Barry Fry has paid tribute to John Motson, who has sadly passed away, aged 77.
Peterborough United Director of Football Barry Fry has paid tribute to legendary commentator John Motson, who has sadly passed away at the age of 77.
Motson, who had an illustrious 50-year career with the BBC, covered 10 World Cups, 10 European Championships and 29 FA Cup finals for BBC Sport before retiring from the organisation in 2018. He also famously filed a report from Adam’s Park, home of Wycombe Wanderers in December 1980 in a sheepskin coat at the snow-laden stadium. That fixture the Chairboys was due to have was against Posh.
Fry said: “The first time I met John Motson was in 1982. I was manager of Barnet at the time and we were drawn against First Division side Brighton and Hove Albion in the FA Cup. We were a non-league side at the time, struggling to exist, and because the tie was shown on Match of the Day, John commented on the fixture.
“John met us on the Friday night at the hotel and his preparation for the game was unbelievable. It was second to none. The notes he showed me on every one of my players was astounding. That game ended up saving Barnet from going out of existence, we drew the initial game 0-0 on TV and lost the replay in front of around 18,000 fans 3-1 at the Goldstone Ground. John also covered the replay.
“Since 1982, John has always kept in contact with me. He was an amazing man. A legend of commentary, he was everyone’s friend in football. Recently, I went to watch MK Dons in action and John and his wife was there, I went to Barnet and John was there watching, I went to West Ham United, John was there and the last time I saw him was at David Gold’s funeral.
“John was a truly great man. A true football legend. What he did for football is marvellous. He was enthusiastic, very thorough and loved what he did. He will be sadly missed by anyone that had the fortune of meeting him.”
The football club would like to express our condolences to John’s family and friends at this sad time.