dead.
How many of those ex-footballing professionals now splattered all over our TVs, computers and radios confidently stated that this years League Cup final would be Chelsea versus Aston Villa?
With the news that Colin Murray has been dumped as the presenter of Match of the Day 2 from next season there’s been discussion on how the Beeb can revive the Sunday show and it’s Saturday night parent.
Well for one they can get a number of people to accompany Murray through the door marked exit.
To start with all those “experts” who lined up and confidently said both Swansea and Bradford City wouldn’t be in the League Cup final even though both teams entered the second leg of their ties with a 2 goal lead. The former playing at home the latter facing a club that look beatable no matter what league the opposition is in.
Can’t look beyond the obvious. The so called big clubs. Clichéd.
None of them are required. I mean does anyone really listen to what they are saying? I know for sometime now I haven’t watched either programme live, record it every week so as soon as the game is over and the managers have had their whinge I can hit that nice button on my PVR that jumps forward 2 minutes. Couple of dabs on that and I’m close to the next match.
Sometimes I will give them a listen when there’s been some controversial moment – still try and fast forward to the incident and certainly FF after they’ve finished on it. But as soon as I do I begin to regret not doing the 2 minute jump, as again their cliché ridden rubbish shows that the last people who should be talking about the rules of the game are those that played it.
You know what tired old drivel the likes of Hansen, Shearer et al are going to come out with. Then you have the likes of Keown and Bright popping up. Hard to imaging a less intelligent foursome and that’s before we’ve even encountered Robbie Savage but then if you want brains there’s the ubiquitous Pat Nevin – is there a channel, TV or radio, he doesn’t appear on north or south of the border? Ah yes Pat read books and listened to smart music when he played. Yes he did and he also showed that he thinks just like a footballer with his rant against the ballboy kicked by Eden Hazard in the cup semi-final. Stating that ballboys will have to go.
I wonder what his reaction would have been if it had been the other way around and the player hadn’t been from one of his former clubs. And that’s the other thing about most of the pundits. Biased. One eyed. Games are viewed through hell of a lot of red tinted specs by the far too many ex-Liverpool and Goon scum players.
Too many of those teams ex-players about and god did my heart sink when I read some journos stating who they thought should be brought in to revive the shows. Jamie Carragher. Dear god. Have some pity on the dogs of this country with that high pitched whine. And then have pity on us that can decipher the inane drivel that whine is about.
It’s funny that one of the things Murray was apparently sacked for was some of those ex-players didn’t like him having a go at the current lot. The likes of Hansen think you can only know about the game and players if you’ve played it. Though nobody can say less about the game or players than a current professional – Michael Owen. Thing is it was about the only thing Murray got right. Rest of the time he seems more interested in the trivial. Much like his stint as one of the worst presenters fostered on Mike Carlson during Channel Five’s NFL coverage, games came second to emails about sleeping bags.
That’s why I’d say Murray is fitted to 5Live’s “Fighting Talk” on the rest it just feels fake. Is it true he said in an interview he didn’t like cycling. Cycling is now popular and he now presents 5Live’s cycling show.
I wonder what the viewing figures would be like if they binned the lot. Presenters, pundits, commentators. Just showed the game with the natural sound.
One thing it would do would be reduce the amount football costs the BBC – what’s Hansen and Lineker’s salary for a few weekends a years work again? Well the former was on about £40k per programme and the latter is supposedly having his reduced by half a million a year.