Joe Ashdown

@BHT_Sussex admin, quiz host @brightonwelly, @ManUtd fan. Keen on sport, walking, reading, quizzing, travel, music, comedy & nuance. Less keen on intolerance.

[Joe Ashdown @Joeash78]

@curtiswoodhous8 What are we defining as 'major titles'? He won 2 Premier League titles, 3 FA Cups and 1 European Cup Winners' Cup (beating Barcelona in the final) as a player. If you are meaning no international titles, then that would disqualify everyone bar 11 English male players.

[Joe Ashdown @Joeash78]

Amazes how after all these years people still underestimate Croatia at tournament football. They're a proper hardened tournament football team who tend to rise to the occasion and have a mix of experience & younger talent. Just cannot afford to switch off against them.

[Joe Ashdown @Joeash78]

It's weird how people seem to get hung up on 'batter' rather than 'batsman', yet people have always said 'fielder' rather than 'fieldsman' and have always said 'bowler' rather than 'bowlerman', so not really sure what the fuss is about.

[jim maxwell @jimmaxcricket]

Calling batsmen ‘batters’ is just plain batty

And how has maiden survived the genderising
Fad? https://t.co/0HiAaQYRwf

[Joe Ashdown @Joeash78]

Portugal's biggest problem is shaped in the figure that adorns Madeira international airport.

[Joe Ashdown @Joeash78]

@primevideosport Well, yes. None of those have been competitive matches though, have they? Friendlies are not always an especially reliable barometer for what will happen in a major tournament. I doubt France are panicking after losing 2-1 to Ivory Coast the other week, for instance.

[Joe Ashdown @Joeash78]

https://t.co/mPdel2SGDB : 'Progressive Capitalism'? To paraphrase Richie Benaud when he described Mike Gatting fielding at fine leg, is that not a contradiction in terms?

[Joe Ashdown @Joeash78]

@NoleLondon It's child's play compared to what 1 of Castle's colleagues, a certain Mr J P McEnroe, used to get up to in his playing days.

[Joe Ashdown @Joeash78]

@ChrisRGollop @TimesSport @matthewsyed @BBCSport @Wimbledon @the_LTA @russellcfuller @ChrissieEvert @RobbieGibb @TheBorisBecker @BillieJeanKing I would think Andrew Castle's obsession with celebrities in the crowd rather than focusing on tennis which is what irked Andre Agassi when he did co-comms with him on the Alcaraz-Fritz SF last year will be a factor in this.

[Joe Ashdown @Joeash78]

Seem to recall that All England Club said last year that the BBC needed to modernise their coverage if they want to retain the rights to Wimbledon long-term, so presumably BBC's Head of Sport see Castle as a barrier to modernising.

[Joe Ashdown @Joeash78]

Good. His style of commentary is very much set up to appease the middle England, Daily Mail-reading set who are more interested in celebrity fluff than the tennis, as proven when Andre Agassi got the hump with him when he commentated with him on the Alcaraz-Fritz SF last year.

[Times Sport @TimesSport]

EXCLUSIVE: BBC to drop commentator Andrew Castle after Wimbledon

The former British No1 tennis player reflects on the "best gig in broadcasting" | ✍️ @matthewsyed
https://t.co/Ws8UpuaZsR

[Joe Ashdown @Joeash78]

@ChrisDSmyth @TheLyricSlinger @Nick_Metcalfe That will come down to whatever rights issues FIFA agree with individual broadcasters around length of their highlights packages. I believe MOTD can't show highlights on Premier League matches longer than 8 minutes (although some highlights of matches on iPlayer are longer).

[Joe Ashdown @Joeash78]

https://t.co/kmmgs89b3l : Using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut springs to mind. The problem, I suppose, is that global tech companies now have more power than governments of countries, so those governments feel unable to properly regulate their more toxic & nefarious aspects.

[Joe Ashdown @Joeash78]

So, theoretically, you could pair San Fran & LA, Houston & Dallas, Boston & New Jersey, Miami & Atlanta, Philly & Toronto, Seattle & Vancouver, Mexico City & Guadalajara. That would just leave Kansas City & Monterrey that would be far apart, but just give them 1 group.

[Joe Ashdown @Joeash78]

With all the air miles teams will accumulate during the World Cup, wouldn't the sensible thing have been to pair venues by regions and then allocate them to groups? That's what happened in Italia '90, I seem to recall, e.g. Cagliari & Palermo had the matches in England's group.

[Joe Ashdown @Joeash78]

@TheAthleticFC @mjshrimper They broadcast from Television Centre in London during the World Cup in the US in 1994 & then flew Des Lynam & co out for the final in Pasadena. From what I recall, ITV received a lot of flak that year as they broadcast their coverage from Dallas in a studio with no windows.

[Joe Ashdown @Joeash78]

I don't really see this as something that should be regarded as a positive milestone or a cause for celebration. Really, with a lot of problems in the world caused by the poverty gap and monopolisation of resources, it's pretty obscene.

[BBC Breaking News @BBCBreaking]

Elon Musk becomes world's first trillionaire as SpaceX shares soar on stock market debut https://t.co/VVpcm4UrrW

[Joe Ashdown @Joeash78]

@MissHina1278 A paramedic.

[Joe Ashdown @Joeash78]

Worth bearing in mind that the last time the World Cup was in the US in '94, the BBC broadcast its coverage from UK too, while ITV broadcast from a studio in Dallas. Think Lynam etc only flew out for the final. This time there's a whole continent to cover, not just the US.

[Dan Walker @mrdanwalker]

@BobbyManzi Hey Bobby
It’s normally at about this point that the Daily Mail would write an article about the BBC ‘wasting’ money sending staff to cover a World Cup. Hard for them to win isn’t it?

[Joe Ashdown @Joeash78]

Deary me, that's a shocker.

[Newcastle Supporters Worldwide @SupportersNufc]

Newcastle have now officially released their new home kit for the 2026/27 season. 🖤🤍

Rate this kit out of 10…⬇️

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