RTE - best soccer analysis and coverage?

darkman2

Hi.....


Ive been reading through some supporters forums for Man U, Liverpool etc etc in the UK. It seems Eamo and co are getting a name for themselves for either

1. Talking ****e

or

2. Talking sense that you would never hear on the British stations

I think the BBC and Sky and ITV are scared sh*tless to take on any English team on air inc the national team whereas here it appears we dont have that restraint. I have to say I find the lame, run of the mill commentary on the beeb and sky and ITV boring and repetitive in the extreme. For example like they go own about Ronaldo being the 'best player in world'......you just know their talking ****e that you have to bare through gritted teeth. Its the same thing week in week out. They are afraid to tackle any team and not just English teams either.

So successful are the RTE guys that one Liverpool supporter across the water has actually setup a campaign for us to get rid of them:rolleyes:

Fair enough they can be OTT at times and too controversial but for me thats the reason to watch it and not the scripted tripe that comes from British stations. I genuinely do think they offer the best analysis and tell it like it is. I find it very refreshing.

What do you all think?:)

eirebhoy

It's been debated to death but the RTE lads haven't a clue imo. Giles is still back in the 70's. "I agree with John/Liam/Eamon". How they agree on pretty much everything I don't know.

Give me Gullit, Wilkins, Souness, Hoddle etc. on Sky over RTE any day.

PHB

I like analysis. I don't like RTE. They make **** up just to have something controversial to say.

Theres a reason a lot of the commentary is boring on say BBC, it's because it's football, there's not a whole lot you can say on it without getting into serious detail.

BBC at least attempt to explain why stuff happens, like their bits on problems with the defense in terms of positioning.
Gray on Sky, despite the hype, is quite a good pundit, and basically explains stuff and why he thinks it happens.

Sky sometimes have some great analysis. RTE have souness on sometimes, and he seems pretty smart.

But Giles, Dunphy and Brady to a lesser extent, are just ****ing annoying.

btw, I betcha all the money in my pockets, that that liverpool fan hasn't heard what Dunphy normally says about Liverpool, or how he reacted during their CL run

cson

Been trotted out a lot around here but I like them, bit of a change from the generic plasticity that comes out of sky, I wonder has Richard Keyes ever seen a bad game? I liked Souness when he was there in the summer, I'd say he couldn't believe what he could get away with compared to Sky.

Carcharodon

Honesty of Effort

Cant but not love them !

Royale with Cheese

I like them. Beats watching Sky or BBC, their pundits just irritate me.

Sure the RTE guys may not talk sense all the time but nobody takes their opinion as sacrilige. They're alot more entertaining to watch than Jamie Redknapp or Lawro.

You'll find most people who hate them on this board do so because of their hatred for Ronaldo, or just slagging Man United/Liverpool off in general.

Savman

I like RTE studio discussions but coverage is brutal tbh, always cock ups with commentary or whatever. Had to switch over to ITV d'udder nite for Liverpool V Chelsea, RTE just error prone it seems.

I dont think it's a case that the English are too nice to the clubs and players, but if you think about it Sky/BBC etc. have a good workiing relationship with the clubs and usually get super interviews etc. RTE can afford to be a little more edgy because we're in a different country, which is actually nice to hear because I believe Giles, Brady and the other old coot call it like it is.

I doubt in this day and age one can afford to have too much loyalty to a particular broadcaster, I'll just watch whichever is showing the game. Its only on Champions League nite do we get a choice anyway (FWIW I prefer The Premiership to MOTD lately)

Jazzy

dunphy wants to sell his personality to the highest bidder in the print world. Ronaldo bashing is quite popular atm so he'll roll with that.

Giles - i dunno, he was good in 98 but now he just sounds asleep and doesnt add much depth to anything.

Brady - the best of the "A-Team"

Souness - hes good, probably the best pundit on atm (well, most in-form ), im actually interested to what he has to say because, unlike the others he seems to enjoy football.

Bill - his daughters a ride

Pepe LeFrits

Depends on who you support really. I remember a good few years back when Dunphy and Giles couldn't stop gushing over Man United they were a lot more popular, but now their constant criticism of Ronaldo means that United fans hate them. Their criticism of Liverpool too means that they are going to loose a lot of popularity over here.

