West Ham v Man City - League Cup - beIN Sports 11
Angus Scott with Chris Coleman and Gordon Strachan
commentary from Jon Champion Espanyol v Real Madrid - Copa Del Rey - Sky Sports 2
Scott Minto with Albert Ferrer and Guillem Balague
commentary from Kevin Keatings & Gerry Armstrong
Kate Abdo is indeed hosting the Coppa Italia match on Sky Sports 3 with Trevor Francis, as was announced some time ago by hallrose999.
4 Championship games this Saturday but no FL show, no surprise
A Premier League match last night and no Match of the Day, no surprise. Of course there was never going to be a Football League Show, there never has been on FA Cup fourth round weekend, just as ITV never did one. Because, as you say, there are only four Championship games and half of League One and Two. You get more of those on a normal midweek when they never do a show.
BT's midweek rights are only for full midweek rounds. Games rearranged for midweek due to cups etc. stay with whichever broadcaster picked it (if at all, and if they want to keep it).
Indeed, the example being in 2010/11 when Blackpool vs Man U and Liverpool vs Fulham were both scheduled for Saturday teatime on ESPN. Both were called off because of the weather but while ESPN showed the Man U match when it was finally played (the only time after their first season they showed a midweek match), they never showed the Liverpool game, picking another one later in the season, and Sky showed highlights.
New Sky Sports signing Kate Abdo will apparently be presenting the Coppa Italia tonight for Sky.
I haven't really seen much of her Sky Sports News appearances so far but it'll be interesting to see how she performs on a live match.
I wonder why they bothered buying the Coppa Italia given most of the matches are opposite football on other Sky Sports channels, I thought the point was to provide live content when they didn't have anything else.
Someone on Twitter pointed out Sky's scoreline had Man City vs West Ham as 0-0 on aggregate for the first fifteen seconds. Heh!
It is a good comparison Steve Bower and Barry Davies, Barry Davies is the best sports commentator I have ever heard, of the current lot Bower is as good as anyone, possibly bar Darke.
Far easier to listen too than the biased, full of himself Tyler, or the similar Champion or Tyldesley BBC bores like Mowbray and Wilson.
Steve is a breath of fresh air in an era when somehow the best commentators, presenters and pundits don't get the top gigs. Brown nosing and sympathy or full support for Liverpool appear the main requirements.
Steve Bower will be in America during the Winter Olympics. He will be filling in for Rebecca Lowe as the presenter of NBC's Premier League coverage.
I see Jim Proudfoot has announced he is going to be going back to talkSPORT for the World Cup and joining them full time from next season.
So its the end of Sam Matterface who will no doubt be full time at ITV from next season.
Not looking forward to World Cup with him doing the games. Not sure how he got the job, as really not good enough.
So ITV departed with Peter Dury only now to put Sam Matterface in as a possible number 2?? Surely not.
Saying that it was always on the cards considering he, so far this season, has always got the better games over Jon Champion including live FA Cup games over Champion's none.
Matterface is decent but better than Jon Champion....I don't think so.
Do ITV need a 2nd staff commentator after next season?
You would certainly think not but with Proudfoot going to talksport where does that leave Matterface or are we reading to much in the fact he may be joining ITV full time?
You would certainly think not but with Proudfoot going to talksport where does that leave Matterface or are we reading to much in the fact he may be joining ITV full time?
Cant see him going to BT even with all they Champion League games coming up, they have Darke, Fletcher Rae and even Bower and Peter Drury not to mention numerous BBC guys they seem to call upon.
Surely if Sky were looking to bring another guy in they would look to Champion but saying that Matterface did start with Sky.
5live maybe but surely Murray is in pole position there for any number 1 spot so why leave Talksport where he is number 1.
You would certainly think not but with Proudfoot going to talksport where does that leave Matterface or are we reading to much in the fact he may be joining ITV full time?
Wouldn't surprise me if he went to ITV full time. Can't see much use for him at talkSPORT if Jim Proudfoot going there.
for anyone who watches welsh football, theres two games on saturday live on S4C...
