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Thursday, 29 March 2012

RTE Soccer’s ‘Holy Trinity’ - the next generation?







There’s no doubt that for many Irish soccer fans, watching the pundits on RTE is sometimes more entertaining than the game itself. Admittedly, this might be stretching things for Ireland matches but for Premiership and Champions League, the infamous panel discussions and rows can provide as much fuel for bar-room debate as anything in the 90 minutes. The Après Match sketches are only partly responsible for this. Bill, Eamo and Giles are RTE’s footballing ‘holy trinity’ along with the almost divine Liam Brady B.T and P.T. (before and post Trap). However, as Ireland prepare to compete in a major international tournament for the first time in a decade, the question of how long the former three broadcasters who brought us through Italia ‘90 can continue is surely coming into view for those within RTE sport.

 Darragh Maloney appears in pole position to succeed Bill and  this may be seen as a dilution of excitement for all Maloney’s professionalism, the biggest problem will be with the pundits. The best option appeared to be the marquee acquisition of Graeme Souness who, after relatively staid punditry on Sky, seemed to gain a new lease of life with Bill and the boys. However, TV3 cutting RTE’s Champions League coverage in half and the lure of Sky have limited if not ended Souness’ spells in Montrose so the station is apparently back to Square one.


Richie Sadlier

With his playing career ended prematurely by injury, Richie is a youthful pundit who has quickly carved out a decent living combining his Sunday Independent column with his television work where he is a regular on MNS as well as the Premiership. His relaxed nature on screen certainly sets him apart as he gives a sense that ultimately, he doesn’t really care what colleagues or viewers think of his opinions. You could also argue his involvement with domestic soccer may count against him with a majority of fans who follow English game without paying much heed to the Airtricity League, but maybe I’m the one being controversial here…

Trevor Steven

Steven had a bright start to his RTE career and seemed to appear alongside Dunphy and Giles rather than covering times when they were absent. Yet, this hasn’t continued and it seems he has been moved to either the commentary box or the second string panels as time has gone on.

Ray Houghton

Regardless of his punditry, Ray will always be something of a national hero for his career in the green jersey. This would seem a good starting point but the thing about Giles and Brady is that they are not so much heroes as Irish football royalty based on their individual talents, rather than achievements playing for Ireland, while Dunphy has just managed to be Dunphy for years. Houghton is comfortable on television but still shows no sign of capturing the imagination à la the older generation.

Kenny Cunningham

A pundit who really seems to seek controversy. Cunningham certainly seems the most aggressive and forceful of the list. However, it is not always clear that soccer fans appreciate it or really go for him. While the catchphrases of Dunphy, Bill, Giles and Brady have been included on Après Match sketches, there is a sense of fans laughing with them while Cunningham’s ‘possibly so’ seems to highlight the problem of RTE’s younger generation of pundits put alongside the big debates where the ‘boys’ stake claims and defend them to the death.

Maybe the problem RTE faces is that it cannot continue its winning formula. Dunphy is probably a one-off figure much like George Hook in rugby, while Giles and Brady are held in such esteem that they are universally respected regardless of whether we always agree with them or not, and even if they appear silly on air, they are still John Giles, one of the best midfielders in the game in the 70s or Liam Brady who graced Serie A with Juventus and won the Scudetto. The only players who could subsequently wish to earn that respect are Paul McGrath and Roy Keane. Personal problems have precluded McGrath from becoming an analyst while Keane’s personality, Saipan and his behaviour since hanging up his boots have probably robbed him of assuming the air of a Giles or Brady.

Is television different now? The reason RTE is loved is because it’s so much more raw and different from BBC, ITV or Sky but maybe that is how all sports television coverage is going. Can we ever expect the unpredictable entertainment of RTE’s soccer coverage in the future with a new generation of people? What are your views on RTE replacing the great men? And if RTE failed to achieve this, would the majority of Irish viewers switch to British stations?

By Martin O'Donoghue






Friday, 16 March 2012

Norris condemns Tallafornia

The country is in a crises and considering a second bailout, yet, Senator David Norris decided to build a battle against reality show Tallafornia at the Seanad on Tuesday. 


Norris called the popular show a "drink-sodden programme" that encouraged the shows stars to "behave licentiously and compete to bring people home to bed them". 


Norris expressed his concerns for the participants future saying, "what will happen to those people whose images are permanently on film when they want to get married 10 or 20 years from now? What will their children think when their images turn up?".


TV3 released a statement defending the show, which has attracted an average audience of 330,000 over the past two months. "It may be very different to when David Norris was young but it is a slice of reality of what goes on today," announced a spokeswoman from TV3.


The spokeswoman also said that the shows participants were responsible for their own behavior and that they were not forced or encouraged to do anything against their will. 


The final episode will be aired tonight on TV3 at 10pm.











The Voice is starting to bore


The Voice of Ireland began on a very strong note. The concept of contestants singing with the judges chairs turned so they could not see what they looked like was something different to our television screens. And then the battles began, where two singers sang for survival. This kept viewers intrigued and sitting on the edge of their seats wondering who will be sent home and there were some surprises.

Now we are on stage three, and it is just like watching another reality singing show, with contestants singing popular songs. The interesting element is gone. Maybe they should have had singers try write their own songs with the help of a well known song writer. That would have been interesting!

What do you think? Are you bored of The Voice of Ireland????