I don't think BT's PL coverage is very good in terms of analysis (the production/camera work during the games is superb) but I am looking forward to their CL coverage as I am hopeful they will offer something different.
Sky's coverage of the Champions League has gotten a bit stale and somewhat half hearted to me, perhaps to do with losing the contract but even last season it didn't have the same feel as Super Sunday or MNF.
Have to admit that I started watching that video thinking BT had made him do it to boost his "I'm one of you" image - but I quickly realised it was genuine purely because it seemed to feature the real Jake Humphrey talking, not the one wrapped in BT bullshit we see every Saturday afternoon.
I'm one of the people who regard Humphrey as being smug and he didn't come across like that at all in that video, so perhaps it's clear that it's the BT "this is what we do" approach he has to front their football with which makes him appear smug to the viewer.
The overriding feeling I got after watching the video, though, was that if that Jake Humphrey was the one we saw fronting BT's Premier League coverage, I wouldn't mind watching him nearly as much if at all.
Yep, he's clearly a really nice guy (and lots of people say that having met him - including a relative of mine who met him at a corporate 'do') and that video shows that.
It's odd, though, that somebody who clearly has so much self-awareness can build up an on-screen persona that doesn't quite work and comes across as smug. If he genuinely only thinks that people label him as smug because he 'hangs around with footballers on PL grounds', then he's sadly mistaken. His 'act' became a bit up-itself in the tail-end of the BBC F1 days (although he just about reined it in there) and then he went down the wrong road (IMHO) from his first BT broadcast onwards. Why haven't his producers told him that his 'act' needs reinventing a bit? I suppose that BT welcome it, as it's supposed to give out an 'everyman' feel. In fact, the act that Mark Chapman (I don't have Sky, so can't comment on Ed Chamberlin, but I gather that he is similar) uses is far more down-to-earth, because he just gets out of the way. Surely, JH realises that his presenting persona makes it more about him than the match itself?
When he started the F1 coverage in 2009, he said some very good things about how a presenter should operate - the analogy that he used was that they should be like a referee - their best performances are invisible. And he started like that on the F1 coverage and it went really well. But because he was so well received there, his act became more and more self-inflated (again, IMHO) and we've now ended up where we are now.
And that's a pity, because he's clearly a good man (as this video proves) and I've been a fan of his for more than a decade (going back to Rule the School in 2003!!). He's clearly got a great future ahead of him, but he's gone down a bit of a blind alley with his presenting persona at the moment, IMHO.
Yep, he's clearly a really nice guy (and lots of people say that having met him - including a relative of mine who met him at a corporate 'do') and that video shows that.
It's odd, though, that somebody who clearly has so much self-awareness can build up an on-screen persona that doesn't quite work and comes across as smug. If he genuinely only thinks that people label him as smug because he 'hangs around with footballers on PL grounds', then he's sadly mistaken. His 'act' became a bit up-itself in the tail-end of the BBC F1 days (although he just about reined it in there) and then he went down the wrong road (IMHO) from his first BT broadcast onwards. Why haven't his producers told him that his 'act' needs reinventing a bit? I suppose that BT welcome it, as it's supposed to give out an 'everyman' feel. In fact, the act that Mark Chapman (I don't have Sky, so can't comment on Ed Chamberlin, but I gather that he is similar) uses is far more down-to-earth, because he just gets out of the way. Surely, JH realises that his presenting persona makes it more about him than the match itself?
When he started the F1 coverage in 2009, he said some very good things about how a presenter should operate - the analogy that he used was that they should be like a referee - their best performances are invisible. And he started like that on the F1 coverage and it went really well. But because he was so well received there, his act became more and more self-inflated (again, IMHO) and we've now ended up where we are now.
And that's a pity, because he's clearly a good man (as this video proves) and I've been a fan of his for more than a decade (going back to Rule the School in 2003!!). He's clearly got a great future ahead of him, but he's gone down a bit of a blind alley with his presenting persona at the moment, IMHO.
