If Klinsmann doesn't get a coaching job for an Asian national team, I see Fox hiring him closer to 2018 for World Cup coverage.
I think he did that because it was a primetime network broadcast of a cup final. I'm sure Fox thought casual fans tuning in might need more background. My memory is that he sticks to soccer during the regular broadcasts. I think he's pretty good. Friedal and (sadly) Holden, on the other hand, are the Jürgen Klinsmanns of announcing: their analysis is always "who wants it more...who digs a little deeper...the players have to make plays..." all non-specific motivational nonsense. Twellman, on the other hand, is almost always talking about stuff actually happening on the field. If you listen to him, he is often pointing out flaws or strengths and match ups that wind up having an effect on the game. (If Friedl talk about something on the field it is usually to tell us that the keeper had his feet firmly planted, that the foul had no malicious intent at all and a couple of other comments he is fond of repeating even when they contradict the evidence of our eyes. Seriously, he is the worst of the ex-player color men on Fox or ESPN.
I heard him do it in previous games, but I agree that he is pretty good. I'm not sure what I think about Friedel, but I have gotten tired of the way that he goes berserk after goals.
Friedel was talking about Seattle leaving it 2 v. 2 in the back a lot. I'm trying to remember if he made any other tactical observations.
Cannot stand FOX. There is no need to have a sideline reporter give an update every 5 minutes during MLS Cup. Their pre and postgame has no substance or analysis. FOX has also admitted they dumb things down for the non-soccer viewer. The World Cup is going to be a joke with them broadcasting. It took ESPN until 2010 to do a decent job and then they're outbid. So now we're stuck with FOX.
Bumping for the Confederations Cup. Dr. Joe with his vital insight during the buildup to the first goal.
He's actually a pretty good TD (I would've been more than willing to keep him on in that role, just not at the expense of having him stay on as head coach). I could see China trying to hire him, I don't think he'd want the job but they could offer him enough money that he wouldn't turn it down
So far the worst tournament coverage they've had. I don't want to lay too much blame on the announcers. I think they're being poorly served by the behind-the-scenes crew. There have just been a lot of weird factoids taken to extremes. Like tonight's discussion of Martinique's political status. Or the weird one about the same ref being at the last game where Morris scored. At other times, the announcers just seem poorly prepared. Like they haven't studied the teams at all.
Only one providing any type of analysis is Aly Wagner. The rest is bland platitudes pandering to the casual US fan or non-soccer fan.
Lalas is the embodiment of the Peter Principle. How he continues to get work is nothing short of amazing.
Stu is good. Landon works well with him. I wish someone in that box added excitement from time to time. Wagner is always good. Cobi is usually decent, but not in this tournament. take something like in the Canada-French Guiana game. Sloan Privat scores for FG. At that point he had six goals in four international games and had scored in every one of them. Pretty remarkable. And wiithout Malouda, it wasn't like there FG is just overflowing with success stories. Does it rate a mention? Not at all. There are too many times that I just don't feel like they've done much research on the teams and it makes the announcers and commentators seem like they're just showing up to the games cold.
That's just American sports broadcasting. Some will not like it in a soccer match, but others may find tidbits interesting. I did find the topic of Martinique's political status vs. FIFA status somewhat interesting, I was not aware of it. The biggest complaint I have about FOX so far is that they like to use commentators (not including Strong) who overly praise simple skills or plays on the field, and at times they even speak too soon (i.e., a guy does a step over, half-way beats his marker and the announcer will say "nice move there by [insert name]" and immediately the guy gets dispossessed). JPD (can't help but have a soft spot for the guy) is often guilty of this. FOX needs to find announcers who are a little more nuanced in the game, and I don't mean they have to possess accents.
Fox sports GO app is incredibly buggy for me. Anyone else? It's always been that way. Maybe fox sucks at everything.
Hey does anyone know a place where I can find precise kickoff times for US soccer games on Fox? The official kickoff times listed on the US Soccer website and on Fox seem to always be off, often by 15, and I believe sometimes by up to 30 minutes, which makes it frustrating trying to schedule things around the games. Based on the last game, should I assume that the semi-final match against Costa Rica will start at 10:15 ET?
I realize that's not a problem specific to Fox, but this seemed like the most appropriate thread on the front page to ask that question.