Ian Wright’s last Match of the Day and his legacy as a pundit
Match of the Day means different things to different people. For Ian Wright it means a little more than most. The former striker has previously spoken of his childhood and of how his stepdad was “a weed-smoking, gambling, coming-home-late, gambling-hiswages, womanising kind of guy. He was rough with my mum and rough with all of us kids. And I don’t know why, but he didn’t like me in particular. One of the few things my brother and I looked forward to in the house was Match of the Day, and my stepdad used to take that away from us — just because he could. Depending on what mood he was in, he’d come into the bedroom just before it started and he’d say: ‘Turn around to the wall.’ We had to face the wall the whole time Match of the Day was on. And the really cruel thing was that we could still hear everything. It was awful. Whenever I heard the theme music come on, I would feel that pain in my chest. The first time I went on the show as a presenter, Des Lynam walked up and said: ‘Ian Wright, welcome to Match of the Day.’ I nearly broke down crying.”
Wright’s displays of emotion are his legacy as a pundit. He has subliminally assured people in this country that it is OK to cry, to be joyful, to care about something. The tears, the giggling, his joyful kissing of the television screen after an Arsenal goal, the impassioned and articulate pleas to fight against racism, thatMr Pigden video and the Desert Island Discs interview that followed, the open declarations of platonic male friendship. Such is the open bond between him, Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker that Wright got a tattoo on his hand over lockdown with the numbers ‘8, 9, 10’ after the shirt numbers the trio wore as players. “People laugh at me for the ‘8,9,10’, but it’s because I love you, man. You’re my guys”, Wright said on Sunday’s MOTD.
Wright did not get his fairytale ending as Manchester City romped to their fourth successive title, denying Arsenal a first championship in 20 years. But as the curtain fell on his final show, he did receive a consolation message from his granddaughter during a closing montage. “Hi grandad,” says the girl in a Manchester City shirt. “Well done for doing Match of the Day. But Man City are the best. I love you, you know that.” Succinct, accurate and opinionated, there might be a future in the media for this rising star.
That first MOTD appearance alongside Lynam was way back in 1997, with the then-33-year-old still just about in his pomp at Arsenal, and on his way to the Premier League title that season. “This is my Graceland, Des,” smiles a slightly overawed Wright, as he is introduced. With that in mind, it is not entirely clear why he is leaving the punditry role he has regularly held down since 2017 – explaining in December that it was time to “do a few more different things” – but it can’t have been an easy decision. Whatever Wright does next, even if it’s just kicking a ball in the garden with his granddaughter, it will surely be a brilliant and joyous thing.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I just wanted to create role models I never had, to create a profession that wasn’t possible. We’ve all been told ‘no’. We’ve all been told ‘it can’t be done’, ‘the boys come first’, ‘it’s a men’s game’. But to think, there’s a final game at Old Trafford, a sell-out at Wembley, England winning the Euros, Arsenal selling out game after game. I think women’s football will explode. It’s already exploding but it’s going to really explode in the next few years and that was all I wanted. I hate naysayers … ‘oh, it’s unrealistic’, ‘it’s going to collapse’, ‘it can’t sustain it’, ‘you can’t invest this money’. And I always think the same thing – why are we so negative about investing in women? I’ve always felt really strongly about women and championing that and giving opportunity, and leaving it in the place that I dreamed about seeing. But I’m done” – Emma Hayes signs off from Chelsea after securing a fifth WSL title on the bounce with a 6-0 romp at Manchester United, meaning final-day despair for Manchester City.
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