In America, they call it the three-man hall. TNT Sports appears to believe that it will be the norm in the UK.
A new sound could be heard across our encrypted screens as the ominous football bear-pits that Goodison Park once shook and rumbled toward retirement.
Its the sound of verbal criticism. In advance of its last Merseyside derby, Goodison had been promised a theatrical story that would never disappoint. Old college and ancient school combined with chaos and chaos. The single downfall was that neither a streaker nor a stray dog could be found.
TNT’s three-strong attack on our senses hit it off with the right note. All of the above happened. Each of the three amigos rubbed their heads to catch the disease. Rio Ferdinand famously remarked,” Oh my God, Oh my God, I pray,” in
.
You can  ,sign up for Clives Substack here. You won’t be sorry. It’s Barry Davies ‘ favorite saying:” One man’s commentator is another man’s pain in the arse” that I have heard in my nearly 50 years with a microphone in hand. We are all a matter of mind, just like the half-time show at the Super Bowl.
And my opinion is that the second audiences are the only ones who care.
Reg Gutteridge, my broadcaster, was one of the 100 people’s favorite phrases. However, I would get typing this from my own private beach if I had a quarter for every moment he instructed me to identify and speak with their audience. A three-person staff is more likely to communicate with each other than they are to speak to the crowd, in my opinion.
This is not intended to criticize any staff member. It’s just an equation’s work, and it’s inevitable. One of the most naturally interesting communicators I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with is
. He sounds like someone you’d rather have a gallon with, which is what he does. ( I’m going to tell you, but he is that person ) England totally robbed as the Red see their behinds over derby draw
 , Out of order England star overreacted to sh*thousery as Van Dijk hits out at Michael Oliver in Merseyside derby
but on Wednesday evening he sounded like he was already at the table with a couple of mates and didn’t want to be disturbed. On the commentary gantry, two become three and their exchanges are undoubtedly littered with private jokes and name-checks. Their market is forced to follow them around like an outsider. We believe we are listening to their radio. And on Thursday evening, special guest Ali G.
Oh my God, Statler and Waldorf joined them. Oh my goodness God. One of the boasts of the TNT director was a need to lessen the sour, adult conversation of too many sports shows when it first launched in 2023 with an all-female display group. The guys and the girls played the song” Down the Pub” on Wednesday night. Everton’s wise military advice was to try to hard Virgil van Dijk’s hair. Enter em. Allys ‘ penalty-box intuition jumped out when a aim was scored, and he soon provided entrenched, logical professional insight into how Beto, Alexis Mac Allister, and Mo Salah seized upon the rare chances the destruction of the match gave them. He can tell us just as much about the game as any seasoned coach or analyst when he isn’t joshing with the boys. A broadcast gem, Allison.
For me, Clive, the co-commentator is simply the men and women who have crossed the white line, which is where the majority of us never go. Their task is to return and explain the winning and losing ways of football games. Tell us something about ourselves that we can’t see for ourselves.
Not necessarily having the ability to read a game aloud to a crowded audience of millions. They each have their own methods and thought processes, and they are distinct professions. You need to be educated and coached in the methods and fields of communication if you want to work in broadcasting. Your words ought to be taken into account.
Oh my God. I swear to God, that’s not enough.
Part of the problem is that football managers and players shy away from making any genuinely shocking statements out of fear of getting a bad rap on social media, being fired, or being charged with disrepute. I don’t even have to blame them. The worst single development in my long career is the deterioration in trust between football and its media. The flow of valuable information has almost stopped.
An explosion of molten opinions and pyrotechnic debates on phone-ins, podcasts, and social channels has filled the vacuum. The majority of football news is produced by individuals who no longer make a living from the game other than through sponsorships of their content platforms. Questions are asked at press conferences by managers about Gary Neville or Jamie Carragher’s comments. Because it was done for us on Sky, we really don’t need to talk about football anymore.
Is it important to ask whether that constant banter of opinions translate well into television commentary? The third eye is frequently introduced as an add-on by broadcasters, even in sports with a more measured and predictable rhythm than football. The end of an over is frequently used as a cue to Nasser Hussain or Mike Atherton to narrate a pre-edited series of clips illuminating a particular aspect of the match we are watching in Sky’s excellent cricket coverage. It is a type of analysis that works well for live tennis or golf coverage,
. Din Thomas, a guy, has even mastered it in the UFC.
A football game’s tempo and cadence are less predictable or formulaic. I am aware of the danger of speaking against the narrative of the pictures I’m watching whenever I delve into my library of pre-prepared research and statistics during a game. A visual medium is television. We are not as significant as optics. No one visits the theater to watch the movie because the commentary serves as the soundtrack, despite the fact that there are some memorable soundtracks. We mostly watch movies to watch.
Without experimentation, no advancements in televisual technology or enjoyment have ever been made. The three-person booth experiment is being conducted in response to a growing awareness of the chattering, jabbering, and gossiping sound of football talk on our screens and platforms. That’s what I understand.
If it comes off as a little jarring and jumbled, it might be a sign that the media is more noisy and nosier than it was. Perhaps the viewers have been anticipating a watch-along version of live football commentary. If so, I have three words to offer.
Oh my God.
You can  ,sign up for Clives Substack here. You won’t be sorry.
