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

Jayesdiem · 18-01-2018 08:30AM

Lads*, I don't do social media but is the feeling on twitter etc similar to what it is here? I seriously doubt that OTB know/care about what's written here but I wonder how they feel about contrasting views that are put directly to the on social media. As is their liberal agenda, are they accepting of diverging opinions or only those that conform to their mode of thinking?

*Did I offend anyone with that exclusive term?

Conservative · 18-01-2018 11:51AM

Judging by the texts Joe read out it didn't sound like they got a single one in support of their stance on Grobler. That didn't stop them going on about it for another 45 mins anyway.

Ger Gilroy is a national embarrassment.

Utopia Parkway · 18-01-2018 01:17PM

Conservative wrote: »

Judging by the texts Joe read out it didn't sound like they got a single one in support of their stance on Grobler. That didn't stop them going on about it for another 45 mins anyway.

Ger Gilroy is a national embarrassment.

Had to laugh at him ambushing Philip Browne yesterday like a latter day Woodward & Bernstein. I'm all for stricter bans for doping offences but in this lad's case he served his time under the current regulations and should be allowed to make a living for himself. Even members of the public that go to prison are allowed to make a living for themselves once they are released.

The constant moralising, social justice crusading and general pomposity of some of the OTB crew is hard to stomach at times. Never seen such a bunch for getting on their respective high horses. You could see yesterday on social media that listeners had had it up to their eyeballs with them. Will be interesting to see if they double down the next day or two or back off a little.

Imhof Tank · 18-01-2018 01:50PM

Terrible thing to say, but Joe seemed positively giddy last night ahead of his piece with Brendan Batson. Supposedly brought on for a talk on Cyrille Regis RIP, all Joe really wanted to talk about was the racism in 70s football angle, tales of woe from a victim so he could tut tut away and stroke his chin some more.

There was so much more to the story of West Brom in that era, the good and the bad. I've heard Batson before on this subject, his views are quite nuanced unlike Joe Molloy's, a lot more could have been teased out with a bit of tact from the interviewer.

Loafing Oaf · 18-01-2018 03:14PM

Conservative wrote: »

Judging by the texts Joe read out it didn't sound like they got a single one in support of their stance on Grobler. That didn't stop them going on about it for another 45 mins anyway.

Ger Gilroy is a national embarrassment.

Next up, a text poll - Who's the bigger villain: 'Doper' Grobler or 'Match Fixer' Grobelaar?
:P

VW 1 · 18-01-2018 04:30PM

Imhof Tank wrote: »

Terrible thing to say, but Joe seemed positively giddy last night ahead of his piece with Brendan Batson. Supposedly brought on for a talk on Cyrille Regis RIP, all Joe really wanted to talk about was the racism in 70s football angle, tales of woe from a victim so he could tut tut away and stroke his chin some more.

There was so much more to the story of West Brom in that era, the good and the bad. I've heard Batson before on this subject, his views are quite nuanced unlike Joe Molloy's, a lot more could have been teased out with a bit of tact from the interviewer.

If it interests you, take a look on the BBC iplayer at the documentary that was on yesterday evening about 'the three degrees'. Excellent watch.

Conservative · 18-01-2018 05:45PM

Imhof Tank wrote: »

Terrible thing to say, but Joe seemed positively giddy last night ahead of his piece with Brendan Batson. Supposedly brought on for a talk on Cyrille Regis RIP, all Joe really wanted to talk about was the racism in 70s football angle, tales of woe from a victim so he could tut tut away and stroke his chin some more.

There was so much more to the story of West Brom in that era, the good and the bad. I've heard Batson before on this subject, his views are quite nuanced unlike Joe Molloy's, a lot more could have been teased out with a bit of tact from the interviewer.

Joe sounded awfully disappointed when Batson said he made up with Ron years ago.

It was supposed to be a tribute to the guests friend and Joe spends 90% of the time going on about 70s racism, "white washing" and how things "haven't aged well".

