Article on the BBC & ITV coverage

Pretty much spot on this;

IT'S FAIR to say that it's not just ITV that has taken some stick for some of their coverage at this World Cup, particularly the coverage of the tournament's lesser lights. The BBC have been getting it in the neck as well. To give you an example, what I'm talking about here is things like Alan Shearer's self-proclaimed "expert analysis" that amounts to a conveyor belt of cliches and the kind of insight that even a child of six would describe as laughable.

Before the Algeria versus Slovenia game in Group C on Sunday, Shearer seemed to be speaking for the entire BBC panel when he said, "Our knowledge of these two teams is limited." Limited! What the former England striker was saying was that he hadn't done his homework, that he hadn't spoken to any of his vast array of contacts in the game, hadn't tapped into the BBC's huge research machinery, hadn't even bothered, seemingly, to peruse the internet for some background on Algeria and Slovenia or even flick through a newspaper or a magazine. Shearer was content to sit in front of the cameras and tell the viewers that, really, he didn't know much. Hardly a revelation to those of us who have groaned our way through his anodyne commentaries in the past, but embarrassing all the same.

more

http://sport.scotsman.com/football/T...-of.6364084.jp

you should hear the shit we have to listen to over here.

I've been muting the studio parts of the coverage because it makes me cringe.

The irony in a journalist calling pundits for un researched shite. [SIZE="1"]even though it's spot on

That is totally spot on.

The BBC 'experts' are more sickening, seeing as we're forced to pay for their jolly and seeming lack of interest.It's a £#%&!ing joke.

Why have Adebayor on? You cant understand anything he's saying.


Leonardo was a class analyst the last time the BBC put him on, but here they are with Lee Dixon who doesn't really know who Marek Hamsik is and Alan Shearer who has more or less admitted that he knows £#%&! all about international football and cant be arsed having a look to get some insight.

amidst all the pissing about 90% of the posters on here are more capable of holding an intelligent discussion that anyone i've heard to tv. 'research' ffs. if you don't know who hamsik and di natale are then you've got no right claiming you know anything about european football, let alone claiming you're an expert.


the coverage on polish tv puts bbc and itv to shame, btw. before the match they do a half-hour on the probable 11s, player by player, and some analysis of the formations, then they have a panel discussion of two former national team managers and a player with experience of playing in the national league of one of the countries involved. at half-time and after the match the coaches do video analysis on a special screen and the player gives some insight on individual players he has played against. bizarrely enough they seem to operate on the basis that ex-coaches are there to share insight rather their comedy repertoire

Originally Posted by borsuk

amidst all the pissing about 90% of the posters on here are more capable of holding an intelligent discussion that anyone i've heard to tv. 'research' ffs. if you don't know who hamsik and di natale are then you've got no right claiming you know anything about european football, let alone claiming you're an expert.


the coverage on polish tv puts bbc and itv to shame, btw. before the match they do a half-hour on the probable 11s, player by player, and some analysis of the formations, then they have a panel discussion of two former national team managers and a player with experience of playing in the national league of one of the countries involved. at half-time and after the match the coaches do video analysis on a special screen and the player gives some insight on individual players he has played against. bizarrely enough they seem to operate on the basis that ex-coaches are there to share insight rather their comedy repertoire

forget about hamsik and di natale. They didn't remember that our very own lovable martin 'mad dog' skrtel plays at the back for slovakia! How can they forget that.

I should tell this to Andy@Allerton. He will kill shearer and dixon by himself.

Originally Posted by naes_sean

you should hear the shit we have to listen to over here.

Gullit's doing a good job imo.

Martin Tyler is, well, Martin Tyler, which is to say, ordinary but not too objectionable.

Efan Ekoku has been a disaster, but a comic one at least.

Alexi Lalas is a clown. John Harkes isn't bad imo.

in fairness i wouldn't blame the individuals too much. the dumbing down of british tv extends far beyond football. it can be seen in science programmes, current affairs, documentaries and so on, right across the board, in fact. the presenters are not there to give analysis or insight, or to say anything remotely challenging. the are there to be a celebrity version of the viewer, saying the same things, offering up a few soundbites and being your ex-footballer chum.

