Kettering vs Fulham not on TV....

[Liam]

I'm doing the dishes and listening to Talksport, and a big debate has sprung up with Ian Wright and some other bloke on a phone in show. The games chosen to be shown from the FA Cup 4th round see Liverpool vs Everton, Cardiff vs Arsenal, Man United vs Tottenham, Hartlepool vs West Ham and I think Notts Forest/Derby (or something akin to that), but no Kettering vs Fulham.

The argument seemed to center mostly around as to why a game such as Man United vs Tottenham got picked. You have the big Merseyside derby, two games where you could get a cup upset, and there essentially is no reason to show Man United/Tottenham except for viewing figures alone. Kettering, a non-league side, have battled all the way to the 4th round, and won't even get a TV date out of it.

I have to agree (and not just because I'm a Fulham fan). People talk about the FA Cup not being what it used to be, and its for reasons like this. Kettering deserve their day in the sun, but lord knows what was ITV were thinking when they made their choices. They made a big deal in their advertising of the potential clashes akin to what Kettering/Fulham is, but don't even give it a second look when the game comes up. Silly boys.

So yeah, thoughts.

[TheArsenal]

ITV aren't the BBC. They rely on advertising money, which is dependant on viewing figures. They will get more viewers for Man Utd/Spurs than they will for Fulham/Kettering.

Is it wrong? Yeah, it is. Would BBC show the Kettering game? Probably, in the Sunday afternoon slot where they used to show lower league teams. It's just the way it is...

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Ratings-wise it's very hard not to show the Man Utd/Spurs game. Partly cos they are two of the three clubs with the most FA Cup wins in history and, odds are, they'll be the two teams competing in the Carling Cup final as well (unless Derby fulfill my dreams )

However I would show Kettering over one of the other two shock possibilities (or the East Midlands derby!)

[Matt]

I'm doing the dishes and listening to Talksport, and a big debate has sprung up with Ian Wright and some other bloke on a phone in show. The games chosen to be shown from the FA Cup 4th round see Liverpool vs Everton, Cardiff vs Arsenal, Man United vs Tottenham, Hartlepool vs West Ham and I think Notts Forest/Derby (or something akin to that), but no Kettering vs Fulham.

The argument seemed to center mostly around as to why a game such as Man United vs Tottenham got picked. You have the big Merseyside derby, two games where you could get a cup upset, and there essentially is no reason to show Man United/Tottenham except for viewing figures alone. Kettering, a non-league side, have battled all the way to the 4th round, and won't even get a TV date out of it.

I have to agree (and not just because I'm a Fulham fan). People talk about the FA Cup not being what it used to be, and its for reasons like this. Kettering deserve their day in the sun, but lord knows what was ITV were thinking when they made their choices. They made a big deal in their advertising of the potential clashes akin to what Kettering/Fulham is, but don't even give it a second look when the game comes up. Silly boys.

So yeah, thoughts.

Yep, it's a complete fucking joke, we can watch Scum vs Tottenham and Liverpool vs Everton (alright, that one isn't quite as bad since it's a big derby) all the time and 95% of people who are THAT interested in Forest/Derby should be getting off their arses and going to watch the game.

I don't think TV audiences will be hugely different for Scum/Tottenham as they would be for Fulham/Kettering, because a lot of real football fans would tune in hoping to see either a goalfest or an upset - only people you're missing out on are the arm chair plastic scum fans that don't know what a "Coca-Cola Championship" is.

[Liam]

ITV aren't the BBC. They rely on advertising money, which is dependant on viewing figures. They will get more viewers for Man Utd/Spurs than they will for Fulham/Kettering.

Is it wrong? Yeah, it is. Would BBC show the Kettering game? Probably, in the Sunday afternoon slot where they used to show lower league teams. It's just the way it is...

Oh yeah, it makes sense, don't get me wrong. But Man United/Tottenham is always televised, and you finally get a chance to buck the trend, and you fail miserably. It won't be as good ratings, but you'd still get a significant amount of ratings for the Kettering game, just for people who like watching potential upsets.

BBC probably would have shown it, you're right, but it's a further case of ITV ruining sport.....ok, a bit dramatic, but their Champions League coverage can fuck off, and the Motor Sports coverage was pretty naff as well.

[Jam]

ITV is a joke, any channel which calls Andy Townsend an expert is fucked up. I remember him on Talksport once talking about films and in particular Snakes on a Plane. I swear his exact words when talking about it were

"Snakes on a Plane, so what's this film all about"

Tosser. That Matt Smith can fuck off too. 45 minutes on the Championship to show all three leagues and he talks for about 10 minutes of it

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Snakes On A Plane is called "Snake Flight" in Japan >_<

Edited January 8, 2009 by ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster

[-A-]

Kettering have an absolutely horrible chairman who's the worst media whore I've ever seen. He was responsible for hiring Gazza and then ripping him to pieces in a slimy manner when he inevitably left, and generally seems to treat everything as a PR stunt. Some fan or player of another club made an accusation of racial abuse towards a Kettering fan and he wrote a letter decrying anyone who would 'call his club racist' or something similar. Find it hard to care about this.

[Dan]

We're on tv, that's all that matters.

[Adam]

I think this is made worse by the fact we are very likely to see Spurs-Man U on tele less than a month later on the tele in the League Cup final.

It's a shame, because the smaller teams deserve the exposure and the chance to make more money.

[Hobo]

Liverpool vs. Havant wasn't on TV last year. I don't think. Which surprised me.

[TheArsenal]

Are you sure? I remember seeing that fella.... Barry someone? .....score from near the edge of the box. Maybe that was just MoTD....

[Matt]

Are you sure? I remember seeing that fella.... Barry someone? .....score from near the edge of the box. Maybe that was just MoTD....

It was a 3pm Saturday kick off, so I highly doubt it was. I only remember this because I was at Luton laughing that H&W were two up...

[TheArsenal]

Must have been MoTD then.

lol, Havant.

[METALMAN]

It's a fair point. I quite like seeing the smaller teams on the telly. Makes a change from seeing the same few teams every week.

[Dan]

You must all watch Hartlepool vs West Ham on itv1.

[Sir Alan LCSugar]

My housemates are Hammers fans so I probably will be. Luton have not had such a problem with TV with our round three ties, before this year, being on tv each time.

[therockbox]

I hope Setanta have got the Merseyside derby, ITV is awful. Their 'experts' offer no insight and somehow manage to make Alan Shearer look clever, whilst their highlights programmes are complete shit. Giving 40 seconds to Man City vs. Nottm Forest last week sums up their idiocy.

[GA!]

To be fair to ITV, BBC decided last season to show Manchester United versus Aston Villa over a fuckload of interesting third round ties.

ADVENTURE, HO!

[TheArsenal]

To be fair to ITV, BBC decided last season to show Manchester United versus Aston Villa over a fuckload of interesting third round ties.

ADVENTURE, HO!

Man Utd vs Villa is usually a pretty good game, is it not?

And to be fair to the BBC, they would usually stick on 2 or 3 games over an FA Cup weekend. At least one on a Saturday, and one on a Sunday afternoon.