...Match of the Day
Every English football fan has happy memories of the BBC's flagship football brand, Match of the Day. From live games to the Saturday night top flight highlights, MOTD has become part of the football routine.
For many fans, MOTD is a firm Saturday evening fixture. Waking up on a matchday, playing a game, watching Football Focus before the match, Sports Report on the way home and then watching Match of the Day is, I suspect, an agenda shared by more than a few.
As a huge fan of the Match of the Day brand (one of my most prized possessions as a kid was a MOTD video of the 60s, 70s and 80s, narrated by John Motson and featuring healthy doses of Jimmy Hill), I am very frustrated by its current state of disrepair - and by its occasional disappearance.
But I've now reached a point where I can't wait to see the back of it. Shunning a grown-up presenter, instead bringing in Gary Lineker, was a stroke of unrivalled stupidity.
The whole shebang stinks of Liverpool, with Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson allowed, for some reason, to nail their colours firmly to the mast. When Hansen can't be bothered, Alan Shearer's presence causes a focus on Newcastle United way out of proportion with a) what they're doing now and b) what they've ever done before.
The final straw for me was a lengthy Football Focus style questioning of Shearer when he confirmed he wouldn't be returning to Newcastle. Get on with the highlights - we don't need a ten minute discussion about a club struggling to reach mid-table. Or any other club, for that matter.
Match of the Day, I'm counting the Saturday's until you're gone.
...Myths
Funnily enough, Newcastle United feature in this entry too. It's all about football myths, those pieces of acquired football assumption that have no basis in fact or reality, that build undeserving reputations and fuel media bias throughout the country.
Newcastle are at the centre of two of my favourites, and many others. "They love a goalscoring number nine up in Newcastle" is the biggest load of horseshit in football, surely? Name me a team that doesn't. We're also told that the north east is "a hotbed of football". I'd say that in a footballing country that's not exactly unique. Mrs twofootedtackle would argue there's at least one football obsessive in Tooting.
Best fans in the world, geordies. Err...what?!
Football myths aren't unique to Newcastle. In fact, off the top of my head they would appear to follow twofootedtackle favourite Harry Redknapp around. There's a shock.
Redknapp himself seems to have some kind of credibility despite being [removed by my lawyers].
West Ham United, Redknapp's old club, is the Academy of Football - interesting idea. If you're a Hammer with the relevant stats, I'd love to see them. And you didn't win the World Cup, for 'tis an international tournament.
Never mind though, 'arry. We all know next year is Tottenham's year.
...Movies
How appropriate that 'M' should pop up in the week after The Damned United, the cinematic adaptation of David Peace's "novel" of the same name. Documenting Peace's imaginings of Brian Clough's disastrous 44 days in charge of Leeds United, the book caused no little trauma for the Clough family.
They don't appear any less upset by the film. They have no intention of seeing it, and refused to attend the premiere.
I've not had a chance to see it yet (I'm going tonight), but I must admit it's the first football movie I've ever had an interest in. I can't stand the crappy presentation of the action, or the constant cliches.
However, Gary Andrews (your trusty podcast presenter) has apparently enjoyed one or two, including Once In A Lifetime, a documentary about the North American Soccer League's New York Cosmos. I think he's seen Goal! as well, and his review matches my assumption.
...Message boards
Make no mistake, the internet has created my new types of football fan. Leaving aside the nasty little trolls and keyboard warriors, a new breed of fans has developed for whom message board participation is a vital part of their supporting routine.
I guess it's a case of talking to like-minded fans as if in the pub - only more accessible. Message boards have created a space for debate which in turn has induced a kind of football geekery which had previously been the domain of...well, of the geek.
We also see ticket exchanges and online organisation of offline socials. In a way, it's taking groups of fans back into a social space which was declining as the car replaced the football special.
Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it.
Don't forget - the twofootedtackle A to Z of Football is a weekly feature, and your contributions would be welcome and appreciated. If you'd like a football term discussed, feel free to leave a comment and I'll look into it.
Posted by Chris Nee
1 comments:
I couldn't agree more on the state of Match of the Day. I have always followed the ritual you mention, but Match of the Day has become so utterly boring that I now only watch MOTD2. And even that's not great.
Post a Comment