Giles, Brady and Dunphy worship at the altar of 'footballing intelligence' and don't have much time for other types of footballing talent. They're great as long as it's not your team they're slagging off.

darkman2

Another thing about the coverage is sort of hidden and its this.


Gary Lineker is the presenter for the BBC. He obviously knows his football whereas Bill O'Herlihy clearly does not and he is kind of there representing the average person and I think that adds something to it. Not sure what it is.

Haven't a Clue

Yeah, I agree with the OP. While not always right, the RTE pundits are at least interested in throwing their opinions out no matter how brutal they may be. It also makes it considerably more entertaining when they're having a proper rant, e.g. Dunphy's "He's a rebel..." rant on Roy Keane.

The beeb are absolutely petrified of pissing off any of the managers since Big Sam, Fergie and Harry Redknapp all refuse to do interviews with them. Sky on the other hand prefer to kiss their asses and employ Jamie Redknapp.

PHB

p.s. They don't enjoy football in any form.
Perfect example, last week after the Milan Utd game, which would people rather see?

A clip of Ronaldo's mess ups
A clip of Kaka's brilliance

They have a specific controversial agenda, and they do everything they can to keep people talking about them. I much prefered ITV's coverage of the Liverpool Chelsea game. Why?
Because after the game, they talked about the goals and play in general, then showed the interviews with Rafa Mourinho and Gerrard/Kuyt/Reina.

What did RTE do? Bitched about football.

eirebhoy

Royale with Cheese wrote:

They're alot more entertaining to watch than Jamie Redknapp or Lawro.

Redknapp is annoying but for Champions league night's he's just 1 of 3. What I like about Sky is Redknapp or whoever could ask Gullit how a certain Milan player is getting on and you can trust his opinion. Bill asks Brady about Italian football and he does nothing more than pretend.

At the end of the day the Sky lads know a lot more than any of us. I really believe many of us on this forum are more knowledgable than those on RTE. I agree with Pepe to a certain extent that they only appreciate a real reader of the game but Giles had no time for Riquelme at the world cup because he didn't work off the ball.

Pepe LeFrits

eirebhoy wrote:

Redknapp is annoying but for Champions league night's he's just 1 of 3. What I like about Sky is Redknapp or whoever could ask Gullit how a certain Milan player is getting on and you can trust his opinion. Bill asks Brady about Italian football and he does nothing more than pretend.

At the end of the day the Sky lads know a lot more than any of us. I really believe many of us on this forum are more knowledgable than those on RTE. I agree with Pepe to a certain extent that they only appreciate a real reader of the game but Giles had no time for Riquelme at the world cup because he didn't work off the ball.

Methinks you send a CV in...!

Bill: "Tonight we have John, Liam, Eamonn and our new panelist, eirebhoy from boards.ie."

Riquelme doesn't fit into their idea of a 'real footballer'. It seems to be that a player must be very intelligent, work hard, be humble (or at least vaguely respectful and mature), be very skillful, have great vision, possess leadership qualities and many other attributes. I've noticed that they often climax over Scholes and Fabregas, and who could forget Eamo's love for Roy.

Mossy Monk

RTÉ are much better than boring BBC, annoying ITV and arse kissing Sky.

LostinBlanch

I agree with the OP about English stations being scared sh1tless of slagging English teams. Fergies boycott has the BBC so wound up they won't slag anyone else off for fear their manager would do the same. What would they do without Maureen for example?

RTE aren't hampered by that, so Giles, Dunphy and Brady can and do say what they want. I don't always agree with it, but sometimes they can spot something that others haven't.

TBH I think we've been spoiled with them. Over the time I've seen them they've definitely been some of the top pundits I've seen worldwide. They're fading a bit now, but still a lot better than the alternatives.

PS anyone got a link to RTE's coverage of the 1982 World Cup 3rd place playoff? It was the one where Ray Treacy was the pundit with a Dunphy dummy on his knee going on about Platini being a good player but not a great player. Great fun, though Eamo didn't see the funny side and stayed away from RTE until 1990.

