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I feel sorry for Souness at times...here he is, like him or loathe him, a legendary footballer sitting there with other legends such as Giles and Brady offering good constructive analysis and opinion when out of nowhere this skeletal like figure beside him starts roaring absolute muck. Souness was probably muttering under his breath "Who the hell let the janitor in here??"
You see Dumpy on occassion seeking acceptence from Souness for his comments, which does make me laugh.
pity isnt something Souness inspires in me to be honest joe, he's far more likely to have been muttering ''dont kill him, dont kill Dunphy on live tv Greame'' while his feet twitched uncontrollably off camera;)Quote:
Originally Posted by joeSoap
Billo praising Cambiasso's goal: "That was some goal wasn't it John, 24 players involved...":D
The obvious solution to improve RTE's coverage - get rid of Bill and bring in Pat Dolan as Anchorman! He knows the game, he's learnt the trade at Setanta and he won't be afraid to put the lads back in their box.
"Would it be fair to say, Eamon, that you're talking out of your arse?"
I find it funny that Bill gets blamed for the analysts take on a game. "Would it be fair........" Open ended question that leads to the pundit saying yes/no because yadda yadda... Hardly Bill's fault if they give an answer you don't like.
No way, Dolan's place is as a pundit not as the anchorman. He just can't do it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerry The Saint
I don't agree with that at all. Dunphy seems to be doing more research than any of the lads on RTE and has actually impressed me. For example, Souness said the German central defence is very young and Dunphy was able to tell him the ages of the 2 players. It was Dunphy who actually started the debate about England needing an Alonso type playmaker last week and Souness agreed.Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan
I flicked over to ITV when RTE went for a break last night. Allardyce and Pearce were both pretty good, pointing out where Sweden had let space for Cole's goal, etc. Then it came to Venables. My God, the man never uses one sentence when 7 will do. It took him about 5 minutes to say that Gerrard obviously wanted to get on the pitch (a top class player wanting to play in the world cup?? Never!!) that his interception on the line was vital at the time (every interception on the line is vital) and that his goal was well taken. Flicking back over to RTE Brady disected the move, showed how Cole had taken a step back to give Gerrard and himself more time, how he timed the pass, and got it over the defence, but down for Gerrard to head. Made Venables look an amateurQuote:
Originally Posted by NeilMcD
I wasn't aware anyone wanted him as Ireland boss, there was outcry on the board when he was linked with the postQuote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan
So....getting back to punditry. Wht would your ideal panel be. Mix up the channels.
Mine would be:
Host(s): Tim Lovejoy & Helen Chmberlain. Both know their footie, nd Helens easy on the eye.;)
Panellists: John Giles (when objective, he is the best round). Gordon Strachan(Humourous) and Alan Hansen.
Although, an alterntive to Tim & Helen would be Podge & Rodge:D
The panel was good last night without the presence of the malevolent influence. Enjoyed the chat about what constituted a "great player". Giles still couldn't resist though having a dig at the English game. For someone who makes his living out of it, it is strange. He said the Hol vs Arg game was the worst he's seen so far but still preferred it to the Eng vs Swe game :confused:
Pearce on ITV said the Dutch had gone full throttle to hold the Argies who were at half pace and the 4 bookings would support that theory. The RTE panel thought the Dutch were also at half pace. I am not so sure. Van Nettlesoup might have been - the rest were putting in the effort.
So Owls fan are you saying that because he earns his money from commenting on the English game he is then obliged not to be critical of it. Surely he is there to express his informed opinion. Whether you or I agree with that is meaningless. I would hate if pundits started changing their view due to the fact of how and where they earn their money.
I thought Brady and Souness exposed Gile's Old-school views as being out-dated and not relevant to the Modern game, perhaps at 65 Giles is getting on a bit and his views of "things weren't like that in my day when i played for Leeds" can not be taken too seriously these days.. His view on Riqueleme were ridiculous.. The Argie No.10 is a class act a playmaker who is there to get the ball hold possession and make things happen which he does beautifully at time.. Mascherano is there to break up play and tackle do the dirty stuff not Riqueleme, Giles failed to see this as blatant as it was,, Brady and Souness were bang on in correcting this short-sighted view!
