10 best sporting commentators

My colleague who has been sending out sporting lists has produced his latest: the 10 best sporting commentators – widely construed to include writers, presenters and analysts.

Before I composed mine I gave some thought to the attributes of such best. I came up with:

1) the ability to bring sport into your living room (Peter Alliss and Brian Johnston were the masters here);

2) A good voice;

3) A turn of phrase;

4) Knowledge of the sport;

5) Adding value. If you are sitting next to the person would they improve your sporting experience?

I had David Coleman leading the way of my list.

He could commentate on football and athletics, had a turn of phrase so much so that Private Eye had a Colemanballs section and when the terrorism at the Munich Olympics of 1972 became a  global news story, not just a sporting one, he met the challenge with a memorable broadcast.

I did not include any of the moderns.

Some would not satisfy any of the above categories. They are drawn from their sport itself, not having a career in journalism like Richie Benaud or plying their trade on radio – Des Lynam was for many years number 3 behind Brian Redhead and Jack de Manio on the Today programme.

They are not always objective.

Ian Wright refers to Arsenal as “we”.

Graeme Souness rarely criticises Liverpool but invariably finds something negative to say about Manchester United.

Many presenters rely too much on their Twitter feed

Whatever your criteria, it’s ultimately a subjective choice.

Peter Jones the radio commentator is popular.

He certainly had a fine voice and you would want him next to you to point out the Maradona handball against England in 1986.

For his  second wondrous goal, he described Maradona as  “wiggling like an eel”.

How good is that as a turn of phrase?