Off The Ball Official Thread <Mod Note - Post #1, #533, #6651>

tunguska

Very late to the scene here lads so apologies in advance for asking questions that have already been answered. I've been listening to off the ball the past few weeks and I thought the lads had just gone on holiday or something like that. Shocked to hear that Eoin, Ken et al have in fact resinged. No disrespect to Ger but jaysus the show is brutal without the lads. Last night they had stephen hunt on the blower and it was a desperate interview, in every sense of the word.
Any news on Eoin, ken and the other lads who resigned getting another gig somewhere else? Cant listen to that other nonsense even one more night.....

ballsymchugh

GSF wrote: »

Nobody is forced to read the Herald either!

i googled the article after reading that post. i feel dirty now.

Profiler

styron wrote: »

WRONG - A simple check on Wikipedia would reveal there have been three: Alex Craig, Alex Stevenson and James Macauley.

You're crying obvious crocodile tears over ROI players not playing for a "sordid" team you despise - faking hurt and a ludicrous sense of injustice in the process. If a Republic of Ireland international transferred to Rangers, he would immediately be disqualified as a traitor unworthy of the green jersey in your eyes. The only thing you find marginally less offensive and inconceivable is that anyone from the ROI (like Sadlier) would actually support Rangers!

Nothing what so ever wrong with anyone from any country and any religious background supporting rangers.

Everything wrong with a club refusing to sign players because of their religion or because they come from the Republic of Ireland.

You appear unaware that former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr was a rangers fan as a boy and all I will say about him is I will always love Kerr for what he did with the underage teams for Ireland, just a shame he could repeat that success with the senior side, BUT anyway I digress.

Maybe you should have read up before you listed the three players you listed, bearing in mind you suggest that I should have fact checked.

Alex Craig played for Rangers on two separate occasions first between 1904 and 1911 and then again between 1914 and 1916

Alex Stevenson played for Rangers between 1932 and 1934

James Macauley played for Rangers in 1910.

So bearing in mind the Republic of Ireland was formed in 1937 (when the free state constitution was adopted) you clearly don't know what you are talking about.

Now, care to offer me an apology for calling me a bigot?

ballsymchugh

Profiler wrote: »

any chance yiz can take this to PM??

Profiler

ballsymchugh wrote: »

any chance yiz can take this to PM??

It's fine, I'm done the the thread now.

Final note - good luck to the OTB 5, not easy to find work at this time in this economy, may they go on to bigger and better things than their Newstalk show gave them.

Ol' Donie

tunguska wrote: »

Very late to the scene here lads so apologies in advance for asking questions that have already been answered. I've been listening to off the ball the past few weeks and I thought the lads had just gone on holiday or something like that. Shocked to hear that Eoin, Ken et al have in fact resinged. No disrespect to Ger but jaysus the show is brutal without the lads. Last night they had stephen hunt on the blower and it was a desperate interview, in every sense of the word.
Any news on Eoin, ken and the other lads who resigned getting another gig somewhere else? Cant listen to that other nonsense even one more night.....

The lads resigned en masse because they wanted to start the show earlier. They had been in discussions with management for 18 months, and finally gave the station an ultimatum. Apparently they wanted to do that in January, but were talked out of it. It seems last weekend Denis O'Brien talked to McDevitt, and no compromise was reached. He then told them the station didnt want them to work their notice.
McDevitt is on gardening leave for 12 weeks, the others 4 weeks, of which one and a half are now over.
One big thing that was missing from the Newstalk statement was that the lads wanted to bring some current affairs into the show.
Ger Gilroy has been presenting the show since.
Today the lads announced on twitter that they would be back on the air soon. Nova and 4fm are reportedly in negotiations with them. So we (at least those of us in Dublin) can relax a bit. Thanks be to Jaysus.

I think that's about it.

Ol' Donie

marno21 wrote: »

I'd be very surprised if they went to Nova because it's such a small market, the station has very few listeners and the show wouldn't really fit in with the "classic rock" genre.

I know what you mean, but i have to say, Ken Early's Classic Rock Show at nine would have to be brilliant. Wouldn't it? :-)

GSF

marno21 wrote: »

If they join 4FM and are put on Breakfast/Drive then 4FM will have 3 talk based shows (alongside David Harvey and Niall Boylan). If they do end up going to 4FM I can see one of those shows getting the chop

I'd be very surprised if they went to Nova because it's such a small market, the station has very few listeners and the show wouldn't really fit in with the "classic rock" genre.

