August 2025 - North-East By South-West
- Warren Muggleton
- Sep 5
- 3 min read
So, you know I love a good stat on commentary - here's a couple to summarise August covering Southend United for BBC Essex Sport...
4 matches
48 hours between two kick-offs
1,550 miles, including teams in two corners of the county
Commentary of the Blues has taken me from Newcastle to Cornwall - and it's been an awesome way to get back on the mic for the 2025/26 football season!
I thought it would be an interesting exercise to compare commentaries of the first and last goals of the month.
The first is the opener from Southend United's 3-0 win at Gateshead on 9th August and the second is the winner from a 2-1 victory on the road at Solihull Moors on 30th August.
My first goal of August 2025 came just three minutes into Southend's trip to the north-east.
With this in mind, I was pleased that I kept up with the action as there had already been a couple of chances for the Blues.
There was a slight stumble in the immediate aftermath but I was able to describe the move succinctly and at a smooth pace while varying my tone to bring my summariser.
I would only say that I would like to have improved my 'geography' in the build-up, saying 'Walker's right-footed shoot, deflected, off the post - Austin's there to bury it in the right corner'.
My concern would be building a habit of shouting at the chance and losing the description of the shot, which is crucial to a radio audience.
For the rest of the month, I focussed on how I could get more detail in the build-up. As well as this, it offers opportunities to get 'headlines' into the aftermath and let the summariser talk through the goal.
I think this happens to a certain degree in the second clip.
I identify where assist provider Slavi Spasov is in relation to the penalty area and detail Andy Dallas' movement to create the opportunity. There is a crescendo but that description is not lost.
I could have left the description to the summariser and had a slight stumble - it's always ok to have a moment of silence on radio to let the crowd noise filter through.
But I did get some nice stats in.
They may be small differences but I think these clips show my development in commentary over a month, identifying creases to be ironed out.
WHAT DID YOU THINK TO THESE CLIPS? GIVE ME YOUR FEEDBACK IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!
Ahead of the season starting, I decided to take my preparation to a new level.
I've seen some commentators sharing their matchday notes on social media, so here's my notes for Southend United's football matches in the 2025/26 season...
To break it down...
On a matchday, I will use the first six pages - facts about the match, stats relating to each player and lines that answer the question 'why is today different'.
But I have also added notes from both Southend United's history and every National League season since it was formed in 1979.
I will not use these every week but they can help me in pre-match preparation to find stats and can be at my fingertips if we find ourselves closing in on an historic moment.
Adding in watching highlights of the opposition - as mentioned in my last blog - this has enabled me to focus on improving my commentary, knowing I am as prepared as I can be.
August's busy schedule and long journeys brought the added challenge of time management.
Over the bank holiday weekend, I had a 3pm kick-off at Truro City in Cornwall on the Saturday and a 3pm at Roots Hall against Hartlepool United on the Monday.
My prep time averages 7 hours for a match. This was completed on Friday for Truro and on Sunday for Hartlepool, giving me plenty of time to learn player names and headlines to refer to.
There's another busy month coming up in September - with 1,550 miles under the belt already, it's fair to say I'm back into the swing of things!
Last updated: 5th September 2025
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