MisterAnarchy

Rte are by far the best of the bunch analysis wise.
BBC were the best and the benchmark until Lineker arrived on the scene and he dumbed their coverage down no end.
Wrighty,Leo,Garth Crooks,pure muppets ,should be on some kids show.
Hansen used to be forthright and interesting,now he is obviously told what to say.Everything is 'Great''Super''Amazing'.
Lawrenson is a yes man.
Now that they have Gabby Logan they will sink even further.
ITV are a shambles,all yes men,all reading from the same hymn sheet.
Sky are quite good and have impressed me this season bar Andy Gray who is a moron but they are selling an expensive product so they will never criticise their own product.
RTE are flawed but they are at least honest,no hidden agenda.

Ghost Train

I like the style and find it very entertaining. I think it's better that they're critical and can have a laugh at the odd player or manager. They don't always get it right but their analysis in a lot of cases makes sense. I think fans can take it personally if their team is being talked down, but if they don't like the (mostly) honest criticism they shouldn't watch it

heres last nights ronaldo discussion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQOSmTPrTGY

leninbenjamin

Bill - nice personality, good presenter, usually asks the right questions imo
Giles - very old school, but is refreshing in this age of hype and commercialism
Brady - usually spot on imo
Dunphy - well, he's Dunphy. usually the point he starts to make is a good one, but goes over the top, but he's made a career out of it and i don't expect anything else. can be entertaining when he disagrees with the others.

i like the RTÉ coverage. BBC probably have some better pundits at times (i can't stand Wright though, and Shearer can be bloody useless too), but are afraid to speak their minds. Sky never ever have much to say of value. the odd time someone like Gullit will speak their minds, but for them analysis is just a way of killing a minute or two before they can show you the ads. ITV is cringeworthy stuff.

I usually find myself watching the matches on the English channels because they come down in widescreen, but almost invariably find myself switching over for RTÉ analysis. the old lads are like an institution, not always right in their predictions (then again who is?), but they say it how they see it and have no qualms over it. I'd hate to see them being taken off the air.

Edit: I also think there analysis of Ronaldo last night is spot on. he's only ever good when he does the simple thing, use his pace to go by. the step-overs and flicks rarely pay off. there's also still something really lacking from his game mentality wise. very rarely does he create space, and sometimes his best contribution is that he's so ever hyped that teams focus all their effort on nullfying him, and give Giggs and Scholes too much freedom. it didn't occur to him though last night that he could use Milans over lapping to his advantage, he kept going into the crowd instead of pulling away from it. he just lacks a level of intelligence. i hope it comes with experience, because he's got everything else to become a great, and there have been signs this season i guess that it is happening, but he still has a good bit to go for me.

Call Me Jimmy

Pepe LeFrits wrote:

I've noticed that they often climax over Scholes and Fabregas

hah great line, up there with the likes of "Reality is Kaka".

ronbyrne2005

RTE panel are best in UK/ROI, not perfect or always right but always entertaining. Their viewership figures say it all really. When a match is on bbc/utv and rte at same time (everyone in ireland has these stations) RTE win out by huge margin every time. People dont like the RTE panel because they go against their biased and ignorant views. I feel they are the most objective analysts in UK/ROI and have been around for nearly 20 years so must be doing something right.

daveg

Personally I really enjoy David Pleats commentry on ITV. For match analyses I think Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson really are second to none.

Of the 3 muppets in RTE I have respect for Giles. He does know his football and he is entertaining.

Worst one of all though has to be Peter Schmeichel!!!

iregk

I think this has been done to death on boards. If its not arguing about comments they made in match threads we have a thread roughly every 6 months on them.

For me personally I love them. Sky is so bloody boring and BBC is just so god dam awful and smug its hard to watch. The reason I like RTE well its different. I don't need Andy Gray to tell me Gillardino scored becasue of a big gap in the united defense I can see that formyself. What I want is the 3 lads who are basically having conversations that I'd have in the pub with the lads. Except obviously for the "in my day bill" or "billy bremner...."

Yes Giles hasn't moved on with football since the 70's and seems somewhat disgusted that the sport has left him behind. Yes if its not world class football or Arsenal Brady isn't interested and if its not controversal Dunphy isn't interested but thats what makes it brilliant.

The big thing is and I've said this before. The prem is not our product, we don't need to keep on the good side of the teams for fear of loosing access or for fear of damaging the brand we are trying to sell to the world. We are in the great position where we can be totally honest and say if a game was crap or not because it makes no odds to us. Thats the big difference between them all. Sky's worst comment on a player: "didn't quite happen for him today" RTE's: "he was brutal, didn't work didn't track back wasn't interested at all" Thats what I want to hear.

