Friday, November 02, 2007

Sunday Papers



I am getting a bit fed up of the preponderance of women in the BBC sports department, if they were any good, I wouldn't mind, but, by and large, they aren't, and I simply can't listen to Jackie Oatley. She shrieks and I have yet to hear her say anything insightful, I appreciate that the same could be said of Alan Green, but there you go. There also seems to be a preponderance of yanks discussing the football on 5 Live, or maybe it's the same one, putting himself about a bit. Why is he there? He adds little, he has no great insights, he doesn't make jokes, what is the point of him?

I'm not against women per se, or even yanks, but unless they are really adding something, why not use blokes, with a history in and a deep seated understanding of the nuances of the game, (not just any bloke, obviously, that way we end up with David Mellor) The Argentine woman on the Guardian podcast is superb, and at least one of the women on Sky sports is better than anyone on the BBC. In fact, why not employ everyone involved in the Guardian podcast, everyone of them is witty and knowledgeable about the game.

The podcast shows that is not difficult to find people who can talk easily about the game, but the BBC seems intent on diversity for diversity's sake, regardless of quality. Here's an idea, why don't they show how brave and forward looking they are by giving a microphone to a much under utilised group........the bloody working class?

The Guardian today has an article on some lost classics from the sixties that have been reissued. I used to fall for this shit once, I would read glowing reviews of someone I had never heard of and go out and buy it. I now realise that the reason these things are lost is not because they are cruelly neglected, but because they are shit; they were shit then and they are shit now. It's just the record companies milking a gullible public, with the connivance of the press. Don't fall for it.

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