John Motson

The FA Cup as a tournament was very good to me. I'd like to think I can still have some association with that because it was the Ronnie Radford goal for Hereford against Newcastle which really put me on the map in 1972.

I've watched us go out on penalties so often. I really thought we'd make it at Euro '96, especially after Gazza's goal against Scotland. I still go to every England game as a spectator.

It looks like things are changing in north London. Tottenham have gone down a road they've never been down before. They've kept their best players and pushed young English ones through. They've started to match Arsenal - who were light years ahead - by building a new stadium.

The competition to get above the rest and be the lead commentator, or whatever you want to call it, is much fiercer than it was when I was starting out. By the same token, there were not as many jobs going back then, so to get one was an achievement in itself.

The whole London football scene is now financially more powerful and ambitious than ever before. That reflects the city's economic might and its multiculturalism. Now West Ham have a new , and Spurs and Chelsea will follow. And the London clubs have widened their areas of support.

And Seaman, just like a falling oak, manages to change direction.

I do remember once going to Salzburg in Austria. Liverpool were playing a European game there, and they put me in a box behind glass. I hate being behind glass; I always want to feel part of the action.

I've been fortunate enough to witness some of the biggest moments in football history mere yards away from the action, but I wanted to go out on a high rather than stay too long. I didn't want to get to the stage where people say, 'Oh blimey, Motty's lost it. He's getting the players wrong, and his voice is going.'

It is now a pleasure to go to any of the Premier League grounds. They are so welcoming, not just to me but to all the broadcasters - all media, really, you have to say.

I have had a wonderful time. I don't think things could have gone any better for me because I was football-mad as a boy, and to get a job watching the game and going to all the major events I have been to has been very rewarding.

I might feel a little bit empty, and it might get to me for a short time, but I'm hoping to keep my association with football and with broadcasting - I'm not retiring from everything; I'm retiring from the BBC. I'm certainly not going pipe and slippers.

I'm not a celebrity whose face is recognised everywhere I go, like Gary Lineker, but my voice does make people sit up and pay attention from time to time.