Jim Beglin (James Martin Beglin), who played football for Ireland and Liverpool FC, and is currently a co-commentator for Premier League Productions among others, chats with Manifest about how the game has evolved, whether the money has commoditised the sport and more...

How has the landscape in football media changed from when you were a player to now?

The money is a lot better for starters. There have been huge progressions in the game itself. For a footballer, the playing surfaces are fantastic and the stadiums are modernised. The boots and the ball are lighter too and the game is better for it. 

With the science involved behind football teams which includes dietary requirements – that’s way better. We’d have McDonald’s or fish and chips, or a curry or two too, after games. All the players are now monitored to an extent where that’s not allowed.

From the media perspective, it has evolved too. When I first began, I was told in co-commentary terms to speak a lot less. I started with ORTV in Ireland (Republic of Ireland), my home country, and we had a boss who was insistent that I shouldn’t say a lot. I would leave that to the commentator and I would come in with something insightful to the viewers. That has changed. I had a director there who wanted me to engage with the commentator – so there was a kind of conflict between the director and the boss. In that regard, it has improved for us. 

Analytically also, from when I first began, I wasn’t drawing attention to what I’m doing now. I would say something every so often to summarise what I’d seen. Now, we go into much more detail. I like having a bit of back and forth, and I probably developed this over time with Peter Drury and Jon Champion. I’d like to think that helps in terms of what we offer and what the viewer might want to hear. If I work with a new commentator, the chemistry would lack and even though I try to encourage them to engage with me on a little bit of it, sometimes they’re a little reluctant because they’re new to the circumstance. 

You mentioned new commentators – in our last edition, we interviewed John Dykes, who stated that football studios are following corporate culture when it comes to diversity, and so sometimes the best presenters aren’t the ones in charge. What’s your take on it?

If you have the right person for the job, that’s what should matter most. I have to be careful with how I use my words for this one – when change is made nowadays, it can be completely overdone. There can be an overreaction to many things. With the whole diversity bit, I haven’t got a problem if the right people are in the right positions. Sometimes the selection of those people isn’t necessarily correct. I think at times people are put in place and are lucky to be part of it. With that change, there often comes that overreaction. 

With social media, everyone’s a so-called expert. So sometimes, could the audience know more than the person in the studio?

I don’t know how to summarise this. Social media can be very vicious and hard on people. I’ve experienced this myself. There are a lot of people who believe they know more than the co-commentator, the presenter, or the ex-players who are analysts in the studio. I am just glad that I’m more experienced and didn’t have it around me when I first began because that would have been a real hurdle. It would have been hard to develop a thick skin and be able to cope with things thrown at you. In my world, I’ve been accused of everything – I talk too much, I don’t talk enough, I call something wrong, and it’s happening every week. So I tend to now not look back at any of that. It is, unfortunately, a huge influence on things and it’s not easy for the up-and-coming.

The Premier League broadcasting rights are just growing year-by-year in terms of value. Do you think the money in the game is too much and commoditising the sport?

I earn my living from working mainly on Premier League football so I have to be careful. I think we live in a greedy world. We also have a cost of living crisis. I don’t know whether India is experiencing something similar, but the prices of everything in the country have rocketed and gone sky high. I don’t know whether it’s a direct result of covid. 

But we were seeing this pre-covid too – is there too much money in the game? The Saudi League for instance has seen players in their prime move away from Europe, the so-called hub.

There are protests when it comes to ticket prices increasing. I know at Anfield (Liverpool’s home ground) they did so before a Europa League game. The fans challenged it. I think it comes with the territory now. I’m not surprised we’re seeing rising charges for season tickets. 

The money generated from the game is mind-blowing and colossal. The domestic broadcast rights were at about 6.7 billion Great Britain Pounds (starting from 2025-2026). The worldwide rights are above 10 billion. And that attracts an awful lot of interest from the entire ecosystem. In that regard, it has taken it away from the average loyal fan and that’s unfortunate. But we live in a world where the prices are only going to increase and we’re chasing a lost cause to make it easier in terms of what has to be paid to watch a team through a season. Ultimately, the boards at football clubs and the people that are behind the Premier League are going to make it bigger and bigger and more expensive. 

