Welcome back!
It is great to be back with another show and once again thank you all those who contacted us after the last show, your positive feedback means a great deal, and it is good to know you enjoy listening.
On this show we head to Scotland, where we catch up with the CEO of Scottish Hockey, David Sweetman. David and his team have worked wonders in the past three years as they focussed on growing the game and participation. The approach taken was one that has reaped huge rewards and is a lesson to many that sport needs to be funded from the bottom up. Just to show how far they have come the Scottish Men’s Hockey team is up for the team of the year award at the Scottish Sports Awards; their fellow finalists Glasgow Celtic and Scotland Seven’s Rugby.
In our topics under discussion rather appropriately John turns his attention to video technology and whether it has indeed helped umpires make the right decision. Certainly a few England batsmen in the First Ashes test would question whether it has. Are we now at ground zero with this technology? Can it ever make us 100% certain on every decision?
In our other topic under the microscope, Ashley raises the issue as to whether the FIFA World Cup needs to change to see the best teams competing, rather the best teams from various parts of the globe. Some argue that Asia would not watch if Asian teams were not playing, but EPL viewing figures would say otherwise, along with the fact that the modern day fan supports players rather than a team. We would love to hear your views on what is a very contentious subject.
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Thank you All White for listening and taking the time to comment. Thanks for letting us know your views re the World Cup. Thank you also for your very nice comment re my commentary. As for David Sweetman, our guest I have to say I agree with everything you say.
I think you heard our thoughts on the show re video referral. I must admit I thought Broad was unlucky too.
Thanks again for taking the time to listen and then comment. Have to say I agree with everything that you have said. Would be great to see it whittled down to the best 24 teams again. Those of us old enough to remember those tournaments maybe have a romanticised view, but the football was electrifying.
What a great listen! Top show.
Agree 100% that the World Cup has to go back to being the best teams in the world and not just the best from regions. Also expansion will be a complete nightmare, there will be too many meaningless games yet the outcome will be the same with the traditional nations left when it matters. Increasing the number is pure greed on FIFA’s behalf, they hope that it will generate more TV dollars but not sure it will if no one is watching!
Also as you may know I am not really a Hockey fan, but listen to your commentary when on Fox and love it. IT informs me as a viewer and makes the game exciting. But the guy from Scottish Hockey is what a CEO should be about. He sounds like he has a good team around him, has set goals and then him and his team have gone out there and achieved them. Hat’s off to them. What I liked about him most was his humility. He has achieved a heck of a lot in a short space of time but there was no arrogance, in fact he was very shy about their achievements. Sport needs more like him! Sounded like a top guy.
Video referrals, don’t get me started… Failed to achieve much in my book and open to even more crookedness in sport as if the Video official has been nobbled then there is no going back on their wrong decision. There seem to be way too many that are wrong. I am an Aussie but Chris Broad was never out in the Test match.
FIFA policies for the last 2 decades was to spread football all over the world . So they say , I think was just a plot to enhance their own power over the sport . Now , every country and every club , with the help of FIFA , play the same brand of football . In the old days , every nation and every club had their own style of play and was a spectacle to see two different styles clashing . Now , most games are decided in the last 10 min because every one can play possession game . By incrising the number of participants in the World Cup the quality will be diminished but the budget of FIFA will increase . We will witness lots of one sided games , games were the result will not matter for the standings , and there will be to many games . We will need 2 months of holidays to be able to watch the World Cup . I always say that quality is way better than quantity .