Latest news with #CliveTyldesley
BBC News
10-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Eakin's voice is what Coventry fans will remember'
Tributes have been paid to Coventry City commentator Clive Eakin who has laid down the microphone after 24 years of covering the club for BBC CWR.A special hour-long live show was held at HMV Empire in Coventry for fans and colleagues to reflect on Eakin's career as the voice of a Sky Blues generation."I have been overblown by the reaction after the news was announced," said Eakin, who started working for the BBC in 1988 and began his role covering Coventry in 2001."It's been very touching."Eakin worked across more than 1,200 games and with 14 different permanent managers, watching Coventry go from the Championship down to League Two and back saw the Sky Blues win the League Two play-offs in 2017-18, the League One title in 2019-20 and suffered the FA Cup semi-final heartbreak against Manchester United in April 2024, as well as this year's Championship play-off agony."The biggest thing I can say is you've been through the biggest lows of Coventry City and the highs," said ex-Coventry player Michael Doyle."I think the one constant at the club through all that time has been yourself. I think for a lot of people in Coventry, it will be your voice that they remember."Fellow commentator Clive Tyldesley said: "Football is about memories. To be somebody who becomes part of people's memories of those matches is what makes our job really special and you've done that."You've connected with millions of people that you'll never meet and they think they know you. They trust you because of your knowledge and because of your warmth and your commitment."Listen to In Conversation with Clive Eakin on BBC Sounds.
Daily Mirror
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Football commentary icon earning staggering amount from his handwritten notes
Latest accounts for Clive Tyldesley's business confirm that he has found a real winner with his 'commentary chart' business TV legend Clive Tyldesley has earned close to £1m with his football commentary charts, new figures reveal. The man behind the mic is known for his meticulous planning before kick off. Football players, managers and fans all love his unique line in footy memorabilia - copies of the detailed notes which he prepares for games. Latest accounts for his business confirm that he has found a real chart topper. It had £645,000 in the coffers at the end of the last financial year. Tax payments suggest it made as much as £200,000 in 2024. When he was in charge, Sir Alex Ferguson used to give Clive his team line-ups in advance. And the legendary former Man Utd manager has Clive's 'commentary chart' notes from his side's 1999 and 2008 Champions League victories. Both are popular with fans. Sir Gareth Southgate, Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham, Andy Cole, and Gordon Strachan have all posed with charts from big games. Best-sellers include Liverpool stats on the way to winning the league this year. This season's long-awaited cup victories for Newcastle United (Carabao Cup), Spurs ( Europa League) and Crystal Palace ( FA Cup) were also popular with supporters looking for gifts for loved ones. The veteran TV regular, 70, covered his 30th Champions League final last year for US network CBS. Those finals and England games have provided some of the highlights of his distinguished 50-year career. On his notes, he once said: 'Commentary charts are unique to each commentator. We all prepare a little differently. There is no right or wrong way. "These are prints of match notes for some of the most famous games of the modern era. This is an impression of what I look down on at kick off." He often auctions off his crib notes for good causes and is patron of the Bobby Moore Cancer Fund. He also sells prints of his sporting homework for between £20 and £60. He describes the neat, colour-coded facts as a 'comfort blanket'. They have helped to commentate on some of the biggest games of the last 50 years.
