Has he blocked you yet?
Soccer Saturday sack Thompson, Nicholas and Le Tissier
- Thread starter Nico87
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Am I missing something? Have replacements been announced? Or did you make this up?
Possibly. I can't find his profile if I search for it
He's made it up. Absolutely nothing confirmed about replacements.
Punditry isn't most walks of life though is it? If you're on TV it's about your marketability and how you come across to the viewer. Also they were pretty bad at their jobs. You could get the same amount of insight from a rock.
Possibly. I can't find his profile if I search for it
It's such a nice, cushy job for anyone who can get it. It's basically commentary in the same cosy studio every week and you only have to commentate on the good bits.
Unreal job.
Unreal job.
That's exactly why I put strong whiff because although they haven't been announced I think we both know the reasons for this move by Sky.
You'd be very naive to think 3 white males are coming in to replace those who have been sacked.
A bit like that time Hasselhoff filmed himself eating a burger on the floor to remind himself what drink does to him.
He's there for the Lad Bible crowd.
A job is a job, doesn't matter what walk of life it is. I'm all for equal opportunities but at the end of the day the job should go to the person who can do the job best.
Right now I think we can almost guarantee a female will join the panel (maybe 2) and a black ex-footballer as well.
That's absolutely fine, as long as they are good, what I have a problem with is just doing it for the sake of it.
Example would be Laura Woods on Talksport Breakfast. She does Monday - Wednesday now Alan Brazil has semi-retired. She's absolutely terrible, there are huge holes in her sporting knowledge and she's always getting things wrong.
Now on the other hand Natalie Sawyer is great, so is Kelly Cates (although she does more telly than radio).
Talksport were so desperate to look diverse that they picked totally the wrong person.
Seems people have targeted Alex Scott and Micah Richards after this. Alex Scott easily the best pundit on Sky unless Higginbottom is on, and Micah Richards offers great insights and is a proper laugh.
Unlikely either would be on that panel any way because they are match day pundits and great ones at that.
Be interesting to see who they bring in as replacements as part of what made that show work was that they all rinsed each other which at times at least made it watchable even if it was clear they knew feck all and anyone who has even kicked a ball could probably do that job.
Unlikely either would be on that panel any way because they are match day pundits and great ones at that.
Be interesting to see who they bring in as replacements as part of what made that show work was that they all rinsed each other which at times at least made it watchable even if it was clear they knew feck all and anyone who has even kicked a ball could probably do that job.
I don’t get the “need” to have a woman on the panel just for the sake of having a woman on there. At the end of the day, this is a programme primarily focussed on
mens football. If I watch women’s netball I don’t see any reason to expect a man to be part of the analysis team and the same applies here.
Of course, if there’s a genuine feeling that a woman is the best fit for the role and has good chemistry with the rest of the team, then that’s absolutely fine. Alex Scott is excellent for example. However, there really shouldn’t be a need for a tick box exercise here.
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Minto given the axe too.
I don't mind Minto but it looks like they're having a big clear out. It's become a meme at this point but Merse must be indestructible.
Minto was good at his job and never tried to be funny or controversial. Shame to see him go but he'll end up somewhere decent.
Any chance they're skint because of Corona and this is a cost cutting thing? This lot plus Minto are not going be the biggest earners but then I doubt you'd want to cut your headliners if you want to retain subscribers. Making a saving with some of the lesser paid talent that fewer people care about could be a way to go if that's what they needed to do.
Yeah, not the quite the same but I remember John McCririck unsuccesfully tried to sue Channel 4 for age discrimination when they binned him off from the horse racing.
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It’s definitely a consideration whether people want to admit it or not. If you think that Sky Sports execs sat in a boardroom and discussed letting these guys go, without anyone mentioning they’re all old white men and they should probably diversify the lineup.. I mean how gullible could one be. They have BLM banners on the screens half the time on Sky Sports for christs sake. Let’s plaster BLM banners all over the screen while all these aging white men talk nonsense. And when they announce the replacement you can guarantee at least one black man will be on the panel. I have to stress I don’t have a problem with this at all, but no point pretending this isn’t the case. It’s so clear. I would suggest the desire to have a more diverse panel is the primary reason as to why these have been let go, not because they’re has-beens. They’re protecting the brand in the current social climate.
That's a shame about Scott Minto, I think he's a pretty decent presenter.
I hope he finds a job somewhere else on TV, there's loads out there worse than him.
It looks like Sky are really going for it and I'd be surprised if they stop here given the message they are sending out.
I hope he finds a job somewhere else on TV, there's loads out there worse than him.
It looks like Sky are really going for it and I'd be surprised if they stop here given the message they are sending out.
Sky are a multinational - they are well covered when it comes to employment law.
These lads were probably contracted as self employed providers
They've had the temerity to exist Wrighty, as have you.
Warnock talks too much and is only aware of other people talking as he is looking for the next opportunity to interject, never listens to others opinion let alone consider they may have a point.
I would say it's all down to cost cutting, subscriber numbers fell off a cliff at the start of lockdown and they have to adjust the balance. There's a hell of a lot of deadwood at Sky.
I like Richards and Scott.
