BT Sport's coverage leaves viewers hoping for more after chaotic show

Whatever else is said about Jake Humphrey, there was a moment during BT Sport's coverage of the Champions League final when he may have had an unusually large number of folk nodding along in agreement.

It was after he had turned to Mario Balotelli, recruited on account of his past with each of the clubs, and asked the enigmatic Italian for his prediction. These exchanges rarely enrich our lives but when you have five hours to fill, it isn't unreasonable for a broadcaster to assume that the hired baller will play ball.

Except Balotelli has rarely been the sort for conformity. 'No comment,' he said, to which Humphrey replied: 'We paid thousands of pounds for this guy, and he says nothing.' It rather chimed with a feeling that persisted throughout the evening of being short-changed.

For those of us using our screens to consume the biggest single match in the club calendar, when the season crescendos for each of the parties involved, from teams to broadcasters, you would desperately hope for more.

Of course, there never has been the perfect broadcast, but on the most basic levels it felt chaotic. Frustrating. A little overloaded with inane contributions.

Joleon Lescott informed us of his nerves and the reminders kept coming. Balotelli, who has the potential to be a treasure trove, was too reluctant to engage, or was just never given the right pointers.

Cesc Fabregas was strong, and likewise Rio Ferdinand, because they speak with true insight, but even the latter fell over his laces, when an emotional Kyle Walker spoke of his mother once not having a pound for an ice cream.

That was a rare peeling back of layers, but Ferdinand wanted to know what his first drink would be that evening. In the frenzy of a live broadcast, it was a chance missed.

But those are the more superficial gripes, along with Humphrey's desires to refer to his own farewell, and the social media outrage around an interviewer requesting an autograph. For me, there were stranger aspects around context and proportionality.

We know Manchester City have achieved something incredible and rare, and they have done so with style, brilliance and a manager with few or no equals in history.

But for Darren Fletcher to describe it as the 'greatest story in club history' felt like a laughable attempt to make a Cinderella tale out of a state-run enterprise.

More bizarre was the absence of mentions across five hours for those 115 charges. They aren't the immediate talking point, but they are a talking point, and in time might be the greatest talking point.

To ignore it left the broadcast some way short of a fair accounting.