It might be forgivable if they chucked a bit of light humour in. But to intermittently tell you in all seriousness something that you know is downright wrong, cos you can see it with your own eyes, tends to turn you against having the sound on. I haven't come across these commentators before, as I have only just recently used ifollow. I can't stand the agony of radio listening. So they may have been doing this for years. I hope not. So I'm sorry if I'm upsetting anyone.
Matt's been commentating on Barnsley matches for 20 years. I first used to listen to him on Oakwell 1575 (I think it was called), he is literally the voice of Barnsley FC to me as I've grown up listening to him from my very first match. He does get a lot wrong but you can't say he doesn't throw some light humour in.
I thought they were poor tonight but usually I think they provide a decent level of commentary. And like some have already stated, Matt's commentary is synonymous to Barnsley FC for so many. So despite my mild annoyance and amusement at their commentary tonight, I think overall Matt does a very hard job well.
I was listening to the Radio Leeds commentary and they and the Press Box didn't realise that he had been sent off .
I wouldn't wish to take anyone's comfort zone away. If you're only listening though you do need to trust what you're hearing. I think he might possibly thrive with the help of an action replay monitor. Shall we all chip in?
Thanks for the input - positive and negative. Most of it constructive. I did make some errors tonight, but I wouldn't say that's the norm and I'm my own worst critic. I've not had a great time in my private life of late and I'm just happy to be alive, so please cut me a bit of slack during an era when mental health issues are supposed to be taken very seriously. Ta X
I watch every game with commentary (live abroad)- and I look forward to your commentary with the matches
I’ve not listened this season but have always thought you do a very good job. Takes balls to do that job, I hate hearing my own voice back never mind commentating for thousands to hear. Keep your head up & don’t let any criticism get to you. On the sending off, I don’t think your any different to half the crowd if you did miss it, barely anyone around me realised he’d been sent off at first. When there’s a player down injured & the ball’s out of play it’s human nature to start talking to the person next to you or to get a drink or to check the scores on your phone etc. Easy to miss.
I’ve listened/watched almost every week for last 2 years-live abroad so follow via i-follow. Never had owt to complain about. Your passion for BFC comes across well and also think you do a good job of following the action. Every one has an off day. Sorry to hear of your private life issues. All the best with that.
Most of the people in the ground missed that, as he limped off injured, accompanied by the physio. The ref didn't (visibly) show a red card. The official Barnsley FC Twitter feed also missed it. For 10 minutes we were discussing whether it was tactical, as if we were practising playing with 10 men. Yes, honest! You can't blame Matt for that. The lad's a Barnsley Legend who's had a hard time recently, and deserves the support of ALL of us. And be careful what you wish for. Remember when we had Radio Sheffield commentators on iFollow? Now that was crap. Keep it up Matt!
Slack officially cut from me Matt... Although can you not mention at nowt a piece that the team we are playing has only 1 win in 14..lol.. Always leads to them scoring lol.. Wait til we are winning 3 or 4 nowt first Other than that, I was probably far too harsh on you two tbh..
Hope your private life gets back on track and I haven't caused any offence with some of my previous comments. Just poking fun a bit. As mentioned previously I think you do a top job and always look forward to the matchday recap with your commentary on it.
Further to the comments regarding comms position - our vantage point isn't the best (although it's not the worst either) but the gantry height would be perfect and a monitor for zoom ins and replays would also come in very handy, but I haven't got that luxury unfortunately. The game is very fast paced nowadays and the high tempo means that certain things are bound to be missed or misinterpreted occasionally. I tend to follow the ball and have very little time to pause, but my summariser has the opportunity to take a more measured view on things and it is always good to be corrected if necessary - although summarisers themselves will sometimes make mistakes - human beings do!. Regarding player identification - I would say it is extremely rare that I get it wrong and if I do I usually correct myself quickly. Oh and as for pausing - this isn't acceptable for the radio style I am asked to provide. I would much rather do it TV style and I would make far less errors as I would have more time to process the action as it unfolds. Thanks again x