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Off the Ball Newstalk - top notch

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Replying To Killarney.87:  "Hahaha, I do indeed, no arguments there Flaker.

One of the great things about being Irish is we spot a spoofer a mile off. JM is not for me I'm afraid, too arrogant doesn't fully know the history and legacy of sport and rivalries outside Soccer and Golf. Hopefully, that will come as he gets older. He is a good broadcaster though and professional but I take it for granted that will be the case for a radio show presenter. I want to see the passion, I want to see the interest.

Gilroy's love of sport radiates across the airwaves, you stick him in front of a mic talking about anything and he seems to have a genuine interest. I like the way he tackles issues like the lack of respect paid to female sport in Ireland. He is asking the harder questions too, he used to give the interviewees an easy ride, in particular, Irish sports people but he better at grilling them now when the need arises.

Another thing that annoys me about the show while I'm at it, is it's quite obvious most of the OTB boys are Man United fans so you are subjected to a Man U overload. I'd rather hear more about Chelsea and Spurs, being the top 2 sides.

The Second Captains lads were far more genuine and interesting when they were working for OTB. McDevitt is a superb interviewer, a thousand times better than Molloy and a little bit better than Gilroy. Murph is witty, has genuine charm and knows his GAA. Ken is a soccer nut and deals with his lack of knowledge of GAA in a funny manner that makes you laugh and root for him even though you shouldn't. Second Captains are far more innovative too, the best thing they ever did was tell Denis O'Brien where to go. Not many people did that and lived to tell the tale.

I see what you mean about Giles, that's probably why they recruited Kilbane. I still like Giles though cos he helps join the dots between old school and modern football. That was a great move by OTB, Kilbane has serious contacts in the game.

The OTB lads have lost the run of themselves a bit cos they win PPI awards, sure who are they up against? RTE, I'd be worried if they couldn't beat RTE.

I think I need a lie down after that rant."
But Molloy is a presenter not a guest. He's more or less supposed to be partial.

I like Gilroy as well but I actually think he's often too confrontational in interviews. Molloy asks the hard questions too he just lets them answer them as well.

I would be hugely surprised if any of them are Utd fans to be honest. Richie McCormack and Nathan Murphy certainly aren't anyway. They might talk about Utd a lot but I think there's no denying that the conversations are entirely negative. Kilbane is the only exception here and he's said he gets fierce criticism for being positive about Utd.

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12121 - 14/06/2017 15:40:53    1999632

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Not really a fan of the show but do listen.

Smiling away here at some of the observations from the contributors here :-) Some great observations.

slayer (Limerick) - Posts: 6480 - 14/06/2017 15:49:36    1999634

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How to be Graham Hunter in 5 easy steps

1 - Shave your head
2 - Eat a few bags of spuds extra a week
3 - Practice a pseudo Scottish Accent
4 - Learn the Spanish pronunciation of every La Liga player
5 - Say 'My Sources tell me' in every second sentence you use

And there you go, you are now Bumper Graham!

He knows his history, but very very little else.

slayer (Limerick) - Posts: 6480 - 14/06/2017 15:53:15    1999635

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Replying To Breffni39:  "But Molloy is a presenter not a guest. He's more or less supposed to be partial.

I like Gilroy as well but I actually think he's often too confrontational in interviews. Molloy asks the hard questions too he just lets them answer them as well.

I would be hugely surprised if any of them are Utd fans to be honest. Richie McCormack and Nathan Murphy certainly aren't anyway. They might talk about Utd a lot but I think there's no denying that the conversations are entirely negative. Kilbane is the only exception here and he's said he gets fierce criticism for being positive about Utd."
I would agree with you to a certain degree on Gilroy when it comes to confrontation. He doesn't seem to lull the guest into a false sense of security which is a trait I like, he sometimes goes gung ho looking for the big showdown. His interview with Lance was good craic but at times it was also farcical.

TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 7907 - 14/06/2017 15:54:46    1999636

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Since starting this thread I've started listening to Colm Parkinson on the GAA Hour, really enjoying it, particularly their most recent one about the Wex KK game, great interview with Lee Chin. Parkinson has a great tone and sense of humour, I could listen to him all day. Particularly refreshing that he's been there done that in terms of being a former player but also clearly has a knack for broadcasting

Pikeman17 (Wexford) - Posts: 22 - 15/06/2017 09:47:21    1999837

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Replying To Pikeman17:  "Since starting this thread I've started listening to Colm Parkinson on the GAA Hour, really enjoying it, particularly their most recent one about the Wex KK game, great interview with Lee Chin. Parkinson has a great tone and sense of humour, I could listen to him all day. Particularly refreshing that he's been there done that in terms of being a former player but also clearly has a knack for broadcasting"
But on off the ball he was scathing of Mick O'Dwyer .........

That aside I agree with you 100%. He is also very funny and well able to laugh at himself.

slayer (Limerick) - Posts: 6480 - 15/06/2017 15:56:32    2000004

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Replying To slayer:  "But on off the ball he was scathing of Mick O'Dwyer .........

