September 2025 - Uphills and downhills
- Warren Muggleton
- Oct 9
- 5 min read
So, I was struggling with a title for this month's blog - a month which has featured five Southend United commentaries and something completely different!
That something different was a Soapbox Rally on the steep North Hill of Colchester.
With all the action heading down the sharp descent, I realise September has been about working to maintain my commentary standards, grappling with technology failures and searching for pockets on uniqueness...
The first match of September for Southend United was a trip to Wealdstone, having made an unbeaten start in August.
It was a thrilling game, which unfortunately ended with a 3-2 defeat for the Blues.
When I started this blog in January, I said I would be using it to hold myself to account.
While I was pleased with the excitement of my commentary in this match, I made four major errors. See if you can spot the first one below...
Someone once said to me: 'Heysel was a disaster, Hillsborough was a tragedy. Conceding a penalty is neither of these things.'
I'm frustrated with myself that 'disaster' was the word I used to describe the goalkeeper's error for Southend's first goal of the match. I could have gone for 'blunder by Baptiste', 'the most costly of errors' or letting the shock of the home fans speak for itself.
Secondly, pronunciations are key in commentary, especially when it comes to the team. A listener was keen to ensure I knew the home side are 'WEELD-STONE' not 'WEELD-STUN', though apparently I'm not the first to make this mistake!
Thirdly, a key moment in the game transpired after 65 minutes, when Wealdstone won a penalty which would decide the match. My focus was on the penalty area but I lost sight of the referee... who was busy handing out a red card to the two managers for a fracas in the technical area.
The lesson is that the person with the whistle, as controversial as they can be, makes the decisions on the day - so always have an eye on them!
Finally, I'm sure you know by now that I like a 'poetic' outro. I decided to focus on the 'weald stone', the sarsen stone that marks the boundary between Harrow and Harrow Weald, using a metaphor to state the Southend's storming form could not break down the rock-like home side. Unfortunately, it didn't come out this fluently.
I have not written down my intro and outro comments for a few years as I prefer to come up with them on the spot but this was a reminder to get back into that habit.
Some big moments to maintain standards to start September - but here's my favourite commentary of the month to finish it...
This was Southend's equaliser in their 1-1 draw at Boreham Wood, who have been flying high in the league following promotion.
As mentioned in my last blog, I've been focussing on improving my 'geography' in play, detailing where the ball is in relation to our commentary position. I was able to achieve this accurately and at pace in this clip.
I was pleased to build my volume up, add key information and also leave a pause for the fan's celebrations - however, there was another reason for this.
On BBC local radio commentary, we have two options for sending a feed to our studio - ISDN, using a special ethernet port, or IP, using a boosted WiFi.
At Boreham Wood, we did not have an ISDN port - not uncommon in the National League - and it was not possible for our IP to connect back to the studio. This can happen depending on your surroundings, the weather etc.
What to do?!
During my time at BBC Channel Islands, I hosted several Saturday afternoon shows using my mobile phone with a plug-in microphone. We have a BBC app which allows phones to connect to a studio in the same way as IP.
So I whacked out my work phone, plugged in a portable charger and used that for the whole commentary!
I didn't have a plug-in microphone or headphones, so my summariser held the phone to his ear in build-up. During the game, I held the phone for play-by-play and held it to the summariser for analysis.
It was a challenging but fun experience - certainly a reminder that a commentator has to be ready for any eventuality when it comes to technology!
I had to be mindful of volume, so would move the phone further away if I got louder.
If you listen to the clip above, I think the best thing I can say is that if I hadn't told you this story you would probably think there was nothing wrong.
WHAT DID YOU THINK TO THESE CLIPS? GIVE ME YOUR FEEDBACK IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!
As mentioned above, I love to produce intros and outros which make a unique connection to the match I'm commentating.
I've mentioned one that didn't come off at Wealdstone - here are two that did...
'If' by Rudyard Kipling is one the two poems I have hanging in my flat.
When I found out that Kipling spent some of his life in Portsmouth, 20 miles away from Eastleigh, I knew there was a different way to reference the fact the Spitfires had appointed a new manager ahead of kick-off.
As a commentator, I love travelling for away games because I get to see different parts of the county... and in future the world!
When it comes to scenic areas, Boreham Wood does not exactly spring to mind. However, a bit of research tells you that it has been the home of Elstree Studios, the base of several Hollywood movies, for over 100 years.
So it was a case of picking out a select few films and linking them to the form of both sides.
It's a small thing but it's those 'pockets of uniqueness' that can grab an audience's attention by giving them something they haven't heard before.
While September felt like wall-to-wall Southend United, there was some gravity-fuelled silliness amid the footballing fury!
I was lucky enough to be part of the BBC Essex team partnering with the 2025 Colchester Soapbox Rally.
I worked with my colleague Victoria Polley to provide commentary of the time trials and head-to-head races as over 30 teams made their way down North Hill.
Here's some of my favourite moments from the day...
'Chaos' is certainly a word that can be used when it comes to both preparation and commentary style for this event!
I spent a couple of weeks watching the Red Bull Soapbox races to get an idea of how it's done by Darren Fletcher - to sum it up, pure enjoyment.
We did not get a lot of information from the organisers ahead of the day. This is something I expected because there can be late entries, so I got to the venue early to speak to as many teams as possible to find out driver names, reasons for entering and find details on the cars.
It took a couple of runs for me and Victoria to get into the groove but once we did, working alongside Rob Jelly (think F1 grid man Martin Brundle in a cape!) while we beamed over the big screen, it was so much fun to get the fun, drama and chaos of the day across both to people watching around Colchester and online.
September 2025 has been all about maintaining standards, overcoming technology and adapting commentary styles - which should set me up nicely for a busy October!
Last updated: 9th October 2025
Comments