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Off The Ball - Is it good?


Off The Ball  

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Agree with the general points that it used to be really good, and is probably still better than whatever pish the BBC would replace it with.

I agree with the poster who made the point that a lot of the problems with the show currently reflect the BBC being absolutely terrified of the new Rangers, referring to them as New Rangers, upsetting fans of New Rangers etc. Cowan's sycophancy towards them is unbelievable, and definitely not what the show used to be about.

The guests are the main problem for me. I don't mean all guests should be from the world of football, but it's quite cringey when they have a guest who clearly has no idea about football whatsoever. Makes for tedious listening and slows the show down a lot. Also,

I never, ever want to hear Amy MacDonald on the show ever again. She is a fan, fair enough. But she doesn't know much about fitba, she's not funny, she's not interesting, she offers nothing. Often, I find that's the case with the guests.

So, I suppose that while it's not what it was, I'd be afraid of what horrors the BBC might find to replace it. I certainly don't listen to it every week like I used to, and I'll now only listen live if I happen to have the radio on. Would never seek out the podcast.

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I liked it better when they had ordinary fans on- fanzine editors and the like. The c*nts never asked me though. I can't be bothered when they have that old tube Archie McPherson on- he should be allowed to disappear gracefully. 

I was thinking they could invite some well known P&B characters on but that would probably end up with Radio Scotland's licence being taken off them.. 

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The show they did just after Lambie died was tremendous radio. They painted such a beautiful and human (as well as hilarious) portrait of him as a player, a manager and as a man. 

That was OTB at its very best.

I listened a few weekends ago and I was horrified at how utterly lazy it was. Topics to text in about included “are fitba fans mugs?” (as “yer da” as it gets for me), and “your scheme”. The romanticisation of cartoon working classness, or worse, the use of working class anecdotes as aggrandisement fodder for those in the (upper) middle class bracket sets my teeth on edge. 

I agree with most in here that it’s lost its edge and needs freshening up. 

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8 hours ago, velo army said:

I listened a few weekends ago and I was horrified at how utterly lazy it was. Topics to text in about included “are fitba fans mugs?” (as “yer da” as it gets for me), and “your scheme”. The romanticisation of cartoon working classness, or worse, the use of working class anecdotes as aggrandisement fodder for those in the (upper) middle class bracket sets my teeth on edge. 

Unfortunately that seems to be the standard position of the mainstream football media with simplistic, cliche ridden, hyperbole driven output for the barely literate their default level for the hard of thinking person that is the average fan.

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I've always travelled to games by public transport so very rarely listened to it but the times I have I have enjoyed it. However, it has become more and more difficult to listen to recently, partly due to the decline in the show itself but also partly due to some excellent Scottish football Podcasts that are comparable. For example the Terrace can be extremely amusing but at the same time the guys are knowledgeable and you genuinely feel their passion for the game in Scotland.

It is a decent alternative and it is nice to have shows about Scottish football but it's time is nearly up I feel. Hopefully a more modern show can replace it.

For what it is worth that Kat Harvey is absolutely abysmal to listen to. She doesn't understand most of the jokes and the ones she tries to join in she gets it all wrong.

Sportsound is abysmal too. Totally down to the guests that they pander to. Get 'biscuits' etc to f**k.

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Tan cowan had to pull out of a gents breakfast for Whitehill welfare in Feb. As an apology he said he would come do a small gig free of charge in the summer....he came thro on a Fri night and did a turn after the Spain v Portugal game and all money raised went to a charity of his choice...he did 2 hours from 10 till midnight and whilst his material was way too edgy for radio,he was one of the funniest guys I've ever seen...very accommodating all evening as well.....

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I agree with the general view that it has its moments but is a pale version of what it used to be.

re: Cosgrove, I have no concrete evidence but I think his appetite has wilted following the whole Armageddon-saga. I listen to the excellent Media Review show he does with Eamonn O'Neill and he still has the bite when discussing Trump or the Tories or the alt-right that seems to be lacking when discussing Scottish footballs many ills. 

Cowan is a dinosaur, which was shown up by his views on the women's game that rightly got him into trouble. 100% that if his texts or emails were leaked he'd make Malky Mackay look like a saint. If you could light the fire under Stuart and partner him with a younger presenter then OTB still has a future. The lad that does Tell Him He's Pele stuff e.g. would be an excellent foil.

