Ian Cheeseman Talks: A lifetime spent in sports commentary

In his latest column, Tameside Radio presenter Ian Cheeseman talks about the next guest on his Saturday show - local 'all round' sports commentator John Gwynne, who will reflect on his adventures down the years.

A few years ago I wrote a book called ‘Best Job in the World’ which was a diary of a season in my career at the BBC as a football commentator.

It was the 2008/2009 season when Mark Hughes was the Manchester City manager and the campaign started with the Blues travelling to the Faroe Islands to play EB Streymur.

I remember it well. I had to travel with a limited budget, so my accommodation was a Youth Hostel, which cost just £20 a night. 

There were only two flights direct from the UK to the Faroes each week so I flew out from Stansted on a Monday. 

The game took place on a Thursday afternoon and I flew back on the Friday. 

While I was there I read the sports news from my room from 6am to 9am each morning, I did two travel features into our daytime radio programmes each day and wrote a daily blog on the BBC website.

On matchday I presented the build-up show and of course I did full match commentary, sat on the top bunk of a bed in a room, overlooking the pitch, that was normally sleeping quarters for young footballers. 

It was a great experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. The years I spent as a football commentator were, by far, the best years of my life.

If I was ever asked to commentate on City again I’d do it in a heart-beat, but sadly those days are gone.

If you’ve never commentated then you won’t know what it feels like to describe a great Yaya Toure run and drive towards the opposition goal or be on the microphone when Sergio Aguero scored that amazing last minute title-winning goal back in 2012. 

I can tell you it was amazing.

There are a few people out there who have lived that life and none better than Tameside-based John Gwynne, someone I’ve known throughout my professional life. 

By an amazing coincidence John went to school with my life-long best friend Charlie, so I knew all about John before I first met him.

Gwynnie was the BBC’s Lancashire County Cricket commentator/reporter for many years and I loved listening to his insight and genuine passion.

There’s so much more to him than that though. 

He’s a City fan, like me, and has reported from many Blues’ games down the years, but you might also know him for his darts commentaries on Sky Sports, or his Rugby League reports.

John is what’s known in the cricket world as an ‘all-rounder’ and a very good one at that.

He’s just completed writing a new book called ‘Soccer Satisfied’ about his career which is published this month. 

I assume his son Andrew, the MP for Denton and Reddish, will be one of the first to read it, if only to find out what his father was doing when he wasn’t at home during his childhood.

I spent a very enjoyable hour this week chatting through all those adventures and you can hear the result this Saturday on Tameside Radio 103.6FM from 1pm when “Ian Cheeseman talks to... John Gwynne”