SPORTS ON TELEVISION: When the monthly NTL account comes through the letterbox, there is sometimes the temptation to question the value of the Sky Sports' package. All those chummy, incestuous chats on the golf coverage where Bruce Critchley is referred to by fellow commentator Ewen Murray as "The Colonel", presumably because Critchley's father happened to be a brigadier in the British army.
Some of the soccer shows are immeasurably worse, especially when the old boys' gathering of Alan Mullery, Rodney Marsh, Frank McLintock and to a lesser degree, George Best, are in full spate. And there is the prospect of minority sports coverage which is esoteric in the extreme.
Any temptation at economising, however, would have been smartly dispelled by experiences over the last two weekends. There were the unforgettable pictures from the menace-filled closing holes at Sawgrass which New Zealander Craig Perks reduced to eagle, birdie, par en route to a most improbable victory in the Players Championship. And there was Leeds United against Manchester United at Elland Road last Saturday.
Of course, television viewing becomes all the more pleasurable where Irish competitors are to the forefront, especially in teams representing these footballing giants. Wouldn't we have relished such viewing during the 1970s, when Johnny Giles filled a dominant role for Leeds, while a struggling United team, which suffered relegation in the middle of the decade, had Gerry Daly and Sammy McIlroy? Now, a generation on and in a reversal of positions, United skipper Roy Keane has become an even bigger name in the game than Giles, while Ian Harte and Robbie Keane embellish the Irish dimension at Elland Road provided by the managership of David O'Leary.
These ingredients created some fascinating weekend images, not least the changing reaction of Roy Keane after a physical clash with Harte during a pulsating second half. As a look of thunder on the Corkman's face melted into a knowing smile, commentator Martin Tyler made the splendidly apposite remark: "He (Keane) recognised the voice in his ear."
For late Saturday morning sleepers, the programme was aired at the ungodly hour of 11.30 a.m. But from the outset, it was well worth the effort as the pre-match chat was provided by Rio Ferdinand, the £18 million centre-half who was an enforced absentee from the Leeds line-up, and Gordon McQueen, who won an FA Cup medal as centre-half on the United team of 1983.
Ferdinand showed himself to be particularly bright and interesting, notably when lauding the skills of team-mate Alan Smith, who was preferred to Lee Bowyer in the Leeds midfield. And later on, when asked if Harte did much practice on dead-ball situations, he said: "He hits a few now and again on the practice ground but when he comes onto the pitch, he looks as if he's been doing it since he was five. He's probably up there with Becks for the quality of his free kicks." And as Posh will vouch, that's praise indeed.
As it happened, Harte was left hay-making when the said Beckham darted down the right wing to set up United's fourth goal for Ryan Giggs. Balancing such weaknesses against the Irishman's established goalscoring skills, however, commentator Tyler insisted: "You've got to find a spot for him in the team." Indeed the match overall contained some wonderful images. Like the unconquerable aggression of Roy Keane, even when confronted by his refereeing nemesis, David Elleray, who has shown him the red card on four occasions.
Naturally Keane, who would later be voted "Man of the Match", was included in a sort of dream sequence of three United stars, screened as a preamble to the match. And naturally, Beckham was one of the other two. But the inclusion of Ruud van Nistelrooy would have appeared rather odd to the uninitiated viewer, given the free-scoring Dutchman was consigned to the substitutes' bench "for a rest".
All the while, the drama of what was perceived as an absolutely crucial match for both clubs was captured by timely camera shots away from the scene of battle. We remember one of O'Leary in an apprehensive mood, running his tongue across his lower lip as Harry Kewell was being treated for an ankle injury.
Later, his United counterpart Alex Ferguson appeared on screen, happily discarding his chewing gum before the half-time chat, only to be viewed chewing more furiously than ever when a 4-1 lead was reduced to 4-3.
Cameras at sporting events can be unnecessarily intrusive, especially when focused on somebody who happens to be doing something unflattering. At Elland Road, however, the director concentrated on being admirably revealing.
Eventually, with Leeds battling for an equaliser, the exchanges became so compelling that Tyler was moved to ask rhetorically: "What other league in the world would give you games like this?" On the evidence of truly spectacular entertainment and at a time when the lesser brethren of the Football League are contemplating legal action against ITV Digital, one couldn't but agree.
In a post-match move to Highbury, Clare Tomlinson sought Arsenal reaction to United's remarkable triumph. And typical of a confident mood there was the dismissive comment of former Northern Ireland international full back Pat Rice. "So what?" he said. "All we have to do is win our games." Sky's reporter from Anfield, Rob Hawthorne, then insisted there was still everything to play for, as far as Liverpool were concerned.
But what did the redoubtable Keane make of it all? "Though we've succeeded in keeping the pressure on the other teams, we should have killed the game off at 4-1 up," he said bluntly. "As far as the title is concerned, the others are in a stronger position. They're there on merit. After last week (when United lost at home to Middlesbrough), we're playing catch-up and we're running out of games." With that, he shrugged off any suggestion of a problem from a right thigh packed with ice. "Naw, you'd expect that in these kinda games," he said dismissively. With that, the studio panel expressed mock outrage at the suggestion that a leg encased in ice could represent a problem for Roy Keane.
As the Leeds faithful suffered in the sun, even Ferdinand managed a smile.
