Quote Originally Posted by Optimistic Nick View Post
A touch of class in an otherwise tawdry thread.

Pretty much anybody involved in the presentation of football today has a personal interest in selling the game as a commercial product, rather than reporting on it as a sporting event. To my mind, Coleman does not fall into this camp. He was a sports enthusiast who could accurately convey the magnitude of an event. I doubt he would have over-sold the importance of Leicester vs West Ham.

Tyldesely is a reasonable commentator, with a tendency for hyperbole and nostalgia. He fairly accurately describes what is happening in a manner that is irritating rather than obtrusive, a la Jonathan Pierce. It is bizarre that he genuinely believes that anybody cares about a minor internal reorganisation of roles. He will presumably retire in the next few years and most football fans won't notice: he is nothing special, nothing terrible. That twitter clip belies a narcissism that I'd not really noticed before in a commentator other than the Moron In The Sheepskin Coat, or the uniquely appalling Alan Green.

Lots of really good sports presenters/commentators/journalists have lost their jobs in the last few years, so this daft tit whinging about him being second-best but still employed really rankles. Cornelius Lysaght and Mark Pougatch are two that spring to mind- far more insightful and offer far more to their sports than the mediocre, forgettable game-calling of Tyldesley.

Clive, give your retirement speech when you retire and just say thanks for sending me to games I had no real right to be at. Daft twat.
Kept nodding throughout that.

In addition, I think that Sky introduced and developed that selling of football during commentary. Along came the regular hyperbole that never happened before. People believed they were getting something far better than they were used to.

Tyler is dreadful for this "AND IT'S LIVE", though he has a great way of putting images into words. He needs to retire in the next year or so though. Parry has been demoted to Championship and he needs shifting as well. Nobody else at Sky deserves to be a regular in the hot seat, so it'll be interesting to see what happens there.

Hope Sky don't get Mowbray. I don't rate him. Steve Wilson is a very good commentator, I also like Simon Brotherton, but there aren't many coming through that deserve top billing at Sky. Peter Drury would be my shout.