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Radio Football Commentators and Reporters 2016/17 |
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#201 |
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Join Date: Apr 2009
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Quote:
Doesn't affect me as I would always listen to Signal because I much prefer Mikey and Tommo but considering they are supposed to represent both it was really poor of WM not to have a Wolves voice, Richard Wilford is even their Blues commentator, they could have got Mike Taylor or even Daz Hale involved.
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#202 |
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Join Date: Apr 2009
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Sunday 21st August - talkSPORT 2
Dan Windle presented La Liga Live La Liga Real Sociedad v Real Madrid - Dan Windle and Adrian Clarke (7.15pm commentary) The timeslot of this game was quite convenient for talkSPORT 2 - the game was wrapped up by 9.10pm, meaning they could immediately follow it with coverage of the Cincinnati Masters men's tennis final between Andy Murray and Marin Cilic, which got underway at 9.15pm. They joined the commentary team on that, Rupert Bell and Naomi Cavaday, as the players were reaching the end of their warm-up. Looking at what the talkSPORT stations have got upcoming, commentary on Hapoel Beer Sheva v Celtic will be on talkSPORT 2 tomorrow after all. talkSPORT will be doing an EFL Cup Around the Grounds show hosted by Mark Saggers with Stuart Pearce, Matt Holland and Steve Evans being his pundits. On Wednesday, Sam Matterface and Ray Houghton will be doing commentary on Fulham v Middlesbrough for the primary station with Saggers hosting from Craven Cottage. Saturday's talkSPORT 2 commentary pick is Chelsea v Burnley and they also have two La Liga commentaries kicking off at 7.15pm - Real Madrid v Celta Vigo on Saturday and Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona on Sunday. There's no Super League or MotoGP next weekend, so other than the football the talkSPORT 2 schedule looks pretty blank. |
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#203 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 10,280
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Sports Extra have gone for Chelsea vs Bristol Rovers on Tuesday night
Very sensible decision to move from Man City to Accrington tomorrow night, could probably use the same commentary team given the locations |
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#204 |
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 46
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Quote:
I think they were planning to have someone there representing Wolves along with Dele Adebola providing the Blues angle, but whoever it was going to be (they deliberately didn't say) had to drop out fair late in the day. Far from ideal, but these things happen.
The problem is Signal are rubbish in the week and don't have any proper news on the club, but at least they have every game. WM really should do much more to give fair coverage to all our teams. |
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#205 |
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Join Date: Apr 2009
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Quote:
Even so it was still going to be 2 v 1 in favour of Blues, it's this kind of thing that stopped me listening to WM a long time ago, they wouldn't dare have the same situation when it comes to Villa. Why was Daz Hale at the Villa game that was on TV and not the biggest game of the day? Even Steve Hermon (Wolves fan) could have been drafted in but he was sent to a non league game???