Carmarthen Town v Aberystwyth Town Welsh Prem 14:00
Bala Town v Cefn Druids Welsh Cup 16:15
It'll be interesting to see what happens with Sam Matterface now in light of the news that Jim Proudfoot will be returning to talkSPORT after four years away. I'm not convinced ITV would be interested in signing him full-time unless they were going to be creative with him, by using him perhaps in a presenting capacity somewhere and/or on their coverage of other sports. They certainly won't need a contracted secondary football commentator with their FA Cup rights imminently expiring.
Could Matterface return to talkSPORT next season, albeit in a lesser role to the one he enjoys now? talkSPORT are able to offer plenty of live commentary opportunities - two live Premier League games most weekends, two live games most Champions League matchrounds, multiple live games every FA Cup round plus League Cup, Football League Play-Off Final, Community Shield and Europa League commentaries too. The station has used six different commentators so far this season.
If you look at Sam's co-commentator Stan Collymore, he is no longer as prominent on talkSPORT as he was when he first joined the station - he no longer co-commentates on Champions League or League Cup games, but is still their regular Premier League co-commentator and hosts his two weekend phone-ins. It wouldn't be inconceivable to see Sam having his role reduced in a similar fashion, with him still very prominent if not as dominant as he once was.
However, if Sam is to leave talkSPORT at the end of the season - how about this for perhaps the ultimate curve-ball, could he move in the opposite direction to Jim and succeed him as Absolute Radio's Premier League commentator? Given that ITV will no longer have any weekend football it could be plausible.
One thing to note here is that while the move to bring back Jim Proudfoot was almost certainly prompted by Sam Matterface's decision to commit to ITV at the 2014 World Cup, there has been a change in management at talkSPORT since Matterface was brought in and Proudfoot left after the 2010 World Cup. Back then, Moz Dee was talkSPORT's programme controller - he was known as being very well connected within the media and able to bring in a number of people from Sky Sports and the BBC at the time, in many cases ahead of long-tenured talkSPORT veterans. Last year, Dee was succeeded by Liam Fisher - a talkSPORT "lifer" who has been with the station for more than ten years mostly working in a production capacity. Indeed he has produced many of Proudfoot's commentaries for the station during the 2000s. It's not escaped my attention that a number of people who left the station during Dee's tenure have returned since Fisher replaced him, and indeed I've seen a number of people tweeting today that JP should never have been allowed to leave by talkSPORT in the first place.
As it happens I agree; while I have enjoyed Sam Matterface's commentaries (I'm listening to him commentate from Old Trafford as I type this), for me there is no question that Jim Proudfoot is the stronger commentator of the two and the one I want to see as talkSPORT's lead football commentator.
Comments
Bill Leslie & Garry Birtles.
Angus Scott with Chris Coleman and Gordon Strachan
commentary from Jon Champion
Espanyol v Real Madrid - Copa Del Rey - Sky Sports 2
Scott Minto with Albert Ferrer and Guillem Balague
commentary from Kevin Keatings & Gerry Armstrong
Kate Abdo is indeed hosting the Coppa Italia match on Sky Sports 3 with Trevor Francis, as was announced some time ago by hallrose999.
A Premier League match last night and no Match of the Day, no surprise. Of course there was never going to be a Football League Show, there never has been on FA Cup fourth round weekend, just as ITV never did one. Because, as you say, there are only four Championship games and half of League One and Two. You get more of those on a normal midweek when they never do a show.
Indeed, the example being in 2010/11 when Blackpool vs Man U and Liverpool vs Fulham were both scheduled for Saturday teatime on ESPN. Both were called off because of the weather but while ESPN showed the Man U match when it was finally played (the only time after their first season they showed a midweek match), they never showed the Liverpool game, picking another one later in the season, and Sky showed highlights.
I wonder why they bothered buying the Coppa Italia given most of the matches are opposite football on other Sky Sports channels, I thought the point was to provide live content when they didn't have anything else.
