Good spot 4-4-2.

Seeing as he's due to be teaming up with Adrian Durham on the weekday Drivetime show, I wonder if this means Adrian will be staying in the UK as well with Mark Saggers being their lead anchor in South Africa?

Don't be premature! Martin Jol's Ajax are only 1 point behind, and in better form, but they had a rough start to the campaign. BTW my friend in Amsterdam has heard Steve McClaren speak English with his normal York accent on Dutch TV, and understands him perfectly, so I think that attempt to ingratiate himself was a one off.

Not everyone from London is a Cockney you know. Baker is a South Londoner, and their accent is different.

Sorry but he is the living embodiment of Cock ney Wan ka.

It's being reported that Jamie Carragher is likely to get a call-up to the provisional England squad for the World Cup, which would put his involvement with talkSPORT's coverage of the tournament in doubt.

He was set to co-present the station's drive time programme from his sports bar in Liverpool, with Adrian Durham elsewhere - quite probably in South Africa.

I was going to bring this up, as from listening yesterday (colleagues were joking with Adrian Durham that Jamie had "blown him out again") it appears as if talkSPORT staff have already accepted that Jamie won't be with them as planned this summer.

Those from the station who have spoken on-air about Jamie's possible recall to the England squad have sounded pretty confident that he will be going to the World Cup, so I wonder if the station has made/are making contingency plans in lieu of Carra's potential unavailability for them.

It could be decided that it would be a good idea to pair their remaining "star signing" Harry Redknapp up with Adrian on Drive, which could actually work better for talkSPORT if both are due to be on-site (rather than having Adrian and Jamie hosting from different locations).

But if this news about Jamie has come as as much of a shock to them as it has to most England fans, then it might be that they will either stick with Darren Gough at Drivetime (no thanks!) or bring in a more low key current player or ex-pro to work alongside Adrian during the summer.


Two other points of interest regarding talkSPORT's coverage: - I heard Mike Parry mention on his show this morning that he will be presenting from South Africa this summer, while a running gag on The Sports Breakfast is that Ian Abrahams doesn't know whether or not he'll be going to World Cup (given that Alan and Ronnie are teasing him about it, I suspect he will be going).

But we are still waiting for talkSPORT to make an official statement or put out a press release which publically details their World Cup coverage.

I read on the UTV Pitch blog that the station is holding a mock World Cup 5-a-side tournament "to celebrate talkSPORT's official coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup" this Friday. So this might be a good publicity opportunity for them to reveal the full specifics of their World Cup plans.

I heard Martin Kelner say overnight the weekend before last that he didn't know how much longer he'd be doing the shows for as TS had forked out so much money for the WC coverage and were putting everything into it including round the clock football phone-ins, so the non-sport shows would disappear!

Did Martin say this in a throwaway or tough-in-cheek manner or did he sound quite straight-laced about this?

While I've no doubt talkSPORT have put a lot of money into their World Cup coverage, and I can see Ian Collins being given a few nights off to accommodate lengthy post-match reaction immediately after key games in the 7.30pm kick-off slot, I'd be very surprised if we get to hear the likes of Beeky presenting football phone-ins at 3am in the morning!

Martin's due to take over the BBC Radio Leeds breakfast show soon, so that might be the reason why he was unsure of how long his current talkSPORT fill-in stint will last - but of course, mentioning another radio station on-air is not really the done thing, so this might have been a way of diverting the conversation away from this.

Are you mad?
Baker is one of the most intelligent broadcasters the country has- including those on R4.
I am not in the age range you mentioned and have not had a fight recently.
I can understand why he would not appeal to the lower orders who listen to all talking radio (as DB called it when he was there) as they would probably not understand some of the long words he uses.

I was with you until the bit I've emboldened, where you spoiled the point you were making.

Going by your criteria, I must be one of the "lower orders" who listens to talkSPORT.

But then Danny Baker is one of the few Five Live presenters who appeals to me, I love his show and listen to it regularly. I also enjoy the work of his long-time co-presenter Danny Kelly over on the station you sneer at. And I would like to think I have a good command of the English vocabulary thank you very much!

As for the poster who doesn't rate Baker whom you have quoted and aimed this jibe at, well from having read his posts elsewhere on this forum, it's pretty clear that he's as pro-Five Live and anti-talkSPORT as they come. So your criticism of him doesn't ring true either.

The next time you want to refute a sweeping statement, maybe it would be better to do so without making one of your own.

Yesterday, Hawksbee & Jacobs' afternoon show on talkSPORT was devoted to the announcement of England's World Cup squad and I noticed how most of the people we know are going to be a core part of their World Cup team were brought on to give their opinions about the squad.

Among these were Mark Saggers, Adrian Durham, Harry Redknapp, Stan Collymore and Alvin Martin.

Ray Parlour was similarly invited on to give his thoughts, and with his expanding role on the station, I reckon he could be in with a shout of making talkSPORT's World Cup team as a co-commentator or pundit.

