11 comments

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  Anonymous

  2 years ago

  You missed Daniel Mann, Bill Leslie, Rob Palmer, John Anderson, Gordon McQueen, Davie Provan & one of my favourites Gary O'Reilly.
  
  
  According to that excellent newspaper The People Martin Tyler will defect to Setanta for ridiculous money.
  
  
  
  Funny how Rod Marsh was sacked by Sky Sports yet Andy Burton did not suffer the same fate after pleading guilty in a magistrates court to a charge of assault on DJ Richard Bacon. The attack in a pub toilet followed Bacon dating an ex of Burton's. The commentator is also notorious for missing the entire first half of a Bravo Italian League commentary because he was unaware of the kick-off time!
  
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  Kartik

  2 years ago

  Tim Caple is excellent. He provides not only a good play by play (unlike some other commentators who miss pieces of the action) but his analysis is spot on. Martin Tyler is excellent as well. I am a fan of Robbie Earle who does a good job adding some nice points to the broadcast, and liked him as a player too both for the Regge Boys and also for the now defunct Wimbledon FC. (Now the MK Dons). David Pleat and Trevor Francis are very good as well. Ian Darke used to work over here calling games off a monitor so I am used to him.
  
  
  I know everyone likes Andy Gray but for me he gives just very generic commentary, and doesn't add much to the broadcast. Like many top color commentators in American sports (John Madden, Billy Packer, every College Football commentator) he seems to worried about offending certain sacred cows in the media and doesn't apply equal harshness to certain clubs and managers. The same can be said for the BBC Radio commentators on the call in show 606.
  
  
  
  Every single one of these commentators including Andy Gray is better than the soccer anaylsts in the USA. Our one gem is Ray Hudson but for whatever reason ESPN hasn't hired him which is a terrible pity that smacks of cronyism in the industry.
  
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  JC

  2 years ago

  Nice write-up, Gaffer.
  
  
  Question: What ever happened to John Motson?
  
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  deeplennon

  2 years ago

  Great post.
  
  
  Motson works for BBC, so you can only hear him on FA Cup matches and abbreviated match coverage on Match of the Day.
  
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  Anonymous

  2 years ago

  Motto is a ledge~ Barry Davies is up there too. Alan Parry is ny fave and then Tyler.
  Co- commentators:
  
  Who is Gary O reilly? I like him a lot- he does the late afternoon games- he's very different to the rest.
  
  cheers,
  
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  Anonymous

  2 years ago

  You forgot about Ian Crocker, who recently left BSkyB for Setanta. Crocker did games for TWI in the past.
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  Anonymous

  1 year ago

  I enjoy all the commentators, so much better than the crap we have here in Canada, but for David Pleat. He is just the worst. "I have to say the grass is green today"...he must go. He reminds me of the old python skit "i hit the ball and it it when in the net." Dreadful.
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  Chris O

  1 year ago

  My thoughts are that Martin Tyler is the best of all of them - a great tone of voice to accompany the well-judged commentary.
  
  I think Andy Gray's quite incisive in his commentary and speak's like an ex-player who really knows his stuff.
  
  Alan Parry, I'm afraid, is one of my least favourite commentators. I remember a match some years ago between Man United and West Ham in which the latter were getting really... well, hammered. Parry's commentary was so pro-United throughout that I nearly vomited.
  
  It was all "Aren't Man United the best team in the world when they're playing like this?" and "You feel sorry for West Ham but they're not in the same class as this incredible United side..." only worse - MUCH worse.
  
  David Pleat's just a joke, frankly. How he got a job writing a column in the Saturday Sport section of The Guardian I'll never know...
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  Peer

  1 year ago

  Garry O'Reilly is the most boring English commentator. I just can't stand his waffle.
  
  ESPN have generally got the worst of the lot. Some of those motormouths appear to be paid by the number of words they utter.
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  Norm

  1 year ago

  Garry Bloom has got to be up there with the best, whats he doing these days?
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  The Gaffer

  5 months ago

  Mark Bright was bloody awful in the international commentary this morning between West Ham and Fulham. Fulham's Konchesky scored a beautiful goal, and Bright said that "Schwarzer had no chance [to save it]." Problem was that Robert Green was in goal. Schwarzer is Fulham's goalkeeper!
  
  One more thing about Bright. He talks too much. Ian Crocker couldn't get a word in edgewise at times. Bright is full of excitement, but a little bit too much for me.
  
  Cheers,
  The Gaffer
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