Operational Difficulties

Once again it was proven if proof were needed that ITV shouldn’t be allowed within a country mile of any live sport.

From 8pm we endured a feisty but not particularly exciting Merseyside FA cup tie and into injury time the only goal of the game went to Everton except we didn’t see it.

Some incompetent had pressed a button and on screen was an advert for BT that after thirty seconds disappeared, we cut back to Goodison and see lots of blue shirted players congratulating each other. Nice one ITV the only goal in almost two hours of football and you managed to miss it.

Add to this the needless studio comments of Andy Townsend minus his sidekick the table, last seen on the side of the pitch at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions league. Steve Ryders’ apology of sorts was not enough, ‘we’re sorry that some of you may have missed the goal due to operational difficulties’.…an operating difficulty? Someone must have been sat reading a paper not realising the game had gone to extra time then pressed the button for an advert.

When Manchester United won the Champions League final in 1999 after being one nil down with three minutes to go ITV went to an ad break immediately the final whistle blew, no scenes of joy for us to witness as United won an unlikely treble. ITV Sport have had ten years and more to get it right but still they cannot even begin to compete with the BBC.

I have been critical of the Beeb especially Messrs Lineker Hansen and Shearer for their unswerving favouritism towards the rich four clubs but I thank my lucky stars that when Pompey won the cup it was on BBC without any adverts unscheduled or otherwise.