Vince135792003

Above all else they are entertaining. They provoke a reaction out of you whether you agree with them or not. The same can't be said for a lot of the coverage across the pond.

The Muppet

I don't watch them any more as they appear to have lost their impartiality.

Take their treatment of Ronaldo , he was heavily criticised last season and rightly so but this year his performances have been a lot better (with the odd exception) yet they still slate him, Why? For me it's becasue they do not want to be proved wrong about him.

They keep harping on about him not being the best player in the world, Who said he was ? They maointain he is not world class, I think any team would be delighted to have him available to them. I think that makes him a world class player.

Souness is an exellent soocer pundit .

Dunphy , you know what you're getting. He just tries to be controversial. If he's slating your team you hated him if he's slating the enemy you love him, He's made career out of it but I don't take hime seriously anymore

Giles . I am dissapointed with him because he was always pretty straight with his analysis.

I watch United games elsewhere now as I put little value on Giles or Dunphys opinion. I know what they are going to say before they say it.

adox

I actually like Paul Merson the odd time hes on Sky as a pundit.Hes as near as they get to having someone being controversial.

RTE have just got completely predictable and boring at this stage.I mean it was fun at the start seeing them slate teams and players and slagging off the British press but not its just so predictable its boring.All they do is moan.......and moan......and moan.....


Dunphy who likes to think of himself as a rebel and above the rest of the sporting press is nothing more than a tabloid journalist.He really has run his course at this stage.

Giles is Giles and will moan til the cows come home.You`d wonfer if he actually enjoys watching football.

Brady was up until recently quite watchable but he seems to have fallen under the spell of Dunphy and Giles lately and is just as predictable.

Of the commentators out there I really enjoy the under used Ian Darke on Sky.Hes not the most knowledgeable and makes planty of mistakes but he always sounds likes hes really enjoying the game and gets very excited.:D

shane86

For a start most English punditry seems to last about 4 mins. The RTE boys are on for at least 10-15 post match.

I love it, if RTE was widely available in England I doubt ITV etc would get one viewer. Brady bores me slightly. Giles is usually on the mark. And then Dunphy. The man the myth the legend. The box office draw as someone once called him here. He is the punditry equivalent of securing De Niro or Samuel L as the lead man in the film your making. The reason people watch. Hes right sometimes. He talks an awful lot of ****e sometimes. Regardless, its often hilarious and you are guaranteed to listen.

The Insider

The Muppet wrote:

They keep harping on about him not being the best player in the world, Who said he was ?

Basically every pundit in England (Andy Gray, Shearer etc).

For me there still the top pundits out there by a mile, yes Dunphy goes over the top but he does come out with some cracker lines (reality is Kaka, Hype is Ronaldo, was laughing for 5 mins at that one).

For me Giles is the best pundit on the telly and Brady knows his stuff to.

I think there is so much debate on this issue because they haven't gone along with the notion that Ronaldo is the best player in the world and that the ManU team is up there with the greatest teams Fergie has delivered before, therefore annoying a lot of Utd fans, IMO they are just stating the truth.

It was the same years ago when Liverpool won the plastic treble, they basically said Liverpool were not a great team and GH was not a great manager, I remember a huge amount of Liverpool fans getting annoyed saying the UEFA cup run proved different etc etc... but as time showed they were right.

Savman

"Reality is Kaka, hype is Ronaldo."
That was quote of the year.
Love him or hate him, you'd be hard pushed to disagree....

iregk

Ok its obvious that the main sticking point with a lot of people is the Ronaldo issue. now the way I see it is that I pretty much agree with them, although they do go a little ott at times. The UK press have rammed down our throats all year how he is the best player in the world etc... Now Ronaldo has had a good domestic year this season but still only 1 decent game in europe (roma) throughout his career.

You cannot call a player world class or a great because he has had 1 good season and 1 decent game at the top level. Wait until next year and if Ronaldo does it all again and this time in europe you will see them back him. Kaka has done it consistently for a few years hence why they back him. I don't want to spark off a Kaka v Ronaldo war but you see what I'm saying.