I thought Brady and Souness exposed Gile's Old-school views as being out-dated and not relevant to the Modern game, perhaps at 65 Giles is getting on a bit and his views of "things weren't like that in my day when i played for Leeds" can not be taken too seriously these days.. His view on Riqueleme were ridiculous.. The Argie No.10 is a class act a playmaker who is there to get the ball hold possession and make things happen which he does beautifully at time.. Mascherano is there to break up play and tackle do the dirty stuff not Riqueleme, Giles failed to see this as blatant as it was,, Brady and Souness were bang on in correcting this short-sighted view!
Not so sure its as simple as that If you look at the Leeds team of the 60s and 70s you could argue that Bremner is there to break up the play and Giles to create. But Giles had a great work ethic also. If you bring it to more modern times Keane at Utd was there to break up the play and scholes to create. However Scholes had a great work ethic also. My understanding is that Giles was arguing that just because you are the flair player, does not mean you cannot put in the hard graft also. The 2 issues are not contradictory and in Giles view you can do both if you want to be a world class player. Maradone was a classic example of this. I think its rather simplistic to say one player takckles and works hard while the other creates and passess the ball but does not work to get it back.
Some of Dunphy's research is thorough but other is just crap. Anytime Bill asks him what such and such a league is like i.e. USA last week, he says "Ah it's terrible Bill." He gives no explanation. Also I'm thoroughly convinced he hasn't watch Serie A in a good few years because he always comes out with this "too defensive" drivel.Quote:
Originally Posted by eirebhoy
There is an old adage which says you don't bite the hand that feeds you. He never resists an opportunity to have a go at the Premiership. In fact he has a go even when no one else mentions it. I suspect he resents the huge amount of money which average players, far less talented than him, make in the game today. I don't expect him not to express his opinion - I just don't understand why in a game between Hol vs Arg, he feels he once again has to have a dig at the English game and make a contradictory statement that the "worst game in the tournament so far" was better than the English game the previous night.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeilMcD
It is interesting the way he explains things to Laughing Bill as if he was a schoolboy - probably necessary though.
On the point of Riquelme, they are all about Ronaldinho who never tracks back, yet for Riquelme to do the same makes him less of a player.:confused:
Owls fan, again The EPL is Giles only frame of reference, its the only reason he is always drawing comparisons between WC and EPL matches.
Giles had a go at Ronaldinhio for not tracking back also so I think he is consistant there.
In relation to not biting the hand that feeds you. Well lets say a journalist goes to the Iraqi War and is kept safe by the American Army but while in Iraq sees the American Army comit some terrible crimes. Should they report it or not bite the hand that feeds them.
I think Giles job is to express his opinion, Whether you or I agree with it is not the point. As Roadend says the Premiership is his only frame of reference along with Champions League. Here he sees a failure by the Premiership player, esp the English one to keep a hold of the ball and retain posession. This will cost England the tournament in my view.
Also I have heard Giles speak about money and he is totally in support of the players on this one. In fact he spoke at length about this and how he despied a lot of Premiership Chairman and Old 1st Division Chairman and that the players are correct to get their value and worth. That does not mean they should not try and put the effort in for their clubs.
The point I made about biting the hand that feeds you, and your analogy with the war in Iraq is ridiculous, is why keep biting when no one else is mentioning the hand and the hand isn't even on the menu :eek: It's like your journalist in Iraq reporting on the war in Afghanistan rather than what's going on in front of his eyes in Bagdad .
England vs Sweden is not the Premiership so why mention that game ? He said the Arg vs Hol game was the worst yet and still says it was better than the Eng vs Hol game. Contradictory nonsense and just another unnecessary slap at England.
I was responding to your general point which you have made a few times in that Giles is been critical of the Premiership despite earning his money from it. I was disagreeing with you and I think thats a flawed ideology that one must be in support of something that funds you financially. I think the journalists inbedded in the American invasion of Iraq is a good analogy but on a different level and much more serious.
Of Course Giles makes mistakes the guy is on the TV every day. I am sure you and I go through are whole day making mistakes when talking. But we dont have millions of people watching our every word. THe point I was argue is that the general points that Giles makes are pretty good. He does make the odd gaff like calling Costa Rica, Costa Rico and Puerto Rico and so on. This happens and no big deal. It could be worse, he coudl do a Kelly Daglish and say that Ghana are about to become the 1st African team to qualify for the 2nd Round in the World Cup.
