Football 22/23

[Onelife]

Sunderland were a big club in L1 but one with only miniscule TV proceeds, Bournemouth however are a small club who get millions from Sky et al ... size isn't everything, ask OL

Yes’ Mob, I was expecting six inches but woke up to an inch…everything back to normal

[Onelife]

What’s this with the BBC suspending Lineker? …they should have sacked the ignorant twerp.

For once we are in agreement OL, this is a golden opportunity for the Beeb to get rid of quite a forrest of deadwood. Shearer and Wright are also well past their sell by date, and if I put my mind to it I am sure there are many others that the public would not miss, and their replacements could start on the bottom salary rung and save the Beeb from having to increase the TV license for another year.

I hate to disagree with you John but I can recall many a times where we have agreed with each other…as with your post this morning

[Mervyn and Trish]

Well I reckon MotD should be a better programme tonight. More actual football, less pundits pontificating!

[Ray B]

If they go no loss. Can't stand them prattle on about how their favorites played and how results could have been different if so and so came on. I know some lap it up, but I have better things to do. It's the same on all channels.

[Onelife]

What’s this with the BBC suspending Lineker? …they should have sacked the ignorant twerp.

Technically the BBC cannot "sack" him as he is not employed by the BBC - he is a freelancer with a very overpriced fee.

Technically you are right, they can however terminate the use of his services if he is in breach of certain clauses within their agreement.

[oldbluefox]

Personally I would be quite happy if they got rid of Lineker, Shearer and Wright and all other pundits with their senseless expert babble so we could enjoy more football action. I see them merely as overpaid time fillers who are unnecessary.
I am also becoming tired with footballers in general trying to force their ideals onto the rest of us. I am not interested in what their latest social cause is, I just want them to get on with the job they are paid so handsomely to do. Taking the knee, feeding school children, diversity, gay rights issues, political comment etc are a distraction from what they are paid for.
I am actually rather looking forward to MOTD tonight and I hope the BBC stand firm.

[barney]

I’m probably in a very small minority but on the rare occasions that I watch Premier League football, I always record it and fast forward through the pfaff.
I don’t really need to watch football then someone explain what I’ve just watched.

[Manoverboard]

MOTD is reported as being on air tonight but without the babble from pundits, players and managers. To be on the safe side I have set to record the SKY highlights of all the games bar B'mouth vs L'Pool cos they are on BT Sport.

ps ... on the subject of managers see if you know which Prem and Championship Clubs are managed by ex Watford players or managers

[allatc]

Beeb saves £1.3m/yr.+ Sounds good to me

[Mervyn and Trish]

They could spend it cancelling the planned cuts to Local Radio. Win win.

[oldbluefox]

Well, I watched MOTD yesterday which was only 20 minutes long which shows how much time is devoted to senseless drivel. Gone were the pundits Lineker, Wright and Shearer, gone were the after match interviews and gone was the in-game commentary. The only bit I missed was the commentary which I do find informative and adds to the programme.
As for the rest I would be very happy for the BBC to scrap them in favour of having extended highlights.

As for my team which rolled over and allowed Chelsea to dominate....no comment. We had good chances again and failed to convert them. Can't win games if you can't put the ball in the net. We're going to only one place with this manager and that's the Championship.
Looking on the bright side we did manage to pass the ball around the back four beautifully but were so slow in possession it allowed Chelsea time to get their formation straight and nullify any threat.

[Ray B]

It looks like, if we were (on today's posts) replicated across the country the pundits are a waste of time. The BBC would be quids in.
I agree the commentary is an asset during the game.

[oldbluefox]

Hats off to Sadio Mane who donates vast amounts of his money to his home village in Senegal.
It includes £455,000 to build a hospital, £250,000 to build a secondary school and provide laptops, donations of $400 each to the best performing students. He has also helped to build a petrol station and post office and gives money to each of the families for them to afford internet connectivity. Now that's what I call helping those who cannot help themselves, putting your money where your mouth is.

