All language subtitles for Motty.The.Man.Behind.the.Sheepskin.2023.1080p.HDTV.H264-DARKFLiX

Good evening. We are here to talk
about the great and wonderful

John Motson
and his fabulous career.

John's lasted over 50 years
in a really tough,

changing football world.

It sounds silly. He never set out
to become this household name.

A national institution.
A one-off.

Motty and football
just go together, don't they?

Why has he lasted that length?

And Beckham saw Sullivan
off his line!

Oh! That is absolutely phenomenal!

It was his voice.
Such a distinctive voice.

You try and stop him talking!
That's half of it.

Owen! Oh, this is getting
better and better and better!

He's one of the father figures
of the game now.

His record is absolutely brilliant.

Radford again.

Oh, what a goal! What a goal!

You see the footage
of old goals and that,

and they go hand in hand
with his commentary.

Tigana! Platini!

Goal!

"Platini! Goal!"

I know you're a legend
here in Match Of The Day.

We've all grown up with him

and the caricatures
and the sheepskin coat...

I'm not at all sure about this.
HE CHUCKLES

...the kind of nerdy nature of Motty,
but, you know, lovable, as well,

and a brilliant commentator.

He's done it! Sergio Aguero!

You put a microphone in his hand
and he relaxes,

he just feels at one with it.

In the end, I am going to just
have to describe him as my dad.

And away we go.

KEN BRUCE: Our Tracks Of Our Years
all this week being chosen by BBC

football commentator extraordinaire
John Motson. Ten World Cups,

ten European championships
and 29 FA Cup finals,

and he's hanging up his microphone
and his sheepskin coat this week,

ending 50 fabulous years at the BBC.

Is there a glass of water in there?
We will grab you one. Thank you.

Thank you. John! Ken! How are you?
How are you, sir? Great to see you.

Thank you very much for having me
on your show. A pleasure!

Thank you very much. You all right?
Yeah, good. Yeah, I'm all right.

You actually began your
broadcasting career here at Radio 2.

I did, in 1968.

I came through the front doors
of the old Broadcasting House

as a young journalist,
wet behind the ears,

straight from
the Sheffield Morning Telegraph,

and they took me to the sports room,
and they first of all thought

I might become a producer,
and then they thought,

"Let's try him as a voice."

This penalty. Coombs is coming
off his line. He's told to go back.

He's delaying it. Eventually,
Lewis does come in.

And he's got it! It's there!

And then they said, "We're going
to try you out as a commentator."

HARRY CARPENTER: That's John Motson,
who was reporting for us tonight,

of course, on
the South end-Liverpool match,

looking there rather like
an orphan in the storm.

When I went
from radio to television,

that was an eye-opener,
because in radio, of course,

nobody can see the picture,
you're describing which way they're

kicking, you're giving
the score every two minutes,

all of which people can see
on the television screen.

So when I suddenly went to Match
Of The Day and they kicked off,

I remember this sinking feeling
in my stomach, thinking,

"Well, what do I say now?
It's on the screen!"

Oh, what a goal by Mullery!

And it took me, well, certainly
the best part of two years,

if not longer, to realise
that a lot of the stuff I'd been

talking about as a radio commentator
was no longer relevant

and now I had to add to the picture
by interpreting certain

things that were going on.

I didn't sit down
and devise a style,

I just picked up the microphone.

And it sounds a tiny bit arrogant

to say it came naturally,
but a lot of it did.

Now here's Wright, his first chance
to show what he can do.

And he's through. It's Wright!

Oh, what an impact
by the substitute!

I think when you listen to john
Motson, you hear different things.

You hear a good editorial
journalist at work,

you hear a genuine preparer.

But more than anything,
you hear a football lover,

you hear an enthusiast.

...and he also scored
in the semifinal, too.

Here's the corner.
It's running loose. Astle's there!

Oh, he's got it! It's a goal!

I introduced my wife to him,
and she said to me afterwards,

"He's a nice guy, isn't he?"
I said, "Yeah."

She said, "Do you know
the most compelling thing about him

"is his voice? You're never
going to forget that voice."

Villa.

And still Ricky Villa!

What a fantastic run!

He's scored! Amazing goal
by Ricky Villa!

In an ever-changing world, when
he's on Match Of The Day there's

something strangely reassuring
about it.

Ancl it's that voice, isn't it?

When the game starts
and you hear that voice,

you feel you're in safe hands.

Here's Gascoigne.

Oh, brilliant.

Oh, yes! Oh, yes!

People have grown up hearing
John's voice. It's so distinctive.

So even if we're having
a quiet meal somewhere,

if someone hears his voice,
then they will come over.

And here comes the pot of paint.
And this is extraordinary.

We're going to see the penalty spot
painted, are we, during the match?

John has that quality of
being just there for you,

like he's in the front room,
sitting on the sofa with you,

talking about the game
on the television.

Ancl it's official now, isn't it,

that you are the best voice
in commentating?

Well... I've seen this formula.
It's been all over the papers

the last few clays.
Ancl we've got a copy of it.

There was a research clone where
he had one of the most perfect

voices for television.

Speech therapists from the
Queen Elizabeth Hospital have come

up with this formula, which
apparently proves that john Motson

has the best commentary voice.

A national newspaper,
I think more than one,

came out with a survey analysing
who had got the best voice.

I can't put it any better than that.

And it just turned out it was me!

The 93rd minute at Old Trafford.

Ha! When David Beckham scored
the free kick later that day

and Brooking, for the first time
in his life, probably,

completely lost it and went
running down the gantry,

and I was knocking bottles of water
over and goodness knows what

else, that was the thing
I remember most about that day.

Beckham...

Yes! Yes! He's done it!

David Beckham! Fantastic! It's 2-2!

And England may still be going
to the World Cup automatically.

It's a fantastic ending
to a very, very poor performance,

and he deserves the goal,

because Beckham has virtually
played Greece on his own.

I made my debut on Radio 2
in December 1969 with

a game between Everton
and Derby County.

But Derby County actually resonates
with me, because, believe it or not,

my father was a Derby fan
and my son is a Derby fan

and season-ticket holder.
Oh, right!

This is our Telegraph
Fantasy Football league team.

We've not had a particularly great
record in recent years after

winning it a few years ago,
but as things stand, we are

top with four games left to play.

So we're taking it
very seriously indeed!

I'm glad you mentioned
we won it once,

because of course
that was back in 2009. Yes.

It seems a long time ago now! Yeah.

The family legend is
that when I learnt to speak,

the first question Dad ever asked me
was, "Who do you support?"

And apparently, he was
so pleased I didn't sort of say

a big club like Man United
or Arsenal or anything,

he was very pleased
that I picked Derby.