I do think its a bub bear with Giles of the lack of passing qualify in the Premiership, he does harp on about it too much I would agree. However I dont agree that he should not bite the hand that feeds you. In fact I think life is far more interesting if you do bite the hand that feeds you. That is how unions are formed it is how dissent is formed and it is how a true democracy works.
Just back to Ian Wright for a second, himself, Leonardo and one of the studio pundits, think it was Adrian Chiles were having a kickabout on one of the pitches. Leonardo flicks the ball up, does a few keepy-uppy style tricks and flicks it to Chiles. He does about 2 keep-uppys and flicks it to Wright. Who promptly yells "'Ave it" and wellies the ball down the pitch. Leonardo looked like he thought Wright was nuts!
The man's like that big fat kid who always just wellied the ball over the neighbours wall when you were a kid. You hated him for it too. The guy's a foolQuote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
Ok he is a fool, an idiot, and possibly the most annoying pundit of all time....BUT....You can't take away from his record on the pitch. He was one hell of a striker. A dirty c**t, but fairly lethal around the goalmouth..
Drunkphy was lethal around the goalmouth (emphasis on mouth) :eek: ;) ?Quote:
Originally Posted by joeSoap
I think Martin O'Neill has fallen in love with Leonardo.Think I am joking? ,watch it you'll see.:eek: :D
Owls, a bit of a Gilesism creeping in there :)Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan
Migght as well give my tuppence worth
RTE; Giles is brilliant at analysing games as they happen. His knowledge of world football isn't great but he can see everything on the pitch. Brady and Souness are by far the best things on football TV. KNow their ball, can read the game, criticise when neccesary but not OTT IMO. Dunphy's a fool but can be entertaining. Still get the feeling he'll compare anybody to Keane, Brady, Giles or Souness. Cunningham and Irwin are OK but a bot bland. Kudos to Cunningham for saying he'd give out to one of his players if an oppuntunity came up to get a penalty and he didn't take it. Collins isn't great and I hate his midatlantic drawl. O'Herlihy is shocking. All the match commentators are brutal, Hamilton being the worst. Agree with the earlier criticisms of Alkin and his (b)latent racism.
BBC; Commentators are all good. Co-commentators range from the annoying Lawrenson to the surprisingly OK McCarthy. Mark Bright is the blandest man on TV. Apart from Lineker obviously. His attempts at comedy would put RTE 90's attempts in Seinfeld company. Hanson doesn't care, either does Strachan, either does O'Neill. At least you get the feeling that O'Neill knows something about the game. Ian Wright is a joke. Leonardo is good but totally patronised. Desailly looks lost.
ITV; David Pleat is very good. Analyses the game well and doesn't get involved in Tyldesly's hype. Peter Drury is usually OK but has been poor so far. The highlights guy (Matt something or other) is a good presenter. Everyone else shouldn't be allowed near TV, particularly McCoist and Townsend. I think Ruud Guillit is with them but I haven't seen him. He was excellent on Sky's CL coverage so unless McCoist scrambled his brain I'd expect the same. Gabby Yorath (or whatver) has aged badly. I can see make up lines and can't get past them.
My "dream panel" would be; Matt Somethingorother from ITV as presenter. Brady and Souness as pundits (nobody needs 3). Commentator would be Barry Davies (bring him in from his lesser sports hell) and Co Commentator would be David Pleat.
Yes, despite what Pleat did to Wednesday, I think he isn't a bad co-commentator and that's what he should have stayed doing instead of attempting to run Yorkshire's finest ;) in to the ground . Graham Taylor is ok as well.
I think Hamilton must be close to being the worst commentator aided by the moaning Houghton giving out about the ref (these are RTE's premiere selection). Hamilton gets why the free is given wrong about 30% of the time and assumes once a team takes the lead, that's it.
ANyone hear the RTE commentator for the Croat vs Oz game (Gabriel Egan ?), first of all only on the 3rd replay picking up that Kewell's goal might be offside and then questioning whether he (the scorer :eek: ) was "interfering with play". :D Doh!
