By Adrian Musolino
November 8th 2009 @ 3:12am
Related coverage
Are A-League fans right to criticise Fox Sports?
Central Coast Mariners players (L to R) Tom Pendeljak, Matthew Simon and John Hutchinson sit dejected after loosing 0-1 to the Newcastle Jets in the A-League Grand Final in Sydney on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2008. AAP Image/Paul Miller
The tide of public opinion seems to be turning against Fox Sports. With A-League crowds dipping, the fact the league’s reach is limited by that of Foxtel’s is not lost on those who are searching for answers to explain the disinterest.
Even its presenters, such as the likes of Mark Bosnich, aren’t spared from the criticism.
Bosnich seems to be dividing public opinion as a Fox Sports presenter more than he did as a player.
He certainly is growing in confidence in his new role for the broadcaster with that infectious laugh, palpable excitement and unpredictable responses.
But his work on Fox Sports alongside Robbie Slater, particularly on the Matchday Saturday coverage and to a lesser extent on Fox Sports FC, grates with some fans.
Matchday Saturday can certainly be banal and downright silly at times, but should we grin and bare it, consoling ourselves in the fact the game is being afforded extra coverage? Or is the A-League being done a disservice in having such coverage dumbed down in the fashion of the AFL and NRL Footy Shows?
It’s up to the eye of the beholder and their respective tastes.
Fox Sports may be Anglo-centric in their coverage, especially when compared to erstwhile rivals, SBS, but credit to the former for their commitment to the game, be it the A-League, Socceroos or wider football scene.
Kudos to them for offering the Asian Champions League final in addition to their A-League coverage Saturday night, for example.
It also helps strengthen the A-League when it is coupled with the English Premier League coverage, hopefully helping to marry supporters of the EPL to our domestic league, and there has definitely been an obvious effort from Fox Sports to do so during this season.
Football supporters certainly owe Fox Sports a huge amount of gratitude.
Fox Sports’ $120million, seven year television rights deal signed in 2005 marked a turning point in the FFA revolution. Frank Lowy described it at the time as “a transforming transaction for the sport.”
But Lowy knows the limitations of pay television at this critical juncture for the A-League.
“There’s no doubt that the game needs to be shown on free-to-air from time to time, or certain parts of the competition on free-to-air,” he said at a recent Melbourne Victory function.
The ideal scenario would be to have a shared deal between Fox Sports and a free-to-air broadcaster; having the majority of games live and interrupted on Fox Sports – one of the few broadcasters who could give games that type of coverage – with selected matches and possibly a highlights package sold to a free-to-air network.
As Jesse Fink states: “What Lowy must equally do, however, is not make the same mistake as his predecessor, David Hill, and sell the game’s soul – or part of it – to the station with the biggest ratings or advertising revenue.”
But Fox Sports isn’t going to cave in when its deal with the FFA comes to an end in two years.
It needs to keep a hold of football with the growing threat of ONE HD and the potential of future digital rivals robbing it of market dominance.
This next media deal will be critical for the A-League’s future, perhaps, considering the expansion phase it’s undertaking and need for an injection of funds and interest, just as crucial as that first deal with Fox Sports.
As for those who bemoan Fox Sports’ coverage, just remember the dark days of Channel 7’s flawed coverage of the game.
Give me Mark Bosnich’s laugh any day.
But it might be time to seriously examine how the A-League can maximise its impact on the box.
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Freud of Football said | November 8th 2009 @ 3:20am | Report comment
Give me channel 7 (which was terrible) over Robbie Slater anyday. He has the single most annoying voice on television, even moreso than McAvaney which is truly saying something.
The coverage in Aus is particularly dour and while solutions such as splitting the rights between Fox and FFA are really nice to hear, until the become reality there is not much point in talking about them.
midfield general said | November 8th 2009 @ 9:16am | Report comment
Bit harsh to slag Slater for his voice…. Whether you like him or not is a matter of taste. I find ex-footballers on the telly working as commentators are generally ok, especially Harper, Trimboli and Foster.
We shouldn’t complain too much about Fox, this kind of saturation coverage was unthinkable ten years ago. Does anyone remember NSL on C7 network? Probably not, because they bought the rights and never bloody showed it.
