Paul Gardner rant on English announcers in America starting in 5.4.3.2.1...

(looking for a "like" button for Gerald's comment....) Yes, what Gerald said.

At least he will be a Brit announcer who's spent a couple years here and might actually know something about the players in the league and not be as clueless as some of the other BBC "accents" have been. I'm not familiar with his work and look forward to actually judging him on his work, not his country of origin. Just as an aside, I'd like to see NBC try the Sounders method of using just a single announcer in the booth with the sideline reporters and "experts" making their comments during breaks in the action as opposed to the endless chatting that now occurs in a 2 person booth.

at least the Brit announcers are mostly of few words and meaningful while the American ones suffocate the game to ad nauseum...Al Harris makes a solid point...the real problem is that pairing commentators and scripting their talking points becomes winded...MLS commentators force feed the viewer with 75% of garbage talk which has nothing to do with the game at hand...it's like listening to MLB commentary, IRRELEVANT!!!

Albert Harris: SSFC posted a montage of moments. http://www.soundersfc.com/media-library/Videos/Features/2011/11-November/111130-Arlo-Tribute.aspx. It's been a great experience for Sounders fans; sorry to lose him but good to know he'll be there in MLS games. He works best alone; they should let Kyle do pre-half-and post with him, but it's his unique way of relating to listeners while working alone that was so much fun.

I agree with you Albert. The problems usually stem from 2 person crews. I've even heard Latin American broadcasts turn into endless gabbing while the game is going on.

I too am not a big fan of the "accents". However, having listened to his broadcasts several times. I think Arlo is a good exception to what has become a rule. Not only does he call a good, smart and informed game. He is familiar with MLS players or at least does his home work before each game. His commentary is usually "short", intelligent/knowledgeable and to the point, very short on chatter. Hopefully, chatter will not be a NBC requirement.

I was hoping for Phil and Ray. Both know MLS and Ray Hudson just makes a person laugh. They type of character the league needs to reach a wider audience.

Arlo talks non-stop during games. It's like he's doing a radio game. Let it breathe big guy. Let the game breathe.

When doing Sounders games, he *was* doing a radio game, as they were simulcast over the radio. At least when he is talking, it is about the game at hand, and not some tangential BS nobody cares about. The comments about his accent sound downright xenophobic. He calls a good game, and that should be all that matters.

Not really a big fan of Kyle Martino, but I'm hopeful that NBC will be wise enough to realize that the typical English Language broadcast of much of our League and even National Team matches has been prone to having twin Color guys arguing some arcane point while often paying little mind to the actual match going on in front of them... I would far prefer someone, accent or not... that actually does PLAY BY PLAY of a match rather than do endless "Analysis" that often has only tangential connection to the match at hand. The worst of this sort of coverage are the Broadcasters who come from covering BASEBALL... they oh so often clearly have a set of talking points and promotional spots and go back to them repeatedly like a safety blanket... they tend to add little and are far more prepared to cover "Controversy" or "Personality" but so often have little or no clue as to what is happening in front of their faces... much better to have someone covering things "In the Moment"... this is why so often a typical English Language broadcast is rather disconnected from the match at hand and lacking real feeling. The best guy who has done much of the play by play over recent years is Glenn Davis on ESPN, he always was aware that no matter what the discussion going on was talking about... when something ON THE FIELD was happening it should always take priority over talk or Analysis...and so He nearly ALWAYS has the sense to immediately go back into PLAY BY PLAY mode. Since this is NBC and they have TELEMUNDO as part of their package, I would say that ANDRES CANTOR has shown a decent ability to do play by play in English as well as Spanish... but whomever does these matches needs to show both knowledge of the Teams and the Play going on... and brings some PASSION to the coverage... that doesn't mean HYPE and endless Ass-kissing which is something that MLS has had in spades... but if a shot is coming, well that should be delivered as if it is Important... which if you are AT THE GAME...ALWAYS IS... rather than as an interruption of whatever aside the dueling Color Guys are obsessing with at any given moment. I understand that there are times in matches... more than most like to admit... that not all that much is happening and at those times yeah you can cue the color guy, but there is nothing that kills the DRAMA of a match more than a Broadcast Crew that seems boarded by the match... Half Time or Pre-Game are fine times to get into Analysis...and if something happens OFF THE BALL... say an Injury or a foul, well MENTION IT DAMN IT... the lack of showing a match as second to second is arguably the single biggest reason so many Non Soccer Fanatics talk about how "Bored" they find a soccer match... and sorry folks but if you want to hit up the Networks and the Sponsors for Money...you have to help deliver and keep and audience and regardless of Accent, if the folks doing it seem less than drawn to it...you can count on the Fans to reflect that as well. ...(ICE)

I didn't get to hear Arlo much in the 2011 season, as for some reason, the networks used other announcers during Seattle broadcasts (I'm in San Jose). But I applaud his selection by NBC, as he is one of the few in the USA that are both highly competent and entertaining.