In the same vein Palace's Zaha commits a percentage of his earnings to charity, and I feel sure there will be other players who also quietly play their part in charity giving.
They have my respect but Lineker getting himself involved in party politics doesn't. I won't be sorry to see him and his followers go and I hope the BBC do not cave in.

[Mervyn and Trish]

I suspect they will try to find a compromise/fudge to keep him. At best I think it was naive of him to post what he did to 8m followers and not realise it would be pounced on. At worst, given the seemingly coordinated left wing response, I wonder if the whole thing was contrived to challenge BBC policy and embarrass the government. Either way, as a non fan, reducing footie to a 20 min slot and saving over a million quid seems win win for me!

[Manoverboard]

If GL wishes to state his opinion on any topic of his choosing I have to ask why the BBC think they should have any control over it, that would be restricting his freedom of speech ... I would however agree that he could not pontificate when doing his bit during BBC air time.

[towny44]

If GL wishes to state his opinion on any topic of his choosing I have to ask why the BBC think they should have any control over it, that would be restricting his freedom of speech ... I would however agree that he could not pontificate when doing his bit during BBC air time.

I think the main problem with his tweet is the comparison he draws with Germany in the 1930s. If he had limited his comments to the unfairness of the proposed changes, when there is an insufficient legal alternative, that would probably have been OK.

[Manoverboard]

If GL wishes to state his opinion on any topic of his choosing I have to ask why the BBC think they should have any control over it, that would be restricting his freedom of speech ... I would however agree that he could not pontificate when doing his bit during BBC air time.

I think the main problem with his tweet is the comparison he draws with Germany in the 1930s. If he had limited his comments to the unfairness of the proposed changes, when there is an insufficient legal alternative, that would probably have been OK.

He cannot be sanctioned, imho, by the BBC for making any statement on his own Twitter account however outrageous it may be to others. It is up to the Twitterettes to debate the point and deffo not for the BBC to adopt the high ground and try to make an example of him.

[Onelife]

It is ironic that Lineker should have voiced his opinions about the illegal immigrants entering the UK and yet he was more than happy to pocket the financial rewards that went along with that of what the Qatar World Cup afforded him, this was despite thousands of immigrant workers suffering death and dreadful living/working conditions during the construction of this venue.

[oldbluefox]

Excellent point OL. You're absolutely right.

[david63]

He cannot be sanctioned, imho, by the BBC for making any statement on his own Twitter account however outrageous it may be to others

He can if it breaks the BBC rules of impartiality.

I don't know if anyone else has seen it but there is a trailer on the BBC News channel where he states "if I have even 1% doubt about a tweet I will not press the send button" (or words to that effect). If that is true then he knew exactly what he was doing.

[Manoverboard]

He cannot be sanctioned, imho, by the BBC for making any statement on his own Twitter account however outrageous it may be to others

He can if it breaks the BBC rules of impartiality.

As he is not a direct employee of the BBC it may be the case that such rules do not apply to him, unless of course it is written into his contract.

[Mervyn and Trish]

The BBC rules and guidelines were broadened to include all employees, whether staff or freelance, when Tim Davie became DG in 2020, so it does cover him. And he has apparently been reminded of that over a previous breech.

In the meantime according to BBC news MotD audience was apparently up by 25% last night. Maybe Lineker is not as popular as he thinks.

[Stephen]

I’m no expert but feel there are three ways this could go.

The BBC and Lineker get back together and normal service is resumed, or Lineker either gets dumped permanently by the BBC or decides himself to go elsewhere, for probably even more money.


Personally I really couldn’t care less as football doesn’t interest me one bit.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Tonight's story is they're close to resolving things. I presume the lefties will now be claiming that's under government orders too.

[allatc]

If Linekar didn’t have a high profile due to his appearances on BBC no-one would have heard or cared what he tweeted.