John_Pakey
Contributor

Offline, last online: Apr 4 2009, 13:25 PM

My mum is not the greatest follower of football.

She has to suffer my dad's groans and gripes about England, but that's about as much as she really knows or understands.

So, it was a shock when phoning home to Essex on Saturday that my mum started complaining how the BBC were not showing the Havant clash against Liverpool.

For myself and everyone at Echo Towers' sports desk the BBC's selection of FA Cup matches has been nothing short of pathetic this season. We've been complaining since the third round at the lack of coverage the non-league sides have got. It's frustrated all of us who deal with sport, but it's finally got down to the common demoninator - no disrespect - my mum.

"We all love an underdog," said mother Pakey on the other end of the phone. And she's right. It's in the national instinct to want to get behind the little guy and you couldn't get anyone smaller than Havant and their clash against Liverpool.

Yet, like the previous round, they seemed to have been completely ignored by the BBC. What's a public service for?

Instead we have been treated to games that are simply there to draw the big numbers in, with teams like Manchester United. I'm not adverse to watching United play, but I can see them on TV any weekend pretty much thanks to Sky TV. Havant - and in the previous round Chasetown - are never going to get the chance again to be the feature game.

It's a big disgrace. Come on BBC, we don't care about Premier League sides. I know the numbers might say so, but the national interest in the little guy will be far greater than the supporter numbers of one of the so called big four.

As for the Premiership itself, it can go hang for all I care.

I got tired of it a long time ago, and actually find watching Fourth Division football more enjoyable. It may not be great quality, but it doesn't pretend to be. It's the same in non-league and I would sooner go watch Trinity or Boston play over Manchester United, Liverpool or Chelsea. It's simply more fun.

The Premier League is not the great quality it says it is - really, please, don't believe the hype. I've become a bit of a convert to Spanish football as a result and after a recent break to the Basque region I've found myself following the fortunes, or lack of, of Athletic Bilbao.

They drew 1-1 today with Barcelona at San Mames, equalising with 10 minutes to go after going behind just before half-time. A good result considering, and one that will hopefully keep them out of the bottom three.

It was a belting clash. It was end-to-end with a pace to rival, if not better, the so called 'excitment' of the Premier League.

There is much better football out there. I'm glad Sky realises this, I just wish the BBC would.


The African Nations Cup has kicked off and already the competition has already gripped the sports desk here at Echo Towers.

Aside from wondering if all the groundsmen in Ghana have gone on strike (have you seen the length of the grass on the pitches?), we've been enjoying some quality football.

Muntari's strike for Ghana in the last minute to help them to a 2-1 win against Guinea has started the tournament well and Morocco have slapped Namibia 5-1.

We're now settling down to watch Ivory Coast take on Nigeria, in one of the real big clashes of the competition so far.

There is also a new interest as well for us on the sports desk as Mark Whiley has gone round with the sweepstake. I've been lumbered with Guinea and iit has left me thinking that it may be the worst £1 I've invested.

Leigh Curtis has ended up with Mali and Angola, while our deputy sports editor, Sam Parker, has landed Sudan.

The pick of the bunch, Ghana, has found it's ways into the grubby paws of Chris Brammer and Mark Whiley is not too disapointed with Tunisia and Nigeria.

Our resident tipster Guy Walker has walked off with Senegal and Cameroon and is feeling that he might be on to a winner.

Sweepstakes are always a good laugh, especially as I can now spend a fortnight laughing at Curtis' luck following his two fine picks.

Now, does anyone have a lawnmower going spare?


This Monday's Lincolnshire Echo is going to be minus an Imps report, but I'll still encourage you to buy it.

At present Leigh Curtis is ringing round trying to get exclusive reaction to the match being off, and I'm guessing the main feeling will be frustration right now.

Talking to Leigh on the phone this morning, as I was sat in my dressing gown and slippers, we both lamented the fact the match was not going ahead today.

Getting points on the board now in this relegation scrap is crucial. The Imps can't afford having games in hand. It increases the pressure on you, plus a midweek trip to Macclesfield is going to be a harder one to prepare for and win.

