he claims's disrespect - some would say that it became about him far too long ago for him still to be there in the role of match commentator

https://www.followfollow.com/forum/thre ... es.112684/

I used this link as the article is behind a paywall

The quality of his commentary has declined over the years. Unfortunately age has caught up with him.

Always found him a miserable commentator.

Listening to his last few commentaries , he misses a lot and ends up relying on his summariser to tell him what has just happened. His ceaseless moaning and complaining never changes though...

Once described Turf Moor as his favourite premier league stadium.

He could see the green hills in the background rather than the usual concrets jungle of other grounds.

I liked his originality.

A genuine football man and son of Belfast. Has contributed via the BBC these past years, opinionated and a bit of a curmegeon but overall I like him.

CleggHall wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 10, 2020 10:51 am

A genuine football man and son of Belfast. Has contributed via the BBC these past years, opinionated and a bit of a curmegeon but overall I like him.

So do I.

He was good on the 606 phone in. That programme was ruined when it changed to two presenters arguing with each other. I don't even listen to it now.

Not before time.

I used to quite like his commentaries but, like a lot of media folk, he became more than a bit self-absorbed. Increasingly played the "grumpy uncle" role, always whining about something or other. I expect he'll be well grumpy about being ditched.

There was a tabloid story a couple of years ago about how BBC had to employ a bag-carrier (literally) for him at £200 per game because he wouldn't lug his own stuff (microphones/headphones/mixer) about.

Having said which, he's by no means the worst pundit/commentator on BBC (tv /radio) and I think he genuinely likes the game (almost as much as he likes himself). Overall, I think it's time he was replaced but I'm not confident that a BBC chosen replacement will be better.

He will be replaced by a modern day box ticker and the people who get all upset by someone who speaks their mind will celebrate the arrival no matter how poor they are.

Jacqui Oatley springs to mind

lakedistrictclaret wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 10, 2020 10:54 am

He was good on the 606 phone in. That programme was ruined when it changed to two presenters arguing with each other. I don't even listen to it now.

it was ruined when Danny Baker left back in the early 90s. The show was entertaining and then David Mellor took over and it began its transition to the tedium it now offers. Think I still have some C90s of shows from the 91/92 season in the attic.

BBC sports coverage continues it's process of dumbing down

Male, white, able-bodied, hetero and knowledgeable about football.

Had to go.

fatboy47 wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 10, 2020 12:40 pm

Male, white, able-bodied, hetero and knowledgeable about football.

Had to go.

Also 67, time to let someone else have a go.

Caballo wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 10, 2020 12:41 pm

Also 67, time to let someone else have a go.

Yes, it is about time.
I find his commentary more about opinion than description, but he had genuine feelings for the game.
Now perhaps they could do the same with Mark Chapman.

Glad to see him go......arrogant, pompous and full of his own self-importance. Can't imagine his rotund presence ever graced a football field but he was never slow to slate those with more ability, whether as players or refs. Dislikable and not a patch on the excellent John Murray, Ian Dennis or Conor McNamara, all of whom are excellent imho.

lakedistrictclaret wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 10, 2020 10:54 am

He was good on the 606 phone in. That programme was ruined when it changed to two presenters arguing with each other. I don't even listen to it now.

Couldn't disagree more. Danny Baker created 606 as an irreverent phone-in with the aim of looking beyond the boring clichés of post-match analysis and fans moaning about their team's formation. It was mad-cap, foolish and sometimes barely related to football at all. It was ruined when Baker was sacked from Radio 5 (as it then was) and was passed from pillar to post with dullard hosts. As someone else mentioned, David Mellor made a proper pig's ear of it, and Alan Green didn't do much better, coming across as a grumpy sod who couldn't accept that people have different views to him.

606 aside, I've met Alan Green a couple of times and he was very complimentary about Burnley, particularly as he was one the Radio 2 commentators at the Orient Game. I think there are better radio commentators out there and have been for quite some time, Ian Dennis being a case in point.

