Robbie Earle on Premier League without Ferguson: “Who can grab the mantle now that the great man has gone?”
NBC Sports Network Kicks Off Premier League Coverage Saturday, August 17, at 7 AM ET
STAMFORD – August 11, 2013 – Six days from today – on Saturday, August 17 – NBC Sports Group kicks off the most ambitious, extensive and comprehensive coverage of the Premier League available anywhere in the world. Coverage begins at 7 AM ET on NBC Sports Network with the Liverpool-Stoke City match and continues throughout the season on the networks of NBCUniversal, on the Premier League Extra Time bonus TV package, and streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra.
PREMIER LEAGUE NUMBER OF THE DAY: 6
With the recent purchase of Fulham by Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, 6 of the 20 Premier League clubs are now owned by Americans (Arsenal - Stan Kroenke; Aston Villa - Randy Lerner; Liverpool - John Henry; Manchester United - the Glazer family; Sunderland - Ellis Short).
Sounding off with NBC Sports Group’s Premier League analyst ROBBIE EARLE:
What I am most looking forward to this Premier League season is…
How Premier League life without “Fergie” (Manchester United’s former manager Sir Alex Ferguson) shapes up. Who can grab the mantle now that the great man has gone?
I am preparing for this season of telecasts by…
Getting across all the various mediums carrying the Premier League. We have a great team of researchers at NBC Sports Group, led by Dan Pozner and Adrienne Lerner, who are literally spoon-feeding us all the nuggets of news. Additionally, having Arlo White, Graeme Le Saux and Lee Dixon actually based in the UK is the best resource of all. And, to my amazement, we have had some direct conference calls with some very high profile players and managers that has been an invaluable insight into their thoughts and aspirations. This is access you would never normally get in the UK!
I think the new face with the most impact this season will be…
Apart from our own Rebecca Lowe, I think the biggest impact will be Bafetimbi Gomis of Newcastle United, already nicknamed the “Baby Drogba.” If he is half as good as the real thing, he will be a huge success.
The game that I’m looking forward to in the first few months of the season is…
The Manchester Derby on September 22 (Manchester City v. Manchester United; 11 AM ET on NBCSN & Telemundo). No Fergie, no [Roberto] Mancini, but plenty at stake.
NBC Sports Group will make available in the United States all 380 games from the Premier League. That’s more than anywhere else on the globe (including the U.K.). All games will be preceded and followed by Premier League Live pre- and post-match shows from the NBC Sports Group International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn.
For information about NBC Sports Group’s Premier League announcers, click here.
To “Keep Calm and Pick A Side” on the Premier League team picker, click here.
For more information on NBC Sports Group’s Premier League television schedule, click here.
For more NBC Sports Group’s Premier League coverage facts and numbers, click here.
For NBC Sports Group’s programming plans, click here.
--NBC SPORTS GROUP--