The Football Weekend21 Aug 2025

Clive Tyldesley: What makes a great commentator?

Liverpool will travel to St. James’ Park to round out Matchweek Two in the Premier League, and in another time it might merely be a rematch of last season’s League Cup final, or just a meeting of two major institutions of English football who’ve never particularly liked each other.

But this one has a different kind of electrical charge, because the defending champion Reds are trying to pry Newcastle’s star striker, Alexander Isak, out of a black-and-white jersey. The forward is agitating for the move, and the Magpie faithful are not happy about any of it. The Swede isn’t likely to feature, but he’ll be looming over it all, and it’s sure to be a tumultuous atmosphere on Tyneside.

That’s just a small part of what we got into with this week’s guest: Clive Tyldesley, the legendary commentator for CBS Sports and Paramount+ who’s been calling the biggest games in European football for decades. Along the way, he’s seen a whole lot, and his vast experience and the wisdom thereof is now pouring into a new project: his blog here on Substack, where he weighs in on football’s current affairs with wit and insight.

He joins the show to talk Isak, Liverpool, the Club World Cup, why Sergio Busquets is the greatest walking footballer ever, and the state of the game he loves. Get more from Clive in your inbox each week:

https://ctyldesley.substack.com/

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