Imhof Tank · 18-01-2018 05:49PM

VW 1 wrote: »

If it interests you, take a look on the BBC iplayer at the documentary that was on yesterday evening about 'the three degrees'. Excellent watch.

If that was the Adrian Childs one, seen it before.

Another recent Joe special was when discussing the heavy weight division with Andy Lee, and Andy says Tyson Fury is the best of the lot of them. Really irked Joe, he knows Andy is right on, but could not be having that (obvs because of the non PC profile he has)

Really believe Joe and Ger have a little black book of bogeymen at this stage, people like

Fury
Grobler
Ron Atkinson
The Danish cyclist Rasmussen who was on last week was another example

Ol' Donie · 18-01-2018 05:52PM

Imhof Tank wrote: »

If that was the Adrian Childs one, seen it before.

Another recent Joe special was when discussing the heavy weight division with Andy Lee, and Andy says Tyson Fury is the best of the lot of them. Really irked Joe, he knows Andy is right on, but could not be having that (obvs because of the non PC profile he has)

Really believe Joe and Ger have a little black book of bogeymen at this stage, people like

Fury
Grobler
Ron Atkinson
The Danish cyclist Rasmussen who was on last week was another example
Cork hurling fans

Added one there

Imhof Tank · 18-01-2018 05:57PM

Conservative wrote: »

Joe sounded awfully disappointed when Batson said he made up with Ron years ago.

It was supposed to be a tribute to the guests friend and Joe spends 90% of the time going on about 70s racism, "white washing" and how things "haven't aged well".

Exactly, he was sickened when Batson didn't back him up on that

Even when he was asking him what it was like to deal with the fans' abuse in the early days and being told "we just got on with it", he cant accept that - has to then ask him how other people felt, is it possible other people were less stoical. How uncomfortable was it for people like that??

Joe also mortally offended by the 3 degrees thing.

Jayesdiem · 18-01-2018 06:40PM

We should keep that list going. Add Lance Armstrong. No angel but no different to any other top level cyclist. They don't much like Tiger Woods either. You know he is a blatant adulterer.

redbuck · 18-01-2018 06:54PM

Fury
Grobler
Ron Atkinson
The Danish cyclist Rasmussen who was on last week was another example
Cork hurling fans
George Hook

Jayesdiem · 18-01-2018 07:10PM

Justin Gatlin is another. I know he's not generally popular (I like him) but he is a sacrificial lamb for all dopers as well as OTB and BBC.

Pherekydes · 18-01-2018 07:17PM

Another round of nauseating moralising.

The guy did his time. End of. Sharapova did her time. End of. Move the fcuk on.

redbuck · 18-01-2018 07:27PM

Peak off the ball tonight, moralizing about evil dopers and promoting an interview with a woman canoeist.

Richard Hillman · 18-01-2018 08:01PM

Imhof Tank wrote: »

Terrible thing to say, but Joe seemed positively giddy last night ahead of his piece with Brendan Batson. Supposedly brought on for a talk on Cyrille Regis RIP, all Joe really wanted to talk about was the racism in 70s football angle, tales of woe from a victim so he could tut tut away and stroke his chin some more.

There was so much more to the story of West Brom in that era, the good and the bad. I've heard Batson before on this subject, his views are quite nuanced unlike Joe Molloy's, a lot more could have been teased out with a bit of tact from the interviewer.

He agreed to go on to talk about his great friend Regis. Malloy just used the interview to try and validate all of his personal opinions. He even went on about current Black Managers in football. WTF was that to do with Cyril Regis???

It's self serving ego boosting. "Hey guys, look who agrees with me?"

DeanAustin · 18-01-2018 08:13PM

Richard Hillman wrote: »

I doubt there has been much LOI talk of late but did the lads cover Waterford United signing a convicted gang rapist? Or are they letting that one slide?

They treat Gobbler like he committed war crimes

That’s a case of mistaken identity I believe (the Waterford FC one).