The problem is Signal are rubbish in the week and don't have any proper news on the club, but at least they have every game. WM really should do much more to give fair coverage to all our teams. Being the only club in the region that has more than one local radio station covering them, WM wouldn't dare not provide commentary on a Wolves game and as such more often than not you are the FM pick at times when West Bromwich Albion (who I think tend to be the default FM pick as their fanbase splits across the Birmingham and Black Country DAB opt-out catchment areas) are not playing. Daz Hale is openly a Wolves fan, while Paul Franks has always kept his leanings private I think it's pretty obvious where they lie and Wolves get more than their fair share of fans on WM's phone-ins including a number of regulars. In this particular instance, beyond them not getting in an ex-Wolves player at short notice when the originally scheduled one dropped out, I don't think WM could or should have acted differently. Richard Wilford may be nominally their Blues commentator this season - although having listened to him for years I don't automatically associate him with that club or think he'd favour them particularly over any other WM club - but bear in mind that Birmingham were the home club on this occasion, so I can see the sense in using him as the home club's regular commentator to lead the commentaries on local derbies at St Andrew's. Equally, Mike Taylor will probably be WM's lead commentator when Wolves host Blues and Villa later in the season, with Mark Regan commentating on the two local derbies staged at Villa Park. As for you getting a raw deal in contrast to how they would cover Aston Villa, please bear in mind that this season is the first in a long while that they appear to be able to do commentary on Villa's home games on a regular basis. WM (and Free Radio 80s) up until recently had only been able to do a limited number of commentaries from Villa Park, with the club wanting to maximise the audience their online subscription-based commentary service could generate before they scaled that back upon their relegation - I think they've now started to simulcast WM's Villa commentaries since Jack Woodward left the club. So up until recently, Wolves were receiving demonstrably broader coverage than Villa were getting. Then you have Walsall. If you are a Walsall supporter, you are looking at hearing your team commentated on by WM around ten times per season - typically in timeslots when the Saddlers are the only local league club playing, so their televised games and those that take place during international breaks (although with the Saddlers having numerous internationals, they don't always play during the latter). Even on occasions like Saturday when there are only one or two other games taking place involving the region's league clubs, they aren't often the subject of a DAB opt-out commentary. Now I know Walsall have a smaller fanbase to the other four league clubs, but the fact that the number of Saddlers commentaries are so minimal should provide food for thought to fans of the area's other league clubs when they feel hard done by. It would be interesting to see if WM's approach to the Saddlers would have changed had they been promoted last season. As for Steve Hermon going to represent Wolves at Birmingham over the weekend, I'm not sure what his role would have been other than perhaps being a pitchside reporter and/or man with the fans. I wouldn't have put him on the commentary at the expense of Richard Wilford seemingly only because of a factor beyond his control. In any case, Hermon is a junior member of the WM Sport team who doesn't cover matches regularly, and with there only being three matches involving their league clubs I think it is good practice to send a reporter off to one of the area's bigger non-league games - in this case their only National League club in Solihull Moors - to cover local football beyond the Premier League and EFL. So that was a big plus for me. So sorry, I don't think you have a leg to stand on here. Not being able to get a Wolves summariser on Saturday was an unfortunate one-off, otherwise there's a very strong argument to say that Wolves fans are the fanbase that is best served by BBC WM and certainly West Midlands local radio in general. |
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#206 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Caerphilly, South Wales
Posts: 9,465
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Additions and corrections edition Quote:
BBC Radio Cymru
Fulham v Tan FC - Mark Poyser and Jason Perry (SE Wales FM & DAB / N Wales FM / NE & NW Wales DAB / Digital TV) ) so that should say John Hardy and Iwan Roberts were there.On friday, Wales played the Republic of Ireland in a Women's friendly at Rodeny Parade, with Rob Phillips hosting Radio Wales Sport from there, with occasional commentary in between songs. Gwennan Harries was with him. |
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#207 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 916
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BBC Radio Manchester - Tuesday 23rd August
