Giving praise where it’s due
I am no particular fan of BT Sport football coverage.
Jake Humphreys, their number two presenter, does not float my boat – nor their chief one, Gary Lineker.
However I have always liked James Richardson who hosts a show on Champions League night. Richardson cut his teeth on Channel 4 in the nineties.
They were quite adventurous in their sports coverage with cycling, American football and Italian football.
Every Saturday James Richardson would spread out the Italian football press on cafe table and, over an ornate gelato, bring us up to speed. He was actually a young music journalist with a girl friend in Rome. He took to the show like a natural.
Unlike Sky’s Soccer Saturday hosted by Jeff Sterling where the contributors are ex-pros, Richardson’s panel consists of journalists with a deep knowledge of European football.
Rafael Honigstein speaks on the Bundesliga in fluent English whilst Julien Laurens, football correspondent in London of Le Parisien, does much the same on French football.
Andy Brasseur and James Horncastle are English and have the big European picture.
As often as not the main featured game – with Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea or Manchester United – is not that interesting.
The BT show features all the games and cuts to them if there is a goal.
The panel discussed the current poor form of Real Madrid, who lost to Shaktatr Donetsk and drew with Borussia Muchnegladbach, and they may even not qualify for the business end of the tournament.
The BBC, long gone as serious coverage, have bland presenters that fall back on social media, relentlessly promote women’s football and now train up commentators that appear on BT Sport, so to listen to experts who have wit, personality and insight is a joy.