Still skeptical about the economics of any show on 4fm or Nova. Anything outside breakfast would be need to deliver much higher ratings than the current single presenter music format to be viable

starviewadams

Thought Gilroy's interview with Stephen Hunt last night was pretty good in fairness.

It's the wooden personalities of the two other lads that are making the show a chore to listen to.

Could really do with Sadlier hosting the 9-10 football show,though maybe he's waiting to see what happens to McDevitt and the lads.

soc160

GSF wrote: »

Still skeptical about the economics of any show on 4fm or Nova. Anything outside breakfast would be need to deliver much higher ratings than the current single presenter music format to be viable

Ye, I can't understand this at all. Some people ridiculed them for wanting to move into primetime saying it wouldn't work, mainly because of the economics of the situation. Moving to Breakfast or onto a music based station is just down right ridiculous, the advertising would obviously cover their pay but how would they fit in as current affairs/music presenters.

None of them are actually DJ's so it would be a strange fit.

Strongbow10

starviewadams wrote: »

Thought Gilroy's interview with Stephen Hunt last night was pretty good in fairness.

It's the wooden personalities of the two other lads that are making the show a chore to listen to.

Could really do with Sadlier hosting the 9-10 football show,though maybe he's waiting to see what happens to McDevitt and the lads.

I don't mind Gilroy at all to be honest, he does the job.

Giving Sadlier a nightly spot in place of Ken Early could be a stroke of genius and could prove to be an improvement on the previous regime in my opinion.

Early was a marmite type character, for everyone that loved him there was one who couldn't listen to him in my opinion.

Massive step down if they end up on 4FM or the like in fairness.

Loafing Oaf

Ol' Donie wrote: »

I know what you mean, but i have to say, Ken Early's Classic Rock Show at nine would have to be brilliant. Wouldn't it? :-)

Every second track could be Ken's Karaoke!

yosser hughes

Strongbow10 wrote: »

I don't mind Gilroy at all to be honest, he does the job.

Giving Sadlier a nightly spot in place of Ken Early could be a stroke of genius and could prove to be an improvement on the previous regime in my opinion.

Early was a marmite type character, for everyone that loved him there was one who couldn't listen to him in my opinion.

Massive step down if they end up on 4FM or the like in fairness.

I cannot for the life of me understand the popularity of Sadlier. he has a whining tone of voice and to be honest I thought he was exposed a few times on the RTE TV panel bt Brady. Likes saying the populist thing I suppose,which will always go down well generally.
Off The Ball is fine with Gilroy. In fact I was disappointed when he left the show originally. Perhaps he needs a few sidekicks, but it woudln't bother me if he didn't have them. Dave McIntyre though is annoying.

Strongbow10

yosser hughes wrote: »

I cannot for the life of me understand the popularity of Sadlier. he has a whining tone of voice and to be honest he was exposed a few times on the RTE TV panel I thought. Likes saying the populist thing I suppose,which will always go down well generally.
Off The Ball is fine with Gilroy. In fact I was disappointed when he left the show originally.

Not a huge fan of Sadlier, but i'd listen to him over Ken Earley

Out of interest, what time was he exposed on the RTE panel?

I seem to remember him putting it up to Liam Brady about Trap, to which Brady's response was that it was up to the players to tell Trap how they would like to play or some other guff to that extent

yosser hughes

Strongbow10 wrote: »

Not a huge fan of Sadlier, but i'd listen to him over Ken Earley

Out of interest, what time was he exposed on the RTE panel?

I seem to remember him putting it up to Liam Brady about Trap, to which Brady's response was that it was up to the players to tell Trap how they would like to play or some other guff to that extent

Well I just though he seemed to back down when Brady had a go. I'm no fan of Brady,don't get me wrong, but Sadlier didn't seem to have the courage of his convictions. Anyway I think a lot of soccer punditry is pure guff tbh.
by the way,what does Sadlier do these days?Apart from being a pundit? Is he still involved with Pat's?

Aidric

yosser hughes wrote: »

by the way,what does Sadlier do these days?

Looks after Frank.

The Guardian

i havent listened to more than 15 mins of the show since the change of presenters
i dont really like gilroy, tries too hard to be the smart ass
rarely comes off
the other presenters are grand, innoffensive really. bout the same as murphy and hick when hes on

i've said it on a few occasions recently that the old otb had gone a little stale
hopefully the lads get a timeslot as per before - 7 to 10 is perfect
personally i'd still stick with drivetime up to 7, and i'm no news / current affairs nerd
would be good to see big mcdev etc go head-to-head with newstalk sports
could / should bring out the best on all

withless

Ger is making hard work of it at the moment but he grew it in to something before and he can in time again.

