Steven Cohen leaving World Football Daily

I am not surprised. Steve never really loved the game as much as the culture of the game. I think the show will actually get better when Kenny gets someone who has the same passion for the game and the tactics. I hope Kenny can find that guy.

 

I am a bit sripesd at this. But I will say I do think that Cohen was losing a bit of passion for the game he says he is writing a book I wish him all the luck and I will say this for me he will be missed love him or hate him you cant say he is not good at what he did as for the show its self I think they will lose some people after April 1tst but lets hope they can find some one that is like Steven what I mean by that is that parson is some one that will speak his mind because for me that is what makes wfd a good show to listing to when working or doing what ever now they said that us the fans will be able to vote on who we like so lets see what happens. Will I stay with WFD and pay I am going to keep an open mind I am a fan of Steven but if I don’t like the way the show is going then I will not pay. But like I said lets all keep an open mind.

 

Change is a good thing generally. Steven can always guest host if he wants back.

 

You are right when you say Steven in "burnt out". The man has been doing this for over 8 years. Think about that. For the better part of 8 years, he showed up five days a week and brought the daily footy news to Americans and football supporters around the globe. Think about what the landscape of football in America would be like if Steven never came about.

He is leaving, yes. But he is leaving on the best of terms. Myself, Kenny, and the rest of the staff will most definitely miss the man who we all listened to at one point in our adult lives. That's how we came to work here. Think of it as a passing of the torch. Yes. There will be some changes, of course. Will the show be different? Absolutely. But do remember this... the show is now run completely by previous listeners of the show. So we love the show and the game as much as the next guy who will post here. And the fact of the matter is that WFD is a pioneer that several others seem model themselves after. Before WFD, who was did a subscription based website? Now there are EPL Talk "Pro"'s who used to use this show and it's subscription based website as an example not to pay for, now have a subscription based offer for "the price of a cappucino"... hmmm, funny, that was our initial selling point. Think of all the other site now who bring you a guest that is regularly seen on WFD as a once a day interview?

I'm not saying that you all you only subscribe to WFD and listen to nothing else. By no mean! I want the smartest, most intelligent supporters of the game in this country. So by all means, get stuck in with what ever you can in terms of following the game. But think about it, who else brings you an hour plus in daily football discussion in a talk show format. Sure, people try and have podcast that cover specific regions or leagues, and that's great. But WORLD football daily tries to cover as broad a spectrum of leagues, countries, subjects, etc, as possible to give our subscribers a complete view of the world's game. All in one show.

Trust me. WFD has a lot going on and will most definitely ramp up our product. But remember to do what ever it takes to become knowledgeable in this game. The smarter the American soccer fan is, the better our national game and its players will become.

 

Rafa,

I think this is a good move that Steve and you guys probably recognized. I think finding someone who is a true follower of the game and the tactics a la Kenny will be key, along with other skills. Steve is a great professional and pioneer. I truly respect him, but perhaps like many entrepreneurs, he needs to start up the next project.

 

Thanks Steven

That's disappointing. Steven brought a lot to the show. I think his more philosophical (?) bent was a good compliment to Kenny's more x's and o's focus.

But it's a pretty all-encompassing job. You not only have to be on the air for 90 minutes, 5 days a week, you have to prepare for it, arrange guests, do the business aspect of it and then in your "free time," spend countless hours watching matches and reading hate mail from the LFC ilk and people bitching when he takes a day off. It's a credit he lasted that long. I, for one, wish him well.

I don't really care for the show when ANYONE is hosting solo. The back and forth between hosts is what makes it so much better than podcasts like The Guardian or Soccernet.

I always liked the show but it's 10 times better than it used to be. The quality of guests is fantastic but especially the breadth. It's not just all EPL, all the time and a token mention of everything else like it used to be. I hope it continues on the upward trajectory.

 

I don't think the LFC ilk who were acting like jacka**s were ever followers of the show in the first place. And the LFC folks who did follow the show before, I doubt they ever left. Crazy people aren't motivated by rational thought like this.

 

That sucks that Steven is leaving I thought that he was extremely entertaining to listen to on the radio. I remember the first show I ever stumbled upon was when I was listening to my sirius on a long drive and England was knocked out by Croatia for euro 2008. I was immediately hooked to Stevens style and have been listening almost daily since. Gonna miss Steven on the show but I know Kenny will keep it going. I agree that it should not be a one man show because the banter is part of what makes the show so good. I even like when Kenny and Howard do shows together as opposed to just Kenny or Steven by themselves. Anyways best of luck to Steven and his book.

 

I recognize Steven's contribution to Football in America. Thanks.

But I won't miss him trying to interrupt the talent. Kenny can do it to a lesser extend.

Kenny and whoever replaces Steven: STFU when talent is speaking.

 

Wait, so Steven says he's leaving April 1, but then takes off the rest of this week?

I'll admit I tuned it late and may have missed the reason.

But, okay...

 

I'm probably going to have to cancel my subscription. Kenny is anti spanish, had to hear tirades of how over rated spain was during the world cup and that we'd be knocked out early in the tournament. Now he's always trying to downplay anything that has to do with barcelona.