Preston North End v Oldham Athletic - Jack Dearden and Andy Ritchie - commentary QPR v Rochdale - Graham Miller - reports |
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#208 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: The dark side of the moon
Posts: 51,361
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BBC Radio Scotland Sportsound, 23/8/16
Presented by Richard Gordon on 810MW, with Scott McDonald and Tom English. UEFA Champions League play-off, 2nd leg Hapoel Be'er Sheva v Celtic (7.45pm) - Liam McLeod and Pat Bonner (commentary) |
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#209 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 14,211
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Tuesday 23rd August - talkSPORT
Mark Saggers presenting Kick Off: League Cup Special from the Pirelli Stadium with Stuart Pearce at Stamford Bridge, Steve Evans at Kenilworth Road and Matt Holland at the ABAX Stadium UEFA Champions League Play-Off Round Second Leg Hapoel Beer Sheva v Celtic - Nigel Pearson EFL Cup Second Round Burton Albion v Liverpool - Geoff Peters and Mark Saggers Chelsea v Bristol Rovers - Ian Danter and Stuart Pearce Derby County v Carlisle United - Tom Ross Everton v Yeovil Town - Graham Beecroft Luton Town v Leeds United - Jack Woodward and Steve Evans Newcastle United v Cheltenham Town - Graham Courtney Norwich City v Coventry City - Dave Rowe Peterborough United v Swansea City - Kev Lawrence and Matt Holland talkSPORT 2 Alex Crook presenting Kick Off: Champions League Live UEFA Champions League Play-Off Round Second Leg Hapoel Beer Sheva v Celtic - Alex Crook and Matt Lawrence (7.45pm commentary) As they did last Tuesday, talkSPORT 2 simulcast the first half hour of Kick Off with Mark Saggers from the primary station between 7-7.30pm. According to Saggers, talkSPORT 2 are doing commentary on West Ham United's second leg on Thursday. BBC WM 95.6 Mark Regan presenting BBC WM 95.6 Sport from Molineux EFL Cup Second Round Northampton Town v West Bromwich Albion - Rob Gurney and Tony Brown (7.45pm commentary on 95.6FM) Wolverhampton Wanderers v Cambridge United - Mark Regan and Daz Hale (7.45pm commentary on DAB in the Black Country and Freeview channel 722) |
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#210 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 323
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Richard Hoskin was featured on BBC points west at the Rovers ground for the beam back.
richard Lawson reporting from the beam back location BBC radio Bristol/Somerset Ed hadwin at Stamford bridge so no studio host City v Scunthorpe Andy Moon????????? commentator and Adam Baker Chelsea v Rovers commentator Andy Howard summeriser keith brookman Somerset DAB FM 94:9 104:6 and freeview Everton v Yeovil commentator chris spittles and summersier former player Phil Jeavons FM 95:5 |
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#211 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Dewsbury, England
Posts: 8,685
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Luton Town versus Leeds United
BBC Radio Leeds
Katherine Hannah, Adam Pope and Noel Whelan Radio Yorkshire Mark Wilson, Niel Redfearn and Andrew Dalton |
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#212 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Kent
Posts: 1,296
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BBC 5 Live - 23.8.16
With Mark Pougatch at Burton Burton v Liverpool - Ian Brown & Phil Brown (commentary) Chelsea v Bristol Rovers - Peter Drury * Crystal Palace v Blackpool - Robyn Cowan Everton v Yeovil - John Acres Exeter v Hull - Andy Gillies Newcastle v Cheltenham - Vicky Sparks Northampton v West Brom - Sohail Sahi Peterborough v Swansea - Chris Wise Stevenage v Stoke - Jonathan Overend Watford v Gillingham - Simon Mann Hapoel Beer Sheva - Liam McLeod * Commentary on the last 20minutes-ish |
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#213 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Caerphilly, South Wales
Posts: 9,465
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BBC Radio Wales
Ian Hunt (studio host) Peterborough United v Swansea City (EFL Cup 2nd round) - Rob Phillips and Adny Legg (All frequencies) BBC Radio Cymru Owain Llyr (studio host) Peterborough United v Swnasea City (EFL Cup 2nd round) - Dylan Ebeneezer and Iwan Roberts (nationwide commentary via digital radio only) No commentary of the game via Swansea Sound. |
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#214 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 10,280
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Sports Extra used the BBC Radio Bristol commentary last night from Chelsea
Ian Dennis & Mark Lawrenson on Accrington vs Burnley later |
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#215 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 46
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Quote:
Sorry, I can't agree with you on this one - in fact it makes me smile to see a Wolves fan accusing WM of not giving them fair coverage, when they do better than most clubs do out of WM.
