The commentator is stepping back from Sky after three decades and his perennial presence and enthusiasm will be missedAt Sky Sports, they still called him “the Voice”. Richard Keys, the long-serving anchorman to Martin Tyler in the commentary box, claimed this weekend this was because Tyler “definitely didn’t have a face for TV” – throwing us back to a now distant, coarser era of broadcasting.At 77, Tyler is the perennial who floated above the eras. Viewers of 40-plus will recall his career extending far further back than before football began in 1992. At both the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, Tyler acted as ITV’s main commentator while Brian Moore stayed in a London studio before flying out for the latter...
From missing red cards to riding in a rodeo, Chris Kamara made the most of every minute of his 24 years at Sky SportsAnthony Vanden Borre isn’t a player many remember. He played 28 times for Belgium. He played for some decent European sides: Fiorentina, Genoa, Anderlecht, Montpellier. You might not recall his 19 appearances for Avram Grant’s Portsmouth in the Premier League 13 years ago.And you would be forgiven for not instantly recollecting the moment in the 60th minute of a goalless draw with Blackburn on 3 April 2010 when he was given a second yellow card for a deliberate handball by Steve Bennett. Morton Gamst Pedersen knocks it down the line for Martin Olsson and Vanden Borre sticks...
The widely loved Scot and the apoplectic Irishman dominated fans’ discussions this week, ahead of the games they coveredIt’s approaching half-time at Elland Road on Tuesday night and Leeds United have a free-kick deep in the Crystal Palace half, about halfway between the corner flag and the penalty area. It could only be described as “in a dangerous position”. Raphinha stands over it.“This is going to get whipped in with unbelievable pace, that’s my prediction,” says a supremely confident Ally McCoist. The Brazilian raises his right hand and proceeds to smash the ball about 30 yards over everyone and out for a goal-kick. Continue reading...
Today’s football pundit must drive engagement, stir debate and emotions – never mind nuance, ambiguity or ebb and flowIt’s thrilling, visceral television. The sort of raw, unbridled authenticity that makes Roy Keane one of the most compelling pundits not just in football, but in any sport. “I’m fuming here,” he says at half-time, with Tottenham 1-0 up against Manchester United and Keane sitting in the Sky Sports studio. And in those words lie a sort of mission statement, a definitive affirmation of an irrefutable truth: football is back, and how we’ve missed it.No, that doesn’t really work. Let’s try it this way. It was unhinged, unsettling, shocking for all the wrong reasons. As he tore apart Harry Maguire and Luke...
The dazzling race on a floodlit cityscape circuit is a vital tool for selling the sport to potential fans when there is precious little free-to-air coverage available, particularly in the UKThe floodlit cityscape of Singapore will host Formula One again this weekend, a race the sport positively revels in promoting. The street circuit set amid the skyscrapers at night enjoys a backdrop like no other. The speed, spectacle and drama is accentuated by the walls that loom over the track, unforgiving of error. Singapore, a visual feast, is perhaps the most cinematic in its presentation of any race on the calendar.F1 knows how good Singapore looks and in its drive to encourage new, younger fans, the race that bears the...