Davo said | November 8th 2009 @ 7:29am | Report comment
Get over it…..us Super 14 rugby fans have been stuck with pay Tv as the only viewing platform for more than a decade
PB said | November 8th 2009 @ 7:30am | Report comment
Having TV rights locked up in a pay provider definitely impacts on people’s connection to a sport, competition or team.
When I was living in Melbourne I didn’t hear about rugby at all, so it totally dropped off my radar. Since rugby’s migration to pay tv in NZ, interest in the game has notably declined. That is even with some games being given delayed broadcasts.
And it’s hard following the Nix without wanting to pay $100 a month.
A solid free-to-air coverage regime should be a pillar of any sport hoping to thrive.
megatron said | November 8th 2009 @ 7:39am | Report comment
Bosnich and Slater are getting worse and Matchday Saturday is a disgrace. Why does the A-League need one dimensional crickters and boring personalities to be on a show that should be dedicated to the game itself.
Pippinu said | November 8th 2009 @ 7:44am | Report comment
I find Bozza pretty good – what do people have a against Bozza?
David said | November 9th 2009 @ 10:26am | Report comment
i think Bozza alright its the rest that dont noe what there talking about then they say stuff like Matt simons is knocking on the door of the socceroos WC 2010 they have no idea!
megatron said | November 9th 2009 @ 11:01am | Report comment
It is in their interest to talk up the A-League and they do a good job of it, some say too good.
the all rounder said | November 8th 2009 @ 8:06am | Report comment
and bruce mcavaney is a great commentator, i don’t know how you can compare him to robbie slater.
Freud of Football said | November 8th 2009 @ 8:51am | Report comment
Bruce McAvaney is the biggest tosser on TV. His lack of knowledge and over-enthusiastic admiration of every sportsperson is ridiculous. Add that to his biased commentary and annoying voice, well he is worse than Slater in every facet of commentary except Slater’s voice is slightly worse to listne to.
James said | November 9th 2009 @ 2:01pm | Report comment
Actually his knoweldge of many sports is what makes him a great broadcaster. Compare apples with apples please. Bruce is a host…robbie special comments man…i dont like him, but each to their own.
Pippinu said | November 8th 2009 @ 8:11am | Report comment
Actually – Ross Aloisi had a strange moment last night – he began by saying: “What I am about to say is going to sound strange…”
Then proceeded to say it, but whatever it was he was saying was clearly stranger than he could ever have imagined, and it quickly must of dawned on him that it made zero sense, but continued to talk around it for the next 60 seconds such that I can’t even begin to summarise what the hell he was on about.
FIsher Price said | November 8th 2009 @ 8:22am | Report comment
I heard that: he seemed to be suggesting that Central Coast were behind Melbourne on the table because Vukovic is such a good goalkeeper!
Pippinu said | November 8th 2009 @ 10:07am | Report comment
Yes that’s right!!
It was something along those lines. Melbourne has a crap keeper, CCM has a good keeper, and that’s why Mebourne is currently on top of CCM!!
But he must have quickly realised it made zero sense, and just talkied round and roune – and you sort of were left asking: huh?
M1tch said | November 8th 2009 @ 8:59am | Report comment
I like the matchday saturday show, Bozza also is what australia is all about, giving someone a second chance.
Eamonn said | November 8th 2009 @ 9:27am | Report comment
Pippinu
Ross Aloisi has to be the worst co-commentator we’ve ever had. Can’t stand his “insights” and delivery. Seems to think no-one who is listening understands the game at all. And his continued talking up, “good and professional” fouls. We know what he means but it’s crap to hear it and to suggest it’s “good work” by a player.
Does anyone watch football to see “good professional fouls” or would people rather see the player with the ball actually being made to advance un-impeded!
Get rid of him or at least keep him on the touchline. Surely we can do better than the inarticulate Ross.
Pippinu said | November 8th 2009 @ 10:14am | Report comment
Yes – true – I don’t like that aspect as well.
In fact there was one moment where Muskie has given Simon one over the chops with a bit of vigour. Now we all understand that when someone has been around for as long as Muskie has, that he knows precisely where the other bloke’ s head is.
But Aloisi was more than willing to give Muskie the benefit of the doubt!!
In fairness, he noted that Simon had left himself wide open – which was a good observation and the sort of stuff we want to hear – those little things that the casual fan is going to miss when there’s plenty happening.
