Wow, fantastic article. It's exactly how I feel watching TNT and Sky. All clickbait.
I would love nothing more than an atmosphere only option when viewing the game.
Just the background natural noise, no "Fletch" building narratives, no co-comms being biased or bending over backwards to appear unbiased (Carragher) , just the football.
Excellent article- one that resonates with a lot of fans who want genuinely meaningful content. I recently watched a podcast from The Ripple Effect with former footballer Nedum Onuoua as guest. He was refreshingly articulate, insightful and intelligent. Whilst watching, I couldn’t help but think why he wasn’t on our TV screens more. It seems as his downfall is that he doesn’t pander to the click bait culture or shout down sound bites into the microphone. I hope for our sake, that more like him come to the fore and begin to establish themselves.
Whilst not a fan of the Amazon brand their button to switch to crowd noise is my go to, I wish others would offer the same. They could then gauge how many people like the bants' or just want to watch football.
Personally I turn on the TV at kick off, mute at half time and switch off at the end.
Do we really need all these clowns spouting rubbish every week? Back in the 70s/80s when live footy was a rarity we had Brian Moore, David Coleman calling a game alone, for a big match or final a Brian Clough or a Ron Greenwood would be brought in for a bit of insight.Later on the pleasant but dull tones of Trevor Brooking pointed out where England were going wrong in an international game.
Today we have all been saturated in live football, highlights etc to the point were I think we can all understand the game well enough and having two or three pundits is a pointless exercise.
I no longer watch with UK commentary if at all possible. Foreign commentary is great, no idea what they're saying but it sets the TV game up. No commentary should also be a standard option.
The dumbing down of football? It's fellas kicking a ball about, not competing interpretations of quantum mechanics FFS. It's meant to be fun. Dullard chin stroking about "tactics" and "systems" and "patterns", the pub borification of football if you will, might be how idiots get to feel intellectual, but it would tedious in the extreme for anyone who has the temerity to think that watching a match as a neutral should primarily be a giggle.
Nice article Kevin. I think there's three aspects of modern punditry that irritated me more than others.
1) Dialling in the ex-ref. All he ever does is agree with what has happened with the on-field decision. Unless of course that gets changed by VAR. They will then celebrate the good process and VAR working well, never questioning how the decision was wrong in the first place.
2) Patterns of play. As some fans have gotten more interested in tactics, it feels like the pundits have felt compelled to discuss in more detail. Most however are unable to engage in anything beyond whether 'patterns of play' exist. If it goes beyond this the only example they provide is the now outdated one where Man City pass-pass-pass before advanced 8 runs onto diagonal between centre-half and full back before a low cutback. It's almost as if using the term 'patterns of play' counts as analysis.
3) The fan perspective from the pundit. Why did Sky get rid of fan zone only to make it the default option for everyone whenever Carragher or Neville commentate on Liverpool/United?
Great article! It would be nice to see more broadcasters employing experts who can articulate themselves rather than ex-players who are heavy on soundbites but light on insight. James Horncastle is a great example and was deservedly praised for his coverage of Liverpool v Atalanta last year. I’m pretty sure he was also paired with Crouch, as if to prove your point about balancing analysis and likeability.
Things also aren’t helped by the likes of Carragher having multiple gigs - in his case Sky, CBS, Stick to Football and a newspaper column - which makes it difficult for anything to happen without him expressing a view on it. Sometimes less is more.
Great article. This is the only place where we can read intelligent stuff about football. Yes, atmosphere only option to watch games is an excellent idea. Pundits rarely say anything useful or insightful and the game is ripe for intelligent analysis. Calling out diving, nasty tackles during a match and In a wider context, where's the discussions about World cups in countries with awful human rights records, players skulking off to the Saudi league, the supporters unrest about ticket prices and directors and owners caring only about money. Perhaps its always been like this, a disconnect between the powerful in football and football supporters. Sometimes its difficult to remember this is the Beautiful Game.
It's been several years since I last which the pre-match build-up, half-time "analysis" or post match stuff, apart from interviews, which themselves leave a lot to be desired from the pitiful line of questioning.
You might be interested to know that it’s no different in Australia. Australian Rules Football is the major code in several of the states and we have the same problem. Too many ex-players who either can’t commentate or just sensationalise issues. It’s nauseating.
Makes it for a good read, unlike the tripe that we have to endure on our teles. Couldn’t agree more on Rio. It’s beyond joke at this stage. It’s the same at SkyF1. They all cut from the same fabric.
Shame that it’s us the paying customers who has to put up with below par quality tele
Wow, fantastic article. It's exactly how I feel watching TNT and Sky. All clickbait.
I would love nothing more than an atmosphere only option when viewing the game.
Just the background natural noise, no "Fletch" building narratives, no co-comms being biased or bending over backwards to appear unbiased (Carragher) , just the football.
