The "BBC Radio Five Live" thread

[Radio Mad]

BBC Five Live’s use of this weeks’ QPR versus Blackpool game to try-out element a new approach to how the game of football is covered on radio was indeed most welcome.

The experiment, Access All Areas, entailed augmenting the customary commentator and co-commentator with two additional groupings stationed at opposite ends of the ground in amongst each respective set of supporters. This added greatly to the overall exciting atmosphere of the game by giving a real feel for how the fans were feeling as the game progressed – the see saw of emotions laid bare for all to hear.

Reporters were also positioned in the tunnel/benches area and in the dressing rooms. This provided the listener with continual updates from the touchline regarding impending substitutions etc. and fly on the wall access to what each teams’ management had to say to their respective teams during the half time break.

I find that football on radio adds something extra that TV just can’t give. And having experienced this new and invigorating way of covering football on radio, I sincerely hope the BBC make it a permanent feature of their already excellent output.

[Anorak]

Radio misses Holloway's 'real' team talk

Richard Langley has revealed that the Radio Five Live microphones didn't pick up the full story with their unique coverage of QPR's match with Blackpool at Loftus Road.

The BBC Radio station were given special permission to put reporters in the dressing rooms to listen to the managers' team talks before Monday night's game and at half time.

They also had reporter Mark Bright next to the dug-out throughout the match to pick up on what managers Ian Holloway and Steve McMahon were shouting to the players.

However, Langley, who scored QPR's opening goal in their 2-1 victory, has now revealed that Holloway gave two team talks - one for the radio listeners, and a rather less broadcastable one for the players.

Langley said: "Radio 5 came in the dressing room before the game and it was a bit of a laugh, but as soon as we stepped on to the pitch we were 100 per cent focused on what we had to do.

"They were there again in the dressing room at half time for Ian Holloway's team-talk - well the clean one, at least!

"Believe me, as soon as the radio guys left, he gave us the full-on, explicit version. His language got a bit more industrial, to say the least, and he really got us going."

The Jamaican added on his website, icons.com: "Olly loves to give us a rollocking before we go out on the pitch and it always gets us fired up.

"One of the things he said was to go and do some 'bad rashing' on them.

"That's one of his favourite phrases. 'Bad rash their a**e', he says, which basically means he wants us to be all over the opposition like a bad rash.

"'Get in his ******* shorts' is another one, which means to get so close to the man you're marking that you're virtually in his shorts."