the Portuguese winger could be considered the best player in the current world game.

Dunphy spoke about Ronaldo's failure to dominate in the Champions League in the way Kaka (AC Milan) or Ronaldinho (Barcelona) had done in recent years. O'Herlihy pointed out Ronaldo had scored in this season's final, but that was not good enough for Dunphy, who in debating terms moved the goalposts and looked like he would take the ball home if the issue were pursued.

This column could not bear to have the match between Portugal and Turkey punctuated by Dunphy's pontifications, so - having earlier caught a glimpse of the BBC's treatment of the opening match of the tournament between Switzerland and the Czech Republic, coverage dominated by supercilious grins, dog-eared one-liners (Martin O'Neill an honourable exception) and a relentless chumminess that could make one queasy - we switched to ITV.

The most striking aspect of ITV's opening salvo in the championships was the introduction, which looked like something Leonardo da Vinci might have come up with had he been a graphic designer with access to computer software.

It never ceases to amaze why, when it come to soccer tournaments, broadcasters invest so much time and money in graphics and music, which to all intents and purposes are irrelevant peripherals. Who is going to decide to watch a certain station based on a theme tune?

Andy Townsend is a respected former Republic of Ireland captain and midfielder of note, but unfortunately as a studio analyst he is a talking book of clichés. In the space of one 24-second sound-bite he managed to cram in "doing the business", "giving it a go" and "having a crack". A great deal of trudging through the weeds is required to pick up a single verbal blossom.

In contrast, Gary Neville, complete with adolescent facial hair, offered concise, articulate thoughts on the Portugal match and genuine insights into some of game's best players.

ITV also benefit from pairing in the commentary booth the excitable Clive Tyldesley and the schoolmasterish David Pleat.

Pleat is an excellent analyst, sharp and thoughtful, able to discern and interpret patterns and possessing a good knowledge of individual players.

He's also prone to the odd moment of whimsy. At one point he wondered, "Has (big Phil) Scolari lost a little weight?" before going on to inform the viewer he (Pleat) had seen the highly impressive-English born Turk Colin Kazim-Richards play for Brighton in a league game, recalling the player "didn't get a kick".

Craig Doyle's decision to switch from Auntie Beeb to ITV would not have been based on the perk of watching the opening game of the European Championships from the Estrella Bar on London's Lambeth Road. It's a Portuguese joint and the premise was to show red-and-green-clad fans jumping up and down and getting a few English speakers to articulate their delight.

Such gimmicks are normally a lazy attempts to provide a "left field" view of the event and seldom offer much more than shouted inanities.

Still it could not take from what was a hugely enjoyable match in which Portugal and Turkey demonstrated the quality of technique and innate flair that occasionally make soccer (insert cliché) "the beautiful game".