RTE GAA analysis-is it time for the younger pundits in view of the Sky Sports threat?

gormdubhgorm

I have noticed that three individuals in particular have raised the standards of analysis on RTE:
Ciaran Whelan, Tomas O’Se and Donal Og Cusack.
They are very impressive and fair in their analysis. They go into plenty of detail while explaining it clearly.
Spillane, Brolly and the likes are ok for a laugh but you cannot take them seriously.
It's Pantomime with them.

Hotale.com

I think Brolly could be great if he took it more seriously, he makes some good points from time to time.

I'm still a fan of Brolly when he takes the piss, but he really shouldn't. Comes across really amateur-like for RTÉ.

ProudDUB

RTE don't care about providing intelligent, educated commentary. They care about ratings. The Trifecta of Stupidity (Brolly, Spillane and to a lesser extent O'Rourke) are ratings gold, whether we like it or not. Love 'em or hate 'em, people tune in to watch their latest rant/fight & its good for ratings. Joe Brollys rant about Sean Cavanagh last year, got people talking (and most importantly tuning in,) in droves. That is what RTE care about mainly.

I'd love seeing the lads that you mentioned getting more air time. But sadly, when push comes to shove, when the really big games are on, it's the old reliables that the Montrose suits will turn to. Yet again. :rolleyes:

corny

I'd only have a problem with Spillane really. He never says anything interesting or insightful and is generally just boring. Brolly is deliberately provocative so he serves his purpose. O' Rourke can be bland too but he's ok.

Whelan and O' Shea are very good but as the man said its a moot point. RTE want ratings and the pissing contest keeps people watching. The likes of Tohill and Dara Ó Cinnéide were passed up before in favour of the trinity.

Same with the soccer. Giles and Dunphy will be wheeled into the studio before RTE let them go.

JeffKenna

ProudDUB wrote: »

RTE don't care about providing intelligent, educated commentary. They care about ratings. The Trifecta of Stupidity (Brolly, Spillane and to a lesser extent O'Rourke) are ratings gold, whether we like it or not. Love 'em or hate 'em, people tune in to watch their latest rant/fight & its good for ratings. Joe Brollys rant about Sean Cavanagh last year, got people talking (and most importantly tuning in,) in droves. That is what RTE care about mainly.

I'd love seeing the lads that you mentioned getting more air time. But sadly, when push comes to shove, when the really big games are on, it's the old reliables that the Montrose suits will turn to. Yet again. :rolleyes:

Very true. Sur I remember reading in Pat Spillane's book that RTE asked them to be more controversial akin to the soccer panel. Says it all really.

Morte

The die hard hurling fans, who would be interested in detailed analysis, will be watching regardless. So that's why the pundits are told to pander to the casual fans.

The newer hurling analysts are a definite improvement though, like Donal Óg. In soccer the likes of Zonalmarking (fantastic site) proved there was a market for serious analysis before Sky made their move with Gary Neville. I'm hoping that the likes of An Moltóir will be the precursors to the mainstream media taking hurling seriously. His stuff was far ahead of anything that's available now still and it really helped you get a feel of what teams were doing well.

randd1

In the hurling, I find that Eddie Brennan and Donal Og are the two sharpest analysts on the Sunday game. I think partly because they're just recently retired and have a better grasp of things as they currently are as a result, and the fact that they played at opposite ends of the field means they have differing views on everything which gives a contrast to the analysis, they make a good double-team. Would put Liam Sheedy up there with those two for as well for honesty and astuteness.

Ger Loughnane is worth keeping as he's liable to say anything, but he's very capable of spotting where things go wrong in the run up to scores as well.

Cyrill Farrell is just Cyrill Farrell, never going to set the world alight but knows his stuff, and its hard not to get behind his obvious passion for the game.

Think Mulcahy and Duignan's time has come and gone to be honest, both are very bland and seem more interested in saying the politically correct thing than calling it as it is at this stage.

davegrohl48

It needs at least one pure analyst who would be even beyond the detail of most players/coaches. Emmet Ryan is the best I'v come across. He'll make a statement but have then a statistic either general about modern Gaelic football or extracted from the game in question to back that up.