The new WSC with De Gea and a referee on the front

[elguapo4]

I didn't think so anyway, I thought you got the tone right.

[Nocturnal Submission]

Thank you. I wrote this, and it was bloody difficult.

It was a lovely piece, demonstrating the sport's ability to connect people and the important part it plays in so many lives. I wish that I'd been able to buy my dad a gift that touched him in the way that your's so obviously affected your father.

I've only skimmed through the magazine so far, but I really enjoyed CC's TV Watch, as indeed I always do. The comment upthread by danielmak about not wanting to read about bad TV was interesting. I love stuff like that. Is that just me, just the British or just not Americans? Maybe it's not a specific national trait, but I always get the impression that a good-natured slaughtering of the mediocre is hugely popular in these islands. Anyway, the description of Micah Richards's* Kevin de Bruyne interview approach as being akin to "mid-period Timmy Mallett jollying along the public gallery of the Nuremberg Trials" was wonderful.

* Richards has always been a powerful lad but post-retirement he seems to have developed the physique of a cruiserweight boxer. I'm not sure I can recall seeing an ex-pro who looks less like a former player, excepting those who have piled on the pounds, and yes I am looking at you Neil Ruddock.

[Patrick Thistle]

Thank you. Not seeking praise but genuinely interested to know how this was received;

I'd say the same as Giggler. It was a lovely tribute piece. Having lost my Dad last year it resonated (although he was the opposite in terms of accumulating stuff)

[danielmak]

Nocturnal Submission I don't know if people in the US particularly like focusing on things they love versus things they hate. In general a culture of complaint seems to be the norm here at this point. And I'm certainly not above that norm. Shit, about 1/3 of my posts in the MLB thread are about wanting baseball games to be shorter. But one thing that marked me very early in my life was discovering punk. I loved that punks complained about problems but also set about making a change. You could spend a lot of time complaining about Journey or you could use that time to talk about bands you love. You could complain about venues not booking punk bands or you could find spaces yourself to do DIY shows and spend your time promoting those shows. Print space is limited. Why write about bad TV, bad records, bad movies, bad books when that space could be used to help people discover TV they missed, films that don't get much attention, records that will fly below the radar in a mediascape that is flooded, etc.

Of course, one of the things that makes TV Watch interesting is the humor and it's hard to be funny when writing about stuff you love. Then again, Harry Pearson has found an ability to be funny and write about stuff he loves so it can be done. Anyway, none of this is to say that I don't appreciate TV Watch and I get that I'm in the minority, but I tend to skim and then skip 95% of the time.

BTW, football TV in the US is pretty poor as well, but per my point above about how we use our time, I tend to DVR games. I skip the pre-game, skip the half-time, and stop watching when the game ends. So, I'm not subjected to the studio shows. And we have very little documentary programming about football in the US so I get why the football media marketplace in the UK draws more attention in the UK than in the US.

[Uros Predic]

Uros's piece on the Doncaster match is typically good and I also applaud the paper packaging for the magazine.

Cheers RdG, I've only just cracked into my copy.

I always enjoy the TV Watch feature, despite not really watching any football, or football-related programmes, on television any more, because the writing in it is always excellent; the Micha Richards/Timmy Mallet/Nuremburg trials reference offering a case in point.

[ad hoc]

I love TV Watch, and obviously never see any of the programmes referenced. It's just so well written.

[Nocturnal Submission]

Nocturnal Submission I don't know if people in the US particularly like focusing on things they love versus things they hate. In general a culture of complaint seems to be the norm here at this point. And I'm certainly not above that norm. Shit, about 1/3 of my posts in the MLB thread are about wanting baseball games to be shorter. But one thing that marked me very early in my life was discovering punk. I loved that punks complained about problems but also set about making a change. You could spend a lot of time complaining about Journey or you could use that time to talk about bands you love. You could complain about venues not booking punk bands or you could find spaces yourself to do DIY shows and spend your time promoting those shows. Print space is limited. Why write about bad TV, bad records, bad movies, bad books when that space could be used to help people discover TV they missed, films that don't get much attention, records that will fly below the radar in a mediascape that is flooded, etc.

Of course, one of the things that makes TV Watch interesting is the humor and it's hard to be funny when writing about stuff you love. Then again, Harry Pearson has found an ability to be funny and write about stuff he loves so it can be done. Anyway, none of this is to say that I don't appreciate TV Watch and I get that I'm in the minority, but I tend to skim and then skip 95% of the time.

BTW, football TV in the US is pretty poor as well, but per my point above about how we use our time, I tend to DVR games. I skip the pre-game, skip the half-time, and stop watching when the game ends. So, I'm not subjected to the studio shows. And we have very little documentary programming about football in the US so I get why the football media marketplace in the UK draws more attention in the UK than in the US.

The thing is, Daniel, that TV Watch isn't about an infuriated and exasperated viewer railing against terrible television. It's really just detached amusement, a gentle piss-taking of a programme, or often just the odd part of one, that presented the opportunity for a funny line or two. Other than ill-informed pundits, which have been the object of frustration for years, I don't think that there's an awful lot to get worked up and want to change about when it comes to football on TV. It's mainly live action, match reviews, magazine programmes and the occasional documentary.

[Gangster Octopus]

All through my furlough I've been reading the magazine pretty much one or two stories at a time. Just read the Sunderland colouring story, and was amazed by the crowd in the Manchester United v Woolwich Arsenal photo. How the fuck did all those people get onto the roof of the stand?

[jameswba]

The discussion of TV Watch here has made me look up a 1997 Cameron Carter piece about Football Focus (in Power, Corruption and Pies Vol 2). It basically compares the programme when Bob Wilson presented it ('its golden Arthurian period') with the later Gary Lineker incarnation. Carter clearly had great affection for Wilson as a presenter and little love for Lineker, but there is gentle humour at the expense of both. It is magnificent writing. Even so, recent TV Watch columns don't suffer by comparison.

[Nocturnal Submission]

I was reading Harry Pearson's piece last night. He really is the master of the metaphor. I'm definitely going to use "bristle-headed" in the future for suedeheads, will try to shoehorn "a figure so peripheral he made he made a fondue set look like a kettle" in to my next lengthy discussion about football or Richard Burgon and loved his description of Luis Figo's general demeanour.

[danielmak]

Arrived to the US today. A slight tear in the top of the paper envelope but the magazine is in good shape. Looking forward to getting into it. I still have a stack of about 10 issues that I never had time to read that came out 2016-18. I had been planning to get into some of those but the Pearson book has kept me busy when I'm not reading for work. I will say that working through some of those back issues during the COVID international shipping hiatus has me missing the old paper used for the magazine, but I fully understand the need to cut costs.

[danielmak]

2021 calendar arrived to the US today. Some interesting photos included in the calendar. I should have bought the 2020 calendar but waited too long. The missus has vetoed it has the home calendar so it will go to my office.