Being the only club in the region that has more than one local radio station covering them, WM wouldn't dare not provide commentary on a Wolves game and as such more often than not you are the FM pick at times when West Bromwich Albion (who I think tend to be the default FM pick as their fanbase splits across the Birmingham and Black Country DAB opt-out catchment areas) are not playing. Daz Hale is openly a Wolves fan, while Paul Franks has always kept his leanings private I think it's pretty obvious where they lie and Wolves get more than their fair share of fans on WM's phone-ins including a number of regulars. In this particular instance, beyond them not getting in an ex-Wolves player at short notice when the originally scheduled one dropped out, I don't think WM could or should have acted differently. Richard Wilford may be nominally their Blues commentator this season - although having listened to him for years I don't automatically associate him with that club or think he'd favour them particularly over any other WM club - but bear in mind that Birmingham were the home club on this occasion, so I can see the sense in using him as the home club's regular commentator to lead the commentaries on local derbies at St Andrew's. Equally, Mike Taylor will probably be WM's lead commentator when Wolves host Blues and Villa later in the season, with Mark Regan commentating on the two local derbies staged at Villa Park. As for you getting a raw deal in contrast to how they would cover Aston Villa, please bear in mind that this season is the first in a long while that they appear to be able to do commentary on Villa's home games on a regular basis. WM (and Free Radio 80s) up until recently had only been able to do a limited number of commentaries from Villa Park, with the club wanting to maximise the audience their online subscription-based commentary service could generate before they scaled that back upon their relegation - I think they've now started to simulcast WM's Villa commentaries since Jack Woodward left the club. So up until recently, Wolves were receiving demonstrably broader coverage than Villa were getting. Then you have Walsall. If you are a Walsall supporter, you are looking at hearing your team commentated on by WM around ten times per season - typically in timeslots when the Saddlers are the only local league club playing, so their televised games and those that take place during international breaks (although with the Saddlers having numerous internationals, they don't always play during the latter). Even on occasions like Saturday when there are only one or two other games taking place involving the region's league clubs, they aren't often the subject of a DAB opt-out commentary. Now I know Walsall have a smaller fanbase to the other four league clubs, but the fact that the number of Saddlers commentaries are so minimal should provide food for thought to fans of the area's other league clubs when they feel hard done by. It would be interesting to see if WM's approach to the Saddlers would have changed had they been promoted last season. As for Steve Hermon going to represent Wolves at Birmingham over the weekend, I'm not sure what his role would have been other than perhaps being a pitchside reporter and/or man with the fans. I wouldn't have put him on the commentary at the expense of Richard Wilford seemingly only because of a factor beyond his control. In any case, Hermon is a junior member of the WM Sport team who doesn't cover matches regularly, and with there only being three matches involving their league clubs I think it is good practice to send a reporter off to one of the area's bigger non-league games - in this case their only National League club in Solihull Moors - to cover local football beyond the Premier League and EFL. So that was a big plus for me. So sorry, I don't think you have a leg to stand on here. Not being able to get a Wolves summariser on Saturday was an unfortunate one-off, otherwise there's a very strong argument to say that Wolves fans are the fanbase that is best served by BBC WM and certainly West Midlands local radio in general. At the end of last season they did a special programme on the anniversary of Villa's League Cup win and then relegation, I don't remember any special programming when we went down 2 divisions. This summer there were reports from almost all of Villa's pre-season games including their tour in Austria, no other club got that treatment even when we were being taken over. WM even did a special phone in for Villa's takeover and then for the appointment of the new manager but nothing for Wolves or even the Albion. I fully understand as a Walsall fan you get the rougher end of the stick than the rest of us, but it's not Wolves getting the star treatment, being shoved on to DAB or Freeview most weeks and let's be honest, they only do that to try and spite Signal. By the way i'm pretty sure Paul Franks is a Villa fan, he's definitely not Wolves. |
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#216 |
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 46
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Quote:
[b][u]Tuesday 23rd August
BBC WM 95.6 Mark Regan presenting BBC WM 95.6 Sport from Molineux EFL Cup Second Round Northampton Town v West Bromwich Albion - Rob Gurney and Tony Brown (7.45pm commentary on 95.6FM) Wolverhampton Wanderers v Cambridge United - Mark Regan and Daz Hale (7.45pm commentary on DAB in the Black Country and Freeview channel 722) Walter Zenga's Barmy Army v Cambridge - Mikey Burrows and Andy Thompson |
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#217 |
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,233
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Confirmation about Jim White to talkSPORT: http://radiotoday.co.uk/2016/08/jim-...source=twitter
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#218 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 14,211
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Quote:
You make some good points but spoil it at the end by claiming I don't have a leg to stand on which is just unnecessary and may I say patronising, it's all about perception I suppose but I think there is a very strong argument to say Villa are WM's most favoured club by a long margin.
