Commentators have taken over but it’s time to let game do the talking

Televised football has gone only one way in the attention economy with more chatter and voices but perhaps less is more

LEGEND: Football commentator John Motson commentates during the FA Cup Fourth Round match between Barnet and Brentford at The Hive on January 28, 2019. Pic: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

Somewhere in a reinforced concrete bunker in the northern hemisphere, Paul Dempsey is still talking. He was talking long before you turned the television on and you can be sure he’ll be talking long after you turn it off. He’s got a list of names in front of him, stats and facts, reserves of time and patience that will outlast any human, living or dead.

Here’s Lautaro Martínez, who has never scored a volley in October. Lays it off to Francesco Caputo, who owns four hats. That’s Jackson Borck on the Sampdoria bench, who joined in the summer from Fighting Spiders in the Maltese Premier Division, whose next game you can catch on BT Sport 8 on Thursday at 11am. Now here’s Denzel Dumfries, who has never tasted jam.