Subtle observation

Anyone with a keen eye(or ear) would've noticed(heard) that, more often than not, when John Dykes hands over the show to the commentators, he says the second commentator's name first and the lead commentator's name after that. For instance "Your commentators for the match are Andy Gray, but first, Martin Tyler."

And needless to say, we hear Martin Tyler's voice immediately.

I always thought this sort of a thing made John Dykes stand out from the rest. What do you think?

Screamers III

As I have pointed out in Screamers, a commentator and his voice goes a long way in etching a football match in a fan's memory. Also, the appropriate "coupling" of commentators makes for fascinating TV coverage as I've mentioned in Screamers II.

But, there is one criticism I have for the Screamers. Especially in certain types of matches.

The disadvantage with British commentators for UEFA Champions League matches and international matches featuring England is that, they tend to be partial towards the English teams. This is evident from their reactions to certain incidents.

Take Mr.Tyler and Mr.Gray screaming "Gerrrraaaarrddd!!!!...You beauty!!...What a hit son! What a hit!" the way they did. Or the way Mr.Gray screamed "Penalty! Penalty!" after Gerrard went down from Gattuso's challenge in the UCL Final 2005. Or Mr.Tyler's reaction when Beckham sent England to the 2002 World Cup with a 90th minute freekick against Greece. Would these reactions have changed if it was Olympiakos scoring the winner against Liverpool, or Shevchenko scoring the winner in extra time against Liverpool, or Charisteas sending Greece to the WC after a 90th minute penalty against England? Well....

I know such situations brings out the best in them sometimes, but more often than not, it becomes predictable. All is fair in love and war eh?

P.S. This doesn't mean I prefer Zee sports commentary for such matches.

Special decisions

In The Scapegoat, I had mentioned that the referee gives(or not) a freekick based on what he sees. In To be or not to be... I had debated that a foul had to be a significant foul to be given these days.

But there are some fouls in certain areas which the referee does see but thinks twice about calling it. Well, you might've guessed the "areas" I'm talking about is the penalty box. Some fouls in the penalty box are not given which would've otherwise been given had the fouls been outside the box.

I have heard many commentators say that the referee must be absolutely sure before calling for a foul in the penalty box. I have also heard them say that had that foul been outside the box, it would've been a freekick. I question these statements. Does this mean the referee need not be absolutely sure of fouls outside the penalty box? Or does the penalty box deserve a special kind of foul?

My question to you is this - Should fouls in the penalty box be treated any differently than fouls outside the box?

Garbage

"Senna's brilliance shows Wenger's decision not to sign Brazilian was a mistake"

This was the headline in one of UK's leading newspapers. This sort of a headline pops up every now and then whenever someone scores against a former club or someone who scores against a side which almost signed him. This is what I call a load of trash.

If you have to sign someone or not sell someone just because there is a possbility of him scoring against your side, well, you've just gone absolute bonkers, haven't you? I'm sure Rafa wouldn't have thought of the possibility of Robbie Keane scoring against Liverpool on the last day of the season while deciding to sell him. Or did he?

Screamers II

In Screamers!!!, I had talked about the importance of commentators to viewers and also compared some of the best that are around. Well, I decided to go further this time and talk about the importance of the commentary pair for a particular game.

For the past 3 seasons, Sky has been experimenting with different "couples" in the commentary team. While this may be good for the commentators to mix with the best of the best, the best of the best don't sound their best in these matches. When I was hearing Andy Gray the other day, it was as if he was there on compulsion. But needless to say, he comes alive alongside Martin Tyler. The same goes with Alan Parry and Brian Marwood.

When the best of the best are with their regular partners, they bring out the best in each other without a shadow of a doubt. Well, maybe that's why Sky don't take chances with the BIG games.

On a personal note, I don't think the Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler of English football should be separated.

"Slipping" away to glory

A few seasons back, Jesper Gronkjaer slipped as he was striking the ball and the ball ended up in the back of the net. That slip meant that Chelsea pipped Liverpool to 4th place in the league on the last day of the season and denied Liverpool Champions League qualification. That slip also meant the arrival of a certain Roman Abromavic and glory beckoned.

Fast forward 7 seasons - A certain Macheda slipped as he was striking the ball and the ball ended up in the back of the net for an injury time winner for Manchester United. Has the title just "slipped" away from Liverpool's grasp?

P.S. Who am I kidding? They were both great goals.