I'm sure Jackson will take it on the chin, though. In his time at Huddersfield he had good cup runs, so he is more than experienced with dealing with a fixture backlog. And also, it's only one fixture so far.

At the moment, though, I'm going to sit through the afternoon staring at the matches that are taking place trying to work out what situation that is going to leave the Imps in, sick that there is nothing Jacko and the lads can do about it.

It is a bit galling, but that's football.

I could take my mind off it, though. Boston and Gainsborough are both on and the Northolme would be my pick of the two as a relegation clash is on the cards with struggling Trinity taking on lowly Vauxhall Motors.

I saw Vauxhall play Boston at York Street earlier in the season, and it was an alright game. The Pilgrims won thanks to a flurry of goals towards the end of the match. Vauxhall had one decent player, who was so good scouts from several league clubs were there having a nose.

Trinity, meanwhile are desperate for a win, so I would put that down as one to watch if the Imps fans are feeling the urge to get that football fix, and don't want to have a trip to the garden centre, or spend the day watching Stelling and co dish out the bad news on Soccer Saturday.


We've just had our TV replaced on the sports desk here at Echo Towers.

For several weeks we've been without our little window into the world of breaking sport news and Georgie Thompson.

They were hard times as we wrangled with the powers that be to get a new one. It wasn't until my colleague Mark Whiley threatened strike action that things finally changed and a couple of days ago the handyman finally struggled to plug a new one in.

We had it there ready for all the January transfer window news, that just wasn't happening and for a while - aside from Georgie Thompson - the only interest we had was watching the depressed look of the poor reporter who had been stuck outside St James' Park.

We wondered what sort of miserable life he must be having, spending the majority of his day living out of the back of a Ford Transit suffering the cold north east weather with only the suduko puzzle in the paper to keep his mind active.

As the days ticked by he was gradually losing the will to live as behind him St James' Park looked like a grey lifeless backdrop, with not a soul in sight, let alone anyone who could take over this club which seems to be in self destruct.

There was only one man who could break this dull lifeless scene.

Only one man could bring light and happiness into this corner of the world.

Only one man could finally make the poor reporter stuck up on Tyneside eating a diet of takeaways for the last few days finally feel that there was a point to his life.

Kevin Keegan.

Sky Sports News then pretty much exploded into life as they forgot all about Fabio Capello's tax investigation and went full pelt Keegan madness as the man who had failed to achieve anything there in the first place returned.

The old clips were dug out, the best moments of his career were dragged up from the depths of the archive to remind us what a character and asset he is to the game.

All of a sudden St James' Park turned from a grey wasteland into a black and white seething mass of people.

The reporter was at action stations, the suduko long forgotten, he was out there interviewing those strange fans that just appear from nowhere when something BIG happens at these clubs - if I was a more cynical man I might go as far to suggest that Sky Sports have these people lined up in another transit van parked round the corner.

Suddenly every Harry Nobody who had ever played for Newcastle was chipping in their bit too. Phone interview after phone interview with the great players such as Warren Barton and Steve Watson came up.

It was tabloid TV at its best, but I loved it. I absolutely loved it, as our friend Kevin would say.

We could all take the cynical view here on how full on Sky Sports News coverage of Keegan's appointment was, and how it could be considered overkill, but they had ever base covered. While over on Setanta Sports News there was something about Plymouth trying to sign someone from Exeter or something, I don't remember, it was that uninteresting.

You really wonder what the point of Setanta Sports News is.

Nothing can beat the beast that is Sky Sports News, a team so dedicated that they leave a reporter stuck up in Newcastle, waiting, just waiting.

It is much like angling. You stick around long enough, you're going to get that bigger fish, and while Sky Sports News reeled in a prize winning beauty in the north east Setanta Sport hadn't even got their rod out. Admittedly it looks like Sky have much flashier fishing tackle and more rods out there to hook the big ones than Setanta, but if you're going to battle against the big ones you've got to make sure you match your competitor.

And with that, you know now that when King Kev leaves Newcastle - again - it will be our friends at Sky that will be there first, and Setanta, well? Does anyone know the latest goings on with the Scottish Third Division?[/b]