Domestically, we saw Sky Sports and TNT getting into bed together and realising that instead of competing against each other and raising the price, they arranged to make it cheaper. But around the world, it’s getting bigger and bigger.

You’ve been in the gaming space too, with a long stint with Pro Evolution Soccer (eFootball). How has that worked out for you?

Initially, I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. Jon Champion had recommended me for this job. Myself and Champs worked for a while together. Then because of my partnership with Peter Drury at the time, they wanted to bring in him to replace Jon. We worked together for years. We’ll be doing some more recording in the summer. There’s a legends part of the game, so Peter and I will be going in the booth together and have some more sessions coming up.

I’ve been to places around Europe and it’s ridiculous how people recognise me because of the game. I was in Belgrade once and there were two porters and a receptionist who recognised me because they adored eFootball.

There are more opportunities for an ex-professional footballer now. Is there anything else you’re doing in this new-age digital world?

No, if anything I’m at a stage where I’ll scale things down a little bit. For instance, I stopped working for a broadcaster because I was a bit too busy with other stuff. The landscape has changed now. In the past when it changed, I would react to it and try to fit around what was going on and be part of it. Now I’m less likely. I don’t know if everyone else loves what I do, but I do love what I do. I want that to carry on, but my appetite has dropped a little bit when it comes to wanting a piece of new work. I’m happy to spread my games a little more and not have crazy schedules like I had in the past. 

Who knows, I’ll be soon told my contract won’t be renewed with PLP (Premier League Productions) and I’m not needed in the commentary box. If that happens, I would have enjoyed my stint at Premier League Productions. To all those who have had a go at me during my stint, I guess I’m lucky that organisations are run by intelligent people because I’ve had muppets having a go at me.

To the people who have had a pop on you on social media – have you responded to them or gone the ignore route?

Initially, I would have a proper go back at them. Then I realised I better tone it in a better way because it may not have gone well with my employers. I would give as much as I got before. Now, we have to sign social media contracts. Now I’m not bothered about tweeting at all – if you put something out there, everybody looks to smash you. 

You’re not on any platform outside of X. Why?

I’ve been tempted to be on them. People have asked me to go down the Facebook and Instagram route. There’s enough with X and if I need to get any thought out, that’s enough for me.

Between Jon Champion, Peter Drury, Martin Tyler, and now Conor McNamara – who is your favourite co-commentator?

That’s an unfair question. Peter Drury would shade it though because I followed Peter to BBC Sport, then ITV Sport, then to PLP. I still get to work with him occasionally for NBC. But Jon Champion would be a close second. I haven’t worked with Martin as much. Conor is probably in the main seat now with PLP and it’s good working with him. When I was working with ORTV in Ireland and he was working with a rival broadcaster and he was coming through and for him to have made it big is great. It’s good to sit next to him as well. 

Finally, we are seeing referees get a lot of flak in England. Do you think commentators sometimes don’t agree with referee decisions to stir more controversy?

Some guys are involved, mainly on radio who do this to wind people up and stir things. Sometimes when we are trying to reason out what VAR (video assistant referee) is thinking, we suddenly hear the check is complete and we wonder how we can support the call. Before we had VAR, when everyone was in the pub after games, referees would get slaughtered. Now, the video assistant referee is getting that even though it was brought in to improve the big decisions. It’s not tidied up things and at times it’s complicated things more and caused a lot more controversy. 

I wouldn’t do that though (make a statement for the heck of it) and it would be a fault on any commentator’s job if they do that. My agenda is to call games honestly. On social media in the past, I would throw a grenade now and then. Now, I don’t need that hassle. The rivalry between fans has gotten silly and childish now. 

Even if I state a fact I still get called biased. It’s a fan’s job to be biased for his/her football club. Commentators generally are honest and call a game of football. As a co-commentator, you can’t say anything that’s going to please everyone. Someone will always be upset.  You could be right in what you say and yet you’ll look at your phone afterwards and see all that nonsense. That’s what we get accused of – my bio on X is I’m biased towards all 20 PL clubs. But that doesn’t deter them and the trolls keep coming. 

This article first appeared in the May issue of Manifest. Get your copy here.