Fans of Chelsea and Arsenal have a regular gripe about Champions League coverage... both Sky and ITV consistently prioritise Liverpool and Manchester United games. That means the London clubs are always shown on the secondary channel - ITV4 or Sky Sports 3. The coverage is poorer, you miss out on highlights from other games, sometimes it's hard to find the game on in pubs. But Barking at the Television correspondent Nick Fleetwood has an alternative viewpoint..."I understand Arsenal and Chelsea fans' gripes about being shunted across to lesser channels on Champions League nights. I, though, am one Arsenal fan who you won't find complaining: watching on ITV4 suits me just fine. You see, United serve as our Pleat-Blocker. As long as our games clash, the Manchester club gets ITV1 and therefore are lumbered with chief pundit David Pleat, possibly the worst co-commentator ever to put a hairy, palsied hand around a mic.
"This is the man who once said, "There's Thierry Henry, exploding like the French train that he is" and "a game is not won until it is lost". He pollutes a game by sticking as many cliches as possible into one sentence and he wrote Jens Lehmann Law (saying "Lehmann's having a great game", before the then Arsenal keeper conceded three in 10 minutes).
"So yes, Arsenal and Chelsea games might be a bit harder to find, but to be denied Pleat's Bleating (Pleating) is a blessed relief.
"Tomorrow, Man U will also step in as a Gray-Blocker. While Andy Gray is a division below Pleat in the Irritation League, it's still a relief not to hear his name-mangling and 'tikaboo, son' catchprases."
Pleat-Blocker – good point. Only one problem tonight... Liverpool can't be Chelsea's Pleat-Blocker, because they're in the same match. Is it too late to become Catalan? "I know nothing, I from Barcelona! Let me watch ITV4!"
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