I think if Blyth had gotten a better tie than they did.
The beeb would have gone as Cinderella story as they possibly could with the coverage.
Unfortunately Blyth had to make do with the ugly sisters.
Even though they had a better chance of winning than if they'd played a proper club.
I think the BBC assumes their TV audience wants to watch "name" players they see on motd,
far more than a potential upset.
It would be nice for them to trust football supporters a bit more in that regard, but it won't happen.
I didn't watch Arsenal vs Hull, but had the BBC picked say, Stoke vs Wrexham or QPR vs Sheffield Utd instead I don't think I'd have bothered with that either, potential upset or no potential upset. And I'm not sure that there are many people who would specifically tune in for the latter two games but not bothered with Arsenal vs Hull.
I think they know that the average viewer who wants to watch the FA Cup will probably watch it regardless of the game that they pick, and if they get a load of supporters of the team they are showing watching as well then they might as well pick a team who is likely to provide the largest number of those supporters.
I actually quite like it when none of the shocks that the BBC spends all Saturday hyping up comes off
I actually quite like it when none of the shocks that the BBC spends all Saturday hyping up comes off
Even that Lawro bloke got nearly all his predictions right for once.
I actually quite like it when none of the shocks that the BBC spends all Saturday hyping up comes off
Even that Lawro bloke got nearly all his predictions right for once.
They make it all so cliche ridden and overblown as they do everything these days, witness Sports Personality of the Year and the Six Nations rugby which can barely pass without mention of a whole plethora of nationalistic cliches predicated on Robert the Bruce, Bannockburn et al. Mind you, they are no worse than Sky
I actually quite like it when none of the shocks that the BBC spends all Saturday hyping up comes off
Even that Lawro bloke got nearly all his predictions right for once.
They make it all so cliche ridden and overblown as they do everything these days, witness Sports Personality of the Year and the Six Nations rugby which can barely pass without mention of a whole plethora of nationalistic cliches predicated on Robert the Bruce, Bannockburn et al. Mind you, they are no worse than Sky
The only reason they've spent all week on 5live going on about e magic of the cup is they don't have rights to anything else, apart from highlights.
If they actually respected the cups tradition the kick off times wouldn't be shifted all over the place.
Also I think the more hype and tv attention, the less the chance of an upset is. It focuses the bigger team, and makes the smaller team a bit overawed.
The original discussion was Villas ability to beat lower league oppo. You asserted they hadn't played any recently, we did today and struggled. The team we struggled against have less than HALF the points of blues and yet you reckon the Blues would be an easy draw, ignoring, on top of everything else, how they'd raise their game against us. Blues vs Blythe is of little relevance compared to when they'd play us, they'd raise their game massively.
We can move the argument on to whether the Blues are shit, against neutral opposition, but since Rowlett took over I'd say their form has been strong compared to ours.
That wasn't the original argument at all so please don't accuse me of changing anything when it's you who is doing just that.
The original discussion was Villas ability to beat lower league oppo. You asserted they hadn't played any recently, we did today and struggled. The team we struggled against have less than HALF the points of blues and yet you reckon the Blues would be an easy draw, ignoring, on top of everything else, how they'd raise their game against us. Blues vs Blythe is of little relevance compared to when they'd play us, they'd raise their game massively.
We can move the argument on to whether the Blues are shit, against neutral opposition, but since Rowlett took over I'd say their form has been strong compared to ours.
That wasn't the original argument at all so please don't accuse me of changing anything when it's you who is doing just that.
Think we need to agree to disagree and draw a line, the darts is getting close.
I actually quite like it when none of the shocks that the BBC spends all Saturday hyping up comes off
Apart from QPR vs Sheffield Utd presumably.
Whilst "Cup Shocks" are part of the mystique of a once great competition, the reality is the reason we can still remember many of the great David beating Goliath ties (as in non-league overcoming top division) is because they have always been few and far between. On the other hand, top flight teams have always succumbed to teams a division or so below them - including the Villa on more than one occasion. Whether that constitutes a "shock" depends very much on the relative form of the teams at that moment in time.
I actually quite like it when none of the shocks that the BBC spends all Saturday hyping up comes off
Apart from QPR vs Sheffield Utd presumably.
Apparently QPR have only won 2 FA cup ties in the last decade.
They've won 2 in 14 years. And they have have suffered 46 third-round losses out of 70 ties. And we thought our cup record was crap!
I actually quite like it when none of the shocks that the BBC spends all Saturday hyping up comes off
Apart from QPR vs Sheffield Utd presumably.
Ah, good spot David, you caught me out there good and proper. You are quite correct, shall I reword my pst or are you happy that I accept my error and duly apologise? Let me know if there are any other shocks I missed that you want included
Bog eyed David Moyes' team 1 Barcelona 0.
Please tell me spurs aren't on TV again tonight !
Please tell me spurs aren't on TV again tonight !
I can't see it listed anywhere so I am confused as to why it is tonight. Lot's of games in Lancashire over the weekend? But there is always plenty of games in the area.