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

Amirani · 26-03-2013 03:31AM

Early's column, while readable, doesn't belong in the sports section of a newspaper. I sometimes enjoyed his metaphorical tangents during the Football Show, but they were always just that; tangents. This column reads more ike a history academic trying to draw comparisons with a modern day event than a sports columnist trying to do the opposite. He's needs to tone it down a bit.

Vunderground · 26-03-2013 08:04AM

That was awful last night. David Brady should stick to whatever he does for a living. Please tell me its not journalism. How anyone could prefer that to Ken's football show

The Guardian · 26-03-2013 08:50AM

sure everybody working for newstalk is a journalist dont you know..
why would brady be any different
i think he has a regular column with a load of western regional papers - tuam herald etc
he even did some guest writing for the star or the sun i think
#experienced

26-03-2013 10:03AM

It seems that Brady was on for the whole show and not just the last hour, maybe they way they are going with it i.e having rotating guest presenters for the veining.

I enjoy Brady on the radio,he appears on various sports shows on various stations throughout the year, mainly during the GAA championship season, but of course he is far more knowledgeable about GAA than soccer

gimmick · 26-03-2013 10:21AM

How are Ken and the lads getting on? Has anyone been onto them?

The Guardian · 26-03-2013 10:29AM

Brady was talking to a friend of mine in the entertainment business and said that OtB are basically giving a range of blokes some trial runs
Brady was up last night
he'll probably be invited back for a second round
maybe if they took him on FT they could script up some segments for him, like they did for murph back in the good ole days
that means there is less risk then when he has to 'fill' 2/3 mins of airtime

friction between brady and gilroy was obvious at times
if newstalk do hire brady i'd imagine he'll start working behind the scenes on a serious coup d'état to get gilroy back on the weekend show

Imhof Tank · 26-03-2013 12:49PM

NiallSparky wrote: »

Early's column, while readable, doesn't belong in the sports section of a newspaper. I sometimes enjoyed his metaphorical tangents during the Football Show, but they were always just that; tangents. This column reads more ike a history academic trying to draw comparisons with a modern day event than a sports columnist trying to do the opposite. He's needs to tone it down a bit.

Disagree. There are any number of journos churning out the basic facts of results, team selections, injuries etc. There is total sameness between the match reports (and most pundits previews) in all the Irish and Irish edition UK newspapers.

It takes some imagination to be different. There were several legendary American sports writers in the Hunter Thompson tradition in the past. Con Houlihan was the leading Irish exponent. Tom Humphries was developing a similar style.

It would be an absolute waste of Ken's time to try to follow the likes of Emmet Malone or Daniel McDonnell. He has the potential to be the next Con Houlihan IMO if he holds his nerve and the Irish Times is the place to do it.

Hidalgo · 26-03-2013 12:59PM

Imhof Tank wrote: »

Disagree. There are any number of journos churning out the basic facts of results, team selections, injuries etc. There is total sameness between the match reports (and most pundits previews) in all the Irish and Irish edition UK newspapers.

It takes some imagination to be different. There were several legendary American sports writers in the Hunter Thompson tradition in the past. Con Houlihan was the leading Irish exponent. Tom Humphries was developing a similar style.

It would be an absolute waste of Ken's time to try to follow the likes of Emmet Malone or Daniel McDonnell. He has the potential to be the next Con Houlihan IMO if he holds his nerve and the Irish Times is the place to do it.

Personally I think its no harm to have an article featuring what some would call rambling.
However, its a fine line and if its a 500 word article, the tangents/musings can't take centre stage to the detriment of the main argument.

Hidalgo · 26-03-2013 01:03PM

The Guardian wrote: »

these new developments are not working for anyone
earley is a useless writer
and david brady on off the ball tonight talking bout everything from nfl helmets to ireland -v- austria - wtf :eek:
total farce of a show now
the rte version will soon sound more professional
jaysus, even fiona looney on otb is now sounding like an option

You've crossed the line there my friend.

The Guardian · 26-03-2013 01:05PM

i like ramblings, provided it is of the entertaining variety
Kenneth needs to work on his approach a little
not there yet
some potential, i wouldnt exaggerate it tho
a talented transition yr student could emulate him right now

DeanAustin · 26-03-2013 01:30PM

Just read that Ken Early article. Complete and utter drivel. Really, really poor effort.

Imhof Tank · 26-03-2013 01:40PM

DeanAustin wrote: »

Just read that Ken Early article. Complete and utter drivel. Really, really poor effort.

Have to agree to differ with you on the quality of the piece but in any case, what were you expecting?

If you've ever heard him on the radio you cant have been surprised.

DeanAustin · 26-03-2013 01:43PM

Imhof Tank wrote: »

Have to agree to differ with you on the quality of the piece but in any case, what were you expecting?

If you've ever heard him on the radio you cant have been surprised.

No, can't say I'm surprised to be honest. Have always found him awful but at least on radio I was entertained by the awfulness. I just gave up on that article.

Frankie Lee · 26-03-2013 01:43PM

armchair fusilier wrote: »

I thought it was an entertaining read.

It's not his first column, these would be more typical of the work he has been doing...

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/columnists/ken-early/curious-case-of-a-natural-born-thriller-198237.html

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/columnists/ken-early/bigots-keeping-thatchers-flame-alive-207811.html

Two excellent articles there, he probably went too far off on a tangent with Irish Times column however.

