Fantastic news about Jim Proudfoot. Great to hear that the best radio football commentator around for my money will be rejoining the station where he made his name on a national level and will be going to the World Cup.
It's worth posting Jim's
initial tweets announcing the news on here:
Quote:
“I'm delighted to be rejoining @talkSPORT for the World Cup and beyond. I've had 4 very enjoyable years at @absoluteradio and am proud...”
Quote:
“...of what we've all achieved there. Until the end of the season it's very much business as usual.”
The second of those tweets pertains to how he will be remaining as Absolute Radio's Rock 'N' Roll Football Live commentator until the end of the season, with them having 13 Premier League commentaries left this term. It will be interesting to see who Absolute bring in to replace Jim (presuming their live Premier League coverage continues under new owners Bauer) next season but it's good that they now have six months plus to find the right successor.
The news of Jim's return has also been confirmed on talkSPORT.com:
http://talksport.com/press/jim-proud...rt-14012276663
With Sam Matterface being all but confirmed as going to the World Cup as part of the ITV team, I'm hoping that JP is returning as talkSPORT's lead commentator for the tournament - the same role he held on their coverage of the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cups. Although a number of other commentators have been doing a good job for them over the past four seasons, I'm sure this is highly likely given his standing at the station during the 2000s.
It'll also be interesting to see if Jim returns to talkSPORT in any capacity ahead of the World Cup - perhaps on midweek UEFA Champions League games or during the Play-Off Finals once his tenure with Absolute Radio has concluded. I remember him largely taking a sabbatical from talkSPORT between the conclusion of Euro 2004 and the beginning of the 2006 World Cup, but returning to the station late on in the 2005/06 season to commentate on a couple of midweek matches for them before returning full-time in Germany.
While this is welcome news, it has to be said it isn't the most unexpected bit of news - a few of us touted this possibility of this happening on here given Matterface's ITV commitments and the uncertainty surrounding whether Absolute will be covering the World Cup. Indeed Jim's voice has featured prominently in a trailer talkSPORT have been airing since the beginning of the year to build up to their World Cup coverage.
It'll be interesting to see what the future holds for Sam Matterface - who's commentating on tonight's League Cup Semi-Final Second Leg for talkSPORT alongside Ray Houghton incidentally. Will he be usurped as talkSPORT's lead commentator if/when he returns to the station in the 2014/15 season? Will he look to move back into TV full-time now? Could talkSPORT choose to give some of this season's finals that he has covered for them in previous years - the FA Cup Final, League Cup Final, Championship Play-Off Final and potential Champions League or Europa League Finals - to other commentators who will be going to the World Cup with them instead?