MOTD, MOTTY

I don't know what John Motson would have made of Delle Ali and his gesture, perhaps he would have given the commentary his classic "Frankie Howard" response of "My Goodness" and "Oh I say!" Definitely, Motty would have had a very good phrase ready and a mature piece of advice for the young man to chew over during MOTD.

John Motson, born in Salford in 1945, played football, gently, and was part of the Football Commentators XI that would play friendly matches against anyone they fancied and one year Charterhouse School in Godalming got the commentators to play against the teachers and sports' coaches on the famous Charterhouse football pitch "Big Ground". Motty played along side Martin Tyler, Jim Rosenthal and other recognisable "voices". I don't remember the score, probably a gentlemanly draw, but we had a lot of fun and Motty played gently on the "wing", commentating through the game. Motty came over as a nice man, always interested in facts and figures and other people.

Motty, since 1968 as a sports' presenters on Radio 2, has called 10 World Cups, 29 Cup Finals, 10 European Cups, over 200 England matches, over 2,000 matches and he will commentate Brighton v WBA before he begins his final count down towards the end of this season. He has worked on MOTD, Radio 5, Football Focus and Grandstand and before every game he would visit the selected venue and familiarise himself with the local area and grab a few homely facts. He took over from Kenneth Wolstenholme and worked along side David Coleman and then had a rivalry with Barry Davies.

One of his most famous moments was at Hereford United v Newcastle United when Ronnie Radford scored that famous goal. After the match Motty was driven away from the ground by Hereford players Bill Meadows and goal scorer Ricky George where he enjoyed the TV highlights with the two "Bulls".

Motty also had his run ins, famously with Brian Clough, who told him on screen to get on with commentating and not think that he knew more about football than "professionals". Motson reminded Clough that he  had done very well out of punditry.
Motson asked Dave Beasant in a TV interview before the 1988 Cup Final, what he might do if John Aldridge was given a penalty! There are other moments.

He was at Hillsborough when the disaster happened and subsequently gave evidence at the inquest in 1991.
Given the OBE in 2001 for services to football, Motson began his career with the Barnet Free Press and then the Sheffield Morning Telegraph. By all accounts, he answers all letters sent to him and gives sensible advice about making a future out of commentating. He will no doubt be involved in TV somehow and presently does voice overs for a childrens' TV programme called Footy Pups, dearly loves his wife and one son and supports Barnet FC.