Between “ref cams”, digital touchpads, and ragebaiting Roy Keane, football broadcasters are used to throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the screen in a bid for fresh content. But what about an actual kitchen sink? ITV might as well have done that last night, when it plonked esteemed World Cup pundit Emma Hayes in front of a set that resembled something you might find at a Harvey Jones showroom.
Hayes, the current US women’s team manager whose seven league wins at Chelsea made her one of the most decorated tacticians in world football, was tasked with delivering analysis during England’s Wednesday night fixture against Croatia. Her observations were detailed, interesting, and well-communicated. The kitchenesque backdrop, though – a chalkboard affixed to a brick column, surrounded by cupboards and drawers that look like they might slide open and reveal a cutlery tray, turned her segments into pure, uncut meme fodder. The trio of male pundits fronting the rest of the coverage – Keane, Gary Neville, and Ian Wright – were sat, as you might imagine, around a more conventional presenting table that didn’t resemble a food-preparation station even a little bit.
