Nobody was talking a good game

Someone at Soho Square must, given that the way BBC covered the England team was said to be a factor in the decision to dump Auntie in favour of ITV and Setanta. The Beeb, according to sources at the time, was said to be not as positive as it should be when showing England games.

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If BB ever sees a recording of Saturday's FA Cup Final, he might ask the association's lawyers to look into the possibility of starting the new £425million contract this autumn instead of in August, 2008.

BBC's Match of the Day Live from the new Wembley would definitely have qualified in the "not-as-positive-as-it-should-be" category, as defined by the FA. In other words, Gary Lineker and Co told it exactly as it was.

"Cagey, cautious, crrrr-eatively inept," declared Lineker at half-time. Meanwhile, over on Sky Sports, where excessive vested interest insists on looking at all football through rose-tinted glasses, Richard Keys thought the first half had not quite taken off.

BBC commentator John Motson joked: "I'm sure you're all relieved that I am talking less than normal. It is simply because there is nothing to say."

Mark Lawrenson had plenty to say. "More of a dog's dinner than a showpiece,' he growled. Not so much an FA Cup Final as a Charity Shield match. Anybody bored yet?"

The essence of good commentary is matching appropriate words to pictures. When referee Steve Bennett talked to Ryan Giggs, Lawro speculated that the official was asking: "Any chance we can have a game of football?"

And when a worm's-eye view of the pitch revealed more lunar surface than carpet, he sighed: "Eight hundred million quid and we can't grow grass!"

Both the BBC and Sky Sports interviewed Dennis Higham, a nonagenarian who had attended the first Cup Final at Wembley in 1923. But when the camera picked him out inside the ground on Saturday (both channels shared the same pictures), different angles were pursued.

Sky Sports focused on the fact that they had acquired his ticket and he was their guest for the day.

"He's done well to stay awake," quipped Lawrenson. The tone was in stark contrast to the preamble which celebrated the Cup's rich history and new stadium. The BBC does nostalgia better than anyone. Evocative black and white pictures, daft haircuts and stupid white suits.

Sky Sports, who only do colour, were quickly riding their hobby horse. "We might hear more about modern technology," reflected Andy Gray on the Giggs incident. While Keys duly obliged, Lineker ignored the subject.

Graeme Souness, a non-terrestrial pundit, cared not whether the ball crossed the line. He thought it a penalty. Sir Alex Ferguson agreed. Not that you would know watching the BBC. He's still not talking to the Beeb. He is 65. High time he was growing up.