Ancl I was at my first game
about three weeks later!

Yeah, we've had some fun,
though, haven't we?

Probably the most common question
I'm asked when people

find out who my clad is - "Oh, go on,
who does he REALLY support?"

"He's a Tottenham fan." "He's
a Liverpool fan." Whatever it is.

And, no, I can categorically
say here that Dad's interest

is very much
down at the League Two level.

I don't think he's got
any real favourites

when it comes to the top clubs.

No, it was difficult.
Obviously, Barnet, of course,

was the place where I started
my reporting career, and so I've

always followed Barnet Football Club
through thick and thin, really,

ground change and everything.
Hence the shirt!

My dad and I went probably
to Chelsea more than any other

ground, but any affection I had
for any individual club really

went out the window when I started
with Match Of The Day.

I've known John Motson 62 years.
Incredible, isn't it?

We first met as 11-year-olds.

It was at a school called Culford
School, and we were football mad.

It was a Methodist-based school,
and Motty's father,

the Reverend William Motson,
was in the Docklands,

and all those ministers got
free places for their boys.

For a value of 52 guineas
a year, apparently, yes.

He came from a Methodist
minister's family.

Moth] was very upset,

because we didn't play football
at Culford School.

You had to play rugby,
which Motty hated.

Ancl his clad used to go and see
the headmaster, Dr Storey,

every term to protest about,
"We must play football

"at Culford School.
My boy wants to play football."

John seems to have had
a great time at Culford.

The only complaint we've got on file
is his father writing to

say that he was a great soccer
enthusiast. "He loathes rugger."

It was in John's second term,
and I think it had taken John that

long to work out that Culford
was a rugby school,

not a football school,
and he wasn't pleased.

There were two ways in which
we used to relax at school.

One was a transistor radio,
when we listened to the football,

and the other was one of the lads
had a record player,

or you'd call it a gramophone,
almost, now!

Pop music has always played
a part in my life.

I'm not so good on stuff
after the seventies.

After the Who, I kind of
sort of drifted away from it a bit,

certainly from record buying.

DON McLEAN: # A long, long time ago

# I can still remember how that
music used to make me smile... #

On February the 5th 1972,
American Pie,

it was top of the charts on the day
Hereford beat Newcastle.

That was the game that changed
my life and changed my career.

# And maybe they'd be happy
for a while... #

Well, on this important day
in Hereford's history,

they're sitting on walls,

on floodlight pylons and even in
trees to get a view of this match.

I've known John longer
than most of my family!

We met purely by coincidence, and
it was at a time when I constantly

liked to remind him that I was
marginally more famous than him.

And Ricky George, who scored
a hat-trick against Newport

for Barnet in the cup last season,
is on the field as number 12.

The guy who drove me down
to Hereford was a fella called

Billy Meadows.
He was their centre forward.

And he and Ricky George,
who's a big friend of mine,

they took me down to Hereford.

And of course, Ronnie Radford's
goal changed everything, didn't it?

Hello, mate.
You all right?

For the 2.5-hour journey
to Hereford,

he asked me about every single
player in the squad.

I was able to give him
a pen picture of everybody.

Billy Meadows, the Hereford
centre forward, cost exactly £300.

And Malcolm MacDonald, the Newcastle
centre forward, cost £180,000.

So we spent the entire journey
talking about the team,

and I thought, "He's cute -
I know why he picked me up now!"

This is George, the substitute.

Oh, turning well.

Mallender.

Meadows heading it on.

Tremendous spirit
in this Hereford side.

They're not giving this up,
by any means.

Radfo rd.

Now Tudor's gone down for Newcastle.

Radford again.

Oh, what a goal! What a goal!

Radford the scorer! Ronnie Radford!

We stayed in the same hotel,

and he introduced me
to the great Jackie Milburn.

And Jackie Milburn said to me, "You
should be in your bed. It's gone 11.

"You've got a big game tomorrow."

Ancl I said, "Well, I'm only sub."

Ancl he went, "'Only sub'?!

"You might come on
and score the winning goal."

George.

Oh, it's there! He's got it!
Ricky George!

Ricky George has done it.
What a moment for Hereford!

Our friendship from that moment
became as close as it would ever be.

# Did you write the book of love?

# And do you have faith
in God above?... #

Billy Meadows drove us home, because
they both lived near me in Barnet.

And we sat in Billy Meadows'
front room and had fish and chips

and listened to American Pie
all evening...

...well, what was left
of the evening,

until Match Of The Day came on,
when, wonder of wonders, I thought,

there was my match, which was
supposed to be a three-minute

edit at the end of the program me,
propelled to the top of the show!

# He was singing... #

It's all over! They've done it!

# ..Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee

# But the levee was dry... #

But so important for him,
so important,

because it lifted his career off.

And I suppose I immodestly might say
I didn't look back after that,

because the BBC decided
that I was capable

of being given more important
matches.

Ancl so it happened, from then on
and for many, many years beyond.

# Singing
This'll be the day that I die. #

Well, what happens in here
is memories, really.

Ricky and Ronnie together
after the game.

And that was the young commentator
of the day.

Late at night, I might be there
having a last late whisky.

There's a picture of me
commentating with Muhammad Ali

when I was back in radio
in 1974 at the Albert Hall.

ALI: if I can knock out
the great George Foreman and

Sonny Liston, I won't have no Joe
Bugner saying he went the distance.

He must fall! Now I'm going to
watch his show. I'm getting hot.

I was a reporter, I was doing
bulletins every day, I was going

to football matches on a Saturday,
I was doing boxing a little bit.

BELL RINGS

The bell sounds
for the start of Round 1.

Your commentator, John Motson.

And the atmosphere
in the Royal Albert Hall tonight

so much better, I think, than
many of us feared it might be...

He did a great summary
of what had happened

and how he thought Bugner was
far, far too good for this guy.

And there's the bell, Muhammad Ali,
for the end of the first round.

Well, in the next round
it'll be all over.

Lovell just barely made his corner.

He looks like a man about 50
years old, his legs look big

and muscly but his knees
are wobbling.

And when they rang the bell
for the second round,

he handed the microphone back,
because there was only one

between us, and then, within
the first ten seconds of the second

round, joe Bugner demolished Lovell,
and he was on the canvas.

I said, "Oh, drama here at the
Albert Hall, the crowd, da-di-da...

"And here's Muhammad Ali's
thoughts on that finish."

And I looked, and he'd gone.

COMMENTARY: Bugner's trying
to come over the ropes to him.

He wants Ali in the ring.

And Muhammad's going to go.
Muhammad's taking his jacket off.

He's got his shirt off!
Muhammad's got his shirt off.

