RTE Panel

[Charlie Darwin]

Ossie has been in England too long. He has Stockholm Syndrome.

Had to laugh after the England match when they returned to the studio and Bill goes "I don't know about you lads, but I thought England deserved a draw there." Cue five seconds of silence before he goes "or maybe not."

[geysir]

Because he frequently offers his own opinion on games, Irish managers, styles of play etc etc
He says that he's not there to give his opinion, that he's there to direct the conversation between the analysts but unfortunately he goes beyond that most everytime he opens his mouth.
He just cant hide the sense of his importance of being a sneer.

[Charlie Darwin]

Dunphy reckons Neymar was "****ing ****ting it" when he stepped up to take the penalty against Croatia. "Are we live?"

[DannyInvincible]

Dunphy reckons Neymar was "****ing ****ting it" when he stepped up to take the penalty against Croatia. "Are we live?"

Just posting this here as well:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsNS-p6YX0M

I can't stop laughing at it. Bill's shocked gasp of "oooh!" really makes it.

[Charlie Darwin]

"There are an awful lot of pundits who don't do their homework, don't look at the players, and just go with the flow."

Eamon's ironymeter is broken tonight.

[OwlsFan]

I had to switch away from George and Ray this pm with their way over the top negativity. I know Sky go over the top with their hype but RTE seem determined to go in the opposite direction. BBC were confirming that it was a poor performance by Brazil but also giving Mexico some praise.

Kenny Cunningham is an excellent panellist with his own ideas. I like Dietmar Hamman as well. It is also interesting that Dunphy is far less sure of himself when Giles isn't with him.

Brazil are now without hope apparently. Useless players. However, they are still the most expensive team in the tournament, just ahead of Spain, as regards what each player's value was at his last transfer so they can't be that bad.

[Sheridan]

How do you know he's no idea? He's on record multiple times as saying that he's not there to give his opinion, he's there to direct the conversation between the analysts

Are you for ******* real, mate?

[DannyInvincible]

Dunphy on there being nothing in the game for Lukaku: "There's nothing in the game for Lookookoo."

Vine: https://vine.co/v/MIQUt1HKKeH

[OwlsFan]

Close up of Del Bosque picking his (voluminous) nose. Peter Collins: "Del Bosque has an awful lot on his plate at the moment". Euuuch.

[eitoof]

"There are an awful lot of pundits who don't do their homework, don't look at the players, and just go with the flow."

Eamon's ironymeter is broken tonight.

That was my World Cup highlight so far. And he never even flinched a bit saying it!!

[IsMiseSean]

How many of the RTE commentators are in Brazil?
I know Hamilton, Houghton, Stevens & Peter Collins are but what about Kerr, Alkin & the rest?
Brian Kerr has done a game nearly every night, that's a lot of travelling....

[Stuttgart88]

They should have hired Trap to save taxpayer's money. He could watch the game from his flat in Milan, ring Manuela and Manuela could be on the telly. Everyone's a winner really.

[IsMiseSean]

Manuela was on the highlights show today with TOD & Sadlier.

[Stuttgart88]

Glad to learn that she's not forgotten.

[shakermaker1982]

MO'N was very funny last night. His line to Vieria & Cannavaro asking about how many European cups they've won had me in stitches.

[bennocelt]

MO'N was very funny last night. His line to Vieria & Cannavaro asking about how many European cups they've won had me in stitches.

Yeah was a tv highlight alright.
How is RTE, what am I missing?

Edit just seeing BonnieShels review in other thread...............

[BonnieShels]

Yeah was a tv highlight alright.
How is RTE, what am I missing?

Edit just seeing BonnieShels review in other thread...............

I should've put it in here...

[BonnieShels]

Posted this over in the World Cup thread. It probably should be in here:

A lot of conclusions to draw from this World Cup re presentation:

RTE
Bill "Okie Dokie" O'Herlihy: Bill is Bill. Nothing much to say here. He's retiring. He'll be missed.
Darragh Moloney: A decent presenter. Can control the panellists and lead the conversation. But no Bill.
John Giles: Still no better reader of the game. I don't care if he doesn't know the finer details of names or say, where they play. He analyses a game live like no other. A national treasure.
Eamon Dunphy: Out of his depth at this stage. His argument with Kenny Cunningham was another low-point. Souness would have decked him if he tried that. Childish and patronising. His time is nigh.
Liam "Chippy" Brady: Some decent input. Good as a buffer for Dunphy's bull.
Didi Hamann: We all know what he can contribute but does it well. Like him a lot.
Kenny Cunningham: The new star in the making. A wonderful analyst with pinpoint statements and no crap. When he gives an opinion based on conjecture he informs us as much. No bluffing just facts. The true heir to Johnny. Getting more comfortable on the air too. Murdered Dunphy the last night.
Ossie Ardiles: Haven't seen enough to comment. From what I remember of WC2010 he was great. Bar that accent.
Ronnie Whelan: You'd never guess that this man was one of the most talented footballers ever to emanate from Ireland or Britain. It's almost like he doesn't know anything about soccer outside of the game you happen to watch him "analyse". his contributions to the Spain-Netherlands game were particularly awful. The man at the bar would know more than this charlatan.
Richie "I wanna be like Eamon when I grow up" Sadlier: Easily the most negative man on the planet. The problem is that he’s not the worst pundit. If he just toned it down and didn't troll he would be the better for it.
Brad Friedel: Haven't seen sight nor light of him. Has he turned up to RTÉ at all?

