Aw man, I wasn't even thinking EMC compliance.. just stability.
Ever feel like the learning curve of electronics is kinda like climbing a mountain, just to find out that, when you reach the top, you're actually just standing on a plateau that was obscuring the
real mountain behind it?

PS: Those LAN8720 app notes are fantastic. I'm using a similar Micrel part on a design I'm working on now, and should probably go back and make some of the suggested changes recommended in the SMSC docs. Awesome, thanks for name-dropping that one.