Great Post, it just seems that Humphrey has believed his own hype and now he plays up to it
Saturday Southampton v Spurs - Bill Leslie & Kevin Kilbane Burnley v Leicester City - Gary Weaver & Garry Birtles Crystal Palace v Hull City - Gary Taphouse & Efan Ekoku Newcastle United v Swansea City - Phil Blacker & Davie Provan QPR v West Ham - Tony Jones & Tony Gale Stoke City v Sunderland - Joe Speight & Andy Walker West Brom v Liverpool - Ian Crocker & Dean Sturridge Man City v Aston Villa - Peter Drury & Jim Beglin
Sunday Everton v Man United - Jon Champion & Jim Beglin Arsenal v Chelsea - Peter Drury & Danny Mills
Italian Serie A - World Feed
Saturday Udinese v AC Milan - Richard Whittle Inter Milan v AS Roma - Paul Visca & Owen Neilson
Sunday Atalanta v Empoli - Richard Whittle Genoa v Cesena - Giacomo Margutti Lazio v Chievo - Marco Palmieri Parma v Palermo - Greg Bateman Torino v Juventus - Patrick Tarroni Verona v Sassuolo - Owen Neilson Fiorentina v Cagliari - Richard Whittle Napoli v Sampdoria - Paul Visca
Southampton vs Tottenham - Simon Brotherton
Burnley vs Leicester - Alan Green
Crystal Palace vs Hull - John Motson
Newcastle vs Swansea - John Roder
QPR vs West Ham - Steve Wilson
Stoke vs Sunderland - Steve Bower
West Brom vs Liverpool - Tony Husband
Manchester City vs Aston Villa - Guy Mowbray
Match of the Day 2 26/04/2015
Everton vs Manchester United - Conor McNamara
Arsenal vs Chelsea - Steve Wilson
Southampton vs Tottenham - Simon Brotherton
Burnley vs Leicester - Alan Green
Crystal Palace vs Hull - John Motson
Newcastle vs Swansea - John Roder
QPR vs West Ham - Steve Wilson Stoke vs Sunderland - Steve Bower
West Brom vs Liverpool - Tony Husband
Manchester City vs Aston Villa - Guy Mowbray
Match of the Day 2 26/04/2015
Everton vs Manchester United - Conor McNamara
Arsenal vs Chelsea - Steve Wilson
Feel a bit sorry for sorry for Steve Bower, after doing most of the conference this season he misses the all important conference clash tomorrow on BT Sport, Barnet v Gateshead, for the Stoke game.
Derek Rae instead getting to cover the game which by the time Sunday comes would of made it another 4 in a row for him with 3 of those being on site.
And that's a pity, because he's clearly a good man (as this video proves) and I've been a fan of his for more than a decade (going back to Rule the School in 2003!!). He's clearly got a great future ahead of him, but he's gone down a bit of a blind alley with his presenting persona at the moment, IMHO.
Heh, I always thought he seemed a bit too eager to please when he was on CBBC. The interesting thing about Humphrey is that of course he got to the last four for Blue Peter in 1999 but Simon Thomas got the job instead. Who'd have thought that fifteen years later they'd be going head to head every Saturday?
Feel a bit sorry for sorry for Steve Bower, after doing most of the conference this season he misses the all important conference clash tomorrow on BT Sport, Barnet v Gateshead, for the Stoke game.
Well, that's always going to be the case if you're a freelancer and you take all the work you can. I remember Rae did the last day last season as well. I think MOTD is higher profile than the Conference coverage, even if you're just at Stoke, and it might pay better too. Last season Clemmit wasn't on the last day either, I don't know if he's going to be about tomorrow. It's always going to be a problem if your lead presenter and commentator usually work on Saturdays and you have a Saturday game.
Feel a bit sorry for sorry for Steve Bower, after doing most of the conference this season he misses the all important conference clash tomorrow on BT Sport, Barnet v Gateshead, for the Stoke game.
Derek Rae instead getting to cover the game which by the time Sunday comes would of made it another 4 in a row for him with 3 of those being on site.
Bower will be on Everton/Man Utd with Phil Neville for NBC.
Saturday World feed comms (and a surprise inclusion for Southampton/Tottenham):
7:45 a.m. on NBCSN – Southampton v. Tottenham, commentated by Bill Leslie and Kevin Kilbane
10 a.m. on NBCSN – Burnley v. Leicester City, commentated by Gary Weaver and Garry Birtles
10 a.m. on Premier League Extra Time – West Brom v. Liverpool, commentated by Ian Crocker and Dean Sturridge
10 a.m. on Premier League Extra Time – Queens Park Rangers v. West Ham, commentated by Tony Jones and Tony Gale
10 a.m. on Premier League Extra Time – Newcastle v. Swansea City, commentated by Phil Blacker and Davie Provan
10 a.m. on Premier League Extra Time – Crystal Palace v. Hull City, commentated by Gary Taphouse and Efan Ekoku
10 a.m. on Premier League Extra Time – Stoke City v. Sunderland, commentated by Joe Speight and Andy Walker
He is normally but he's made a couple of motd appearances and also fls.
