I find the RTE Euro 2008 coverage horrible.

[superfrank]

Dunphy bringing up his Catalan/Spanish divide again.

[old git]

:another classic from bill last night after italy / holland match

he actually mentioned holland beating spain in tonights game

[jmurphyc]

I haven't been in the country so I haven't caught RTE's coverage yet but I think that it boils down to the fact that the pundits and particularly the commentators aren't "real" football fans. They're just casual viewers of football who won't go out of their way to catch a game, much like 90% of football fans. It's simple really IMO.

[jebus]

I haven't been in the country so I haven't caught RTE's coverage yet but I think that it boils down to the fact that the pundits and particularly the commentators aren't "real" football fans. They're just casual viewers of football who won't go out of their way to catch a game, much like 90% of football fans. It's simple really IMO.

Yeah I hear Souness is more of a cricket man alright Seriously what are you on about? Keep in mind you're talking about the Irish 'can't be bothered walking 10 mins to watch live football' Public

[jmurphyc]

Yeah I hear Souness is more of a cricket man alright Seriously what are you on about? Keep in mind you're talking about the Irish 'can't be bothered walking 10 mins to watch live football' Public

Are you being sarcastic? They are football fans but when I hear Dunphy talk about how he watches plenty of La Liga I find it hard to believe. Maybe he does, but I think he'd much rather be getting p*ssed in a bar. With all that money, I'm sure they feel they have better things to do with their time. I wouldn't call them dedicated football viewers. Besides, many of them trot out the same cliches all the time and seem to do very little research. If I was in that field of work I'd imagine that I would try to watch the teams a few times at least before commentating on them or analysing them. Besides, my post was mainly aimed at commentators, not analysts.

[jebus]

First off 90% of the Irish footballing public probably can't be arsed watching La Liga, unless its on in a pub they are in. And are you seriously questioning whether or not ex-professional football players are into football that much?

[NeilMcD]

I think what he is saying is that the pundits and commentators do not do their preparation. I find this too. They should watch 3 or 4 matches from qualifying of each of the teams in the tournament before the tournament.

[redtildead]

There's been a hostage stiuation somewhere in Germany. German police are situated outside some building on standby.
You know what to expect from the Germans, they'll be well organised, won't give many deaths away and you certainly wouldn't bet against them coming out on top.

I'd blame the person that typed it on the screen for her

[Sesp]

Ciaran,

You make some very good and valid points, but in Giles' defence I'd argue that while he undoubtedly doesn't keep himself up to date with happenings outside the English premiership, he still has a pretty good understanding of how football works. In that he's head and shoulders over Dunphy and Souness - who are little better than grumpy and reactionary ranters (though the former can, at least, be entertaining at times).

The lack of awareness of the world outside the EPL is pretty disheartening and suggests a laziness and insularity that serious pundits shouldn't have. However, I fear that they're simply reflecting the narrow focus of most (so-called) football fans in this country. The reality is that the majority of people who claim to like the game here probably rarely (if ever) watch a non-Premiership match (other than internationals). It's certainly a pity that that's the case (as it leads to repetition of the kind of clichés and ill-informed opinions you describe) but there you have it.

Like it or not, we're still strongly bound to English sporting culture (understandably, in a way, given the amount of Irish players playing in English leagues).

Bring back Football Italia on RTE says I! And while you're at it, let's have a weekly highlights roundup from other European leagues.

Probably too costly, and probably won't happen.

[Closed Account]

I find this relative to this discussion

21 Rules for the RTE Soccer Pundits(By Totti!) 414 days ago

Copyright=ME!


1-no matter how well cristano ronaldo plays(no. of goals and assists are irrelevant) he is ****e... he has been and always will be.

2-the player in no.1 is also to be termed a "poof ball" whenever possible.

3-Same rules applies to rio Ferdinand…he is ****e and always will be (“they bring on an 18million pound defender and he weakens the team”-Dunphy after United v Copenhagen)

4-if a players name is hard to pronounce dont worry...you dont have to hazard a guess or even try pronouncing it phonetically...you just substitute the players name for his nationality and add "lad" in at the end.

stelios giannakopolous=the greek lad
Zhi Zheng=the Chinese lad(and if unsure the asian lad will do)

If nationality and name unclear (Gabriel Agbonlahor)-then “the young lad” will suffice.

