Analysis of Eurosport's analysis

So, now the UK Championship is over, and there is a gaping hole in our lives where snooker used to be, what did you make of Eurosport's analysis team?

I know we've seen them before at the German Masters, but now we've had the BBC to compare them to.

Personally, I'm not keen on laddish banter masquerading as analysis. I'd rather they take the ITV approach, if they are going to be minimalist. Getting experts in to talk sense about shots. Here we just get Ronnie and Jimmy providing the bants, but not really adding insight. Two legends of the game, but I'd rather see sensible analysis to joking about. Just my personal preference.

Colin Murray isn't as funny as he wants to be, and seems to spend more time getting cheap thrills out of the fact he's hanging out with Jimmy and Ronnie. He's a bit of a div. He even forgot his own name on the opening day.

Though saying that, I did like that they are trying to do analysis for the tournament. Eurosport's coverage is a bit bare bones without it. And, despite my criticisms of Colin, I have just tweeted him to ask if there is analysis for The Masters.

What is other people's opinions? Better than the BBC? Better than nothing? Or they should just go back to what they had before?

Different style than the BBC and ITV for sure. Colin Murray is generally awful where he goes. Football, talksport and snooker. Just tries to be a comedian and for the most part fails.

That being said I appreciate it was different to usual punditry and it was nice to have a change. Liked how Ronnie didn't hold back on occasion (Selt got no chance, and also said numerous times that some players did not have the game to trouble others) and that it was not bland.

In short get rid of Murray and it will be better. Not that I can think of other presenters mind.

Much more palatable than BBC coverage. I liked the honesty displayed by Jimmy and Ronnie. Murray for me is like a fan let loose in a tv studio with 2 legends, he is clearly very excited about his guests.

I quite enjoyed him saying Selt had no chance of winning the UK, mainly because it was true.

Selty threw a bit of a paddy, and kept tweeting in. I guess it was a bit unprofessional for Ronnie to say, but at the same time it annoyed Selt. Anything that annoys Selty the better.

I could've done with Ronnie Woods turning up though. What was the point in that?

I know he's mates with Jimmy, we don't need him in the studio all night. Nor do we need Colin Murray boasting about how he's met a Rolling Stone for the rest of the week.

SnookerFan wrote:So, now the UK Championship is over, and there is a gaping hole in our lives where snooker used to be, what did you make of Eurosport's analysis team?

I know we've seen them before at the German Masters, but now we've had the BBC to compare them to.

Personally, I'm not keen on laddish banter masquerading as analysis. I'd rather they take the ITV approach, if they are going to be minimalist. Getting experts in to talk sense about shots. Here we just get Ronnie and Jimmy providing the bants, but not really adding insight. Two legends of the game, but I'd rather see sensible analysis to joking about. Just my personal preference.

Colin Murray isn't as funny as he wants to be, and seems to spend more time getting cheap thrills out of the fact he's hanging out with Jimmy and Ronnie. He's a bit of a div. He even forgot his own name on the opening day.

Though saying that, I did like that they are trying to do analysis for the tournament. Eurosport's coverage is a bit bare bones without it. And, despite my criticisms of Colin, I have just tweeted him to ask if there is analysis for The Masters.

What is other people's opinions? Better than the BBC? Better than nothing? Or they should just go back to what they had before?

Pretty much agree with everything you've said there.

SnookerFan wrote:So, now the UK Championship is over, and there is a gaping hole in our lives where snooker used to be, what did you make of Eurosport's analysis team?

I know we've seen them before at the German Masters, but now we've had the BBC to compare them to.

Personally, I'm not keen on laddish banter masquerading as analysis. I'd rather they take the ITV approach, if they are going to be minimalist. Getting experts in to talk sense about shots. Here we just get Ronnie and Jimmy providing the bants, but not really adding insight. Two legends of the game, but I'd rather see sensible analysis to joking about. Just my personal preference.

Colin Murray isn't as funny as he wants to be, and seems to spend more time getting cheap thrills out of the fact he's hanging out with Jimmy and Ronnie. He's a bit of a div. He even forgot his own name on the opening day.

