Mike Ingham, the former BBC Radio 5 Live chief football correspondent, has criticised the broadcaster's decision to scrap its classified football results segment in 2022, saying the station has lost much of its "discipline." The 76-year-old also revealed he now listens to talkSPORT, which he described as a "comprehensive service."
Career and Reaction to the Axe
Ingham commentated alongside Alan Green for nearly 25 years between 1990 and 2014, covering FA Cup finals, World Cup tournaments and European competitions. He was promoted to chief football correspondent in 2004 and retired after the 2014 World Cup, though he has continued to listen to his former colleagues' output.
Discussing the removal of the classified results, Ingham told the Telegraph: "It's like building a house without the bricks." He added that the segment, once read by James Alexander Gordon, was "a great bit of broadcasting."
Loss of Discipline and BBC's Response
Ingham said: "I think 5 Live has lost a lot of, not professionalism, but discipline. I was reared on hitting the pips. My family gets so exasperated with me now because I'm such a stickler for time. A lot of that has been lost, it has become much more easy come, easy go."
He also argued that the BBC "has spread itself too thinly," adding: "For me, the programme should always come before the podcast. That's me though, not being able to move with the times."
When the BBC axed the segment, a statement said: "We appreciate the strength of feeling towards the classified football results within Sports Report. It's always difficult when a programme with a special history changes, but there are good reasons for the change." The statement noted that Sports Report was cut from one hour to 25 minutes after the addition of a 5.30pm live Premier League match, and that the classifieds took 5-7 minutes to read.
Praise for talkSPORT
Ingham admitted he now tunes into talkSPORT, saying: "I think they [BBC Sport] were complacent about talkSPORT. When it began it was a bit blokey, now I think it's a more comprehensive service and the range of presenters they have really makes it work. Simon Jordan is brilliant, Jeff Stelling's there and they do the results at 5 o'clock on a Saturday."
