The Sunday Game and Championship Sunday has become a pure bore due to some of the panelists on both.
Can you imagine older people in nursing homes and hospitals stating that theyre bored listening to these boys and is it not time that other younger retired footballers were given a chance to change the hum dum of things now,
Having said that O Shea is a welcome face as is Ciaran Whelan. They are none biased and personally I always thought that Kevin Mc Stay is excellent.
Its time to get rid of the rest. Luckily for us living in Ulster we can watch the Ulster championship on BBC and theyre panelists are great.

border Gael (Monaghan) - Posts: 894 - 26/05/2015 21:55:18    1728883

The key is to know when it's not working. Sky did this with their soccer - out with the old fogies there 20 years and in with recently retired players who will analyse the game from all angles not just the ones thay played in.

Tomas O'Se is a realist - he talks about the game as is, not as it should be and he is honest. Joe Brolly makes some great points but he can be withering and he is very divisive, almost like he wants to see his name in the media.

I'd change it all right and recently retired players is probably the way to go.

slayer (Limerick) - Posts: 6480 - 27/05/2015 08:16:59    1728889

"Cake" Curran was too critical of London but he was good overall in his assessment of the other matches. London and NY would be far better off in the Leinster c'ship as they could compete with some of them imo

suckvalleypaddy (Galway) - Posts: 1669 - 27/05/2015 09:48:01    1728912

suckvalleypaddy
County: Galway
Posts: 458

1728912
"Cake" Curran was too critical of London but he was good overall in his assessment of the other matches. London and NY would be far better off in the Leinster c'ship as they could compete with some of them imo

It is possible for London to get to a Connacht final. They would never ever get near to a Leinster Final.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13707 - 27/05/2015 10:16:31    1728921

We need analysts and people who talk sense, not headcases who want to make headlines for their ego and to make their 'profile' bigger. I'll be with BBC and Sky as much as possible this year.

supermon (Monaghan) - Posts: 1073 - 27/05/2015 10:21:07    1728924

Id agree with you slayer, you have to change it up after a period. In the sky sports case, andy gray was still very good at his job, compared to say brolly who in my opinion, isn't. The thing with guys like that, particularly controversial type pundits, they have too many axes to grind over time. Look at dunphy with Ronaldo for example. I mean that personal dislike has dominated about 7 years of punditry. He is talking about him even when he isn't playing. Sooner or later it turns into the ravings of a bitter old man, and who wants to listen to that stuff? New blood comes in with a clean slate, and also an enthusiasm for the role and the game in general, that those lads have lost. Tomas O'Se is nailed on for me. He gets to the crux of an issue very quickly, he doesn't over-complicate things, is very fair and he is quick-witted also. I thought Alan Mulholland was very good too. He is well spoken, is honest, very observant, and I recall brolly trying to talk over him on a show last year with some bs point, and he put him firmly back in his box without batting an eyelid. Another good addition would be Colm Parkinson, and Peter Canavan who is top class, although he can be a little biased when tyrone are involved. Id keep McStay, I think he is a bit like liam brady in the sense that there seems to be a good pundit in there, waiting to come out, but he is stuck talking about what the other lads want to talk about. Whelan deserves a chance too, although he is a bit too serious and reminds me of Kenny Cunningham a bit in that sense.

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 27/05/2015 10:41:32    1728932

border-gael
Luckily for us living in Ulster we can watch the Ulster championship on BBC and theyre panelists are great.
Steady on now. Last week you had Martin McHugh as one of the two analysts for the Donegal-Tyrone game. A man whos most famous contribution on RTE was to call the best footballer in the country a one-trick pony, and who had 2 sons playing in the game he was analysing. Id rather have analysts with a little less biased view of the game comment on it, even if they might have an occasional criticism to make. Other analysts on BBC are McConville, Muggsy and Paddy Bradley, who all do work for RTE as well as far as I know.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 27/05/2015 10:42:24    1728934

MesAmis
It is possible for London to get to a Connacht final. They would never ever get near to a Leinster Final.

It is possible, yes, but very improbable. How many times have they got there? Even then, it was 100% down to the draw they got. Taking the exception as the rule is a bit of a cop out. 'It is possible' they could get to a leinster final also, if a lot of things went their way like they did that year in connacht. But that is a very selectively written statement, the same way yours was. The thing is, they need competitive games and realistic challenges more than final appearances. They would get that in leinster. I know Connacht is low on counties, but as regards developing the team itself, they would probably develop better in leinster.

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 27/05/2015 10:54:04    1728936

Master,i think C Whelan is a good pundit.Similiar to T O Se,he doesnt beat around the bush and gets straight to the point.You say hes too serious like Kenny Cunningham.There not stand-up comedians but the 2 lads love a good laugh in appropriate situations,as opposed to Brolly who will laugh and sneer at inappropriate moments.Brolly has a sharp mind and can be entertaining but has a demeaning,crass,bullying side to him,perfectly illustrated when insulting Marty Morrissey live on air.McStay is the opposite - he could be on the Sunday Game couch for 20 years and never say anything contraversial.A safe pair of hands.A decent man,but not one to stir the emotions.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 27/05/2015 11:06:57    1728941

Martin McHugh isn't a great pundit. He actually has good ability to analyse a game but his problem is he tries to get too much out of his mouth at the one time and ends up cutting short all his sentences and it just ends up sounding like mumbled jibberish.......

Anthony Tohill was a class pundit.

