BBC pleads for patience as Colin Murray irons out early-season MOTD2 jitters

TELEVISED HIGHLIGHTS legend Des Lynam heaped praise on Match of the Day 2’s Colin Murray today despite a hostile reaction to the Northern Irishman’s disappointing Premier League debut on Sunday night.

Murray’s muddled approach as MOTD2 host incorporated a slew of new features and pop culture references which drew stern criticism from long-time fans, and left ageing pundit Mark Lawrenson in a state of bewilderment.

“The lad is adjusting to the blistering pace of presenting Premier League highlights, which is a very different game to the slower and more patient approach of hosting Europa League games on Channel 5,” wrote Lynam in BBC staff magazine Ariel. “Give him time to settle down, get his own squad of pundits in, and I think we’ll see a far more assured performance over the coming weeks.”

Lynam observed that Murray was “trying too hard to impress” with his ‘back to skool’ motif, which extended a new term / new season metaphor so far that a worried Lawrenson was caught on camera grimacing while pointing to his forehead and mouthing ‘have a word’ to the show’s director.

Murray has also been pilloried for his mention of non-Premier League team Bristol City, overuse of the word ‘randomly’, and indulging the wacky featurette ideas of roving reporter Kevin Day.

BBC director general Mark Thompson said that Murray was right to try to “mix things up”. “Highlights shows have to evolve, and it was clear that the old MOTD2 format, with its over-reliance on last minute 2 Good 2 Bad LOLs, was becoming staid and predictable,” he said.

Writing in the Daily Mail Des Kelly claimed that he put his foot through his plasma screen in disgust and sent the bill to the BBC when it became apparent that Murray wasn’t going to give a run out to the much-loved segment 2 Good 2 Bad.

But Thompson urged disappointed viewers to “give the lad time”, and dismissed rumours that Murray would be forced to field fan favourite BBC pundits such as Tim Lovejoy, Edith Bowman and the camp one from Strictly Come Dancing.

Published August 19, 2010

Related Posts