Townsend’s sore throat gives ITV bosses World Cup punditry headache

STAR PUNDIT Andy Townsend is a doubt for ITV’s World Cup squad after picking up a sore throat during coverage of the Tottenham vs Fulham FA Cup game.

Townsend signalled to the sound man that he was struggling with a trachea complaint during half-time at White Hart Lane, but manfully continued his analysis of a hotly disputed foul throw for six minutes before finally calling for a runner to bring him a hot lemon and ginger.

ITV Sport boss Steve Rider has confirmed that Townsend now faces a race against time to get voice-fit for South Africa. “That’s football,” said Rider.

“We’ve been desperately unlucky with injuries in the past – like when Brian Moore had to sit out Italia ’90 with tinnitus, and that unfortunate incident with Jim Beglin’s false teeth at Japan / Korea ’02.”

The timing could not have been worse for Townsend, who was expected to lead his network out for England’s opening group game against the USA on 12 June, and be one of the stars of the tournament.

The expert summariser has been in scintillating form this season, with Gabby Logan’s move to the BBC finally giving him the freedom to play his natural punditry game, and not have to worry that there is a lady present.

For Townsend and ITV the injury brings back worrying memories of 2006, when the star man was struck down with a tickly cough in April. Against medical advice, Rider took the pundit to the World Cup, but he clearly lacked match analysis sharpness and at one point described Peter Crouch as an Italian wing back.

With only inexperienced young pundit [Sir] Les Ferdinand as cover, Townsend carried on until the bitter end, collapsing with voice exhaustion during ITV’s closing montage of the tournament’s best passbacks.

“That’s Andy for you,” continued Rider. “He is a wholehearted pundit and if you were to take away his passion you would lose a lot of what makes him one of this country’s great analysts.”

Townsend is due back from Sweden tomorrow, where he is visiting the same world-renowned ENT specialist who cured Efan Ekoku of nasal congestion in the run-up to this year’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Meanwhile the country is crossing its collective fingers for Townsend’s return, with The Sun newspaper today printing a life-size picture of his neck, which readers can rub with Strepsils.

Published April 5, 2010

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