Some bizarre appointments. Husband on a Liverpool game, Mcnamara on a Liverpool game and Alan Green doing one of the biggest games of the season.
Would it be fair to assume that Pearce would have been put down to commentate on the West Brom game but for whatever reason he couldnt do it so as Husband would have been there anyway for Final Score they will have moved him over to commentary.
Southampton v Tottenham
Jake Humphrey presents alongside Owen Hargreaves, Paul Scholes and Steve McManaman.
I have to say the pre-match coverage for this game is actually very good. I know it's a decent game in prospect and a pretty good fourth pick from BT but why not have this line-up on for the FA Cup Semi or Arsenal v Liverpool? Much better than the likes of Savage, "Jamo" and that rather odd appearance for Harry Redknapp (Ars-Liv).
Comments
I don't think BT's PL coverage is very good in terms of analysis (the production/camera work during the games is superb) but I am looking forward to their CL coverage as I am hopeful they will offer something different.
Sky's coverage of the Champions League has gotten a bit stale and somewhat half hearted to me, perhaps to do with losing the contract but even last season it didn't have the same feel as Super Sunday or MNF.
Yep, he's clearly a really nice guy (and lots of people say that having met him - including a relative of mine who met him at a corporate 'do') and that video shows that.
It's odd, though, that somebody who clearly has so much self-awareness can build up an on-screen persona that doesn't quite work and comes across as smug. If he genuinely only thinks that people label him as smug because he 'hangs around with footballers on PL grounds', then he's sadly mistaken. His 'act' became a bit up-itself in the tail-end of the BBC F1 days (although he just about reined it in there) and then he went down the wrong road (IMHO) from his first BT broadcast onwards. Why haven't his producers told him that his 'act' needs reinventing a bit? I suppose that BT welcome it, as it's supposed to give out an 'everyman' feel. In fact, the act that Mark Chapman (I don't have Sky, so can't comment on Ed Chamberlin, but I gather that he is similar) uses is far more down-to-earth, because he just gets out of the way. Surely, JH realises that his presenting persona makes it more about him than the match itself?
When he started the F1 coverage in 2009, he said some very good things about how a presenter should operate - the analogy that he used was that they should be like a referee - their best performances are invisible. And he started like that on the F1 coverage and it went really well. But because he was so well received there, his act became more and more self-inflated (again, IMHO) and we've now ended up where we are now.
And that's a pity, because he's clearly a good man (as this video proves) and I've been a fan of his for more than a decade (going back to Rule the School in 2003!!). He's clearly got a great future ahead of him, but he's gone down a bit of a blind alley with his presenting persona at the moment, IMHO.
Great Post, it just seems that Humphrey has believed his own hype and now he plays up to it
Saturday
Southampton v Spurs - Bill Leslie & Kevin Kilbane
Burnley v Leicester City - Gary Weaver & Garry Birtles
Crystal Palace v Hull City - Gary Taphouse & Efan Ekoku
Newcastle United v Swansea City - Phil Blacker & Davie Provan
QPR v West Ham - Tony Jones & Tony Gale
Stoke City v Sunderland - Joe Speight & Andy Walker
West Brom v Liverpool - Ian Crocker & Dean Sturridge
Man City v Aston Villa - Peter Drury & Jim Beglin
Sunday
Everton v Man United - Jon Champion & Jim Beglin
Arsenal v Chelsea - Peter Drury & Danny Mills
Italian Serie A - World Feed
Saturday
Udinese v AC Milan - Richard Whittle
Inter Milan v AS Roma - Paul Visca & Owen Neilson
Sunday
Atalanta v Empoli - Richard Whittle
Genoa v Cesena - Giacomo Margutti
Lazio v Chievo - Marco Palmieri
Parma v Palermo - Greg Bateman
Torino v Juventus - Patrick Tarroni
Verona v Sassuolo - Owen Neilson
Fiorentina v Cagliari - Richard Whittle
Napoli v Sampdoria - Paul Visca
Southampton vs Tottenham - Simon Brotherton
Burnley vs Leicester - Alan Green
Crystal Palace vs Hull - John Motson
Newcastle vs Swansea - John Roder
QPR vs West Ham - Steve Wilson
Stoke vs Sunderland - Steve Bower
West Brom vs Liverpool - Tony Husband
Manchester City vs Aston Villa - Guy Mowbray
Match of the Day 2 26/04/2015
Everton vs Manchester United - Conor McNamara
Arsenal vs Chelsea - Steve Wilson
He is normally but he's made a couple of motd appearances and also fls.
