Originally Posted by Mark Watkins:
“Can I add that, the attraction for me in the Dominic Allen hosted days was, I seem to remember, the urgency and importance of the delivery. No doubt this stemmed from Dominics serious nature and the fact that those LBC jingles were quite formal, I think. Then you had the constant "go round the grounds" even when there were no goals. It all added to the excitement and was very pacey.
Whilst 5 Live, for e.g, is most professional, I can't help but echo the recent sentiments here, and say that it's a pity there's not more input from reporters at the grounds generally, even during full match commentary. I'd rather hear more of them than expert summarisers and general waffle when there are breaks in play.
In conclusion a revived Sportswatch, I feel would def. work.
Let's hear more from the reporters at grounds, rather than them (seemingly) there to make up the numbers - in respect of 5 Live anyway.”
Have you ever listened to talkSPORT on a Saturday afternoon?
In Matchday Live from 12noon on Saturdays, they do the kind of Around the Grounds programme you describe above rather than a 3pm commentary game, with a big emphasis on crossing between reporters from about a dozen of the day's biggest games. The majority of these reporters are reasonably local to the areas of the home teams in their games so you get the kind of regional feel you would have got on LBC Sportswatch when they took updates from games hosted by non-London clubs.
talkSPORT typically spend more time with their reporters than 5 Live do and cross between matches much more frequently, chiefly because they are not preoccupied with a commentary game. Like you I often get the impression that some of 5 Live's reporters at Saturday afternoon matches - particularly those at their featured games from the lower leagues - are there in almost a tokenistic manner rather than to be major contributors to 5 Live Sport.
I know talkSPORT has had a bad reputation in some quarters in the past and perhaps still does, but their Saturday afternoon Around the Grounds output has been consistently very strong for about a decade now and has long been my preferred choice of listening on Saturdays at 3pm. Going by what you've written above you seem to have similar tastes to me so I imagine that Matchday Live would be right up your street.