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Post by baldy on Jan 26, 2011 9:52:44 GMT
Stan Collymore is rumoured to be a front runner along with Paul Merson. Alan Brazil also mentioned. I think Merson is good on Soccer Saturday but not sure he's right for Grays role. He's good in that banter role with the other pundits but the more serious role that Gray did would probably be a step too far.
I think Collymore comes across well, certainly on the radio. He's very opinionated and seems to have a clear idea about the game. The likes of Redknapp and Andy Townsend are both very good but have a hint of 'sit on the fence' about them. Lets be honest, could Jamie Redknapp comfortably slaughter a Tottenham player for a bad challenge if an FA charge was pending ?
Other pundits I like are Steve McManaman and Craig Burley but I'd still pick Collymore ahead of these two.
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Post by hairy on Jan 26, 2011 10:16:54 GMT
Didnt Burley do the job for setanta? They seem to like jocks for these sort of jobs as well. After getting rid of Gray for his behaviour would Stan Collymore not be a risky appointment? His past makes Gray look like an angel.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2011 10:23:31 GMT
McManaman would be a great shout, but would be more suited to the more intelligent BBC style of punditry rather than opinionated, hype up the brand SKY style. Collymore is probably more suitable for SKY.
Love him or hate him (and it seems most hated him), Gray was so much the face of Sky's football coverage that it was quite a bold move to get rid without an obvious replacement.
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Post by baldy on Jan 26, 2011 10:27:26 GMT
Didnt Burley do the job for setanta? They seem to like jocks for these sort of jobs as well. After getting rid of Gray for his behaviour would Stan Collymore not be a risky appointment? His past makes Gray look like an angel. Merson is the main man on Soccer Saturday and he's had a dodgy past. A lot have had a few scrapes but Collymore is openly remorseful about some of his past and I've heard him answer some very direct questions with a real honesty. You are talking about incidents 10-15 years ago and we've got murderers back on the streets in that time. I think he would be excellent and he'd have an impartiality that Redknapp, quite naturally, couldn't have.
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Post by yellowhun on Jan 26, 2011 11:22:40 GMT
Dean Windass. The man comes over as a natural.
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Post by hairy on Jan 26, 2011 11:26:16 GMT
Would still be strange to sack Gray for lewd comments and then replace him with a man who beat up Ulrika Johnson in a bar. Also he is hardly reliable, has disapeared from various jobs with depression before without telling anyone. I doubt he is considered professional enough for sky. Merson is a different case as he plays the clown on a panel on soccer saturday and Jeff Stelling is the main man on that show, also his addictions were more a case of self harming with no else getting hurt (in a way).
Would be very suprised if Collymore got the job and think sky have wanted Redknapp to do the job and become the face of their coverage for a while, might explain the arguments him and Gray have had. Why would sky want someone who is says what he thinks on their main show anyway? Its very much a case of towing the company line with them when it comes to premier league football as its their main selling point.
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Post by dougie07 on Jan 26, 2011 11:40:44 GMT
Collymore's analysis on TalkSport is infuriating. He's opinionated but comes out with rubbish half the time. Lee Dixon is one of the best of the footballer-turned-pundit brigade but I'd like to see it go to someone less well known who has a deep understanding of the game. Richardson is a good shout and Marcotti is annoying but knows his stuff. An outside shout would be Chris Coleman who speaks a lot of sense and has the nice habit of not repeating cliches each week.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2011 11:52:56 GMT
I'd like to see it go to someone less well known who has a deep understanding of the game. . Me too, but that isn't SKY's style. They want someone who will talk about the Premier League as if it is the best league in the world, someone who really thinks Messi or Xavi would struggle against Stoke...someone who will be an advertisement for the Premier League. Anyone that has a deep understanding of the game will have their own thoughts and opinions and that would rule them out for SKY. They need a puppet, who will say what they want them to say.
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Post by Cobi Jones on Jan 26, 2011 11:57:34 GMT
If Keys goes James Richardson should present.
