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The BBC has announced that Football Focus is being discontinued at the end of the season.
It has provoked a huge amount of chatter online. Some commenters have suggested it is because the show had lost its focus (pardon the pun) and was too preoccupied with non football issues under Alex Scott’s stewardship.
I wouldn’t know because I haven’t watched the show for years. But I suspect that is the case for lots of people.
There are so many different sources of information for football fans nowadays and in an era when hardly any Premier League matches kick off at 3pm on a Saturday, wasn’t the show doomed anyway no matter who was presenting it? It looks to me as if “Football Focus” was an analogue product in a digital age.
I fondly recall the old Football Special editions of evening newspapers, which were rushed out onto the news stands on Saturday evenings (the “Liverpool Echo” version was printed on pink paper, like the “Financial Times”). Those papers were killed off in the early 2000s by the internet and mobile phones.
The surprise is “Football Focus” lasted so long.
Have zero interest in football now but as a kid I always watched it with Bob Wilson.
The more I know the less I understand.
Football Focus: bit of a blast from the past as I thought it had gone when Grandstand was cancelled. Before Bob Wilson took over it was called Football Preview presented by Sam Leitch, an overweight Scotsman who worked for one of Fleet Street’s rags.
Sheffield had The Green ‘Un rushed out on Saturday afternoons, printed on light green paper, as the name suggests.
Past its sell by date, better things to do Saturday lunch times. Hopefully Radio 5 non live will be replaced too.
Back in the day, I used to have a paper round delivering the Northampton Chron and Echo saturday evening paper, The last press was out at 5:30 ish and called the Pink Un. Obviously on Pink paper.
Don’t watch it and normally not in. I’m sure they’ll be showing regurgitated episodes of Bargain Hunt. Will save a couple of wages out of the 500 million.
I wouldn’t know because I haven’t watched the show for years. But I suspect that is the case for lots of people.
There are so many different sources of information for football fans nowadays
I think it’s probably that simple. The BBC will obviously need to make budget cuts and even they themselves offer things like podcasts (never mind all the others out there) which are presumably much cheaper to make.
I’m sure many will mourn it but it’s like when Woolworths closed, people who hadn’t set foot in the place for years were upset about it.
There was a similar situation a few years ago when the BBC decided to stop providing a full classified football results service at 5pm on the radio.
I am still not fully convinced that was the right decision. It only took a few minutes and it was a tradition which a lot of people liked. But in an era of smartphones and instant access to information, I could understand why the decision was taken.
I, and millions of others, used to enjoy Grandstand’s Teleprinter typing out the results circa 4.40pm on Saturday. When technology caught it up it became the Vidiprinter, which struggled on until around 20 years ago.
From 4:30
What a fabulous clip – thanks for posting!
It looked like it was a tough day for punters at Lanark. And an odds on favourite got turned over in the last at Beverley!
A pity it cut out before the race at Ascot. And there was only a brief glimpse of the shinty, which I think may still be shown on BBC Scotland.
The football results were from the era before the Scottish Premier was created in the mid 1970s. A reminder that teams such as Raith Rovers, Queen of the South and Clyde (The Bully Wee) used to play in the top division against The Old Firm. Although it sounds like there was not much dancing on the streets of Raith that season.
I noticed Saints stuffed Widnes in the Rugby League. And I had almost forgotten about Blackpool Borough! One of the worst ever Rugby League teams, exceeded only by Huyton.
I mentioned Sam Leitch earlier and the line ‘they’ll be dancing in the streets of Raith tonight’ is usually attributed to him, though some say it was David Coleman, probably only because of his numerous ‘Colemanballs’ gaffes.
Coleman was actually darn good at his job, as the clip indicates.
The train to Aberdeen goes past Raith’s ground in Kirkcaldy and I always raise a smile when passing it on trips up that way
I was on a train from Edinburgh Waverley to Carnoustie back in 2024. A fabulous rail journey which aside from going past Raith’s ground Stark’s Park, also involves going over both the Forth and Tay Bridges.
Thinking of Scottish football and Lanark racecourse, 1963 would still have seen Third Lanark in the Scottish League. A once famous club which was destroyed by an absolute crook who died from a heart attack before having to face justice.
Their ground at Cathkin Park in Glasgow is still there, complete with the terracing behind one of the goals.
Remember seeing Third Lanark in a book I used to have as a kid. Always wondered why they weren’t about when I was growing up. Always thought they’d have been one of my Scottish teams to follow along with Alloa and Clyde.
Third Lanark was wound up in the Court of Session in 1967 and its membership of the Scottish League was terminated. The club has been reformed as an amateur team but has never returned to the League:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Lanark_A.C.
Some of its fans switched their allegiance to Clyde. A club which is looking to return to Glasgow but is currently ground sharing with Hamilton Academicals.
Stranraer 5 Forfar 4 on the Teleprinter clip. Pity the home team wasn’t East Fife!
The clip also serves as a reminder that Workington, Chester and Bradford Park Avenue were all football league teams once upon a time.
I checked and found out Southport drew 0-0 away at Doncaster Rovers in the old Division 4. That must have been a thriller!
At least it was 2 points on the coupon. I think Doncaster’s ground was just across the road from the racecourse in those days.
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