Imhof Tank · 18-01-2018 08:20PM

redbuck wrote: »

Fury
Grobler
Ron Atkinson
The Danish cyclist Rasmussen who was on last week was another example
Cork hurling fans
George Hook

Martin O'Neill would be another on the sh1tlist

Jayesdiem · 18-01-2018 09:04PM

Wiggins, Farah: baddies.

anthonyjmaher · 18-01-2018 10:04PM

Un-f**king bearable again tonight. Heard bits of the show. After 7pm, three women in the studio together. Having a discussion about sportswoman.ie and how the owner wanted to give it up because she wasn't making a living out of it. And remember people, this is because oppression of the women's game, not because it was a f**king stupid idea for a website in the first place. Then a half hour of Giles, trying to persuade him about how racist football was back in the day.

It got to the point that I was actually glad when that arrogant so and so Graham Hunter came on, so as to get a break from the rights protest.

Shaungoater · 18-01-2018 11:12PM

anthonyjmaher wrote:

Un-f**king bearable again tonight. Heard bits of the show. After 7pm, three women in the studio together. Having a discussion about sportswoman.ie and how the owner wanted to give it up because she wasn't making a living out of it. And remember people, this is because oppression of the women's game, not because it was a f**king stupid idea for a website in the first place. Then a half hour of Giles, trying to persuade him about how racist football was back in the day.

I respect Giles, but I think it's time for him to move on from this segment. Offers very little anymore, and the presenters find it difficult to keep him on track, or even find what he says in any way insightful

dominatinMC · 18-01-2018 11:33PM

OTB has "jumped the shark" in TV parlance. What was once a great show (under the tutelage of Eoin, Ken, Murph, etc.), became a decent show (early days of Joe/Ger/Nathan), but has now descended in a downright poor "sports show". And I use that term lightly because whenever I tune in (which tbf is very rare these days), they are talking some ****e about the politics of sport, the circumstances surrounding a particular sport, the social injustices of certain minorities in sport, but not actually discussing sport! Maybe this decline into current affairs type segments was inevitable, given that they occupy the same building as Pat Kenny, Hook, and all these guys, but I'd love to know who is guiding the ship and setting the direction and tone of the show. All my friends, who were avid listeners up to recently, agree that it's a pale imitation of what it used to be. Seems to be a lot of backlash on social media too (that's even excluding Boards!), surely the lads are aware of this??

The only redeeming features of the show for me are the weekend shows, where they have live commentary of some games, or else shows where Nathan and/or Dave are presenting. I've long since replaced OTB with Second Captains podcasts and, if in the car in the evening, I'll listen to Game On (there's something I never thought I'd be saying

).

DEFTLEFTHAND · 18-01-2018 11:54PM

Ol' Donie wrote: »

Maybe instead of preaching all the time they should look at actually investigating these things. Like how rugby players used to be human size, but somehow sped up evolution over the past 20 years to the point where they are way, way bigger than normal humans. Zero tolerance, and all that.

Your man Kimmage was on about launching an investigation into rugby about two years back.

I could see a big scandal breaking out one day. Hopefully it won't cause lasting damage to the sport. Sports like pro cycling are forever tainted in my eyes.

KReid · 19-01-2018 12:29AM

I do still like the show, when I'm able to listen to it driving around the country i do, in fact I would actively switch on at 7 for the newsround, then if it's something I'm interested in I'll stick with it. Ger and Joe are good presenters, id prefer Joe and he seems to be doing it consistently enough now, Thursdays with Nathan are good too. What I don't get is what is the purpose of the AM show? It's on Facebook Live and I've never once felt inclined to view it, it seems a tad pointless, how many people are viewing their phones when it is on? I know it's a branding thing but there's no great appeal to it. Does anyone here bother with it in the morning?

Also noticed that they are using the TV studio for the radio show, mics don't sound great bit I'm sure they will fix that.

The live commentary at weekends for soccer and rugby is usually great stuff too, although the Saturday Panel stuff is a bit god awful at times, "we've got some of the Kildare football team from 1996 in next" great, that's really relevant in 2018.

