Thread by @JohnDykesFC, As far as Asian fans are concerned, the show I’m asked [...]

As far as Asian

fans are concerned, the show I’m asked about most is #FootballFocus. We launched it in the early 2000s when ESPN Star Sports held the rights for #PremierLeague football across virtually the whole of Asia.

Time for a #ThrowbackThursday #thread maybe?

(1/n)

As far as Asian fans are concerned, the show I’m asked about most is #FootballFocus. We launched it in the early 2000s when ESPN Star Sports held the rights for #PremierLeague football across virtually the whole of Asia.Time for a #ThrowbackThursday #thread maybe? (1/n)

But within three years, things changed as different markets in the region no longer had the rights to live/recorded #PremierLeague action.

However #FootballFocus was already established in those markets, so we decided to go ahead without featuring any #PL footage! (2/n)

It featured four of our regular guests - former @LFC &

star @stevemacca11, former

international @shebbysingh, former

footballer and now pundit @masefield2110, and former semi-pro footballer and Economics lecturer Jamie Reeves - debating the hot

topics! (3/n)

The chemistry between these four was fantastic and each brought real personality to the discussions. Even though #FootballFocus filled a traditional one hour TV format, we quickly realized that we didn’t want to be bound by time constraints. (4/n)

So if a debate in part one was really lively, I would often hear my producer, a guy called Andy Tait, talking into my ear and say, "This is brilliant, keep it going and I’ll worry about cutting parts of the show later."

Part one would regularly run to 20-25 mins. (5/n)

And if we had a situation like the one where @shebbysingh suggested #StevenGerrard’s best position was right back and @stevemacca11 nearly exploded, then we would just go on for as long as it would take on that one topic

#LFC #FootballFocus (6/n)

And if we had a situation like the one where @shebbysingh suggested #StevenGerrard’s best position was right back and @stevemacca11 nearly exploded, then we would just go on for as long as it would take on that one topic #LFC #FootballFocus (6/n)

In many ways, the #FootballFocus show was a kind of precursor to a lot of today’s media. Podcasts, football debates, panel shows etc. And we even had a degree of interaction with our viewers, although back then it was a case of them sending us emails!

(7/n)

What I loved about the show back then was the way we were able to really get stuck into topics. None of these 45 second soundbites for instant opinions that producers often ask for these days.

#FootballFocus #ThrowbackThursday (8/n)

From a personal and professional perspective, I found it really exciting to learn how to become a moderator of a discussion that might go in any direction; and one featuring diverse opinions and extremely contrasting personalities.

#FootballFocus #ThrowbackThursday (9/n)

That show informs a lot of what I still do today and the lessons I learned from it are still in my thoughts when I develop and produce any content.

And here's me, fuller-faced, hosting #FootballFocus on ESPN Asia back in the day!

(10/n)

An anecdote

I wasn't in the habit of saying my name on air back then. And I would often walk into a room full of football fans in parts of Asia where English wasn't spoken commonly, only to hear somebody say "Football Focus!" as they pointed at me.

Kind of cool, eh? (11/n)

So #PremierLeague fans in Asia, how'd you like this trip down memory lane?

And what's your favourite #FootballFocus memory?! Tell me in the replies

Cheers!

(12/12)

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