MOTD

[Dave Cooper please]

I know that but it’s aired on the BBC. Surely though, not been able to take any form of criticism is the problem here? A Government is never going to please everyone, so making such a song and dance over Lineker is just ridiculous and helping hide the fact that they are in a right mess and we’re all having to live through it until they are removed.

If they let Lineker have his say though, then they have to let everybody else do the same, and then you risk having what makes the BBC unique disappear.  I can get plenty of partisan opinions from the rest of the mainstream media.

Or maybe they just allow their presenters to have opinions on social media as long as they don't preach while on air?

[Dave Cooper please]

It’s been suggested in certain quarters that he’s been using his Twitter posting as a weapon in his battle against HMRC.

"in certain quarters"
Please expand.

[Nunkin1965]

I think the Government will be absolutely overjoyed at how this has played out, they are very, very good at distraction.

Oh absolutely.
Unfortunately its been a perfect week for them pretty much.
Huge distraction issue over migrant crossings and a handy percentage of the population pour scorn on the wrong targets,  which should be this government and what it now represents.
Let's throw the hand grenade into the room, and we'll piss off and leave the BBC and Lineker to deal with the damage.
Extremely well played!

[dave.woodhall]

We've moved onto familiar territory. Underfund, underman, run down then say it's not fit for purpose and should be privatised. Just like the utility companies, railways, education, NHS...

[Risso]

It’s been suggested in certain quarters that he’s been using his Twitter posting as a weapon in his battle against HMRC.

"in certain quarters"
Please expand.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/may/07/gary-linekers-political-tweets-could-help-him-avoid-49m-tax-bill

[Exeter 77]

I've just seen this which gives a slightly different perspective as it is from Ireland (unfortunately it does involve Mark Lawrenson).
https://youtu.be/M62PN5OVQYk

[Pat McMahon]

Yes, so why does the Beeb have a left wing sports bias?

It doesn't particularly, but right-wingers use things like this to claim it does and that the BBC as a whole is therefore leftie. That's my point, Lineker posting about refugees or Nish Kumar taking the piss out of Johnson is the claimed 'left-wing bias'. So saying "both the left and the right complain of bias so they must be doing something right" is wrong because the examples of the bias are just not comparable.

Well I suppose what I think of the Beeb is coloured byR4 as that’s pretty much what I consume these days when I’m in the car.

I also get most of my BBC hours in via R4 and I’d say that their interviewers are generally good at asking the right questions of the government, though I frequently get frustrated at the way they move on from a question that has only been partially answered or where lies and fake statistics have been conjured up. I perhaps leniently attribute this to the short time slots allotted to interviewees.

[Dave Cooper please]

It’s been suggested in certain quarters that he’s been using his Twitter posting as a weapon in his battle against HMRC.

"in certain quarters"
Please expand.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/may/07/gary-linekers-political-tweets-could-help-him-avoid-49m-tax-bill

There's some heavy lifting in that article!
"I don't really hate the Tories and all they stand for, I just tweet that stuff to avoid a bit of tax".
Bollocks really isn't it?
I mean, I don't doubt he avoids tax, most rich bastards do, but he doesn't do it by tweeting about how the Tories are ******.

[markeeeebeeee2005]

The chair of the Beeb, Richard Sharpe, is a man who is a Tory donor and chums with Boris (the liar) Johnson having helped arrange an £800k loan for him.

Johnson then recommended Sharpe to be the Chair of the BBC to the Privvy council who appointed him.

So Lineker gets the kitchen sink thrown at him, for making some pretty accurate comparisons about the kind of dog-whistle language being used. Yet the chair of his organisation is about as politically neutral as Thatcher.

The Beeb is in a Tory created pickle and they need to make some good decisions to get through this crisis.

[ASHTONVILLA]

Match of the day will better without any presenters. Hope the change is permanent.

[avfcdale]

Much better without commentary or big six bias punditry however tories are still twats for trying to put through  internationalist bullshit  laws on the sly, hate big six don't  like this government love villa utv
 

[markeeeebeeee2005]

The right love banging on about freedom of speech until somebody says something they don’t like or criticises them. Snowflakes indeed.

Love Villa, hate the Tories.

[Drummond]

Anyway, the most important point about all this is that I now, thanks to Lucy Verasamy, and ITV, have a better idea about the weather for tomorrow than I otherwise may have.

[olaftab]

A chance to watch Sully again. Thank you Gary.

[olaftab]

Anyway, the most important point about all this is that I now, thanks to Lucy Verasamy, and ITV, have a better idea about the weather for tomorrow than I otherwise may have.

If Lucy presents MOTD it will be a much better proposition