Ah, that could well be the case. He does have a deadpan delivery. I think his comment came at a moment when he had been receiving some critical texts and emails about his show, and then a caller said they enjoyed his style and wanted him to stay permanently, so maybe he made that remark to move attention away from himself.

I do agree, TS must have paid alot of money for official WC coverage, but surely overnights will remain predominantly non-sport even during that month. Though ofcourse they have presenters overnight who could handle the Football aswell - eg. Goldie. I think Mike Graham just bluffs, and is not hardcore at all.

Indeed. I'm afraid it's another case of prejudice - ie confusing accent with intelligence.

If listeners don't like his style of broadcasting - fair enough, don't listen. But radio presenters such as Danny Baker or Paul Ross are described as ''Gobby Cockneys" when the pair of them are amongst the most widely read people in the media.

Thanks for the update. I had switched over to TV to follow the unfolding political events.

I must admit I hope by the time the WC comes around that Mike Parry can find a bit of objectivity about players. His constant fawning over 2 in particular - Joe Cole (whose wedding he attended after the player made appearances for MP's heart charity fundraising) and also Theo Walcott.

Adrian Durham has just said that he and Darren Gough will be out in South Africa for a month this summer. Oh God...

I hope that doesn't mean what I fear it does, as there is no way I want to hear Gough anywhere near the live match coverage.

However, I have held this theory for a while since hearing Jamie Carragher was planned to be alongside Adrian Durham during the World Cup. With Andy Townsend involved with ITV's coverage, thus limiting his role on talkSPORT, I could see Darren Gough teaming up with Mike Parry in Andy's absence given that he won't (or wasn't going to be) on Drive during the World Cup. And if Mike's due to be in SA, then it makes sense to send his co-host there too.

Thanks for the advance warning, now let me know what role Irani'll be playing for talkSPORT next month. Cundy too for that matter.

Do the BBC still have about 15 commentators* for each game when most other radio stations keep to one commentator throughout?

*slight exaggeration but it really winds me up that the BBC commentators can't even be bothered to commentate for 90 minutes.

I don't think it's that the commentators can't be bothered, i'm sure there is nothing more frustrating than getting into your stride and having to hand over to someone else. It's BBC policy. They only have one for the Saturday 3pm game these days

Some early talkSPORT World Cup details...

From Monday 7th June to Thursday 10th June, Mark Saggers and Stan Collymore present World Cup Kick-Off live from South Africa between 7:00pm-10:00pm.

On Friday 11th June, The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast is on-air as normal between 6:00am-10:00am, but this is followed by Back Home with Hawksbee & Jacobs until 1:00pm.

At 1:00pm, it looks as though Mark Saggers presents the South Africa v Mexico in the opening match on World Cup Matchday Live until 5:00pm, kick-off is at 3:00pm. Now, this is very interesting as I have information which lists the commentators for this game as AP and SC. Clearly, the latter is Stan Collymore, but who is the former? Could it be Alan Parry?

Commentary is followed by Drivetime with Adrian Durham, with Jamie Carragher perhaps (this may well change if he's selected for the final squad to go to the World Cup) between 5:00pm-7:00pm. Then it is more World Cup Matchday Live: Uruguay v France until 11:00pm. I don't know who will present or commentate on this yet.

On Saturday 11th June, it's England so it'll be as follows....

Danny Kelly with Micky Quinn on The Weekend Sports Breakfast, followed by a double commentary on World Cup Matchday Live (I think hosted by Ian Danter) between 12:00pm-5:00pm with South Korea v Greece and then Argentina v Nigeria.

The main event is at 5:00pm with a full two-and-a-half-hour build-up with Mark Saggers anchoring coverage of England v USA. Again the commentary team is listed as AP and SC. There is also a post-match phone-in through until 11:00pm.

It's a similar picture on Sunday for commentary of Algeria v Slovenia and Serbia v Ghana. Again, I think Ian Danter is presenting between 12:00pm-5:00pm, but there is no word on commentators.

5:00pm-7:00pm, it is World Cup Call Collymore and then at 7:00pm, Mark Saggers presents World Cup Matchday Live through until 11:00pm for commentary of Germany v Australia. Again, commentators are listed as AP and SC.

That's all that I know for now...

Thanks for posting those details 4-4-2, it makes for really interesting reading.

Obviously the big question is about who "AP" is. Unless your source has made a major typo and meant to put JP down, then it surely must be Alan Parry.

Earlier in the year I was told that talkSPORT had enquired to Sky Sports about the availability of Alan Parry, and perhaps negotiations have continued between the two broadcasters and were favourable towards all concerned.

I can't think of any other commentator who has the initials AP and I seriously doubt talkSPORT would demote Jim Proudfoot in favour of somebody who is not a nationally recognised commentator. If true it's sad for Jim, but it will be great to hear Alan back on talkSPORT.

If Alan has been signed up late in the day, then perhaps this is why your source was unable to pass on any other commentary details if they are currently in the process of reshuffling their team.