Someone on Twitter pointed out Sky's scoreline had Man City vs West Ham as 0-0 on aggregate for the first fifteen seconds. Heh!
So its the end of Sam Matterface who will no doubt be full time at ITV from next season.
Not looking forward to World Cup with him doing the games. Not sure how he got the job, as really not good enough.
do they really need a 2nd full time comm...
anyway D. Provan is co comm tonight for the league cup
So ITV departed with Peter Dury only now to put Sam Matterface in as a possible number 2?? Surely not.
Saying that it was always on the cards considering he, so far this season, has always got the better games over Jon Champion including live FA Cup games over Champion's none.
Matterface is decent but better than Jon Champion....I don't think so.
You would certainly think not but with Proudfoot going to talksport where does that leave Matterface or are we reading to much in the fact he may be joining ITV full time?
Or a curveball move to 5Live? BT? Sky?
Cant see him going to BT even with all they Champion League games coming up, they have Darke, Fletcher Rae and even Bower and Peter Drury not to mention numerous BBC guys they seem to call upon.
Surely if Sky were looking to bring another guy in they would look to Champion but saying that Matterface did start with Sky.
5live maybe but surely Murray is in pole position there for any number 1 spot so why leave Talksport where he is number 1.
Sky Sports 1 HD - Martin Tyler & Davie Provan
World Feed - Peter Drury
Tyler & Provan are comms
Wouldn't surprise me if he went to ITV full time. Can't see much use for him at talkSPORT if Jim Proudfoot going there.
Dont think he would go back if not #1
Sky Sports 2HD - Daniel Mann & Don Goodman
Carmarthen Town v Aberystwyth Town Welsh Prem 14:00
Bala Town v Cefn Druids Welsh Cup 16:15
It's David Phillps but not sure on the comm?
Could Matterface return to talkSPORT next season, albeit in a lesser role to the one he enjoys now? talkSPORT are able to offer plenty of live commentary opportunities - two live Premier League games most weekends, two live games most Champions League matchrounds, multiple live games every FA Cup round plus League Cup, Football League Play-Off Final, Community Shield and Europa League commentaries too. The station has used six different commentators so far this season.
If you look at Sam's co-commentator Stan Collymore, he is no longer as prominent on talkSPORT as he was when he first joined the station - he no longer co-commentates on Champions League or League Cup games, but is still their regular Premier League co-commentator and hosts his two weekend phone-ins. It wouldn't be inconceivable to see Sam having his role reduced in a similar fashion, with him still very prominent if not as dominant as he once was.
However, if Sam is to leave talkSPORT at the end of the season - how about this for perhaps the ultimate curve-ball, could he move in the opposite direction to Jim and succeed him as Absolute Radio's Premier League commentator? Given that ITV will no longer have any weekend football it could be plausible.
One thing to note here is that while the move to bring back Jim Proudfoot was almost certainly prompted by Sam Matterface's decision to commit to ITV at the 2014 World Cup, there has been a change in management at talkSPORT since Matterface was brought in and Proudfoot left after the 2010 World Cup. Back then, Moz Dee was talkSPORT's programme controller - he was known as being very well connected within the media and able to bring in a number of people from Sky Sports and the BBC at the time, in many cases ahead of long-tenured talkSPORT veterans. Last year, Dee was succeeded by Liam Fisher - a talkSPORT "lifer" who has been with the station for more than ten years mostly working in a production capacity. Indeed he has produced many of Proudfoot's commentaries for the station during the 2000s. It's not escaped my attention that a number of people who left the station during Dee's tenure have returned since Fisher replaced him, and indeed I've seen a number of people tweeting today that JP should never have been allowed to leave by talkSPORT in the first place.
As it happens I agree; while I have enjoyed Sam Matterface's commentaries (I'm listening to him commentate from Old Trafford as I type this), for me there is no question that Jim Proudfoot is the stronger commentator of the two and the one I want to see as talkSPORT's lead football commentator.