End of the Motson Era?

So, the time has come at last.


My favourite Motson moments from Euro 2008?

In one of the Holland games we got this classic:

Robben sets up RVP and Motty states 'A goal made in Chelsea and finished by Arsenal'
Arjen Robben of Real Madrid may not agree with that, especially as he has been there for the entirety of the 2007/08 season.

And

'If you're coming in late, let me refresh your memories'
Which is exactly the kind of garbage he talks on a regular basis

Also props to his awful co-commentator Mark Lawrenson for this one in the final:

‘That's a contradiction in terms an angry Lehman’

Well no actually that is the opposite of what it is.
This statement hurt my head so much I was forced to look up tautology via google

Anyway back to Motty:

"I am coming to the end of my career, I know that," said Motson.

Maybe he’s had so much horrible ‘fan’ mail that he has realised his time is up. Didn’t send any of by the way, honest.

Motson will continue to commentate on Match of the Day and Radio 5 Live

I KNEW it was too good to be true. He isn’t going anywhere. What are the odds the BBC still wheel him out for EVERY big game from now until the end of time?

In total, Motson has covered six World Cup finals as well as his 34 FA Cup finals (29 finals and five replays), and more than 200 England matches.

Those years of aural abuse have taken there toll on me. I am now medically almost 90% deaf to all sports commentary.

Still, outbursts like "it's Arsenal 0, Everton 1, and the longer it stays like that, the more you've got to fancy Everton," and "for those of you watching in black and white, Spurs are in the all yellow strip," added to Motson's charm rather than detracted from it.

BBC Sport propaganda departments says: all the utter nonsense he has come out with over the years only makes him more beloved.
I say: good riddance and take your verbal diarrhoea with you.

That was underlined in 2004, when he was named the Royal Television Society's Sports Commentator of the Year, receiving the same honour from Four Four Two in 2005 and from The Variety Club in 2006.

In an unrelated story the 1997 Academy Award for best picture goes to Titanic and not LA Confidential.

"Younger reporters and commentators depend on club websites and the like," he said. "I'm of an older generation. I haven't changed my system since 1971 and I couldn't adjust now - I'm too old.

Didn’t you just know that Motty hated the internet. It ruined his enjoyment of statistics. Now everyone has access to them and he can’t make them up on the spot anymore without being called on it.



Look I don't hate John Motson (though that may be difficult to believe) but his commentary has ruined my enjoyment of BBC football for too long now. I am glad he is taking some sort of semi-retirement so that I can enjoy listening to Jonathan Pearce and the likes from now on.


As a final comment on this let's go back to my previous post where Motson predict Huntelaar for top scorer:
Jan Klaas Huntelaar
Games started in Euro 2008 = 1
Goals scored = 1

Jumped before you're pushed?

Can it be true?

Almost as unthinkable as a big tournament without England is one without John Motson, but the BBC’s voice of football is considering hanging up his sheepskin jacket before the next World Cup finals.

Unthinkable? Un-fucking-thinkable? Un-motherfucking-thinkable?

My god we'd actually be able to watch a BBC game without continually suppressing the urge to throttle someone/anyone.

Proof that Motson can divorce patriotism from pleasure comes in his choice of favourite tournament: Euro 2000

Thank God he can do that, although I have always been more concerned with his inability to string a sentence together, or keep a coherent thought process without wandering off into a statistical cul-de-sac, or his laughing off mic at appalling Lawro 'jokes', or randomly and infuriatingly raising the tone or volume of his voice when saying a players name when nothing is actually happening, or stating the obvious over and over again.

“Klaus-Jan Huntelaar of Holland is my own favourite for the golden boot. He’s scored so many goals in the Dutch league and I think he’s capable of doing it in a tournament.”

Can you say Miroslav Klose?

Huntelaar = good player. His chances of golden boot would be hampered by the fact he didn't start the last 3 qualifiers or the final 2 warm up games for Euro 2008. And now van Persie is fit as well, and they may not even get out of the group phase. Nice call though Motty.


But I digress. We may be about to be relieved of the great burden of listening to Motty every time an interesting game is on the BBC. It's just a shame he won't take Mark Lawrenson with him.

More Lampard Loving

More ridiculous Frank Lampard snobbery here.

What is it about Frank Lampard? How come he is the one who gets booed at England matches when he is no more of an over-paid waste of space than the rest of them?

Well I beg to differ. To start with he wastes much less space due to the fact he can usually be found wandering around the half way line or occassional popping up in and around the area looking for a deflection. And he is more overpaid than most I would think.

Yet here is Jose Mourinho - who describes him as the finest player he has worked with - keen to make Lampard his first Inter Milan signing. So he must have something.

Don't remember Jose ever saying that. If he did then he is wrong if you consider these guys.

Oh yes also Mourinho 'worked with' Ronaldo (the fat one), Rivaldo, Figo and Stoitchkov at Barcelona. For the record they have between them 5 FIFA World Player of the Year awards and 5 Ballon d'Or awards.

Still, Lampard did score 4 against Derby this year didn't he?

But still we continue to mock and sneer. It can't be anything to do with the fact he is the only footballer in the Premiership with a GCSE in Latin, can it?

This I find the most insulting tool of the sportswriter.
They think they are better than us poor poor proles.
They think we are envious of Frank Lampard because he is middle class.

Is it not simple to grasp that non-Chelsea fans only care about what he has done for England recently (ie less than nothing) and don't really care who he is?
Also I quite like the idea that Jim White has researched the GCSE results (or equivalent) of every footballler in the country before coming up with this shit.

Really people ought to re-connect with reality before they go out and write articles like this.