A Sit Down with Guy Mowbray

 

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with legendary football commentator Guy Mowbray. 

Guy has been active in the commentary scene since the 1990s and has commentated at every major international men's tournament since France '98.

The lifelong York City fan has become a household name for English viewers due to his longevity and plethora of memorable lines. 

Today, Guy can be found commentating on Premier League, Champions League, Europa League and International fixtures in addition to featuring in video game EA FC and BBC gameshow Gladiators. 

Guy and I tackled a range of topics, beginning with a few quick-fire style questions before discussing some more in-depth subjects.

Here's what we discussed: 

Q: Do you have a favourite Gantry?

A: "I've got a few! For quite a lot of years my favourite was Newcastle United, simply because there's a big table and I can lay out all my notes, that's basically it. The height is good, the viewpoint is good, as they are at most of them, to be honest. We're very lucky, we have the best seat in the house! But at Newcastle, I can lay my notes out how I want, the monitors can go where they want and there's no worry about strapping things in, or finding space, or worrying about rain. 

Others are catching up, but Newcastle's is still the best practicality-wise.

I'll tell you the worst, Manchester City's is the worst, with Liverpool's not far behind! Two of the greatest clubs going! When they (the gantries) were designed, they didn't quite think ... we have a lot of detail in front of us and there's nowhere for it to go. We're almost cramped in; pitching up pieces of paper wherever we can, which doesn't quite work."

Q: What is your favourite country to watch football in?

A: "Honestly, I think it has to be England. I'm very lucky to cover the Premier League every single week and every single round of matches. It doesn't get better than that football-wise.

The Champions League takes it up a notch ... I've been very fortunate to cover games in pretty much every country in Europe. I do like going to Eastern Europe, it's got a different feel, a different vibe. Ukraine was one of my favourites, I've been to Kyiv, Donetsk, Lviv and Kharkiv.

Istanbul is another one ... I've done Beşiktaş and Galatasaray. Fabulous, full of emotion, places to watch football. 

A particular favourite, again not particularly a country but a city, Paris. You get a PSG home game at the Parc Des Princes and it's something special. I've not been to a regular league game but I have no reason to believe it's any different. You go to a Champions League game when they've got big opposition and wow. It's almost like going back a good few years here ... before the Premier League became visited by everyone from around the world, which has naturally quieted things down a bit. You may be thinking in Paris you get a bit of that, you don't, you get pure passion for PSG." 

Q: What is your favourite competition to commentate on?

A: "The FA Cup. It has always been my favourite competition from being a kid. I think that stems from the age I am, when it was the only live game we got to see. Being a supporter of York City as well, when basically we've never had a great deal to shout about apart from two years in the second division before I was old enough to recognise that ... But we've had great moments in the cup and the Arsenal and Liverpool games in the 1980s just stand out as phenomenal childhood memories.

I still love the FA Cup. The FA Cup final is such a special day, the third round day is a special day, the draw for the third round is a special day, the first round, being a York fan, is pretty special. I was just having this conversation today with a colleague and we were saying that nobody seems to be bothered about the second and fourth rounds, but once you get past (the) fourth, the fifth is the last sixteen, the sixth is the quarter finals, then you're cooking. 

There's always a story, there's always a romance. I love the early rounds, I love going to the lower clubs; they're always happy to see you, they always make you welcome and I love the stories around it.

The World Cup is a very, very close second. But I kind of separate the two; it's almost like a different world. But I do adore the World Cup and have done since I was six years old, since the first one I could remember, which was Argentina and being allowed to stay up to watch the odd game, fabulous."

Q: You mentioned in 2021 that Leicester City had one of the best programmes in the Premier League. Since they are currently in the Championship, who has taken their crown as the best programme in the Premier League? 

A: "Undoubtedly Sunderland. It's a fabulous programme .... There will be stuff in there that you've missed and haven't seen, historical pieces, really interesting pieces. That would be my favourite right now. 

They've had the same programme editor for many years. You could ask any question about any period from 1880, when they formed, to now and he would know the answer immediately."

Q: You mentioned in a 2023 interview that commentary is, at its bones, "mirroring the emotions of everybody else". How hard is it to not let those emotions over-boil in situations like the Lampard 'ghost goal' vs Germany in 2010?

A: "It's very different doing an international game, an England fixture in particular. It's the only time that I would ever stray into that territory. But I don't think I make any apologies for that, to be honest.

