Football Focus could be axed

[jackal2]

Good.

Will not watch it with Alex Scott.

I actually feel some sympathy for Alex Scott. She is not at fault for accepting the opportunity to host a once iconic football programme. On face value it's an honour and a great opportunity for her, but that doesn't mean it was the right choice to match the audience's expectations.


In choosing the new presenter, did the executives do careful research into what their audience wanted, or did they decide what/who the audience should be given? I'm sure I'm not the only one who suspects it was more the latter, nor the only one who suspects that the choice was more political than football-based.

I'm a supporter of women's football and I see no reason why there shouldn't be female pundits and commentators if they are up to scratch. The best two female pundits I've seen are the extremely knowledgeable and articulate Karen Carney, and former Notts Ladies player Courtney Sweetman-Kirk. Both of them know their stuff and are being gradually integrated into football programming alongside more established male pundits. That's the way gradually ease the audience towards the idea of football punditry not being a male domain, but if you do that too fast, or worse still promote people who aren't ready, you'll just lose the viewers and do more harm than good in terms of selling the women's game.