That’s why I don’t mind Bozza – I reckon he really tries to add value in terms of commenting on what’s happening:
1. we don’t need to be told the obvious;
2. we don’t need to be told that something’s “handbags” or whatever (a favourite expression of Slater’s)
megatron said | November 8th 2009 @ 11:40am | Report comment
I agree completely. He struggles to string two sentences together.
andy g said | November 8th 2009 @ 9:37am | Report comment
The Fox boys do a fantastic job. You can only compare to what we’ve (aussie Football) had in the past.
Channel 7 bought the rights and buried it completely.
SBS did their best but it was always a bit of coverage on a channel not everyone watches.
We can now watch every minute of every game ( and I do) plus hear discussion on the ins and outs via the matchday program and Foxsports FC.
It is by far the best coverage the game in this country local football has ever had.
As for Bosnich and Slater, these boys had the most successful overseas careers of most if not all recently retired Socceroos. They are easily the most qualified to comment on the English Premiership, as well as the local game.
They’ll do me , the Fox boys, no worries.
Allen said | November 8th 2009 @ 10:26am | Report comment
Another incredibly complex issue for or little game to deal with:
Firstly I am foxtel subscriber, and yes like many other football fans if there was no premier league / a-league / extended champions league on it I would probably not be forking over my 90 bucks a month for their service. Foxtel knows this and has set up a very nice niche in the Australian ’boutique’ market that is football.
The coverage of the a-league and socceroos on fox sports really is brilliant. You can’t ask for more than every single game live and uninterrupted, and soon every single game in HD. Compare this with AFL coverage where fans bemoan the fact that nearly every FTA game is delayed, crammed full of commercials and rarely in HD (on 7 anyway).
All this said, the game desperately needs the mainstream exposure that comes with FTA TV for continued growth. For all but the diehard fans the a-league has been pretty much out of sight, out of mind for all of its 5 year existence. With all respect to Fox Sports look at the state of the NBL, Super 14s and domestic cricket since cashing in with Fox. I also find it amazing how much public interest in cricket changes between international tours tucked away on fox and the summer on 9.
The international Pay TV model driven by sport hasn’t worked quite as well in Australia. At the end of the day most Aussies are happy to sit through 3 hours of Bunnings Warehouse commercials of it means seeing their sport for free.
It might be a pipe dream, but it would be great to see the aussie networks leave their ego’s aside, think outside the square and create more dynamic ways of showing sport on both FTA and Pay. What we ideally need is a fox sports partnership with a free to air station, similar to the ‘ESPN on ABC’ where big events owned by cable based ESPN can be shown to a larger audience on the national FTA ABC network. This sort of agreement could also be used by Foxtel to negate anti-siphoning laws on some of its products.
megatron said | November 8th 2009 @ 11:41am | Report comment
Good post. Sums it up well.
Robbo said | November 8th 2009 @ 11:42am | Report comment
FFA – Don’t bite the hand that feeds you!
Joe FC said | November 8th 2009 @ 11:52am | Report comment
Well said andy g couldn’t agree more. No doubt Allen FTA is vital but that issue involves a range of economic variables such as supply, demand & price.
Luke W said | November 8th 2009 @ 12:11pm | Report comment
Give me Fox Sports FC over The World Game anyday. But I am amazed no one has yet to mention the single greatest football analyst in Australia right now…TRIMMERS! He is the perfect mix of colour and expert opinion.
Pippinu said | November 8th 2009 @ 12:41pm | Report comment
I like Trimmers as well.
In fact, when you put together the complete team that Fox has (provideing commentary to five games per week!!) – well, I don’t reckon it’s that bad when it’s all said and done!!
ABCDEFG said | November 8th 2009 @ 12:20pm | Report comment
Fox Sports is fine in it’s coverage. It’s just that football needs to grow and subscription TV doesn’t help it get to a wider audience therefore limiting the ability for the sport to prosper.
Pippinu said | November 8th 2009 @ 12:43pm | Report comment
That might be true – but that’s an altogether different matter – one can’t have a go at Fox for that aspect – they provide uninterrupted coverage to 100% of all A-League games – it ain’t bad to be honest!
Ben Somerford said | November 8th 2009 @ 1:08pm | Report comment
Yeh, I’m a big fan of Fox’s coverage and really enjoy Matchday Saturday with the Peacock, Bozza and Robbie combo. The commentary on A-League games sometimes frustrates me, but overall I’m not going to complain.
megatron said | November 8th 2009 @ 1:13pm | Report comment
Maybe it’s just me here – although I have heard it from mates – but I find Matchday Saturday too silly. Slater and Bozza are like naughty schoolboys giggling like idiots while Peacock is just another talentless news reader given the gig for no reason. I don’t wanna watch them play fusball when they could be showing umpteen things more entertaining.
