O/T:-Gary Lineker

[Chicken Balti Pie]

A lot happening (or not happening):

Football presenters have been pulling out of key BBC programmes in support of Lineker after he was told to "step back" from Match Of The Day

Football Focus has been replaced by Bargain Hunt on the BBC One schedule, shortly after presenter Alex Scott said it "doesn't feel right" to go ahead with the show

Final Score also disappeared from the BBC One list, with The Repair Shop now listed for 4:30pm after presenter Jason Mohammad also said he would not appear today

Presenter Colin Murray said BBC 5 Live's Fighting Talk was not airing today "for obvious reasons", which he said was "a decision taken by the entire FT team and myself"

Match Of The Day pundit Ian Wright has said he'll quit if the BBC "gets rid" of Lineker

Greg Dyke, a former director general of the BBC, said the corporation was "mistaken" to take Lineker off air

Perfect excuse to get rid of the over paid and get fresh new talent on cheaper contracts. It's a win win situation

[upthemaggies]

Perfect excuse to get rid of the over paid and get fresh new talent on cheaper contracts. It's a win win situation

Absolutely, there's nobody on the BBC today that couldn't easily be replaced. All of the current crop are amateurish at best or just plain thick and/or boring. The only BBC pundit I can personally tolerate is Danny Murphy and of the presenters there's one I can't even remember the name of. I would have liked to have seen Manish Bahsin get the MOTD job instead of Lineker way back when, he was very cool and comfortable in front of the camera with a good delivery, Des Lynam-ish, and obviously not just there to tick boxes.

[jackal2]

Anyway, this whole peeing contest should demonstrate once and for all that the licence fee needs to be dropped. It's totally archaic and unique to the UK. Then the BBC can say and do as it pleases and people will have the choice whether or not to pay for the propaganda and the privilege of being lectured to.

Absolutely true. This isn't the 1950's. There are hundreds of channels in a competitive marketplace. The BBC absolutely has a right to exist and does produce some good TV and radio programming, but it should earn its keep like the other broadcasters/channels have to do. It will then be free from the task of 'being impartial', which is impossible anyway. The only way any channel could be truly impartial is probably to broadcast nothing!

[jacobncfc]

Absolutely, there's nobody on the BBC today that couldn't easily be replaced. All of the current crop are amateurish at best or just plain thick and/or boring. The only BBC pundit I can personally tolerate is Danny Murphy and of the presenters there's one I can't even remember the name of. I would have liked to have seen Manish Bahsin get the MOTD job instead of Lineker way back when, he was very cool and comfortable in front of the camera with a good delivery, Des Lynam-ish, and obviously not just there to tick boxes.

Murphy!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!

[Old_pie]

Absolutely true. This isn't the 1950's. There are hundreds of channels in a competitive marketplace. The BBC absolutely has a right to exist and does produce some good TV and radio programming, but it should earn its keep like the other broadcasters/channels have to do. It will then be free from the task of 'being impartial', which is impossible anyway. The only way any channel could be truly impartial is probably to broadcast nothing!

Why is it impossible to be "impartial"? The BBC should not need to have a view on anything. It can present facts and if opinions are to be broadcast they should be informed opinions from both sides of the debate. The fact that it has got itself in this mess is indicative of poor governance and management combined with a desire to be partial.

It could have taken this opportunity to bring more informed debate by inviting Lineker and those who support opposing views to the TV screens for a lively discussion. Instead it tries to impose censorship on someone who was not representing the BBC in his opinions. Totally p1ssed off with this cancel culture.

[DaveSmithRules]

Personally I'll be sad to see the licence fee go, but I get why people who don't actually use BBC services don't want to pay it anymore.

I'm less bothered about losing Match Of The Day than I am about losing the Notts radio commentary, the radio services generally (6music and 5live) and Cbeebies (generally brilliant for anyone with young kids). All of those together for the same fee I pay for Netflix seems good value.

I get all of those things might still have a place with commercial advertising on them - but it wouldn't ever be the same as it has been for the past 100 years.

Having said this, events of the last week have made me reconsider wanting to pay the licence fee too. Under a future conservative government I can only ever see the BBC being an even more obvious extension of the Tory press office. And I definitely don't want to pay for that. So unless Labour get elected in 2025 and bring it back then I'm resigned to just watching the BBC die.

[upthemaggies]

Murphy!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!

Not saying he's great, but he is the one I can tolerate because he can string more than one coherent sentence together and doesn't sound like some 14 year old kid dialling football cliches. He comes across as an actual grown up, if somewhat dour.

[irishpete]

Replace the lot. No one watches MoD cos Lineker orWright

[jackal2]

A lot happening (or not happening):

Football presenters have been pulling out of key BBC programmes in support of Lineker after he was told to "step back" from Match Of The Day

Football Focus has been replaced by Bargain Hunt on the BBC One schedule, shortly after presenter Alex Scott said it "doesn't feel right" to go ahead with the show

Final Score also disappeared from the BBC One list, with The Repair Shop now listed for 4:30pm after presenter Jason Mohammad also said he would not appear today

Presenter Colin Murray said BBC 5 Live's Fighting Talk was not airing today "for obvious reasons", which he said was "a decision taken by the entire FT team and myself"

Match Of The Day pundit Ian Wright has said he'll quit if the BBC "gets rid" of Lineker

Greg Dyke, a former director general of the BBC, said the corporation was "mistaken" to take Lineker off air

I think this one of those 'grab the popcorn' moments, and neither 'side' is blameless.

Like I've said above, as long as they adhere to the impartiality rules when they're actually presenting BBC programmes, I cannot see why BBC presenters should not be able to say what they like on their own private Twitter feeds, as long as they publish the standard "views are my own" disclaimer and don't claim to be speaking for the BBC.

That said, it would appear that Gary Lineker took the money and signed a contract foregoing his right to express partisan views on social media outside of his BBC duties, so if he did that without understanding or clarifying precisely what he was agreeing to, then it was a foolish thing to do. Maybe he was so focused on the salary section of his contract that he didn't read the small print!

[jacobncfc]

Not saying he's great, but he is the one I can tolerate because he can string more than one coherent sentence together and doesn't sound like some 14 year old kid dialling football cliches. He comes across as an actual grown up, if somewhat dour.

I just can’t be doing with any presenter, pundit or whatever who makes it sound like being paid to watch football is the biggest chore they’ve ever been asked to do.

I don’t watch much of the BBC’s football stuff to be honest but Lineker is clearly a very good, polished presenter. Chapman is good too. Some of the pundits are alright, others less so.