The Team Captains have to be Sports People of renown, the addition of 'celebs' is fine for a third person on the team but for the sake of the title of the programme it would be wrong to parchute a celeb into these two roles.
As for host, Clare Balding could be given a chance, as an outlier Greg James could be interesting.
I'm not sure how this'll go down with Barker and her Wimbledon role. This could precipitate change there too.
The big mistake has been retaining Dawson and Tufnell for so long, the team captains used to reflect recently retired sports people. These two have long outstayed that. The host role is fine with Barker though.
Matt Dawson, just seemed a bit dull. Phil Tufnell was obviously chosen because he has a bit of a personality. But I guess they only way they could get rid of Sue without her living up to her name was to have a complete overhaul.
I also think there is a possibility of going down the League of their own route and having comedians on the show maybe not as captains but as regulars.
They did this maybe around 10 years ago where they always had 2 celebs/comedians on the show with 2 sports starts and the captains. Usually they only used to do it for the Christmas Specials but they did it for a whole series.
The Team Captains have to be Sports People of renown, the addition of 'celebs' is fine for a third person on the team but for the sake of the title of the programme it would be wrong to parchute a celeb into these two roles.
As for host, Clare Balding could be given a chance, as an outlier Greg James could be interesting.
I just think with Clare Balding you might as well keep Sue Barker. I think Hazel Irvine would be quite good personally and a different personality to Sue, but suspect Gabby Logan might be the favoured of the main BBC Sport presenters.
Always a chance they could throw Lineker in their but I think he would bring the same "old boys club" baggage they're throwing out with Tuffers and Dawson.
I hope they don't go down the guest presenter or captain route and considering it's a clean slate I don't think they will.
As for presenter - I can see them going down a young route. Ore Oduba & Dan Walker seem obvious names to suggest but I could see it being somebody like Greg James instead, a well-known, well liked face who has covered sport a bit over the years.
I'm not sure how this'll go down with Barker and her Wimbledon role. This could precipitate change there too.
I would hope she'd get a farewell year at least, but TBH looking at BBC Sport as a whole the argument is there to move on now. Clare seems set to take the reins but as I doubt they'd bring back John as the secondary host I'm not sure there is an obvious other candidate to take that role, especially as there are clashes with the football tournaments to consider.
Last edited by Brekkie on 13 September 2020 7:14pm
The Team Captains have to be Sports People of renown, the addition of 'celebs' is fine for a third person on the team but for the sake of the title of the programme it would be wrong to parchute a celeb into these two roles.
As for host, Clare Balding could be given a chance, as an outlier Greg James could be interesting.
I just think with Clare Balding you might as well keep Sue Barker. I think Hazel Irvine would be quite good personally and a different personality to Sue, but suspect Gabby Logan might be the favoured of the main BBC Sport presenters.
Always a chance they could throw Lineker in their but I think he would bring the same "old boys club" baggage they're throwing out with Tuffers and Dawson.
I hope they don't go down the guest presenter or captain route and considering it's a clean slate I don't think they will.
If they are aiming for a younger audience none of Clare Balding, Hazel Irvine or Gabby Logan would make any sense because in the minds of anyone under about 35 you'd simply be replacing one middle aged woman for another middle aged woman and none of those names would bring a clean slate.
If they are aiming for a younger audience none of Clare Balding, Hazel Irvine or Gabby Logan would make any sense because in the minds of anyone under about 35 you'd simply be replacing one middle aged woman for another middle aged woman and none of those names would bring a clean slate.
Good point. Would someone like Alex Scott be a good choice, then?
The Team Captains have to be Sports People of renown, the addition of 'celebs' is fine for a third person on the team but for the sake of the title of the programme it would be wrong to parchute a celeb into these two roles.
As for host, Clare Balding could be given a chance, as an outlier Greg James could be interesting.
I just think with Clare Balding you might as well keep Sue Barker. I think Hazel Irvine would be quite good personally and a different personality to Sue, but suspect Gabby Logan might be the favoured of the main BBC Sport presenters.
Always a chance they could throw Lineker in their but I think he would bring the same "old boys club" baggage they're throwing out with Tuffers and Dawson.
I hope they don't go down the guest presenter or captain route and considering it's a clean slate I don't think they will.
If they are aiming for a younger audience none of Clare Balding, Hazel Irvine or Gabby Logan would make any sense because in the minds of anyone under about 35 you'd simply be replacing one middle aged woman for another middle aged woman and none of those names would bring a clean slate.
This has been my point all day and any time names like these are thrown around. They won’t have axed Barker
just
to replace her with someone else from the same mould. If you want safe, warm, recognisable BBC you’ve already got it with her in the hot seat. There’d be no point getting rid of her from an editorial perspective, not to mention that if they axed Barker just to then replace her with someone similar but younger, they’d be asking for trouble akin to when Arlene Phillips was dropped from Strictly.
Last edited by Flux on 14 September 2020 4:37am - 2 times in total
As for presenter - I can see them going down a young route. Ore Oduba & Dan Walker seem obvious names to suggest but I could see it being somebody like Greg James instead, a well-known, well liked face who has covered sport a bit over the years.
Random thought. Jack Whitehall?
I think Jack Whitehall would find AQOS too restricting as a format.