Incidentally, we get a little bit of stick during the tournaments and a few complaints from other British Isles countries that we're pro-English. I can only talk from my experience over the last twenty years with BBC Television and say we are exactly the same for Scotland and Wales. I've done England vs Scotland at a Euros, I've done England vs Wales at a Euros, I've done England vs Wales at a World Cup and we are, I'd like to think and I certainly try to be, even-handed when it comes to those because you're mindful of who your audience is.

When it's England against somebody else and you know that ninety per cent, in theory, are supporting England, it's a little bit different. It almost goes back to how I started in local radio days, when you know people are listening because they want X team to win, it's the same with an England game. 

As for the Lampard moment, I don't remember many of my commentaries, which probably means they're not that good! But I can vividly remember the line I said then: "It is so far over the line" and that was purely just incredulous! I'm pretty certain it was that moment that led to goal-line technology being uniform across the top leagues right around the world. 

Going back to your question. In club games, I hope never (to let emotions over-boil). You can still feel the emotions, you can still get up and down, but it's not in favour of any team, particularly. A game starts and you are on autopilot; it is one team against the other. You wouldn't get to where I and others have got to ... if on regular occasions you'd been seen to be favouring one team over another.

I suppose a bit of ego kicks in as well and you're more concerned with how well you do in your job than being bothered by the result so much, to be honest."

Q: You've covered every major international tournament since France '98 including the 2008 Euros, which England infamously didn't qualify for. As you've previously been vocal surrounding the fact that you enjoy these tournaments so much because you are an England fan, did this personally change the feeling of the tournament for you?

A: "At the time, the late great John Motson was still the England commentator for BBC Television, who I was working for then. So it wouldn't have affected my job whether England were there or not because I wouldn't have been covering any of their games. 

But if I pop myself in the position now, were England not to qualify, would I enjoy it less? No, not at all. I would probably, as a person, enjoy it a bit more because the pressure is off a little bit. You can relax and enjoy the football.

I was having this conversation earlier today, looking ahead to the World Cup next summer and we were thinking about the games that you might like to cover. I like some of the games that, on paper, you might say, "I'm not so bothered about that". My personal highlight of the last Euros, when I try and isolate the fan part of me, was Turkey against Georgia in the group stage in Dortmund, which was a phenomenally good game of football! Sometimes they are the ones that grip you and from a personal point of view, career-wise, you're thinking, "I've got that right" and "I enjoyed it". 

They were two teams who probably looked at that fixture thinking, "This is the one we win" and as a result, they both had a real go at each other. The goals were fantastic, the atmosphere was off the scale and the Turkish fans were unbelievable! That was my highlight of the entire tournament, I loved it! 

When we get to next summer, who knows? I might be doing Uzbekistan against Curaçao and I'll be doing it with as much enthusiasm as I would for any England game because you don't know what you're going to see and for those nations, this is huge!

So, it wouldn't affect me. I would enjoy the tournament anyway and possibly be able to enjoy the tournament just a little bit more because you fret that bit more. You know the script is on you and you're also personally invested; you want them to win! So it is a bit harder and you feel it more. The worst I've ever felt at a major tournament was in 2016 when England were knocked out by Iceland in Nice. Oh my goodness! That took three days. The flat feeling was horrible and I never want to experience that again!"

Q: In a 2010 interview, you mentioned that you love a penalty shootout. Do you enjoy commentating over penalty shootouts? Do you find that the best technique is to say as few words as possible to prolong the tension or amplify the narrative through speech to compensate for the lack of action?

A: "That last question, I can't answer. I don't know what happens. You just do what you feel, and that's it! I can't say there is any technique; you're just literally doing what you feel.

The most terrifying part of a penalty shootout, when you're commentating to millions of people, is not wanting to miscount! It's very, very easy to think, "Where are we?", "How many have been scored?". So you make a note and you tick and you cross, but you can still get it wrong. You still have that moment when you think, "Is this decisive?", "If they miss, is that it?", "If they score, is that it?". Honestly, you have moments of dry mouth and panic when it's only counting to five in most cases! But it's hard in the emotion of it, it's really hard. So goodness knows what it's like to take one in that sort of environment.

They're horrible, aren't they? And yet they're brilliant as well!

