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Open Mike

  • Thread starter Thread starter BigVic
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He’ll focus on the glasses for 25 minutes then talk about how much he got paid.

“Boom...badum boom....this has been a Fox Footy production”.

Close. He's spent the first 5 mins on how much he got paid, 5 mins on the glasses, 5 mins on the '68 Granny, 2 mins on a boring anecdote on his 100th goal....aaaand I'm not sure how the last 10 mins is going to get filled.
 

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The guests he brings in sometimes aren’t great either. Open mike has the capacity to be a great show, but I continually get let down by it.

It does, it just needs to be a different interviewer. I don't have the answer as to who that should be FWIW, i'm not sure it necessarily needs to be a footy person to really get a good interview if its someone willing to do the work and research their subject.
 
Sheahan is too worried about maintaining his ‘access’ to these guys to go too hard. That said, if the interviewee opens the door....Mike often invites himself for dinner...rather than delivering the mail and moving on....
 
Due to Sheahan's poor interviewing style, the show lives and dies on the quality of the guest. If they have a story to tell, or if they are naturally charismatic, or if they hold a strong gravitas in their football life the show is usually very good. Sheahan can, and does, sit back and hand the show over to the guest.

When the guest doesn't fall into any of these categories, Sheahan lacks the skill or will to adequately prompt, probe and needle the guest to get something out of them and the show becomes straight out boring. Last night's show was a case in point. Blethyn seemed like a good bloke and had an interesting career, but didn't have the personality, the story or the standing in the game to fill half an hour, and Sheahan never pushed him to. Example:

Sheahan: The WA State team would have had some fair characters in it?
Blethyn: Yes they did.

That was it. Who were the characters? What did they do? How did you relate to them? Why was this question left in the cut if it didn't go anywhere?

Not sure if Sheahan chooses the guests himself, but he seems to do no research and have no plan for what he wants his guests to say and how he'll getthem to say it. And I understand the "fireside chat" feel of the show - it's not an inquisition. But too often lately the show feels like "Let's get someone on and fill 30 minutes of Fox Footy's schedule."
 
Due to Sheahan's poor interviewing style, the show lives and dies on the quality of the guest. If they have a story to tell, or if they are naturally charismatic, or if they hold a strong gravitas in their football life the show is usually very good. Sheahan can, and does, sit back and hand the show over to the guest.

When the guest doesn't fall into any of these categories, Sheahan lacks the skill or will to adequately prompt, probe and needle the guest to get something out of them and the show becomes straight out boring. Last night's show was a case in point. Blethyn seemed like a good bloke and had an interesting career, but didn't have the personality, the story or the standing in the game to fill half an hour, and Sheahan never pushed him to. Example:

Sheahan: The WA State team would have had some fair characters in it?
Blethyn: Yes they did.

That was it. Who were the characters? What did they do? How did you relate to them? Why was this question left in the cut if it didn't go anywhere?

Not sure if Sheahan chooses the guests himself, but he seems to do no research and have no plan for what he wants his guests to say and how he'll getthem to say it. And I understand the "fireside chat" feel of the show - it's not an inquisition. But too often lately the show feels like "Let's get someone on and fill 30 minutes of Fox Footy's schedule."

I’m no Sheahan fan, but to be fair, Blethyn was like getting blood out of a stone.

Some of his contemporaries could take a lesson from his humility...but I suspect he has more to tell...in the right environment.
 
Can’t remember exact detail but early on Blethyn is explaining something and less than a minute later Sheehan asks him a question that contradicts what Blethyn just said...it’s as of Sheehan didn’t listen.

Also he could have delved further into what after leaving Essendon at 21 for a good job in WA why or what made him change his mind and go back to Essendon just 4 years later.
 

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Mick Gayfer next up.
Thought Gayfer was alright. Wasn't aware he was let go twice by Pagan and Kennedy at North before he made it at Collingwood.

Pretty stiff how he got the arse from Collingwood. Was told by coach Lethal he was in their plans for the next year, did the full pre-season, then told after it that he wasn't up to it and got cut just before the season started. Harsh.
 
Has Grant Thomas been on? Going by Thommo's twitter feed, seems to have a real frosty relationship with Iron Mike.
He hasn't. I don't mind him, would like to see him on. At the very least he's a character and has stories to tell.
 

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Really enjoyed the Ian Stewart one.

Just love finding out stuff about the person that you know the name in football but do not really know much about them if well before your time.

Gave great insight into whom he was at what made him tick.

He was coach of Carlton for a virtual five minutes and it was infamous in what I understood but hearing him talk about it, got a much greater understanding of what went on back then.
 
Really enjoyed the Ian Stewart one.

Just love finding out stuff about the person that you know the name in football but do not really know much about them if well before your time.

Gave great insight into whom he was at what made him tick.

He was coach of Carlton for a virtual five minutes and it was infamous in what I understood but hearing him talk about it, got a much greater understanding of what went on back then.
The only thing I would have liked to hear more about was the brownlow years and flags

Didnt he also have a sort of chequered past? Barely touched on.

Mike has a good show, but just asks the wrong questions
 
The only thing I would have liked to hear more about was the brownlow years and flags
I think he covered everything that is of most interest to someone wanting to know more about Ian Stewart the football person.
I knew he was a brownlow medallist. He talked about the Saints flag and effect on their supporters etc. I wanted to know about his interesting story before and after those as he always seemed an intriguing person and mystery about. Mike asked a lot of questions I wanted to know about. Did a great job imo. I loved it.
 
Yeah didn't mind Stewart. I'd never really heard or seen much about him before last night. I didn't realise he also played for Richmond. Only ever knew of him as a Saint.
I like how he was totally remorseful about his decision to agree with the axing of Walls as captain after Stewart had only just got to Carlton. Wallsy was pretty dirty about it on his show 8 years ago:

 
This is on Wikipedia:
"Just a few weeks into the season, Stewart quit the club, citing a heart attack. Speculation was rife that he had actually suffered a nervous breakdown, a view that was supported by the fact that he had been charged by the police (under the name of Ian Cervi) for exposing himself to daytime shoppers in Glen Huntly Road, Elsternwick, when parked opposite the Elsternwick Post Office, but it is certain that he quit before he was sacked. Certainly, Stewart was fit enough to resume as South Melbourne coach in 1979
 

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