Mark Cooper

[Samdy Gray]

Yet when we're in or around the play-offs at the end of the season, Claridge will start spouting some rhetoric about how excellent we've been all season, about our youth policy, our style of play etc. etc.

I quite enjoy reading comments from fans of other teams after they've received a schooling by "Swindon-fucking-Town". Long may it continue.

[Honkytonk]

Whilst it's kind of pointless to moan about the FLS, piece of tripe that it is (Lets have 2 hours of programming on the Premier League and 2 hours on everything fucking else because that's fair), there has never really been any consistency to how they show teams, or discuss them.

I don't watch it anymore because I don't see the point, but I imagine when we smashed Sheffield 5-2 and utterly dominated the game against opposition who are looking to be going up this season, making them look like rank amateurs in the process, we probably got a comment somewhere along the lines of 'They're playing well.' before they moved onto the next item.

[DarloSTFC84]

Whilst it's kind of pointless to moan about the FLS, piece of tripe that it is (Lets have 2 hours of programming on the Premier League and 2 hours on everything fucking else because that's fair), there has never really been any consistency to how they show teams, or discuss them.

I don't watch it anymore because I don't see the point, but I imagine when we smashed Sheffield 5-2 and utterly dominated the game against opposition who are looking to be going up this season, making them look like rank amateurs in the process, we probably got a comment somewhere along the lines of 'They're playing well.' before they moved onto the next item.

I think Claridge said 4 of ours were clearly offside and the penalty shouldn't have stood..

[Bob's Orange]

Thank God.... I simply don't understand what the problem is though...there seems to be some kind of pecking order on the FLS, with the top six teams in the league being shown first, with some managerial interview or comment.  We started Sat in 4th and finished in 3rd, and we didn't feature until midway through 'the rest'.... we scored three goals, so it wasn't as if there was nothing to show...it can only have been a deliberate editorial decision.

I didn't have the sound on but the Sky lower league highlights package focussed on our goals specifically. Not sure what Andy Hinchcliffe and the presenter had to say about them mind.

[Frigby Daser]

Claridge aside, I love the fact that BBC stump up for the rights. It wasn't so long ago that the football league was entirely absent from the beeb other than at local level. I hardly think there is a Swindon vendetta either... That's probably over estimating our profile in the mind of others. When Paynter and Austin were banging them in, the FLS was like groundhog day, praising them continuously.

[Tails]

& when Di Canio was in charge tbf.

[Berniman]

Yeah, leave it alone.  Would rather watch FLS than MOTD.  I skip through the comments (as I do with MOTD) Only interested in watching the football.  I can make my own mind up on the matches, I don't need an ex-pro to tell me where things went wrong/right.

[Ticker45]

I have not watched MOTD for years now, just not really interested in the PL any more.

I do watch the FL show from Divvy 1 onwards though as I want to see how the opposition sides to us are shaping up. Got to say that Bristol City appear to be getting all sorts of luck from what I have seen - may it run out very shortly!

[Bob's Orange]

I have not watched MOTD for years now, just not really interested in the PL any more.

I do watch the FL show from Divvy 1 onwards though as I want to see how the opposition sides to us are shaping up. Got to say that Bristol City appear to be getting all sorts of luck from what I have seen - may it run out very shortly!

snap, I stopped watching MOTD a couple of years back. I would much rather watch football league highlights now.

[OOH! SHAUN TAYLOR]

I think the FLS is fine really. I don't know what people are moaning about. They quite often say good things about us. Sheffield United for example - "Well 5 goals against Sheffield United was as clear a statement of intent as you could wish to get...really young squad... something something something."

Amazingly enough, they have to try to give equal, unbiased coverage to all 72 teams so they can't really have 20 minutes of Swindon highlights followed by another 20 minutes of saying how good Swindon are. They're always bound to piss off some fucker from some Club somewhere who thinks the BBC 'hate their Club'.

People chose to remember the times when they don't give us a mention and forget all the times where they praise us.

Take the Swindon coloured glasses off chaps.

[Saxondale]

It does seem that they went from their usual rundown from the top of the league on Saturday.  They've just decided that they were going to focus on Barnsley rather than us and Barnsley are down the bottom in the shit.

Still a crap show.

[4D]

I imagine it's because Barnsley have been in the higher leagues for a few years now. It's funny,  I always remember when we played Barnsley more regularly and they always seemed to be one of those clubs that would draw the lowest gate at the CG.

[singingiiiffy]

I don't understand the grief that the FLS gets, i watch it for highlights to see towns goals and to see our competition. Thats exactly what it does. I don't give a fuck if claridge has good or bad things to say. I quite like the weekly features around each club, gives an insight to many teams that as a town fan you would never really see. the luton edition was very good for example.

[suttonred]

They have done us as the feature at least twice in the last few seasons, pretty fair Imo. As for claridge he has called us crap when we have been and its been deserved. Don't get all the negativity either as said above its a 72 team highlight show crammed into 90 mins.

[Honkytonk]

That's the issue though. 72 clubs in 90 minutes, even if it's only 36 games, is a ridiculous format. It simply needs to be either longer or split up into 45 minute programmes for each league. If they can bang on for half an hour about a single premiership game then they can talk for 45 minutes on 12 (probably less because of games not always being on a Saturday) League games.

Football in this country is lop-sided in every way, and the TV coverage is part of that. I'm not saying that Swindon is unfairly treated, or that Claridge is a twat or anything, or that the audience will be the same size as MOTD, but you can't have something like MOTD for half a dozen games and then cram 72 clubs into the same time frame. It's just not on.