At the end of last season they did a special programme on the anniversary of Villa's League Cup win and then relegation, I don't remember any special programming when we went down 2 divisions. This summer there were reports from almost all of Villa's pre-season games including their tour in Austria, no other club got that treatment even when we were being taken over. WM even did a special phone in for Villa's takeover and then for the appointment of the new manager but nothing for Wolves or even the Albion. I fully understand as a Walsall fan you get the rougher end of the stick than the rest of us, but it's not Wolves getting the star treatment, being shoved on to DAB or Freeview most weeks and let's be honest, they only do that to try and spite Signal. By the way i'm pretty sure Paul Franks is a Villa fan, he's definitely not Wolves. As you say it's all about perception. My perception of listening to WM Sport over 20 + years - rather than basing things on one local derby when a scheduled summariser dropped out late in the day, or one summer when there's clearly been a very recent improvement in Aston Villa coverage - is that Wolves are the one club that has consistently been treated as well as they possibly can be by WM, season in, season out. Unlike the other four league clubs in this patch, there hasn't been a single period during this time when WM hasn't been able to do commentaries on Wolves matches, even going back to the Around the Grounds days of the late 1990s, when they'd do occasional (mostly second half) Wolves and Walsall commentaries while BRMB had exclusivity over Villa, Birmingham and West Brom. In 2004/05, the year when BRMB pulled out of doing commentaries on Villa, Birmingham and West Brom for one season, yet Signal's predecessor The Wolf continued to commentate on Wolves, WM would prioritise Wolves as their main FM commentary most weeks. Certainly under the sports editorship of Mark Regan your club has done well, the phone-ins seem to me to be dominated by Wolves supporters with the likes of Tonka and Charles Ross appearing regularly. Regarding the recent improvement in Aston Villa coverage, I suspect their coverage of Villa's tour to Austria was subsidised by Villa as it was simulcast on the club's website. AVFC need an audio service now that the team headed by Jack Woodward have been made redundant and coming to an agreement with the one local station that continues to cover their games makes sense - similar to how Wolves Player links up with Signal 107 on a regular basis. But prior to the end of AVTV as-was, while BBC WM provided commentary on just about every Villa away game, they were only in a position to provide commentary on less than half of their home games. If Villa were WM's favoured club, don't you think they'd have cut back on their coverage of their other clubs in order to win broader rights to games at Villa Park? They didn't, and appear to only have greater access now given that Villa have scaled back their in-house offering, which is why your argument about Villa being their favoured club doesn't stand up as far as I'm concerned. As for the FM/DAB splits, I think the common practice is that teams that are away from home tend to be on FM with those at home being on other platforms - although when three or four of their clubs from the top two divisions are playing at the same time, West Brom seem to make FM more often than not, which makes sense as their support breaks across the two regional DAB multiplexes in a more pronounced way to the other clubs. It's similar to how BBC Radio Derby tend to keep Burton Albion games on AM, as that frequency travels further and can reach the Brewers' Staffordshire-based supporters in a way that their FM frequency cannot. The documentary marking the 20th anniversary of Aston Villa's Coca-Cola Cup win will have just been a nice commemorative piece - they aired one about Walsall's 2001 Division Two Play-Off win a while back, but I don't think you'd argue they favour Walsall over the other four clubs! I won't comment on club-related phone-ins as I haven't heard the specific ones you mention, all I will say is that Wolves' takeover and the appointment of Walter Zenga have been discussed extensively on The West Midlands Football Phone-In from the ones I have heard. As for Paul Franks, he's always kept his loyalty close to his chest but many supporters - mostly Walsall ones admittedly - that I've spoken with have always held the impression that he has a particularly large soft spot for your boys. He certainly sounds at his most enthusiastic and engaged when discussing Wolves and the boardroom goings on at Molineux and at the moment he can't seem to get enough of Zenga and "Big Dadi" Bodvarsson. He waxes lyrical about them every single night on the phone-in! |