AndyRoo said | November 8th 2009 @ 1:32pm | Report comment
I think Allen hit the nail on the head.
I don’t watch match day saturday very often. I just tune in when the games are about to start…or more often 5 minutes in. I think Fox do a good job.
I like Bozza and don’t mind Slater….. but then I grew up watching Channel Nine cover League and in regards to cricket (the most revered in Australia I would guess) I think we over rate their commentators. Warne has been quite good but it has taken Taylor a long time to get to the level of adequate.
Freud of Football said | November 8th 2009 @ 9:01pm | Report comment
Warne is quite good? I don’t think his fellow commentators would concur. A couple of times last summer I remember him trying to tell some dumb joke or come up with a nickname for someone and the other commentators just sat their silently, one got the impression their eyes were doing a lot of rolling while Taylor is just about as interesting as a sack of potatoes, his commentary is rarely insightful but I’d certainly listen to him above Warne who is only there because of his name.
megatron said | November 8th 2009 @ 9:23pm | Report comment
Warnie is a good commentator but his immature side did shine through at times. How many times did we hear him rip out “the Shermenator” during the Ashes? Time and a place Warnie; you aren’t in the slips anymore.
Freud of Football said | November 8th 2009 @ 9:28pm | Report comment
Exactly. I don’t mind a bit of lighthearted commentary but Warne didn’t seem to know when enough was enough.
megatron said | November 8th 2009 @ 9:40pm | Report comment
Like with the ladies, Warnie didn’t know when enough was enough.
James said | November 9th 2009 @ 2:20pm | Report comment
Leave Warnie alone…his ashes commentary this year was a breath of fresh air compared to the tired conservative English drones.
amused said | November 8th 2009 @ 2:31pm | Report comment
if it walks like a duck, smells like a duck and talks like a duck then don’t try to blame the only broadcaster who will show it, i.e. if the product is no good you can only look at the game not fox.
i am a rugby supporter and yes, we dont get free to air coverage due to the fact it’s almost a niche sport ( albeit with close to a century of history here deep roots ). soccer doesn’t have that here. nil all games and the poor standard dont help. much like the current woes rugby is experiencing here in australia.
Mick said | November 8th 2009 @ 4:22pm | Report comment
I generally find nothing wrong with Fox sports coverage of most sports when the action is happening, I just do not like some of their pre-game etc analysis & self promotion etc & yesterday I saw fox sports advertise a european football tour with I think i saw advertised 4 or 5 games which are all played in England.
The a-league is not europe which is why you pay $20 to $30 a ticket compared to $100+ for top league in europe.
The classic Fox Sports quote for me was by Robbie Slater, I would of stuck with Graham Arnold than hire Pim Verbeek.
Trimboli did not play EPL yet he if the best talent fox sport has & yet Robbie Slater gets more airtime
Fox Sports sometimes seems like they are all part of a mates club
Pippinu said | November 8th 2009 @ 4:30pm | Report comment
Re pre-game shows, I guess they go for 30 minutes and they have to pad it out a little.
During the AFL season, they have a pre-game show on Fridays that goes for 90 minutes – and Fox doesn’t even show the Friday night games – so you can imagine the amount of padding in that!!
But I have to admit – it can be quite entertaining – if ex-footballers want to act like clowns – it doesn’t really worry me all that much to be honest.
Pippinu said | November 8th 2009 @ 6:49pm | Report comment
I just saw the highlights of the Barca vs Mallorca game – there’s one sequence of events that is well worth catching (and which I don’t think I have ever seen).
The Mallorca keeper makes one close in save, ricochets to a Barca player, and he makes another instinct save, ricochets to another Barca player, for a third save, and incredibly, it ricochets to a 4th Barca player who finally nails it!
So in the space of 3 seconds, there are four shots at goal, three saves, and finally a goal.
What was the Mallorca defence doing?
Probably sometihng like this:
1. Good save mate – oh $hit!
2. Phew! – oh $hit!!
3. Man, that was lucky – Bull $hit!!!
4. Damn!!!!!
James said | November 9th 2009 @ 2:22pm | Report comment
I saw that highlights grab too!
