Words matter. These are the best John Motson Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
The competition to get above the rest and be the lead commentator, or whatever you want to call it, is much fiercer than it was when I was starting out. By the same token, there were not as many jobs going back then, so to get one was an achievement in itself.
Even now, I still get a bit apprehensive before a game because I am worried about whether I have done enough preparation or if something is going to catch me out. But the fear factor has gone – as it should have done by now, really, after nearly 50 years.
I did a bit of boxing when younger. Once I was joined by Muhammad Ali as my co-commentator. I’ve got a picture of the two of us together ringside at the Albert Hall on my wall at home.
I still use felt tip pens for my notes, on a white board that I carry around with me. I am not into the computer technology – you can say that quite safely.
I’m not a celebrity whose face is recognised everywhere I go, like Gary Lineker, but my voice does make people sit up and pay attention from time to time.
I think this could be our best victory over Germany since the war.
Not the first half you might have expected, even though the score might suggest that it was.
My favourite English player of my time was Paul Gascoigne. I interviewed him several times, always entertaining.
It is now a pleasure to go to any of the Premier League grounds. They are so welcoming, not just to me but to all the broadcasters – all media, really, you have to say.
The FA Cup as a tournament was very good to me. I’d like to think I can still have some association with that because it was the Ronnie Radford goal for Hereford against Newcastle which really put me on the map in 1972.
And Seaman, just like a falling oak, manages to change direction.
It looks like things are changing in north London. Tottenham have gone down a road they’ve never been down before. They’ve kept their best players and pushed young English ones through. They’ve started to match Arsenal – who were light years ahead – by building a new stadium.
Nearly all the Brazilian supporters are wearing yellow shirts – it’s a fabulous kaleidoscope of colour.
I might feel a little bit empty, and it might get to me for a short time, but I’m hoping to keep my association with football and with broadcasting – I’m not retiring from everything; I’m retiring from the BBC. I’m certainly not going pipe and slippers.
Brazil – they’re so good it’s like they are running round the pitch playing with themselves.
Its Arsenal 0 – Everton 1, and the longer it stays like that the more you’ve got to fancy Everton.
I do remember once going to Salzburg in Austria. Liverpool were playing a European game there, and they put me in a box behind glass. I hate being behind glass; I always want to feel part of the action.
I have had a wonderful time. I don’t think things could have gone any better for me because I was football-mad as a boy, and to get a job watching the game and going to all the major events I have been to has been very rewarding.
The World Cup is a truly International event.
It looks like a one man show here, although there are two men involved.
