You don't like Eamon Dunphy? I think he is one of the best English speaking pundits in the world. The guy is a beauty. I always try to find and RTE stream of a Champions League just to hear his analysis. Guy is excellent.
Late in the Spurs/Wolves game a Wolves defender and GK go down in a clear tactic to waste time. Play restarts with a dropped ball near the penalty spot but Spurs decide to contest it not liking the time wasting. As you can imagine Wolves didn't like it and even got a booking for dissent. Ball is dropped with about 15 players around and Mike Jones calls the cheap foul on Spurs to get out of it. Now, the typical former player analyst starts to berate the ref on how he can give a dropped ball in this situation. He goes on saying that every other ref just instructs the team to give the ball back not realizing that they give the ball back AFTER A DROPPED BALL! Mind boggling stuff. It was just unusual because Spurs decided to contest it. Just to make it clear. He made a point multiple times on how the referee was incorrect for restarting with a dropped ball after stopping for an injury not realizing the difference between a contested and uncontested dropped ball.
Hopefully the headgear today's kids are being outfitted with will resolve some of these issues in the commentators of tomorrow.
I don't know who said it, but late in the Wigan - City match, the color announcer actually said something about the 4Ds! I was floored. But I did want to give them credit when they got something right.
If you are wondering who would light up the national grid, or be a gazelle among the cheetahs, and something about a food-mixer in the shorts, you just must have a listen to the besotted [Ray] Hudson here: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi-nGx2opq4"]Malaga CF vs FC Barcelona 1-4 All Goals 22/01/12 - YouTube[/ame] Note: Do please remember to put the ear plugs before three (3) minutes.
It's not just soccer announcers though. I was watching a college basketball game this weekend, and one announcer said the following "the lead is now up to double digits, Team A is now up by nine." I immediately thought of this thread.
Re: Football Commentators Say the Darndest Things thread [R] and cannot add either ESPN online coverage began with 'if Barcelona score one, Madrid will need to score 4,' in re: the Copa del Ray return-clash. (history: Barcelona had scored 2-1 at Real Madrid during the 1st leg, meaning 2 away-goals.)
Re: Football Commentators Say the Darndest Things thread [R] and cannot add either But everyone knows that "away goals count double."
Re: Football Commentators Say the Darndest Things thread [R] and cannot add either Watching yesterday's Dallas - New York MLS match and was my first taste of Kyle Martino as a commentator (at least that I remember). He starts off with this nugget in the 5th minute as McCarty is cautioned by Marrufo for, well, not stopping until he's 3 feet through Jacobson. "That's a soft yellow card - to me that's not even a yellow card". Really? Two teams that hate each other and a careless foul in the 5th of said match doesn't rate a yellow? Hmm. IMHO he was similarly underwhelming for the rest of the match. Got the feeling I'll be going to the "mute" button often during NBC Sports' coverage of MLS. http://www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2012-03-11-dal-v-ny/highlights?videoID=178641
Re: Football Commentators Say the Darndest Things thread [R] and cannot add either If you think the foul was only careless, why do you think a caution is warranted?
Re: Football Commentators Say the Darndest Things thread [R] and cannot add either typed careless, meant reckless...sorry. I'm still low on coffee this morning!
This was the comedy duo's response after Massey's call in the final few moments of the Manchester City-Swansea clash. They do not seem to realise making correct calls are routine.
Here's one from ESPN's [Adrian] Healy, from Portland's Alhassan's measured chip into the side-netting in their Philadelphia MLS-clash: "My instinct as a commentator - having seen many similar instances - was it was a cross. It looked to me like he was trying to dink it into that soft spot at the far post and hope that someone would be able to finish it off. As it turned out, he didn't need anyone to finish it." Alhassan states: "The goalie was expecting me to (make) a cross, so I was just trying to chip it." So it appears that commentators who have seen many similar instances still are not good enough to judge the player's intent. Perhaps if Healy could have just asked Alhassan's team-mate [Rodney] Wallace, probably an advanced scrabble player, who added: "It was shross. Whatever it was, it went in."
Early in the Santos vs. Seattle game, AR2 gets knocked over by one of the Seattle players. The crowd cheers. The commentator asks "Why do people always cheer when the referee falls over? I mean I don't disagree with them but why do we do that?" In your case, mate it's because you are a f*cking prick.
AAAAHHHHHHHH! every time a goal is scored.... its like he got disemboweled. It's enough to make you a ManU fan.
SJ vs Houston - Clear caution for a tactical foul in midfield (it was probably reckless too). Color commentator - "theres a new term for that this year...tactical foul".