Football’s best TV commentators ranked: From Clive Tyldesley to Barry Davies

Football commentators are famed for their research but hostage to the unknowable.

All of the best wait for their moment, a shock, a dramatic final, a historically improbable conclusion to a league season. When it comes they must get it right.

Do so and it can secure a legacy. Some commentators work for decades but are only remembered for one line. Get it wrong and they may never get a similar chance.

Most of this top 10 fall into the first camp but it is also worth recognising some less-heralded names who were consistently excellent at one of the least-forgiving (but, let’s face it, quite fun) jobs in existence.

10. Kenneth Wolstenholme

The only game in town at the beginning of televised football coverage, so set the tone for so much of what was to follow. Those who can remember him say there were plenty of player misidentifications, which would not be tolerated in the social media age. But everyone else on this list was influenced in some way by: “They think it’s all over, it is now!”

9. Ian Darke

A voice to die for, which is perhaps more associated with boxing in the UK but has become synonymous with “soccer” in the United States. Our loss is their gain. English broadcasting of the Premier League is a duopoly at best which limits us to two lead commentators at any one time across the channels. A shame that there has not been a more prominent place for Darke back at home within these constraints.

8. Darren Fletcher

Some may question the inclusion of a relative newcomer, but Fletcher has been the domestic televisual voice of the Champions League for nearly a decade and while he may be waiting for his Mount Rushmore commentary line he rarely misjudges the big moments. As with so many, served a valuable apprenticeship in radio.

7. Hugh Johns

Understudy to a more famous ITV name we will reach later, but was well-regarded enough to be given four World Cup finals for the channel. There was a pleasant resonance to his voice, which soundtracked so many matches from the 1970s and beyond. Often spotted with cigarette on the go until just before kick-off.

6. Clive Tyldesley

Synonymous with Manchester United’s run to the 1999 Champions League final, and oddly it is not “And Solskjaer has won it” which stands out, but something he said 15 seconds before Teddy Sheringham’s equaliser: “Can Manchester United score? They always score.” A remarkable reversal of the usual commentator’s curse. And we have a lot of time for his idea for another commentator’s curse, outlined on That Peter Crouch Podcast last year, allowing every commentator the right to say “f---” once per season.

5. John Motson

Went on too long, as many do in his field. For some reason few opt for the Cantona-esque exit in their prime. But it is his voice playing in the aural imagination for millions if they choose to conjure what a football commentator sounds like. Maintained his enthusiasm for the game despite spending 40 years at the top of his.

4. David Coleman

Took the Wolstenholme template and improved it as his replacement from 1971 onwards. His emphatic “One-nil” was a durable, memorable but low-key catchphrase. Became so associated with bloopers that Private Eye’s round-up of commentating gaffes is still named in his honour, but should be remembered instead for his ability to communicate the excitement of sport at its best. In that respect he has informed all who came after him.

3. Martin Tyler

A largely glorious body of work during one of the most transformative eras in the history of English football. Tyler was in tune with the Premier League and the perfect voice for its explosion. Few deserved their moment more than his “Agueroooo!”. Like he said about that goal, you’ll never hear anyone capture a moment better.

2. Brian Moore

The perfect combination of several of his peers in this list. Smooth in his normal register, suitably throaty when the moment called for it. “It’s up for grabs now,” somewhere in between Tyldesley’s premonition and Tyler’s emotion. Held in enough esteem to have a stand named after him at Gillingham, which sounds lovely until you visit Priestfield and see it is a “temporary” terrace without a roof which has now been in place for 21 years. An ill-fitting tribute to an all-time great.

1. Barry Davies

Best-remembered for a hockey moment which sounds as if it should have been football (“Where were the Germans? But frankly, who cares?”) although “Just look at his face!” runs it pretty close. Slightly impish but clearly distinguished and more than most knew the moments to be quiet and let the pictures and noise of football do their work. Utter class.