BBC Sport Standards Sllipping

Here is the BBC Sport match report for tonight's Everton vs. Birmingham game. The original can be viewed here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/9415280.stm but beware, it's not a pretty sight.

In just short of 550 words, I managed to find 11 errors in this piece which the BBC deemed of sufficient quality. This was composed by an experienced journalist too...

Dutchman John Heitinga scored a delightful goal as Everton drew with Birmingham at Goodison Park.

Blues took the lead in the first half when Jean Beausejour outjumped Tony Hibbert to head past Tim Howard from about six yards out. (I’m not sure why estimations are being used here. Either you should state how far out he was or use a generic terms such as ‘close range’.)

Heitinga equalised in stunning style when he curled into top left from the edge of the area, the shot beating Lee Bowyer who was stood on the line.

The result moves Blues out of the relegation zone and above West Ham.

It was a peculiar game which never settled into a pattern but at least produced a brilliant strike and one very amusing turn by referee Peter Walton.

Neither side had much to laugh about in the opening 10 minutes when both Everton's Mikel Arteta and Birmingham's David Bentley came off with leg muscle injuries.

It was rotten luck for the Toffees, in particular, because Arteta now joins fellow midfielders Marouane Fellaini, Tim Cahill and Phil Neville on the sidelines. (Birmingham have Keith Fahey, Barry Ferguson and James McFadden injured so not much difference at all.)

Everton had controlled the first few minutes, bar a good save from Howard to deny Cameron Jerome, and the arrival of replacement Seamus Coleman did not affect their dominance.

They tested Blues (this should be either Blues’ with an apostrophe or ‘the Blues’. Ben Foster hasn’t been used yet so not sure why he hasn’t been referred to here.) keeper with a Leon Osman header and a low shot from Jermaine Beckford, but before they could break down the door with a third attempt, the visitors took the lead.

It was Mutch (first mention, should be the full name.), handed a start by manager Alex McLeish, who found Beausejour on the edge of the six-yard area. The Chile forward footballer (the Chile forward footballer doesn’t make sense) leapt above Tony Hibbert (Tony Hibbert has already been mentioned in full so it should be Hibbert only; no need for the surname after first mention.) to head in.

Everton kept their cool and continued to press, with Beckford going close again when he failed by fractions to get on the end of a floated delivery from Coleman.

But home fans did not have to wait long for the equaliser - and what an equaliser it was.

Osman swung in a corner to right side of the area (should be ‘towards the right side of the area’ or at least ‘to the right side of the area’), which Cameron Jerome managed to clear to the edge of the area. Few would have put money on Heitinga to curl in (in isn’t needed here, sentence sounds awkward with it included) the loose ball into the top corner, but that was the outcome which lifted a previously subdued Goodison Park.

Cheers turned to laughs when a few minutes before the break, referee Peter Walton pulled up Jordon Mutch (full name should have been used in the first mention, not here) for a foul on Louis Saha. The Northamptonshire official searched his pockets for a yellow card but failed to find one and instead mimed the action.

Birmingham had been on the backfoot for much of the first half and that situation did not change in the second half.

In fact, Blues failed to trouble Howard even once during that second period, although the home side were not exactly laying siege on Foster's (first mention, should be Ben Foster) goal.

Balls were swung in from all angles, but the closest Everton came to taking the lead was when Mutch flung his body at the ball to deny Louis Saha (Saha has already been mentioned, no need for first name) and when Beckford's twists and turns in the area resulted in a close-range snap-shot saved by the Birmingham keeper.

The final whistle was met by muted applause, which was a deserved response for a match that failed to spark into life.