My letter of complaint to ITV.

Dear ITV,


I've restrained myself from writing to you for as long as possible, but I can no longer contain my frustrations at the appalling manner with which your chief World Cup commentary duo of Peter Drury and Jim Beglin have conducted themselves throughout this tournament.

The final straw came during today's match between Italy and Slovakia when, upon the referee whistling for the end of the game, Drury chose to announce that the careers of Italy's captain Fabio Cannavaro and manager Marcello Lippi had just been "terminated".

Given that we are talking here about two of the most decorated and well respected figures in both Italian and World football, I don't think it is unfair to accuse Drury of being both embarrassingly theatrical and completely out of line.

But this was simply the latest in a series of symbolically unprofessional performances from your football mouths, and it is Drury himself who above all others who leaves me and all my friends and colleagues aghast - how such a hideous man be employed as someone the audience wants, NEEDS to actually relate to?

All he wants is a soundbite! He wants to be Kenneth Wolstenholme.........I am completely certain that if Rooney were to be storming goalwards when we were already 3-2 up against the Germans on Sunday he would actually started saying, "They think it's all over!!" His egomaniacal sensibilities are revolting. Never can he simply allow the match unfolding before him to flourish and paint its own picture, framed by informative and relevant comments (something which the BBC manage on at least a far more consistent basis than ITV can even dream of).

He INSISTS upon leaving his imprint by babbling hysterically some kind of interminable claptrap that he hopes will be played over and over on future re-runs, allowing him to cross his arms and crease his face with the smuggest of grins. How selfish, how hideous! This isn't about any one player, or any one team, or any one nation.......it's about the whole world coming together and celebrating the beautiful game. So it's definitely not about one commentator (and even more definitely not about an absolutely terrible one).

Beglin is shocking as well but to be quite frank you must have been told that so many times by so many people that it goes without saying.


I sincerely hope you've received many more complaints like this one, so that maybe, just maybe you'll consider ousting that ridiculous man from his position.


Yours sincerely,


Alex Phelan, Manchester.