By DAVID COULTER

Last updated at 21:29, Friday, 05 March 2010

JOHN Murray has the sort of dream job the majority of Britain’s male population would die for.

Dream job: BBC Radio Five Live football commentator John Murray.

For the 43-year-old travels the world watching football match after football match as a sports commentator for BBC Radio Five Live.

This year, his job will take him to the World Cup in South Africa, in addition to his many visits to stadia across the UK and Europe.

It’s a profession that’s a world away from John’s early life growing up on the family farm in Haydon Bridge.

The Murray family have a long farming history on their Sewing Shields farm which straddles Hadrian’s Wall, and John was very much a part of this until he left the area for university, aged 18.

At home, his duties included feeding the animals, clipping sheep and general maintenance to ensure the farm ticked over.

However, he found most of the farming responsibilities were carried out by his older brothers Angus, Hamish and the late Robin.

He said: “You see, I was at an advantage because I was the youngest, so there were plenty of people around to do the jobs.

“And, in truth, my mother was particularly keen for me to do something else.

“I think it worked out nicely because farming wasn’t really one of the things I wanted to do.

“Once I established at an early age that I wanted to do something else, it was obvious to me that I wanted to go into journalism of some variety.”

Growing up in a family obsessed with sport, his preference was always going to be sports journalism.

All three of his brothers played for Tynedale Rugby Club, and his nephews, Andrew and Jamie Murray, are key players for the current Tynedale team.

His Eureka moment in choosing a career path, he claimed, came when he took part in a school trip while at the middle school in Haltwhistle.

He explained: “What really sparked my imagination was when the headmaster arranged a trip to Wembley for the Home Internationals.

“It was England versus Wales and I was just blown away by that, and it was at a time that I was really getting into football.

“I remember thinking: ‘Surely it can’t be true that I am watching England at Wembley!’

“Seeing it all really sticks with me, even though it was a 0-0 draw.”

With this everlasting memory ingrained on him, it may have been somewhat surprising that John chose to study geography at the Lampeter campus of the University of Wales.

He admitted that he got on to the course through the clearing process and did not particularly find the topic inspiring.

He said: “My interest in the academic side was waning in the final year and, at that stage, it was clear that I wanted to go into journalism.

“When I went to see the careers’ people, they were talking about postgraduate courses and suggested going into radio.

“When he said that, everything just seemed to fall into place and I really fancied that.”

Following that suggestion, John moved back to his native North-East to study radio journalism at Darlington College.

His one year study included guest speakers from the media, including the radio editor at Teesside’s TFM.

The relationship between the radio station and college helped John get his foot in the door, and he went on to work at TFM on news and sports broadcasts for six years.

He enjoyed the news side of the job, particularly the court stories, but took a real shine to following the highs and lows of Middlesbrough Football Club.

He had many happy times working with the club, but it was not always plain sailing.

John said: “I remember the first game I commentated on – a Boro away game at Stoke City’s Victoria Ground.

“I felt that TFM had pushed me a little bit and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to take the commentary on.

“Anyway, one listener wrote in and said something along the lines of: ‘If this is the best commentary you can come up with, then you need to think again!’

“It was a real blow to the confidence, but it was just one of those things and you always get setbacks.”

The negative comment did not deter him though, and he gave his all to the job before leaving for BBC Radio Cleveland.

He spent a year there working in the sports’ department, again covering Middlesbrough FC.

When a job vacancy came up to work on the sports desk on BBC Radio Five Live, in London, it was simply an opportunity he could not pass up.

Since starting there in 1995, John has been to three World Cups, three European Championships, and numerous Ryder Cups, as he also covers golf for the station.

His job can take him anywhere and, in the space of a week, he recently travelled to Milan, then on to Wolverhampton before leaving for Lisbon!

His live broadcasts can reach thousands of people at one time, and he still relishes the pressures of the job despite being a seasoned pro.

He said: “I find sports commentary a constant challenge because you are going live on the air 99 per cent unscripted, and I think there are definitely parallels to be drawn with playing the sport itself, in terms that I can never produce the perfect performance.

“It is a bit like an actor’s job in that every commentary you do is something of a performance, and you do it with varying degrees of success.”

This summer, John will be part of the team that will travel to South Africa for World Cup 2010.

It is the fourth tournament he will commentate on, and he is as excited as ever to be heading to the greatest international football competition in the world.

He said: “I am tremendously excited for the 2010 World Cup. It has to be the highlight of the job and it is great that we get the opportunity to bring a flavour of what we find in these places.

“What you find at World Cups is that, although we all know it is difficult watching England at times, it is like that for all the 32 countries in their individual way.”

So, how does the football expert rate England’s chances of glory?

“It is a complete lottery with England,” he said. “They could as easily get knocked out in the second round than getting to the final.

“It is impossible to predict England’s chances because it is anybody’s guess really.

“All I can say is that Spain must have a great chance because of the way they played at Euro 2008 and Brazil will be there or thereabouts.”

Although he has lived away from Northumberland for around 25 years, it is a place he holds close to his heart.

John, now of Harrogate, hopes to return to his homeland when he retires because of the strong bond he has with the county, particularly Tynedale.

He said: “I have always been conscious of trying to keep hold of my accent because I am really proud of where I come from.

“I know it is not as strong as it was, but I would never want to sound like many of the commentators who have completely lost their regional accent.”

First published at 09:44, Friday, 05 March 2010
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk