John Motson RIP

[ulstersubbie]

He's died aged 77. I always remember his quote "the crazy gang has beaten the culture club" after Wimbledon beat the scousers in the 1988 FA cup final.   

[Jumping Jack Flash]

I don’t want to speak of the dead but I’m going to. He was an awful, cliche ridden commentator who specialised in speaking the bleeding obvious. Barry Davies was by far a better commentator.

Still I bear no ill will so RIP Motty.

[RandomGuy99]

RIP

[dexpunt]

He openly advertised for a defunkt football investment brand called "Football Index" even doing a weekly segment on Talksport advising who to invest in. I lost over 4k in that. Needless to say it did tarnish my views a bit

[Kool Keef]

One of the voices of my football obsessed childhood. R.I.P.

[ulstersubbie]

I don’t want to speak of the dead but I’m going to. He was an awful, cliche ridden commentator who specialised in speaking the bleeding obvious. Barry Davies was by far a better commentator.

Too be fair the clichés and gaffes were part of his charm. Davies was a fine commentator, I'll give you that.   

[threechilliman]

I don’t want to speak of the dead but I’m going to. He was an awful, cliche ridden commentator who specialised in speaking the bleeding obvious. Barry Davies was by far a better commentator.

Still I bear no ill will so RIP Motty.

I'd agree. Still very sad though as he did have a certain charm about him.

[Dipper]

He's died aged 77. I always remember his quote "the crazy gang has beaten the culture club" after Wimbledon beat the scousers in the 1988 FA cup final.   

That is an iconic quote.

[Justjim1987]

Absolutely sucks, he was a huge part of my childhood watching MOTD & FA Cup games. Simply the best to ever do it in my opinion.

[Stevelondon]

He loved the game and I enjoyed his commentary.   RIP.

Am I right in thinking he got his chance to commentate by winning a competition with the BBC/ITV.
Can’t remember !!!!

[RandomGuy99]

BBC News - John Motson: Legendary commentator dies aged 77
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[Spunky34]

I don’t want to speak of the dead but I’m going to. He was an awful, cliche ridden commentator who specialised in speaking the bleeding obvious. Barry Davies was by far a better commentator.

Still I bear no ill will so RIP Motty.

I’d agree with that comment on his commentary style but he was by no means alone in being cliche-ridden, and he compares favourably with some (not all) of the current commentary generation (Matterface, for one, is particularly awful)

I always think fondly of Richie Benaud saying that among his advice for commentators were:

“Never insult the viewer by telling them what they can already see”, and
“If you can add to what’s on screen then say it, otherwise shut up”.

But back to Motty, although I wasn’t a fan of him as a commentator he was genuinely an enthusiast for football and I thought that came across quite strongly.  And I always smile at that clip of him reporting in blizzard conditions on some abandoned match (in my head it’s always FA Cup Third Round, but it probably wasn’t) - old school professionalism!  Rest in peace.

[Blackpool Rock]

He loved the game and I enjoyed his commentary.   RIP.

Am I right in thinking he got his chance to commentate by winning a competition with the BBC/ITV.
Can’t remember !!!!

Agree I liked Motty's commentary and his clichés were OK IMHO compared to the fuckwits currently on Talksport and Clive Tyldesley etc who ruin the fucking game for me 

77 is no age and the BBC saying in his sleep rather than after an illness etc, perhaps just unlucky to go so soon

[Blackpool Rock]

I’d agree with that comment on his commentary style but he was by no means alone in being cliche-ridden, and he compares favourably with some (not all) of the current commentary generation (Matterface, for one, is particularly awful)

I always think fondly of Richie Benaud saying that among his advice for commentators were:

“Never insult the viewer by telling them what they can already see”, and
“If you can add to what’s on screen then say it, otherwise shut up”.

But back to Motty, although I wasn’t a fan of him as a commentator he was genuinely an enthusiast for football and I thought that came across quite strongly.  And I always smile at that clip of him reporting in blizzard conditions on some abandoned match (in my head it’s always FA Cup Third Round, but it probably wasn’t) - old school professionalism!  Rest in peace.

Complete with his trademark Sheepskin coat   

[mr.bluesky]

Agree I liked Motty's commentary and his clichés were OK IMHO compared to the fuckwits currently on Talksport and Clive Tyldesley etc who ruin the fucking game for me 

77 is no age and the BBC saying in his sleep rather than after an illness etc, perhaps just unlucky to go so soon

Have to agree, there are far worse commentators about than Motson, Clive Tyldesley being one of them. Motty on the BBC and Brian Moore on ITV  were among the best.

[nwluvit]

The best quote I always remember was
"For those of you watching in Black and White Spurs are in yellow!"  Priceless.
There will never be another like him

[Colston36]

I don’t want to speak of the dead but I’m going to. He was an awful, cliche ridden commentator who specialised in speaking the bleeding obvious. Barry Davies was by far a better commentator.

Still I bear no ill will so RIP Motty.

I see the BBC called him "legendary" and "illustrious". English is fast losing its meaning.

[Thephoenix]

I think many of us liked the bloke because he reminded us of that classmate we knew in school who wasn't very sporty but was an anorak in his chosen hobby, whether it be stamp collecting, trainspotting or collecting worms.
He was the likeable, eccentric kid next door who'd be an asset in the pub quiz team, but you'd probably not want to go nightclubbing with him on the pull.

I think as Englishmen we have a penchant for the rather eccentric, modest anti-hero, the likes of John Motson and Dicky Bird.

[Don Giovanni]

I met him briefly, about ten years ago, when I worked in a Fleet Street restaurant; he was having lunch with Adrian Chiles. I always enjoyed his enthusiastic commentary whenever a team scored, this enhanced the enjoyment of the game, almost as if a knowledgable fan was the commentator. There are many cliches in sport commentary but the genuine passion in his voice is not something that you can fake.

I am biased of course but I cannot forget watching live on BBC TV the 1982 quarter final between Brazil and Italy and his voice added so much to the occasion, especially his comment on Serginho's miss at an open Italian goal with Zoff on the floor; " the sort of miss a Sunday morning player shouldn't have been guilty of ".

At the time I had no idea that decades later I might meet the man with the voice of football. RIP Motty.

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