They worked on bayern v wolfsburg last season when someone scored 5 goals in 9 minutes

Lewandowski! Or did you not see that as you had the Eurosport player on?

yeah, it's a bit like saying England won the World Cup in 1966 after SOMEONE scored a hat trick.

Only teasing, Flakeith......

Or someone used to commentate on Italian football for UK TV

Good old Gary Bloom!

And apparently the commentary was done in the UK.

Not according to my expenses, Pako....... but don't start getting ideas now you've joined the commentating fraternity!

Yes, 2 Good 2 Bad went when Chiles left, presumably they decided it was too associated with him. It wasn't in the first season of MOTD2, but during that season they did various top tens and silly clips and it was at the start of the second series that 2 Good 2 Bad began as a full-time thing. And of course there was a 2 Good 2 Bad DVD, with Chiles and Dixon, but that was a completely independent production that had nothing to do with MOTD2 (it wasn't even mentioned on the sleeve) and was basically a bog standard football funnies DVD. I wish they'd done a proper 2 Good 2 Bad DVD, if only so we could have preserved Tony Gubba's "Mark Hughes pulls up his trousers as if to say 'job done'!" for all eternity.

Actually that's made me a bit nostalgic for the early days of MOTD2. Amazing to think it's been on for twelve years now. The first series was in 16:9 on analogue, apparently by request of BBC Sport to make it look different to the main show, and Gordon Strachan was the pundit every week. They also used to do pre-recorded punditry under the banner of The Strachan View, where Strachan would do some analysis in voice-over. Then the following season they introduced that style to MOTD itself and Hansen and Lawro did pre-recorded analysis packages, but they dropped that idea after a few weeks.

One of my very favourite bits of MOTD2 under Chiles was when someone had scored a spectacular volley and they showed virtually every single volley they had in the archive, it went on for ages. And Chiles said "This is volley porn, this!"

Anyway, as you say, when Colin Murray took over they dropped 2 Good 2 Bad but they still did lots of funny clips and cock-ups, just not under that name.


I wouldn't read too much into that picture given that two people who are clearly not in it are Kelly Cates and Scott Minto, who the press release is actually about. Which leads me to conclude it's actually last season's picture and they haven't taken a new one yet.


I'm a bit disappointed, especially after the fun with Darren Fletcher at Fulham on the other page, that nobody posted in a state of high excitement that a Mr Neville would be punditing on Sky last night.


After the Olympics, presumably. MOTD2 Extra started in mid-September. I wouldn't be so sure that Gabby, for it is she, will be missing loads of episodes, she's quite busy at the weekends with the rugby and the athletics but not so much in midweek - and I wouldn't be surprised if the whole thing was pre-recorded on location rather than studio-based in any case.

As for Manish, I always thought his role at the Beeb was a slightly odd one, because he didn't do anything during Euro 2008, Jake Humphrey went and presented Football Focus, which seemed a bit odd when Manish was at the time the current presenter of Focus. It was also around the same time he was reading the news a bit on News 24 and I remember speculating on here that he might be leaving BBC Sport and doing the news full time. Then of course by doing The Football League Show he was physically separated from the rest of BBC Sport because it was done from London while everyone else was in Salford. But clearly BBC Sport still want to keep hold of him because they keep on giving him odd jobs, even if they don't have a regular gig for him. Of course, he might not want a regular BBC gig. I prefer Walker and Chapman to him, though, I must say.


Yes, and Clive Tyldesley's last ever job for the BBC was commentating on the basketball in the 1996 Olympics. It used to be more common than it is now because there was only a small pool of regular commentators and they would all be on the staff, so they would be called in to do whatever came up.

These days they can make more use of freelancers and there are certainly more commentators about. It's especially going to be the case this time round that most football commentators will be staying at home because the season is underway. Tony Gubba always used to be one for the minority sport at the Olympics, but his last one was in 1996 and then for the next three he didn't go because the football season was running at the same time and he was required for that instead.

Gary Bloom off of Blight (thread joke there - Bloom and Wright in case anyone didn't understand. Long story behind it)?!.



MOTD2 back at the start seemed to get through a few regular pundits.
As you said, it began with Straachan and I think afterwards Gavin Peacock and after he left Lee Dixon became the main MOTD2 pundit.

I didn't much enjoy Colin Murray on MOTD2. I felt at times it became too obsessed with showing 'funnies'. It's always been a bit more relaxed and humorous than the main MOTD but Murray never worked on it for me.
I've much preferred it since Mark Chapman took over. That said I wouldn't be gutted if they binned the 'My Club' feature this season.