On this front, as I posted in the domestic season thread, I noticed talkSPORT's Outside Broadcast Manager Matt Smith released these details on Twitter when asked who'll be in the station's World Cup commentary line-up:


If I was to guess who will be their three main commentary teams in South Africa as has been promised on-air, in light of all this new information I'd go for:
[LIST=1][*]Alan Parry and Stan Collymore[*]Jim Proudfoot and Alvin Martin[*]Ian Danter and Ray Parlour[/LIST]
Regarding the presenters/show details, some sensible scheduling decisions I feel.

I think moving Hawksbee & Jacobs from 1-4pm to 10am-1pm (or to 10am-12noon during the week or so when there are 12.30pm kick-offs), should this be the case throughout June, is a great move as it will allow H&J to continue with their show without it having to clash with or be truncated by the 3pm kick-offs.

Then having 1-3pm free to devote to the 3pm kick-offs will allow them to provide a big build-up to these games. Also, with Andy Townsend off-air due to his ITV commitments and Mike Parry in South Africa probably primarily in an "atmosphere reporter" capacity, doing this seems to solve the problems posed to the Townsend & Parry show during the World Cup.

Danny Kelly and Micky Quinn on the Weekend Sports Breakfast while Mark Saggers is in South Africa makes sense - they paired these two up on that show recently and I took that as an indicator as to what they'll do here this summer.

That Ian Danter is fronting all of the afternoon matches played during the opening weekend of the tournament suggests that he might also be commentating on one half of each double header as well.

All in all it looks a good line-up, the earlier timeslot for H&J is a good move but otherwise it's pretty much as I'd expect - barring "AP" of course.

Whoever AP (there is another potential broadcaster with these intials, A-Ha ) is, he's doing a game a day according to that info, that's a lot of travelling.

Yes, it seems as if AP, Stan, Saggers and Dants will have a fair bit of travelling to do should they be on site at all of the games they will be covering.

In contrast, I suspect Adrian Durham and the Drive team will have a central base for much of the tournament as was the case at World Cup 2006.


Going by information that has been released on-air and has been garnered from elsewhere, we know talkSPORT's World Cup team will include these people:

Presenters (in South Africa): Mark Saggers, Adrian Durham, Ian Danter, Stan Collymore, Mike Parry

Pundits (in South Africa): Harry Redknapp, Darren Gough. Should he not be in the England squad, might Jamie Carragher still be involved?

Commentators: AP, Jim Proudfoot, Ian Danter (confirmed to be in South Africa), Nigel Pearson, Ian Crocker? Graham Beecroft?

Co-Commentators: Stan Collymore, Alvin Martin (confirmed to be in South Africa), Ray Parlour, Bobby Gould, Micky Quinn

Reporters: John Anderson (in the England camp), Mike Parry, Ian Abrahams?


I've put question marks next to the people who it's been said may be involved but this has not yet been confirmed - so Carra, Crocker, Beeky and Abrahams.

In trailers airing on the station, talkSPORT are saying they'll have a presence in all of the cities playing host to World Cup games, which could open up opportunities for the likes of Abrahams, Mike Bovill and Andy Clarke. We also don't know if they plan to have pitchside reporters at any of the games.

Well I was going to keep it under wraps but I can exclusively reveal that AP is in fact - not me

It could well be Alan Parry but maybe a typo and should be NP?

Some more talkSPORT World Cup details from the UTV Pitch blog @ http://www.utvpitch.co.uk/2010/05/19...-on-talksport/

It’s not long now until the biggest football competition on the planet kicks-off and here’s how talkSPORT will be covering it:
[LIST][*]All 64 games live including one game on MW and one on DAB for the last group stage games.
[*]Spurs boss Harry Redknapp is one of talkSPORT’s key pundits giving expert analysis and forthright views on England and the other 31 nations.
[*]Post match phone-ins after every day’s play through until 11pm.
[*]Sports Breakfast from 6am 7 days a week (Alan Brazil – Mon-Fri / Danny Kelly & Micky Quinn – Weekends).
[*]Andy Townsend & Mike Parry – Live from South Africa. Former World Cup captain of Rep. of Ireland Andy Townsend & journalist / broadcaster / motormouth Mike Parry from 10 each weekday with a view from the Africa’s first World Cup including previewing all the day’s action from around SA.
[*]Expert Pundits including Ex-Liverpool & Aston Villa striker Stan Collymore, Former World Cup defender for England Alvin Martin & Arsenal & England’s Ray Parlour to give their thoughts on all of the action on England, Brazil & Spain etc…
[*]Drive – Live from South Africa. Adrian Durham & Darren Gough come live from the World Cup capital Johannesburg bringing the tournament to the listeners.[/LIST]More coverage than anyone else from 6am until 11pm on talkSPORT. So you will not miss a thing.

Matt Davis from talkSPORT says: "talkSPORT’s lead commentator will be Jim Proudfoot along with familiar talkSPORT names."

On that basis, I wouldn't be surprised if AP is actually JP and Jim Proudfoot.

How will Townsend juggle TS and ITV work?

Does this mean he has to do his TS show from wherever he is needed for ITV that day?