Stuart Peace on the BBC is good as well if wearing the Union Jack a bit too close to his heart.
Apropos nothing, the closest I ever saw Giles to getting emotional about Ireland was after the Ireland 1 Holland 0 game and the crowd singing the disco version of Fields of Athernry in the back ground.
You ever see the clip of him jumping out of his seat after Robbie Keane equalised against Germany in 2002?? Now that's emotion!Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan
No!! He never :eek: I saw the clip of Andy Townsend on his feet at ITV punching the air and Des Lynam (Irish apparently) sitting looking on with little emotion but never the Giles' one possibily because I was on my knees on the floor wiping all the beer stains off the new carpet before the wife came home. I watched it at home with a few friends and the bottles, tins and glasses went flying :( Any link ?
I had a listen to the rte panel in the recent 2 days. Owl's comment about Dunphy being lost when the discussion went beyond him was spot on. The more I see him the more he looks like a spitting image puppet of himself.
The weak link is Bill, he can't chair a decent discussion. He hasn't the nous to spot someting intelligent immediately and lead the debate. I think the time delay with him is due to him having to be prompted about the relevant points on his earpiece.
A censorious Giles, Souness, Brady and the dulcet tones of co- commentater Stevens is a good balance.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan
Giles and Brady going mad after the equaliser was used in RTE's 2002 world cup montage (to the music of that Feeder song) I think.
Stuart Pearce is with ITV for this World Cup.
I meant ITV - humble apologies but how do you know if you never watch it :pQuote:
Originally Posted by NeilMcD
I read in the paper the various TV lineups for the World Cup. In addition I have been in pubs during the World cup where I dont have a choice what coverage they show.
Do you not know when your leg is being pulled :confused: ?
Very confident predictions by Drunkphy and Giles that Spain will beat France. Bearing in mind that Spain didn't win their group to get to the World Cup and had to go through the play offs and don't have a great record against France (according to Desailly), I wouldn't be that confident. On the showing so far perhaps, but as Jimmy Greaves says etc etc
Both also predicted Ecuador to beat England. If they are wrong and England win, be ready for Ecuador are a "mediocre" side.
Drunkphy also had to quote Keane in the context of France/Swiss qualifying on how far you can go if you believe and prepare. Not sure what the point was since in every previous World Cup we also got out of our group every time. Laughing Bill's stinging reposte was "Hmmmmm.":rolleyes:
Brazil were also described as a "mediocre" team and both suggested Angola might beat them. Both Drunkphy and Giles had tipped Brazil to win the World Cup.
Let the contradictions continue. Watch this space ;)
Did they actually predict Angola to beat Brazil or did you make a typo?
Here are some funny comments by the commentators on ESPN:
"A game that had been controlled by Argentina has turned 360 degrees."
"Portugal and Angola, neighbors..."
"That gives a whole new meaning to Bend it like Beckham, folks"
"Nakata is the Terrel Owens of this Japanese team"
"...and great disappointment for Australia."(after their first game 3-1)
"Oh Man! I thought that baby was in there!"
"Ecuador are the Denver Broncos of international soccer."
"He just has no chance to win that 50-50 ball in the air"
"In Brazil, they say soccer is like a religion... And they mean that as a compliment."
"Cambiassa, and that means change in spanish...."
"I like the Brazilian names because they're so much fun to say.......Say 'Kaka'. You're smiling, aren't you?"
"and the Serbs are ready for the free kick" (During the Croatia-Japan game)
Tommy-Smythisms:
"You don't need an umbrella when there is a hole in your shoes"
"If you are playing this game and you have two feet you have to remember to use them"
Main commentator: "Here's an interesting fact. The first oil well in the history of the world was drilled by a Pole."
Smyth: "Really? I had always heard it was drilled by a bit."
"He has more moves than Mariah Carey" on Christiano Ronaldo
Both predicted Angola to win - might have a change of heart in the cold light of day.Quote:
Originally Posted by dmandmythdledge
someone should tell Johnny that it's "Argentina" not "Argentinia" :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by Dodge
worst pundit i've seen so far is jay-jay okocha, i've heard better english from spanish students on the 29A.