Amazon Prime score Premier League own goal after Eni Aluko riles fans with ‘Notts Forest’ reference

It’s a tough job for Amazon Prime. They don’t have the weekly coverage that’s built up and practice their TV rivals at Sky and BT Sport have to ensure a clean, hassle-free broadcast.

But there is no mercy for them, for they will be judged by the same standard anyway. There’s no prep time for them to technically iron out the creases, but signing loan talent from UK TV broadcasters – as well as old favorites – helps more than being the front of the news.

Even they sometimes need to get a few errors out of the system as well. It took less than five minutes for poor Eni Aluko to infuriate Nottingham Forest supporters by referring to their team by a name that is a mortal sin for those associated with the club.

In her opening monologue describing Forest’s hopes of staying afloat after their poor start, her attempt to shorten the club’s name soon saw her bombarded by fans online.

Asked about how important Forest’s game with Brighton was to the season, Aluko said: “Absolutely, that run-in is as difficult as it gets. Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs. No disrespect to Brighton, Notts Forest should look at this game and say we need to get something out of this.”

Forest fans, perhaps far from comfort given their team’s poor start to the Premier League, were not particularly forgiving.

One angry fan said: ‘Nottingham Forest talk to the commentators on Amazon because we are NOT Notts Forest.’ accompanied by angry emojis.

Another also objected to the Notts reference, saying, “I already don’t like Amazon’s coverage because that female host called us Notts. #nffc’.

Whether behind-the-scenes producers soon caught Aluko’s ear, or she immediately realized that her mistake, “Nottingham Forest” or simply “Forest” were soon used exclusively when they teamed up with Lee Dixon in the field of punditry, while the trusty Simon Thomas carried the anchor for the clash at the Amex Stadium.

Thomas usually does a slick professional performance as anchor, but even he got caught with some teething problems at Amazon during halftime. Returning from a break, he was preparing to lead the halftime analysis, but a member of the production team randomly walked off screen and straightened a cable at the presentation table next to his feet.

The confused Thomas said, ‘Oh hello, good evening sir! Someone ran in and tickled my foot. Put me out of my step!’

Aluko and Dixon didn’t really have the team chemistry at Selhurst Park (more on that later), but their combined analysis was clear and informative for a match that sadly didn’t yield much in a 0-0 draw.

On other technical issues, viewers have complained about the usual 90 second delays when streaming broadcasts, but this feels like an unfair stick to beat Amazon with as they may not be to blame for some of the delays and so is the nature of streaming. somewhat make behind playing live anyway.

Yet there are also so many positive points from Amazon reporting. One gem they do have is the much loved commentary duo of Ally McCoist and Jon Champion – who, for reasons still unexplained, have not been picked up by any major British broadcaster for Premier League or even Champions League coverage.

Amazon knows it too, even giving the pair screen time to progress through the teams before kick-off for Crystal Palace vs Wolverhampton Wanderers.

While many love the chemistry between the pair first discovered during the 2018 World Cup, McCoist is also extremely knowledgeable about the game and his experience is as valuable as his airborne charms.

For example. he described Diego Costa as ‘beyond it’ before later watching the Wolves striker take a knock too much in an attempt to give his side a first-half lead, before the hapless ex-Chelsea star left goalless as a substitute later in the match.

But McCoist has another element that gives Amazon a unique selling point: it’s just plain fun. In a world where pundits try to be controversial and seek critical points to guide their commentary and provoke anger, McCoist has an almost old-fashioned approach to enjoying the game and telling it as he sees it from a neutral perspective – well or bad.

It’s a simple approach, but his lively personality and natural chemistry with just about everyone he hangs out with makes him check the box when you also factor in his knowledge of the game.

Selhurst Park also saw a new partnership for Alan Shearer on punditry, who shared duties with former Eagles star Clinton Morrison and the pair also seemed to each riff as if they had shared a Match of the Day or Soccer Saturday studio during their punditry careers. Whether it was the McCoist effect or not, they too had a calm demeanor and made the whole pre-match, rest and full-time analysis enjoyable to watch.

The build-up was more reserved for the Palace/Wolves game hosted by the peerless Gabby Logan, with an hour and 15 minutes devoted to top interviews, including with Palace boss Patrick Vieira on the pitch side and chairman Steve Parish, while even Wolves- manager Steve Davis joined the team.

Vieira and Wilfied Zaha also stopped at the presentation table after the game for another talk following the forward’s winner in a 2-1 win for the Eagles.

On the bread and butter of football, Amazon has paid £90 million over three years to display rights for the Premier League, and in return they offer excellent value in their coverage. If you don’t already have Amazon Prime, you can essentially watch all of their matches this week for free with a 30-day trial – and there’s plenty here to enjoy.

The ability to easily switch between multiple matches or watch several at once will prove invaluable on Wednesday night when there are five matches to watch. They can’t all be bad!

Don’t like the comment? Then a click on the button creates the atmosphere of the match as if you were there.

Do you want some extra insight? Live stats and highlights from any point in the coverage make it easy to catch up and even keep up, and it’s all easy to turn on and off. It is the blueprint for how Premier League matches will be treated in the future.

We don’t see too much focus on Amazon Premier League, even though they’ve been around for three years.

But despite their lack of experience, the greatest credit must go to them that no one fears their streaming service. You can look forward to it even more than the regular live TV output.