David Coleman

Very sorry to hear of the death of David Coleman.

A broadcasting giant who brought authority and enthusiasm to football and a range of other sports.

RIP, great loss to sport.

Another sad loss, always even more sad going at this time of the year.

R.I.P to a true legend in sport.

LONG POST ALERT.    I'm going to write at length on this because it's something I've been thinking about and believe this is as good a thread as any to get it off my chest.  Those who don't like long missives should click off now.



The loss of David Coleman is terribly sad news, but it's more than just the death of a much admired servant of the sport we all love, it's the passing of yet another of those giants of British sport broadcasting, the like of which are not being adequately replaced.

Please indulge me as I explain what I mean.

I watched Ski Sunday on the BBC last winter and was disappointed.  This once superb weekly look at the world of winter sport is now a pale shadow of its former brilliance, when it was hosted for many years by the late and much missed David Vine.

The decline of Ski Sunday is, I believe, just one aspect of a wider malaise spreading throughout the whole BBC sports canon.   The standard of BBC sports coverage is being reduced by the increasing use of the so-called ‘expert pundit.’   More and more former professional sportsmen and women, retiring at the end of their competitive career, are finding a cosy, well paid niche with either the BBC or one of the commercial or satellite sport channels.  

The commercial channels are answerable to market forces and consumerism is the name of their game.  That’s fair enough as far as they are concerned.  But the BBC is a public service broadcaster that has an obligation to the licence fee payer to have higher standards of quality in their output rather than merely aping their commercial competitors’ format.  

Having been a great performer whilst playing professionally doesn’t necessarily transfer to the world of commentary and analysis, and in my opinion, regardless of what happens in the commercial world, the BBC shouldn’t fall into the trap of following their populist lead.

Although there are some good presenters on the BBC, most notably Gary Lineker and Claire Balding (who is a freelancer, but covers many BBC events), many of the pundits give the impression of having been chosen on the basis of looks or celebrity alone.  Robbie Savage acquired celebrity status on Strictly Come Dancing and subsequently cashed in on it.  Good for him, but in my opinion he is inarticulate, shallow, and offers nothing incisive or insightful to the BBC’s coverage of Premiership football.  

Many such individuals deflect attention away from their inadequacies as analysts by turning to the plethora of technology now at their disposal.  They zoom hi-tech graphics onto the screen which dazzle the eye but deafen the ear to the weakness of the accompanying comments.  

Neither do I care for statistics.  Frankly, I couldn't care less how many successful passes Dwayne Fatwallet completed for Manchester United on Saturday, or who had 49% of the possession compared to their opponents 51%.  It's inconsequential rubbish that matters not one jot.  The only statistic that counts is the final score.

There is room for technology in sporting analysis, but I believe it should be used sparingly.  The telestrator is a useful servant, but it is a rotten master.  It makes pundits lazy.  They don’t have to learn genuine analytical skills because the technology does it all for them.  

Bill McLaren never used a graphic in more than 40 years as the voice of rugby, but he could inform – and entertain - fans more with a single sentence than all the current crop of technology-driven former professionals who now work for the BBC put together.  

We were accustomed, for so long, to enjoying peerless presenters, most of whom had never played their sport at the highest level, but were first class journalists who had a deep devotion for the sport they presented.  Harry Carpenter never boxed, but he was so highly regarded in the global boxing community that his death was reported around the world.  Ditto Bill McLaren in rugby union, Dan Maskell in tennis, Ron Pickering in athletics, Kenneth Wolstenholme and Brian Moore in football and of course, David Vine in winter sport.  To this list we must sadly, as of yesterday, add David Coleman who was so highly regarded that in 2000 the IOC presented him with the Olympic Award for Services to the Olympic Movement, one of only 12 Britons to have ever received the IOC's highest award of merit.

Ski Sunday was a day of rest institution from January to March.  David Vine rarely did interviews with skiers; indeed, he did his best to spend as little time in front of the camera as possible.  He described the action professionally, but in a way that informed, entertained and enthused without patronising the viewers.  He credited fans of winter sport with having enough knowledge of what they were watching not to need a constant babble in their ear.  

The current incumbent in the Sunday tea time slot, retired downhill racer Graham Bell, who never won a world cup race, indeed, never set foot on a world cup or Olympic podium, somehow feels a need to commentate a race to death with an unremitting  stream of ‘expert opinion.’  

