Bad times for talkSPORT when it comes to their co-commentators, by the sound of it.
I wonder if Stan is being linked to ESPN in California in light of the talk of them retracting their contract offer for Robbie Earle (he had previously agreed to leave ITV Sport to join ESPN in the States from the start of next season until the ambush marketing episode).
Stan's not the only talkSPORT pundit linked with a move away from the station.
Alvin Martin will be flying back from South Africa this weekend having done his final World Cup co-commentary on Chile v Spain last night, which is much earlier than I for one had expected given his prominent role in the coverage so far.
I'm beginning to think his premature return to England may have something to do with his reported appointment as part of Avram Grant's coaching staff at West Ham United:
Now events around Alvin's work at talkSPORT lead me to believe this story is true.
Alvin is flying back to the UK at a similar point in time to the likes of David Moyes and Robbie Savage, who have been working as summarisers in SA but have had to return home in order to begin pre-season training in the next few weeks. Is this the reason for Alvin's early exit too?
Also, rumours of his impending appointment at West Ham haven't been touched upon by talkSPORT's sports news team or indeed by anyone at the station. If this story was untrue, I reckon Alvin himself would have been happy to deny it, but seeing as it's not been mentioned either way it leads me to believe there is something in this one.
If Alvin is to become a coach at Upton Park then this would surely see the end to, or at least limit, his work on talkSPORT.
For a start his co-presenting role on Football First on Sunday would have to come to an end given the amount of times West Ham play on Sundays during the season. This would also rule him out of doing Premier League co-commentaries.
He may be able to continue with working for the station in midweek, as Ron Atkinson and David Pleat did at ITV during their various managerial jobs in the 1990s and 2000s, although with Stan having replaced him as Champions League co-commentator it doesn't seem there is much of an opening for him.
I listened to part of the phone-in last night and noticed Alvin wasn't given a send-off at all - could this be because his coaching job is still in the balance, ie he's due for an interview next week and it could be that he doesn't manage to tickle Gold and Sullivan's fancy?
If talkSPORT were to lose both Collymore and Martin after the World Cup, it would be a real blow to them going into the start of their biggest season yet in terms of commentary rights.
They would surely have to sign up at least one new big name pundit. Perhaps there could be a return at weekends for Ian Wright (please no), maybe Alan Brazil could be moved into a regular co-commentary role after the experiment with him being used in this capacity on the League One Play-Off Final or maybe they could even pick up Robbie Earle if he is now be available (that would guarantee them some pre-season publicity).
Then there are a number of jobbing pundits who've been appearing on talkSPORT with some frequency in recent months - Ray Parlour, Bobby Gould, Stewart Robson, Tony Cascarino, Matt Holland, Phil Parkes, Lawrie Sanchez etc - some of whom could be asked to step up to the mark on a regular basis.
I wonder if Stan is being linked to ESPN in California in light of the talk of them retracting their contract offer for Robbie Earle (he had previously agreed to leave ITV Sport to join ESPN in the States from the start of next season until the ambush marketing episode).
Stan's not the only talkSPORT pundit linked with a move away from the station.
Alvin Martin will be flying back from South Africa this weekend having done his final World Cup co-commentary on Chile v Spain last night, which is much earlier than I for one had expected given his prominent role in the coverage so far.
I'm beginning to think his premature return to England may have something to do with his reported appointment as part of Avram Grant's coaching staff at West Ham United:
Quote:
“Avram Grant has rejected Roman Abramovich's invitation to return to Chelsea despite being offered more money than he stands to earn as manager of West Ham.
Grant's former Chelsea No 2, Steve Clarke, is expected to leave Upton Park once agreement is reached on his £1.2m-a-year deal, which has three years to run.
West Ham legend Alvin Martin is expected to join the coaching staff.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...#ixzz0rwtgF08D”
“Avram Grant has rejected Roman Abramovich's invitation to return to Chelsea despite being offered more money than he stands to earn as manager of West Ham.
Grant's former Chelsea No 2, Steve Clarke, is expected to leave Upton Park once agreement is reached on his £1.2m-a-year deal, which has three years to run.
West Ham legend Alvin Martin is expected to join the coaching staff.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...#ixzz0rwtgF08D”
Now events around Alvin's work at talkSPORT lead me to believe this story is true.
Alvin is flying back to the UK at a similar point in time to the likes of David Moyes and Robbie Savage, who have been working as summarisers in SA but have had to return home in order to begin pre-season training in the next few weeks. Is this the reason for Alvin's early exit too?
Also, rumours of his impending appointment at West Ham haven't been touched upon by talkSPORT's sports news team or indeed by anyone at the station. If this story was untrue, I reckon Alvin himself would have been happy to deny it, but seeing as it's not been mentioned either way it leads me to believe there is something in this one.
If Alvin is to become a coach at Upton Park then this would surely see the end to, or at least limit, his work on talkSPORT.
For a start his co-presenting role on Football First on Sunday would have to come to an end given the amount of times West Ham play on Sundays during the season. This would also rule him out of doing Premier League co-commentaries.
He may be able to continue with working for the station in midweek, as Ron Atkinson and David Pleat did at ITV during their various managerial jobs in the 1990s and 2000s, although with Stan having replaced him as Champions League co-commentator it doesn't seem there is much of an opening for him.
I listened to part of the phone-in last night and noticed Alvin wasn't given a send-off at all - could this be because his coaching job is still in the balance, ie he's due for an interview next week and it could be that he doesn't manage to tickle Gold and Sullivan's fancy?
If talkSPORT were to lose both Collymore and Martin after the World Cup, it would be a real blow to them going into the start of their biggest season yet in terms of commentary rights.
They would surely have to sign up at least one new big name pundit. Perhaps there could be a return at weekends for Ian Wright (please no), maybe Alan Brazil could be moved into a regular co-commentary role after the experiment with him being used in this capacity on the League One Play-Off Final or maybe they could even pick up Robbie Earle if he is now be available (that would guarantee them some pre-season publicity).
Then there are a number of jobbing pundits who've been appearing on talkSPORT with some frequency in recent months - Ray Parlour, Bobby Gould, Stewart Robson, Tony Cascarino, Matt Holland, Phil Parkes, Lawrie Sanchez etc - some of whom could be asked to step up to the mark on a regular basis.