However, if his age, nationality and name cause confusion then protocol determines that this player is not playing, he doesn’t exist and any contribution during the game will promptly be omitted from the highlights.

5-If your feeling ballsy and want to attempt to pronounce the players name even if you have no idea, then you can have a shot at the weekly bet of 20 euros for who can make a players name sound the daftest by replacing a letter or two.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic=Ibra-Homo-Vich
Yossi Benayoun= Benny-Youni
Vicenza Iaquinta-Una-quanto(Kenny Cunninham won the money for this.)

Also if the players native country have a way of pronouncing that players name, discard it…whatever it looks like to the pundit should determine how it’s pronounced.

(Call him Terry Henry-it doesn’t matter if the French don’t use the “H”-Its there so use it)


6-if a players/teams current ability and history are unknown then reference to his/their nationality or continent will tell you all about this player/team.

An Italian-will be great defensively but extremely negative. Forget about attacking.
German-Even if they have lost 15 games in a row and have players from the Villa reserves starting they have to be one of the leading contenders. If it goes to penalties all bets are off…they will win. All players will be tough *******s who can run all day and have winning mentality.
French-could be anything…but guaranteed they will sulk and moan.
Africans-will run all day…awful strong…tactically they will not have a clue of whats going on…will have about 30 shots at goal without having a clue where it even is…offside trap non-existent…very naïve and will be knocked out soon.

Note:If a keeper is wearing tracksuit bottoms he is automatically ****e(this presumption cannot be rebutted if he is either African or Eastern European)….he will be unable to collect any crosses…fists will be used on all occasions….he will also probably be unable to take kickouts and the centre back will more than likely have to go back to do so…there was probably a draw in this country to determine the nations goalkeeper and this guy lost…(god forbid that this country need to use their sub-keeper who probably will not even bother wearing gloves)

7-World Cups are dangerous territory, especially if a game involves any non-European team that is not Argentina Brazil Australia or USA(expect problems with regard to pronunciation identification of players and even location of the team) Such problems are also expected to occur for teams historically forming part of the soviet block. The chances of knowing players from teams other than these are extremely reduced.

If the countries name is unclear look for something in that continent (or in general on that side of the globe)-Costa Rica may be called Puerto Rica etc. Any player on such a team with a difficult name may be referred to as the “Puerto Rican Right-Back/left back/striker etc”-no reference to name needed.

8-No players will ever be as good as the glory day eras of the 50’s 60’s and 70’s.

9-Every game England play is awful….Lampard and Gerrard should not be in the same country let alone the same team.

10-Every Irish manager is useless and clueless (no exceptions)..constant hounding required until sacked.

11-If any English/Scottish pundit is present; the Irish lads must lead by example and show the newbies that defamation is permissible on Irish TV during soccer games. (watch the lads show Grahme Souness how its done during half time in the England and Trinidad game during the World Cup….. reference to English players/managers private life’s are perfectly acceptable(and strongly advised).

12-All outlandish statements based on zero research are welcome.

13-Severe criticism of English Punditry is a necessity….

Dunphy (After watching Gareth Crooks interview Sven Goran Eriksson)-“That’s the first time I’ve seen two men have sex on BBC”

See also Dunphy calling Jamie Redknapp a “mammys boy” and awarding the BBC panel with spoofers of the week award for the eulogising of “poof ball”(aka Cristiano Ronaldo)

14- Ray Houghton and Kenny Cunninham are allowed to talk about anything (even non-football related issues)-coz everything they say is ******** and chances are nobody is watching any game that they are involved in anyways (normally a quite Saturday where main game is Watford v sheff utd and the like).

15-Strict dress code necessary-bonus points for pundit who can include most colours in shirt tie suit combo…preferable if all three are in stark contrast and in no way match….in fact each pundit should choose what the other wears for a laugh….

Note:Important that at least one panel member has a randomly coloured handkerchief hanging from suit pocket.

16-Teams that “do their stuff”(ie. Run like **** and tackle all day) are great.