Then you wonder why no one cares about the A-League…
NUFCMVFC said | November 8th 2009 @ 7:43pm | Report comment
For the most part Fox Sports is fine
What is absolutely most important, is that we have live coverage of all games, and that should not be taken for granted. Not to mention a highlights show at a reasonable hour. The anti-siphoning list complicates things, but best case scenario is that Fox Sports maintain the “balance of power” so to speak with the coverage, with a couple of games or so being handballed to FTA TV for mainstream coverage, but never to the point where they can bury it or degrade it with poor coverage.
People have to remember Fox Sports do well, they put production resources into the sport, in terms of commentary and analysis, that in turn can simply be used as a good backdrop to give to FTA, if FTA stations don’t have to invest in production, it is cheaper for them to broadcast, which means there is an incentive in doing so. One can see Setanta now, has run into problems, so is just transmitting everyone-elses production of a variety of WCQ’s and Euro leagues, gone atm (hopefully to return) are its own production of the Conference league etc. Fine SBS would produce as well, but they don’t ahve the same financial resources to give or clout that a commercial network has like Ten. My hope is that we find a good way to bring SBS back into it (FFA Cup?) or perhaps give 1 A league game to SBS (+ highlights) and one to Ten or something with the rest going to Fox Sports
For my part, I don’t mind the comraderie of Bozza, it is obviously what does it for an Australian audience as the AFL/NRL Footy shows show, and they have other shows for serious intellectual analysis, so I consider it a good thing.
But at the end of the day, we have football people being brought into media circles and into the Australian fold so to speak, and that is something worth celebrating, even if lack of FTA coverage and length of deal is frustrating at times
It doesen’t concern me too much that it is “Anglo centric”, they obviously started out by targetting the English expats in the early days of Foxtel with EPL coverage. There are other Foxtel channels providing coverage of Spanish and Italian leagues (ESPN) and now Setanta as well
megatron said | November 8th 2009 @ 7:54pm | Report comment
Yeah, remember Espn and Setanta are totally seperate from Fox Sports.
NUFCMVFC said | November 9th 2009 @ 4:04pm | Report comment
You can get both through Foxtel subscription though
Deja Roo said | November 8th 2009 @ 9:00pm | Report comment
Ha ha ha ha.
I heard Ross Aloisi say this last night refering to a player, QUOTE- “He had a great season last season”
LOL, OMG!
megatron said | November 8th 2009 @ 9:35pm | Report comment
Ross also has this annoying habit of bringing up his own career at any opportunity. Like last night saying I know what’s it’s like to get heavily beaten at Etihad. How do you know Ross? You were in the showers when the Reds were getting pumped in the GF.
megatron said | November 8th 2009 @ 9:12pm | Report comment
It’s funny no one has mentioned that Bozza doesn’t commetate A-League games. The few games he did for SBS he seemed to get lost a few times.
James W said | November 9th 2009 @ 1:28pm | Report comment
Interesting point. Why doesn’t Bozza commentate games? Slater does.
Luke W said | November 9th 2009 @ 1:40pm | Report comment
Bozza was colour commentator for a Jets match a couple of weeks back. I like Bozza, but I don’t think colour commentary is his gig, he would take too long to get a point across and numerous times when there was a shot and Brenton Speed (who I don’t mind either) would get excited, Bozza would bring it down by remarking it was a “regulation save”. It was true, but you would imagine Slater or Trimmers focusing on the attacking play and shot, commentating on it, rather than focusing on the goalkeeper like Bozza was.
Constantine said | November 8th 2009 @ 9:50pm | Report comment
i know every1 has a different opinion but i love fox sports fc. the two blokes are larrikins and its always interesting getting some football insight from some of our more unique followers like kostya tzu, jason dunstall and robbie farah. the shows great in my opinion and really sets up a good night watching the beautiful game. foxtell has done wonders for football and with all the advertising splashed across their channels its little surprise so many people follow it now. the downside….. 3/4 of them follow the english premier league over the a-league. really makes me wonder how what would make the sport more massive, a-league fta or epl fta so non football fans would see the sport in its absolute nail biting best
Gibbo said | November 9th 2009 @ 8:57am | Report comment
i dont know who has been criticising fox… bozza is flat out entertaining. robbie rubs people the wrong way, and having a villian is a bonus i reckon. simon hill is fantastic. harper can grate a little, but is genuine enough for it to be ok. the support cast are a little hit (trimmers) and miss (r.aloisi) but generally good. as far as commentary teams go they have pretty much every angle covered. what more could you want?
i know people who’ve criticised lack of free to air coverage, but that’s a seperate issue. i reckon fox sports do a fantastic job.
megatron said | November 9th 2009 @ 9:01am | Report comment
I for one, mainly Matchday Saturday. It’s too silly and pointless and wasted for the A-League considering what else they could be focusing on.
