"The sight is in end," ITV's expert summariser and Guardian chalkboarder David Pleat said last night to an audience of millions as Arsenal appeared to be hanging on to an improbable 10-man victory in last night's Champions League Final.
We all knew what he meant, but he had Colemanballsed way too soon. Just seconds later up popped Samuel Eto'o for a 76th minute equaliser to dash such wishful thinking. The curse of the commentator had struck, and it was the other end that were sighting victory. Five minutes later Barcelona secured it with a goal from substitute Juliano Belletti.
Could ITV not have done better than Mr Pleat, a summariser who consistently mangles foreign names, who regularly misses cues from his commentator and who has the knack of telling us what we can perfectly well see for ourselves? This was perhaps the match with the highest profile of the season and ITV gives us an inadequate summariser and a commentator obsessed with useless statistics (who cares if player X has never scored a goal in a European competition?) And, during the world cup, do we have to tolerate those inarticulate cheeky chappies, Ally McCoist and his less well-known colleague, dressed in matching pinstripe suits and making idiots of themselves at half-time? Are there no footballers capable of a little insight and blessed with an ability to string a few words together prepared to serve on television programmes? (And, to be fair to ITV, the BBC has yet to find any, with the possible exception of Ruud Gullitt.) If not, then get some football journalists, even if they are - sui generis - chronically deficient in the mathematical talent of working out the points required to emerge from the group stages. At least some of them can speak.
Rant over.
1 comment:
I'm not a huge fan of cricket, but I think they all need to take a leaf out of Richie Benaud's book - 'if you can't add to the picture on the screen then shut up'
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