17-A centre midfield player that goes back to take the ball from his centre half is king…he should be allowed to play….any centre midfield player who does not do this is ****e and will result in his team playing “cave-man” football(all ball will be wellied from centre half to centre forward with furious running and bullock-walloping for breaks in between)…this player should be removed from football and put down.

18-Sitting on the fence is frowned upon….Be brave and stick your neck out when predicting results….it doesn’t matter if your wrong

Example-Predictions for Champions League Quarter finals ties=Munich, Roma, Valencia.

19-Also, any statement made previously, may be subsequently denied at a later date (especially Dunphy) and changed to reflect new circumstances….thus, in a world cup a pundit may change his view on who may win right up to the final and preference for that team will be as if it were given at the start of the tournament. Same applies to champions league and premiership.

20-The host of the panel must know as little as possible about football…his job is to irritate and bemuse the panel with daft and pointless question which leads to blank stares followed by a flaming row.

21-If pundits are in a bad mood(normally resulting from serious hangover) they may take it out on a team/player with no basis for criticism-(see random outburst against Liverpool/Xabi Alonso/Rafa Benitez after defeating Barcelona!!)

[Dodge]

And are you seriously questioning whether or not ex-professional football players are into football that much?

a lot aren't. in fact the majority of current players wouldn't watch nearly as much football as most people I know. Remember reading that Brian Clough and Peter Taylor became such good friends as they were the only two that were really interested in football. he said most others were more interested in birds and booze

[John83]

I remember Football Italia, I used to watch it every tuesday night when I was like 7. That was awesome, way better than the premiership or whatever it's equivalent was back then.

The football could be very dour, and there were fewer cameras than Sky has at English games, but it was very well presented. Richardson was an entertaining host and Bloom was a decent commentator.

[Calcio Jack]

I think that the RTE pundits are way ahead of what's on offer from BBC or UTV... I especially like the the round up they do at the end of the show... on Sunday for example they had Brady explaining to Souness and Whelan that unless their ratings improved Bill wouldn't work with them and they'd have to appear with Peter Collins for Turkey v Switzerland... you just don't get that sort of cutting edge honesty from the BEEB or UTV...

[Stevo Da Gull]

I generally like the RTE commentary, and Souness makes up for Dunphy's idiocy.
However I do find the panel's lack of knowledge of some teams and players to be inexcusable. I am not a football expert, especially when you go outside the British Isles but I seem to know more about European football and footballers than a group of guys who are paid to bring us previews and reviews on the European Championships

I still prefer RTE's coverage to that of the BBC and UTV, if Souness were to defect that may change though

[Dodge]

I still prefer RTE's coverage to that of the BBC and UTV, if Souness were to defect that may change though

Agree BTW Souness is the key for me. personally i can't stand any of the actual RTE commentators so i'll either switch channels or put the sound off.

The lack of knowledge on european football is the same throughout all the British channels too. Some of its understandable, most of its jut laziness though

Oh and James Richardson is my favourite football presenter ever. Can't understand how he's been left to rot on the lesser channels.

[superfrank]

Oh and James Richardson is my favourite football presenter ever. Can't understand how he's been left to rot on the lesser channels.

Try asking him about somewhere other than Italy and you might encounter the same level of ignorance.

But he is a brilliant presenter. Why did Channel 4 scrap that show (Football Italia?)?

[Dodge]

Try asking him about somewhere other than Italy and you might encounter the same level of ignorance.

But he's not an analyst. Don't care about the presenter's knowledge. jsut has to tide things over and entertainment a little. Billo is a ****

Why did Channel 4 scrap that show (Football Italia?)?

Didn't bother renewing the rights. he presented on Bravo and eurosport too

[NeilMcD]

He is very good on the Guardians Podcast too and he does some of the Premier League coverage on Setanta.

[tomred23]

I taught Magee gave good commentry on the France game, at one point he called Nasri a banger. I enjoy litening to the panel but they do seem to run out of things to say on lessser teams.

[Dodge]

He is very good on the Guardians Podcast too and he does some of the Premier League coverage on Setanta.

Fair play, forgot about that.