Muhammad Ali had taken his jacket
off, jumped off the chair,

ducked under the ropes, and now
he was doing this with Bugner,

saying, "Come on,
why don't you fight me?"

And Roland Dakin has stepped in
and has liftedjoe Bugner's hand

and he's declaredjoe the winner
in this side-state contest.

Have a word with him, Muhammad.

You get ready.

I want you to know that you have
earned your shot tonight.

You beat a hard puncher,
and now go to America...

I'd just managed to get him to
sign my book before this happened.

Cos I never saw him again.

He disappeared under
a welter of people, Ali.

And there I was, sitting
next to him, and I can actually

say for just three minutes
of my life

I commentated with Muhammad Ali.

And back now to Alan Parry.

And john Motson climbs into the ring
to have a closer word with

Joe Bugner. If Muhammad Ali
can still hear me,

because we're absolutely
surrounded by people...

Have you got another job today,
Steve? Yeah, I've got a few, yeah.

Media City and whatever.
Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm taking Garth Crooks
back later. Are you?

I take it you know Garth Crooks.
Yeah, very well.

Yeah, you can give him
my regards, as well!

He and I are pals, actually. Yeah,
I've known him for a long time.

We used to travel together
quite a lot.

I've been part of
the broadcasting Three Stooges -

Ray Stubbs, Mark Lawrenson
and Garth Crooks.

I come right at the very end.

They're trying to get me
to every Premier League ground this

season - as a farewell tour,
the BBC called it.

I ought to tell you something,
that sometimes

when I was working with him,
I felt like his carer,

but in an absolutely
totally nice way,

because you had to tell him
what time you were going, where we

were going, how we were going,
were we getting a taxi,

what flight we were on,
carry his suitcase.

Lawro would carry his bag,
I'd carry the newspaper.

Ancl I carried Motty's glass
for his red wine.

As long as Motty had
those three things, he was fine.

People say, "Do you get nervous
before you go to do a commentary?"

And I don't get nervous
about the commentary at all now,

but the thing that screws me up
on a Saturday morning is

"Will I get to the ground
on time?"...

...even though I'm always there
three hours before.

Ancl it's fair to say
that Motty does like routine.

I suppose I've had the same
routine for more or less all

the 47 seasons or whatever it is
on Match Of The Day.

I mean, I've always got
to the ground by 12 o'clock.

This is how daft it is, right?
Two grown-ups, me and Ray Stubbs,

been in the business quite a long
time, we had a real problem about

how do we approach the situation,

which is we're taking him
on the train to the match.

And he was like, "Whoa, that doesn't
work, that doesn't work."

Anyway, myself and Stubbsy had done
this journey to the stadium

a few times to see
a few different games,

and there was a cafe in
this park that we walked across.

And we said, "We've even found you
a place where you can have a

"cheese and ham to as tie," because
that's what he absolutely loved.

And he looked at us and he went,
"Really?" And we went, "Yeah."

And he went, "That'll do."
He ended up loving it!

Afterwards, he was saying,
"Let's get the train the next time.

"Let's get the train the next time."

What I really learnt over the years
was how professional he was.

Like today, I'm going
to Manchester City,

where Sergio Aguero is one goal away
from the record,

held by a famous pre-war player
called Eric Brook.

So there's moments like that
that you've got to capture

and you've got to be ready for.

I remember his first
cup final, 1977,

Manchester United
against Liverpool at Wembley.

Manchester United
have won the FA Cup.

Ancl the captain of Manchester United
is Martin Buchan,

and as Buchan goes up the steps
at Wembley to get the cup,

Motty says, "How appropriate..."

...that a man called Buchan
should be the first to climb

the 39 steps that lead
from the pitch here at Wembley

to the Royal Box.

Well, of course, this was
a reference to john Buchan,

who many years ago wrote
the very famous novel 39 Steps,

which has twice been a movie.

Ancl I rang him up the next clay.
I said, "Motty, fantastic homework,

"but come on, mate, what an anorak.
Brilliant. Well clone."

Hiya. You OK? just got john Motson
for the BBC. Yeah, that's fine.

Oh, that was very cool,
wasn't it? Nice lady there.

You still got it, john!
JOHN LAUGHS

Well, she was very polite,
wasn't she?

He's moved with the times
in football. Obviously,

things were very, very different
when he started, what, 40, 50 years

ago, and the nature of the game
and the nature of commentating

and the nature of the way we watch
the game, everything has evolved.

Where Motty's been smart,
he's evolved with it.

The main thing, of course,
with Motty, you know

full well he does his homework,
he does his research.

He's almost...

He's kind of...

...an encyclopaedia of football.

Ancl his wife, Annie,
does a lot of stuff for him.

Those there.
Those are the cup replays.

We see ourselves as a team. He's
done a job which at times can be

very exacting, and so if I can
do something to help that,

I'm very willing.

Well, of course Anne's
black book has been...

It used to be a red book, years ago.

She changed the colour,
for some reason.

It's a lab our of love, this.
And it's always useful to keep them,

because sometimes something
will happen in a match that

reminds me of a game
four or five years ago,

and I might just look up
Anne's book for 1997 or whatever

and find that there's something
there that will give me the answer.

At the beginning of each season,
I buy one of these books, and then

I stick cuttings in
that might be useful,

statistics from the previous season,
and then each team has its own page.

So when it comes to john
starting his homework for a match,

I give him the book and the list
of the scorers for those teams,

and then I give everything to john
and he starts his match preparation.

Basically, it's a simple situation.
All the stuff that I've gathered

during the week - one side
of the board is every player,

and they're done in felt-tip pen
to make them stand out a bit,

and next to each player I do a...

I wouldn't say
it's a potted biography,

it's probably one line or just
something about them which is

currently interesting

that if they do something
in the game I could use.

And then on the back,
Anne always lists the goal-scorers

for each club out of her black book.
So that's always handy - I can tell

whether it's somebody's first goal
of the season or not.

Simon. Hello, Simon! Have you got
the City team? I do. Good lad.

I'm going to read them out to you.

All right, all right, all right,
steady down, steady down.

Right, City. Go on. 31, Ederson.
Yes. 2, Kyle Walker. Yes.

It is my reassurance that I've got
something somewhere if somebody

suddenly becomes important in the
moments leading up to the kick-off.

I've known players get injured
in the warm-up, and they've gone

off with the referee's permission
and been replaced by somebody else,

hopefully somebody else
who's on your board somewhere.

10, Aguero. Good. I'm pleased
about that. 17, De Bruyne. Yeah.

33, Jesus. 20 I've got Mangala.
Ancl... Mangala, what's his number?

Hold on.

29, Pope.

But one day - it was the final of
the Euros, and it was France-Italy -

I'm sat next to him, Garth Crooks
was just sat the other side of him.

