STILL RADIO GA-GA

This evening in a fit of desperation brought about by Saints conceding a 93rd minute penalty to snatch a draw from the jaws of victory at Stockport, I bundled Barney into the boot of the car and took him for a long walk in the Kent countryside. Now I haven`t yet managed to sort out the new car`s radio, but I have managed to find two stations - the one that provides Test Match Special and the other one is BBC Radio Five Live.

There is no Test Match on at the moment, so I opted for Five Live and came across a programme called 606, as that is the frequency it broadcasts on. It`s a football phone-in programme, which I may have grumbled about before. It`s `hosted` either by someone with the unlikely name of Spoony or by the BBC`s football commentator, Alan Green. Now Mr. Green has something of a reputation for upsetting people - `Big` Sam Allardyce, Everton`s David Moyes and `Sir` Alex Ferguson, to name but a few. I would normally be on the side of someone able to upset at least two of the above (I have a little time for Mr. Moyes) but I`m afraid I find Alan Green to be even more objectionable, which is really saying something.

His problem is that not only is he never wrong but also he is insultingly intolerant of people who have opinions different to his own. This is a phone-in programme, which survives on the fact that people are encouraged to phone in with their opinions about football matters of the day. This evening, an inoffensive sounding `punter` rang in to suggest that Wayne Rooney had dived to win a penalty for Manchester United - maybe not the most accurate claim I`ve ever heard, but an honest opinion nevertheless, which the gentleman concerned was entitled to have. Green went ballistic, shouting down the microphone, lambasting the caller and very rudely cutting him off before even a semblance of measured debate could take place.

If I had been the wounded caller, I might have issued a formal complaint, withheld my licence fee, called the Samaritans even, for it is not Green`s place to behave in such a way towards those who have no choice but to pay his doubtless inflated wages. So in future, I`ll tune in to Test Match Special, even if there`s no Test Match to listen to, or even tune in to the aforementioned Mr. Spoony, because anything will be better than the shrill ranting of Green and his Radio Ga-Ga. Oh, and by the way, Saints are now only minus seven points at the bottom of Division Three. Maybe I`ll feel better in the morning.