I know Gary Lineker has long held the argument that in the major tournaments and competitions extra time should be scrapped and we should go straight to penalties ... I can see that argument but I'm 50/50, I don't mind extra time but I know it can drag on a little. The worst part of extra time, and this sounds a bit daft because you get the drama anyway, is if someone scores in extra time and it's either early, so nothing happens, or it's dead late and you've built yourself up for penalties, so you're denied the penalties! That's really upsetting, unless your team's won!"

Q: You've commentated over fixtures that have featured some of the greatest ever players. Are there any players that you've enjoyed commentating over or have looked forward to commentating over in particular?

A: "The 'looking forward' aspect just comes with the game. But you do look back and think, 'I really did enjoy that'. 

I mean, Zinedine Zidane will be a big part of my life forever because I was just starting out in television commentary when he was properly at his peak and just what a player! He's the first player that I saw do things you'd have only seen done on a console, but in real life. Some of the turns and controlling of the ball, I just love Zidane. 

He was quite a big unit! For a big man, he was incredibly graceful. Really silky and graceful. Bergkamp was another one like that.

As for Messi, I've got to say for many, many years I thought I was really unlucky, lucky and unlucky at the same time. I'd seen him play at the Camp Nou for Barcelona, I'd seen Barcelona away in the Champions League, I'd seen Argentina at two or three tournaments. Yet in the flesh, I'd never actually seen him be all that great! And I sort of felt a bit cheated! I thought, "What's the fuss?", I'd have had Maradona above him any day of the week; Zidane for me would've been ahead of him! And then the last World Cup in 2022, when he stepped up, I saw him several times. Oh wow, yeah wow. What a player. 

That final, I was asked for many years, and am always asked now, "What's the best game you've ever commentated on?" and for ages I used to have a stock answer of "I don't know, hopefully the next one", just to fob it off as there were so many I couldn't really go to one. But that 2022 World Cup final is now my stock answer because the last half hour and extra time were just superb. It's very rare that you get a situation like that, where it's Argentina against France, Messi against Mbappe and both the teams deliver, both the superstars deliver and it all happens. I will treasure the memory of that game for a long, long time.

I hope the next World Cup final's even better, I hope I'm doing it and I hope England are involved in it!"

Q: Has there ever been a moment in your career when you've been speechless or lost for something to say?

A: "There will have been many! But immediately one comes to mind, because it was pretty recently, it was the two Declan Rice free kicks for Arsenal against Real Madrid. That is the closest I have ever been to swearing on a commentary! When that second one went in, I really had to check myself! "*Blank* me!" was the first thing that went through my head!

There's another goal that you will appreciate actually as a Chelsea supporter ... FA Cup semi-final Nemanja Matić, when he absolutely rifled it and for a minute I was just thinking, "Wow"!

But those Declan Rice free kicks were just fantastic. I said on the commentary that you don't do that twice in a career, never mind twice in five minutes! I thought the second one was going to go way over the bar, straight away I thought, "Well, he's not going to do it again", I'd never seen him take a free kick before the last one! Now every time he steps up for England next summer I'll be thinking, '"Here we go!""

Q: Co-commentators are a staple of the modern game. How integral do you think co-commentators are to firstly your commentary and secondly to the enjoyment of the viewers?

A: "Not sure about the second part! I think they are (integral), because I do the 'what?' and they do the 'why?'. They've been there and can do the technical part; they can explain what was intended rather than a bit of description or emotion.

I like having somebody alongside me. It's a good question to ask me actually, as me and my Match of the Day colleagues are uniquely positioned in that we do have it both ways. When we're doing Match of the Day, we don't have anybody with us so we are almost commentator and co-commentator all in one ourselves. We do have to do a little bit of controlled tempered analysis and make judgements et cetera. But we can't ever go into the depth as to why something was great. I've seen enough football to have a good crack at it but they've been there and can really tell you from a 'been there, done it' perspective. I do think a really good co-commentator does add something to the game. Also, over the course of a full ninety-minute live game, it's quite nice to hear two voices and mix it up. 

I'm not sure about the three. I know we've done the three a few times, I think that's too many. I think that leads to: "Hang on who's that?", "Which one's that?", "What are they saying?" and I don't think there's any need for that. We hear enough voices at halftime and full time. I've done it and I've enjoyed it on the games I've mentioned, such as England vs Scotland and England vs Wales ... but I think as a co-commentator, one person's enough. It gets a bit messy!"