Oh, do I remember this!

Now, there's one man in this stadium
making his 12th appearance

in a major final.

Not a player or indeed a coach,
but our very own John Motson.

John, 12 finals,
even more tournaments.

Does this rank up there with the
best of them? I think it does, Gary.

I've just been checking my team
sheet, by the way, very carefully,

to make sure Zidane is playing
after what happened two years ago.

I just made a mistake
at half-time as I leaned over.

I knocked a whole bottle
of water over his sheet.

Well, I get this nudge
from Lawro, and I go...

Oh, I'm looking over here.
He goes...

I just watched as he just... I don't
know what colour it ended up.

All the colours washed in together.

I'm looking, I'm looking at this...

You can't see anything!
You can't see a word!

I could hear Crooksy
sniggering and looking away.

And Mottyjust kind of looked at it,

and you'd have thought
I'd cut his arm off.

Ancl Motty picks up his notes,
looks at him...

And I just went, "john,
you know all that stuff anyway."

And he was a man for a sigh.
He used to go...

HE SIGHS EXPANSIVELY

And the game went to Golden Goal,

and I'll tell you now, that was
one of his best commentaries ever.

Pires got it for France.

And it's Pires.
Trezeguet is waiting in the centre.

Trezeguet!

France have won
the European Championship

to add to the World Cup!

The first nation ever
to do it that way round.

He'd clone his prep.
It had been clone.

That was like a comfort blanket.
No notes. It was all in here.

I first met john at the World Cup
finals, I believe it was in Spain.

Now, I can't remember too much,
because, as is my won't, I tend

to get a little drunk when watching
football, especially Scotland.

But I know this is hackneyed,

but genuinely a wonderful
working-class fella. You know?

I've got no time for
show-business people that

hide their backgrounds or try
and be something that they're not.

For me, he was
right down the middle.

I used to have a team called
the Vagabonds that played in Essex,

and I was a player in those clays.

Ancl he brought his team down,
called the TV journalists or

TV Reporters, something like that.

John was full-back
and I was right midfield,

so he and I were coming against
each other all the time.

Ancl at one point, he said,
"Would you stop running?!"...

...because he wasn't as fit as I am!

I remember he had a funny old pair
of shin pads. They didn't match.

Did I get a tea or a coffee?
It's waiting for you. Wonderful.

Let's go and do that bloke's picture
who shouted at me as we came...

And then let's go in the main
entrance. Yeah. No worries at all.

He gives the impression of
being slightly odd sometimes,

but we've all got
different mannerisms.

Ancl he's a caring bloke,
and he's interesting.

Right, sir. Are you ready?

Legend.
Thank you.

He appealed across the board.

My mum used to love him. Absolutely
adored him. She's passed on now.

He's revered, you see?
Everywhere he goes, they love him.

It's like, "Here comes Mr Football,"
in this country.

"Here's the voice of football."

John. Yes, all right.
On that side, please. OK.

City were playing Aston Villa
years and years ago,

and Martin O'Neill was the manager,
and we went to see him.

Ancl in walks john Motson, and I was
like, "No way! I can't believe it!"

Because ever since
I've been watching football,

I've been listening to him,
and it was, like, such a, "Wow!"

It kind of blew me away.
He had a sheepskin coat on,

and he was carrying a program me
and some notes. Course he was!

I told me mates,
"I've just met john Motson."

They were more interested
in that than anything.

They were like, "What's he like?"

I said, "He's just like
he is on the telly."

There you are, mate.
Thank you very much. Pleasure.

Fans banter with him...

You keep my pass for a minute, yeah.

...with his sheepskin. "All right!"
Ancl he used to wave.

Ancl sometimes the gantry was
round the other side of the pitch,

so he had to walk
round half the pitch.

"All right, Motty!" He'd go,
"Yeah, OK!" And he's waving away.

He gets his little head down
and he's shuffling along.

Thank you. Thank you. How are you,
boys? Bless you. I love the coat!

Thank you!

It's hard when people say, "What's
it like being John Motson's son?"

I say, "Well, I've not been
anybody else's son,

"so it's hard to know what it would
be like not to be." Good line.

It is legendary that Dad was
in the boardroom at Watford

while I was coming into the world.

Whenever he's appeared at Watford -
and he's appeared many times -

he's always been
a breath of fresh air,

and of course I love
to talk football with him.

Unsurprisingly, I was
at a football match in Watford

when Anne decided she had to be
rushed to the hospital.

And I got a phone call
in the early hours

to say that Fred had been born.

John had parked the car for a quick
getaway, but he got snowed in.

So, having missed visiting hours,
Graham Taylor took him to the

boardroom, and I was there,
and Graham persisted in ringing

the hospital until
he got an answer about Annie.

The first person who rang
the hospital was Graham Taylor,

which was very, very nice.

Ancl Graham Taylor and Elton john
were the first people to find out,

because that's who Dad was
stuck in the boardroom with!

Even though he was only
a few hours old,

football had already
started to take a hold.

Well, I do think he's got bad
weather as a bit of an excuse there.

Motty loves his job. You can tell
that. He's loved it for so long.

You couldn't survive
in this industry without having

a real passion for your job
and for football,

and he's clearly got that
and he's always had that.

I thought I'd look nice
in that shirt and tie,

and now I'm going to
cover it all up.

You look fine!
Well, it's going to

be sheepskin weather now,
definitely.

It's a bit like... I don't know,
like a famous actor who's absolutely

brilliant on stage but can be a bit
umfy, just trying to get them...

Motty was like that.

We can get to the tunnel down here,
Adrian! You can't go down that way.

JOHN SIGHS
Go this way.

He'd pace up and down,
he'd talk to himself.

Jesus!

Yes, he's quirky.

Yes, he can huff and puff and
have a kind of bit of a meltdown.

I've heard a couple in talk back
over the years.

We'll start a single of Motty
on seven. Can Andrew hear me?

Yes, john, I can hear you, yeah.
I'm just suggesting that really

we ought to let Mike Summerbee
hear what precedes this.

What are the chances of giving Mike
an earpiece? Why can't we have

a pair of headphones
for the interviewee?!

We're working on it, mate.

I remember one game. I think it was
in the Germany World Cup somewhere.

We were in Hanover,
and I went upstairs,

got to the commentary position,
and the stand opposite was really

low but the sun was still quite
high, and it was a broiling sun.

The game was about to start
and we were about to hand,

and I could hear him flustering
in the background.

Ancl the sun was just above
the far stand.

Ancl our studio was
actually on the same side,

so I sort of saw what he meant.
He couldn't really see.

Ancl I remember him
shouting to someone,

because I nearly corpsed on air.

