Internet messageboards attracts the sort of know-it-alls who were once confined to boring strangers in pubs. Criticism of presenters is one of their favourite topics. I suppose it must annoy the know-it-all that someone else has an opinion, other than their own, and is given a forum in which to air those opinions.

You only need to watch the fans' commentary on Sky football matches to see how difficult it is to commentate and what a mess of it the pub bore makes.

I wish Mr French a long and happy retirement and thank him for his decades of service to the Greatest Game.

Yes Keith Macklin was very, very good indeed - and I only heard him in the latter stages of his career.

Unfortunately he still seems to think a pass that goes forward is a forward pass and that a play the ball should actually be played with the foot!

No place for dinosaurs like that in the game!

He did an audience with night at belle vue one time and was very personable and funny, with a vast knowledge of the game.

Yes whilst some might find it delightful to hear what amateur club somebody played for for the 17th time during the match I'd rather hear the action called.....and correctly.
Yes he cares a lot about RL, but ain't no room for sentiment, all year people on here have been banging on about the presentation of RL on tv and other media (going as far as complaining about a picture of Nigel Wood on a website). He's a poor and often embarrassing commentator who hasn't helped the game he loves by coming up with cringe worthy commentary and making it sound like we are still in 1968.

I think Ray French has gone on commentating on TV for too long. I think the game is too fast for him these days.

But, he's always come across as a genuinely nice bloke and he deserves respect for, not only his history in the sport as both a player and commentator, but also for the kind of man he is.
Criticism of his commentating is probably warranted in this day and age, but isn't necessary or welcome on the day he retires.

As for Jonathan Davies, I quite like him. He'll have a bit of a laugh and a joke, has some insights and just as importantly is known to people and doesn't have a northern accent.

Eddie & Stevo - Eddie I think is a cracking commentator when he sticks to commentating. It's when he starts constantly adding his opinion that it gets annoying.
Stevo - sometimes I really like him, sometimes he's annoying. I'd probably like him a bit more if he left Eddie to the commentating a bit more instead of constantly jumping in. But, like French, Stevo deserves more respect than he's often shown by some people.

For the BBC, I like having Dave Woods as main commentator with Davies and Noble chipping in. I really like Mark Chapman introducing.

For Sky, have Eddie sticking to commentating, with a bit less of a vocal Stevo and one of either McDermott or Jon Wells chipping in. With Carney introducing the programme.