Q: Your career and love of football has taken you to a wide range of football grounds of varying statures from Wembley to Croft Park. Both have their positives, but which archetype of ground do you prefer: the widely considered 'grander' ground steeped in top-flight history or the more communal lower league grounds? 

A: "Honestly, any of them. I love a football ground and I love the variety that my career ables me to enjoy. 

I love going to the smaller grounds, I really do. There's particular atmospheres that are just special. But I also do love the feel of going to the big places. Particularly when they're empty. When we get there three or four hours before kick-off and you're just standing there taking it in, there's a real special feel about the big places when they're empty. 

The little kid in you creeps out every now and again and I can honestly say I have played football at Camp Nou, at the Bernabeu, at the Maracanã and at Wembley. I've managed to kick a ball around a little bit when nobody was looking; that's a lovely feeling.

I genuinely just love a football stadium, old or new. People mourn the loss of grounds, we did at York when Bootham Crescent was closed, I was working at Sunderland when they made the move from Roker Park to The Stadium of Light and yes, it is sad but it's also progress. 

We just had it recently with Everton. I loved going to Goodison, I've been there countless times. But I've been to the new place twice and I love that as well. The new stadium is special, much like Spurs' new stadium is special. But the old ones are special too.

I like the variety, I like the mixed variety. In England we're so lucky we have such a mixed bag of stadiums."

Q: In your early career at ClubCall, you covered rugby league and cricket aside from football. Being as experienced as you are now, would you ever consider commentating over a sport other than football in the future? 

A: "I don't think so. I don't think you can ever say 'never', you never know what position you might find yourself in, but I don't think so no.

Again, this is something I've been talking about only recently; you're being very topical! I have grown up being a football obsessive, I wanted to play but I wasn't good enough, so it is literally the next best thing. I'm fortunate to think I know enough and have seen enough and that's all I do really.

So, although I love cricket, love golf, and dabble in tennis ... I could never ever have the right sort of knowledge required to properly do anywhere near a decent level of commentary on anything else.

I used to really enjoy doing the rugby league. It was local radio, it was great fun. I will be going back there next season as York are up in the Super League, which probably makes me a glory seeker as I haven't been for quite a few years! The fixture lists are out and they've got Hull Kingston Rovers in the first game, which is fantastic. They'll likely get 8,000 crowds and be full every week, which is great for the city.

I have a passing interest but I don't have the knowledge and haven't seen enough over the years. I think to do the job right you have to know at least as much as the most knowledgeable person watching, otherwise you're letting somebody down."

Q: It's well documented that you're both a keen fan and player of cricket. So I wanted to know who you think would make the best footballer in the current England cricket setup?

A: "I haven't played for two years now, it's the longest spell I've had of my life. I think I'm ninety per cent retired but I'll never call it wholly!

I think Joe Root's pretty handy, isn't he? I think he's a pretty good player. Just looking at them, looking at the build, et cetera, Stokes all day long. Ben Stokes would be a modern-day Paul Warhurst; he could play centre back or centre forward with no problem whatsoever. He'd be a 'big man' up front but if you wanted him to go back to the back, he'd do a really good job there as well. 

Jamie Smith must be a good goalkeeper as he has the height as well. You'd imagine he probably has been a goalkeeper at some point."

Q: You are a lifelong York City fan and this year officially became one of the club's ambassadors. Firstly, how important is this role to you? And secondly, how important do you think it is that non-league/lower league teams are well represented on the national and global stage? 

A: "I'm really honoured to have been asked, I'm the only non-ex-player at the moment to be an ambassador. When the club asked me, I asked what it entailed and they basically said, "Well, you're doing it anyway, so we might as well give it a title!". I kind of have been just flying the flag over many, many years. 

One of the proudest things I can say, and I say it at the risk of having egg on my face because it will come to an end at some point, is that I've been commentating around the country now for thirty years but throughout that run I have never missed a York City home game I could physically have attended. So if I've been able-bodied and anywhere in the vicinity, I've always managed to make sure I've got to the home game! I'm still getting to about ten a year, so not a bad shout given that I'm nearly always otherwise engaged, and a couple of away games usually every season as well. 

