He was nowhere near as bad as everyone claims. Despite his BBC success, maybe he lacked self confidence in the ITV showpiece role.
For me, his problem was that, when he just got a bit grumpy, it was not gleefully picked up on by his co-presenters. Neither did he react properly (as would have been enjoyed by viewers) by getting on his high horse and giving a bit of devilment back. He is a fairly witty bloke and, if he had kicked off, and reacted like he did on radio football shows, I think he would have been regarded as a great success.
Eamon Holmes is grumpy and occasionally kicks off, but he isn't as fundamentally "nice" as Adrian Chiles and is a lot happier dishing it out that getting some back in return. He comes across to me as a bit of a bully.