The Match of the Day 2 presenter believes the criticism pundits like Shearer receive on social media has become incessant, unfair and does them and those who work behind the scenes a disservice
A warm afternoon in south Manchester and Mark Chapman is in relaxed mood. In a few hours he will back on BBC Radio Five Live, presenting a show on England’s latest Test collapse, but for now he is sat in the kitchen of his family home with a mug of coffee in hand, ready to embark on a conversation that has been more than two months in the making.
It was in late June that I contacted Chapman to ask for help with something I was writing at the time. Chapman being Chapman, he did his best to be of assistance and, during our conversation, made a comment in regards to being in Russia on World Cup-hosting duties for the BBC that grabbed the attention. “The level of scrutiny is exhausting. I’ve never known anything like it.” We agreed to discuss this in more detail when he returned home and so, with coffees poured, that is what occurred on a quiet, late summer’s day.
Continue reading...