The Sunday Game

[macdanger2]

Cian Ward and Anthony Moyles are two of the best analysts around.
Wouldn't suit the soundbite-driven style of TSG though.

They only sound good cos they're on newstalk with Brady

[omaghjoe]

So true on O Se. Terrible.

Cliché city,

"Look Michael, I suppose",
"I remember the day we played them ten years ago"

ZZZZZZZZZZZ, Please go away.

Yeah and Daragh is nothing but wall to wall stories about Paudi. Nothing personal against Marc & he does bring recent experience of playing the Dubs to the table, but does the planet really need yet another O'Se brother doing pundity? I wasn't a bit surprised to see him pop up in Eir Sports during the league, but it would be nice to see someone from other counties than Kerry (in particular) getting all the punditry gigs. There is too much shadow box going on with that crowd, as they all have an eye on potential meetings in August and September. How about just analysing the bloody game that is on in front of you, on its own merits, just for bloody once?

Is on now too, did tomas get the boot

[seafoid]

The hurling analysis on TSG is usually decent but the bar is quite low for football. Occasionally there will be something insightful and it always comes as a pleasant surprise.
I think RTE often act as though the viewers are stupid. I wonder who decides on the content and tone on programmes like TSG.

[BennyHarp]

Are the 3 wise men under pressure?

AFTER the recent exits of George Hook and John Giles from their analysts positions at RTÉ, question marks are hanging over the futures of Joe Brolly, Colm O'Rourke and Pat Spillane at Montrose.

John Fogarty writes for the Irish Examiner:

"As box office as his punditry may be, Brolly, 48 next month, has sailed too close to the wind in recent times — the Rachel Wyse comment in 2014 and the Marty Morrisey one in 2015 — and there isn't as much sympathy for him in RTÉ as there once was.

"O'Rourke, 60 in August, would be regarded as the safest pair of hands of all three, but then Giles would have been deemed likewise compared to Liam Brady and Eamon Dunphy.

"Spillane, 62 in December, and the longest standing analyst of the trio, may be a tad worried that the Kerry contingent has now jumped to three from two in the past few years."

He also speculates that Tomas O Se and Ciaran Whelan are moving up to 'senior analyst positions.'

Is this the last we'll see of the Big Three?

"It's not as if any of Brolly, O'Rourke or Spillane have become irrelevant but youth is definitely the policy in Donnybrook these days.

"Might this be the year that the station's top football combination going back to the 2000s is broken up or given a farewell?"

[Jinxy]

They'll replace Spillane with Whelan.
Whelan & Brolly will be the new sparring partners with Colm continuing in the role of senior analyst.
Spillane will move to the evening show.

[Avondhu star]

Its time for a generation change. Get rid of O Rourke and Spillane. Bring in Brian Dooher or Canavan from the north. Gooch is coming in. Jackie Tyrell does a good newspaper column. Bring him in with O hAilpin of Cork and get rid of Farrell

[BennyHarp]

Its time for a generation change. Get rid of O Rourke and Spillane. Bring in Brian Dooher or Canavan from the north. Gooch is coming in. Jackie Tyrell does a good newspaper column. Bring him in with O hAilpin of Cork and get rid of Farrell

Dooher wouldn't strike me as a fella who would excel in the pundit role on TV.

[Jinxy]

Its time for a generation change. Get rid of O Rourke and Spillane. Bring in Brian Dooher or Canavan from the north. Gooch is coming in. Jackie Tyrell does a good newspaper column. Bring him in with O hAilpin of Cork and get rid of Farrell

No.
Just no.

[seafoid]

Its time for a generation change. Get rid of O Rourke and Spillane. Bring in Brian Dooher or Canavan from the north. Gooch is coming in. Jackie Tyrell does a good newspaper column. Bring him in with O hAilpin of Cork and get rid of Farrell

No.
Just no.

Cyril is the keeper of the lookit flame on TSG and he has a better accent than o Hailpin.
JT is KK and so is Shefflin so that would not work.

I would get rid of Spillane.
Colm O Rourke should be a politician. His position on the Cavanagh tackle was notable
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeUi2KR5VaY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lxS7ku5nak

[seafoid]

The thing about TSG is that as an RTE sport  production it requires 3 characters

A younger opinionated person
A straight guy
A bollocks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo1y3Ejr71s

Because it's equal parts sport and entertainment
So if they got rid of Spillane who would be #3 ?

[DJGaliv]

I think people are mistakenly thinking that these guys don't have the football knowledge or the skills to communicate it. I honestly believe they've been asked to dumb it down for the viewer.

Óisin McConville is very good, Tomás Ó Sé was very good initially, and I do like Whelan as a pundit. Don't be afraid to disagree lads.

I just feel that on TSG it's like they've their hands tied behind their back rather than their knowledge or communication skills being lacking

I don't know what ye think but I'd give Colm Parkinson a role on the show. The GAA Hour podcast is decent and you'd get more insight there into intercounty football than a season of TSG.

Might be a bit off the wall suggestion, but why is so much put on how many All Ireland's each analyst has rather than getting in someone who'll lift the lid a wee bit on what intercounty set ups are like?

[Fuzzman]

RTE know that Brolly is controversial and makes good TV. They all love him to bits including Marty M as he has them in stitches every day.

Didn't Brian McGuigan and Phillip Jordan make a few appearances last year.

[Seany]

I agree about Colm Parkinson.  He and Cian Ward are the best in my opinion.  The SG panellists are dead on, but they suffer from a lack of time to do any sort of development in their analysis because of the upcoming commercial breaks all the time.  Therefore, you get a comment, a break and then a bit of analysis over some shots of the game.  And then it's over.

All new panellists have the same refreshing tone at the beginning, but then people get sick of them and the reason is simple lads.

There are about twenty comments you can make about any match as follows;
  Backs on top, forwards on top, referee poor, lack of changes made, good subs bench made the difference, tradition counted today, blanket defence worked well for this team, wastefulness in front of goal cost them dearly, a game of two halves, the wet ball made a difference, a list of injuries which affected the starting line out, a marquee player who didn't perform, the winning team had greater resources, the championship structures are wrong, complacency cost the losers greatly, it was all about pace and power today, the half forward line failed to click, the midfield won the match and here's how, it was the sendings off/black card that lost the game, they won because they pressed up on the short kickouts, the losing team never scored from the 36th until the 62nd minute, or similar stat. etc etc etc.

After that, it's a comment on the back of the drivel the manager speaks and its off to that James Last tune which is so out of date...

[Minder]

Its time for a generation change. Get rid of O Rourke and Spillane. Bring in Brian Dooher or Canavan from the north. Gooch is coming in. Jackie Tyrell does a good newspaper column. Bring him in with O hAilpin of Cork and get rid of Farrell

I think Sean Og would be terrible

[Jinxy]

I'd go as far as to say that Tomás O'Sé is near enough my least favourite analyst now.
Started off well, then realised he could get away with phoning it in.
I'd far rather have someone like Paul Galvin on the panel (if we have to have a Kerry man).