IAN Wright will no longer be the loudmouth of BBC football coverage. But how big a loss will he be?
Wright explained to Broadcast magazine (link requires subscription) that he “doesn’t know how long young people are going to want to sit down and watch that same old ‘jacket, shirt and tie’ format.”
He added that he had been made “the comedy jester between Alan Hansen and Alan Shearer.”
In itself, this self-proclamation exposes a fundamental flaw in Wrighty’s broadcasting style. He can barely speak the language. One of his more infamous quotes was “You’ve got to take the rough with the smooth. It’s like love and hate, war and peace, all that bollocks.”
And few would argue that Wrighty had actually shown a witty turn of phrase when saying of his former Arsenal teammate, ex-alcoholic Tony Adams: “It took a lot of bottle for Tony to own up.”
Whether or not this is a problem has always divided opinion among football viewers, and no doubt will continue to do so along whatever paths Wright treads in the future.
He certainly has a point about the “jacket, shirt and tie format”. Every few years there’s a new batch of ex-footballers such as Gavin Peacock, Lee Dixon and Don Goodman, appearing on television, clinging onto their cliche books for dear life – but that’s a subject for another post…
Whether you agree or disagree with, or even fail to comprehend what he says, Ian Wright talks football like a fan. It’s just that this fan has played for his country and broken goalscoring records at a top European club.
He never attempts to hide his bias towards Arsenal, England, or his son, Chelsea’s Shaun Wright-Phillips. But who would want him to?
He is a million miles from eloquent, but there’s little doubt that he brings something to the table. As one blogger says on Anorak News, “If Wright were to being (sic) out a signature scent it would be of kebab, onions and thrown lager.” He is the fan among the “experts” – exactly what the BBC wanted him to be.
Which makes you wonder why he’s leaving, as opposed to continuing to provide the voice he feels viewers want to hear. No doubt a combination of England’s failure to qualify for Euro 2008 and the BBC’s loss of the rights to show England’s home games has played its part.
But whatever his reasons, Ian Wright will be missed. As blog BodogBEAT says, he tells it how it is, and he does so without shedding his personality. So good luck to him.
I think Ian Wright was a legend as part of the panel on the BBC. I enjoyed the banter he brought to football punditry and he was every football fan rolled into one on television.
You cannot blame him for being passionate about the game, even if he was biased towards certain teams/players like gjclayton1 says, but isn’t every football fan?
I think the BBC should get him re-instated as one of the pundits and get rid of Alan ‘cliché’ Shearer and Scotsman Alan Hansen (Why they have a Scotsman as a pundit for England internationals I have no idea!)
I loved Wrighty because he spoke his mind and it made me enjoy watching the half-time and full-time analysis because of his humour.
As an Arsenal supporter, I’m a massive fan of Ian Wright. He always spoke his mind on the BBC and gave viewers a different perspective of events. I would rather have him than another ex-professional droning on about ‘diabolical defending’. Wrighty gave BBC coverage an element of passion like that of a fan. You can criticise Wright’s not-so-eloquent linguistic skills but viewers nationwide can relate to him. Remember, football is not just for the prawn sandwich brigade.
However, I was disappointed with Wrighty’s reasons for leaving. He claimed to be seen as a ‘court jester’ but I didn’t think this was the case. A little bit of banter in a studio is harmless fun and I’m surprised Wrighty was offended by it. And he was wrong to criticise the ‘shirt and tie format’ of BBC’s coverage. I don’t think the BBC should jump on the bandwagon and try to copy other channels. What’s wrong with looking smart?