That's a very good point actually, I hadn't thought of it perhaps being a pre-recorded style magazine show, that certainly may be one way they wish to take it if they want to make it distinctive to the other shows. I suppose as you say if that was the case she may not miss to many, the only thing I had in mind is I seem to remember Diamond League Athletics being on a Thursday night a while back with her presenting. Though not being a follower of the sport at all , I dont know how regular a occurance this is or indeed if BBC even still cover it, even so if it was pre recorded it may get over that issue.

I agree with you it is a very strange pattern Manish's BBC work has taken him, I too remember him reading the news at the time and wondering if he may go in that direction. As you say they do still seem to want to use him for things on occasion which is good. I also like Chapman, I would say hes the second best football presenter they have after Lineker and I look forward to seeing him on the Olympics. I would say Manish after that marginally ahead of Dan with Gabby and Jason after that. It may of course as you say be of his own choice not to have a full time Beeb slot.

Strachan and Houllier were the first pundits on MOTD2. Probably the latter's first and final foray into English punditry.

BT Sport Score programme before the BT PL game is set to be hosted by Mark Poughtach and include pundits such as Jermaine Jenas and Harry Kewell, alongside the BT 'mainstays' including Savage, Harry Redknapp, David James and Howard Webb. While it means that I don't hold too much hope for their show, at least it hints that Savage, Redknapp and James not seeing as much of their main PL coverage, which is a big plus.

Details of the Premier League Show have been posted on the PL TV Fixtures thread.

Post 708:

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showt...152051&page=29

Its look like where the bad TV pundits go

Might as well have called it 'The Dumping Ground'!

Jenas is excellent to be fair, and I've never seen Kewell do anything. But if it keeps Savage and Redknapp off doing live football it's a vital public service.

Seems like they will be covering foreign and womens football, having different guests (both good ideas) and doing fantasy football updates (shrugs shoulders)

West Ham v NK Domzale- Tony Jones for the world feed
Maidstone Utd v York City- Adam Summerton and Adam Virgo commentate for BT. Matt Smith hosts with Chris Hargreaves and Kevin Davies. Natalie Quirk reports.

I really shouldn't be surprised by anything from BT at this point - but Harry Kewell was not a name I was expecting to appear.
Though I remember him appearing on a Watford game for Sky game last season - can't remember too much about it mind.

And I guess if Savage is to be used anywhere by BT then a live scores programme is probably best - he can be as excitable and argumentative as he likes on there.

To be fair to BT too, it's not like Soccer Saturday's pundits are particularly known for their insight either. However, the elephant in the room is that Soccer Saturday is well established and liked among football fans whereas BT's offering is not.

As others have said though if it keeps 'Arry, Sav and Jamo off live Premier League and means BT let the (relative) grown-ups cover the live match then this 'Scores' show is performing a vital service.

Have to be honest I can see Savage and Henry after a stronger than expected Euros returning back to normal this season.

Is it just me or does this BT show sound very out of balance. Having a very serious, professional presenter in Mark Pougatch with pundits being Savage, Redknapp and James seems a bit chalk and cheese. The thing is those that have Sky and BT will stick to Soccer Saturday, they might watch for the first week but then viewing figures will drop. In a similar vein to Top Gear where people just preferred the presenters and way of doing things under Clarkson, Hammond and May. Their success set Evans and co up for faliure. Im not saying that it is the same but there are similar aspects to it. It will be intersting to see if those that just have BT choose to watch the new show or if they watch Final Score instead. Of course we now know Jenas won't be appearing on there this season. It could mean more Garth Crooks.

Yes, Strachan was the pundit every week for the first season. Quite often he'd be the only pundit, but as mentioned Gerard Houllier did the first one and I remember Frank Skinner being on it one week. Chiles and Strachan were a really good team, Strachan was a top pundit in those days (still is now, I think, a shame he didn't do the Euros). I remember the last show of the season Chiles saying how uncomfortable the sofa had been all season and the pair of them lay down on it to say goodbye.

Then when Strachan went back into management, Graeme Le Saux was the regular pundit for the following season, back when the Beeb were grooming him as the next big thing - he would often have been on Five Live in the afternoon. That lasted until almost the end of the season before he abruptly departed when he learned he wasn't doing England matches in the World Cup.