Some bizarre appointments. Husband on a Liverpool game, Mcnamara on a Liverpool game and Alan Green doing one of the biggest games of the season.
Feel a bit sorry for sorry for Steve Bower, after doing most of the conference this season he misses the all important conference clash tomorrow on BT Sport, Barnet v Gateshead, for the Stoke game.
Derek Rae instead getting to cover the game which by the time Sunday comes would of made it another 4 in a row for him with 3 of those being on site.
Comm: Dan Mason
Heh, I always thought he seemed a bit too eager to please when he was on CBBC. The interesting thing about Humphrey is that of course he got to the last four for Blue Peter in 1999 but Simon Thomas got the job instead. Who'd have thought that fifteen years later they'd be going head to head every Saturday?
Well, that's always going to be the case if you're a freelancer and you take all the work you can. I remember Rae did the last day last season as well. I think MOTD is higher profile than the Conference coverage, even if you're just at Stoke, and it might pay better too. Last season Clemmit wasn't on the last day either, I don't know if he's going to be about tomorrow. It's always going to be a problem if your lead presenter and commentator usually work on Saturdays and you have a Saturday game.
World Feed - Alan Fountain
That should read Mcnamara on a Man United game. I typed in a hurry
At least you were partly right as the game is being played in Liverpool.
Wayne Boyce and Michael Skubala for Eurosport 2 International
Bower will be on Everton/Man Utd with Phil Neville for NBC.
Saturday World feed comms (and a surprise inclusion for Southampton/Tottenham):
7:45 a.m. on NBCSN – Southampton v. Tottenham, commentated by Bill Leslie and Kevin Kilbane
10 a.m. on NBCSN – Burnley v. Leicester City, commentated by Gary Weaver and Garry Birtles
10 a.m. on Premier League Extra Time – West Brom v. Liverpool, commentated by Ian Crocker and Dean Sturridge
10 a.m. on Premier League Extra Time – Queens Park Rangers v. West Ham, commentated by Tony Jones and Tony Gale
10 a.m. on Premier League Extra Time – Newcastle v. Swansea City, commentated by Phil Blacker and Davie Provan
10 a.m. on Premier League Extra Time – Crystal Palace v. Hull City, commentated by Gary Taphouse and Efan Ekoku
10 a.m. on Premier League Extra Time – Stoke City v. Sunderland, commentated by Joe Speight and Andy Walker
If he still lives in Scotland, I imagine it must be a geography based thing
I posted all the World Feed comms further up the page!! ;-)
Would it be fair to assume that Pearce would have been put down to commentate on the West Brom game but for whatever reason he couldnt do it so as Husband would have been there anyway for Final Score they will have moved him over to commentary.
Richard Keys with Andy Cole, Ruud Gullit & Andy Gray.
Southampton v Spurs - Bill Leslie & Kevin Kilbane
Burnley v Leicester - Gary Weaver & Garry Birtles
Man City v Aston Villa - Peter Drury & Jim Beglin
I'm disappointed that 5Live have gone with the meaningless PL game
Sky Sports 1 HD - Daniel Mann & Don Goodman
World Feed - Dan O'Hagan
Jake Humphrey presents alongside Owen Hargreaves, Paul Scholes and Steve McManaman.
I have to say the pre-match coverage for this game is actually very good. I know it's a decent game in prospect and a pretty good fourth pick from BT but why not have this line-up on for the FA Cup Semi or Arsenal v Liverpool? Much better than the likes of Savage, "Jamo" and that rather odd appearance for Harry Redknapp (Ars-Liv).
World Feed - Alan Fountain
Connor Morris presents with Kenny Cunningham & Matt Holland
Des Curran & Brian Little commentating (and - of course - no invision)