It's a great honour, it's lovely to be able to fly the flag for the club. We don't need it as much as other clubs, I think we're quite well known. In fact, that's the question I get asked most on the road ... people are shocked when I say we're non-league! They say, "What division are you in?" followed by "Really?" and I tell them it's been worse than that, we've been lower! They can't stand it, they don't get it, I don't get it to be quite honest with you! I'm a football snob and I still actually refuse to admit that we are non-league, we are a Football League club and have been temporarily residing outside the top four divisions for too long. 

It is important (to represent), because we have a football pyramid unlike any other. I was shadowed a couple of years ago by a chap from Belgium who came across to do a piece on English football and how it worked and he followed me to a couple of games over a weekend. When he was asking who I supported and I told him, he asked what league they were in, I told him it was "National League North, the sixth level", and he goes, "Oh so amateur then?", to which I responded, "Oh no no. We're full time professionals and so are at least seven or eight other teams in that division!"... He couldn't get it! He said that if you dipped halfway below the second tier in Belgium then it's amateurs. 

This is why we have a unique pyramid that must be preserved. And it will be because there's too many people interested and invested over many, many years. It's also why we must really get behind, and it must happen, that three will come up from the National League rather than the two in the lottery of the six-team playoffs. It must happen because it's just not right, you can't have the closed shop of yesteryear, it's one step away from re-election as far as I'm concerned. So we need to really campaign for that. I understand that you need the facilities to match et cetera, you must put limits on it to some degree, but if it's purely performance related, if you're good enough, you should be able to progress and go up."

Q: Finally, what are your predictions for the end of York's season and your early prediction for England's World Cup campaign?

A: "The York question depends who I'm talking to. If I'm talking to a non-York City fan, as I was in the Match of the Day office yesterday, I'd tell them that we're going to walk the National League and that we will go up, don't you worry about it! I was quickly reminded that I said that last year. But we nearly did and should've done. 

So this year, if I'm talking to a fellow York watcher, I'm going to temper it a little bit because I know it's going to be harder. We have a better team, we are the best team in the division, I'm convinced of that as I've seen most of the others now. Robbie Savage would disagree with me for understandable reasons, as he's got a great team going at Forest Green. But I think we're the best team, I think we deserve to go up ... But I know it's going to be hard; It's a much more competitive top six/seven in that division now. It's going to be really hard over forty-odd games; it's such a tough proposition. I've got everything crossed and touching wood that we'll do it!

On the England question, I change weekly. Some weeks, my wise old head of watching England kicks in and I tell myself, "Let's just enjoy it and see how far we go"; other weeks, I think, "Yeah". But I can't let myself get too carried away because I've been there too many times before, far too many times before. When it comes to the first game next summer, it is a case of really let's just enjoy it, because it is a thing to savour and enjoy. Especially different late kick-off times here, you can get a late drink and stay out with your mates, really let rip and just get behind them. Then when it's over, it's over. 

It's funny, people had a go at Gareth Southgate, I hear it all the time and I still don't understand it! I grew up watching England teams; in 1978 not qualify for the World Cup, in 1980 leave the Euros with a whimper, I grew up with England not necessarily being there, with 2008 being the most recent example that we talked about. So it's not a given and we lived through an era of Gareth Southgate where he actually got the team playing as a team. Ok, you might say that in the Euros final of 2021 we "Should've done this" or "Should've done that", "That one step it was there". Well, England were there! But Italy were there too and they were trying to win. This is the thing, we got to a final for the first time in my lifetime, having got to the semi-finals of a World Cup that had only happened once before in my watching life, so progress is being made ..."Why didn't he do this?" or "Why didn't he do that?", he got us there! Nobody else has!

Yes, I agree it was time to go, thank you, you've done amazingly but we've got to bring it back to home. A bit like Adam Hinshelwood at York, you did amazingly, thank you, you are welcome forever but time for the next step. I actually applaud the FA for the appointment of Tuchel, who in his career has a track record of staying one or two years somewhere, winning stuff and going. That's what we need, it's all there, we've got the players and he's picking a team to win, a team. He's not picking the best players necessarily; he's picking a team that he trusts. 

Let's go for it, let's try and win the thing and if he doesn't, then he doesn't and it's not a big deal because nobody else has since Sir Alf Ramsey! We have to temper it with the fact that everybody else is trying to win it as well ... I think we expect too much these days, I really do. The fundamental part should be: let's get behind them and let's enjoy it. 

And you know what? If you do that, if and when it does happen, it will be the best thing ever."