It seems you can't turn on a television, switch on a radio or even open a newspaper these days without hearing or reading the views of an ex-player turned football pundit. And this week I was fortunate to witness, at first hand, one of them in action and I felt it timely that this player should be lauded.
I was at the Crewe versus Preston North End game and right next to me, in the press-box, was Brett Angell, erstwhile striker with clubs as diverse as Everton and Walsall, and a few others in between. Brett was working with a local radio station covering North End and there were two instances, during the game, when Brett called on his experiences as a player to rightly contradict the most parochial of comments by his professional radio man.
Incident No.1 was when keeper Jonathan Gould climbed, very reluctantly, to contest a high ball with Crewe centre forward Dean Ashton. To say that the Preston custodian was hesitant for a physical contest with the 6' 2" Alex striker, who must weigh in at around 13 stone, is an understatement.
The radioman, on Brett Angell's right cried 'foul' and a free kick was duly awarded. But not before Brett quite rightly pointed out that Gould simply 'wasn't up for the challenge and was lucky to get a free kick'. The radio man sheepishly bowed to superior, professional perception and continued with his commentary.
Incident No. 2, again in a striker v defender situation, occurred at the other end when Richard Creswell, no wall flower when it comes to throwing himself into the contact aspect of a contact sport, dived at a knee height cross which Crewe's Richard Walker was attempting to put into Row Z with his right boot.
Naturally Creswell's head came off second best and, once again radio man yelled 'that's a foul' but yet again the head of Angell shook gently from side to side and said 'that's the chance you take when you launch yourself at a ball only just above grass height'. Once again radio man kept quiet, especially when there was no free kick awarded.
Brett Angell is no stranger to climbing with a keeper in an attempt to get his head on a ball, and he is also fairly familiar with the chances a striker takes when he risks facial damage in a horizontal header below the safety threshold.
But what made Tuesday's comments so special was what differentiates between inane comment for the sake of it and the perception of an ex-pro getting his comments spot on.
In a field where some ex-players become media favourites because of their achievements with boots on it's refreshing to encounter someone like Brett Angell, who is seemingly better equipped than most to develop a whole new career in front of the mike because he does actually 'talk a good game'.