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Post by hairy on Jan 26, 2011 12:11:13 GMT
Sky are not going to give their flagship show over to James Richardson and Chris Coleman are they? Its aimed at armchair football fans who never go to live games so maybe we should ask moobs who he would like to watch. Rumour is that if Keys goes it will be Ben Shephard and Jaime Redknapp and that sounds about right to me, Sky are hardly going to go all leftfield with their big investment.
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Post by sihath on Jan 26, 2011 12:26:31 GMT
Stan Collymore is rumoured to be a front runner along with Paul Merson. Alan Brazil also mentioned. I think Merson is good on Soccer Saturday but not sure he's right for Grays role. He's good in that banter role with the other pundits but the more serious role that Gray did would probably be a step too far. I think Collymore comes across well, certainly on the radio. He's very opinionated and seems to have a clear idea about the game. The likes of Redknapp and Andy Townsend are both very good but have a hint of 'sit on the fence' about them. Lets be honest, could Jamie Redknapp comfortably slaughter a Tottenham player for a bad challenge if an FA charge was pending ? Other pundits I like are Steve McManaman and Craig Burley but I'd still pick Collymore ahead of these two. Totally agree with you on Collymore. He's not full of clichés and he speaks his mind. Another one who is very thoughtful in his analysis is Martin Keown. He will explain his point of view very well, some of the other MOTD pundits (Alan Shearer) don't have the ability to explain why a player should have done something different, or why what they did was the right thing.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2011 12:58:19 GMT
Its aimed at armchair football fans who never go to live games. and who never watch any football from other countries. I hope Richardson, with his in depth knowledge of other leagues would turn down any approach on principle. It would be the equivalent of Jules Holland becoming a judge on X Factor
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Post by carefreeoufc on Jan 26, 2011 13:00:45 GMT
I heard a rumour from a VERY reliable source that they are just dotting the i's and crossing the t's with Big Ron Atkinson as we speak
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Post by baldy on Jan 26, 2011 13:02:04 GMT
Lee Dixon is an awful pundit. You need someone, like Collymore, who has the ability to say something away from the norm. I'm not saying you need to court controversy but the best to listen to are those with a fraction of risk, otherwise you may as well just have the sound down and chat with your missus while its on. Dixon, Keown, Shearer are all so bland. I dont particularly like Alan 'sensational' Hansen either, he's become old hat and there is rarely any really incisive input from him.
Collymore is fresh, bright, articulate and speaks fluently. He's got charisma and looks the part too, dresses well. And he ticks the mixed race card too - oh so important in this barmy PC world. All small factors but everything lends itself to an impressive pundit.
As for presenter, forget that bell end James Richardson. What a t*at he is and I wouldn't want Ben Shepherd either. Lineker would be the obvious choice but he seems entrenched in BBC for years to come and I think Stelling is best kept for SS. He cant do everything.
My choice would be Stan Collymore in the Andy Gray role with either Gary Newbon or Rob McCaffrey presenting with possibly Jason Cundy as a long shot in the presenting role.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2011 13:09:45 GMT
Why is Richardson a bell-end?
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Post by baldy on Jan 26, 2011 13:32:53 GMT
Why is Richardson a bell-end? Pompous. I just found all that sipping coffee outside the Italian starbucks nauseating when he used to do the channel 4 football. I dont see him as a real football man. He's the sort of Englishman who if you asked who he supports he'd probably say Juventus, sorry Juve.
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Post by Boogaloo on Jan 26, 2011 13:40:57 GMT
Why is Richardson a bell-end? Pompous. I just found all that sipping coffee outside the Italian starbucks nauseating when he used to do the channel 4 football. I dont see him as a real football man. He's the sort of Englishman who if you asked who he supports he'd probably say Juventus, sorry Juve. And what's wrong with that? There's loads of good coffee shops in Italy where you can enjoy a nice latte, cappuccino, espresso or whatever you desire. Oh, and Starbucks is from Seattle, USA. I suspect Mr Richardson drinks the real stuff.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2011 13:54:31 GMT
I was going to say he probably has more class than Starbucks ;-)
He's known best for presenting Football Italia so hardly fair to critisise him for Italianisms
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Post by dougie07 on Jan 26, 2011 14:09:18 GMT
Don't agree with a word of what you just said Baldy but each to their own. I think we have very different visions of what we want from our football coverage.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2011 14:23:18 GMT
dougie - sadly, I think those of us who want an intelligent approach to analysing football are very much in the minority...
