That was Barry Davies I think.
I’m surprised Stan Vollox hasn’t been mentioned. Stan Vollox gradually became Stan Bollox as the game wore on.
An iconic bit of commentary. Everybody was talking about it the next day.
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Jimmy Magee.
Never really warmed to George.
I was fairly indifferent to him really.
Some new blood would be no harm
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The sort of fella that would remind the teacher he had forgotten to give you homework
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He might have been good at some stage, but he was fairly phoning it in by the end.
Ironic because he was literally phoning it in at the start.
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Who is the last new young commentator that gets big games hurling, football, Rugby or soccer?
Darragh Moloney is the youngest of them I’d say
Aside from Timmy McCarthy I’m struggling to think of any good commentators at the moment. Drury has become self aware. Greg Allen smelling his own farts. Jonathan Pearce a shadow of his early self. TG4 guys maybe. And Al Michaels
I think we’re much more critical of commentators than we were as younger men.
Jonathan Pearce was always shit.
He was iconic on Capital Gold radio in London in the early 1990s.
He was an English version of that lunatic off Shannonside radio who commentates on Roscommon games, without the hick charm.
His Cantona commentary was like a Daily Mail rant in aural form.
Tyers is my favourite right now
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I like Ian Crocker who does Scottish football on Sky. He has a genuine enthusiasm for the game and comes across like a smashing fella. His voice was an acquired taste at the start but has grown on me a lot over the years.
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The subject of much juvenile mirth at the time alright. Up, or down, there with Spanish contemporary López Ufarte.
On pronunciations, Jimmy Magee would indulge in the odd rhetorical flourish when it came to surnames; getting 10 or more syllables out of the pint-sized Argentinian volante Olarticoechea in Mexico 86 for example.
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George Hamilton commentated on the queen game of Euro 2024, Germany v Spain. His commentary considerably added to it as a major international football occasion.
I saw it written in later years that Magee referred to Josimar as “Josie Maher”.
Yes - he was early out of the blocks on the Portuguese pronunciation of J in the days before the proliferation of global media in general, and football media in particular. Everyone else seemed to be calling him Hoe-say but the Cooley man was correct - despite the 'What part of Tipp is he from?" jibes.
George used to refer to Niall Quinn as “Neil Quinn” on the basis that the Niall part of Quinn’s name was apparently the Irish language version, that his father called Neil Quinn.
George dropped this at some point.
When Jaap Stam came on the scene at the 1998 World Cup George called him “Yup Stum”, but dropped this pronunciation after Stam signed for Manchester United.
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He used to do a great job of Kuntz
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He got fierce upset when Neil Quinn got smashed with an elbow into the face from Stevie Nicol during his first game for the Arsenal. “If I was his manager, I’d fine him a week’s wages”!