5 January 2010 so almost exactly 7 years ago.

Prior to that, he did a handful of PL games for Setanta.

Crocker also did Sunderland v Everton on a MNF in November 2010. Not sure if he did another game that season. Daniel Mann also did Blackburn v Sunderland. It was in the aftermath of Ian Darke's departure.

Jeff introduced the commentator for the second half as "Rob Palmer".

Ian Crocker doing a live Premier League game on Sky, I hear..?

Amazing news. Superb.

Just a quick plug back to the Digital Spy Football Commentators Thread Awards 2016.

Please feel free to pick your winners for the categories below, and choose winners for the ones without nominees,

Broadcaster of the Year
SKY SPORTS
BT SPORT
ITV
BBC
EUROSPORT

Best Live Football Show
SUPER SUNDAY (Sky Sports)
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (Sky Sports)
PREMIER LEAGUE LIVE & PREMIER LEAGUE TONIGHT (BT Sport)
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE / EUROPA LEAGUE GOALS SHOW (BT Sport)
EUROPEAN FOOTBALL SHOW (BT Sport)

Best Highlights Football Show
MATCH OF THE DAY (BBC)
MATCH OF THE DAY 2 (BBC)
PREMIER LEAGUE REVIEW (BT Sport)
GAME OF THE DAY (Sky Sports)
FOOTBALL ON 5 (Channel 5)

Senior Commentator Of The Year
MARTIN TYLER (Sky Sports)
DARREN FLETCHER (BT Sport)
DEREK RAE (BT Sport Scottish Football)
GUY MOWBRAY (BBC)
CLIVE TYLDESLEY (ITV)

Secondary Commentator Of The Year
ROB HAWTHORNE (Sky Sports)
IAN DARKE (BT Sport)
STEVE WILSON (BBC)
SAM MATTERFACE (ITV)

Your Favourite Other Commentator - Any commentator not listed above

Pundit of the Year
JAMIE CARRAGHER (Sky Sports)
RIO FERDINAND (BT Sport)
DANNY HIGGINBOTHAM (Sky Sports)
ALAN SHEARER (BBC)
LEE DIXON (ITV)

Your Favourite Other Pundit - Any other pundit you enjoy

Senior Co-Commentator of the Year
GARY NEVILLE (Sky Sports)
ALAN SMITH (Sky Sports)
GLENN HODDLE (BT Sport / ITV)
STEVE MCMANAMAN (BT Sport)
MARTIN KEOWN (BBC / BT Sport)

Your Favourite Other Co-Commentator - The choice is yours...

Football Presenter of the Year
DAVID JONES (Sky Sports)
SIMON THOMAS (Sky Sports)
JAKE HUMPHREY (BT Sport)
GARY LINEKER (BBC / BT Sport)
MARK POUGATCH (ITV)

Commentary Of The Year
What match did you enjoy the most listening too - open choice

Hopes for 2017 - What do you hope could change in 2017?

Darren Fletcher has tweeted the line up at Anfield today

Jake, Richard Dunne, Stevie G, Howard, Hoddle, Des Kelly & Michael Owen

Not the best.

And Steve McManaman (and of course Fletcher) to complete the line-up.

It's a pretty predictable - if not inspiring - line-up.
Gerrard is going to appear on most of BT's Liverpool games I'd imagine, Dunne seems to appear on the MC games and McManaman has played for both sides.

It is a shame that when BT have had some big PL games this season their line-ups have been frankly so-so.

Savage, Sutton, Redknapp, Saunders, Ince and Hartson on BT Score today.

Apologies, I forgot Macca, so many names to remember for BT

Complete opposite to Sky's one man studio team of recent days!

Surprised Ferdinand isn't on Liverpool-City, probably the first 'big-clash' he's missed in a good while for BT. I guess that's just because they want Gerrard to step in, but I'm surprised he's not there ahead of either Owen or Dunne.

David Tanner is with Gordon Strachan & Neil McCann

I'm not a huge fan of companies using Strachan given his disdain towards the media when he's a manager & his general rudeness

No problem. I was just wondering at first who was meant to be on co-commentary.

Quite a few names agreed. That said all broadcasters can be a bit bad for that.

I know FNF used many but BT line ups are personnel heavy!

