Torquay United Fans Forum

Really none plussed about commentaries, do not like listening to Julian Guant purely because he can not talk, any more than 3 words together and his voice exits stage door left apart from that have no problems with it.

Love passion and honesty in the commentary, thats why I enjoy it when your on.

Gullscorer wrote: You're right Matt, verbosity is not an attribute to be welcomed in a commentator.. But not all listeners are die-hard fans of the team. There may well be others tuned in who don't have the background information we supporters possess, and, even for us, the commentator's duty is to do his job properly.. :~D

I suppose this is true, and I may have credited the listeners with being regular supporters who couldn't attend the game in question for a specific reason, rather than just someone tuning in to listen to a spot of local football. That said, my example commentary was, of course, an exaggeration, but I still think the listener should do some of the work himself in terms of picking and choosing which was we're playing, for example. Oftentimes, for a laugh, I like to imagine a team of Mr Blobbys playing against a team of Daleks. TUFC are, obviously, the Blobbys.

Matt.

teeboo100 wrote:morning people no bad news today i hope apart from some rotten person smacked my wing mirror this morning. ime just wandering what people genuinly think of torquay united game commentaries and if people think they could be improved or do people just cant stand listening. I am genuinly interested in what people think

Absolute crap and that wa**er Breed should stick to what he does best.........washing dishes :~D

I wish that, some,of the commentators (Not Breedy. He' s my no. 1) would just stay focused on the match. There is nothing worse than not being at the game(Not that I miss many). You have to rely on the commentary to paint a picture of what's going on. I don't need to know that Arsenal, are 1 down in their champions league game. I don't care about Arsenal (No, I REALLY don't care about Arsenal). So, that's my complaint. Stay focused on OUR game and keep me updated.

Dave Thomas and Steve Breed, that's the preferred commentators for a match day for me!

Breedy is brilliant on the radio and by far the best. He is a true Torquay fan and paints an excellent minds eye picture of what is happening in the game just by the emotion in his voice. Some of the others actually sound excited/happy when the opposition score and I really hate that.

Actually MAtt In this case your wrong. It is possible and if you listened to some of the radio commentators a few years ago in many areas around the country on the old radio two and certainly on Radio 5 when I used to listen to it. They did a very good job of painting a mental picture of where who and what was happening on the pitch. They even found some time to let us know some of the other funnies in the stands. Although he is at the moment under investigation. Stuart Hall was a past master with our language and I learned a lot from him. (although I understand some others may have learned a few other less legal things from him. Time will tell whether he will be found guilty of not and whether we get the chance to hear his voice again ). I am sure there are still some commo's who are equally good at painting mental pictures. I wish I could see better. if my eyesight was a little better I could actually see who was who out on the pitch for us. I would enjoy commentating on our matches on radio if I could see better.

You're right Matt, verbosity is not an attribute to be welcomed in a commentator.. But not all listeners are die-hard fans of the team. There may well be others tuned in who don't have the background information we supporters possess, and, even for us, the commentator's duty is to do his job properly.. :~D

I think it might be a bit much to ask, as it happens Scorer, yeah. That's a lot of information to get out every time the ball moves.
"Rice, of Torquay United has the ball in his hands twelve yards out and 6 yards from the far side of the penalty area if you're sitting, as we are, on the side of the ground with the big clock and the larger of the two long stands, with the Gulls playing right to left as we look. He bowls the ball out to Tom Cruise, also of Torquay United in the 7th minute with the score at 0-0. Tom Cruise, who received the ball three yards in from the touchline nearest us and twenty five yards out sets off on an 8 yard run which leaves him 33 yards from the goal nearest the home supporters end but still three yards from the touchline immediately in front of the long stand with the big clock. He passes the ball 22 yards inside and 3 yards forward to Brian Saah who plays for Torquay United. He receives the ball, as a consequence, in the 8th minute with the score at 0-0 still, 25 yards from the touchline and 36 yards from the goal to the right hand side as you look from the side with the big clock..." Far, far too much effort when, "Rice, out to left back Cruise, passed square inside to Saah" conveys exactly the same message. I'm listening to my team, I know who plays for whom, I know where they all play, I can tell the time and am aware that matches kick off at 1500, so I know how far in we are and I presume it's 0-0 until I'm told otherwise. I don't care which way we are kicking in reality, I just make it up in my head, if I'm wrong come Football League Show highlights time, then it doesn't matter.

That said, your point about emotion in the voice is my main gripe with the bloke who isn't Breedy or Dave Thomas. He sounds exactly the same whether the ball is in the stands or in the penalty area. I can never tell whether a shot from either side has gone in, or been saved, or been missed completely. It's VERY annoying and precisely why I do like SB. His constant yelling and crying (vocally) is one of the funniest things I have ever heard on the radio but it serves useful purpose in detailing the nature of the game or the location of a shot.
Your other decent point is the idea that the co-commo needs to pick and choose his moments. It's no good the main man hollering about something exciting then the co-com popping up and telling us how nice the burgers are in the Northampton tea bar.

I think atrocious is far too strong a word for it, but then, I don't listen to them very often, so maybe it's worse for those who can't get to so many games and rely on the wireless.

Matt.

The BBC Radio Devon football commentaries are atrocious. Here are a few obvious tips to improve them:

It would be helpful to listeners who, for whatever reason, have tuned in late during the game, to tell people the score every few minutes, to tell us in which direction the players are playing (L-R or R-L), and to remind us more often how far the game is advanced timewise.

It would be helpful to tell listeners precisely where on the pitch a player is situated when he receives or runs with the ball (and in which direction). It would be helpful to indicate something of the atmosphere at the game, and, by the tone of the commentator's voice , the level of opportunity or danger arising during a particular move, the degree of excitement at any particular moment, and so on.

It would be helpful not simply to state a player's name during a game, but to remind listeners which team he is playing for. And last but not least, to choose carefully and wisely those brief moments in a game where he can, with his co-commentator, insert a few words of related discussion.

In short, for the commentator to relate, accurately and precisely, what he sees in front of him, together with appropriate additional information, so that we the listeners, simply by listening to the commentary, can be reasonably well-informed about the game, and can visualise the game being played in front of us in our mind's eye.

For commentators with, ostensibly, a little training, practice and experience, that's not too much to ask, is it...??

teeboo100 wrote:and there was me hoping for sense replies mathew lol

It was delivered with my usual charm and elegance, but the sentiment remains the same. A combo of Steve and Dave Thomas would be ideal.

Matt.

coley wrote:Thanks Scott for a straightforward non pratish answer (as above).

Sorry, that bang you heard was my irony meter exploding.

Charmless nerk.

Matt.

and there was me hoping for sense replies mathew lol

Thanks Scott for a straightforward non pratish answer (as above).

I guess 94.9 which is BBC London, unless a Barnet fan can tell you otherwise.

I'm guessing it won't be full commentary though.