[U-Boot-Users] lib_arm/board.c calls eth_init() for smc91111...why?

I noticed when my board booted with the latest CVS there was an unusually long delay (3-4 seconds) before the prompt came up. I initially thought it had hung. Turns out a call to 'eth_init()' was recently added in 'lib_arm/board.c'. Since 'eth_init()' is called from 'Net_Loop()' why do we need the call in board.c? It adds quite a large delay to the bootup time that I think is unnecessary.