Sky currently showing a report on a derby from '97 featuring very briefly Richard Keys & prominently Martin Tyler on commentary. Who was the main SPL commentator in that period? I know Tyler did SPL commentaries for BSB.

Sky used to bring the English A Team for the derby then. Would be wrong to do it now, wouldn't be fair on Crocker.

I remember being surprised he didn't appear on Leicester/Arsenal earlier this season - now maybe not a big game but at that time last season's Top 2 playing in the 2nd game of the season.

Dunne seems to be the default pundit for MC games. Very hard to think of a MC game he hasn't done for BT.



As I say, I think all channels do though to an extent - Sky often have 3 people in the studio and a 'third man' on the gantry for big games and BBC and ITV often have seperate pitchside pundits on live matches.
Always seems a waste to me if a pundit is there doing just being pitchside- no problem if they're also doing co-commentary mind.

Don't think BT are too much worse than any of the others really - in fact their coverage of finals last season if anything resisted the temptation to throw too many people .

Jock Brown wasn't it?

Full details:

Scottish Premiership - Rangers v Celtic (Sky Sports 1 & 5):

David Tanner presenting from Ibrox with Gordon Strachan and Neil McCann. Luke Shanley reporting.

Commentators - Ian Crocker and Andy Walker

Yes it was... I'm sure. Dunno if it wouldn't be 'fair' on Andy Walker but wish Provan was on the Old Firm co-commentaries again.

Funny though even this game Sky don't have all the whizz bangs, touchscreens and what not that a relatively low pick of Hull v Everton did last night.

If this was a PL game it would have been "Festive foes" or something for a nickname.

Also - 2 mins 39 seconds for the "Derby day in Glasgow" bingo.

Darren Fletcher has confirmed he is commentating on Liverpool V Chelsea on the 31st January for BT Sport, that should mean Ian Darke is commentating on West Ham V Man City on the 1st February.

He is also doing Preston V Arsenal for the FA Cup 3rd round.

Broadcaster of the Year
BBC

A difficult choice. I couldn't choose BT because whilst some of their coverage is very good, their Premier League coverage still has significant weaknesses. Sky's coverage still has plenty of positive assets but some of their changes are to the detriment of the viewer (the additional ad break for instance), Gary Neville has been less prominent and not in his best role on Monday Night Football as much, and they've lost Ed Chamberlin. I think the BBC have been improving steadily over the last few years and they had a very strong Euros overall. There's still weaknesses but I do consistently enjoy their coverage.

Best Live Football Show
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE / EUROPA LEAGUE GOALS SHOW (BT Sport)

Monday Night Football has seen better days and this is a great format that was long overdue really.

Best Highlights Football Show
MATCH OF THE DAY (BBC)

It's the only one I really watch to be honest!

Senior Commentator Of The Year
MARTIN TYLER (Sky Sports)

We're probably into his last few years and I still do enjoy most of his commentaries. Very good on the closing stages of Leicester's title challenge.

Secondary Commentator Of The Year
STEVE WILSON (BBC)

The best commentator at an international tournament on UK television yet again!

Your Favourite Other Commentator - Any commentator not listed above

Jon Champion - I don't hear him too often but I've really enjoyed listening to the few Champions League/Europa League games I've heard him on and it was a pleasure to listen to him on United V Stoke.

Pundit of the Year

RIO FERDINAND (BT Sport)

A difficult choice as I like Carragher and Dixon too. I think Ferdinand often stands out on BT though and made a strong contribution to the BBC's Euro coverage in the summer.


Your Favourite Other Pundit - Any other pundit you enjoy
Slaven Billic was excellent in the summer and demonstrated perfectly the knack of a broadcaster making a suitable signing for a summer tournament. Hope to see him again at the World Cup. Jermaine Jenas deserves a mention too, in terms of the regular pundits.

Senior Co-Commentator of the Year
ALAN SMITH (Sky Sports)

Did well deputising in Neville's absence and a consistently dependable co-commentator. Particularly excellent on Bournemouth V Liverpool recently.

Your Favourite Other Co-Commentator - The choice is yours...
Andy Hinchcliffe - he's probably benefited more than anyone from Neville's absence earlier in the year and is now quite rightly a regular part of Sky's Premier League coverage.