Sausage, he was not one of the Radio 2 commentators at the Orient game. They were the great, Peter Jones and Jimmy Armfield

Green, Pougatch, Lysaght, Richardson and wake up to money Micky Clarke & Louise Cooper all gone

Hopefully they have similar plans for Lineker.

Didn't know this but Gower and Botham gone from Sky's cricket commentary

Caballo wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 10, 2020 12:41 pm

Also 67, time to let someone else have a go.

I'm sure some stayed too long, but Peter O'Sullivan, Richie Benaud and Bill McLaren were still excellent well into their 70's ... happy memories

O'Sullivan - " He's coming up to win it like a fresh horse, it's hats off and a tremendous reception, you've never heard one like it here at Liverpool, Red Rum wins the National !! "

Benaud - " Don't even bother looking for that, let alone chasing it, it's gone straight into the Confectionary stall and out again ! "

McLaren - " You're not going to believe this, but Thorburn is going to attempt a goal, it's miles to those posts .... Thorburn then, woh! , what a belt he's given it ... that it amazing, I've seen all the great goal kickers over the last four decades, but I've never seen a kick like this one, ! "

Watching the Rugby's still not the same, without the big man from Hawick !!

Wokingclaret wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 10, 2020 2:17 pm

Didn't know this but Gower and Botham gone from Sky's cricket commentary

Old

He's great if you want to spend over 90 minutes listening to someone moaning about everything under the sun.

Wokingclaret wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 10, 2020 2:08 pm

Sausage, he was not one of the Radio 2 commentators at the Orient game. They were the great, Peter Jones and Jimmy Armfield

I shall bow to your better knowledge. Perhaps it was that AG told me he was commentating on Radio 2 that day, but not necessarily at Turf Moor.

The late Peter Jones, what a commentator he was. His incredibly composed thoughts in the hours following the Hillsborough tragedy are still haunting beyond belief. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnAOam5oFvQ

I know because I spoke to them that day, the press bench was at the back of the Bob Lord in them days.

Jones was class

Alan Green has never done a commentary in his life. He talks about irrelevant things (generally himself) and then goes 'Oh and X have scored'.

i liked green, far preferable to the present batch of inane half wits presenting virtually every BBC football programme or commentaries.

Clarets4me wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 10, 2020 2:29 pm

McLaren - " You're not going to believe this, but Thorburn is going to attempt a goal, it's miles to those posts .... Thorburn then, woh! , what a belt he's given it ... that it amazing, I've seen all the great goal kickers over the last four decades, but I've never seen a kick like this one, ! "

Watching the Rugby's still not the same, without the big man from Hawick !!

One of those moments that I'd like to live over again. Preferably last week. And the Henson one. And that Mike Rayer try against France (I think) when it was soaking wet and he flew over the surface across the try line like he was a hovercraft with his arm up celebrating.

Despite, thankfully, no longer being a frontline commentator on Radio 5, still, if try to find a definition of 'arrogant tosser' in any decent dictionary you simply find a photograph of Alan Green leering at you when reach that page.


…. and he and Steve Claridge definitely constituted the worst ever double act to grace that station's airwaves, although there's been stiff competition from other summarisers, Danny Mills and Clinton Morrison, especially.

Has he said something that offends the usual suspects?

Damo wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 10, 2020 6:35 pm

Has he said something that offends the usual suspects?

Finally, I graduate to being a 'usual suspect'....

Wokingclaret wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 10, 2020 2:08 pm

Sausage, he was not one of the Radio 2 commentators at the Orient game. They were the great, Peter Jones and Jimmy Armfield

Alan Green and Jimmy Armfield were good tigether. They presented a good balance.

Clarets4me wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 10, 2020 2:29 pm

McLaren - " You're not going to believe this, but Thorburn is going to attempt a goal, it's miles to those posts .... Thorburn then, woh! , what a belt he's given it ... that it amazing, I've seen all the great goal kickers over the last four decades, but I've never seen a kick like this one, ! "

Watching the Rugby's still not the same, without the big man from Hawick !!