Gibbo said | November 9th 2009 @ 10:21am | Report comment
you’re entitled to your opinion i guess.
James W said | November 9th 2009 @ 1:32pm | Report comment
I find Bozza annoying too. Especially the mindless stuff they go on about on Matchday. I also think Peacock comes across as someone who doesn’t want the gig and isn’t really a fan of the game. My main gripe is the need to bring in other athletes, cricketers etc to spice up the show. It’s unnecessary and shows a lack of ability to look at the A-League with great detail. Why not do stories on players, behind the scenes stuff etc? That’s help the league a lot more and it’s better than looking at photos of Robbie Slater from the 80s.
Constantine said | November 9th 2009 @ 4:01pm | Report comment
wow you went the complete other way to me, i like bozza hes just a larrikin, i like peacock hes a good and professional presenter and its good how they get other personalities on board as it makes it interesting (apart from how many of them support liverpool)
Luke W said | November 9th 2009 @ 1:41pm | Report comment
Plus Mel McLaughlin is a babe…
megatron said | November 9th 2009 @ 1:44pm | Report comment
I second that
Constantine said | November 9th 2009 @ 3:58pm | Report comment
oh yea shes mad, lee furlong is nuts too
Midfielder said | November 9th 2009 @ 4:33pm | Report comment
The next media deal will be much much more than the one we have today… It’s the deal after that or the 10 year away deal is when the money will flow…
DiCanio said | November 9th 2009 @ 5:30pm | Report comment
Compared to those jokers (Tommy Smyth) on ESPN Fox Sports is gold
My two flatmates are not into football at all but will happily watch anything with Bozza in it partly due to his propensity to drop the occassional life lesson (‘…these skills will serve you in football as well as in life’) and simply because he is a genuine guy with lots of character making the most of his second chance. He is humourous and entertaining.
As an Australian that’s something I thought everyone could get into
I like Harp’s because he is intellectual, Trimmers is perceptive, Kosmina (when he’s been given a go) is fatherly and Mike Cockerill is..well… a reporter.
Slater can be annoying, but I have also laughed quite a bit and he has a strong precesence and confidence about him.
And for me Peacock is the necessary straight man. He’s a professional, he doesn’t need to know everything about the game, he just needs to steer the ship.
I’m not sure what is meant Anglo-centric. I come from an Italian background and I don’t feel left out. I know that The World Game is probably more perceptive in their global analysis, but what issue are we addressing here?
If it is global football commentary, then Bosnich and Slater clearly aren’t your men
But matchday saturday is predominately Aleague and EPL. Both have played in the EPL and the Aleague is a new league that needs to be grown. As such, entertainment, hype and build up are more important that withering critiscm.
Save it for the more established leagues, where they have 100 years of history and are in an ongoing stage of refinment. In this country we are still trying to grown our football tree, no need to start trimming off the branches.
Constantine said | November 9th 2009 @ 5:42pm | Report comment
agree!!! i do understand what is meant by anglo centric, but i believe it is because: bozza and slater played in the epl, because epl is on afterwards, because lets be honest serie a is nowhere near as popular here as it used to be, most football fans here follow epl, more or less it can be described as the worlds number 1 league (in all honesty it probably is and la liga is second) and because its more of a niche considering the world game covers the rest of europe and some of latin america too. it would probably be a bit better if they stopped getting kenny sansums and graham polls on the show and focused a bit on barcelona and real madrid; but then again they really go in depth with epl issues such as refereeing disasters and whats going on in liverpool which im sure interests a lot of people.
whiskeymac said | November 9th 2009 @ 7:27pm | Report comment
mon dieu slater played in france also!
fox does a good job with excellent coverage. from nothing to this and people are complaining? it’s like the (admittedly sexist) joke goes, and replacing the department store for fox and the whingers as the woman …:
A department store opened in New York City that sold men and a woman decides to visit it in search of a husband.