Football Presenter of the Year

GARY LINEKER (BBC / BT Sport)
There was a time when I wasn't so keen on Lineker but he's grown on me again in the last few years. In terms of the significant moments, he's done the closing stages of the Champions League, the FA Cup final and did a good job anchoring the BBC's strong coverage of Euro 2016 so he seems the right choice.

Honourable mentions go to Simon Thomas (who I think has done a really good job since his promotion in the summer), Mark Chapman (who is consistently excellent across both TV and radio), and Ed Chamberlin (it wouldn't feel right to choose him as best presenter considering he's not done anything for the last 6 months but I think it was appropriate that in each of the last programmes he presented in his regular slots he had a notable event that he presented expertly (Leicester winning the league in his final Monday Night Football and then the Old Trafford evacuation in his final Super Sunday.)

Commentary Of The Year
What match did you enjoy the most listening too - open choice

Steve Wilson and Robbie Savage - Wales V Belgium Euro 2016 (I would never have expected to list Savage on this at the start of the year but there we go!)
Hopes for 2017 - What do you hope could change in 2017:

More of Jon Champion and Jim Beglin on UK television, Matt Smith to take on some of Jake Humphrey's workload on BT, and Darren Fletcher to be used less prominently.

TV Times:
14:30-17:20 - BBC Red Button, BBC Sport Website & BBC Sport App
16:15-17:20 - BBC One in England and Wales
16:50-17:00 - BBC One in Northern Ireland

Presenter - Jason Mohammad from the BBC Sport Studios
Pundits - Trevor Sinclair and Alex Bruce
EFL Watch - Mark Clemmit from the BBC Sport Centre

Premier League
Burnley v Sunderland - Damian Johnson
Chelsea v Stoke City - Jacqui Oatley (MOTD's John Motson shown in-vision)
Leicester v West Ham - Robyn Cowen (MOTD's Simon Brotherton shown in-vision)
Man United v Middlesbrough - Vicki Sparks
Southampton v West Ham - Chris Wise
Swansea v Bournemouth - Hamish Marshall

Sky Bet EFL Championship
Huddersfield v Blackburn (12:30) - Alistair Yeomans (FT Report)
Barnsley v Birmingham - Naz Premji
Derby v Wigan - Ivan Gaskell
Preston v Sheff Wed - Seth Bennett
Wolves v QPR - Faye Carruthers

Sky Bet EFL League One
Bolton v Scunthorpe - Gary Flintoff

Sky Bet EFL League Two
Plymouth v Crawley - Laurence Herdman

you have 2 West Ham's there, we are away to Leicester today so West Brom must be at Southampton

Crocker did more than a handful of PL games for Setanta, he did loads of them. I think he was contracted to do half of their Premier League games a season. I won't bang on again about the balls-up he made of Spurs' 125th anniversary celebrations.


Indeed, most of which has now gone for a burton. You can hardly argue last night's was different because it was Christmas, it was the first one they've done for exactlly three months, so it'd be easy enough to get everyone on it if it's that infrequent. So I'm pretty sure Kamara has been dropped from it, given his role was completely pointless. Apart from the casual clothing and the dual presentation it now seems pretty indistinguishable from any other match on the channel, to be honest.

As for the value of Rachel Riley (who'll you note was on two channels at once as she was on Catsdown as well), you could just as equally argue that she could do it on her own, I don't think Jeff is all that special on it either. I see Sky Sports News offered us "highlights" of In Off The Bar this morning, including the comedian Iain Sterling doing a keepie-up challenge. News, there.

The new Radio Times is out and it tells us that Steve Wilson is doing Spurs vs Villa in the FA Cup, alongside Danny Murphy. We know Guy Mowbray is at West Ham.

Oops, so I did, me and my fast fingers, thanks for spotting that Chris, you are indeed at Leicester, with West Brom at St Mary's.

Premier League - Manchester United v Middlesbrough (Sky Sports)
Presenter: Hayley McQueen with George Boateng
Commentators: Bill Leslie and Danny Higginbotham
Reporter: David Craig

Smug Jake or what!! even his twitter pic's look embarrassing.

Have to admit it really is Liverpool heavy tonight with non stop talk about them and a certain Liverpool manager!