Had the pleasure of meeting Bill McLaren while he was walking with his wife and dog as he did daily on Hawick Golf Course 14th Tee.
A real gent'.
He did us the huge honor of introducing each one of our 4ball onto the Tee and doing a commentary of our shots -

"This tall young whipper snapper looks like he is going to really launch this... he's nearly put his back out on the practice swing....
He has! And it's huge! A huge slice - clearly these boys were on the town last night".

Didn’t he get banned from Old Trafford by Sir Alex ?

A lot of the best sports commentators are of the older generation - it’s a job where I think you improve with experience. However you do need a modicum of talent in the first place so that unfortunately rules out many of the current crop.

He hit his professional peak when commentating on the rowing at the London Olympics.

Sausage wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 10, 2020 4:13 pm

The late Peter Jones, what a commentator he was. His incredibly composed thoughts in the hours following the Hillsborough tragedy are still haunting beyond belief. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnAOam5oFvQ

A different generation, together with Bryon Butler, and people like Benaud and McLaren, who held sport in a different perspective than some of their present day counterparts ...

Benaud had a set of rules for TV commentary, the two I can immediately recall were " If you can't add anything to what viewers can already see on the screen, then shut up ", and " Never cheapen words, it's a game ! The coal-tip collapse at Aberfan was a tragedy or disaster, losing your wicket 2nd ball or a side falling 20 runs short in run-chase, most certainly is not ! "

Bill McLaren was interviewed shortly after he retired, perhaps more memorably. The interviewer made the point that he never overly criticised a player or team for a mistake, usually using a term like, " He'll hope to do better next time " or " They'll look to improve their scrummaging in the second half " etc ..
" Aye, but they never set out to play badly, " he replied, quietly he went on, " Listen son, I fought at Monte Cassino, and not long after, I was leading a forward recce patrol for the British Artillary when we entered a village. It was strangely quiet, and as we turned into the main square, there were roughly a thousand bodies piled up, German troops, Italians, men, women and children, many with limbs missing. The Germans had bombarded the place to pieces, believing that the British had already taken the village. " He then looked at the interviewer, " When you've seen that, a game of Rugby Football doesn't count for " a row of beans " ....

Always got the impression listening to Alan Green that he didn't actually like football. Whether he did or not, I don't think it's a good advert for his commentary.

HunterST_BFC wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 10, 2020 7:15 pm

Had the pleasure of meeting Bill McLaren while he was walking with his wife and dog as he did daily on Hawick Golf Course 14th Tee.
A real gent'. He did us the huge honor of introducing each one of our 4ball onto the Tee and doing a commentary of our shots -

"This tall young whipper snapper looks like he is going to really launch this... he's nearly put his back out on the practice swing....
He has! And it's huge! A huge slice - clearly these boys were on the town last night".

He was devoted to his wife, Bette, to whom he was married for over 60 years.
Following his death in 2010, the next Scotland home game at Murrayfield, ( In which Bill's Grandson, Rory Lawson played scrum-half for Scotland ) was preceded by a minute's applause in his memory. His widow became extremely emotional, and in a real moment of class, the BBC Commentator just said " You may wonder why we're not showing you pictures of Bill's family, I have to tell you that Mrs McLaren is rather overcome, and we see no merit in transmitting footage of this lovely lady in a state of distress "

I just hope he doesn't lose credibility by signing up with talk sport, the vaccuous toilet of a station.
they usually end up with ex bbc types and turn them into mouthpieces for betting companies or building supplies firms. Embarrassing to say the least.

Green seemed to be the only commentator with the guts to criticise Ferguson for, amongst other things, harassing referees. The rest of them are still terrified of upsetting the very lucrative apple-cart.

He was a superb commentator 20 years ago but his skills have declined, he’s lost the balancing factor of jimmy armfield, something weird has happened where he can’t speak clearly any more (suspect he’s got false teeth... same issue with John craven) And generally he’s coming across as pompous and arrogant. So yes, time to put him out to pasture.

That being said, 5 Live is going downhill fast. It’s been my main radio station ever since it began and 90%+ of all my listening. But some of the new programming is rank. The worst offender being Nihal Arthanyaka, unlistenable lefty whining.