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Off The Ball - Is it good?


Off The Ball  

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Think the problems started when the running time increased. I'm sure it used to be on either just before or just after Sportsound and then even when they went to both it wasn't on for as long as it is now. Now there's a lot of time to kill and when they have on uninteresting guests it really shows. It also doesn't help now that Sportsound no longer goes to the studio at 2 p.m. as it used to but goes over instead to commentary of the early kick off. So now we have a weak OtB followed by some commentary of a game that presumably we've not been interested in otherwise we'd be listening to it, which doesn't leave much time for team news and interviews from the other games (most of this time is devoted to whatever Brendan Rodgers is saying anyway, whether they've played in the early kick off or not). So from having a tight, funny hour or so followed by a decent bit of preview then another tight, funny hour or so after the games we've went to two rambling hours, 15 minutes or so of preview, then 90 minutes more of an OtB that has already used up a fair chunk of content. Sometimes less is more but the BBC have always went the other way (like taking 30 minute programmes and making them 45 minutes etc).

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18 minutes ago, Zen Archer said:

This is the problem, the editor should have been held accountable, better still, they shouldn't have allowed it to be published.

They would have loved the publicity. It was all 'Buy our shitey rag to see the storming controversial pish Cowan wrote!'.

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6 hours ago, DA Baracus said:

Genuine article.

It definitely wasn't holding up a mirror to the attitudes. It would have been fine if he left it at him not liking women's football, but the shitey sexist jokes were poor and were the actual issue.

He was suspended from the BBC for 2 weeks for it. The Daily Record made him write an apology. 

Funnily enough, I recall when he had that shite show on BBC1, early 2000's when he told a story of a Celtic v Motherwell game from the mid 1980's,  Dennis Taylor,  the then World Snooker Champion having just won that famous black ball final v Steve Davis, was on the pitch doing the HT draw, they all cheered him, till he held aloft a Celtic scarf, upon which Cowan told how he and his mates, in a 'jokey' manner heckled him with a few '****** b*****d' chants, this on a BBC TV show about 15 years ago, something that would not only see him sacked now but possibly up in court, now as a Catholic im not the slightest bit offended at that and the manner he described it, i've been called a ****** b*****d a million times (mostly off my father in law mind you) and its water off a ducks back to me so long as its said in relative jest and not proper malice but, with the women's football stuff I think he judged that the same as the Dennis Taylor story, a mirror holding, slightly ironic twist on old fashioned bigoted views but misjudged it horribly, maybe ten years earlier he'd have got away with it but now where the internet leaves every comment, article and throwaway remark open to scrutiny where, if its archaic or sexist or racist or sectarian it WILL be pounced on.

 

The women's football article didn't offend me, I just think it made him look rather foolish and out of touch, im more offended by the newspaper that he writes for now, as I touched on earlier in the thread, zero respect for anyone who sells their soul and any principles they may have to write for that fucking rag.

Edited by Flybhoy
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4 minutes ago, Flybhoy said:

Funnily enough, I recall when he had that shite show on BBC1, early 2000's when he told a story of a Celtic v Motherwell game from the mid 1980's,  Dennis Taylor,  the then World Snooker Champion having just won that famous black ball final v Steve Davis, was on the pitch doing the HT draw, they all cheered him, till he held aloft a Celtic scarf, upon which Cowan told how he and his mates, in a 'jokey' manner heckled him with a few '****** b*****d' chants, this on a BBC TV show about 15 years ago, something that would not only see him sacked now but possibly up in court, now as a Catholic im not the slightest bit offended at that and the manner he described it, i've been called a ****** b*****d a million times (mostly off my father in law mind you) and its water off a ducks back to me so long as its said in relative jest and not proper malice but, with the women's football stuff I think he judged that the same as the Dennis Taylor story, a mirror holding, slightly ironic twist on old fashioned bigoted views but misjudged it horribly, maybe ten years earlier he'd have got away with it but now where the internet leaves every comment, article and throwaway remark open to scrutiny where, if its archaic or sexist or racist or sectarian it WILL be pounced on.

 

The women's football article didn't offend me, I just think it made him look rather foolish and out of touch, im more offended by the newspaper that he writes for now, as I touched on earlier in the thread, zero respect for anyone who sells their soul and any principles they may have to write for that fucking rag.

Never had you down as a regular church goer Mags...

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1 minute ago, bennett said:

Never had you down as a regular church goer Mags...

I was an altar boy as a laddie at Sacred Heart RC church in Cowie. 

Haven't been to confession in over 20 years now mind you,  id need to book the confessional booth out for about a fortnight now :lol:

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9 hours ago, DA Baracus said:

Have any of you actually read the article? It wasn't that he said he didn't like woman's football, it was the (shite) sexist 'jokes' that were the issue.

I don't like women's football (I too think it's shite) and don't watch it (although the coverage doesn't bother me), but I don't feel the need to be a dick about it and make demeaning crappy jokes using the most boring and unoriginal cliches and stereotypes. But then I'm not sexist. 

Here's the article;

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/tam-cowan-fir-park-should-2314034

I don't think it warranted his suspension from Radio Scotland or anything similar, but it shouldn't have been published in the first place. It's just garbage.

You are aware that he is a comedian.....

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4 hours ago, Flybhoy said:

I was an altar boy as a laddie at Sacred Heart RC church in Cowie. 

Haven't been to confession in over 20 years now mind you,  id need to book the confessional booth out for about a fortnight now :lol:

It's the Police you should be confessing to.....

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for what it's worth like every programme it has it's better moments.  

sadly, the national team not getting to any finals leaves a lot of scots lacking some of the big stories that come out of those trips.  you're still harking back to 78.  and off the ball tends to enjoy harking back.

It's still a good programme that doesnt take itself too seriiously.  if either of them are reading, keep up the good work.

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26 minutes ago, tirso said:

off the ball?  There's only one programme that's like that, Clyde superscoreboard.  still kind of addictive listening even though it's complete trash.:lol:

 

You miss the point.

Of course Off the Ball is better than Clyde's output in that respect, but that's because it would be impossible for it to be otherwise.  In the past however, a big part of its appeal was that it was actively anti-OF, a rare and welcome oasis.

Now however, Cowan in particular is positively sycophantic towards them, wishing them well and admiring their supporters.  A sickening sell-out.

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On 10/09/2018 at 15:14, kingjoey said:

“Back in the day”? What on earth does that actually mean? How is it defined?

 

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”.

So, back in the day,  it was a must listen , sure the supporters bus had it on after the game if we were away. Now its bit meh and if it's on it's on. As has been said Tam's recycled jokes are now beyond recycling and big Stu's kiddy on im fae the scheme voice but i have a brain and popping off to some political prawn cocktail debate after the show does ma nut in,tho his northern soul knowledge is good. Still at least not the old firm bile on other shows and will probably will miss it when it goes.

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