He didn't even look up
from his notes,

he just held his hand up and pointed
at the position of the sun

and he went,
"Do something about that!"

I remember him
shouting to someone, going,

"Somebody do something
about the sun!"

And me and Karen Graham,
who was looking after him -

Karen was always with him,
she was great for him -

she looked at me
and I looked at her,

and I just went, "What do you
want us to do about it? Lower it?

"Get rid of it? Whatever."
And he just never even flinched.

Never even... "Do something
about that." Brilliant.

You know what I'm like,
I worry about everything.

But I can understand with John,

if you're a commentator,
you walk on and you go on air

and you make a terrible blunder
about someone's on the ball

and it's not that person, I can
understand why he would get nervous.

But what I did say to him, I said,
"Listen, mate, this is what you do!

"Relax!" Ancl he did, he took it in.

John's qualities as a television
broadcaster stem a great deal

from his meticulous thoroughness
towards everything that he does.

You're respected by everybody
at this football club, and let's

make this clay a very special clay
for you, because you're John Motson

and you're a very special person.
Well, that's very kind of you.

The only thing that could make it
really special would be

if Aguero played
and broke that scoring record.

"You fail to prepare
and you prepare to fail"

is a motto that he
has carried forward.

Careful! Good job I did
have hold of you there!

THEY LAUGH

He will spend hours and hours
dredging up the most unlikely

statistics, and some of them
will go in that opening that he

so carefully crafts.

Can I just write my introduction
first? Thanks. Thanks very much.

But the more important work
that he does in

preparation for a game
is using his contacts,

using the trust and respect
that people who earn their living

from managing football teams
and playing football have for him,

and they are prepared to take him
into their confidence.

Hello, John, how are you?

Manchester City-Ipswich semifinal,
extra time, free kick. Indeed! Hey?

You've got a better memory than me!
I remember that goal so well.

Power!

Oh, I say, what a goal!

The skipper, who has scored
in every cup match bar one!

But up here he's got a picture
of how the game is going to be

played, because he has
spoken to both camps.

And so you've got somebody with
an overview of the game which is

far better than anybody else
who is actually...

Either manager, they haven't got
the same overview that he's got.

Let me just tell you something here.

Aguero has scored 176 goals
in 261 appearances...

John was very well respected.
Ancl because people knew that

when he came to speak to you,
he was doing his research...

He'd get to the game
and he'd meet the players.

He made it his business to know
everybody and talk to everybody.

His research would include you
or even the fact that he's

kind of giving you an insight
into the opposition.

He starts you thinking about
the game maybe in a different way.

Dave Beasant was looking forward
to this moment so much,

I know from speaking to him
during the week, the big goalkeeper,

the first keeper, we think,
to captain an FA Cup final side.

So we went through a few scenarios,
and then he said, you know...

..."What will you do
if john Aldridge gets a penalty?"

Ancl he said, "Because
he hasn't missed a penalty this

"season and there's never, ever been
a penalty saved in a cup final."

There is Aldridge. Beardsley.

Well, he might score here.

Penalty.

Goodyear on Aldridge.
Wimbledon protest.

I just went through the process.

"If I stand still, I think
he'll put it to my left, because

"by the time he does a stutter, the
goalkeeper tends to start moving.

"He sees him going and just
puts the ball the other side."

Ancl he said, "Well, thanks, Dave,"
as he always does.

"Thanks, Dave, I appreciate that."

Dave Beasant in the week told me

that he's been watching
where Aldridge puts his kicks.

Beasant thought the kick might go to
his left, or the right as we look.

But the fact that he was prepared

and he was focused on that
eventuality, there could be a cup

final penalty, it could be the first
one to be saved, it could be you...

He did, and he's saved it!

And made history!

He's clone all right there, Motty.
He's clone very well,

because he literally pre-empted
everything that was going to happen.

Ancl listening to it, I can still
recall, "And Dave told me in the

"week that if there was a penalty,
that he felt that john Aldridge..."

Ancl literally step by step he'd clone
it, "And he said he would go to...

"And he's saved it!"

Oh, the tension here!

Oh! And there it is!

The Crazy Gang have beaten
the Culture Club!

Many's the time he's driven
past Wembley on his way to work,

Dave Beasant.
He lives just down the road.

But today he must feel like a king,

going up to receive the treasured
prize from a princess.

It's a weird and wonderful world
if you come from Wimbledon.

Jesus!

Oh, God, I've lost
my glasses case again.

How are you, mate?
Good to see you!

Well, I'm in the presence
of the master here.

I've been watching you again. Have
a good one, john. Thank you, Guy.

We'll get you miked up here.

Nice to see you.
Thank you.

How are you? Pleased to meet you.
How are you? I'm good.

Very good to see you. And you. You
all right? Yeah, you're doing well.

I wouldn't have clone this for
anyone else but you. I know that.

Thank you. Motty and Trevor, that
was like...it was famous,

part of the... It was a national
institution, I think, john.

Well, it was funny, because
I was with Trevor and his wife

and my wife at Wembley
last night, and somebody

mentioned the World Cup and Brazil,
when the team sheet thing blew up.

Let's move inside the stadium now
and join Gary,

and he's with David Ginola.

Welcome to a very shocked
Stacie de France this evening.

David, we have to start with the
big news that Ronaldo's not playing.

Apparently, the Brazilian television
channel O Globo, Pele,

everybody's running around
in total disbelief.

What about this Ronaldo business?
Let's go inside the stadium.

John M0ts0n's our match commentator
for the final. There he is

with Trevor Brooking, of course.
What do you make of it all, john?

Desmond, I've never had
anything like this in my career.

The most crucial piece
of information for john is the

team sheets coming in.

Ancl when the team sheet arrived
and Ronaldo's name wasn't on it,

well, obviously...

Motty was in his element. And he had
Brooking alongside him, as well,

and it all got a bit mental.
But it was brilliant telly!

The first sheet which you showed,
which allegedly now is wrong,

which said that Ronaldo
would not play,

came up into the commentary boxes
about 40 minutes ago,

and the response was incredible.

There were journalists
and commentators racing around,

trying to find out
the truth behind it.

I'm not sure Trevor didn't go
and get a cup of tea pretty quickly.

I wandered off, because I thought,
"Well, there's no point in me

"standing there while Motson's
getting more and more irate."

Trevor said to me,
"Oh, Ray Stubbs is there.

"Get him to go and ask Pele,"

because he was one of
the Brazilian commentators, Pele.

My colleague Ray Stubbs raced across
to ask Pele, of all people,

what the news was. Pete's reaction
was a little bit of...

He shrugged his shoulders
and just shook his head.

I took that as "I don't know".