At least David Currie is nowhere near it. 

Edited by BoydiesBelly
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2 hours ago, BoydiesBelly said:

I agree with the general view that it has its moments but is a pale version of what it used to be.

re: Cosgrove, I have no concrete evidence but I think his appetite has wilted following the whole Armageddon-saga. I listen to the excellent Media Review show he does with Eamonn O'Neill and he still has the bite when discussing Trump or the Tories or the alt-right that seems to be lacking when discussing Scottish footballs many ills. 

Cowan is a dinosaur, which was shown up by his views on the women's game that rightly got him into trouble. 100% that if his texts or emails were leaked he'd make Malky Mackay look like a saint. If you could light the fire under Stuart and partner him with a younger presenter then OTB still has a future. The lad that does Tell Him He's Pele stuff e.g. would be an excellent foil.

At least David Currie is nowhere near it. 

Christ folk are not still harping on about his column on woman's football...for the last 15 years he's been doing tounge in cheek on all things football and sport and boom woman's football is the subject matter one week and it's snowflake meltdown....I'm personally not over fussed with woman's football and would very rarely watch a woman's game so that make me a dinosaur....

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21 hours ago, tamthebam said:

I liked it better when they had ordinary fans on- fanzine editors and the like. The c*nts never asked me though. I can't be bothered when they have that old tube Archie McPherson on- he should be taken outside and shot. 

I was thinking they could invite some well known P&B characters on but that would probably end up with Radio Scotland's licence being taken off them.. 

FTFY

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1 hour ago, magoo said:

Christ folk are not still harping on about his column on woman's football...for the last 15 years he's been doing tounge in cheek on all things football and sport and boom woman's football is the subject matter one week and it's snowflake meltdown....I'm personally not over fussed with woman's football and would very rarely watch a woman's game so that make me a dinosaur....

I have zero interest in women's football just as I have zero interest in watching say Serie A or the African Nations Cup. Does this mean I am a dinosaur too? 

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On 10/09/2018 at 13:45, Armand 2 said:

My old man got tickets to the Off the Ball Live show at the Kings earlier this year - f**k me, it was utterly torturous. It started at 7:30pm and never finished until past 10:30pm. It was literally just Cosgrove and Cowan sitting in two seats on the stage, talking the same shite they've talked on the radio for years. It was essentially a stand-up gig for Cowan as Cosgrove sat crossed-legged, contributing little and semi-conscious like the audience.

I used to find his Cosgrove's views relatively congruent to that of the provincial club fan but I now find him unbearably righteous and often quite misinformed. Like Saturday's show for example - apparently Oli McBurnie plays for Leeds and is only in the National squad because of his performances for the 21's which isn't enough for Cosgrove.  Never mind the fact he's one of the top scorers in the Championship and is one of the most in-form players available to us.

The c**t they roll out to do Jonathan Watson-esque impressions needs taken out the back and shot.

There's people out there doing the same thing but infinitely better and far more current (Simon Ferry, Tell Him He's Pele).

I like the show, but Stuart comes out with a few inaccuracies about players/ teams and past matches quite regularly. I don't think he's claiming to be a football journalist or anything so it's not that big a deal.  I never find him particularly insightful when talking about Saints performances or players either, but then I've got mates I've been to games with and I genuinely wonder what game they've been watching sometimes.

The shows not there to be a factual pundit analysis, it's more just a chat about the 'culture' of Scottish football. Though I accept it might seem out of touch to someone in their teens or early twenties, but I still enjoy it before and after a game on a Saturday, and would miss it if it disappeared.

On 10/09/2018 at 15:41, kingjoey said:

Sorry to have a go, but I hate the phrase. In my mind it’s lazy and undefined. It can mean five years ago, ten years ago, forty years ago, sixty years ago, and therefore has no meaning. There I go again. And don’t get me started with people that start the answer to any question with “so”.

One of the absolute worst of the Americanisms which have crept into our language over the past few years.

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Someone mentioned it earlier in the thread, but I think Cosgrove is far more important than Cowan. You could replace Cowan with someone new or even have Cosgrove on his own to some degree and the show could continue. If Cosgrove was to leave and Cowan continued with someone else it’d be awful.

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