World Cup on TV has been fantastic; what’s actually wrong with critics? | OneFootball

The World Cup is in a bubble of well-documented American and FIFA crimes both political and cultural but there’s always the football, and as long as you can push the evil garbage to the back of your mind – and we have plenty of experience of doing that in the Premier League – it’s all been really rather good.

The various broadcasts on both ITV and BBC have all been some shade of fantastic; I can’t fault them and feel no pointless need to say one is better than the other. It’s all been a delight and so enjoyable. I wondered whether the game would dominate the dark forces that created the background it’s played against. And it has. That’s football for you.

Even as the country’s lying reanimated corpse pollutes the world with his putrefaction and bile, football’s positivity shines from behind the clown’s clouds of deceit and lies. It’s been uplifting and endlessly fascinating.

And given this victory for the powers of goodness over the sulphurous clouds of evil, I’d assume this would be cause for celebration. But no. Mean-spirited people are everywhere, especially on Twitter/X but elsewhere too, with the ceaseless over-the-top criticism of everyone and everything on the BBC and ITV from people who seem to lack any appreciation of how good everyone involved is on both sides. No enjoyment, just criticism. How withered and small. Believe me, your latest hot take leaves people cold. ‘Tiny is as tiny do’ as someone more observant incisively said.

Emma Hayes’ superb and unrivalled quick ‘hydration break’ tactical breakdowns are concise, clear and unprecedented, which reveals why she’s regarded as a top coach in the world. No other ex or current manager has dared do it live in the same way. Even she is still scathingly dismissed by the performatively critical and misogynists who always say the inclusion of women or non-white people’s inclusion is ‘box ticking’.

I don’t think they realise how contemptuously they’re viewed. Or perhaps they do and want to attract ire in order to confirm their self-loathing. What do they actually want? They don’t even know. If football broadcasting was populated by only them, they’d still be critical. The hate towards everyone on either channel seems to be what people live for to boost their self-esteem.

The algorithm is creating a sour-faced, intolerant, always angry, ignorant but loud-voiced world that shouts at itself. A dystopian hellscape that ensures their own misery.

The concept of tolerance is their enemy. You’d think Lee Dixon was the devil incarnate the way he’s talked about. Ironic when the actual devil incarnate is smearing his putrefaction on the White House walls. Even as Lee was saying that England were ‘brilliant’ and effusively praising them, people were still saying how negative he was. Not listening or caring. Okay, there is an Eeyorish tone to him – that’s just his accent – but it’s hardly a needle in the ear and certainly easy to ignore. Indeed, I often can’t make out his background mumble anyway.

I maintain there are no bad commentators; it’s just all subjectively based on personal preference. It’s largely the same with pundits. Too simplistic, too complex? All and every approach is available, why can’t you just choose the one you like and shut up? Don’t like any? Then just turn on when the game starts and mute the commentary and sit in silence with only the noises in your head for company, if you are so precious as to find it unacceptable. You have the power. And you’re not even paying for it for feck’s sake. It’s one thing if you’re paying a subscription, another if you’re not. It’s like sending back a free dinner.

I think ITV has really excelled and tried to do things just a bit differently. If you’re critical, something is wrong with you. Using Adam Richman was a bold move to get a different and local voice and Christina Unkel has been her usual erudite, clear self. See above for the exact same criticism though. Using Gary Lineker on Saturday was a neat move too.

The BBC is forever damned if it spends lavishly on a set like ITV or if it doesn’t. All the presenters actually make a difficult job look easy and are little short of joyful. We are luckier than we often recognise.

Indeed so many options are available to us that if you’re moaning about something or someone, you’ve just chosen the wrong option. So it’s actually your fault. You know you don’t like Lee Dixon but are refusing to select another option and choose to wallow in your own bile. Misery instead of joy. I mean, I don’t enjoy Peter Drury on a PL game, so every time he’s on, I’ll mute or more likely listen on the radio. It’s not difficult, and how stupid is it to listen to someone you dislike when you don’t have to?

Not liking a commentator doesn’t infringe your human rights. It isn’t a personal insult against you, you’re not forced to listen, it’s not the law; you aren’t even a paying customer. We all feel pro or anti some commentators but the extent of the negativity at the World Cup suggests that they’re just looking for things to pick on to attract attention from the algorithm.

There’s even been complaints about the lack of a highlights show, even though the highlights are available to watch on iPlayer or ITVX or STV after every game and every round. What planet are people on to complain about the lack of a highlights show when you can watch the highlights at any time? Not the right context? How fussy are you? A lot of work and effort has gone into these broadcasts and much planning just to bring the feast of football to us and all you can do is moan about someone’s accent or how highlights are shown. What a shi*kicker of an attitude.

It’s just football, free of the usual money and privilege. Even the shirts look great without advertising plastered all over them. Greater evils exist but we are feasting royally on the World Cup, we’ve never had it so good, so quit your moaning for God’s sake or in the Scottish vernacular, accompanied with a push in the chest, “Wits yoor problem, pal, eh?”