When a player plays rubbish, the analyists should say so. They are afraid to do this on the British channels but they do in Ireland. This is a clip from the guardian - very true.
Spotted this on The Guardian
The Irish eyes who will not have left Ronaldo smiling RTE's John Giles,
Eamon Dunphy and Liam Brady have no peers when it comes to football
punditry.
Alan Ruddock
February 22, 2007 02:29 AM
At what point did television producers decide that football fans were to
be treated with contempt? Was Jimmy Hill too abrasive for the modern
age, too likely to upset fragile egos (though, in fairness, it could
have been the beard)? Blandness is now almost universal on British TV,
whether it's the crafted dialogue on Gary Lineker's Match of the Day,
Steve Ryder's obeisance at the feet of sporting gods or Jim Rosenthal's
- well, better to let that one lie. On Sky, where Andy Gray and Richard
Keys at least attempt analysis, the surface is barely scratched and
conventional wisdoms go unchallenged.
"The lad will be disappointed with himself for that performance" now
comes at the top end of the most stinging rebukes and most of what
passes for television analysis would not pass muster in a pub. With few
alternatives on offer we mutely accept it, nodding sagely that the lad
could, indeed, have done better. There is, however, a better way.
In a brief clip on Tuesday night John Giles, Eamon Dunphy and Liam Brady
demonstrated that they have no peers in the business of football
punditry.
Two great players and a former journeyman player turned great
controversialist were dissecting Manchester United's win against Lille.
They
didn't dwell for long on the referee (two correct decisions, one goal
disallowed, one awarded) or get overly excited by Lille's foot-stomping
childishness but focused on analysing different elements of the game.
Brady and Dunphy had prepared a package of Cristiano Ronaldo's entire
contribution - completing, to memory, one pass out of 10, while losing
possession or fluffing scoring chances every other time he received the
ball. The clip concluded with Ronaldo's substitution, head shaking at
the injustice of it all, spitting in disgust and shrugging his way past
Sir Alex Ferguson, his manager.
Giles, Brady and Dunphy - along with Bill O'Herlihy, their host and
interrogator - are brought together by RTE, the state-owned Irish
broadcaster, to analyse football. They do not hold their punches. Brady
and Dunphy have little time for the hype that surrounds Ronaldo, while
Giles's scepticism is slightly more restrained.
For all three, Ronaldo is talented but well short of the greatness that
has been bestowed on him by his manager and the British media. They see
his flaws, his petulance, his failure to deliver on the biggest European
occasions but they also see deep cynicism at work.
The hyping of Ronaldo, in their eyes, is about inflating his value for
the balance sheet, and has little or no connection with reality. Ronaldo
is a commodity rather than a footballer, a player measured not by his
contribution on the field but by his potential contribution to the
bottom line, so long as the marketing of him can deliver a profitable
transfer.
Agree or disagree, but it is an analysis that demands a response and
cuts through the hyperbole that usually gushes forth from British TV
studios.
Critically, RTE's gang of four treat their viewers as intelligent and
informed fans and approach each match they review with a determination
to provide insight and provoke response.
Their approach is in stark and dismal contrast to what passes for
analysis on British television. There are rare exceptions - Martin
O'Neill was a breath of fresh air during the World Cup and Graeme
Souness occasionally punctures the mood of celebration - but for too
much of the time producers and pundits appear to treat viewers with
contempt.
It is not beyond the wit of the BBC, ITV, Sky or Setanta to recognise
one simple fact: fans are not morons. They deserve better than pap and I
am convinced they would respond enthusiastically if treated with
respect. It might, however, knock a few million off Ronaldo's asking
price.