His lack of high achievement wouldn’t matter if he was a good reporter, but he isn’t that either, so how did he get the job?   Well, my eldest daughter describes him as ‘a hunk’, which is no real qualification for anything, but it could explain why more than half of  Ski Sunday’s content is now taken up by him smirking in front of the camera and regaling viewers with niff-naff and trivia, rather than being behind it describing the race which, after all, is what genuine fans of winter sport watch the programme for.  

The curse of the high profile pundit has all-but removed professional journalists from televised sport.  Now that David Coleman has passed away, none remain.  For me, he was the last of the inspirational amateurs.

Cricket used the gifted amateur better than any other sport.  Brian Johnson, Henry Blofeld, Neville Cardus and John Arlott didn’t play first class cricket, but they founded Test Match Special on BBC Radio 2 which was listened to and loved by cricket fans the world over.

All these men loved the game deeply and described it with so much affection and yet, TMS is now run by ex-pros such as (ex player) Jonathan Agnew who are more concerned with politics, controversy and chasing the big headline rather than being captivated by the smell of linseed oil, freshly cut grass and the crack of leather on willow.  

These pundits are so immersed in their expert opinion that they no longer see the beauty of what they describe.  Sport needs men with a different perspective and talents other than those gained from playing professionally.  David Coleman was one such man.  He loved sport so deeply and it came across in his commentary.  He conveyed his own enthusiasm for what he was describing and in so doing, enthused us all.

Former pros may be instantly recognisable on TV by the fans, and acquire a following, but they don’t always do right by the game.  They are too close and have long since lost the almost child-like enthusiasm that drew them to it in the first place, though the Colemans, Johnsons and McLaren's never did.

Where will the coverage of sport go from here?  I’ll leave the final word to that great cricket journalist, Christopher Martin-Jenkins.  When he wrote the preface to C L R James’ book ‘Beyond the Boundary,’ he asked the somewhat rhetorical question:   “What do they know of cricket, who only cricket know.”  

The ex-pro’s should ponder that and perhaps step aside.  Bring back the  inspirational amateurs who saw sport through a loving (and sometimes romantic) eye and brought it to us with genuine enthusiasm.

Rest in peace David Coleman, and thank you.

Lion - I was conscious when I submitteded my opener late last night that David Coleman merited a much lengthier and considered post. Thank you for providing that.

You raise interesting and valid points about the rise of the 'expert pundit'. It is indeed concerning that many past greats of the sporting microphone might well struggle to get even an audition today. The original concept of Test Match Special was undoubtedly of its time and one which would sadly be no longer welcomed.

To your list of commentary greats, I would also add the name of Ted Lowe. A former snooker hall manager but never a professional player to my knowledge. As you'll know, his hushed and distinctive commentary style earned him the soubriquet 'Whispering Ted Lowe'. A perfect example of less is more.

Those of our generation must content ourselves with still having Richie Benaud and please may that be for some time yet. When Benaud does finally depart for his ultimate venue, I like to think there will be many waiting there to give him a perfect introduction. A leading figure amongst those would be David Coleman.

I'll probably get shot for posting this but David Coleman was not among my favourites, especially on footie. An incredibly professional commentator, but never came across as a football fan as, for instance, Motson always did.

OK as an athletics commentator but I always felt he fell well short of the standards set by the Great Peter O'Sullivan, Bill McLaren, Maskell, Lowe and most of the cricket guys, Arlott and Benaud of course supreme. All true sports fans which they communicated so brilliantly.
Of the other professionals, would say that Pickering was terrific.

As far as current commentators are concerned, I'd say the tennis crew are superb, Patrick McEnroe, Cahill, MJ Fernandez etc as good as we get in any sport (tho I don't get your current cricket or Rugby coverage).

kwinigolfer wrote:I'll probably get shot for posting this but David Coleman was not among my favourites, especially on footie. An incredibly professional commentator, but never came across as a football fan as, for instance, Motson always did.

Kwini - yes but ... Mottie isn't so much a fan as an obsessive. I met him once at Woking FC where he had gone to do some research on Woking's opponents (forget who) who were to be featured in a forthcoming televised game. Nice guy but clearly someone on a mission. Pleassed he's lasted so long in broadcasting - that was a few years back and he looked old then with a noticeably stooping back.

PS Kwini - hope you saw my recent snippet on the Ron Davies thread.

Thanks guildford, just responded on the Ron Davies thread.

