Setanta's take on lower league football 12:00am

Setanta have spent the season showing as much football as possible from all corners of the globe and even some action from the underworld. The Blue Square Premier (née Conference) hasn’t just been sandwiched in between highlight reels of more important matches. Setanta have realised it is patronising to suggest this is the Premiership - indeed, its USP is probably that it isn’t the Premiership.

As a result, they’ve taken a different production view that should be hailed:

Soon Kidderminster have equalised. Behind the dugouts things are getting rather heated. Peter Taylor, no less, is up on his feet, pursued closely by a man with a camera. The natives aren’t exactly getting restless, more a little weary and long-suffering. Most of them are more concerned with good-naturedly heckling “Box Of Tricks” Cole as he’s commandeered for an in-the-process-of-being-substituted interview. Otherwise it really is very friendly around here, with none of the friction between crowd and players you find in the Premier League. It’s all too close for that. At this level the players seem a bit like someone you might vaguely know, the coolest kid in the biggest class at school.

As I commented on the original article, I think the take-away from this is that Setanta aren’t focusing on the football itself. By interviewing the managers mid-game, watching the team talk, capturing fans, they’re helping to create more of a match day experience on the TV.

Meanwhile, Sky promotes the football and not a lot else. It’s all well and good when the Premier League delivers, but it’s hopeless when they big up “Grand Slam Sunday” and the football is dire.