Sounding like a bunch of sniveling bitches...in retrospect if this is the evil that I must endure in order to watch prime EPL matches live on the weekends, I'll watch it....or turn the channel if I so may choose.
They probably would if the show was about English Basketball. A fledgling yet growing sport in the UK.
McMahon is quality. Wynalda is just really boring and doesn't seem knowledgeable. I can't watch the show anymore because of him. The guys behind the desk are kinda harmless funny in the junior high school vein.
You mean like the time 3 years ago that he said SAF had lost the team and would retire before the end of the season?
I absolutely love the fact that they try to keep the MLS and the USNT at a minimum. Lets face it, both are not that good. I actually told Terri Leigh to cut off the MLS part and spend those 5 mins on something way better: SPECIAL 1 TV. You are all a bunch of monkeys for complaining so much.
Yeah. Wynalda is absolutely horrible. He's ruined the show. Nick Webster is constantly trying to help him along, almost like Wynalda is being interviewed. They should bring back Steven Cohen and if people get their support hose in a wad, so be it. TFB. At least the show would be worth watching.
The producers aren't chimps - but the people who own the show sure are! Lets get that out of the way first. Second - as someone with intimate knowledge of how they do things at FSR, I can tell you they do not spend time on the USMNT because they do not have anyone covering them or any feeds providing visuals. They get a TON of feeds from the UK. And to the point that most of the audience are Americans - yes they are - American ex-pats who couldn't give a rats ass about the USMNT. England is top dog and according to numerous focus groups, that's what people want to see - not the USMNT. FSR does a good job with what they have and you can bet if they had better resources from their US partners at FSC, they'd be doing more on the USMNT. It's not a choice, it's what they're stuck with. In terms of MLS, I think they do a fantastic job...especially in comparison to the early days. JSL has taken over the 'MLS Pulse' segment and has turned it into a true gem on the Wednesday show. This is a show handcuffed by budgets and lack of resources so quit bitching and simply take what they do at face value. Canwest Global (the company that owns FSR) couldn't care less about the show as long as at the end of the day, they keep making a little bit of money for the parent network (Global TV here in Canada). The people on that show should be commended for doing the job they do with what little resources they have. And why do you think the talent has been steadily leaving? Look at the latest hire - Nabil Karim. NO anchor experience (100% evident!!!) yet they consider him qualified to do the job. That says it all about the people who own/do the hiring for that show.
Does the guy even have a soccer background? He certainly doesn't know how to pronounce certain player/team names.
To my knowledge - none. Classic minority hire?? I know they were getting flak from some people about the lack of 'culture' on their show given that it IS the world's game. Some people feel having different cultures represented is more important than hiring qualified people to do the job.... Brilliant.
You guys are the monkeys (the two above), first, you cannot even compare the quality between the EPL and the MLS. So therefore it is only fair that they focus more on that segment. I'm sure they would lose so much audience if they focused mainly on the USNT and the MLS. FSR does a great job covering the best leagues (ELP, LA Liga and Serie A), something that no other soccer show does. And don't hate on Karim, the guy is new and learning (look at Terri Leigh now compared to when she started), I'd like to see one of you clowns try to do it. Remember that we all have to start somewhere.
Monkeys, chimps, wombats, whatever. I come from a time when you got to watch the same EPL game for about 4 weeks in a row (and you would) at 11:00 at night on the local cable sports channel. The alternative was going to a pub at 8:00 in the morning on Saturday, having an Irish breakfast, and paying 5 or 10 bucks for the pleasure. I don't care if they have dead guys producing and announcing, I love Saturday and Sunday mornings, and at 9:00 at night in Chicago I actually get to find out what the hell is going on in the world of soccer.
I think the coverage is just right. MLS does get play on the show in the right dose. As far as I know, ESPN doesn't have a dedicated daily show. If they do it must be during the day or strictly internet. The vast majority of people I know are interested in EPL, Spain, Italy, and Germany. Most never mention MLS. I'm grateful for all the highlights Fox shows. The one thing I would change is the first half hour and second is basically a repeat. Re: USMNT How much can they talk about? I want to be informed about what they do but how many get significant minutes for their club? Donovan, Dempsey, and Howard? Edu starting to get minutes. Bradley? Can't be sure. Is Bocanegra starting for Rennes? I haven't seen Karim yet but I'm not really a fan of having seemingly unknowledgeable people as presenters. i.e. Wynalda. LOL.
Wynalda is horrible.....I MISS STEVEN COHEN....there I've said it, was awesome. I could care less about the Hillsborugh fiasco. There is no other show like FSR and they should focus on the EPL, and rightly so. BTW today was Carlos Machado's last night on the report. He will be missed, he was the funniest on that show.
I don't watch FSR all the time, but I find it enjoyable enough to keep my interest when I do catch the show. I seem to remember reading that the FSR nightly broadcast is actually taped at 7 p.m. Central Time. Because of that, you never hear about USA or CONCACAF related stories until the day after they occur. That's OK by me. As one who remembers what ESPN looked like when they took to the airwaves in 1979 compared to where they are now, FSR I feel will only get better in the future as far as their production values are concerned. I'll catch the re-broadcast of Sunday's show to catch Carlos' last time on. I know Michelle Lissel left to work in Toronto FC's front office. Carlos to Vancouver possibly? Whatever happened to Mitch Peacock? I like Bobby McMahon too--the guy is an encyclopedia of soccer information, even if he is wrong about some of his predicted outcomes on some stories.
I'm glad I found this post. First, I have nothing to say about FSR's lack of coverage of the USMNT, as I simply don't follow them. I'm a U.S. citizen, born and raised, but I cannot follow a national team whose players I don't know and don't care about. My love for football as such has led me to become a huge fan of the Premier League, and for that reason, I prefer to follow the England national team more than any other country's team. I do agree, however, that the "talent" on FSR is, quite simply, awful. I only watch FSR on Mondays and Fridays to catch Bobby -- otherwise, the show is just dire. Nabil Karim, Terri Leigh, and Carlos Machado cannot read a teleprompter to save their lives. Karim and Leigh have no idea what the game is about, and Machado has always seemed a bit out of his depth on the show. Derek Taylor and Jeremy St. Louis are bearable, but their "witty" banter is inane and a waste of time. Worst is when these two try to offer up their "commentary" on matches with Bobby -- what complete and utter crap. In short, I find FSR to be unwatchable for production reasons, not its coverage of teams (or lack thereof). It's the same reason I can't watch the Fone-In now, with Webster and Wynalda at the helm. Webster's alright, but there is zero chemistry and zero fluid dialogue between him and Wynalda. Steven Cohen and Nick Geber were infinitely better, and I miss those two. I get my fix these days by listening to the new World Football Daily podcast.
I get tired of FSC's Anglocentric bias, so I'm watching a lot less of it lately. Jeremy and Carlos are terrible.