QuoteHas anyone else from the North appeared on it?Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin
I was under the impression that the panel made an initial list which was added to, and altered, by guests of the show. Is this incorrect?
Except, as Ken pointed out to you, the panel don't choose what goes on the wall. They had Neil Lennon on last week, a footballer from NI, and he didn't choose to put the footballer from NI up there.
Has anyone else from the North appeared on it?
I was under the impression that the panel made an initial list which was added to, and altered, by guests of the show. Is this incorrect?
Last edited by The Fly; 20/03/2014 at 1:42 PM.
I think they had Oisín McConville in series one? But they've only done like six shows - they haven't had that many guests. Lennon chose to put Barry McGuigan on the wall, for the record, citing how important a figure he was for both sides of the community in Northern Ireland. On another day, he could easily have chosen Best for similar reasons.
I saw that episode and of course Lennon is entitled to his choice, but I still hold to my criticism given the truly bizarre nature of his absence. I should've referred to the 'ROI centric' nature of the show instead.
Perhaps a non-nationalist Northerner could rectify the situation and allow some common sense to prevail.
Last edited by The Fly; 20/03/2014 at 1:55 PM.
It's hardly surprising that an Irish TV show would focus more on the 75% in ROI than the 25% in NI. And there are only 10 sportspeople on the wall at any given time. It's hardly bizarre that one person wouldn't make it for a few weeks. Anybody who's going to introduce him is probably going to be a footballer and there aren't many of those who'd be going on the show, so you have a pretty explicable absence.
I don't find that surprising. What I do find surprising is the absence of the greatest footballing talent produced on this island; the only Irish player to have won the Ballon D'or, and the only Irish player to have had a legitimate claim to the mantle of best player in the world for a time. As I said - truly bizarre!...whether the show is ROI centric or not.
This could more easily be explained by the guests not being soccer-centric rather than being ROI-centric.
You can see the process for how they chose the original top ten here: http://secondcaptains.tumblr.com/pos...-all-the-picks
You could point out that the original top ten only has one NI sportsperson on it, or you could point out the more glaring fact that it has three boxers and two middle-distance runners on it, compared to two GAA players and two footballers. Some people would argue that our best sportspeople have been boxers and middle-distance runners, while others would argue those are minority sports.
I think you have to be very careful about suggesting national/regional bias when there are more simple explanations to be heard.
Thanks for the link. I still hold to my view though, unless the only other explanation is a lack of common sense.
Well then you're persisting in your view in spite of clear contradictory evidence. Another observation based on looking at the lists - they lean heavily on sportspeople who were successful around the late 80s/early 90s, the prime formative years of most current and recently-retired sportsmen. George Best, for most sportspeople in Ireland, is somebody they never saw live and whose achievements they never contemporarily shared in. Maybe the panellists should show more historical knowledge, but that's another matter, but to conclude they're ROI-centric without a lick of evidence to support it is just plain daft and, I think, a bit insulting to the people who chose the wall.
We'll just have to agree to disagree then.
I'd have little doubt that if he came from Dublin, for example, he'd be on it.
Last edited by The Fly; 20/03/2014 at 2:46 PM.
Like all the other pre-1980s sportspeople on the wall from ROI? You can carry on banging the drum for Best's exclusion being down to ROI-centricism (I haven't seen you offer an explanation for Wayne McCullogh's inclusion) but the evidence doesn't back you up one jot, and I've provided you with a much more robust and logical theory as to why, which you've dismissed without evidence for reasons you haven't attempted to explain.
I agree with your point about the relevant formative era playing a significant part in the various selections. There are certain sportspeople however who transcend eras, and also, to some degree, their own sport. Best is one of those.
McCullough, crucially, competed for Ireland in the Olympics and won a silver medal.
Last edited by The Fly; 20/03/2014 at 6:25 PM.
I'd put Best and Higgins in a top ten, but wouldnt worry to much about this, they are sports people not journos, ie soft analysis at best
Last edited by bennocelt; 20/03/2014 at 3:20 PM.
Can we all just agree, Gerry Armstrong should be put on the list?
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
Gerry is on the Elite Good Wall (EGN).
I just bought tickets to a gig in North Carolina in April. WTF!
DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?
El Clasico finished 4-3 to Barcelona. The best football match I've seen in years.
It was a brilliant antidote than some of the sterile Mourinho-Guardiola battles we've had to put up with, but the best match in years? Was some outstanding skill levels on show from both teams though. Barcelona badly need a real centre half to replace Mascherano.
It's certainly up there. The first half was especially exhilarating.
They need two new centre backs, preferably world class ones. Although those are in short supply these days.
I think it's a disgrace that the club have allowed their defensive frailties to get to the stage that they have. Truly amazing!
Di Maria was unreal first half. He had Dani Alves for breakfast. I was really worried when he went down after the first goal that we had another Fabrice Muamba on our hands, but then two minutes later he was creating another goal! Mounrinho had to show a lot of patience with him and, funnily enough, Ancelotti is getting all the benefit.
I think the logic is that there are so few centre halves who can play the Barca way that you basically need to train a midfielder to defend. Anybody who plays centre half for Barca is always going to be more of a ball player than a defender in my view. Even Hummels, who they've been strongly linked to for years, is fond of the odd clanger.They need two new centre backs, preferably world class ones. Although those are in short supply these days.
I think it's a disgrace that the club have allowed their defensive frailties to get to the stage that they have. Truly amazing!
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