Paul Merson (centre) regaled viewers with the story of how he almost bought a Ferrari while discussing Lewis Hamilton's big move. Photo: Sky Sports
Most sports broadcasters will tell you that the big moments happen and the real challenge is filling the time when things are quiet. So to Schrödinger's deadline, the closing of a window that posed a philosophical question: If we can't see evidence of big-money blockbusters, is it all alive or dead?
In the imperial phase of Sky Sports News, any doubts were dispelled by self-perpetuating bombast. Now that the rules of profit and sustainability have experienced a breakthrough season, volumes have been reduced. Cricket, golf and darts took over sections of the multi-storey news feed at 8am on a Thursday, something that simply wouldn't have happened during the Jim White years. There are no yellow ties in sight, in fact, every time I caught Sky Sports News last week at least one of the panellists was wearing a beige shirt. Outfits for difficult times.
The composition of experts has changed: from predominantly former professionals to a younger composition. Half of them were promoted through the Isleworth ranks, half made their own name on YouTube and brought with them tens of thousands of potential new Sky Sports subscribers, sorry, followers. It's not all bad news. Dan Bardell combines both categories, working behind the scenes at Sky for 17 years while building an audience for his Aston Villa YouTube channel. He seemed to be surprisingly knowledgeable about every Premier League team and said everything in a pleasant Brummie tone.
"They can be very active today"
Dan Bardell and Harriet Prior at the West Ham match ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/Yobv9oLEcj
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 1, 2024
He is unusual in the current cohort in that he does not support one of the biggest teams; other members who had made a name for themselves online clearly had the easiest time discussing their specialty club. When forced to think about, for example, West Ham's Pablo Fornals, they became platitudes.
The composition was diverse, but the discussions were monotonous. Well researched, but superficial, undeniable and completely lifeless. Any fun that came from the boys who flocked in the age of reporters was lost, turning the day into a long path of repetitive conversations. This may be partly intentional. It was pleasant background television, chatter like one of those wildly successful podcasts that comes out four times a week and never seems to take a break.
“Anything can happen on deadline day,” repeated one anchor, reporter and panelist after another, clinging to that truth like a comfort blanket. “I feel like I've broken a record here,” said a despondent Keith Downey against the backdrop of St James' Park, explaining Newcastle's financial constraints for the first of about 58 times. «BREAKING NEWS» screamed the news ticker during one of the breaks. Carry on… Celtic may struggle to land the Dutch defender behind the line on loan. The Trade Descriptions Act 1968 cried out in pain.
By 11 o'clock in the morning there was a problem. The biggest transfer story of the time had surfaced, and it had nothing to do with football. Lewis Hamilton was going to Ferrari. At least it gave Sky Sports News something interesting, but rather undermined the idea that this day in the sports calendar still had anything to offer.
Paul Merson survived the bonfire of former players and received a memo about a subdued everyday wardrobe. Unfortunately, he, Davids Prutton and Garrido were dressed mostly in black, perhaps mourning that Dutch lad's failed loan spell at Celtic. Presenter Mike Wedderburn did an impersonation of Harry Redknapp speaking from a car window during what seemed like every commercial break. Some of his current colleagues will probably need clarification on this reference.
The best non-Hamiltonian Lenten story involves Armando Broja. Gary Cotterill was the lucky reporter who was stationed outside Fulham's training ground and explained at half-hour intervals that Brocha lived quite close to Cobham so it wouldn't take him long to get to Fulham's equivalent. Wedderburn asked if he really saw Brocha arrive? “We saw silhouettes of several people in the back seat of a darkened passenger van,” Cotterill confirmed. A day well spent.
In the final stretch the jury was again made up entirely of former players, but the focus was more on the evening's games than on Sheffield United's move to Mason Holgate. As the last hundredths of a second ticked down on the timer, we reached 11:00 pm and there was nothing else of note except for a report from Merseyside that Dwight McNeill had picked up a new bed for his dog.
On On the fringes of Sky Sports News there has been cautious debate about whether current spending rules are fair. They, of course, do not help to fade the spectacle of the deadline.
Свежие комментарии