Talking Sport: Bantams prove Beeb’s decision was wrong

This isn’t being wise after the event. I criticised the TV people before it was known whether they would play Fulham or Sunderland.

The fact is City’s sensational win at Chelsea was the biggest story of the tournament for many years. We still regularly see film of Hereford’s win over Newcastle ages ago but how often have you seen Bradford’s goals at Chelsea?

On Match of the Day on Sunday, presenter Mark Chapman read out a pathetic explanation why the game could not be covered, decisions having to be made early etc and he looked embarrassed. You can bet if something had been arranged in Barbados at short notice, the Beeb would have bravely managed to get there.

Instead viewers had to sit through the predictably dire Aston Villa-Leicester game.

At half-time Alan Shearer called it boring and Robbie Save later said it was rubbish. Eventually Villa scored and the commentators enthused: ‘We’ve got a game on now.’ They’d been playing 73 minutes.

It’s to be hoped City don’t reach the final, otherwise the Beeb might be looking for something like an ‘important’ curling tournament to show in its place.

By the way BT, who also picked two matches ignoring Bradford, don’t come out of it well either.

Cricket’s World Cup in New Zealand offers a chance to spectators to win up to a million dollars. Apparently they have to wear a certain T-shirt and the prize pool will be shared between those who take the first clean one-handed catch of the 23 cup games in New Zealand when a six is hit.

I sense problems. One fan, who saw the ball heading towards him, screwed the top back on his beer and jumped over another fan to get to it. He missed and a chap called Sunjay Ganda took the catch. This trend could lead to scuffles for the ball, it certainly would over here.

When Mr Ganda’s success became known, a woman proposed to him on Valentine’s Day. And they say romance is dead.

It may be overdoing the anti-BBC stick, after all they get many things right, but could they please show fewer scenes of spectators at RU internationals. All you often get are middle-aged clowns leaping up to wave at themselves on camera.

England’s George Ford kicked a ball to touch and there were four different views of spectators waving wildly before the throw-in was taken. It says much for the quality against Italy that a picture of a woman with her young child on her knee received the cheer of the day.

If you have seen someone walking round Dewsbury looking dazed, the chances are they were Rams’ supporters, who watched the extremely rare win over Sheffield. Pigs flew over Owl Lane last Friday.