Nick Constable - Match of the Day- 50 Years of Football

Remember Thierry Henrys team-beating dribble to score against Liverpool in 2004? Ronnie Radfords wonder strike to sink Newcastle in the FA Cup? Or, best of all, Geoff Hursts hat-trick wining the World Cup for England in 1966?

For over half a century, Match of the Day has witnessed some of the greatest moments in football history, week in, week out. From the big shorts and brown leather balls of the Stanley Matthews era, through the classic tussles of the old First Division, right up to the glamour of the globe-spanning game that we know today, football has undergone an incredible journey - and now, in this milestone 50th year, Match of the Day celebrates the very best of the drama and the heartache.

With evocative memorabilia and photography throughout, relive the story of the beautiful game, season-by-season. Featuring favourite Match of the Day memories from top players and long-standing members of the MOTD team, this is the ultimate collection of football memories for any fan.

Nick Constable is a freelance writer and journalist commisioned regularly by UK newspapers including the Mail On Sunday , Sunday Express and The Sun . He is the author of the numerous titles on UK sport and social issues contributing to Motsons National Obsession , by MOTDs very own John Motson, and co-writing Aggers Special Delivery with BBC Cricket Correspondent Jonathan Agnew. He declares an interest in writing this book hes a lifelong Leicester City fan but feels his teams glory years have not yet been so glorious so as to affect his editorial integrity.

Foreword

The Match of the Day theme tune has been the soundtrack to everything Ive achieved in football. As a schoolboy in Leicester taking my first steps towards a professional career, the show was essential viewing in the Lineker house on a Saturday night.

Its easy to forget but in the days before the Premier League yes the beautiful game did exist then it was the only consistent football fix available to the nation.

Ill never forget my first appearance on Match of the Day as I missed a sitter at Aston Villa but throughout my time as a player with Leicester, Everton and Spurs it was always a thrill to appear on the programme.

Then, to take over from the legendary Des Lynam, and still to be in the hot seat 15 years later, is an achievement of which Im incredibly proud.

But its not just me you only have to look at the reaction we get every Saturday night to realise just how much Match of the Day means to football fans across the country. Almost all of them believe their team is on last each week!

Premier League Chief Executive, Richard Scudamore, has described Match of the Day as a phenomenon and, in an era where more live games are televised than ever before, it remains the most watched football programme in the country with up to 10 million tuning in every weekend.

The programme itself has evolved dramatically in the time Ive been presenting. The biggest change was introducing extended highlights of every Premier League game across the weekend.

In recent years, the introduction of new graphics, statistics, manager interviews and social media voting has helped keep the show fresh and relevant. Weve also added some new faces in the studio from Vincent Kompany to Thierry Henry and Roy Hodgson to Russell Brand!

One familiar face who sadly wont be sat alongside me on Saturdays in the future is Alan Hansen, for so long the king of the pundits. When Hansen speaks, people listen.

Being a pundit on Match of the Day is one of the toughest jobs on TV.

Not only do you have to digest up to eight games most Saturdays, but then you have to deliver genuine insight in perhaps two or three minutes maximum. Its a tough skill, so those like Alan, who master it, really stand out. But goals are our business and we never lose sight of the fact that the action remains at the heart of the programme.

Thats been the philosophy for 50 years and long may it continue with that theme tune remaining an integral part of all our Saturday nights.

Gary Lineker

Introduction

It was never supposed to become a sporting icon. In fact, when Match of the Day was first screened on 22 August 1964, the attendance inside Anfield outnumbered BBC2s audience two to one. For the Corporation it was a one-off series, a trial run for the 1966 football World Cup.

MotD s first presenter could hardly have expected the show to enjoy such longevity.

No one expected those grey, grainy images, barely distinguishable team strips and Kenneth Wolstenholme in his best bib and tucker to be the genesis of a national obsession. Clubs didnt want it, outside broadcast technology wasnt really ready for it and fans seemed happy just to cheer from the terraces. Football on TV? For the next half-century? Surely not.