It's back up now.

David Jones presenting from St Mary's, venue of Southampton v Everton later, alongside Jamie Redknapp and Thierry Henry, with Geoff Shreeves reporting at Vicarage Road.

Commentators - Bill Leslie and Andy Hinchcliffe

Commentators - Peter Drury and Andy Townsend

Arsenal Vs Bournemouth - Rob Hawthorne and Niall Quinn

Patrick Davison is the pitchside reporter.

Leslie very slow on the red card.

Sky's clock stopped in the last minute and it flashed up as a full time score with 5 mi Utes left. Lots of problems with Sky's graphics today!

Alistair Mann is doing Genoa v Juventus on ESPN.

Willie Miller left the punditry team after 25 minutes and Stephen Craigan joined the rest of the punditry 20 minutes before kick-off.

Nope - Pat Bonner is on BBC Radio Scotland.

Thanks, only going by the data hub. Can anyone confirm the world feed for me?

Perhaps it's better to only post information when you've either heard the commentators for yourself, or had them confirmed by a reliable source (e.g. the commentator(s) themselves via Twitter).

Mad idea, I know, but it might just work...

Am I right in thinking that's the first BT Premier League match that Jake has not presented? Glad to see Currie there, I don't watch Scottish football but I like it when I see him, same as with Derek Rae. I've seen various people on Twitter suggest that BT's Scottish football coverage is miles better than Sky's boring Old Firm-obsessed coverage.

Anyway, that got me wondering about other people who have presented live Premier League football on British TV. We've listed before all the people who have commentated on it, but I think these are all the people who have presented live Premier League football on British TV, in vaguely chronological order. Unless YOU know different.

Richard Keys
Jeff Stelling
Marcus Buckland
Bob Wilson (in the one season ITV Digital had PPV Premier League games)
Ian Payne
Rob McCaffrey (remember him doing Sheffield United vs Arsenal on Sky at Christmas 2006, the one where Phil Jagielka went in goal, I think his only game)
Dave Jones
Angus Scott (I think he did all of Setanta's Premier League games)
Ray Stubbs
Rebecca Lowe (who co-presented with Stubbs, but also did a few as main presenter)
Ben Shephard (stood in for Keys once, then did a few after Keys had to go away)
Ed Chamberlin
Jake Humphrey
Simon Thomas
Rachel Riley
Darrell Currie

Funnily enough McCaffrey showed up on Sky Sports News yesterday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, because of course he lives in Abu Dhabi now. Famously Keys did every Premier League game between 1992 and 2001 except one, Blackburn vs Coventry in 1997 when he was doing the Ryder Cup.


The same reason why Sky showed a handful of Saturday lunchtime kick-offs in the last three seasons. When the last rights deal was going on and everyone was pondering if BT would get another package, I thought the other Saturday package would have been the best one to go for, because it would have meant BT would have been able to "own" Saturdays like Sky "own" Sundays. I know you have to do everything in duplicate, mind.

Dunno if anyone else noticed Sky played the wrong opening titles at the start of Super Sunday, it ended with Premier League Live instead. Still, they're all the same.

It's Tyler and Smith commentating on Southampton v Everton.

I think BT have tended to use two different presentation teams on days they've had two PL games on the same day in the past (e.g Boxing Day). - think Lynsey Hipgrave might have done one or two and maybe Currie himself. I was hoping/expecting Matt Smith to present but I do like Currie too, and like both more than Jake.

Who presented the 1997 game Keys didn't do?

Think this is the 4th weekend out of the last 6 that Provan hasn't been used for a live game. Also the second time this month neither Neville or Carragher have been used on a weekend.

Neville's now missed 4 weekends this season and I think only done two games once. If the 40 games minimum statement is correct then he'll need to do two games on eight weekends over the rest of the season so I'd expect a few more MNF appearances. I can't see him doing any more than 40ish really.

So, the weekend's football, officially confirmed by me actually watching them...

Barnsley vs Forest - Introduced by Scott Minto with Keith Andrews and Peter Beagrie, commentary by Gary Weaver and Andy Hinchcliffe
Burnley vs Man City - Introduced by Darrell Currie with Owen Hargreaves and Ian Wright, commentary by Ian Darke, Robbie Savage and Trevor Francis
Chelsea vs Spurs - Introduced by Jake Humphrey with Rio Ferdinand, Harry Redknapp and Gianfranco Zola, commentary by Darren Fletcher, Steve McManaman and Glenn Hoddle
Rotherham vs Leeds - Introduced by Kelly Cates with David Prutton and Neil Redfearn, commentary by Daniel Mann and Garry Birtles
Super Sunday - Introduced by Dave Jones with Thierry Henry and Jamie Redknapp, Watford vs Stoke commentary by Bill Leslie and Andy Hinchclife, Arsenal vs Bournemouth commentary by Rob Hawthorne and Niall Quinn, Southampton vs Everton commentary by Martin Tyler and Alan Smith

Jeff Stelling, hence he appears second on the list. After that Stelling didn't present another Premier League game until 2005 when he became a regular presenter, and then again now of course.

I has thought on all previous occasions BT have had two matches in one day, which has always been Boxing Day and New Year's Day, they've both been presented from the studio by Jake. BUT I've just looked back through the archives and on 1st January 2015, National Crazy Gang Day of course, I see that Lynsey Hipgrave actually did present Man City vs Sunderland from the ground. So we can add her to the list, so it's now...