Overall the show still does a great a job covering most sports and stories, but there is a huge focus on the OTB brand now, and what was once probably run by a few sports fans is now being interfered with by management and stretched.

monstermag · 19-01-2018 01:01AM

anthonyjmaher wrote: »

Un-f**king bearable again tonight. Heard bits of the show. After 7pm, three women in the studio together. Having a discussion about sportswoman.ie and how the owner wanted to give it up because she wasn't making a living out of it. And remember people, this is because oppression of the women's game, not because it was a f**king stupid idea for a website in the first place. Then a half hour of Giles, trying to persuade him about how racist football was back in the day.

It got to the point that I was actually glad when that arrogant so and so Graham Hunter came on, so as to get a break from the rights protest.

Have the lads ever taught that maybe the women who either drop out or don't participate in sports may have the right idea..Sport is not the be all and end all of everything.
Students in secondary school have a heavy work load with constant exams on top of homework, if they want to do well in school, they really have to hit the books hard. When training two or three times a week and a match at the weekend, it puts a lot of pressure on them and sometimes school work suffers. Training can take 2 or 3 hours out of an evening, how can they fit in homework and study. Madness really when u think about it. I seen recently 3 young dublin inter County lads packed in the hurling, not sure was it for club or county but they couldn't manage exams and hurling. OK if u have no interest in school, but if u want to do well, something has to give unless ur a brilliant student. Girls maybe the smart ones in not taking on the extra burden. Maybe more lads should follow suit. Probably something I should have done instead of spending the best part of 20 years chasing a dream, or should I say the booze up after every match. Only catching up on my career now.

Jayesdiem · 19-01-2018 02:43AM

I was an avid 100% listener up to a few years ago, even after the second captains guys left. I now listen to maybe two segments per week (podcast only) and only after a close scan of the content. This is not a sports show. It is a socio-political show viewed through the prism of sport. It is the Young Turks of Irish media - a purveyor of apparently rational and righteous opinion, the 'good guys' to UKIP and Donald Trump's 'bad guys'. Diverge even slightly from the values of these Tossers (Joe, Ger, Nathan) on any socio-political issue and you're no better than the evil people who tarnish modern professional sport: Froome, Farah, Wiggins, Gatlin and, now, Grobler. OTB have established a protocol for what they believe is the way a person should behave in public and they will continue to reinforce that by supporting raving lunatics like Paul Kimmage who is sports journalism's version of a broken record played over a public address system turned up to 11. How in the name of fcuking Jesus has a "sports" show gone so far off the menu?

DeanAustin · 19-01-2018 06:47AM

Shaungoater wrote: »

I respect Giles, but I think it's time for him to move on from this segment. Offers very little anymore, and the presenters find it difficult to keep him on track, or even find what he says in any way insightful

I love Giles and have admired his punditry and analysis for nearly 30 years. But the segment has become painful. Last night and the VAR bit was embarrassing. You could tell Nathan regretted asking the question after a while.

It’d be like shooting Bambi but, for the sake of the show, someone should pull the trigger on the segment. I’d feel awful for Giles if it happened because he seems like a complete gentleman. He handled his exit from RTE with absolute dignity and class and it’s horrible to see nice people like Giles on the end of something like that. But if you could put sentiment aside, you wouldn’t keep him on air for half an hour every week.

Fall_Guy · 19-01-2018 07:05AM

dominatinMC wrote: »

OTB has "jumped the shark" in TV parlance. What was once a great show (under the tutelage of Eoin, Ken, Murph, etc.), became a decent show (early days of Joe/Ger/Nathan), but has now descended in a downright poor "sports show". And I use that term lightly because whenever I tune in (which tbf is very rare these days), they are talking some ****e about the politics of sport, the circumstances surrounding a particular sport, the social injustices of certain minorities in sport, but not actually discussing sport! Maybe this decline into current affairs type segments was inevitable, given that they occupy the same building as Pat Kenny, Hook, and all these guys, but I'd love to know who is guiding the ship and setting the direction and tone of the show. All my friends, who were avid listeners up to recently, agree that it's a pale imitation of what it used to be. Seems to be a lot of backlash on social media too (that's even excluding Boards!), surely the lads are aware of this??