Excellent article- one that resonates with a lot of fans who want genuinely meaningful content. I recently watched a podcast from The Ripple Effect with former footballer Nedum Onuoua as guest. He was refreshingly articulate, insightful and intelligent. Whilst watching, I couldn’t help but think why he wasn’t on our TV screens more. It seems as his downfall is that he doesn’t pander to the click bait culture or shout down sound bites into the microphone. I hope for our sake, that more like him come to the fore and begin to establish themselves.
Agreed with every word of this. Drury done well to avoid inclusion 😁
Whilst not a fan of the Amazon brand their button to switch to crowd noise is my go to, I wish others would offer the same. They could then gauge how many people like the bants' or just want to watch football.
Personally I turn on the TV at kick off, mute at half time and switch off at the end.
Great article by the way.
Do we really need all these clowns spouting rubbish every week? Back in the 70s/80s when live footy was a rarity we had Brian Moore, David Coleman calling a game alone, for a big match or final a Brian Clough or a Ron Greenwood would be brought in for a bit of insight.Later on the pleasant but dull tones of Trevor Brooking pointed out where England were going wrong in an international game.
Today we have all been saturated in live football, highlights etc to the point were I think we can all understand the game well enough and having two or three pundits is a pointless exercise.
Oh for the old days, completely agree with you. TalkSPORT makes one want to stick needles in one’s eyes whilst shitting in your hands and clapping
I no longer watch with UK commentary if at all possible. Foreign commentary is great, no idea what they're saying but it sets the TV game up. No commentary should also be a standard option.
A significant share of football punditry is essentially trolling at this point. Anything that will get a large fanbase riled up is rewarded.
The dumbing down of football? It's fellas kicking a ball about, not competing interpretations of quantum mechanics FFS. It's meant to be fun. Dullard chin stroking about "tactics" and "systems" and "patterns", the pub borification of football if you will, might be how idiots get to feel intellectual, but it would tedious in the extreme for anyone who has the temerity to think that watching a match as a neutral should primarily be a giggle.
Nice article Kevin. I think there's three aspects of modern punditry that irritated me more than others.
1) Dialling in the ex-ref. All he ever does is agree with what has happened with the on-field decision. Unless of course that gets changed by VAR. They will then celebrate the good process and VAR working well, never questioning how the decision was wrong in the first place.
2) Patterns of play. As some fans have gotten more interested in tactics, it feels like the pundits have felt compelled to discuss in more detail. Most however are unable to engage in anything beyond whether 'patterns of play' exist. If it goes beyond this the only example they provide is the now outdated one where Man City pass-pass-pass before advanced 8 runs onto diagonal between centre-half and full back before a low cutback. It's almost as if using the term 'patterns of play' counts as analysis.
3) The fan perspective from the pundit. Why did Sky get rid of fan zone only to make it the default option for everyone whenever Carragher or Neville commentate on Liverpool/United?
Great article! It would be nice to see more broadcasters employing experts who can articulate themselves rather than ex-players who are heavy on soundbites but light on insight. James Horncastle is a great example and was deservedly praised for his coverage of Liverpool v Atalanta last year. I’m pretty sure he was also paired with Crouch, as if to prove your point about balancing analysis and likeability.
Things also aren’t helped by the likes of Carragher having multiple gigs - in his case Sky, CBS, Stick to Football and a newspaper column - which makes it difficult for anything to happen without him expressing a view on it. Sometimes less is more.
Great article. This is the only place where we can read intelligent stuff about football. Yes, atmosphere only option to watch games is an excellent idea. Pundits rarely say anything useful or insightful and the game is ripe for intelligent analysis. Calling out diving, nasty tackles during a match and In a wider context, where's the discussions about World cups in countries with awful human rights records, players skulking off to the Saudi league, the supporters unrest about ticket prices and directors and owners caring only about money. Perhaps its always been like this, a disconnect between the powerful in football and football supporters. Sometimes its difficult to remember this is the Beautiful Game.
It's been several years since I last which the pre-match build-up, half-time "analysis" or post match stuff, apart from interviews, which themselves leave a lot to be desired from the pitiful line of questioning.
This trend started to turn me off the game itself.
You might be interested to know that it’s no different in Australia. Australian Rules Football is the major code in several of the states and we have the same problem. Too many ex-players who either can’t commentate or just sensationalise issues. It’s nauseating.
Makes it for a good read, unlike the tripe that we have to endure on our teles. Couldn’t agree more on Rio. It’s beyond joke at this stage. It’s the same at SkyF1. They all cut from the same fabric.
Shame that it’s us the paying customers who has to put up with below par quality tele
Feel very similarly. The media in the game needs to change. Sharing my take as an American fan on our side of the pond.
https://awaydayz.substack.com/p/americas-soccer-media-is-failing?r=5c826p