Dream Team: Giles, Cunningham, Hamann

ITV
Adrian "Gombeen" Chiles:A absolute shyster. One of the most terrible presenters in all of football, nay, sports bradcasting. Stunted, lacking in knowledge. A terrible presenter. No wonder Roy abandoned ship.
Matt Smith: Lacking any knowledge or presence. A terrible presenter but a Bill in comparison to Chiles.

In saying that ITV's pundits are actually somewhat decent...
Lee Dixon: Really warmed to Dixon for his CL punditry and his presence with Roy was actually solid. Two massively impressive players with great careers and completely deserving of respect. Can analyse the game well.
Andros Townsend: The big shock of the whole World Cup. Andros is actually a very good analyst of the game. All the more impressive given he should be playing at this World Cup. Have enjoyed his contributions.
Glenn Hoddle: Outside of the England games I've enjoyed Hoddle. It does show in general, that the better the player the better the analyst.
Martin O'Neill: His put down on Chiles was classic. Calm and collected as we already know he is; no surprises in his punditry. Very witty. Dare I say, very Irish. Every panel needs one of us.
Patrick Vieira: I would have loved for him to be in the studio wth Roy. Decent analyst but his accent drives me mad. Almost unlistenable.
Fabio "Hairy" Cannavaro: Not bringing much to the table other than that piece. And a WC winners medal.
Ian "Wrighty" Wright: Almost nothing can prepare you for the awfulness of this guy. Atrocious.
Gordon Strachan: Not someone I thought I would have warmed to as quickly as I did. Insightful. To the point. Daycent.
Gus Poyet: It was a shame the Uruguayan couldn't be truly honest when his national team beat England. Hasn't been a bad addition.

Dream Team: Hoddle, Dixon and Strachan

BBC
Gary Lineker: He's no Chiles. But I REALLY dislike him as a presenter. Smarm everywhere.
Alan Hansen: Dreadful as always. Never says anything of note. Thank God he's finally retiring.
Alan Shearer: Completely growing into the role of "senior" analyst bar one or two biased opinions re England (which is to be expected) he was spot on. Starting to enjoy is presence. Annoyingly.
Thierry Henry: Yes I despise him for "you-know-what". Yes I hate his smugness. But boy is he knowledgeable and on the ball. Wonderful pundit. Dang. BBC are causing me a crisis of conscience.
Clarence Seedorf: Again decent. At ease as a pundit. Doesn't hide behind cliche. Can actually be fairly funny to boot.
Robbie Savage: THERE. ARE. NO. WORDS. Horrific co-commentator and analyst.
Rio "de Janeiro" Ferdinand: Not great. Not bad. Some of his punditry is clearly auto-cued. But he's no Robbie Savage.
Juninho: Thankfully I have missed him. But what I have seen has been desperate. Token Brazilian for the Beeb.
Mark "Lawro" Lawrenson: Thankfully on co-commentary duty so I don't have to listen to him pluralise all team names and talk in cliche. And that HAIR! Eugh. One of the worst pundits out there. If he was a team he'd be like your Port Vales, your Drogheda Uniteds, your Roda JCs...

Dream Team: Shearer, Henry and Seedorf

CBC
CBC do sport well. Well, sport that Canada are good at so that’s essentially the Winter Olympics or the NHL. World Cup coverage is another kettle of fish altogether. Hindered by awful pundits (Craig Forrest, really?) and that incredibly annoying habit of North American sports of staring straight into the camera like a rabbit in a headlights when talking. Atrocious.
Thankfully their commentary is provided by ITV for the games that BBC are showing live. That makes sense if you've been watching.

[DannyInvincible]

No mention for Neil Lennon? :p

I thought Lennon has been pretty good when I've seen him, even if Chiles thinks he's a Scot like Strachan.

[IsMiseSean]

I can't watch ITV if Chiles is on. Linekar wearing an Italian shirt yesterday was pathetic, had it changed by FT.
RTE have been miles ahead of BBC & ITV. Stand-out for me this year has been Brian Kerr's commentary.