At the store’s entrance, there’s a sign outlining the department store policy.
The first rule states that you can only enter the store once.
There are six floors and on each floor you can choose a husband or elect to move on to the next floor.
You cannot visit a floor more than once other than to leave the building.
The woman visits the first floor.
The sign reads:
· Men with jobs.
She moves on to the second floor:
· Men with jobs that adore children.
She moves on the the third floor where the sign reads:
· Wealthy men that adore children and are very handsome.
She thinks to herself, “that’s a very good deal” yet moves on to the fourth floor:
· Wealthy men that adore children, are very handsome and help with the household chores.
She decides to move on as things are constantly improving:
· Wealthy men that adore childern, are very handsome, help with the household chores and are very romantic.
The woman is about to make her purchase but can’t resist moving on to the sixth floor.
There the sign reads:
· You are visitor number 31,456,012 on this floor.
· There are no men here.
· This floor exists as proof that it is impossible to please women.
Chris said | November 9th 2009 @ 5:39pm | Report comment
And i suppose not being able to watch my own national team on free to air television is a good thing
DiCanio said | November 9th 2009 @ 5:43pm | Report comment
Simple economics.
Its not live pay TV stole it from you.
PS go to the pub like thousands of penniless English backpackers manage to do every weekend.
Freud of Football said | November 9th 2009 @ 6:00pm | Report comment
Yes, why doesn’t Australia base it’s culture on the penniless english backpackers?
DiCanio said | November 9th 2009 @ 6:48pm | Report comment
just offering a solution. As stated its simple economics. Whinge all you want but until 2013 thats the way it is. FTA weren’t coughing up enough money simple as that
whiskeymac said | November 9th 2009 @ 7:29pm | Report comment
we already did, although those back packers had leg irons to begin with…
Constantine said | November 9th 2009 @ 5:58pm | Report comment
no its terrible and socceroos should be fta. but they will be as soon as the deal expires in 2013
Jesse Fink said | November 10th 2009 @ 5:25pm | Report comment
“Give me Fox Sports FC over The World Game anyday. But I am amazed no one has yet to mention the single greatest football analyst in Australia right now…TRIMMERS! He is the perfect mix of colour and expert opinion.”
Disagree re TWG (my work situation has no bearing on that assessment, honestly) but agree that Trimmers is a find. He’s not the best football analyst in the country by a longshot (Fozz wins that battle, IMO) but Trimboli is an ornament to Fox’s coverage, which proves one thing: it’s not the profile of your playing career that is important, it’s what you have to say, your enthusiasm, your eye.
In my opinion Fox has an unfortunate habit of giving air time to commentators with bigger names over giving air time to better commentators with more interesting things to say. That is not going to change any time soon. So many times I’ve wished they’d mix up their on-air talent with some wildcards, but they never do. It’s all very predictable.
I preferred Bozza, too, I have to say, when he wasn’t used so readily. But he’s an asset to Fox, there’s no doubt about it. I’m very happy to see him kick on with his commentating career.
James W said | November 10th 2009 @ 6:56pm | Report comment
We are stuck with Peacock on Fox Sports FC tonight!!!!!!!!!!!! 90 minutes of “look at my crappy mo jokes” The dude has no idea on football.
gregscavator said | December 28th 2009 @ 4:51pm | Report comment
First off Andy Harper is an excellent presenter not afraid to ask the hard questions or state an opinion or analysis that is contrary to his co presenters. I have been following the A-League for the last two years since subscribing to Austar, it is clear that free to air TV must get involved as most people (not on pay TV) have little or no idea about the A-League as promotion and highlights are restricted to 30 second grabs on news programs.If commercial TV were to air one or two games of the week they would have to inject some experts in the game and not recycle their dinosaur sports commentators ( remember 10’s tragic coverage of Sydney FC V La Galaxy )
Mainstream media must be educated that football is a game ,just like basketball, tennis ,cricket and not some massive threat to the NRL and AFL (the ARU have been noticeably quite on the hysteria whipped up by the likes of the Daily Telegraph” FIFA TO TAKE OVER OUR CITY”,perhaps being more of a world game they see things with a bit more maturity)Radio rarely has comment on A league or promotion once again held back by dinosaur sports broadcasters that don’t have a clue outside of the usual suspects.
We all should get behind professional football in this country as its all we have.