Then it was Gavin Peacock, but of course he left after Euro 2008 to move to Canada. I remember Chiles was the presenter of Peacock's last show and they ended with a special montage of all the crazy shirts he'd worn over the years. Then it was Lee Dixon, as you say, but by that point there was always more than one pundit and eventually it just became a free-for-all.


Well, they've done all but three of the Premier League clubs now, so presumably it won't be back. But I like having features on MOTD2, it's nice to have something different and a bit more reflective, rather than just all of Saturday's goals which by that point I could have seen four or five times already. It's also longer than it used to be, for the first few years it was only 45 minutes, and they used to have features every week in those days.

It seems quite odd to think that before MOTD2 started in 2004 we didn't have regular highlights of Sunday Premier League games. When ITV had the rights we did occasionally have Sunday highlights if there were a lot of fixtures, but it was very rare and in the last season I think they only did it once, when Arsenal won the league. And before that, when the Beeb first had the rights, they didn't have them at all.

As for Colin Murray, I don't especially dislike him but I think he can sometimes be a bit of an acquired taste. I think what sums up his presentational style was the bit in the 2010 World Cup when he did a 360 degree spin on his chair on air and then announced "Lee Dixon owes me twenty quid". I can't decide if that's a pleasing bit of irreverence or total self-indulgence.


The Beeb only have highlights rights for the Diamond League these days, apart from the London ones. Actually there was a funny Diamond League highlights show during the Euros which was ostensibly presented by Gabby but because she was at the Euros, all her links were out of vision and pre-recorded. I doubt she does that much more than Dan Walker and Mark Chapman.


Well, thank you for that. Sounds like it will be pre-recorded then, I think. Be interesting to see, there might be a danger that it's a bit too much like Football Focus but I think there's scope for both to have very different outlooks. Certainly you watch telly in a very different mood at 10pm than you do at 1pm so it might have a more grown-up, serious approach.

Sounds it could be a bit like Inside Sport, which of course Gabby presented a few years back. In Roger Mosey's book about running BBC Sport he talks about Inside Sport, he says they'd always wanted to have a proper serious sports news show which had the same kind of impact as Sportsweek on Five Live, but though they persevered with it for a very long time, and tried various different formats, it never managed to establish itself and eventually just petered out. It also reminds me a bit of On Side, the show John Inverdale did in the late nineties, which had a studio audience. Be nice to have something like that again.

I think the example you've mentioned sums up my issue with Murray. I'm by no means expecting football to be presented in an incredibly sombre tone - I like a bit of humour at times in football coverage.
However, something like that just seems irritating more than anything to me (and also at times a bit forced). I'm there to watch the football at the end of the day.

Goodness I forgot about Le Saux. As you say it's a bit of a free-for-all now on MOTD2 in terms of pundits - but I guess an advantage is that if you dislike a pundit and they appear then at least you know they're not going to appear every week of the season.

On the Sunday highlights, agreed that we've become used to Sunday highlights now and it'd seem odd not to have them. On the other hand, it is odd how Monday games on the other hand rarely have highlights. I realise that's due to contracts probably but seems odd that there are those 10-12 games or so that still aren't shown.

Didn't ITV used to have a 'Premiership on Monday' programme (I'm sure I recall something called the 'Premiership Parliament' on there - though maybe I've just conjured that up myself)?

I think that most on here have already got the coffin out for BT's new program at 2.30 on a Saturday before even seeing it!

I think the very least most could do is wait and see a few programs before giving it the final rights!

Who know's it may turn out a better watch than Soccer Saturday on Sky, highly doubtful but you never know.

We all on here, me included, were hating the thought of Savage doing the Euro's but in the end didnt turn out to be to bad so what's saying he may be a hit with this program?

I have my doubts about Friday night football on Sky and Rachel Rielly but will wait and see after the first program or so and as for Jamie Carragher doing commentry, well what a stupid move that is!

I agree Casinoman13. Let us just wait and watch before passing judgement. I wonder if BT Sport will have reporters at the games (as Sky Sports and BBC Final Score do) or whether they will just be a glorified flashscores site (which any of us can pick up online).

WSL and European coverage scores would get me at least flicking between Soccer Saturday and the new BT show.

Olympic Men's football
Iraq v Denmark - David Basheer and Charlie Brougham
Honduras v Algeria - Paul Dempsey and Gerald de Kock
Brazil v SA - Ravi Ubha and Phil Kitromilides
Mexico v Germany - Kevin Keatings and Mark Doran
Portugal v Argentina - Roger Tames and (?)