A Grumble re SKY Sports

 

I'm losing interest in 'SKY Sports.' 

I watch via a laptop, the cheapest option.  Once upon a time you could log on and choose 'sports' and be faced with what was on offer.  The live action was clear, on the top, and easy to find.  Upcoming items were below and easy avoided.

Now, you find the top row advertising items way ahead and the live action you wish for is not always clear.  On occasions I have had to search for a game advertised yet not to be found!

Even worse is the decision, by the woman who now runs this farce, to put women's football at the front, on an equal basis to real football.  This weekend the lunchtime Saturday game was a girlie offering.  I am left wondering what the numbers watching was?  No English Premier game on offer, no Scottish Premiership game, though two could have been used, instead a girlie game was shown.

As to the actual coverage of a game there are many faults still.

The number one is the use of too many cameras.  This means instead of watching the game we are forced to watch a goalie at one end while action occurs at the other.  Why?  He is not involved, his last action, good or bad, does not require us to look at his face long after this is over!  Just watch the game!

Last night, near the end of an interesting Portsmouth v Derby game,  the camera decided to show us the nervous fans, why?  Do we not understand how fans behave at a game?  Must we see the chairman shivering in the stand when the ball is in play?  Why can we not just have a couple of cameras, one for replays, and watch the match?  SKY are bad at this, but much better than BBC ALBA who's coverage of a game leaves much to be desired.  They copy the SKY system but without the number of cameras and without any knowledge of football whatsoever!  Send these men back to soap operas where they belong.

Anyway, enough is enough, I will dump SKY, I only got them so I could see the wonderful Costa Rican star player score goals for the Heart of Midlothian.  As they avoid offering Hearts game, preferring the sectarian bigots in Glasgow, I see no point in them any longer.  I might keep the bad camera angles on Premier when it takes over from Viaplay, but we will watch and see there.  

I watched one game on SKY recently, a supplementary one apparently, only the central camera, one feeble commentator, and no replays.  Apart from the lack of a replay this was much better coverage in that you could actually follow the game properly.  We need more of this!

I find today that I really enjoy BBC Scotland's 'Friday Night Football.'  This reminds me of places I have been, before the change of century (which century?-ed) and the football itself is always full of surprises. The team watching are good and sometimes the camera director does his job, sometimes.  I no longer need SKY, and the £40 or so saved each month will be useful.  I might wait until season ends mind.

Spring Advance at Arras, and Phillip.

In between the clouds today I noticed the buds appearing on the trees opposite.  Naturally, the picture does not show any!  However, the park was filled with kids today, plus guardian parents, none of whom appeared to wear masks while chatting to one another.  We forget, or ignore, so easily.  The young kids are better behaved than those that come later, the 'Chase me! Chase Me! crowd' of adolescents that gather to shout and scream in the darkness.  For a few years they have been reasonably quiet, this years lot may be louder.  They leave behind the same mess as all the others while also going on demonstartions to 'Stop Climate Change' and 'Save the Planet!  

It is understandable that those trapped inside, especially kids, wish to be outside making a noise and having fun so it is difficult to complain.  I wish I could do the same!  The lessening of the chill, it was cold when I visited Tesco early on, means people are fooled into thinking Spring is hear again.  I will cheer them all up by telling them it will soon rain all night and into tomorrow.  It is Spring!

 

Vimy Ridge, 9th April 1917.  This was the beginning of the Battle of Arras, a battle with a higher attrition rate than the Somme but almost nobody has heard of it.  Fought begrudgingly by General Haig to support a French 'Push' which was a disaster, it began in good style, the Canadians taking Vimy Ridge mostly within the first hour.  Hard fighting thereafter.  The British 3rd Army under General Allenby attacking south of Vimy advanced over three miles before being slowed by enemy resistance.  As the fight stuttered Allenby was removed by Haig much to his disgust.  Sent to the Middle East by Lloyd George he was happy to support the PMs later attacks on Haig.  

No celebrations occur in the UK re this battle, though it is seen, possibly wrongly, as the birth of an independent Canada.  The Canadians did fight well during the conflict, we could not win without them, yet are often ignored by the UK media.  No surprise there. 

Three local men died on that day, Private Ernest Arthur Clark, Private Bertie Charles Cooper, and Private Horace George Green.  There were to be several more in the days to come.  Cooper was one of four men from one family who was killed in action.  A fifth brother survived simply by being sent to India with a Territorial Unit and avoiding the war.

 

 

Not sure if you noticed but 150 posts on Twitter have indicated the Duke of Edinburgh has died at 99.  This is no surprise to anyone, he was sick, aged, and while well looked after, all knew it was likely.  

The media have gone into overdrive, endlessly repeating the things we all know, one or two dodgy bits about his comments ('Slitty eyes' anyone) and ignoring anything that makes them look bad.  Saturday's press will not be worth buying as it will contain the pre-prepared pull outs full of what has already filled the TV today. 

Personally I am raging!

The Heart of Midlothian game against Alloa was to be shown on BBC Scotland Channel tonight, this while the BBC channel is showing the same programmes, as is STV and SKY, so they have removed the match from TV as this is considered 'light' programming!

Since when was football Light programming?
Absurd decision, and another attack on the Heart of Midlothian by the Glasgow BBC.