A BIG TURN OFF...

I`ve got a kind of love/hate relationship with Sky TV.   Actually with television in general and not because next month I will be obliged to fork out £157 or something for a TV licence thanks to the BBC and HM Gov. stitching up the over 75s who have had the benefit of free licences until now.  (My solution to simply extend that benefit to the over 80s didn`t go down too well.)   Shame really as I would have qualified for that.

Anyway, back to Sky.   Now I enjoy watching a good deal of sport on Sky, especially cricket and football but I find I have mixed emotions when it comes to watching football.  If Southampton are being televised I either find something else to do, take the dog for a walk, anything really than go through the mental anguish of having to sit there and watch it. 

I never had that problem when I used to go and watch the Saints at St. Mary`s because I was part of the occasion, part of the action almost, possibly able to play a small part in how the proceedings unfolded - a good example was years ago when there was a groundswell of discontent with the stewardship of the club by one Rupert Lowe and I joined in with the crowd imploring us to `Stand up if you want Lowe out.`  Eventually he obliged.

In the days since the Premier League has renewed hostilities, both Manchester United and Liverpool have featured regularly which in terms of audience recruitment makes a good deal of sense with Liverpool winning everything in sight and Manchester United thinking they should.  The Sky coverage shows camera work at its best along with football`s most accomplished commentator in Martin Tyler - a dedicated Woking fan with a pleasant easy-on-the-ear delivery and the experience to know when something needs to be said and when it doesn`t.

Trouble is he is invariably accompanied by one or other of the most annoying `summarisers` and it seems that when Manchester United are playing we have to put up with the biased whining platitudes of Gary Neville and whenever Liverpool are playing we have to put up with the biased whining platitudes of Jamie Carragher for whom I think subtitles should be mandatory.   

They`re a big turn off.  Which is enough to be going on with before I launch into Sky`s Political Editor Beth Rigby with her anti-Government slogans and her inability to pronounce any word ending in `ing.`   At least I haven`t mentioned Naga ("Look at me") Munchetty today, but give it time........