In general they dont like the UK media. They are now harping on about 3 semi final teams mean its now conclusively the best league in the world. Not so long ago Serie A had 3 semi finalists yet they never said anything about that being the best league no they still peddled the prem as the best in the world. Its that kind of thing the RTE boys hate and thats why they attack it. Rightly so in my opinion.

PHB

Savman wrote:

"Reality is Kaka, hype is Ronaldo."
That was quote of the year.
Love him or hate him, you'd be hard pushed to disagree....

You would. However, I'm sure if I went back to say the World Cup, you'd have a bit talking about how Kaka was so overrated compared to say Rooney.
He doesn't have any opinions, he just goes with the flow, or against the flow, to cause a stir.
He's just totally inconsistant in every way, so why the **** would I listen to him?

Dont be at yourself

You would. However, I'm sure if I went back to say the World Cup, you'd have a bit talking about how Kaka was so overrated compared to say Rooney.

Just how Dunphy doesnt cream himself over a good run of games from Ronaldo, nor does he slate Kaka' for a poor run of games in an otherwise stellar career!

Ardent

Carcharodon wrote:

Honesty of Effort

Giles needs to be put out to pasture at this stage. I almost slit my wrists after the Milan game when he started going on again about how when he started out playing football the first thing he was taught was blah blah blah...

leninbenjamin

Ardent wrote:

Giles needs to be put out to pasture at this stage. I almost slit my wrists after the Milan game when he started going on again about how when he started out playing football the first thing he was taught was blah blah blah...

but it was a perfectly valid comment. united didn't put the workrate in, they didn't harry off the ball, they didn't force the errors... that's why they lost. Milan did all these thing and won.

herbieflowers

I find that the RTE crew just tend to suck the fun out of the game, the enjoyment, why people watch it in the first place...I just get depressed listeningto their analysis. At least the BBC are a bit more diplomatic about it

The Muppet

The Insider wrote:

I think there is so much debate on this issue because they haven't gone along with the notion that Ronaldo is the best player in the world and that the ManU team is up there with the greatest teams Fergie has delivered before, therefore annoying a lot of Utd fans, IMO they are just stating the truth.

iregk wrote:

Ok its obvious that the main sticking point with a lot of people is the Ronaldo issue. now the way I see it is that I pretty much agree with them, although they do go a little ott at times. The UK press have rammed down our throats all year how he is the best player in the world etc... Now Ronaldo has had a good domestic year this season but still only 1 decent game in europe (roma) throughout his career.

But most United fans would agree with them when they say he is not the best player in the world. My issue with them is that they are not willing to recognise the improvement in his game and continue to slate him irrespective of how well he plays. Are his fellow professionals and football writers and the majority of sooceer fans of all persuasions wrong in thinking Ronaldo is an exceptional talent.

IMO they just don't want to be proved wrong about his abilities and TBH they are just making fools of themselves because anybody that watches football must rocognise that he is a special talent.

The Insider wrote:

Basically every pundit in England (Andy Gray, Shearer etc).

Well Shearer has played the game at the highes level in the modern era so maybe that is the difference. You couldn't class shearer as a UTD fan so one has to assume he is expressing his honest opinion if he said that.

Jonny Arson

Giles, Dunphy and Brady are the best punditry team around. I don't want to hear pre-scripted cliched analysis, creaming over English sides, creaming over Ronaldo crap I hear on SKY, BBC or ITV. The RTE guys call it as it is and offer far more insiht to the game than any of the other pundit teams, yeah maybe they are a bit negative at times but I do feel the reason for that is fans need to hear an alternative slant on things and RTE's team deliver that. Sky would probably win best coverage as they do stats, graphics etc. brilliantly but RTE win hands regarding pundits.

Jonny Arson

The Muppet wrote:

But most United fans would agree with them when they say he is not the best player in the world. My issue with them is that they are not willing to recognise the improvement in his game and continue to slate him irrespective of how well he plays. Are his fellow professionals and football writers and the majority of sooceer fans of all persuasions wrong in thinking Ronaldo is an exceptional talent.

IMO they just don't want to be proved wrong about his abilities and TBH they are just making fools of themselves because anybody that watches football must rocognise that he is a special talent.