The only redeeming features of the show for me are the weekend shows, where they have live commentary of some games, or else shows where Nathan and/or Dave are presenting. I've long since replaced OTB with Second Captains podcasts and, if in the car in the evening, I'll listen to Game On (there's something I never thought I'd be saying ).

I'm not on social media of any kind (unless this qualifies as social media, in the loosest sense if the phrase) but I find this thread really interesting...I'm a semi-casual listener to the show and I find most of the people on the show who are bashed here to be fairly likeable (though I have to say I find Gilroy labours the point to an extent that it does turn me off somewhat).

I wonder do I represent a larger silent minority, as reading this thread (and apparently social media on a wider scale too) the show would have next to no listeners left, but the listenership figures seem to be up year on year.

Or is it a case that more listeners naturally leads to more people to complain / disagree with the views of the shows presenters....I guess I fall into the 'snowflake' category to some extent, because I find myself agreeing with much of the presenters stance on things (not all!). Could it be that there are just a lot more snowflakes out there happily listening to it than people realise or is it a case that most people are listening in spite of the shows direction rather than because of it?? Do you reckon the shows ratings would increase if there was a less PC stance taken or less PC people were in the hotseat, or would it isolate the large majority of listeners and lead to worse ratings? I suppose we won't know until they see a dip, as its probably a case of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' as far as the station are concerned so long as the ratings keep going up!

Icemancometh · 19-01-2018 07:23AM

Fall_Guy wrote: »

I'm not on social media of any kind (unless this qualifies as social media, in the loosest sense if the phrase) but I find this thread really interesting...I'm a semi-casual listener to the show and I find most of the people on the show who are bashed here to be fairly likeable (though I have to say I find Gilroy labours the point to an extent that it does turn me off somewhat).

I wonder do I represent a larger silent minority, as reading this thread (and apparently social media on a wider scale too) the show would have next to no listeners left, but the listenership figures seem to be up year on year.

Or is it a case that more listeners naturally leads to more people to complain / disagree with the views of the shows presenters....I guess I fall into the 'snowflake' category to some extent, because I find myself agreeing with much of the presenters stance on things (not all!). Could it be that there are just a lot more snowflakes out there happily listening to it than people realise or is it a case that most people are listening in spite of the shows direction rather than because of it?? Do you reckon the shows ratings would increase if there was a less PC stance taken or less PC people were in the hotseat, or would it isolate the large majority of listeners and lead to worse ratings? I suppose we won't know until they see a dip, as its probably a case of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' as far as the station are concerned so long as the ratings keep going up!

I'd be like yourself in that I agree with most of their political positions. But it's a sports show. I want to listen to people taking about football, rugby or whatever, not going on about racism or sexism. They never even have people on who disagree with them, so it's just a bunch of people agreeing with each other.

Don't listen as often as I used to, mainly just at the weekends. Even then, Kimmage on a Sunday can be a bit unbearable.

Fall_Guy · 19-01-2018 07:29AM

Icemancometh wrote: »

I'd be like yourself in that I agree with most of their political positions. But it's a sports show. I want to listen to people taking about football, rugby or whatever, not going on about racism or sexism. They never even have people on who disagree with them, so it's just a bunch of people agreeing with each other.

Don't listen as often as I used to, mainly just at the weekends. Even then, Kimmage on a Sunday can be a bit unbearable.

I guess thats the nail hit on the head right there.....at this point in my life I could only really claim to be a casual sports fan at best....and while I do at times enjoy listening to in depth tactical and technical insight on specific sports, I honestly dont think a show that didn't view sports from a fairly wide lens would be for me. Maybe its a sports show for people who dont really like sports THAT much

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

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