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#219 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 14,211
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Quote:
Confirmation about Jim White to talkSPORT: http://radiotoday.co.uk/2016/08/jim-...source=twitter
Firstly, Stuart Pearce has been confirmed as their regular Saturday 5.30pm Premier League co-commentator, working with Sam Matterface, as well as Danny Kelly's co-host for the first 90 minutes of Saturday's Full Time Phone-In. DK actually mentioned that Stuart will be his regular co-host on Saturday just gone, but it's nice to have it confirmed in a Wireless Group press release. The other notable detail is that Danny Murphy has replaced Stan Collymore as Mark Saggers' co-host on the Monday night edition of Kick Off. He's co-hosted that show over the last few weeks. |
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#220 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 175
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Quote:
BBC 5 Live - 23.8.16
With Mark Pougatch at Burton Burton v Liverpool - Ian Brown & Phil Brown (commentary) Chelsea v Bristol Rovers - Peter Drury * Crystal Palace v Blackpool - Robyn Cowan Everton v Yeovil - John Acres Exeter v Hull - Andy Gillies Newcastle v Cheltenham - Vicky Sparks Northampton v West Brom - Sohail Sahi Peterborough v Swansea - Chris Wise Stevenage v Stoke - Jonathan Overend Watford v Gillingham - Simon Mann Hapoel Beer Sheva - Liam McLeod * Commentary on the last 20minutes-ish |
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#221 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 916
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BBC Radio Manchester - Wednesday 24th August
Manchester City v Steaua Bucharest - Ian Cheeseman and Shaun Goater - commentary |
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#222 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 14,211
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Wednesday 24th August - talkSPORT
Mark Saggers presenting Kick Off: League Cup Special from Craven Cottage UEFA Champions League Play-Off Round Second Leg Manchester City v Steaua Bucuresti - Dom McGuinness EFL Cup Second Round Accrington Stanley v Burnley - Nigel Pearson Fulham v Middlesbrough - Sam Matterface and Ray Houghton (7.45pm commentary), with James Dodd producing Sunderland v Shrewsbury Town - Graham Courtney Cricket: First One-Day International England v Pakistan - Jon Norman After the announcement that Stuart Pearce is going to be talkSPORT's regular Saturday 5.30pm co-commentator, this Saturday it'll be with Michael Dawson calling Hull City v Manchester United with Sam. Jim Proudfoot and Ray Houghton will commentate on West Bromwich Albion v Middlesbrough for them on Sunday. |
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#223 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Kent
Posts: 1,296
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Quote:
It must be a few years since Peter Drury's last commentary for 5Live?
BBC 5 Live - 24.8.16 With Kelly Cates Man City v Steaua B - Ian Brown Accrington v Burnley - Ian Dennis & Mark Lawrenson (commentary) Fulham v Middlesbrough - John Southall Morecambe v Bournemouth - John Acres Sunderland v Shrewsbury - Alistair Yeomans & Pat Nevin |
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#224 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 3,078
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Quote:
It must be a few years since Peter Drury's last commentary for 5Live?
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#225 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 46
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Quote:
I'm sorry you found some of my wording patronising, that wasn't my intention at all - but I genuinely don't think there is an argument that Wolves receive anything but extensive and highly favourable coverage from BBC WM.
