Writer, broadcaster and Hammer Mark Webster is looking forward to the release of Bobby Moore - The Movie
Writer, broadcaster and Hammer Mark Webster is looking forward to viewing the upcoming film Bobby Moore - The Movie...
Because I take my responsibilities as host of the weekly football podcast The Whistleblowers very seriously, I am therefore of course honour bound to remain impassively neutral and not to gloat about the start we’ve made under Slaven. That would be wrong. Bad. Just not classy.
So I got Matt Lorenzo to come in and do it instead!
Matt is of course one of the top sports journalists and broadcasters of the last twenty odd years - famously the man who first welcomed us to that wacky new TV concept, Sky Sports back in 1989. Matt was born into the trade as his dad Tony was a heavy hitter around the major channels, but most importantly the Lorenzos are an Essex family, right there in the West Ham heartland.
So the chance to sit down with him to chat with him on The Whistleblowers was one I was happy to grab. As indeed was the, er, shall we say ‘post match’ chin wag we had once we had retired to somewhere local to lubricate our now parched podcasting throats.
And you can hear Matt waxing wittily on such matters as Sky Sports and Brendan Rodgers on the podcast titled ‘Toby Or Not Toby’, but most importantly Matt also talks about how he first came to know Bobby Moore as a kid, and how he is currently in production on a project that will be both ultimately timely (scheduled for a May 2016 release, on the eve of the 1966 World Cup 50th anniversary) , and totally welcome…
Bobby Moore - The Movie.
Chatting in more detail in the pub over a quick one or two, Matt explained that ‘we thought we’d do it - and within two weeks, we’d spoken to Pele’s agent and he said yes right away. And he’s been interviewed twice. And for free!’
Matt went on to explain how the goodwill that greeted the project - both from those wanting to take part and others who wanted to invest in it to ensure that it happened - has been quite overwhelming. And the list of people who he has spoken to is already stellar, and heading into the pretty comprehensive. Redknapp Senior is among them, and Matt said it’s still a raw nerve ending to Harry that ‘Bob never got a knighthood’. Paul Gascoigne, Matt went on to say, was a complete joy and totally understands the importance of Bobby to the game, while only a little earlier in the day, David Beckham’s agent had been on the phone and said ‘we WILL find a window’ to do this, no matter what.
So there is no doubt that this tribute to the man I and many other football fans have been worshipping for nigh on fifty years is going to be the star-studded affair you’d hope it would be. But I thought I’d also ask Matt what was the thing that he has taken from the experience so far that has really hit home. And he told me that it was quite poignantly the fact that ‘he spoke to no one’ except Tina and Stephanie, his wives, and ‘kept it all to himself - the rejections, the illness.’ We raised a glass at that point.
So Bobby Moore - The Movie is all set to be a fitting tribute to the footballer, the hero, the man. And one thing Matt said he would love to see happen is 'have a screening of the film at Upton Park before we move on'. Agreed Matt. Couldn’t think of anything better. COYI.
*For regular updates about the upcoming release of Bobby Moore - The Movie, follow on Twitter @bobbymooremovie and visit www.bobbymooremovie.com.
*The Whistleblowers is on Twitter @footballpodcast.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of West Ham United.
Because I take my responsibilities as host of the weekly football podcast The Whistleblowers very seriously, I am therefore of course honour bound to remain impassively neutral and not to gloat about the start we’ve made under Slaven. That would be wrong. Bad. Just not classy.
So I got Matt Lorenzo to come in and do it instead!
Matt is of course one of the top sports journalists and broadcasters of the last twenty odd years - famously the man who first welcomed us to that wacky new TV concept, Sky Sports back in 1989. Matt was born into the trade as his dad Tony was a heavy hitter around the major channels, but most importantly the Lorenzos are an Essex family, right there in the West Ham heartland.
So the chance to sit down with him to chat with him on The Whistleblowers was one I was happy to grab. As indeed was the, er, shall we say ‘post match’ chin wag we had once we had retired to somewhere local to lubricate our now parched podcasting throats.
And you can hear Matt waxing wittily on such matters as Sky Sports and Brendan Rodgers on the podcast titled ‘Toby Or Not Toby’, but most importantly Matt also talks about how he first came to know Bobby Moore as a kid, and how he is currently in production on a project that will be both ultimately timely (scheduled for a May 2016 release, on the eve of the 1966 World Cup 50th anniversary) , and totally welcome…
Bobby Moore - The Movie.
Chatting in more detail in the pub over a quick one or two, Matt explained that ‘we thought we’d do it - and within two weeks, we’d spoken to Pele’s agent and he said yes right away. And he’s been interviewed twice. And for free!’
Matt went on to explain how the goodwill that greeted the project - both from those wanting to take part and others who wanted to invest in it to ensure that it happened - has been quite overwhelming. And the list of people who he has spoken to is already stellar, and heading into the pretty comprehensive. Redknapp Senior is among them, and Matt said it’s still a raw nerve ending to Harry that ‘Bob never got a knighthood’. Paul Gascoigne, Matt went on to say, was a complete joy and totally understands the importance of Bobby to the game, while only a little earlier in the day, David Beckham’s agent had been on the phone and said ‘we WILL find a window’ to do this, no matter what.
So there is no doubt that this tribute to the man I and many other football fans have been worshipping for nigh on fifty years is going to be the star-studded affair you’d hope it would be. But I thought I’d also ask Matt what was the thing that he has taken from the experience so far that has really hit home. And he told me that it was quite poignantly the fact that ‘he spoke to no one’ except Tina and Stephanie, his wives, and ‘kept it all to himself - the rejections, the illness.’ We raised a glass at that point.
So Bobby Moore - The Movie is all set to be a fitting tribute to the footballer, the hero, the man. And one thing Matt said he would love to see happen is 'have a screening of the film at Upton Park before we move on'. Agreed Matt. Couldn’t think of anything better. COYI.
*For regular updates about the upcoming release of Bobby Moore - The Movie, follow on Twitter @bobbymooremovie and visit www.bobbymooremovie.com.
*The Whistleblowers is on Twitter @footballpodcast.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of West Ham United.