You've obviously been watching something different on RTE than what I have watched. Giles, Dunphy and Brady have given Ronaldo lots of credit on many occasions particulary against Roma when he stepped up to the plate and delivered the goods. They have continuingly said that he has stepped his game up this season, they have continuingly said that he has great ability and great potential to someday develop into a world class footballer but they have been completely right every time when they have said that he is inconsistent and watseful at times - which is the truth. Ronaldo has the tools to be one of the best which they are saying but they are not in place and he isn't delivering his obvious talent regularly. Great and world class footballers step up their game on the big occasions, Ronaldo failed against Milan and from what I've seen of him he doesn't deliver against the biggest sides - this is the crux of what Dunphy, Giles and Brady have been saying and they're the only pundit team to call it 100% spot on with Ronaldo.

eirebhoy

shane86 wrote:

For a start most English punditry seems to last about 4 mins. The RTE boys are on for at least 10-15 post match.

Sky start at 6 o'clock sometimes and run til about half 10. I'm not talking about their premiership coverage but their champions league coverage. To be honest if I watched RTE on Wednesday I would have switched off at the first mention of Ronaldo, it's getting tiresome.

leninbenjamin

eirebhoy wrote:

Sky start at 6 o'clock sometimes and run til about half 10. I'm not talking about their premiership coverage but their champions league coverage.

yeah but half of all that SKY coverage is ads. their pre match build up tends to have a huge amount interviews with players, which i usually find incredibly boring, they never ask anything that could be considered mildy controversial etc. the rest seems to be archive footage of games between the two, the pundits have had very little input anytime i've tried watching it (i usually get really bored with it and swicth over to the news), and their post match analysis tends to look at just the goals and pages of stats and other useless info.

To be honest if I watched RTE on Wednesday I would have switched off at the first mention of Ronaldo, it's getting tiresome.

so you didn't watch it then? what are you doing giving out about it then if you don't know what they said?

The Insider

Ardent wrote:

Giles needs to be put out to pasture at this stage. I almost slit my wrists after the Milan game when he started going on again about how when he started out playing football the first thing he was taught was blah blah blah...

See I don't get that, its was a very valid point, a great insight on what makes a team... any team not just a football one.

Chucky the tree

leninbenjamin wrote:

so you didn't watch it then? what are you doing giving out about it then if you don't know what they said?

Becuase thats what they always say. RTE's coverage is brutal.

The Insider

The Muppet wrote:

But most United fans would agree with them when they say he is not the best player in the world. My issue with them is that they are not willing to recognise the improvement in his game and continue to slate him irrespective of how well he plays. Are his fellow professionals and football writers and the majority of sooceer fans of all persuasions wrong in thinking Ronaldo is an exceptional talent.

IMO they just don't want to be proved wrong about his abilities and TBH they are just making fools of themselves because anybody that watches football must rocognise that he is a special talent.

Well Shearer has played the game at the highes level in the modern era so maybe that is the difference. You couldn't class shearer as a UTD fan so one has to assume he is expressing his honest opinion if he said that.

But they do recognize that he is a special talent, on Wen they were at pains to say (and not for the first time) that they all recognized he was a special talent, a match winner and had a good season. The point that they were making is Ronaldo has been hyped up unbelievably by everybody and that he is not at that level yet. I know this rubs up Utd fans the wrong way but its the truth, Brady made the point that he heard one Utd fan on the radio saying he was better the Best, I mean that kind of talk is insane.

I mean you said it yourself earlier you used to like them but there bias has turned you off, its not bias its the truth its just because you are a Man U fan that you find it hard to stomach.

PHB

Brady made the point that he heard one Utd fan on the radio saying he was better the Best, I mean that kind of talk is insane.

Similar comparisions are made about Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney in relation to other greats like Zidane, Charlton, etc. Why do you think RTE don't go on about that?

Mourinho says on a regular basis that Lampard is the best player in the world, but I don't hear RTE going on about that, having highlight reels of where he ****s up.

It's not just cause Ronaldo is hyped, it's because they hate that style of player? Why? I'd go with jealousy.

