Football Is All Over Motty's Home. Even the Computer Is in England ; Soccer Commentatorjohnmotson Hits the Transfer Market As His Family Home Goes On Sale for Pounds 1.2m
Mail on Sunday › June 28, 2004
Linked as:
Summary
John Motson has a lot on his mind: his son Fred is in the middle of A-levels, the family home is up for sale and Wilfred Bouma, the Dutchman, has scored a goal that might or might not be the fastest ever recorded in a European Championship. Regular calls home to Harpenden, Hertfordshire, check on the progress of exams and the state of the housing market, but Bouma's fourthminute goal poses a bigger problem.
'There have been three other goals after three minutes,' says John, 58, the BBC's voice of football from Euro 2004 in Lisbon. 'But records don't show seconds. We'll probably have to get tapes of the games and time them from the whistle.' This may seem obsessive, but to Motty, as he is affectionately known, it's all part of the job. 'I want to give people the facts straight away before they read them in the morning paper,' he says. 'When Rooney scored against Switzerland it was important to tell viewers he was the youngest player ever to score in this competition.' For more than a quarter of a century he has been doing just that, providing the statistics every fan adores. 'Facts and records have always interested me, that's the real reason I got into football,' he says.See the full content of this document
Extract
Football Is All Over Motty's Home. Even the Computer Is in England ; Soccer Commentatorjohnmotson Hits the Transfer Market As His Family Home Goes On Sale for Pounds 1.2m
Or football got into him. Born in Salford, the son of a Methodist minister, John had a childhood characterised by frequent moves, which is why he seems unfazed by leaving his home of the past 11 years which he shares with wife Anne, son Fred and collie Cleo.
'John is really looking forward to this move,' says Anne. 'We always said there was one more move in us and that is where we would finish up.' Motty says: 'We moved t...See the full content of this document
Sponsored links