[Fixer82]

Richie Sadlier definitely tries to be controversial to get himself up the ladder of RTÉ punditry.

Brian Kerr, while I like him, I don't really like listening to him co-commentate. It's like sitting in a pub in Inchicore and the fella beside ya at the bar who knows everything about football won't shut the f*&k up.
Much prefer him in studio.

And yes, Robbie Savage sounds like a kid who won a competition to co-commentate a World Cup game

[BonnieShels]

No mention for Neil Lennon? :p

I thought Lennon has been pretty good when I've seen him, even if Chiles thinks he's a Scot like Strachan.

Completely forgot about him. I thought I did well off the top of my head at 5am.

[bennocelt]

Any ye guys here Phil Neville's Commentary for the first England game? He got an awful lot of stick for it, but it was pretty bad. Was hard to hear and monotone. He did get a bit better after, in the studio a few days later, but you wonder who picks these guys? Cannavaro and Juninho also.

[Olé Olé]

I still chuckle to myself when I picture in my head John Giles posing the question: 'Would he kill his granny?'

Ardilles' answer to who was the best player never to play in a World Cup was also terribly funny. 'Eamon Dunphy' he said, with a cheeky grin.

[OwlsFan]

Posted this over in the World Cup thread. It probably should be in here:

A lot of conclusions to draw from this World Cup re presentation:

RTE
Bill "Okie Dokie" O'Herlihy: Bill is Bill. Nothing much to say here. He's retiring. He'll be missed.
Darragh Moloney: A decent presenter. Can control the panellists and lead the conversation. But no Bill.
John Giles: Still no better reader of the game. I don't care if he doesn't know the finer details of names or say, where they play. He analyses a game live like no other. A national treasure.
Eamon Dunphy: Out of his depth at this stage. His argument with Kenny Cunningham was another low-point. Souness would have decked him if he tried that. Childish and patronising. His time is nigh.
Liam "Chippy" Brady: Some decent input. Good as a buffer for Dunphy's bull.
Didi Hamann: We all know what he can contribute but does it well. Like him a lot.
Kenny Cunningham: The new star in the making. A wonderful analyst with pinpoint statements and no crap. When he gives an opinion based on conjecture he informs us as much. No bluffing just facts. The true heir to Johnny. Getting more comfortable on the air too. Murdered Dunphy the last night.
Ossie Ardiles: Haven't seen enough to comment. From what I remember of WC2010 he was great. Bar that accent.
Ronnie Whelan: You'd never guess that this man was one of the most talented footballers ever to emanate from Ireland or Britain. It's almost like he doesn't know anything about soccer outside of the game you happen to watch him "analyse". his contributions to the Spain-Netherlands game were particularly awful. The man at the bar would know more than this charlatan.
Richie "I wanna be like Eamon when I grow up" Sadlier: Easily the most negative man on the planet. The problem is that he’s not the worst pundit. If he just toned it down and didn't troll he would be the better for it.

I shall bite my tongue.

However, as usual the Panel went way over the top last night in its criticism of Brazil and all singing from the same hymn sheet (Giles, Whelan and Dunphy). I await the day when there will be a serious disagreement between Giles and Dunphy (Saipan aside). Pound for pound, Brazil is actually the most expensive team transfer fee wise in the tournament so they are not actually that bad. However, because they are Brazil, the Panel seems to expect some sort of super powers to be innate in the players: I have seen some average Brazil teams in the past. Giles is not the super pundit described elsewhere - remember he agrees all the time with Dunphy but the latter just articulates it in extravagant terms and Giles stays under the radar. Not long ago he was describing Wayne Rooney as world class and.........MUST STOP THIS.

I really like Dieter Hamann and Kenny Cunningham. Dream Team: Darragh Maloney, Dieter Hamann, Kenny Cunningham and Dunphy (for the comedy)

[tetsujin1979]

didn't see a lot wrong with what they were saying last night to be honest. Regardless of their collective price tag, only Neymar has really stepped up for Brazil in the World Cup so far.

[pineapple stu]

Yup. Not interested in price tags; Fred and Hulk in particular have been awful, and Brazil have struggled in a fairly straightforward group.

[jbyrne]

However, as usual the Panel went way over the top last night in its criticism of Brazil and all singing from the same hymn sheet (Giles, Whelan and Dunphy)

they took the same line last year in the confederations cup when the "awful" Brazil team ended up trouncing spain in the final.

ronnie whelan was a brilliant player but as a pundit he couldn't be any more tabloid, miserable and negative.

[Yard of Pace]

Some of my Brazilian friends on Facebook were asking who the fúck were the guys on the Irish TV and how dare they talk about Brazil like that :D

I think someone should remind the lads that there's something like 20,000 Brazilians living in Ireland...

