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Features


Dan Wheeler

Off The Bench with Dan Wheeler

Fancy an alternative look at West Midlands football? Join Dan Wheeler for Off The Bench every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday during Sportsnight for an irreverent, mostly made-up reflection on the issues of the day.


Tune in to hear what's going on in World of Cobblers, Cliché Watch UK and what won't be happening in the week ahead in Seven Days of Fantasy.

Listen using the links on the right hand side of the page>>

Hear which former West Midlands players have gone on to better things away from the area in their transformation from Pants to Prince, who's likely to carry off the Crooks Award for the most ludicrously long-winded question, and which characters from the Bible would transform the fortunes of our clubs in their role as a Supernatural Sub.

Hear Dan Wheeler on BBC WM 95.6FM and DAB Radio.

Thursday 27 April

Ship out to ship in: In a warning to Villa fans not to expect too much again next season, David O'Leary reveals he's as penniless as a pensioner and will have to sell members of his squad before he can bring anyone in during the summer; There's another round of pointless pontificating over potential transfers; DIY Daddy-o Noah proves he knows his antelopes from his aardvarks and put his case forward to manage one of our clubs in Supernatural Subs and BBC WM's "Magic" Mike Taylor is the latest to try and ask a longer question than Ed Doolan in The Crooks Award.     

Tuesday 25 April

Mission Always Impossible: Kevan Broadhurst pays the price for failing to stop Walsall's flaming, square-wheeled, brake-less juggernaut from entering the League Two arrivals lounge; Albion and Villa dominate the spaghetti of speculation in Transfer Tattle; Kevan Broadhurst is immediately headhunted by the Home Office and becomes Minister for Thankless Tasks and with the tension at The Hawthorns stretched tighter than her trackkie bottoms, eighteen-mile marathon specialist Jade Goody is hired to give the Baggies a motivational pep-talk ahead of the visit of West Ham.

Wednesday 19 April

You say disaster, I say not so sir: There's a whiff of semantic shenanigans in the air at Molineux as the manager responds to the chief executive's comments that the season's be complete underwear; We waste more time that we're never going to have again by looking at the latest transfer rumours and Seven Days of Fantasy reveals which Hoddle and Moxey duet saves the UK from ignominy ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest.    

Wednesday 12 April

The Big Slide: With time to save themselves getting shorter than Tom Thumb's todger, Walsall seem to be preparing to exit stage left, but let's stay like a Bosnich drugs test - positive; Villa are linked to a countdown conundrum in Transfer Tattle; World of Cobblers sees David O'Leary and Steve Bruce slug it out in another derby day edition of Manager Masterbrain, and the "Ultimate Galactico" God himself falls under the Supernatural Subs spotlight.

Tuesday 11 April

Wanted: Miracle worker at Molineux. As Wolves' hopes of making the Play-Offs recede quicker than you can say "disaster", the manager's still clinging onto the belief that that run remains in there somewhere; One of the region's managers goes to extreme lengths to prove the value of using technology to clear up contentious penalty decisions and all the players at Blues have their wages doubled in Seven Days of Fantasy; The latest transfer tattle is looked at, and Mark Wahlberg and George Clooney play their part in translating more cliches in Clichewatch UK.

Wednesday 5 April

Bottle n Fibre: no, not a new variety of cereal but just what Birmingham City showed at last in their super win over Bolton. Is this the beginning of another West Midlands Great Escape?; with another derby on the horizon, another edition of the quiz tens of people are talking about pops up to see who can strike the early psychological upper cut as O'Leary takes on Robson in Manager Masterbrain; The futures (potentially) of Jlloyd Samuel, Chris Kirkland and Joleon Lescott come under the Transfer Tattle spotlight.

Tuesday 4 April

It ain't mathematically impossible but what price on Wolves making the Play-Offs? Somewhere in the sequence that includes winning the lottery at 14,000,000 to 1, getting hit by an asteroid at 500,000 to 1 or Off the Bench winning a Sony Award at 5,000,000,000,000 to 1; In Seven Days of Fantasy David O'Leary gets help from a special friend as he scoops the jackpot on TV's Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, and Glenn Hoddle's hopes of scoring a number one hit single are dashed - by his own squad; More splendidly implausible transfer rumours are examined including Jermaine Pennant, Matt Upson and Nathan Ellington in Transfer Tattle; and what's the footballing cliché equivalent of "get lost spotty, I'd rather eat my own brain than go on a date with you"? Clichewatch UK tells us.

Wednesday 22 March

Non-Magnificent Seven: Blues battered, fried and covered in some acidic liquid as Liverpool shame them out of the FA Cup (heck even Peter Crouch scored…twice) surely that's it for their hopes of staying up?; Transfer Tattle reveals Manchester United to be the latest temptress to show a bit of thigh in the scramble to sign James Milner, Blues start their search for not-so-super-this-season Mario and Wolves' prize asset is coveted by Premiership virgins Reading; Alan Pardew conducts a nationwide campaign to say sorry and take full responsibility for emptying his bladder on Albion and Blues' survival chances and after missing out on a new stadium Blues hit Edinburgh Council with a novel idea - both stories broken by Seven Days of Fantasy.

