The boys were sly enough setting up their @secondcaptains twitter account for the show rather than using the off the ball name, they must have seen this coming.
Off the Ball crew have upped their game in past few months, think Parky, Brady and Gizzy are working, Gilroy a great interviewer (if a bit long winded with his Qs), whereas the 2nd capt crew have gone further up their own holes. Earley is one enormous pain in the hole.
Agreed. McDevitt was the only one worth keeping.
Disagree. Gizzy is head and shoulders above the other two. The matesy shtich is sickening and makes me turn it off whereas the other lads got away with that. Also, they’re way too gaa orientated and this will show when gas disappears midseptember. The football show is poor at present.
Brady… dont make me laugh. This lad has no interest in radio… its only a stepping stone to tv where he can be seen. he needs to be seen.
Ya, you might be right re GAA / footie coverage, but the pseudo comedy bullshit that 2nd captains go in for is cringe inducing. Again, Earley almost unlisteneable to at this stage, shove your faux mid Atlantic accent up your hole
Simon Hick top notch on the rugby too. Knows far more about the game than hook/popey/frankie etc etc combined
Where did yer man Joe Molloy come from? Was he always there? He is a v good addition
I always thought Diarmuid Lyng was good on the panel discussions on the Saturday Sports show and I agree that he is far superior to the others. I can’t listen to Colm Parkinson at all. He might be saying something genius but his voice puts me off.
I like Ger Gilroy, I like that he is earnest and I had actually thought he and Eoin McDevitt were the same person for ages and I like him too.
I haven’t bothered to download any of the podcasts from the second captains lot, are they worth if?
I don’t care about football so would never have listened to that part anyway but as most people do that could be a problem for them.
I can´t listen to Lyng…he may be good but his accent is rotten…i think i gave a bottle a milk and tin of beans to the last fella who i heard talk like that…
Lyng has been a terrific addition. The show has settled into a decent rhythm over the last few months and their GAA coverage has if anything improved from what it was. Early’s loss is still badly felt, the others have proved replaceable.
Second Captains can be good (interesting interview with Sean Kelly on Tuesday) but is very much an afterthought if you listen at all - ie I only remembered to listen to Tuesday’s edition late last night. Podcasts are the twilight zone of broadcasting. The humour also seems more forced when it’s recorded and without live listener feedback.
Not sure what you mean kp. I didn’t mention Brady.
[quote=“dancarter, post: 821429, member: 122”]Simon Hick top notch on the rugby too. Knows far more about the game than hook/popey/frankie etc etc combined
Where did yer man Joe Molloy come from? Was he always there? He is a v good addition[/quote]
He was a producer. He’s good alright.
I agree that the soccer bit isn’t great now with the likes of Daniel McDonnell but Ken Early was really beginning to grate. Hopefully they don’t get John Giles back on a Thursday. They really seemed to be stuck with him last year struggling to come up with questions to keep the half hour slot going.
Lyng is a great addition alright. Seems to have a different mindset to the average ex sports star and often comes up with unexpected, more interesting outlooks. Isn’t he a primary school teacher. Will he be double-jobbing? The guy I miss more than the others is the American Murph guy. Loved his enthusiasm for sports I wouldn’t really pay much attention to.
The podcasts are hit and miss. I reckon I, like most posters here, would be typical of their target audience and I only get around to downloading one every few weeks. I agree that they sound more forced but there can be some very good interviews.
Spot on about Earley.
I’d much prefer McDevitt over Gilroy though. McDevitt is excellent in my view.
McDevitt was the biggest loss. The other lads will disappear into obscurity.
[quote=“corner back, post: 821472, member: 1572”]He was a producer. He’s good alright.
[/quote]
Molloy is from Kildare, he was a researcher, think he started off on The Right Hook but was gradually moved into sports broadcasting a couple of years back.
Michael McCarthy is the producer now. He’s from Swords but his family are from Clonlara I think , definitely Clare anyway.
As Sid has said, the GAA coverage is vastly improved under the new line-up. It has actually highlighted just how little McDevitt in particular knew about GAA, especially hurling.
Good discussion on this thread. Have enjoyed listening to Off The Ball over the summer, as said the GAA coverage has been pretty good. Their live match commentary has also been very decent.
Been listening to Second Captains @ the IT for the last few weeks.
Hurling coverage - bloody awful, I could have done a better job. Nicky English :rolleyes: Its like they comment on the same game week in week out, the same shite over and over again, despite it being one of the best championships in years. Just nothing new. I can’t stand fucking Nicky English.
Football -Not bad, McConville is deadly
Soccerball - Bloody awful. The soccer show is terrible, incredibly tedious, something like what I imagine a night out with @Rudi would be like.
Earley is terrible. The initial humour of the Pierce Brosnan shout out died a quick death. There are some interesting interviews from time to time, such as the Kelly one last week and the general cycling coverage hasn’t been bad.
I’ve never listened to Off The Ball, should I start?
[quote=“Fitzy, post: 822316, member: 236”]
Soccerball - Bloody awful. The soccer show is terrible, incredibly tedious, something like what I imagine a night out with @Rudi would be like.[/quote]