DeanAustin · 26-03-2013 01:52PM

Frankie Lee wrote: »

Two excellent articles there, he probably went too far off on a tangent with Irish Times column however.

As much as I don't like Early, those two Examiner articles are pretty good.

northernpower · 26-03-2013 07:15PM

I don't see anything wrong with that article, if you're a fan of Early's tangents (which I am) it adds something different to the usual game analyses which struggle to be unique.

I think he makes a pretty good job of it, he indicates how he didn't initiate the Waterloo comparisons re Trap, but he makes a somewhat valid analogy in that it was the on-field performance and not the planning which should receive the plaudits, the Les mis reference, and then drew comparisons between Kutuzov and Trap when quoting the latter as recognising that once the players are on the field, his influence is diminished by occurences outside his control.

If you buy the paper tomorrow you'll read at least 2 match reports from different journalists with very little difference between them, reporting facts doesn't offer much scope for insight so that's not an insult to the journalists, but I think there is room for this type of writing as a weekly column, it's refreshing

Imhof Tank · 26-03-2013 07:21PM

Ger out tonight leaving his sidekick and Parkinson to mind the shop - the quality of the forced banter would put the strawberry alarm clock to shame. The slickest thing about this show is Cian the newsreader.

Ger has been doing his best to hold it together these past few weeks but tonight there is no disguising the crapness of the output.

This on the night of a crucial world cup qualifier as well - its on these sort of nights that the old team are most sorely missed.

passremarkable · 26-03-2013 08:14PM

poor state of affiairs leaving wooly parkinson as a full time analyst, did he have a row with westmeath footballer denis glennon did i hear?
mcdevitt is missed

Frankie Lee · 26-03-2013 09:54PM

The sooner the Real Off The Ball get back on air the better, I will be more likely to listen to an RTE sport show than listen to the likes of Parkinson.

Say Your Number · 26-03-2013 11:16PM

Tonight is the first night I haven't listened to any of the show since the lads left, just couldn't be arsed. I do still enjoy some bits of it like the GAA coverage and the weekly chat to Giles but it's a pale shadow of what it was a month ago.

heybaby · 27-03-2013 12:07AM

Say Your Number wrote: »

Tonight is the first night I haven't listened to any of the show since the lads left, just couldn't be arsed. I do still enjoy some bits of it like the GAA coverage and the weekly chat to Giles but it's a pale shadow of what it was a month ago.

Agreed, I used to look forward to 7pm weekday evenings, the banter, the tangents, the analysis, you felt like you could go for a pint with the OTB lads but I don't bother much anymore. Yes there's still analysis but as a longtime listener the magic is gone,its just another sports programme now.

Say Your Number · 27-03-2013 12:25AM

Yeah, every evening at 7 I would always switch over to Newstalk, nowadays just can't be bothered. The first 20 minutes were always entertaining with them constantly interrrupting and taking the piss out of Cian, at least he has a bit of peace these days.

JonathanAnon · 27-03-2013 02:08AM

Lost digital coverage here so I had to listen to the whole coverage during the match... It was a bit like students doing a 24 hour sit in (for charity) radio station.. I think Parkinson is alright for the GAA stuff, but doesnt add anything to the soccer. "Stuey" doesnt have enough personality for radio.

It's just missing the humour that Murph and Ken bring to the show..

The Guardian · 27-03-2013 09:41AM

if parky, or wtf he calls himself, was on for the full show i think i'd tear my eardrums out
i listened to a lot of the show on monday with david brady - that was real cringe in parts
a whole show with parkinson, shudder...

Off the Ball is dead - Newstalk should face up to that
Instead I hear they plan to spend like 150k on a facelift of sorts

gnfnrhead · 27-03-2013 09:45AM

The Guardian wrote: »

Off the Ball is dead

I still see it listed and advertised

seachto7 · 27-03-2013 05:32PM

who was yer man on Monday night who said he hoped the Austrian journalist wouldn't come on speaking "Austrian"....
He was a GAA guy I think...

The Guardian · 27-03-2013 05:34PM

Are you daviiiidddddd braddddyyyy?

seachto7 · 27-03-2013 05:39PM

The Guardian wrote: »

Brady was talking to a friend of mine in the entertainment business and said that OtB are basically giving a range of blokes some trial runs
Brady was up last night
he'll probably be invited back for a second round

Hopefully not after his "speaking Austrian" comment...

styron · 27-03-2013 06:37PM

3 Weeks Ago:

The Guardian wrote: »

are newstalk likely to advertise for the new team?

lets face it, the formula can be recreated
some smart recruits and it'll be biz as usual

2 Weeks ago:

The Guardian wrote: »

a week is a long time in showbiz
2 weeks is even longer

by this time next week people will be asking ken who?, whos this big mcdev bloke? wtf was murphys country pages? etc etc

Today:

The Guardian wrote: »

Off the Ball is dead - Newstalk should face up to that

If they're disillusioning floating OTB listeners at this rate - it is dead ... and all to the gain of the new 2FM format unfortunately.

soc160 · 27-03-2013 09:53PM

Turned it on tonight, about half 9 and Roddy Collins was on. Never had a problem with him on before with Eoin but tonight he was on his high horse about the league of ireland, absuing "porfessionals" for being over weight and saying he wouldn't pay to watch them id they arent willing to put in the effort. Not really good radio, no one seem well informed enough to follow the subject on so Roddy kept pressing on about, just got that feeling they where trying to fill time for once.

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

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