And Ray rushed down about
three tiers, came back, he said,

"Even Pele doesn't know!"

He was absolutely bewildered
by the whole experience.

And here's the second team sheet,
which says Ronaldo plays

and Edmundo is a substitute.

And then of course the sheet came
round again and he was in the team!

Yeah.
Ronaldo, yeah.

We can't get down there to
actually find out what's happened,

but I think Trevor Brooking's
next... Well, he IS next to me!

THEY LAUGH

I'm fit at the moment.
He's definitely starting the game.

So what do you think about it?
Well, it's bizarre.

It was all going all over the place.
It was the biggest story about

someone in a starting line-up
you could ever imagine.

But then he gets the team sheet
where he is playing.

Ancl of course if john Motson says
he's playing, then he's playing.

Drama over. "Go and get us
a beer out the fridge.

"This game is now allowed
to kick off."

It's hopeless, this.
It's absolutely hopeless.

I had a nice Nokia once,
and it was so simple.

And now they've made them
more and more complicated,

and I can't work it.

Motty as a bloke - a gentleman.
Doesn't like confrontation.

Doesn't like being upset.

I know Brian Clough upset him
once or twice.

I think Ferguson did,
Sir Alex Ferguson did, as well.

I was brought up
as an actual working journalist,

and I was actually told to ask
questions that demanded an answer,

not, you know, "Well, that was

"a good day for you today,
Roberto," or whatever.

OK, this is john going ahead
with Alex for Match Of The Day.

I remember with Sir Alex Ferguson,

asking him about Roy Keane's
disciplinary record.

I appreciate you keep
your disciplinary action inside the

club, but is the Roy Keane situation
one that you'll have to address?

John, you've no right to ask
that question. You're out of order.

You know fine well
my ruling on that. Right?

That's the interview finished.

Then he just threw the microphone
off and stalked up the tunnel

and turned round and swore at me.

I'm going now, and I want to
cancel that interview, right?

The whole BLEEP lot of it.
Cancel it.

BLEEP else here.

But I would say, the next time you
saw him, it was quickly forgotten.

And I always remember
how supportive he was

when he first came
to Manchester United.

He used to be very,

very available and he would
give you his phone number.

And of course it had to change
over the years,

because he became so much in demand.

But there was a heart there.

After the match, john Motson talked
to the Derby manager, Brian Clough.

When Barry Davies and I
were doing Match Of The Day

in the seventies and eighties,
it was more or less a given

that when the game was over,

you interviewed the winning
manager on the pitch.

Well, Brian, welcome back to Match
Of The Day. A good day for you,

although I suspect you think you
might have had rather more goals.

I feel we could have clone, but
we're quite happy with what we got.

I'm delighted to be back
on Match Of The Day, personally.

You're good judges, of course,

because you've had Derby County on
several times this season.

Yeah, we had some fun.
He called me names once at Arsenal,

and then he gave me
a glass of whisky and said,

"Forget all about it."
It was just Cloughie.

I think we find football
too much on television.

You and your colleagues
are turning us off from family

entertainment on a Saturday night
by lecturing us at the moment.

Could you enlarge on that?
I'd love to.

I mean, he was a joy to work with,
even if you were on the other

end of one of his rants,
which I was on many occasions.

I think you've gone over
the dividing line where you have a

contribution to make to one of being
dogmatic, overbearing, boring...

I can't remember what the question
was, but he said to me...

IMITATES CLOUGH: "..and maybe, john,
at some point you'll realise

"we're not a bad side!"

Don't be rude, John,
inciting me to get the sack.

JOHN LAUGHS

I've got two ambitions. I'm going
to see you and Barry Davies off.

There's a picture
right over in the far

corner of Barry Davies,
jimmy Hill and I.

Jimmy was the presenter then
and Barry

and I were the two main
commentators.

BARRY DAVIES: The West Ham team
showing the changing

face of the side during
the course of the season,

Trevor Brooking emerging
as an England player.

The commentator was viewed
very differently then.

I mean, there was
so much chat about commentators.

There weren't that many.

The battle between Barry and I
went on for many years.

We both had our moments,
and we remained, believe it or not,

very good friends.

But a typical run from Emlyn Hughes,
the head slightly down...

And it was a rivalry
because they were different.

They were different types of people,
and they commentated

and approached their commentary work
in different ways.

So the head of sport actually had
a genuine decision to take.

When it came to the cup final,
which of course it did

in the seventies, it was clear that

only one of us could do it,
Barry or I.

We couldn't both sit
in the same chair!

Just looking along the line there,
I've met several commentators today

who we're used to seeing at World
Cups and European Championships.

You had to try and make sure
that week in,

week out you were doing
your commentary as well,

hopefully better, than he was,
and he'd be thinking the same.

Case. Good turn!

Oh, yes! A brilliant goal
by jimmy Case.

As a team, the Davies-Motson thing
worked out quite well

for the BBC, because we were totally
different types of commentators.

Lee.

Interesting.

Very interesting!

Oh!

Look at his face!
just look at his face!

Barry started to get
one or two more of the big games,

and Motty was suddenly thinking,
"Am I being edged out?"

I remember the World Cup
in the United States,

and Motty had just been told that
he wasn't doing the World Cup final.

And I remember
Motty was just in pieces.

Ancl I gather Motty
was told by telephone

and that he was in a bar at
the time, celebrating his birthday.

I think somebody could have been a
bit kinder. Maybe they didn't know.

The man who really has brought

the team to the final
now has to save them.

And doesn't'.!

It's over the top.

Brazil have won
the World Cup of 1994.

What would you say has been
the hardest thing he's ever had

to do as a commentator?

Well, I would think Hillsborough...

...was just terrible.

When you consider all the places
I've been with him

around the world and all the time
I've spent with him - planes,

trains, automobiles, everything -
he's never mentioned Hillsborough.

Hello. Two of our greatest sporting
events dominate Grandstand today.

It's FA Cup semifinal day,

and Hillsborough,
as it has so often before,

provides an impressive setting for
Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest,

a repeat of last season's...
FADES OUT

I've never sat down and had
a long discussion with Dad

because I don't think it's a clay
he particularly likes to remember.

I know it's something
that really affected Dad

and it's really something
that weighed on him, to be there.

It's a very nice day, isn't it?

Yes, it is. It's beautiful up here.

Well, the thing I remember most
about Hillsborough,

and it's resonated with me
many, many times,

was that in the build-up to the
start of the game,

john Shrewsbury, the producer,
and I had to agree

a way of getting in to
the commentary.

We're just going to rehearse
the opening again now, chaps.

In full sequence.

And we were panning round the ground
looking at the supporters,

and I vividly remember
saying to john Shrewsbury,

"I can't talk about
the packed Liverpool end

"because there are huge gaps
on the two wing terraces."