As you say it's all about perception. My perception of listening to WM Sport over 20 + years - rather than basing things on one local derby when a scheduled summariser dropped out late in the day, or one summer when there's clearly been a very recent improvement in Aston Villa coverage - is that Wolves are the one club that has consistently been treated as well as they possibly can be by WM, season in, season out. Unlike the other four league clubs in this patch, there hasn't been a single period during this time when WM hasn't been able to do commentaries on Wolves matches, even going back to the Around the Grounds days of the late 1990s, when they'd do occasional (mostly second half) Wolves and Walsall commentaries while BRMB had exclusivity over Villa, Birmingham and West Brom. In 2004/05, the year when BRMB pulled out of doing commentaries on Villa, Birmingham and West Brom for one season, yet Signal's predecessor The Wolf continued to commentate on Wolves, WM would prioritise Wolves as their main FM commentary most weeks. Certainly under the sports editorship of Mark Regan your club has done well, the phone-ins seem to me to be dominated by Wolves supporters with the likes of Tonka and Charles Ross appearing regularly. Regarding the recent improvement in Aston Villa coverage, I suspect their coverage of Villa's tour to Austria was subsidised by Villa as it was simulcast on the club's website. AVFC need an audio service now that the team headed by Jack Woodward have been made redundant and coming to an agreement with the one local station that continues to cover their games makes sense - similar to how Wolves Player links up with Signal 107 on a regular basis. But prior to the end of AVTV as-was, while BBC WM provided commentary on just about every Villa away game, they were only in a position to provide commentary on less than half of their home games. If Villa were WM's favoured club, don't you think they'd have cut back on their coverage of their other clubs in order to win broader rights to games at Villa Park? They didn't, and appear to only have greater access now given that Villa have scaled back their in-house offering, which is why your argument about Villa being their favoured club doesn't stand up as far as I'm concerned. As for the FM/DAB splits, I think the common practice is that teams that are away from home tend to be on FM with those at home being on other platforms - although when three or four of their clubs from the top two divisions are playing at the same time, West Brom seem to make FM more often than not, which makes sense as their support breaks across the two regional DAB multiplexes in a more pronounced way to the other clubs. It's similar to how BBC Radio Derby tend to keep Burton Albion games on AM, as that frequency travels further and can reach the Brewers' Staffordshire-based supporters in a way that their FM frequency cannot. The documentary marking the 20th anniversary of Aston Villa's Coca-Cola Cup win will have just been a nice commemorative piece - they aired one about Walsall's 2001 Division Two Play-Off win a while back, but I don't think you'd argue they favour Walsall over the other four clubs! I won't comment on club-related phone-ins as I haven't heard the specific ones you mention, all I will say is that Wolves' takeover and the appointment of Walter Zenga have been discussed extensively on The West Midlands Football Phone-In from the ones I have heard. As for Paul Franks, he's always kept his loyalty close to his chest but many supporters - mostly Walsall ones admittedly - that I've spoken with have always held the impression that he has a particularly large soft spot for your boys. He certainly sounds at his most enthusiastic and engaged when discussing Wolves and the boardroom goings on at Molineux and at the moment he can't seem to get enough of Zenga and "Big Dadi" Bodvarsson. He waxes lyrical about them every single night on the phone-in! There clearly is an argument as I made it, whether you agree or not is ironically The Difference ![]() I agree basing things on one derby is wrong, but equally we shouldn't refer to things 10 or 20 years ago, I wouldn't deny Wolves have had good coverage in the past, but I'm talking about the last few seasons where there has been a definite shift to Villa being the predominant side. Just because WM couldn't cover all the Villa matches contractually doesn't mean they weren't favoured, that's like saying your first born can't be your favourite because they don't live at home anymore. The point about the phone ins was that when major things happened at Villa this summer they changed their schedule to have a special phone in, they didn't do the same for Wolves or Albion, having more Wolves callers on the regular phone in doesn't mean the station favours us, it just means we moan more
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All times are GMT. The time now is 23:36.




) so that should say John Hardy and Iwan Roberts were there.