Though saying that, I did like that they are trying to do analysis for the tournament. Eurosport's coverage is a bit bare bones without it. And, despite my criticisms of Colin, I have just tweeted him to ask if there is analysis for The Masters.

What is other people's opinions? Better than the BBC? Better than nothing? Or they should just go back to what they had before?

Pretty much agree with everything you've said there.

Murray is a dose. Jimmy and the rocket knew their stuff. Ronnie was dead right to say selt would not win the uk be honest about it no need to be telling lies. Say it out if you feel it

Ronnie79 wrote:Murray is a dose. Jimmy and the rocket knew their stuff. Ronnie was dead right to say selt would not win the uk be honest about it no need to be telling lies. Say it out if you feel it

That was funny.

Selt got the hump, and started acting like he was gonna prove wrong. Then got thrashed in the Selby vs Selty match.

I disagree.

For the first time I watched almost entirely Eurosport. Jimmy and Ronnie actually spoke the bucking truth! It was a real insight into how the sport is at the top level.

While the BBC went on about the 'matchplay snooker' of the Grace / Liang match, Ronnie and Jimmy spoke the truth. 'That was a dire match. Wenbo done a number on Grace. He hustled him'

For me their coverage harked back to 70s TV, where it wasn't all silky smooth and planned. It was off the cuff, a bit ropey, and you never knew what was coming next. 'Shall we get a Rolling Stone in? Yeah F*ck it why not. And let's have him on the couch all night and feed him whisky.' It was a car crash. And I loved every second. So much TV these days is syrupy smooth, over-produced and bland and is much the worse for it.

I honestly don't think Davis, Hendry Parrot and Doherty add anything of real value in the studio any more. I'm a huge Steve Davis fan, he's an incredible ambassador for the sport, but he's past caring what happens in the rankings now. From the beeb it's all tired old cliché. Snookerfan started the thread about Hendry phoning it in - well they are all phoning it in if you ask me. Clearly none of them follow snooker any more or have a remote interest in it really. Give me Dave Hendon (wonderful stats knowledge, Clive has clearly rubbed off on him) and Joe Johnson who does actually call the shots right occasionally and knows the game pretty well.

Twitter attack:

roland ‏@snookeroland Dec 2
It's quite disgraceful when a standard line in commentary is "I haven't seen him play before"

Dan Cat ‏@Dan_Cat Dec 2
@snookeroland BBC comms needs a huge shake up. I realised this week just how good the Eurosport guys are in comparison.

roland ‏@snookeroland Dec 2
@Dan_Cat out with the old and out of touch, in with the new #JV #WT #DT

To be fair to you Dan-Cat, I can't disagree with your analysis of the BBC.

I singled out Hendry, because up until recently he was a decent commentator. He seemed to have stopped caring now. But as you say, the BBC are all pretty woeful. I'd keep Hazel Irvine, but get rid of the rest.

They continually admit they have no idea who certain players are, and these are people who are getting paid out of our license fees to be experts.

Dennis Taylor is a nice guy, but it's baffling how he can have been involved in the sport for so long, and know so little about it. John Parrott is an unfunny bellend. Virgo leaving wouldn't be a massive loss, even if I have stopped being annoyed by his Cue Ball catchphrase. Willie Thorne won nothing of note, but still acts like his opinion on shot selection is better than the current players. Steve Davis is okay. Ken Doherty is okay, but is on Ronnie's nads a bit much. (So is Virgo though.)

Generally speaking, I think the BBC sees snooker as a way of filling day time TV schedules, and can't be fussed to put it on in the evening. Consequently, it doesn't care too much who is commentating. Hence the commentators are paid to be former professionals, but aren't paid to actually know anything. As you said, their inability to know even basic facts about every player on tour, and the fact that this isn't seen as a problem, is close to unforgivable.

Also, they'll decide on a topic of the week before the tournament starts, so are constantly discussing stuff that nobody cares about rather than what's actually happening in the actual match. This week it was kicks. And why, oh why, oh why, oh why do they insist on asking Shaun Murphy's opinion on anything?