There's gaps, you know,
in parts of the ground.

Well, you look at the Liverpool end
to the right of the goal.

There's hardly anybody
on those steps.

No, to the right of there.
That's it. Look down there.

I could see the steps,
because there weren't hardly anybody

standing there.

COMMENTARY: ..last year, have been
allocated the top end.

Liverpool's faithful followers,
fed on success for 25 years,

are at the Leppings Lane end.

They have 24,000 tickets

and haven't seen their team lose
since New Year's Day.

And of course what happened
afterwards was that

sadly many fans saw their way clear
to going down the central tunnel

and that's where the tragedy
occurred.

That's Hansen.

I think there may be a slight
overflow in the crowd

at the Liverpool end, at the
Leppings Lane end of the ground.

But there is room in the sections
to either side

if they can shift them over.

From where I was sitting,
I had no idea of

the enormity of the tragedy
at first.

Er, I could see people
running across the pitch.

That's Gaynor out on the right.

And there are fans
on the pitch here,

in the six-yard area.

The referee's going to have
to stop the game.

There's an overflow behind the goal

and the police inspector
is on the pitch.

And they've come through
the barriers -

I can only think
that's overcrowding.

It doesn't look to me to be
any sort of misbehaviour.

VOICE OVER: One minute I was
commentating on a football match,

and the next minute
I was a news reporter

updating people on what was
happening at the ground,

all of which I couldn't be sure
about from where I was.

You can see there they're being
helped up by people in the seats.

But there are clearly people stunned
and concussed.

He was basically the one who was...

The man who was telling everybody

as well as he possibly could
exactly what had happened.

Johihjohn.

I do think they need to get
someone on Grandstand quickly here.

I remember I put the television on
during the afternoon

just to see the scores
and what was happening,

and then left it on
just sitting there.

Well, yes, john, I can only assume
the problem started

with overcrowding
at the Leppings Lane end.

From where I'm sitting,
that section was occupied

by segregated... Thousands of
segregated Liverpool supporters,

but as they came over the barriers
or through the barriers,

people were injured at the front,
I think,

and I have to say
that it was crushing

that seems from here to have caused
the accidents and the injuries.

They all had to keep working
and telling the story.

But, like everybody,
they were in the dark.

They didn't really know the enormity
of what was happening.

Yeah, well, I'll do a report,
but I need information.

Des has gone down now.

Sorry, say that again?

Des, it's john Motson here.
Yes, john.

I'll do about 30 seconds
when they come back

and then I'll say, "Desmond Lynam's
down at pitch level-

"can you tell us any more, Des?"

It was a tragedy in the making, and

I had to be very careful
what I said,

because one of the things
I was taught in television was

never assume too much when you're
dealing with an issue like that,

and don't start quoting people's
injuries and that sort of thing.

But I remember jimmy Hill
being with me

and I remember him
pointing down to the pitch

and, er, a supporter receiving
the kiss of life from a policeman,

and then I realised that

we were dealing with something
far beyond football.

Well, it's tragic in every way.

It's...
FADE OUT

He had to keep things going

when he didn't know 100%
of what was going on.

He could presumably see people
in front of his eyes

who...were clearly
not in a good way.

Yes, Bob. I have to say, all the
reports you've been receiving

from me have been from high up
above the grandstand

in the television camera position,

and on an afternoon which started
in such bright sunshine,

with such optimism,
in such high spirits,

and now the faces tell the story

of what's occurred
here at Hillsborough.

When I went downstairs and realised
what we were witnessing,

er, it was in all my years
in football

the worst moment
in terms of football tragedy.

Barry was the first person
to ring John after Hillsborough.

Because I think Barry
was at the Heysel Stadium,

so he...was speaking from the heart.

I phoned him because...

He would have known that I knew
what he was feeling.

Ancl by just sort of phoning to say,
"How are you, john?"

Was...

I don't know. It was...

You know, it was just an instinctive
thing, as far as I can remember.

I have no recollection of what was
actually said in the telephone call,

and I would doubt if he has.

It really, really was very raw.

His love and belief in football
that summer

might have deserted him.

It's a crisp autumnal afternoon
in the north-west

and it's the crispness
of City's passing

that Burnley have got to
try and come to terms with.

Motty's been hugely helpful to many
commentators and young people

making their way in television.
He was helpful to me.

And here's Sane. Oh, penalty!

He was probably the commentator
that I admired most

when I was a wannabe on local radio.

Ancl given the fact that
I was actually around him

before some of his television
commentaries in my early clays,

I think I probably just copied him.

But my question now is,
does Aguero take the penalty

and equal Eric Brook's record?

He's done it!

Sergio Aguero, 177 goals!

Motty is incredibly giving

when it comes to people wanting to
get into the broadcasting industry -

if you write to him
and want any advice, he writes back.

"Dear Ian. Thank you for your letter

"asking about a career
in sports broadcasting.

"I'm happy to tell you
how it came about for me

"although I ought to point out
that enthusiasm and opportunity

"are the two big things you need."

When John sent me the letter,
I mean, I was made up.

But I mean, I bombarded,
on the back of his letter,

I bombarded every local radio
station in the north of England

asking for experience.
I did get the rejections

as he anticipated,
but I kept on going

and 30 years on, here I am
at BBC Radio 5 Live.

Good evening, Jason, good evening,
Laura. The team news -

both sides have made five changes
for this FA Cup quarterfinal...

The information and the guidance
that john has provided

has been absolutely invaluable.

There've been one or two sort of
little mementos over the years

that have come out of the England
trips in particular

because I went to 49 countries
altogether with the England team.

There was a terrific sense
of responsibility with England.

I think you felt, you know,
you were almost speaking

on behalf of the nation, if that's
not putting it too strongly.

I know I did
over 100 England matches.

It might have even got to 150.

But you were at the centre of

the England experience,
as I would call it.

And although it wasn't really
as successful as it might have been,

and we kept losing on penalty
shoot-outs and stuff like that,

covering an England game,
it was something special.

It was a commentary apart from
the regular domestic league games

that you did the rest of the time.

Here's Michael Owen now.

My favourite England game, I guess,

must have been the 5-1 win
in Germany.

Owen's through again for England!

What a chance for the hat-trick
here.

Owen!

Oh, this is getting better
and better and better!

We all thought we were going to
go on and win the World Cup,

and a few months later Germany
were in the final and we were out.

There's no point in me hiding it.

The big disappointment is that
I never got to see them in a final,

either in the World Cup
or in the European Championship.

We got close.

Obviously the semifinal in Turin is
the one that people will point to.