Cant say I’m a lover of Morrison but he’s not awful.
Can’t stand Sol.
Surprised that Le Tissier has lasted as long as he has, imo. The physical representation of the colour beige.
I think the show has been in need of a freshening up for quite some time. The problem when you don't freshen things up is that they become stagnant and boring, or (even worse) a caricature and a shadow of its former self.. See Soccer AM for that.
I think the show has been in need of a freshening up for quite some time. The problem when you don't freshen things up is that they become stagnant and boring, or (even worse) a caricature and a shadow of its former self.. See Soccer AM for that.
The premier league paid them back a lot of money. I also don’t buy subscribers are going down. They most likely going up for the new football season as fans won’t be allowed in stadiums for a while.
They just doing a refresh of their coverage.
There was an incredible amount of utter horseshit being spoken on that show for years. Although most of it was from Merse so I can’t really understand why he’s survived the chop.
To be fair, it would be pretty difficult in this day and age to appoint 4 or 5 new pundits to a show and not one of them be black. Considering how many black ex-pros exist and are doing punditry.
I don’t think it’s that it needs freshening up, just that it’s become increasingly irrelevant and unnecessary in the modern world. We don’t need a show like this to keep track of football scores anymore, and any pundit smart enough to add value will have better job options.
Only reason he'll be staying on is for the fact that there are people out there who will continually YouTube clips of him speaking utter drivel or being unintentionally funny. He's watchable, but not really for the intended reasons. I guess.
The more I think about this cull, the more I'm convinced it's a good idea.
It gives people a reason to give Soccer Saturday another chance depending on who they hire. The BT version far surpassed it years ago, and the only people who kept watching these utter morons were people stuck very much in the past.
There's a strong argument for that and I'm not going to disagree with you on that. If it is becoming irrelevant, that is exactly why the formula does need changing to make it more relevant. Either the show will adapt, or the numbers will drop and the show will die.
With the right mix of personalities, it can become a show where people will tune in to either get a good insight on all of the games taking place, or just for the laughter, or the chemistry. So, it becomes more of a want than a need, I suppose in that respect.
Interesting times. Sometimes change is needed and change is ultimately good.
Apparantly all part of the new diversity look which is completed bollocks. I've already noticed some of the new pundits look like their talking from a spread sheet with no personality about them either. Pretty sure viewing numbers will drop when the new donkeys arrive.
Scott is dull and does nothing different. Clichè after clichè.
Richards, even with his City bias, is very charming and a good laugh.
Richards, even with his City bias, is very charming and a good laugh.
They were unlikely sacked. You'll most likely find that their contracts simply were not renewed. Pundits and presenters are rarely actually staff of the channel they work for.
They were all shit and this is long over due. There are plenty of people out there that can do a better job.
He’s a clown, this is a terrible response. He’s angry at.. some people on twitter? I don’t know. Yes it’s driven by Black Lives Matter, of course it is! You would have to be wilfully ignorant to deny it. But the more important point is that the entire purpose of BLM is to drive this kind of change. He should be celebrating that the movement is accomplishing goals such as this. This is progress!
We live in a diverse world.
The people who follow football come from diverse backgrounds.
It makes complete sense to have a TV show that reflects a diverse make-up.
The only way to change bigoted, outdated, sexist and racist views and comments is to ensure that you have a diverse team.
SKY TV do not have a diverse team.
So there are only two possibilities.
1. This is a tick box exercise to keep ratings high and show some type of political correctness
2. The leadership at SKY truly believe in diversity and inclusion.
I don't know what the real answer is, but as long as we see more BAME and female commentators, reporters and pundits in the public eye the better.
And I don't believe all this 'good at your job' bollocks. 80% of the white commentators, coaches, scouts and managers who are hired in English league up until this point got their jobs without evidence of competence and most of them turned out to be pretty crap...just like Le Tissier, Thompson, Nicholas et al.
If you are going to give people a chance (Neville and Carragher as recent examples) then you hope they will do their homework, graft hard and become excellent at what they do. That applies to anyone regardless of background.
My understanding is that contracts were not renewed, so no-one got 'sacked'.
I'm all for it.
The people who follow football come from diverse backgrounds.
It makes complete sense to have a TV show that reflects a diverse make-up.
The only way to change bigoted, outdated, sexist and racist views and comments is to ensure that you have a diverse team.
SKY TV do not have a diverse team.
So there are only two possibilities.
1. This is a tick box exercise to keep ratings high and show some type of political correctness
2. The leadership at SKY truly believe in diversity and inclusion.
I don't know what the real answer is, but as long as we see more BAME and female commentators, reporters and pundits in the public eye the better.
And I don't believe all this 'good at your job' bollocks. 80% of the white commentators, coaches, scouts and managers who are hired in English league up until this point got their jobs without evidence of competence and most of them turned out to be pretty crap...just like Le Tissier, Thompson, Nicholas et al.
If you are going to give people a chance (Neville and Carragher as recent examples) then you hope they will do their homework, graft hard and become excellent at what they do. That applies to anyone regardless of background.
My understanding is that contracts were not renewed, so no-one got 'sacked'.
I'm all for it.