I think radio commentary is really variable, and that’s only within 5 Live as it’s all I listen to. Conor McNamara is good, and I quite like John Murray too. There is lots of rubbish though. So many commentators seem to forget they are there to do just that and instead take the opportunity to give us 100 minutes of their own thoughts, or permanently reframe the context, rather than tell us what is happening.
Often you only notice how little description of the game takes place if you’re really invested in it. It can amount to about 5 or 6 times within 45 minutes. You wonder if the producers ever ask them to listen back to their work and say ‘imagine you want to know what is happening but can’t see the pitch. Have you done a good job’? The ratio of football coverage to ability to cover it seems out of line, but it can’t be that hard a job FFS.