Ex-Tottenham bosses Ange Postecoglou and Thomas Frank will go head-to-head as pundits working for rival broadcasters at this summer’s World Cup. The BBC and ITV are fleshing out their respective panels for the tournament which takes place in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Although the two broadcasters have vastly different plans to cover the sprawling 104-game tournament, they each boast star-studded panels. It’s emerged that Frank, who was sacked by Tottenham in February, will be one of the BBC’s main analysts.
According to the Guardian, the Dane will be joined on their team by the likes of Wayne Rooney, Alan Shearer and Joe Hart. Former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud is also a new recruit for the Beeb.
As for Postecoglou, the man who Frank replaced in the Spurs dugout last summer, has agreed to work for ITV. Their line-up includes Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Ian Wright as well as former Premier League winger Andros Townsend.
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Tottenham fans will note that although Postecoglou has spoken at length about his two-year spell in North London, Frank is yet to address his sacking publicly. Frank’s dire 34.2 per cent win rate is the worst of any permanent manager in Spurs’ history.
His replacement, Igor Tudor, didn’t fare much better. The interim manager lost five of his seven games at the helm before current boss Roberto De Zerbi came in last month. As for Postecoglou, he joined Nottingham Forest in September but only lasted 39 days before receiving the axe.
ITV will show England’s opening game against Croatia on 9pm Wednesday, June 17 as well as their third group-stage fixture against Panama at 10pm on Saturday, June 27. Meanwhile, the BBC have the rights to England’s second match against Ghana at 9pm on Tuesday, June 23.
The BBC will have first dibs on the rights if England reach the last 32, the last 16 and semi-finals. As for ITV, they’ll have priority for England’s potential quarter-final, while both broadcasters will air the final separately.
Which broadcaster has the better punditry line-up? Have your say in the comments section.
View 2 ImagesITV will be on location for the entire World Cup, while the BBC wait for the quarter-finals(Image: Getty Images)
ITV have lined up a swanky studio in Brooklyn, New York for the duration of the tournament. Mark Pougatch and Laura Woods will serve as their lead presenters.
On the other hand, the BBC won’t leave their Salford base until the quarter-final stage. Their hosts will be Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan and Kelly Cates.
Although the BBC’s decision is down to financial and environmental factors, former presenter Gary Lineker – who was supposed to front their World Cup coverage until his premature exit – recently took a swipe at his old bosses. “This World Cup will be different because of all the other ones I’ve done at the BBC,” Lineker, who’ll instead be working for Netflix, said.
“I would have been in Salford in the green box, and now I’m in New York City, at Times Square. This will be exciting and something very different but still very similar to the podcast.”
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