Steven was like that aswell for a while, whenever spain was brought up he'd bring up the england game where bananas where thrown on the field as if a group of 4 guys doing that represented a whole country. Then euro 2008 happened and he stopped being a hater.



Hmm I guess bbc live at 5 is all there is now.

 

I have more thoughts on this but for now I wil say it was terrible timing... I know he may have other options that can't be delayed but it would have been best if he had finished out the season.

 

From a guy who is not Spanish, while I love the way soccer is played in La Liga, Spain only recently started winning as a national side, and few Spanish players or La Liga players made it huge in the other leagues. I am also not convinced that the current Barcelona side is better than Milan in the late eighties or early nineties, or even the Barcelona team that won the champions league in 1994.

I understand if you don't like how they cover La Liga, but I do not understand how you think BBC 5 live is better. Perhaps it is because it is free, but $5/ month is cup of coffee for 7.5 hours of quality content a week.

 

Bring back Geber!

 

My gripe was that anytime Spain was mentioned, at the time steven would just think of a few fans who threw bananas in that one game against England, it saddened me that, that is what he thought of Spain. Kenny I feel does it because it seems the whole world even the worlds media are jumping on the barca bandwagon.

As far the old ac milan of the 80's, apples to oranges, But I will say this. Those old italian tactics of yesteryear would be obsolete today, also the difference in athleticism would be too vast. Which is why we cannot compare a messi to a pele, 2 different eras.


When did you started listening to the show? I started listening at the beginning of 2006, giber and cohen always bickering about hiezel lol, gunther coming on and pushing the limits of censorship. Good times

 

Amen! I 100% agree. It's my only gripe with the show. Not only is it dispectful to the guests they're interviewing, it just makes for bad sounding radio for the listener.

 

agreed

 

Believe it or not, I have been listening to Steven and X in some form or another for many years. I think in the past 1 - 2 years, they have really made this World football. Steven has really branched out over that time into the other leagues (let's face it; it was Barcelona's run in the Champions league against Chelsea and Man U that really opened Steven's eyes, and the Euro and World cup). But they have great corresponsdents on Spain like Graham Hunter, Ray Hudson, Ray's co-comentator, Sid Lowe, and several others. I think Kenny has a deeper base of knowledge than Steven whcih is why I agree with him more about some of the overhype.

I disagree with you that you can not compare players in different era's. Perhaps players that played in the fifties or earlier, you can't. But any of the players that played then would obviously play at today's fitness and speed. The question is do you think they have the brilliance, strengths and skills to rise above today's stars. I played like many fans of the game. For me, there is no question that Pele would be king of this era, simply was above all in all gifts. With modern European conditioning and coaching, who knows what he would have done. I think the current Barcelona side can be talked about at the level of the top teams of other era's, but I doubt they would have their way. There were too many players, let's say on the Milan side, that played very saavy soccer, as well as skill and strength. I think today, the story might be that the game has lost some of that know how in favor of formation tactics, and running speed. Messi though is special.

 

606 is unlistenable. Forget paying $40 to listen to WFD. If I were ever subjected to 606, I'd pay $40 to make it stop.

And that's not even taking into account the fact that 606 only covers UK teams while WFD is much broader.

 

Hey boys...

Rafa here, the producer of wfd. We all know Cohen is leaving, and unfortunately I think Geber is out of the question. Howard doesn't live in the states any longer (he is in china teaching).

but we are looking to hire a new co-host. if you have suggestions you should send them to the show email account. Or if you think you could fill in, contact the show email and I will get back to you personally.

actually, if you could all spread the word that we are looking for a new host, it's a paying gig, that'd be great.

the show will need to evolve a bit. there really is no replacement for Steven. thanks everyone.

 

I actually enjoyed the show Thursday - just catching up with the podcast now - and thought it was a nice change up.

Wouldn't mind seeing a bit of a rotating cast of co-hosts.

I wrote a post about Steven leaving the show a week ago. Were they not broadcasting out of California I'd send in an application.

 

Listening to Wednesday's show, my 2 cents why I think this is good for all involved (may be worth less than that).

Steve has passion and enjoyed breaking the new project that was soccer. He was relatively quite knowledgeable about the game in this market, but he has never really been someone who really knew the game like people who have played it and grew up with it. Steve's passion for the game was great for soccer in this country and he was a great ambassador for those who have become fans over the years. But at some point, passion is not enough and the fans have become more knowledgeable about the game here, and Kenny, his co-host, is as hardcore of a fan of the game as anyone I know. I think Steven recognized the passion for the game worldwide and as a fan of chelsea and recognized how it could become a game of passion here. Steven, who sees the game from 10,000 feet in the air, would inevitably see his interest wane with people who see the game at ground level. Funny enough, I think Steve has that ground level view of cricket and tennis and may find his true love of the game in these sports. I think he always found the entertainment and soap opera in soccer which was entertaining at times, but I am not surprised he is not fulfilled by the game now. I think he is a great professional and entertainer; that sense of style, or humor etc is something to look for in the next host. I am looking forward to where the show goes.

If you can't get a full time host, consider having Bobby Mcmahon (?) from FSR on once or twice a week, and a couple of other hosts until you finally find the right person.