Richard Keys
Jeff Stelling
Marcus Buckland
Bob Wilson
Ian Payne
Rob McCaffrey
Dave Jones
Angus Scott
Ray Stubbs
Rebecca Lowe
Ben Shephard
Ed Chamberlin
Jake Humphrey
Lynsey Hipgrave
Simon Thomas
Rachel Riley
Darrell Currie

didn't Jon Champion do one game? I have a recollection that ESPN had a double header over an xmas and Ray Stubbs became ill so they got Champion who had been commentating on the earlier game to cover

Really enjoyed hawthorne today, who I thought was very energetic.

I usually enjoy Quinn but thought he was too arsenal heavy, and I had to laugh when he expressed surprise that the ref had not consulted the fourth official over a penalty decision

BT have come up with the best compromise for this modern-day insistence on running betting ads prior to kick-off with their split-screen solution... that is of course, when it actually works as it should. Yesterday made it even more laughable than it already is.

It is a farcical thing to do. Ian Darke, like many commentators and presenters, have been caught out by this. He was about to read out the teams before realising "oh yeah, we've got to pause and as we've got this absurd advert thing to go through as yet." I believe his exact words were "So, the teams are... oh, don't forget - we'll bring the teams to you in just a minute." Yeah, you mean don't you forget, Ian - not that I blame you.

Kelly Cates was mid-way through handing back to the commentators the other week as well before realising that another ad break was coming up first. Sky's half-time arrangement is the most absurd, as they do brief half-time analysis, go to a break, come back, have their presenter advertise upcoming events on Sky Sports within the programme itself which lasts no more than 60-90 seconds, before going to a single betting ad and coming immediately back for the second half. It goes completely against the grain and is an embarrassment for anyone who has to follow this ridiculous process.

The Howard Webb sound problem was extremely funny and I enjoyed the comment that someone left in the hub. I'll leave it there for future amusement.


Technical issues have been a theme this weekend, for both BT and Sky.

Thankfully, Sky's graphics returned in time for them to tell me via their ticker along the bottom that I could see all the Premier League goals on their app, otherwise I don't know what I would have done.

I don't think it was a double header (did ESPN ever have 2 PL games in a day?) but I seem to recall Champion hosting the post match discussion because of Stubbs falling ill during the game. It was an odd one because ESPN presented all their stuff from their London studio so the pundits were being questioned by Champion's face on the big screen wall behind them!

Actually this was one of the two occasions when ESPN had two matches in one day, both in their first season when they had more matches. That was Boxing Day 2009, Liverpool vs Wolves, the second of two matches they showed that day (the first was Birmingham vs Chelsea with Jim Proudfoot commentating). As you say, Stubbs fell ill during the match so Champion had to take over at the end, but I say he doesn't count.

For what it's worth, the other occasion they had two matches in a day was on the May Day Bank Holiday, where Derek Rae did Wigan vs Hull. Those were also the only occasions anyone other than Jon Champion commentated on the Premier League for ESPN.

Meanwhile... "Never mind Coleman, Everton need a goal man!" He has many, many fine qualities, but sometimes when he does his awful wordplay, I can't remember if I'm listening to Martin Tyler or Richard Stilgoe.

As mentioned earlier, the exception to the above being Boxing Day last year where both games were presented from BT Towers.
Normally Dwight Yorke seems to appear on Sky a bit over the festive period too.

Good to see Currie getting a PL game - BT certainly do have strength in depth in that presenting role.



I'd totally forgotten about how much BT promoted that show.
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Didn't catch a lot of the weekend's football but have to say even by SSN's usual PL-focus standards, last night was impressive.

2 major sports stories in the latest developments in the football abuse saga (which was the main story on the news channels) and the F1 World Title being decided yet of course the PL action came first.

Did Mark Bolton host MNF after Keys and before Payne?

The two presenters of live SPFL coverage (Currie on BT and David Tanner on Sky) both had similar elevations to the anchor job - initially a reporter doing the pre-/post-match interviews, but then moved into the main job.

I think it's fair to say that Currie has done much better after making the step up. Tanner still looks like the proverbial rabbit caught in headlights.

I know the abuse story is sport linked but I think SSN tend to leave these really serious areas to the news channel, their style hardly lends itself to sensitive broadcasting

The idea behind me making automated code available that can be copied and pasted into this thread was not to blindly trust anything that others have entered in there and pass it off as fact, but to share data that you yourself have just added and know to be complete and correct.

Just because something has a tick against it in the hub doesn't mean that it can be taken as gospel. I double check everything before it's given the green thumb of approval. I don't want duff data in the hub just like people don't want to read unfounded information and subsequent corrections in this thread.

At the very least, do what luketwill does and put a disclaimer against anything you're not sure about - or better yet, stick to what you know.

Thanks for the correction Steve, and I agree he wouldn't count. Apologies for doubting camerons!


I'd forgotten all about him, he really was a great host and should still be doing something for UK viewers at least. I wonder if, had they kept him on, he would have followed in the footsteps of his Spanish Football replacement and ended up on the Football League? A million times better than Minto.

As for your question, Payne was brought in to relieve Keys of having to present Saturday through to Wednesday with the addition of the Champions League to the line up. So I'm certain Keys was on MNF until Payne took over Saturday lunchtimes and Monday nights in 2003. I think Bolton was still doing ITV Central at this point and joined Sky in 2004 as a reporter initially. I think he was involved at some point on MNF doing interviews with the fans panel in the studio but I can't place exactly when this was. Not as main host though.