Media and punditry

[Davkaus]

And yet somehow, they still employ him.

[TrinityRoadSteps]

 

 

The Tactics Truck was an ill-fated segment on piss poor ITV show The Premiership. It was hated by everyone and led many people to regard perpetrator Andy Townsend as one of history’s greatest monsters.

During a bleak period between 2001 and 2004, ITV managed to get their greasy, error-prone mitts on the Premier League highlights.

As well as putting the show on at stupid times, employing second-rate pundits, throwing in countless advert breaks and using U2's 'Beautiful Day' as its theme tune, ITV decided they wanted to add a segment dedicated to the tactical side of the game.

They did this by creating the Tactics Truck. The Truck would be parked outside grounds and unpopular numbskull Andy Townsend would replay goals, ringing things and stating the **** obvious.

Townsend would bring players into the Truck and explain to them why they conceded three goals against Bolton, often managing to say ‘I tell you what’ in excess of 100 times in four minutes. It was dismal, embarrassing, superfluous fare.

One of the few highlights of the Tactics Truck’s reign of ignominy was the visit of Dion Dublin, who was at the time plying his trade for Aston Villa and had netted against Liverpool.

After some typically uninspired comments including ‘It was a good goal, I’m pleased for you,’ to which Dublin responded ‘Cheers mate’, Townsend asked Dublin what he thought Villa’s chances were in the UEFA Cup and it emerged that the journeyman striker had no idea who his side were playing in midweek.

During a famous visit to the Tactics Truck, the segment was interrupted as the vehicle began to slowly move. Townsend had illegally parked outside Stamford Bridge and was towed away, swearing in protest out the window.

Hatred of the Tactics TruckEdit

The Tactics Truck came to be so reviled by football fans across the country that it had to be given 24-hour police protection.

Townsend, who drove, reported from and lived in the truck, has never shaken the stigma. indeed.

 

 

 

 

So it could be said Andy Townsend spent a lot of his time "in and around" The Tactics Truck 

[Con]

MOTD is shit and you deserve to suffer an hour and a half drudgery if you continue to tune in despite knowing how shit it is.

 

Actually, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Danny Murphy made a great pundit pair last night. That won't happen again for the rest of the season.

 

Apart from being very obviously anti-Villa Gary Lineker is a great host. He's got charisma and his cheesey wit is just right for the programme.

 

However, the whole MOTD progamme is a bit formulaic and dull with the two pundits just sitting there. the Sky MNF is much better and MOTD should be more like that and allow the pundits to be more interactive with technology in their analysis.

[coda]

Gutted I can't remember the Tactics Truck.

[The_Rev]

Don't be.

[blandy]

the whole MOTD progamme is a bit formulaic and dull with the two pundits just sitting there. the Sky MNF is much better and MOTD should be more like that and allow the pundits to be more interactive with technology in their analysis.

MoTD doesn't have time to do that, unfortunately. If you're a fan of a non top 4 club, there would be even less of your teams games shown than there is now (not you personally, just the viewer). MoTD has got less bad pundit wise as a result of Neville being so good and raising the bar, but it'll never compete in the same area as Sky MNF, which can devote 30 minutes to a single play if the want.

If you're us, you might prefer the Sky analysis, but if you're a 11 year old watching MoTD on Sunday morning, you maybe just want to see your favourite team or player win or score a goal and don't want to listen to some old men talk about Jose Mourinho's tactics in stopping YaYa Toure.

[turnbull]

 

 

 

The Tactics Truck was an ill-fated segment on piss poor ITV show The Premiership. It was hated by everyone and led many people to regard perpetrator Andy Townsend as one of history’s greatest monsters.

During a bleak period between 2001 and 2004, ITV managed to get their greasy, error-prone mitts on the Premier League highlights.

As well as putting the show on at stupid times, employing second-rate pundits, throwing in countless advert breaks and using U2's 'Beautiful Day' as its theme tune, ITV decided they wanted to add a segment dedicated to the tactical side of the game.

They did this by creating the Tactics Truck. The Truck would be parked outside grounds and unpopular numbskull Andy Townsend would replay goals, ringing things and stating the **** obvious.

Townsend would bring players into the Truck and explain to them why they conceded three goals against Bolton, often managing to say ‘I tell you what’ in excess of 100 times in four minutes. It was dismal, embarrassing, superfluous fare.

One of the few highlights of the Tactics Truck’s reign of ignominy was the visit of Dion Dublin, who was at the time plying his trade for Aston Villa and had netted against Liverpool.

After some typically uninspired comments including ‘It was a good goal, I’m pleased for you,’ to which Dublin responded ‘Cheers mate’, Townsend asked Dublin what he thought Villa’s chances were in the UEFA Cup and it emerged that the journeyman striker had no idea who his side were playing in midweek.

