The Gardeners' World Blog

Amongst the many balancing acts we try to perform on Match of the Day is the one between match action and analysis.

For every letter or email we receive asking us to cut the yap and get on with the action, another one arrives asking why our studio team failed to dissect team x's admirable defensive performance away to team y last Saturday.

It's generally more reassuring to receive stick from both sides in any particular argument than it is to have all the detractors saying the same thing.

In less accountable times, it was rumoured that one particular editor of Grandstand when faced with, say, an enormous mailbag from the pro- and anti-snooker lobbies - "why did you interrupt the crucial 15th frame for a horse race?" vs "you stayed with those two idiots in bowties and only joined the big race just before the off" - used to reply simply by sending them each other's letters. I don't think we could get away with that in this day and age!