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Post by moobs on Jan 26, 2011 14:27:09 GMT
I'd have Michael McIntyre presenting and Harry Hill as the pundit
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Post by tatabanya on Jan 26, 2011 14:29:33 GMT
Geoff Shreeves
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Post by moobs on Jan 26, 2011 14:35:16 GMT
Paul Parker?
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Post by tonyw on Jan 26, 2011 15:42:56 GMT
Paul Merson.....ma ha ha. The guy can't string together a coherent sentence!
The one guy I heard on the radio the other day who I thought was excellent though was Dion Dublin. Came across as intelligent, insightful and actually added something to the broadcast.
Most pundits are just white noise as far as I'm concerned, so I wouldn't say I'm massively concerned who they pick!
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Post by moobs on Jan 26, 2011 15:56:33 GMT
What about Mark Lawrenson? He's very light hearted but articluate at the same time adding his unique brand of comedic wit, he's the full package
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Post by Paul Cannell on Jan 26, 2011 15:59:09 GMT
Why is Richardson a bell-end? Pompous. I just found all that sipping coffee outside the Italian starbucks nauseating when he used to do the channel 4 football. I dont see him as a real football man. He's the sort of Englishman who if you asked who he supports he'd probably say Juventus, sorry Juve. At least he's not the sort of Englishman who would say he supports Man Utd. And he's not an animated turd on a stick so I can't see him replacing Grey - he's far too good for Sky.
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Post by baldy on Jan 26, 2011 16:14:03 GMT
Does presenting football really need a slick smoothie ?
At least when Gray talked he had passion in his voice and he was always animated. Football fans can relate to that, I'm not too sure they can to someone who sounds and looks as though he's been plucked from an antique shop on Burford high street.
Gary Newbon would be good. Good delivery and a lot of knowledge right across the football spectrum.
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Post by Paul Cannell on Jan 26, 2011 16:20:11 GMT
Funny how passion is valued in place of intelligence.
Decades ago, on Central News, Gary Newbon spent every minute for a fortnight reminding the audience that he was going to interview Muhamad Ali on Friday. Friday came and no interview. Newbon had been run over by a taxi on the way to the interview. Jesus, how I laughed. He would suit Sky quite well.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2011 18:09:41 GMT
Does presenting football really need a slick smoothie ? At least when Gray talked he had passion in his voice and he was always animated. Football fans can relate to that, I'm not too sure they can to someone who sounds and looks as though he's been plucked from an antique shop on Burford high street. Gary Newbon would be good. Good delivery and a lot of knowledge right across the football spectrum. It doesn't matter how animated you are if you don't know what you're talking about. Surely a couple of trips to the KaStad could tell you that. I don't care who takes over as long as the analysis can get back to the football and not constantly go over referees decisions. I really don't need to watch something in slow-mo five times to see that it's "just offside" when the ref/lino has had to make a snap judgement.
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Post by unification on Jan 26, 2011 18:32:11 GMT
Why is Richardson a bell-end? Pompous. I just found all that sipping coffee outside the Italian starbucks nauseating when he used to do the channel 4 football. I dont see him as a real football man. He's the sort of Englishman who if you asked who he supports he'd probably say Juventus, sorry Juve. And why is that a problem? Personally, I always thought he had the best job in football, sat in a cafe, sipping on coffee and eyeing up some quality Italian totty stats in La Gazzetta. He's far better than Gray with his lame overdesigned iPad and pen-pic tiddlywinks which only contributed to the bollocks he chatted. Still, Richardson won't go to Sky because his face wouldn't fit in there. As others have said, Sky will want a puppet and I can see someone like Jamie Redknapp getting it. Someone who doesn't need to think too much.
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