During a famous visit to the Tactics Truck, the segment was interrupted as the vehicle began to slowly move. Townsend had illegally parked outside Stamford Bridge and was towed away, swearing in protest out the window.

Hatred of the Tactics TruckEdit

The Tactics Truck came to be so reviled by football fans across the country that it had to be given 24-hour police protection.

Townsend, who drove, reported from and lived in the truck, has never shaken the stigma. indeed.

 

 

 

 

So it could be said Andy Townsend spent a lot of his time "in and around" The Tactics Truck 

 

Yes Clive.

[Oaks]

MOTD only really bothers me when they have total idiots on there like Robbie Savage.

Although Lineker did piss me off with the whole Suarez penalty bollocks last season, he pretty much dismissed the views of 90% of his viewers so arrogantly.

[Davkaus]

 

So it could be said Andy Townsend spent a lot of his time "in and around" The Tactics Truck 

 

 

I'd wager that he asked some questions of it, too.

[B94villa]

And shouted "Better!" every time he changed gear.

Edited September 22, 2014 by B94villa

[Con]

 

the whole MOTD progamme is a bit formulaic and dull with the two pundits just sitting there. the Sky MNF is much better and MOTD should be more like that and allow the pundits to be more interactive with technology in their analysis.

MoTD doesn't have time to do that, unfortunately. If you're a fan of a non top 4 club, there would be even less of your teams games shown than there is now (not you personally, just the viewer). MoTD has got less bad pundit wise as a result of Neville being so good and raising the bar, but it'll never compete in the same area as Sky MNF, which can devote 30 minutes to a single play if the want.

If you're us, you might prefer the Sky analysis, but if you're a 11 year old watching MoTD on Sunday morning, you maybe just want to see your favourite team or player win or score a goal and don't want to listen to some old men talk about Jose Mourinho's tactics in stopping YaYa Toure.

 

 

that's a very good point. MOTD is a children's programme which is why you could imagine the ever-so slightly-creepy presenter narrating jackanory.

[Qwpzxjor1]

Almost need 2 versions. One for the casual fan, families, etc.. And one for a more in depth analysis.

Be interesting, if such a thing happened, to compare the viewing figures.

[Mantis]

Anyone else get annoyed by how self-promoting BBC Sport are? Any time one of their pundits gives their opinion on something it gets elevated straight to the front page and treated as news rather than opinion. For example, Phil Neville saying that United are still £100m away from the title was one of their top stories earlier.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Mantis

[Davkaus]

Absolutely. I half expect them to cut away from scheduled programming on all channels to declare the breaking news whenever Linekar sends a tweet, with the way they make a big deal out of all of his opinions on the website.

[Stevo985]

 

the whole MOTD progamme is a bit formulaic and dull with the two pundits just sitting there. the Sky MNF is much better and MOTD should be more like that and allow the pundits to be more interactive with technology in their analysis.

MoTD doesn't have time to do that, unfortunately. If you're a fan of a non top 4 club, there would be even less of your teams games shown than there is now (not you personally, just the viewer). MoTD has got less bad pundit wise as a result of Neville being so good and raising the bar, but it'll never compete in the same area as Sky MNF, which can devote 30 minutes to a single play if the want.

If you're us, you might prefer the Sky analysis, but if you're a 11 year old watching MoTD on Sunday morning, you maybe just want to see your favourite team or player win or score a goal and don't want to listen to some old men talk about Jose Mourinho's tactics in stopping YaYa Toure.

 

The other advantage is that MNF have a couple of days to dissect the games and spend all day planning the show.

 

MOTD get a couple of hours.

[Rob182]

I don't like this new MOTD commentator, the one doing the Hull v Man City game... "Caballero hasn't had a save to make, there was an own goal and he got no-where near the penalty"..... So he did have two saves to make then? But he just didn't save either..

[Rob182]

"Zabaleta knew where Lampard was, and.. Lampard knew.. the area between the posts that he had to put the ball".... *sigh*..

[chappy]

Have you not listened to 5live in the last 15 years? He is alan green and he is a **** rocket polisher. The worst of the liverpool biased media brigade.

[Avfc96]

Alan Green is a bellend. 

 

 

Also, what on earth were Nolan and Alladyce complaining about on MOTD, the disallowed goal was quite clearly offside. T-ssers.

Edited September 27, 2014 by Avfc96

[Jimzk5]

Offside? I thought the ruling was that there needed to be daylight between the attacker & defender, with preference given to the attacking team. Id be very annoyed had we been on the end of that decision