I'm sure there's always been more than a smear of Marmite regarding pros and cons of Coleman . . . . .

kwinigolfer wrote:Thanks guildford, just responded on the Ron Davies thread.

I'm sure there's always been more than a smear of Marmite regarding pros and cons of Coleman . . . . .

Kwini - I hadn't thought that before about Coleman. Rather than Marmite, maybe mustard?   

guildfordbat wrote:Lion - I was conscious when I submitteded my opener late last night that David Coleman merited a much lengthier and considered post. Thank you for providing that.

You raise interesting and valid points about the rise of the 'expert pundit'. It is indeed concerning that many past greats of the sporting microphone might well struggle to get even an audition today. The original concept of Test Match Special was undoubtedly of its time and one which would sadly be no longer welcomed.

To your list of commentary greats, I would also add the name of Ted Lowe. A former snooker hall manager but never a professional player to my knowledge. As you'll know, his hushed and distinctive commentary style earned him the soubriquet 'Whispering Ted Lowe'. A perfect example of less is more.

Those of our generation must content ourselves with still having Richie Benaud and please may that be for some time yet. When Benaud does finally depart for his ultimate venue, I like to think there will be many waiting there to give him a perfect introduction. A leading figure amongst those would be David Coleman.

Thanks, Guildford.  I am always conscious, when I start writing, that I may perhaps go into too long a ramble and over do it.  This is why I put my little disclaimer at the top.

Yes, you are quite right about Ted Lowe, and it was quite remiss of me to overlook him.  He was another of those truly dedicated enthusiasts who had the knack of drawing viewers into the action and making it impossible to turn away from.  I am not a fan of snooker myself, but I know a master of his art when I see one, and Ted Lowe was one such person.

Kwini..... Nobody should want to shoot your for having an opinion, mate.  This is what message boards are for.   I'll certainly never put you down for anything you say.  I may disagree with you on occasion, but I think we should all respect each other's opinions regardless.

As for John Motson, well, yes, I would agree that he is a bit of an obsessive but in his own way he has become indispensable to the world of football commentary.  He truly cares about the game of football and if some of the stats-babble can become tiresome he has the happy knack of occasionally coming up with a genuine nugget.

1.Peter O'Sullivan
2.Arlott
3.Benaud
4.Carpenter on Boxing
5.McLaren
6.Motson (also really like Peter Drury)
7.Patrick McEnroe
8.Pickering was very very good.
9.Warren Humphreys
10.Whispering Ted Lowe

Among those who could "anchor" a broadcast as well. Coleman was too inclined to make the whole thing about him, in my mind at least.

Also really liked Brough Scott.

When reading today's tributes to Tony Cozier, I was reminded of this thread and, in particular, the excellent posts from Lion and Kwini emphasising the importance of commentators seeing ''the beauty of what they describe''.

Tony Cozier received some very warm tributes, didn't he? Always enjoyed his commentaries and common sense thoughts.

I don't know how they are contracted, but we get a variety of football commentators these days via NBC and phox broadcasts. For some I turn the volume down and put on some good music, but others are so complementary to the action that I'd like to be the bloke sitting next to them in the stands, their commentary being almost more of a conversation between fans. But I'd say we've lost a lot of that, both here and, from what little I see, there.

Too many of the ex-players seem to have hidden agendas (and from reading some of Savage's comments on the Beb web-site he's an habitual offender), though I love Andy Townsend's efforts, first class.
Coaches/managers seem to offer a much more balanced perspective in my experience.

We'll miss the Tony Coziers of this world.

kwinigolfer wrote:1.Peter O'Sullivan
2.Arlott
3.Benaud
4.Carpenter on Boxing
5.McLaren
6.Motson (also really like Peter Drury)
7.Patrick McEnroe
8.Pickering was very very good.
9.Warren Humphreys
10.Whispering Ted Lowe

Among those who could "anchor" a broadcast as well. Coleman was too inclined to make the whole thing about him, in my mind at least.

Also really liked Brough Scott.

Sorry to hear about David Coleman's death.

I just want to add another name to your list. Seeing as how Harry Carpenter is mentioned, I believe Reg Gutteridge deserves a mention for his excellent boxing commentary. I never saw him present a show by himself, but his commentary on boxing rivalled, maybe even surpassed Harry Carpenter.

Fred Perry was also a very good tennis commentator. I remember listening to him commentate at Wimbledon during the early 90's.