Jazzy

yeah, how dare ronaldo try to entertain with his liquid footskills and brilliant ball control. i hate it every time he does a trick and gets around a full back. makes me sick. Roy Keane was the best right winger ever.
I remember when that match against Bayern Munich when Keane sent a brilliant ball out to Keane and the way Keane got around the full back was class and then the cross into Keane in the box was one of the best Ive ever seen, the header from Keane, marvelous...

herbieflowers

PHB wrote:

Similar comparisions are made about Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney in relation to other greats like Zidane, Charlton, etc. Why do you think RTE don't go on about that?

Mourinho says on a regular basis that Lampard is the best player in the world, but I don't hear RTE going on about that, having highlight reels of where he ****s up.

It's not just cause Ronaldo is hyped, it's because they hate that style of player? Why? I'd go with jealousy.

Yup summed it up nicely there PHB.

The fact that they harp on about how rubbish he is is ridiculous. Yes, Ronaldo has abvious flwas which the pnel focus on - fair enough. But they don't recognize the massive strides he's made this season, he's still young and I can't remember any player improving as much as Ronaldo in the space of a season. He still has a long way to go, of course (as the RTE panle repeatedly point out), but he's doing great.

Three awards this season - a clean sweep. Recognised by his fellow pros and the press as the best player in England - can they really be wrong? Aren't his colleagues the best judge of his talents rather than some detached analysists? Why do you think all the spotlight is on Ronaldo before big games? Oppositoin players taunting him, fellow team-mates praising him - even the double teaming of him in Euoprean matches (Lille, Roma, Milan) is indicative of the respect he has across Europe.

shatners basoon

Brady was good in his analysis on Ronaldo after the match but then Eamo had to talk absolute rubbish. The man knows nothing about football and i'm sick of the cheap entertainment his "controversial analysis" spews out. Ronaldo is a very good player with the potential to be a great player, he's had an excellent season this year and if he does the same next year and inputs some more intelligance to his game then he'll be on his way. There's no need to spend 4 and a half minutes each time United play on Ronaldo's performance. At least they could spend the same time on it if he has a good game huh?

We're all aware of the bias in most the english pundits analysis but that doesn't mean we need the polar opposite on our shores. As herbie said it sucks the enjoyment out of the game to focus on mostly the malaspects of the game. They should learn how to enjoy football again.

leninbenjamin

shatners basoon wrote:

There's no need to spend 4 and a half minutes each time United play on Ronaldo's performance. At least they could spend the same time on it if he has a good game huh?

the reason they are focusing on Ronaldo is that he is the topic of the day. practically every single thread on this forum about manu's performances singles out Ronaldo in some aspect, whether he was good bad etc... they are just satisfying the public interest.

LuckyLloyd

lol at all the poor sensitive fans who can't take when their team is critiscised. The RTE panel gets you thinking, it creates discussion - whether you agree or disagree.

If people are happy with a few inane generallities and tired cliques they are welcome to go elsewhere. I'll take the entertainment and the controversy thank you very much.

shane86

eirebhoy wrote:

Sky start at 6 o'clock sometimes and run til about half 10. I'm not talking about their premiership coverage but their champions league coverage. To be honest if I watched RTE on Wednesday I would have switched off at the first mention of Ronaldo, it's getting tiresome.

Personally I get the best laugh from Ronaldo criticism mixed with "like Roy Keane/hes not Roy Keane/any other comparison to a guy who hasnt played in well over a year now" talk from Dunphy I certainly think that he has a vendetta, although as someone said its the CL and internationals that are the true test of world class, not the ability to run around the defence of Watford and Sheffield. Not to take away, I think he is great if slightly inconsistent, and possibly one of the fastest attackers, but then again there are truly few players who never have a bad run of form.

Ive also been getting a good laugh past few weeks from Dunphys "sorry to see him go" talk if/when Mourhinio gets the boot considering his previous talk about him (sorry to see it myself, and tbh I think theyll be the worse off for it)

eirebhoy

leninbenjamin wrote:

so you didn't watch it then? what are you doing giving out about it then if you don't know what they said?

I haven't a clue how to answer that tbh as I don't know where the question came from.

As for Sky's ads, interviews, stats or whatever. What do RTE offer? 15 minutes chat about Man Utd/Ronaldo and why they're not a great team. 2 minutes on 1 player from the opposing team. A look back at highlights from the previous night or first leg. Probably rob an interview from their "colleagues on ITV". All crap that I couldn't be interested in. Don't get me started on the frustration of having to watch them when Celtic are playing.