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Sunday 21 February 2021

Best of British

Televised football is all we have at the moment and, without a subscription to any of the relevant channels, I've found myself using the BBC to keep up with the main events across a host of different leagues and competitions.

Five Live for Premier League commentaries and Radio Sheffield for the local scene (as a neutral I think the coverage of all the region's teams to be comprehensive) have always been staples but technological developments such as the iPlayer and red button have allowed the television offering to suit the needs of the committed but casual supporter.

Previously I felt the BBC didn't always make the best of the rights that it had, a prime example being The Football League Show, covering the Championship, League One and Two, which usually ended up being shown after Match of the Day and into the small hours of Sunday morning.

Also the FA Cup coverage almost petered out a little once the Premier League teams joined the competition as the main game chosen often tilted too much towards the bigger clubs.

Now, however, the BBC offers the chance to catch all the highlights from each of the UK's top divisions (with s4c available through the iPlayer) and I think it is important that the national broadcaster is able to do that. Coverage of the EFL sits better on its current home of Quest but so many of the local radio stations provide a great link.

In a season of matches played behind closed doors, the FA Cup has provided something different and clubs all over the country, all the way back to Maine Road and Squires Gate in the first preliminary round, have featured.

The ability to show matches on different platforms has largely taken away the problem of the one game chosen being a damp squid.

Add in the continuingly excellent radio commentaries (and lots of other football-related stuff, such as documentaries and podcasts) and I think it's a good moment for the beeb.

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