MUSIC: Nessun Dorma by Pavarotti

Appealing for offside,
and they're in trouble!

Augenthaler couldn't do it!
Lineker probably could!

And England have equalised!

It's Gary Lineker!

Gary got the equaliser
and we all thought,

"Well, maybe this IS going to be
it."

The ace marksman keeps England
in the World Cup!

The Gazza tears, of course,

which everybody says rebranded
English football.

He has actually, Gascoigne,
got a yellow card.

Oh, dear. Oh, dear me.

He's going to be out of the final

if England get there.

And here is a moment that almost
brings tears to his eyes.

And to be honest with you,
one of the reasons I didn't enjoy

that semifinal as much as I should

was because my biggest fear was that
I would get the score wrong -

not the actual score, but the score
in the penalty shoot-out.

And never in the history of
England international football

has so much

hinged on such a shoot-out.

And I remember just having a pad,
really,

with 1-2-3-4-5 written down,

or England 1-0, or Germany 2-1.

And I had to keep it myself.

And if I had said, "One more kick
and England will be in the final,"

and it wasn't true,

or, "This one could send England
out," and that wasn't...

I was terrified that
I would make that mistake

with all those, er,
connotations of that game

and the size of the audience.

Anyway, we scrambled through,
like I did,

and it wasn't a very nice story
to tell,

er, but at least I managed to
tell it accurately.

Six really well-struck penalty kicks

and now Stuart Pearce...

MUSIC: Nessun Dorma by Pavarotti

He can't!

What can you say
that's in that moment

where people are so disappointed,
so emotional,

that can just nail it?

Would you want to be Chris Waddle
now?

Or even Stuart Pearce.

And England
are out of the World Cup.

West Germany
are through to the final

on penalty kicks.

You know, to hear him say that,
"And England are out,"

it's like a resignation - it's over.

There's no way to dress that up,

there's no way to try and sum up
how disappointed

Chris Waddle or Stuart Pearce are
at the time,

no way to describe how as a nation
we're feeling at that time

than to say it exactly how it was.

"England are out of the World Cup."

And Bobby Robson's dream
is shattered

in the cruellest way possible,

and with it, the hopes and dreams of
every Englishman.

At that moment,
what people have got to understand

is that he's feeling it as well.

He's feeling it as an Englishman
who would love us

to have got to the World Cup final.

There was a feeling of,
"Oh, goodness, well, that's it now."

You know, we're not going to be
in the final. That did come through.

No words are needed
over an expression like that.

And I knew,
somewhere in the back of my mind,

I thought, "Am I going to
get another?

"Are England going to get another
chance to get as close as this?"

Ancl that's as close as he got.
Ancl boy, we got close.

I'm going to take some more things
out of here.

When I think that I first covered
the World Cup for the BBC in 1974,

er, there's been a lot of, er,
tournaments since,

and I've been to most of them
if not all, except one, perhaps.

And that was because of my cancer.

To hear the news
and to hear it was bowel cancer,

which is particularly,
um, dangerous.

So to hear that news was shocking,
really,

and to think someone
who's been around all my life

suddenly might not be there was
a really frightening experience.

I know at the time he didn't want
the wider world to know

what it was.

Um, but he did tell me,

and it was a scare.

Well, my diagnosis really started
with a letter

completely out of the blue
from the local hospital

saying that I was of an age
where I should be taking a test

for bowel cancer.

One of the reasons
Dad decided to go along for his

was because he said, "Well,

"if Fred's going off to do one this
week, I should go and do mine."

And, you know, we decided that over
a pint of beer in the pub, really,

and I think that would be my advice
to other sons.

That, you know, it's not the nicest
conversation to have with your clad,

but it's one that can mean so many
extra years of life together.

But when I got to the hospital
and I had the colonoscopy,

er, the surgeon asked me to wait
for a few minutes,

and that was a bit agonising,
and I knew what was coming,

and he said, "I'm sorry, john,
you've got a tumour."

It was a major operation
that he had.

Er, but, you know, thank God,
everything's fine.

But he was able to reflect on
his mortality.

I remember going to visit him
in hospital

just after his first surgery,

and even though he was very woozy
with the an aesthetic,

didn't really know
what was going on,

he was still adamant that we should
see the League One match

that was on TV that night.

I think one way in which I coped

was because my dear wife Annie had
had breast cancer ten years earlier

and I knew what a shock that was

and what fortitude she showed,
and courage,

in the operation she had to have
at the time.

And in a way, I guess I thought to
myself, "Well, come on,

"keep yourself together,
don't make too much of a fuss,"

because she showed in her recovery

just how brave she'd been.

And I was kind of trying to be
nearly as brave as she was.

That is a present
for Manchester City.

For the next season, come here,

and enjoy the... Oh, how
nice of you! Thank you very much.

It will be a pleasure.
Hopefully I am still here.

You will still be here.

It will be a pleasure towards
your wife and yourself.

I'll bring her, she'll be thrilled.
Thank you very much.

I know you're a legend here
in Match of the Day.

I don't know about that.

Not like you are.

Thank you very much. A pleasure.
It's great seeing you.

LINEKER: Onto Crystal Palace
against West Brom.

This was the final
Match of the Day commentary

for a man who has been
broadcasting on the BBC

for the past 50 years.

At Selhurst Park, the Voice
of Football, one more time.

John Motson.

These two clubs have identical
records recently.

Three wins and two draws
in their last five games.

It's been a long time.

So many people know him,
so many people warmed to him

and so many people have memories
of certain football matches,

whatever they are,
over such a period of time,

and he's been an integral part of
that memory.

Oh, van Aanholt's in again!

Was it over the line?
Yes, it's a goal.

It's a goal.

Ancl often we link those memories to
words that go with those memories

and I think that's why, perhaps,
as much as anything else,

that he's so... He'll be so missed
in many ways.

He's never been the guy
that loves himself,

and yet he's got all these adoring
fans all over the place.

Doing well? I'm trying.

And I wasn't expecting this, Karen,
you know?

I knew it was my last season

and there would be one or two things
to do around it

but I was never expecting this...

flood of attention.

Never. I know, but you're a hero
in everyone's living room.

Aren't you? Oh, I don't know.
You are.

I've never thought of myself
like that, I really haven't.

It's very, very unusual that
one man, this clay and age,

can do what he does for so long

and still be appreciated
and rated by everybody.

He just is a wonderful,
wonderful commentator.

Ancl I think everyone in football
would agree

that he's probably the best one
that there ever has been.

I can't join the lap of hon our!

We've had a very good life
thanks to football.

By and large, he's absolutely loved
his working life with the BBC.

Ancl that's a great, great thing
to be able to say.

Well clone, john.
50 years' commentating, mate.

Love you.