Lancashire drama
Sometimes Lady Luck looks down on you with a big broad smile and says "Today is your day". She certainly did that for Manchester United on Sunday as time stood still and the 152nd Manchester derby went on and on like one of Willy Wonka's everlasting gob-stoppers, allowing Michael Owen to score the winner in the 96th minute.
Luck was smiling on me too, because I had the golden ticket to the game. You always want to be on duty for those memorable moments, and United's win was certainly one of those.
Both teams from either end of the X63 bus route celebrated weekend wins
The hardest commentaries are always the 0-0 draws with barely a booking to keep the interest going. You know that almost all your efforts will end up on the Match of the Day cutting room floor and that the game will be forgotten before you've even finished the journey home. These are the matches that are usually prefaced by Gary Lineker saying "and finally..."
If I cast my mind back to Euro 2008, I had some great games including the dramatic climax of Turkey against Croatia in the quarter-final. But the commentary I was probably most pleased with was the France vs Romania game. It was ninety minutes of utter tedium without the merest hint of a goal; but that's when you really have to earn your corn, and I felt I did as well I possibly could to give the viewer some reason to stick with it.
Sunday's derby was a gift for any commentator. All the stats that had been so meticulously prepared in the week could be ignored; there was no time for them because the drama of the game took over, and anyway, who needs a stat when you're on the edge of your seat? It was one of the few occasions where the game surpassed the hype.
On Saturday I was at Burnley against Sunderland; much less hype about that one but still very enjoyable. The Burnley fans will certainly give the Stoke supporters a run for their money in the battle to be the Premier League's loudest - it must be great to play in front of them.
I love walking up the players' tunnel at Turf Moor to the dressing rooms. At the end is a narrow little corridor with a low sloping roof which would have Peter Crouch almost bent double. You wander past the boot room and the laundry room feeling like you've stepped back in time. It doesn't take much imagination to picture their famous old chairman Bob Lord filling that corridor to congratulate greats like Leighton James and Martin Dobson. Links with the past are sometimes hard to find at modern Premier League stadia, so long may Turf Moor be preserved.
I'm Match of the Day commentator Steve Wilson. In between driving up and down the M40 and M6, I will be hoping to reflect some of the behind-the-scenes action from the Premier League, reflecting on the stories of the season as they unfold and relating the odd anecdote or two along the way.
Let me know what you think by getting back to me on the blog, or by hanging out at Oxford Services.
Comment number 1.
At 17:24 21st Sep 2009, Craig wrote:30 seconds of my life I'll never get back
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Comment number 2.
At 20:20 21st Sep 2009, lenny1882 wrote:"Both teams from either end of the X63 bus route celebrated weekend wins"
Surely you mean the X43 (or X44, for that matter) bus route? I can never remember catching an X63 to Manchester. ;)
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Comment number 3.
At 21:32 21st Sep 2009, boomshakalak wrote:You are equally as good at writing blogs as you are at commentating.
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Comment number 4.
At 23:32 21st Sep 2009, dufcterror - I love the shimmy wrote:Wow. Insightful stuff there, thanks
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Comment number 5.
At 10:14 22nd Sep 2009, mustav18 wrote:If that "famous old chairman Bob Lord" had had his way Burnley would have played all of their games behind closed doors. He considered fans no more than a nuisance and as for the press.... well you were the lowest of the low (not all bad then was he?)
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Comment number 6.
At 10:28 22nd Sep 2009, tomefccam wrote:You were obviously asked to provide a blog, and decided that in 5 mins you would instead jot down this poor effort. No insight, no story, all round abysmal. Stick to commentating, as your blog writing ability is as poor as they come. At least you can see that the likes of mcnulty et al have made an effort to research their blog topic.
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Comment number 7.
At 10:45 22nd Sep 2009, Craig wrote:Are these blogs not seen by an editor first who decides if they are worthy of publishing?
I wish i got paid for writing this kind of mediocre content!
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Comment number 8.
At 11:00 22nd Sep 2009, DHSOBFC wrote:You know Man City had equal opportunity to score more goals in those extra few minutes.
It keeps being stated as if the extra time was given to Man-U. There were 2 sides on that field both with 11 men.
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Comment number 9.
At 12:52 22nd Sep 2009, stripes09 wrote:I thought this was an interesting blog, well written. It's not supposed to be a meticulously-researched piece of investigative journalism - just a musing on the weekend's games. Thanks, Steve, I enjoyed reading. And I'm sure you've said in an earlier posting that you don't get paid any extra for writing your blogs?
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Comment number 10.
At 13:41 22nd Sep 2009, LABSAB9 wrote:How Boring!!!
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Comment number 11.
At 14:05 22nd Sep 2009, Wardy4Ireland wrote:Can't believe how people on here think they are blog critics. Treat it as it is, a short article, read it and move on!
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Comment number 12.
At 14:58 22nd Sep 2009, The Trawler wrote:I've never walked up the Burnley tunnel. Thankyou Steve, my day has been brightened by this magical imagery.
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Comment number 13.
At 21:54 22nd Sep 2009, ightenclaret wrote:Guess who the Underland and Mancy city fans are.....
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Comment number 14.
At 06:33 23rd Sep 2009, Derek wrote:The rudeness of some is astounding.
Cheers, Steve. Always happy to read anything football related!
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Comment number 15.
At 09:13 23rd Sep 2009, SaltersRoad wrote:What i really love about these blogs is that people read them then take every word literally picking apart any small mistake or completley not getting the point.
If your at work do some work, rather than reading what in your minds is a pointless article. If your not at work why not get a job writing articles for a blog and we can rip you too...
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Comment number 16.
At 11:13 23rd Sep 2009, fivegoldstars wrote:Could you imagine the reaction if Owen had scored the 96th minute winner at Old Trafford against Liverpool? I think we might have had to just cancel the rest of the season and start again next year.
In my opinion, technology has advanced enough for us to be able to project an image of the refs watch face onto the clouds so everybody knows where they stand.
https://sportales.com/soccer/english-premiership-correct-score-predictions-week-six-260909/
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Comment number 17.
At 12:18 14th Oct 2009, exiledburnleyjim wrote:I think you'll find that the caption on the photo isn't quite right...Burnley and Manchester are seperated by the x43 bus route.
The teams at either end of the x63 would be Newcastle United and, erm, Newcastle United.
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