Wednesday 16 March

After their marvellous win over Cardiff, Wolves travel to Championship leaders Reading with a told-you-so-watch-us-go-on-a-run-now-so there confidence. But can they give the slip to ruthless villains Mr Overconfidence and his partner-in-pestilence Mr Arrogance at the Madejski?; Jason Koumas comes puts forward his case for inclusion into the Pants to Price Hall of Fame; Can anyone topple (or yarn on for longer) than the mighty Doolan - Adrian Goldberg has a crack at The Crooks Award.

Tuesday 15 March

O'Leary or Warney? Might be tough to tell as Villa put a huge amount of spin on their meek surrender in the FA Cup after Darius Vassell shows the law of the old boy leaving something nasty in the teapot of their old club is still very much in vogue; Seven Days of Fantasy reveals an infamous word is removed from the Villa Park Dictionary of Underachievement as well as the opening of the museum of Tell Us Something We Don't Know; Transfer Tattle uncovers rumours of Grant Leadbitter (Sunderland reserve) and Julio Arca (Sunderland first team) to Villa and Kris Commons to Blues; and Supernatural Subs asks, if goalkeepers are said to be a bit bonkers, mad-as-a-marble King Herod would surely be a tip-top stopper - but which of our clubs would most benefit?

Tuesday 14 March

A dose of cow's bottoms and banjos verses Laurel and Hardy defending: reflections on the Blues/Baggies derby day; all the latest transfer tattle; and more well-known idiotic idioms are translated with Mr. Straight Talk…

Wednesday 8 March

Top mates Bryan Robson and Steve Bruce put their friendship aside and try to land the first psychological blow ahead of the weekend's massive derby game as they go head-to-head in Manager Mastermind, and Ivar Ingimarsson shows Wolves fans what they've been missing in his rise to fame with Reading.

Tuesday 7 March

The rule of the old boy doing a wee wee on the bonfire of his old team hasn't lost any of its capacity to raise the blood pressure as Paul Jones denies Wolves a win; José Mourninho receives his comeuppance for refusing to shake Bryan Robson's hand at the weekend; and more clichés are put into layman's terms.

Thursday 2 March

Jermaine Pennent's latest brush with the Broad Street pavement leaves Steve Bruce little option but to chalk off another life for the talented winger - and his patience is thinning; former Blues pint-sized poacher Andrew Johnson is under the Pants to Prince spotlight; and Mr. Straight Talk gives us a more everyday translations of some more footballing clichés.

Wednesday 1 March

Strong courage and even stronger underpants needed as World of Cobblers reveals Wolves' plans to raise cash by inviting all their Midlands rivals to take part in a ghost hunt around Molineux; and Mark Regan goes for glory in the Crooks Award.

Tuesday 28 February

Mark Delaney gets a new contract, we think, at Villa; Eric Djemba Djemba's new travel book brings in millions for the club in Seven Days of Fantasy; and find out why you shouldn't spill Cain's post-match pint as the First Son puts his credentials forward to bail out one of our clubs.   

Thursday 16 February

They're sensitive types, footballers y'know as Jlloyd Samuel reveals he finds clearing his mind of every insult some Villa fans are lobbing his way harder than a long ball over the top; Danny Gabbidon shows what Albion fans are missing; Ed Doolan steps up for a crack providing the longest question in the history of the galaxy.

Wednesday 15 February

Cuddly toys and terriers: Off the Bench's resident predictor rubs his balls (of crystal) together to come up with more stuff that won't be happening in Seven Days of Fantasy; World of Cobblers reveals the location of Albion's mid-season recharging break; Adam is this week's Supernatural Sub and we look at the free-spirited naturist's potential to reinvigorate Villa.

Thursday 9 February

Good praise for a good days? er, not exactly as Luke Moore's goal glut seems to suggest not; Jason Roberts swaps being Pants for his princely crown; and monster of the airwaves (or is that dinosaur?) Tony Butler sets the pace as the Crooks Award is launched.

Wednesday 8 February

Molineux reverberates to the buzz of bearded excitement as botanists discover a new species of plant - World of Cobblers investigates; Walsall FC give Off The Bench an exclusive reaction to the dismissal of Paul Merson; and what would the Saddlers or Blues do with arguably the Old Testament's most lethal striker David the Shepherd boy?

Tuesday 7 February

"Like a fresh shirt and the start of a fifth set tie-break" is how Off The Bench describes the sadly now ex-Walsall manager Paul Merson. We reflect and lament on the prospect of life after Merse; Bobbby Robson replaces Merson at Bescot and Glenn Hoddle gives most of his squad the rest of the season off - it can only be Seven Days of Fantasy; More clichés are given the real world treatment.

Thursday 2 February

Fate is told where to shove its fickle finger as Blues come away from Anfield with a tip-top point; find out what cliché can also be translated as "We're a trillion times better. They stink and should stay in bed"; Bosko Balaban proves there really is life away from laying the tables in the Bodymoor Heath canteen.

Wednesday 1 February

In another exclusive, World of Cobblers reveals what Villa boss David O'Leary is really worried about when he questions the "appetite" of his side following their recent poor run, we take the first look into our parallel, alternative universe and discover Ishmel Demontagnac is crowned World Memory Champion in Seven Days of Fantasy. 

last updated: 02/05/06
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