The guys will need a female voice for the new show ala Robin from Howard Stern, who will get the gig?

wnolan1992

withless wrote: »

Ger is making hard work of it at the moment but he grew it in to something before and he can in time again.

The guys will need a female voice for the new show ala Robin from Howard Stern, who will get the gig?

*shudder*... I hear Fiona Looney's looking for work since Ballbusters ended... *shudder*

Red Crow

Strongbow10 wrote: »

I don't mind Gilroy at all to be honest, he does the job.

Giving Sadlier a nightly spot in place of Ken Early could be a stroke of genius and could prove to be an improvement on the previous regime in my opinion.

Early was a marmite type character, for everyone that loved him there was one who couldn't listen to him in my opinion.

Massive step down if they end up on 4FM or the like in fairness.

I agree that it's a massive step down and I think the lads have made a huge mistake. Newstalk is the platform it worked on. I don't think they will replicate it again on another platform with the freedom they had. I can only assume a dent in their pride might be the best course to take here as anything that's not at the fore of national radio is a step backwards. I think Newstalk and The OTB crew should look to make a deal work and I think a Saturday show was a fair compromise.

themont85

Eli Manning wrote: »

I agree that it's a massive step down and I think the lads have made a huge mistake. Newstalk is the platform it worked on. I don't think they will replicate it again on another platform with the freedom they had. I can only assume a dent in their pride might be the best course to take here as anything that's not at the fore of national radio is a step backwards. I think Newstalk and The OTB crew should look to make a deal work and I think a Saturday show was a fair compromise.

It isn't a step back. Ray Foley recently went from TFM to 98fm to get to drivetime breakfast. These lads were the top of the pile in a timeslot for a while and weren't getting rewarded for that (career wise through a better slot and financially because of NT's policy).

InchicoreDude

themont85 wrote: »

financially because of NT's policy).

What is Newstalk financial policy??? Were these guys not well paid?

ballsymchugh

themont85 wrote: »

It isn't a step back. Ray Foley recently went from TFM to 98fm to get to drivetime breakfast. These lads were the top of the pile in a timeslot for a while and weren't getting rewarded for that (career wise through a better slot and financially because of NT's policy).

ray foley took a huge step back also. 98fm is another communicorp station so while his pay may not have suffered, his exposure surely has. noone outside dublin is listening to 98fm in the morning.

themont85

ballsymchugh wrote: »

ray foley took a huge step back also. 98fm is another communicorp station so while his pay may not have suffered, his exposure surely has. noone outside dublin is listening to 98fm in the morning.

No his pay probably went up seeing as he went to drivetime breakfast.

The two best slots in general are breakfast and 4.30-7.

ballsymchugh

themont85 wrote: »

No his pay probably went up seeing as he went to drivetime breakfast.

The two best slots in general are breakfast and 4.30-7.

yeah, his pay may not have suffered. but now to anyone outside dublin, he's just the annoying pointy fella from tv3 on friday nights.

themont85

ballsymchugh wrote: »

yeah, his pay may not have suffered. but now to anyone outside dublin, he's just the annoying pointy fella from tv3 on friday nights.

Yea I'm sure they've all forgotten.

Cienciano

themont85 wrote: »

Yea I'm sure they've all forgotten.

If they're lucky they have

Utopia Parkway

The Guardian wrote: »

the other presenters are grand, innoffensive really. bout the same as murphy and hick when hes on

Nah, Murph was quite witty in fairness and was a big part of the show even though he played up the "up from the country" image. Hick wasn't really on air all that much to be honest. Just when he did the odd rugby interview.

Gilroy's current henchmen don't exhibit any personality whatsoever. Gilroy himself isn't too bad although his ability to ask long rambling questions is only bettered by Garth Crooks. He has no back up on the show though.

Straight Outta Ganton

A regular football show in Ireland is still a good thing and to me, the guests are more important than the presenters. Graham Hunter and Tim Vickery are people I love listening to. I take it the football show is still on at 9? If so, what's the problem with Ken leaving? His sexual voice, maybe

dvcireland

probably off topic

but I would have to say my favourite OTB piece, was the first interview thay did with US sports journalist Jerry Izenberg.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Izenberg

Quote (speaking about the famous boxing Kronk Gym:

".....its windows had'nt been cleaned since Cain fought Abel....."