The most insightful punditry I've seen in recent years was when Jim McGuinness and Kieran McGeeney were doing the Mayo - Tyrone semi in 2013 on BBC. Not great if you want entertainment though. Two serious men that you will get no banter out of but their ability to dissect the game and analyse it was brilliant. It really showed McHugh up who was sitting alongside them

HandballRef (Donegal) - Posts: 520 - 27/05/2015 11:18:29    1728949

Master I like Parkinson and he is funny on the radio but he also comes out with some mad stuff and then comeS on air the next evening saying he was wrong and got a little carried away. He admits himself that he can get carried away at times and while he is very good on Newstalk he would end up being another controversial pundit on the TV!

TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 7887 - 27/05/2015 11:18:43    1728950

Sadly the Sunday game follows a pattern for most of RTE'S sport coverage, in which the aim is to be as controversial as possible. Look at RTE'S Rugby and soccer coverage, in which you have Hook and Dunphy there to have controversial opinions. Spillane and Brolly are encouraged to act the way they do. The only panellist that is sensible on the current line up is Colm O'Rourke.

PK57 (Louth) - Posts: 1653 - 27/05/2015 11:34:49    1728961

PK57 - I agree with all your points bar the O'Rourke . Concur overall with the points being made ; I cannot fathom how Pat and Colm are still where they are . They never explain the flow of the game , they're actually incapable of analysing a match .

Soma - I've asked you three times now ; what county are you representing ?

TheRightStuff (Donegal) - Posts: 1688 - 27/05/2015 12:06:23    1728978

27/05/2015 10:41:32
TheMaster
County: Mayo
Posts: 13166

1728932 Id agree with you slayer, you have to change it up after a period. In the sky sports case, andy gray was still very good at his job, compared to say brolly who in my opinion, isn't. The thing with guys like that, particularly controversial type pundits, they have too many axes to grind over time. Look at dunphy with Ronaldo for example. I mean that personal dislike has dominated about 7 years of punditry. He is talking about him even when he isn't playing. Sooner or later it turns into the ravings of a bitter old man, and who wants to listen to that stuff? New blood comes in with a clean slate, and also an enthusiasm for the role and the game in general, that those lads have lost. Tomas O'Se is nailed on for me. He gets to the crux of an issue very quickly, he doesn't over-complicate things, is very fair and he is quick-witted also. I thought Alan Mulholland was very good too. He is well spoken, is honest, very observant, and I recall brolly trying to talk over him on a show last year with some bs point, and he put him firmly back in his box without batting an eyelid. Another good addition would be Colm Parkinson, and Peter Canavan who is top class, although he can be a little biased when tyrone are involved. Id keep McStay, I think he is a bit like liam brady in the sense that there seems to be a good pundit in there, waiting to come out, but he is stuck talking about what the other lads want to talk about. Whelan deserves a chance too, although he is a bit too serious and reminds me of Kenny Cunningham a bit in that sense.

Parkinson would be perfect for Sunday game along with Ciaran Whelan and Tomas OSe. Would like to see Padrtiag Joyce or Philip Jordan too Kevin McStay and maybe Colm O'Rourke are only pundits worth keeping. Time to rid of Spillane, Brolly and Martin Carney

HughHunt24 (Cork) - Posts: 841 - 27/05/2015 12:16:40    1728987

TheRightStuff, I excluded O'Rourke because he states his own opinion, and there is no hidden agenda behind it. Id settle for Brolly being removed from the panel to start with. He is comical at this stage, there is zero attempt at analysing games, just sniping at who he can. The weekend gone by it was Marty Morrisey, and Cavan football, and it will be someone else soon enough.

PK57 (Louth) - Posts: 1653 - 27/05/2015 12:42:38    1729021

Pat Spillane is so out of touch with the modern game it's unreal that he is still an analyst. Brolly is a very good analyst but in recent years has got carried away with the 'plight of football' and just keeps rehashing the same old stuff every week. He has decided that he hates Cavan and can't even admit that they played some great football at the weekend. The RTE pundits spend very little time analyzing the games. Tomas O'Se is excellent, Oisin McConville on the BBC is very good.

JimTheLegend (Donegal) - Posts: 247 - 27/05/2015 12:48:35    1729028

TheRightStuff I am sure there is a good reason you are asking but I cant think what it would be - surely you either agree with the points I make or disagree, where I am from should have no bearing on that. Maybe it does though and that's why some people think Martin McHugh is a great pundit? In any case as I have said on here before I am in Lancashire and have been for many years. It means I football with and against lads from all parts of Ireland, its great for getting a better perspective on different approaches to the game from the different parts of Ireland. You quickly learn that lads from different areas put their main focus on differing parts of the game, which is why I am happy to see pundits from the various provinces on the Sunday Game rather than the very narrow focus you get on BBC.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 27/05/2015 12:58:58    1729036

The Good -
Tomas, Wheelo, McStay, Tony Davis, Spillane
The Bad -
McHugh, Curran Cake,
The Ugly -
Brolly!

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 27/05/2015 15:47:52    1729159

Tony Davis?Haha you must be joking.He was dreadful.I remember one time he completely went blank after being asked a routine question.Ten seconds of embarrasing silence before Des Cahill belatedly stepped in to save further ridicule.Car crash tv.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 27/05/2015 15:59:56    1729164

Get rid of brolly and his northern bias the rest i can take our leave,i know spillane isnt everyones cup of tea but i like pat i think he is a good pundit

blackrockeddie (Cork) - Posts: 160 - 27/05/2015 16:03:59    1729167