That aside I agree with you 100%. He is also very funny and well able to laugh at himself."
I think he was joking when he seemingly criticised O'Dwyer. His discipline wasn't great and O'Dwyer wouldn't stand for that. He's admitted he wasn't as dedicated as he could have been. Off the Ball lost a lot when Wooly left. Most of the other lads on it take themselves too seriously, the banter's not as good since he left.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7360 - 15/06/2017 16:20:57    2000014

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Replying To GreenandRed:  "I think he was joking when he seemingly criticised O'Dwyer. His discipline wasn't great and O'Dwyer wouldn't stand for that. He's admitted he wasn't as dedicated as he could have been. Off the Ball lost a lot when Wooly left. Most of the other lads on it take themselves too seriously, the banter's not as good since he left."
I'd agree with this, definitely haven't listened as much since he left.

greatpoint (USA) - Posts: 427 - 15/06/2017 16:24:21    2000016

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Replying To GreenandRed:  "I think he was joking when he seemingly criticised O'Dwyer. His discipline wasn't great and O'Dwyer wouldn't stand for that. He's admitted he wasn't as dedicated as he could have been. Off the Ball lost a lot when Wooly left. Most of the other lads on it take themselves too seriously, the banter's not as good since he left."
And he was the worst loser ever at the crappy quiz which was hilarious!

He's a good lad and a loss to the show. A genuinely talented bloke too.

slayer (Limerick) - Posts: 6480 - 15/06/2017 16:37:49    2000019

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Replying To slayer:  "And he was the worst loser ever at the crappy quiz which was hilarious!

He's a good lad and a loss to the show. A genuinely talented bloke too."
In fairness to him, he is better off with Sports Joe cos he is sticking to GAA and Gaelic Football mainly which is where he has expert knowledge. He would come out with some mad stuff about other Sports.

Thinking it took Rob Heffernan 9 hours to win his walk gold medal on the quiz was hilarious. Thankfully the car was parked when I was listening to that cos I would have definitely crashed a moving car.

He challenged Brolly lately on Twitter about some guff he wrote about Mayo, no harm seeing him getting stuck into Brolly. Too many of the Gaelic Football pundits have hidden agendas in what they communicate. Wooly is genuine, what he says or writes is actually what he thinks and not some veiled message.

Killarney.87 (Tipperary) - Posts: 2513 - 15/06/2017 17:10:36    2000034

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Can't stand newstalk's gaa coverage. They come at everything from a soccer angle. Countless references to premier league, Alex Ferguson, mourinho when they're talking about managers and Roy Keane when they're talking about players. They have 133 years of gaa cultural references that could be used when making a point but they always go back to a premier league reference. Gaa analysis should be in a vacuum to other sports. So when someone mentions Alex Ferguson the listener should be like: "I don't know that reference".

HurlingSnob (Dublin) - Posts: 220 - 15/06/2017 19:11:53    2000085

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Off the ball are top class. The research and knowledge they have of sport in general is brilliant. The biggest compliment I can pay them is that when people leave the show it doesn't make any difference, the show keeps going from strength to strength. All year round, they do a great job and their weekend shows can be particularly very good when doing special, in-depth interviews. I like wooly as well when he covers GAA.

ryan (Donegal) - Posts: 725 - 15/06/2017 19:28:50    2000092

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Second Captains does it for me by a distance. Some of the sessions with US Murph are radio gold if you like US sports and he does have a little bit of an understanding of what GAA stands for in Ireland. Milltown Murph is very witty even allowing for his unhealthy obsession with taking the p*ss out of us Rossies.

facethepuckout (Roscommon) - Posts: 214 - 15/06/2017 20:58:14    2000126

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Anthony Moyles is a good pundit.

Mayonman (Galway) - Posts: 1834 - 16/06/2017 11:27:51    2000268

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Replying To HurlingSnob:  "Can't stand newstalk's gaa coverage. They come at everything from a soccer angle. Countless references to premier league, Alex Ferguson, mourinho when they're talking about managers and Roy Keane when they're talking about players. They have 133 years of gaa cultural references that could be used when making a point but they always go back to a premier league reference. Gaa analysis should be in a vacuum to other sports. So when someone mentions Alex Ferguson the listener should be like: "I don't know that reference"."
I completely take your point and agree.

The thing is though all successful managers have similar characteristics so I guess Cody & Ferguson have a lot of similarities as have Davy & Mourinho. It is inevitable. I've been compared to Jan Molby myself but have won nothing :-)

slayer (Limerick) - Posts: 6480 - 16/06/2017 12:17:02    2000296

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Replying To HurlingSnob:  "Can't stand newstalk's gaa coverage. They come at everything from a soccer angle. Countless references to premier league, Alex Ferguson, mourinho when they're talking about managers and Roy Keane when they're talking about players. They have 133 years of gaa cultural references that could be used when making a point but they always go back to a premier league reference. Gaa analysis should be in a vacuum to other sports. So when someone mentions Alex Ferguson the listener should be like: "I don't know that reference"."
So you think GAA fans should be ignorant?

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12121 - 16/06/2017 12:39:30    2000306

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Replying To Breffni39:  "So you think GAA fans should be ignorant?"
Not at all. I like most sports and have a wide range of knowledge about them. If I want to have a discussion about soccer, I'll talk about soccer. But if gaa is being discussed we shouldn't have to keep bringing in references from other sports into the conversation.

HurlingSnob (Dublin) - Posts: 220 - 16/06/2017 14:03:15    2000349

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