The other night Lee Dixon said West Germany had looked the best team so far.

They are qualified to talk about football.

English football.

English Premier League Football.

It's all they see and all they know although I'll wager they would be able to give you a pretty good insight on the greens at Sunningdale.

They've been getting away with this shite for years.

Shearer - "Great ball from the left, he gets his head on it and back of the net 1-0"

Jesus wept - as my wife said the other day it's the kind of stuff she would expect to say if she was talking about football - not something you expect to hear from footballers with hundreds of international caps between them.

As for Hansen's moan about 'having' to go to the NZ-Slovakia game - a kick in the @#%&! for other 'public sector workers' who are living in real fear just now.

Nothing unsurprising really - it's been like this for years.

bit unfair on mcarthy imo, love listen to him moan for 90 minutes

Originally Posted by Grimson

Gullit's doing a good job imo.

Martin Tyler is, well, Martin Tyler, which is to say, ordinary but not too objectionable.

Efan Ekoku has been a disaster, but a comic one at least.

Alexi Lalas is a clown. John Harkes isn't bad imo.

from manchester. supports liverpool. unforgiveable.

back in topic, I would say that the analysts on HK TV know what they are taking about, except I can;t understand cantonese. seem to be doing a good job though.

on espn (who don't have the TV rights but do a good daily show) we have gerry armstrong and some betting guy. both seem pretty clued up.

Why does john harkes ring a bell? Has he scored against united?

Both channels have had piss poor coverage. It seems as the years go on Hansen just doesn't wanna discuss anything. He just wants to crack jokes and also, which brings me onto my next point, how often the pundits/presenters are saying how 'bad' matches are? Think I've heard it twice now, and I've not watched every game, think both times was on the BBC, definitely one time was. But they can't wait to give which ever game stick, if it's a game of smaller teams. Moaning how boring it is and laughing about it. Yeah that's how to win viewers.

The lack of discussion has been a disgrace tbh cliches and shitty little jokes, tha'ts all that they've been doing. Clearly the fact that they get a trip to SA for a month, expenses paid has been more important to most of them.

I say it alot about pundits/presenters in general throughout the season. Ex players/people in the game are paid loads of money to tell us about football, most just because they played it, but just because you've played it doesn't mean you know everything about it. Some people can play football to a good standard but don't 'love' the game in terms of watching it and admit they were never really 'into' it. Yet they get paid to tell us about it, most on here know more about football than most pundits ffs.

It's like how I keep hearing Townsend and other saying how well England played against the USA. No they didn't, they were shite. England can't string more than 3 passes together in midfield to start a move, and as shown against the USA, just want to launch the ball forward as quick as possible. Technically the England side is terrible imo, and Beckenbaur's comments were 100% spot on.

Originally Posted by waynes ear's

Why does john harkes ring a bell? Has he scored against united?

He's a bell ringer

Originally Posted by forzagarza

He's a bell ringer

Dick

Did he play for sheffield wednesday? Cant be arsed googling him

Brilliant article, and exactly the kind of thing myself and a few mates have been moaning about for years. They just can't be £#%&!ed making any kind of effort, it's the same at every tournament and every Saturday on Football Focus (though I've long since given up watching that tbh).

Tbf the point about the radio is fair, I listen to Five Live a lot and it's much more interesting. Alan Green might be a total @#%&! but at least he can discuss the teams and tell me something I might not know.

I used to love Gazetta on Channel Four for that. There was some real effort to provide insight, provide a bit of interest.

These £#%&!ers though are just going through the motions, they are literally stealing a living.

'The Germans will be very organised / The Africans are naive / Rooney will have to watch himself', repeat ad nauseum.

good stuff, said this the other day, Hansen has these mantra's he repeats, "two banks of four", "he has to get on the end of that" and "no penetration" that he just wedges in to any situation

As big a bunch of anti Utd #@&%!s they are Giles, Dunphy and Bill O Herlihy (and Souness) do themselves proud on RTE. Rarely does post match analysis end without at least one good bitchy row breaking out. I'll be amazed if Souness doesn't attack Eamon Dunphy live on air some day.

Bill meanwhile is fantastic in his role of lighting the blue touch paper and scarpering once the confrontations start.