[BonnieShels]

Anyway my full article was published...

http://www.krank.ie/category/opinions/world-cup-soccer-pundits/

[DannyInvincible]

Was Brad Friedel actually supposed to be on RTÉ? He's out in Brazil. I've seen him doing punditry at least twice on the BBC. For what it's worth, he's struck me as intelligent and aware.

[DannyInvincible]

According to this, both Friedel and Neil Lennon were supposed to be working for RTÉ: http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/worldcup/2014/0605/621813-rte-world-cup/

Did Lennon sack RTÉ for the BBC too then? Turncoat!

[Charlie Darwin]

They're probably contracted to do a couple of weeks out there then go to RTE. I assume Friedel is in Brazil until the US are knocked out.

[Dodge]

That's exactly it. BBC for a bit, RTE for a bit. Less games after the groups so less spots available on BBC

[bennocelt]

Happy to see Dion Dublin on the Beeb, loved him before, he has great enthusiasm:D
Watching japan colombia game, couldnt stomach greece.

[Olé Olé]

I felt Brian Kerr made the Colombia game quite interesting tonight. He knows the game well. I far prefer him as a co-commentator. Seeing him on TV3 trying to talk over Neil Lennon in an attempt to show he knows more than him really did grind my gears.

Overall, really enjoying RTE's coverage and haven't had reason to turn the dial yet. Hamann, Cunningham and Ardilles have all been interesting and, when I'm in the right humour, Sadlier also. Refreshing to have Jim Beglin back on our airwaves too. Although I cringed more than slightly on a few instances during the Italy-Uruguay game today when he used alliteration in his descriptions.

I see Colombia are 25/1 to win the thing out. Considerably better value than the Brazilians at 3's. They also boast a very strong smattering of talent from some of the top leagues around Europe. They played their second fiddle strikeforce tonight- Ramos of Dortmund, Martinez of Porto. James Rodriguez (or 'Ham-ez' as poor Brian Kerr had to refer him when towing the line tonight) looks positively brilliant. My player of the tournament along with Neymar and Robben, thus far.

[Charlie Darwin]

James Rodriguez (or 'Ham-ez' as poor Brian Kerr had to refer him when towing the line tonight)
It is his name, to be fair.

[Olé Olé]

It is his name, to be fair.

Ah yeah, I'm more referring to the awkwardness of him pronouncing it. He even referred to Jackson Martinez as 'Ham-Ez' Martinez at one stage.

[Charlie Darwin]

In Brian's world, either nobody is Ham-ez or everybody is.

[DannyInvincible]

Ah yeah, I'm more referring to the awkwardness of him pronouncing it. He even referred to Jackson Martinez as 'Ham-Ez' Martinez at one stage.

Hackzon Martiniez, you mean?

[Charlie Darwin]

Hackzon Martiniez, you mean?
It would be more like Yackson, I think.

[BonnieShels]

It would be more like Yackson, I think.

Paul as our resident linguist should know.

[Charlie Darwin]

Paul as our resident linguist should know.
Paul's too busy living in the real world to worry about trivial matters like languages.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Is there really any need for so many Irish journalists to be covering the World Cup in Brazil? It's probably a stupid question but Ireland aren't participating and what does their presence in Brazil add to any enjoyment of their articles? Do we really need to know about the minutiae of their struggles to communicate with taxi drivers?

[DannyInvincible]

Do we really need to know about the minutiae of their struggles to communicate with taxi drivers?

Who was this? What was said? Where was it exactly? When was this? Indeed, why was he there? :)

[BonnieShels]

Is there really any need for so many Irish journalists to be covering the World Cup in Brazil? It's probably a stupid question but Ireland aren't participating and what does their presence in Brazil add to any enjoyment of their articles? Do we really need to know about the minutiae of their struggles to communicate with taxi drivers?

Sure, why do RTÉ even bother to show it. We're not even there. Waste of money.

I don't pay those journalists wages so if the Indo, IT, NewsTalk etc wanna send people then let them. How does it affect anyone?

[jbyrne]

having been to two world cups before i find the behind the scenes on the ground stuff quite enjoyable to read and hear. gives a better feel for the venue and atmosphere. some people will complain about anything

[BonnieShels]

I completely agree.

[Yard of Pace]

some people will complain about anything

Good thing there's no here like that.

[OwlsFan]

Is Neymer a "great player"? Same old same old.

Ronnie moaned about the Brazil vs Chile game. Thought it was brutal. I was glued to it and thought it made compelling viewing.

Entertaining spat between Dunphy and the senior analyst about the first half between the "headless chickens" Colombia and Uruguay.

I wonder what will happen when the headless chickens come up against the "worst Brazilian team in history". Mr D will be correct no matter what the outcome with "I told you so" although he did predict Chile would win the World Cup. It is entertaining I'll admit when an Irish team isn't involved and there is no get the manager agenda.