I am not complaining that Eurosport has analysis, I think it's good to have an alternative to the BBC bell-ends. I personally just don't like laddish banter replacing expertise. I've seen them do it on boxing when it comes on freeview sometimes. (Though that was 1000 time more cringe than anything that Colin Murray as ever done.)

But if you liked Eurosport, fair play. You're right, it is hard to defend some of the BBC tomfoolery.

For the Beeb keep Hazel anchor. Keep Davis, Hendry, Virgo get back Neal Foulds keep parrott and Doherty. Taylor and Thorne should be ran. Taylor pisses me off making rubbish jokes all the time they are not even funny. Thorne is just a dose

Also, lest we forget, that Dennis Taylor mentioned a player called Ghou Yolonge on Twitter.

SnookerFan wrote:Also, lest we forget, that Dennis Taylor mentioned a player called Ghou Yolonge on Twitter.

He also mentioned Stephen McGuire. Strange that someone who lacks knowledge about the players can come up with those we've never heard of.

SnookerFan wrote:I quite enjoyed him saying Selt had no chance of winning the UK, mainly because it was true.

Selty threw a bit of a paddy, and kept tweeting in. I guess it was a bit unprofessional for Ronnie to say, but at the same time it annoyed Selt. Anything that annoys Selty the better.

its not unprofessional its honesty much lacking in all sports punditry/commentary these days.

Clara8633 wrote:

SnookerFan wrote:Also, lest we forget, that Dennis Taylor mentioned a player called Ghou Yolonge on Twitter.

He also mentioned Stephen McGuire. Strange that someone who lacks knowledge about the players can come up with those we've never heard of.

Didn't he once get his Chinese tournaments mixed up? Like he thought the China Open was being played in Shanghai, or something. Though, I forget the exact way around it was. Knowing Taylor, he probably thought the Indian Open was being played in China.

Someone at BBC said a few years ago that what they wanted was commentators to sound like two lads in the pub watching a game with a pint.

KrazeeEyezKilla wrote:Someone at BBC said a few years ago that what they wanted was commentators to sound like two lads in the pub watching a game with a pint.

Whoever said that must have been inspired by the snooker comedy sketches by Mitchell And Webb.

If that is seriously the case, they've failed.

Doherty and parrott are sickeners aswell but i suppose you cant run all of them. Thorne and Taylor need to go. Cant believe the beeb let Foulds go. They wanted bigger names though thats their biggest mistake

Ronnie79 wrote:Doherty and parrott are sickeners aswell but i suppose you cant run all of them. Thorne and Taylor need to go. Cant believe the beeb let Foulds go. They wanted bigger names though thats their biggest mistake

I think the BBC takes the logic that if you're a hardcore snooker fan, and will watch as much of each tournament as possible, then who the commentator is doesn't really make much difference. You're still going to watch,

I think their analysis/commentary is provided as fans who dip in and out of snooker. Watches the odd match, and only of bigger tournaments. I think BBC commentary is geared completely around this type of fan. They are the fans that you want to encourage to stay watching, not people that are going to watch everything anyway.

The assumption is I guess, if the casual fan has heard of somebody like Virgo, Dennis Taylor, Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry they are going to take their opinion more seriously. And are more likely to find a commentator who is famous, and can tell mildly amusing jokes, more important than somebody who gets every one of their fact 100% accurate.

If they see a journalist who knows all there is to know about snooker, and talks about snooker seriously and professionally, it would appeal more to people like us on a forum. But not so much the general fan on the street.

Matt Smith.

Discuss.

SnookerFan wrote:Matt Smith.

Discuss.

He's not funny....but keeps trying to be. He's the same when he does the darts on ITV.

Smart wrote:

SnookerFan wrote:Matt Smith.

Discuss.

He's not funny....but keeps trying to be. He's the same when he does the darts on ITV.

Only saw him yesterday evening.

I find him quite a boring personality, but seemed to be taking a more professional approach than Colin Murray's fanboyish approach.