An interview with Peter Drury, by Callum McFadden for WFi.
When you commentate on matches, your passion for the game is very clear to hear on the broadcast. So, what does football mean to you and how did you find your love of the game as a child?
“Like every little boy and girl in the world, I loved playing football and dreamed of one day becoming a footballer.
“However, my experience of attending football as a child was actually relatively restricted. I didn’t have parents who took me to professional football in the way that a lot do.
“That meant that I absorbed my football as a young person, professional football on the television and back in those days, largely on the radio.
“So, I learned to appreciate and love the broadcasters of that day. They became heroes in a way, almost as much as the players, themselves did but of course, I also had the teams I followed.
“Then, bringing it right up to date, the reason I express games the way that I do is because I take time whenever I possibly can to think before every game about what it means for the people who are there.
“What it is to – because I do this with my family – walk up the road to the game, talk about the game, what are the issues, what do we think will happen, what do we want to happen today? Why are we there? What’s the point?
“I know how it feels to have those thoughts and the pit of the stomach terror when it’s nil-nil with five minutes to go and our team might score and win it or the other team might score and give us a horrendous weekend.
“It is that emotion that people pin to following one team or another, whether it be their national team or their local team or the big club or the small club, everybody has the same set of emotions around a football match and when the ball goes in the net, there is an incredible gush of emotion either way.
“It’s stomach-wrenching horror when it’s your team who concedes it and it’s massive elation when it’s your team who scores it.
“So, it is my role and that of a commentator to bear all of that in mind and articulate it as best we can.”
In terms of a commentary itself, there is a lot of preparation that goes into readying yourself for a broadcast. How do you personally prepare for games?
“I do so in the same way that most commentators would tell you and that is to sit down at my desk for several pretty dry and unexciting hours ahead of every game.
“I always start with a blank sheet of paper and go through player by player of the relevant information, statistics and history or backdrop to any given game.
“On average, one football match is one full day in the office, as it were. It’s a sort of eight-hour day but that can be longer if it’s a match involving an unfamiliar side or in a particular context that requires particular attention.
“Occasionally it can be a little less, not too much less, but if you have a mid-season game between two very familiar clubs, it can sometimes let you off an hour or two but even then, the challenge when dealing with familiar clubs is to find new things to say.
“There is no getting away from the fact there is no shortcut. Unfortunately, I wish there were, but the in depth behind-the-scenes homework has to be done.”
In terms of the big moments in a match themselves, how do you personally find the right words at the right time?
“As a fan sometimes, you experience sheer elation or devastation and you’re lost for words, whereas you cannot do that as a commentator.
“You really have to trust your instincts and realise that very often simplicity does it.
“Sometimes just shouting the right name at the right time does it. Every goal does not have to be a set-piece moment so that when the really big ones do come, you can let them be big. It’s a matter of just going with how it feels.
“Even now, for every hundred goals, there are maybe five or six that I get in the car afterwards and think, I really wish I could have done that better. Maybe the timing was wrong, or the words didn’t come out right.
“Then, there are three or four that I come away thinking, that was a lovely moment and there are another 90 or so, which are just another goal.
“However, it is also important to realise that just another goal to supporters of a club is their goal and so you have to deliver it as best you can.
“You need to be able to be aware in the moment what a goal means and I know that sounds simple, but some goals have greater significance than others.
“Clearly, if a team is 6-0 down and scores in the last minute, that’s a pretty lame goal but it is a goal nonetheless whereas, if somebody scores a 98-minute winner or equaliser, that’s far from lame.
“That’s a thrilling moment so you need to develop an instinctive awareness of what a goal really means in the context of a game when the ball hits the back of the net.”
Finally, Peter, given that you have commentated on the biggest games at club level and at various international tournaments as well, what advice would you give to aspiring commentators based on your experiences?
“My advice is to be authentic because we live in a world of scrutiny and social media where everyone has a strong opinion of you.
“So, the best you can do is be yourself. Don’t pretend to be someone else. Don’t mimic another commentator. Have the humility to listen to advice and learn because you are always learning.
“However, at the same time, if the passion you express and the words that you use are genuinely yours and how you feel then, you have every chance of going on to be successful.
“The other piece of advice that I would give out is do not be so anxious because enjoyment is really important, and I say that as a commentator nearer the age of 60 than 50.
“I wish that I had been able to say that to my younger self because there is so much anxiety flying around, so much worrying about what other people are thinking when it is a really privileged job to have, so, for goodness sake, make sure you’re enjoying it while you’re doing it.”