John Motson

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Nearly all the Brazilian supporters are wearing yellow shirts - it's a fabulous kaleidoscope of colour.
- John Motson
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It is now a pleasure to go to any of the Premier League grounds. They are so welcoming, not just to me but to all the broadcasters - all media, really, you have to say.
- John Motson
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It looks like things are changing in north London. Tottenham have gone down a road they've never been down before. They've kept their best players and pushed young English ones through. They've started to match Arsenal - who were light years ahead - by building a new stadium.
- John Motson
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I just thought my 50th year in the BBC is 2018, and it has to end sometime, and I thought that would be a good note to go out.
- John Motson
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Even now, I still get a bit apprehensive before a game because I am worried about whether I have done enough preparation or if something is going to catch me out. But the fear factor has gone - as it should have done by now, really, after nearly 50 years.
- John Motson
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The FA Cup as a tournament was very good to me. I'd like to think I can still have some association with that because it was the Ronnie Radford goal for Hereford against Newcastle which really put me on the map in 1972.
- John Motson
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I've watched us go out on penalties so often. I really thought we'd make it at Euro '96, especially after Gazza's goal against Scotland. I still go to every England game as a spectator.
- John Motson
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I still use felt tip pens for my notes, on a white board that I carry around with me. I am not into the computer technology - you can say that quite safely.
- John Motson
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I might feel a little bit empty, and it might get to me for a short time, but I'm hoping to keep my association with football and with broadcasting - I'm not retiring from everything; I'm retiring from the BBC. I'm certainly not going pipe and slippers.
- John Motson
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My favourite English player of my time was Paul Gascoigne. I interviewed him several times, always entertaining.
- John Motson
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I did a bit of boxing when younger. Once I was joined by Muhammad Ali as my co-commentator. I've got a picture of the two of us together ringside at the Albert Hall on my wall at home.
- John Motson
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I'm not a celebrity whose face is recognised everywhere I go, like Gary Lineker, but my voice does make people sit up and pay attention from time to time.
- John Motson
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The whole London football scene is now financially more powerful and ambitious than ever before. That reflects the city's economic might and its multiculturalism. Now West Ham have a new , and Spurs and Chelsea will follow. And the London clubs have widened their areas of support.
- John Motson
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And Seaman, just like a falling oak, manages to change direction.
- John Motson
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The competition to get above the rest and be the lead commentator, or whatever you want to call it, is much fiercer than it was when I was starting out. By the same token, there were not as many jobs going back then, so to get one was an achievement in itself.
- John Motson
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I have had a wonderful time. I don't think things could have gone any better for me because I was football-mad as a boy, and to get a job watching the game and going to all the major events I have been to has been very rewarding.
- John Motson
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I do remember once going to Salzburg in Austria. Liverpool were playing a European game there, and they put me in a box behind glass. I hate being behind glass; I always want to feel part of the action.
- John Motson
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Brazil - they're so good it's like they are running round the pitch playing with themselves.
- John Motson
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The World Cup is a truly International event.
- John Motson
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I think this could be our best victory over Germany since the war.
- John Motson
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That shot might not have been as good as it might have been.
- John Motson
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Not the first half you might have expected, even though the score might suggest that it was.
- John Motson
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It looks like a one man show here, although there are two men involved.
- John Motson
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Its Arsenal 0 - Everton 1, and the longer it stays like that the more you've got to fancy Everton.
- John Motson
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I've been fortunate enough to witness some of the biggest moments in football history mere yards away from the action, but I wanted to go out on a high rather than stay too long. I didn't want to get to the stage where people say, 'Oh blimey, Motty's lost it. He's getting the players wrong, and his voice is going.'
- John Motson
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For those of you watching in black and white, Spurs are in the all-yellow strip.
- John Motson
Collection: Football
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The unexpected is always likely to happen.
- John Motson
Collection: Unexpected
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In a sense it's a one-man show... except there are two men involved, Hartson and Berkovic, and a third man, the goalkeeper.
- John Motson
Collection: Men
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Arsene Wenger has got to unlock the purse strings
- John Motson
Collection: Wenger
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Northern Ireland are ten minutes away from their finest victory. There's 15 minutes to go here.
- John Motson
Collection: Football
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The Czech Republic are coming from behind in more than one way now.
- John Motson
Collection: Czech Republic
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Gary Lineker has now scored 37 goals. That is precisely twice as many as last year.
- John Motson
Collection: Years
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The goals made such a difference to the way this game went
- John Motson
Collection: Soccer
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The game is balanced in Arsenal's favour.
- John Motson
Collection: Football
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Owen scores and breaks Lineker's competitive scoring record. Although this being a friendly it doesn't actual count, so he hasn't quite done it yet.
- John Motson
Collection: Football
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And I suppose they [Spurs] are nearer to being out of the FA Cup now than any other time since the first half of this season, when they weren't ever in it anyway.
- John Motson
Collection: Spurs
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Not the first half you might have expected, even though the score might suggest that it was
- John Motson
Collection: Soccer
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The match has become quite unpredictable, but it still looks as though Arsenal will win the cup
- John Motson
Collection: Soccer
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Defoe was level and anyone who says otherwise is picking hairs
- John Motson
Collection: Hair
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Northern Ireland were in white, which was quite appropriate because three inches of snow had to be cleared from the pitch before kick off
- John Motson
Collection: Soccer
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Ruud Gullit was able to impose his multi-lingual skills on this match.
- John Motson
Collection: Football